Sant Bani Magazine The Voice of the Saints

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2 Sant Bani Magazine The Voice of the Saints March Volume 23, Number 9 The Will of the Lord Sant Ajaib Singh Ji a Satsang ofji~ly 28, 1996 Reflections on Sant Ji's 1986 Message to the Sangat Russell Perkins Remain Firm 1 on the Truth Sant Ajaib Singh Ji Message recordcd Sey tcvzbu 5, I986 reprin ted from the July 1997 issue

3 Poetry To Our Strangely Wonderful Saint, Sant Ji / 21 The Unveiling / 22 EfSorts and Grace Work Side by side Sant Ajaib Singh Ji questions alld ~HSZOC~S, October 31, 1982 Photo credits: Front cover, p. 2, Jonas Gerard; pp. 1 (top), 5. 8, 16, 24. Gurmel Singh; p. I (bottom), unknown; p. 19, Charlie Boynton; back cover, Pat Brown. SANT BANIIThe Voice of the Saints is published by Sant Bani Ashram, Inc., Sanbornton, N.H., U.S.A., for the purpose of disseminating the teachings of Sant Ajaib Singh Ji, of His Master, Param Sant Kirpal Singh Ji, and of the Masters who preceded them. Editor Emeritus: Russell Perkins. Editor: Richard Shannon, with kind assistance from: Lori Budington, Megan Farkas, Amy Kaufman, Don Macken, Wendy Schongalla, Susan Shannon, and Cab Vinton. Annual subscription rate in the U.S. is $ Individual and back issues $2.50. Foreign and special mailing rates available on request. All checks and money orders should be made payable to Sant Bani Ashram, and all payments from outside the U.S. should be on an International Money Order or a check drawn on a New York bank (with a micro-encoded number). Correspondence should be addressed to Sant Bani Ashram, Sanbornton, N.H , U.S.A. Articles, including stories and poems, on the theory and practice of Sant Mat, are most welcome. Views expressed in individual articles are not necessarily the views of the journal. Articles are edited for clarity and may be cut to fit available space.

4 The Will of the Lord Sant Ajaib Singh Ji F ALUTATIONS unto the Feet of Supreme Fathers, Almighty Lords Sawan and Kirpal, Who, showering Their limitless grace upon us, have given us the opportunities to sing Their praises. I am very pleased to come here to Acton, because as you all know, Mother Millie was a very beloved one, she was a very good dear one of beloved Master Kirpal. She was one of those dear ones of beloved Master Kirpal who had followed the teachings of Master Kirpal. And I had much respect and appreciation for her. All the dear ones - those who have served her and those who were connected with her - for them also I have much respect and appreciation. And only appreciating their service to Mother Millie and their connection to Mother Millie, I come here to Acton. Whenever I come to Sant Bani Ashram I always come to this place, and I am always very happy to see and meet with those dear ones who have served and who have been associated with Mother Millie. When- This Satsang was given July 28, 1996 at Kirpal Satsang Ghar, Acton, Massachusetts. ever Gene goes to India, whenever we meet, he always insists that whenever we have a program at Sant Bani Ashram [in New Hampshire], I should come here. So I am very grateful to Gene that he has made the arrangements for me to come here, and I am very happy to be here and once again be able to see all the dear ones, those who were associated with and those who took care of Mother Millie. You know about Mother Millie, how devoted she was to beloved Master Kirpal. She was that disciple of beloved Master Kirpal who was a living example of the deep relationship between the Master and the disciple. She had told me in Rajasthan how once after she had finished drinking tea, Master Kirpal took her cup, poured some tea into it, and He drank it and He said, "The one who is going to work after me will need a mother and you have to be his mother." She told me this in Rajasthan, and also when I went to her house she told me that. And indeed she was like a mother to me. She took very good care of me; she served me like a mother. You know that this is all due to the grace of the Master; it is all be- March 1999

5 tween the disciple and the Master. Master is the One Who sows the seed of love within the disciple, and then He Himself nourishes that seed, makes it bloom into a plant, and in that way He encourages the disciple to grow in love. So I am very grateful to my beloved Lord Kirpal Who has sown the seed of love within all of you. And I am very happy to come here. In my heart I always have a lot of respect and appreciation for all those who have had the good fortune of having the darshan of my beloved Master Kirpal. And for those who have heard about Him and have known about Him, I have much respect and appreciation for them, and I always become very happy whenever I am able to see them. So once again I would like to thank dear Gene for making this program happen. I am very happy to come to Acton and see all the dear ones who were associated with and who served Mother Millie. My Master was very much concerned for my welfare. I cannot describe how much He was concerned for me and how much He cared for me. When He went to Rajasthan, He went and met with the political bigwigs in that area, and He told them that they should take care of me. So you can very well imagine how much a Master cares for His disciple. Who appreciates the disciple of the Master? Only he who appreci- ates the Master. Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj said, "If I were to meet any disciple of the Master I would bow down at his feet, I would touch his feet, I would tell him about the pains of my heart, and by telling him all the pains of my heart. all the pains would go away." Guru Ramdas Ji Maharaj said, "0 Lord, You Yourself are the Master; You Yourself are the disciple. And only through the Master can one do the devotion of God Almighty." You know that it is the same Power working in the disciple as in the Saint, in the Master. We cannot do the devotion of God Almighty unless we go through the Master. We can do the devotion of God Almighty only through the Master. It is like the knowledge of learning: it is within the student as well as within the teacher. The only difference is that in the teacher that knowledge of learning is manifested, whereas in the student it is not yet manifested. But when the student goes in the company of the teacher, when he lives up to what the teacher is asking him to do, when he does things according to the instructions of his teacher, he also obtains the degree, and once he obtains the degree then no differences remain between the student and the teacher: they both become the same. There is a story in the children's books which Master Kirpal Singh 4 SANT BANI

6 Ji as well as Master Sawan Singh Ji often used to tell the dear ones in the sangat. It goes like this. There was a village and outside of that village there lived a Saint, and the people of that village used to go to see Him. Once it so happened that there was a very severe drought and the villagers got worried that if it did not rain, what would happen to their crops. So they went to the Saint and they requested, "Master, please shower Your grace and let us have the rain so that we may have good crops." He said, "Accept the Will of God. Everything is in the Will of God." So they went back and it did not rain, and they did not have good crops. After some time it so happened that all the dogs of that village died. So they once again got together and they went to the Saint and said, "Master, all the dogs of our village have died. You should shower some grace upon us." He said, "This also is in the Will of God. You should learn to accept the Will of God." So again they went back home. After some days all the roosters of that village also died. So the villagers went back to the Saint and they said, "Master, all the roosters of our village have died. Kindly shower grace upon us so that we may be saved from all these kinds of calamities." He said, "You know that everything which happens happens in the Will

7 of God, so you should accept His Will. Nothing is outside His Will. It is His Will and we should accept His Will." When this thing went on happening, all the villagers thought, "What is the use of going to such a Saint Who always says, 'Accept the Will of God.' " So they complained to Him; they said, "First, when we didn't get the rain, You said that it was the Will of God. Then when all the dogs died, You said that it was the Will of God, and now when all the roosters have died, You say that it is the Will of God. What is all this?" After some days all the fires of that village went out. In those days it was not a scientific age, so there was no easy means of creating the fire. Either they used to strike the stones with each other and in that way produce a fire, or they would preserve the fire. So it so happened that all the fires went out, and it was very difficult for them to live their lives without fire. So they once again went to Him and once again the Saint had the same answer. He said that it was the Will of God. They all got upset and they said, "What is the use of going to such a Saint Who says that it is the Will of God when we didn't have the crops, when we didn't have the rain, when the dogs died, when the roosters died? And now when we don't have the fire, still He is saying that it is the Will of God? It is better not to go to such a Saint." So they got upset and they went home. After some time it so happened that there was a king who was invading and killing everyone. When he came close to that village. he asked his people, he asked his army, "Go and look for some habitation close by so that we may go and invade that village or town, and we may plunder all the wealth there." Usually when there is a village, when there are some people living in an area, either some smoke will come out from their fires, or their dogs bark, or their roosters crow. But since all the dogs in that village had died, no dogs were barking in that area. Further there were no roosters, there was no smoke. and there was no sign of any prosperity there. So the king thought, "What is the use of wasting any time over here?" So he just went by, leaving that place alone. So when the villagers came to know that a very cruel king had been in that area and he would have invaded their place, but since he did not see any sign of prosperity, he just went by without touching them. So they all became very grateful to that Master, and they came to Him. and their faith in that Master became manifold, and they devoted themselves to Him. So Dear Ones, it is all in the Will of the Lord. Whatever happens in our life, it is all in His Will. We should be very grateful to beloved SANT BANI

8 Lord Kirpal because He went all over the world and He taught us to appreciate and remain in the Will of God. Everything which happens is in the Will of God and we should understand this. God Almighty is present within all of us and we should appreciate everyone, we should respect everyone. Because all that we see and all that we meet, and all that happens, all that we come across is in His Will. So Lord Almighty Kirpal came into this world, He taught us the Will, and He also taught us how God Almighty is present within all of us, and we should love everyone, we should respect everyone. And we can do that only if we are doing the devotion of God. In one bhajan you read, "I went to every nook and corner, and I saw Your Light everywhere. I don't see anyone else besides You wherever I look." Dear Ones, wherever I have gone, no matter in which country, but wherever I have gone, I have always been very happy meeting with the souls. My soul becomes very intoxicated when I see my beloved Lord within all the souls, and I become amazed and I become very pleased when I see how He has planted these plants of love within everyone. In the waters of the ocean, on the top of the mountains, in the near places and distant places, all over the world He is present. He always used to say that you should be one, be good. If you will become one with God Almighty, only then you will become good. There is a deep secret in the words of the Param Sants, of the perfect Masters. So in the name of my beloved Masters Sawan and Kirpal, I am very grateful to all the dear ones who have made the arrangements here. [Pappu read the translation to "Naam Ki Mehima Aparampar," then Gurmel & Pappu led the singing of the bhajan. See Songs of the Masters, p The glory of Naam is Infinite. I sacrifice myself on the Satguru. In a very short time the difjiculties and afflictionsflee, From one within whose temple of mind the Satguru always resides. There is no bigger support than Naam. Kabir and Nanak meditated upon Naam; They illuminated the world. Reciting the Naam of the Lord, Mira drank the cup ofpoison. Adorn your life with Naam every day with regularity. Whoever remained indifferent to God has wasted his birth. March

9 irpotr Ncrcrtn hecut~re SZICcess f ir I. Whocvct. boutded the Ship of' iv~rut~ h~rs ~'t~ossecl over. Ncrcrrt~, cr~iel those ~vho tmditcrte rlpoti It, tinow the A-jcrih, crfiet- getting ~ltt~rchcd to the Feet of' Kirp~rI, hcrs sirt~g His Gloty n~illiotis of' timrs. Whoever catne to the door of' the ikfcrstet-, his ho~rt hus ct-ossed wet.. 8 SANT BANI

10 Reflections on Sant Ji's 1986 Message to the Sangat Compiled from Satsang commentaries given by Russell Perkins on February 21 and 28, 1999 I would like to make a few comments on Sant Ji's last message to us.* This was, in essence, a verbal will which He spoke into a tape recorder many, many years before we actually heard it. He created this message specifically for the purpose of being played after He left the body. I do find this message absolutely extraordinary in what it says, in what it doesn't say, as well as in the timing and circumstances under which it was created. There are a lot of points in this talk which are remarkable and deserve consideration, but at this point I want to reflect on just a couple of topics. First, it was recorded on September 5, That is to say a little over ten years before Sant Ji actually left this world. Yet there seems to be no doubt in His mind about knowing exactly what the situation was going to be after He left this earth plane. He knew there was not going to be a Master who would immediately step forward. Sometimes in the past the successorship has happened like this, other times not. So, Sant Ji knew the situation ten years before He left. * The full text of Sant Ji's message is printed beginning on page 17. And the second thing has to do with our own individual attitude towards all this. There is a real sense pervading the talk that says, "You do not need to worry about anything, you have got what you need, I have given it to you. You have it." In one place he addresses the topic of the new form of the Master. He says, "If you find someone who has meditated like my Master made me meditate, very happily you can take advantage of Him. I am ready to help you in that case." Also in the talk there are many admonitions not to follow the false one, and not to waste our life. These are the dominant wishes the Master intended for us to hold on to during this period. The point is He was very much aware of the fact that we would not know where to go to find the new Master. He knew it thirteen years ago. He understood precisely what the situation would be, what the condition of the sangat would be after He left. With Master's grace I have come to understand this situation as simply being the way it is supposed to be, that is to say, the way He wants it to be. And the.master Power who took care of us throughout, March 1999

11 is still taking care of us. Things are okay, this is my point. And that is why I think we should be very careful to remember the other things that Sant Ji also says in this message, like not fighting with each other, not following the false ones and not forming parties. all of which - from the viewpoint of our spiritual development - lead us astray and greatly lengthen the path home. Perhaps now, while the Master's form is hidden from us, one of the benefits associated with this experience is that, more than ever. it is incumbent upon us to love one another. Addressing His disciples just before He left, Jesus said, "A new commandment I give unto you, Love one another." There are many references made by various Masters that underscore this point. The love, the respect, the appreciation and the valuing of each of us by the other, no doubt it is very pleasing to Him; and it is also a way in which we can extend ourselves and commune with Him at this time. My interpretation of Sant Ji's wording in this message is that it implies we will find someone. Even though He uses the word "if," when He says "If you find someone...," the fact is that both Sant Ji and Kirpal would often speak in this way when They were referring to something that was going to happen in the future. Of course They would never like to predict, so They would speak about the future using condi- tional phrases. "If you find someone who has meditated like my Master made me meditate. very happily you can take advantage of Him." And then He follows these instructions with a promise. "I am ready to help you in that case." So we should never forget this. He will help us. and we will find Him. But you know it is not up to us to control this situation. We simply cannot do that. We cannot force it and we cannot make it happen simply by wishing for it. The longing for the Master in His new form is one of the factors that will help in bringing Him out of hiding. Sant Ji told us how the Master Power would not let Him hide himself. He said, "I did not remain in hiding." The fact is that when I first met Sant Ji. as many of you know. at that time He was not ready or willing to go out into the world. And He was getting ready to go back into the underground room and meditate full time apparently for the rest of His life. This was going to happen within two or three weeks. People told me that He was going to announce that at the next monthly Satsang. To our great joy. that did not happen. So obviously there are a lot of parallels between then and now. Some people have assumed. I guess. that things are going to happen the same way twice. I have had a lot of people request that I take them with me. when I go next time. Well all this implies a great deal - a great SANT BANI

12 deal more than I am ready to imply, I'll tell you. But what happened then I only know from my experience. Simply stated, I had no choice, I was absolutely compelled to go and I really didn't know why. I knew that I was going to find Ajaib Singh, because that was part of the instruction, but I didn't know what was going to happen when I got there. In such matters we must sometimes differentiate. People can get inner guidance, they can do things because the Master within wants them to do it, but it does not mean that they should rush to make assumptions or conclusions. And I felt this at the time. I thought, "Master is dragging me," I knew that He was dragging me and in my heart of hearts I knew that indeed I would reach Ajaib Singh. But I was not sure that He was the Master until I actually saw Him and I saw Kirpal working through Him. Until then I only knew that the Master wanted me to meet Him. And when I met Sant Ji, the first thing I said to Him was, "Master Kirpal has ordered me to come here to find you, but I don't know why, He didn't tell me why." And Sant Ji accepted that. So all of this is by way of saying, many things may happen, many people may have different inner commands. And other people may start to assume things about what is going on and race to conclusions about this and that. In these situations we must simply learn to dis- March 1999 tinguish between what is happening on one level and what is happening on another. There have been a number of individuals that I am aware of - and perhaps many more of whom I am not aware - who have received instructions in their meditations. These people appear to have received genuine inner guidance. Some have gone on expeditions, ostensibly to find someone. In every case I am aware of, although they may not have found the physical form of the Master, they did achieve something of great value. Something very wonderful happened to them deep within by virtue of having made that effort. If the Master pulls us over to India or someplace else - the North Pole, the South Pole, wherever - because it seems to us that we have to do that in order to find someone who is there, well we may not understand it at the time, but it is His way of doing it. And if the one for whom we are looking is not found, it does not mean that things didn't go well. It only means that something else is happening from the Master's point of view. And that purpose overrides, gives meaning to, and transfigures whatever point of view we as individuals, may have. This is the way that the Master often works with us. Many, many times in the course of the Path, I thought I was doing something and it later turned out that I was doing something very differ- 11

13 ent. But that does not mean that the Master didn't want me to do it. It simply means that we often do not have the correct understanding of what it is that the Master is having us accomplish. Our need to understand the true purpose of such events as they are happening is perhaps, for many reasons. the least important factor. It may seem to us that we are accomplishing a certain thing. when in reality we are not accomplishing that thing at all, but in fact something else is happening. He is leading us very well in the direction that we have to go for our own growth's sake, and for the sake of those people who are around us and are influenced by us. And this can also be seen in terms of our daily lives. Things happen to us. very difficult things may happen, things that cause us pain and suffering. Master says that on the Path. both physical and mental suffering play their part. These things are all part of the greater picture. This particular waiting period where we don't know where the new Master is. that too is part of the Master's plan for us. If our perspective is wide enough, if our camera can pull back far enough. we can more easily see how these pieces fit together and it will become very clear to us. That awareness does not take away our longing or our pain of separation, all of that is the same, but what is taken away is the fear. the worry and the desperation. What is lifted is the feeling of despair. And when that is lifted. the pinching effect of the situation is greatly reduced or eliminated. You know when Sant Ji says that the greatest sin of all is to be afraid. He is referring to this process. The fear comes from not being able to see enough. We become identified with a particular small part of the picture. However. the wider our angle of vision. the more we can see. And with that expanded perspective comes an awareness of the Master's limitless love for us and His constant protection. And He will protect us. Of course His protection and love do not always come to us in ways we might expect. This is because we all have our assumptions. our predispositions. our demands even. And those are rooted in our small. stuck perspectives and ultimately in our fears. The more we are in Remembrance. the more our attention is on the Sound Current. the more we are involved with our meditations. the stronger we become. This strength will manifest itself in various ways in our daily lives. and gradually our angle of vision will change. With His help we can grow in the practice of Remembrance. And we can keep ourselves anchored to something other than the demanding daily onslaught of events that each of us experiences. We then begin to see each step along the way. SANT BANI

14 each choice, each obstacle, as being an opportunity. If we turn to Him, the Master will help us choose, at each of those junctures, that which will be for our greater good. And what happens if we choose wrongly? Well then He works from that level. He does not say, you are a bad person, I am no longer going to waste time with you, I'm going to find somebody who can profit from what I give him. No, He doesn't do that. He continues to work with us no matter what, no matter how bad we may seem to be in our own eyes or in the eyes of others. We are not bad in His eyes because He sees that we are indeed children of God. That is the way that the Master relates to us. By His nature He is compelled to relate to us that way, because He is the embodiment of love. Most of us are familiar with the story that Sant Ji tells [in The Jewel of Happiness] about a greedy man who was traveling with a Master. The Master had been given three stuffed chapatis to eat on His journey, but when the Master stopped to answer the call of nature, the greedy man went through his pack and ate one of the chapatis. When the Master asked the greedy man about it, he lied, saying, "No, Master, I don't know who ate the third stuffed chapati." As they travel along together, encountering one after another danger - crossing a flooded river, finding their way through a burning forest, and being confronted by a hungry tiger - the Master asks the man first to remember God and pray to be saved from the danger; and then after they have escaped, each time the Master asks the greedy man to tell the truth. But he doesn't do that until finally the Master creates an illusion of three piles of jewels and He says, "One pile is for me, one is for you, and one is for the person who ate the third stuffed chapati." Then the greedy man says, "Yes, Master, I did eat that third stuffed chapati." I find this story to be among the most encouraging of all the stories, because we are all very much like that greedy man. The way that the greedy man relates to the Master is somewhat of a metaphor as to the way most of us relate to the Master. From our small angle of vision we don't have any better understanding of what is really going on than did the greedy man who continued to make all kinds of mistakes. In one way or another are we not often on the verge of some danger? In the story, at each juncture, the Master tells the greedy man to remember the benevolent Lord Who has given him so much and has protected him in the past. In the same way, the Master encourages us and leads us to those things which will allow Him to save us, the way He would like to save us. And the God Who came to us in the form of Kirpal and the form of Ajaib, Who has given us love, Who March 1999

15 has shown us what is required, Who has shown us by His life, by His smile, by the way His eyes met ours - well perhaps that God Who works in that way, perhaps He will even save us now if we remember Him. You see this is the point. There is no time in our lives where we can say that we are not going to face some type of physical or emotionally difficult experience. These things come along at regular intervals for all of us. But God is always with us, He is very near to us. We don't have to search for Him without. He is there, He will take care of us; He is taking care of us. He is giving us all that we need. And when, in the fullness of time, He chooses that we need the Master Power coming in the form of another human body, then we will get that. And He will be there for us and we will enjoy. And we will love Him and we will spend as much time with Him as we can. Just as we did with Ajaib and just as we did with Kirpal. Until that time we will get it in other ways, because He will give us what we need. There is no way that He will not do that. And I think that it is going to be a very special and exciting time in the next year or so, who knows what the time factor will be, or what events will transpire. But if we are receptive and open, and if we hold on to the Master's little finger - Master Kirpal often used that image - we will be able to follow Him, because we will go where He goes. If we grab hold of His little finger and remember Him. then whatever happens - as Master wrote to me. "Please note it for certain that whatever comes to your account is in your best spiritual interests." And that is true at every level, right down the line. Including on the level of being physically separated from the Master. So we must come to see this as also being in our own best spiritual interests. So that is the point. whatever happens to us is what we need to have happen to us in order for growth to occur the way that the Master wants it to. And what we do in response. well that is up to us. And that is where we can make mistakes or not. But even if we make mistakes, it can be viewed as having a positive side. Master Kirpal used to say that if you fall down while walking and if you pull yourself up at least you have advanced one body length further on the way. From that perspective there is no real failure. There is no way to fail. Whatever happens the Master will use it. for our advantage. He loves us and He is dealing with us from that vantage point of love. There is no way around that fact. So all of this is by way of saying: we must remember what the Master is telling us to do at this time. Let us remember Sant Ji's message. And let us remember that we don't have to worry. Certainly 14 SANT BANI

16 we can long for Him and we can have the desire to sit at His feet again. That is all very legitimate. I believe those wishes will be answered, and they will come true. And once again He will smile at us and He will love us the same way we have seen Him do it in the past. That will happen, but we can't make it happen. We can't force it, we can not move past this period simply by exerting our individual wills. The only way we can be of service at this time is to be open, absolutely open, to what it is that the Master wants us to do. And even then we can't draw conclusions as to the results of those efforts, because the results are often different than our expectations. The magical thread that ties it all together is that whatever the outcome, it is for the good of the soul, for the ultimate release of the soul from the traps and attachments of the physical world. So why not let go, why not embrace it all fully. So when the Master pulls someone in a given direction, and they think it is for one purpose and then it turns out it is for something else, there is a certain amount of confusion inherent in that type of situation. But for one blessed with a little receptivity, he or she remains content, because they know that what they were doing was what the Master wanted them to do. And they know that whatever the Master is giving them is exactly what their soul needs. The confusion usually results from other people who add in their own conclusions and assumptions. So I can speak for myself only - but I think that I speak for a great many other people too - that I am willing to do whatever the Master wants, but He is going to have to make it happen. That is to say, the impetus, the energy, the will, all of that has to come from Him. And this is true with anybody who is being called upon in some way to be instrumental in the Master's work, no matter who it is or when it is. The energy, the will, the impetus, come from the Master, not from the person. This is not something that we can make happen, nor can we assume that anyone else will make it happen. In addition we can not necessarily assume that the Master will work through any given individual. So I hope everyone will grasp the essence of what the Master is telling us to do at this time. You know we are being taken care of as much as we ever were. There is no reason to be afraid. We should remember that being afraid is the greatest sin of all. There is no reason for that. Instead let us focus on our Simran and Bhajan each day. We are being taken care of and we can see the evidence of that in our daily lives if we look for it. It's all okay. And the Master will come when He will come. March 1999

17 SANT BANI

18 Remain Firm on the Truth Sant Ajaib Singh Ji w hatever I say is with the Grace of my Master Sawan Kirpal. The time is very difficult. The minds of the people have gone astray. All are the thieves of the meditation of Naam, but are clever in becoming Masters. I say this because I have initiated many dear ones. I have honestly and with true heart done the mission which my Gurudev gave to me. From within I do not have the orders of my Gurudev to reveal that I will leave this world on such-and-such a day or a certain time. Saints do not show such miracles. They do not perform the dollsf play. For a long time, for many months, I have been thinking of saying all this, because whenever Saints leave the body - even when my Masters Sawan and Kirpal left Their bodies - many parties were formed. For the properties people went to the courts, which later on gave an excuse for people to laugh and say, "Look at the disciples of the Perfect Master fighting with each This is Sant Ji's message to the sungat recovded on September 5, 1986, in Rajasthan, India. March 1999 other." My Master Kirpal had said, "Do not go to the courts. Come back. This will be in your interest." I have always been telling this to the dear ones through hints, but alas, no one paid any attention to it, and life became very uncomfortable. This is not a machine which would go on working endlessly. In the end it has some limit. I am saying all of this with the orders of my Gurudev, that no one should do the false Mastership, and no satsangi should follow anyone false. One has to settle the account for every mistake. To do the work of Mastership, to give the Naam [is difficult]. I say this from my experience, and we know from the writings of the Masters, that the false Guru gets the maximum punishment. And the false disciples also get the maximum punishment. I have said this in many Satsangs. Whatever experiences Sunder Das had with Master Kirpal, Mr. Oberoi has written exactly the same. If anyone has any doubts, he can read it. The writings of the Saints are not to scare us nor to tempt us. The seed is

19 never destroyed in the sangat. There are those who understand me. In the ashram my children [Balwant and Gurmel] and the Lala family [the family of Gurmel's grandfather, Lala], have served me a lot. I appreciate it. But I am sorry that what I have been telling Lala for the last thirty years, he did not make any effort to do it - even though I loved him, making him as my father. [According to Gurmel, when Sant Ji was meditating, He would always invite Lala Ji to sit with Him.] Hazur Kirpal used to say that love goes both ways; it is not one way. The moth loves the flame, but the flame does not know. Whenever the moth comes above the flame, the flame burns it. I very much appreciate my children, Gurmel, Balwant, and Balwant's young child, Sukhpal, who always gave me love even though she is a child. The principle of Saints is that they give the work of Mastership only to the One for Whom God Almighty has given it to Them to hold in trust. They say, "You have to do the work," and They give Him that. You can read the story of Prithvia (Guru Arjan Dev's brother, who wanted to be the successor); it comes in the bani. Ramdas says, "Son, why do you fight with your father? It is not good to fight with the elders." I say all, of this because later on, after the Saint leaves, people fight over the properties, which is not appropriate. If the one who has made so much leaves it after making it, what hope do the heirs have to take it with them when they themselves leave? Kal does not lose any opportunity. Afterwards he leads our minds astray and makes us fight with each other. Officially, going to the home of the government, I have legally deeded this one murabba of land [approximately 16 acres] to my children Balwant and Gurmel, so that later on no one may bother them. These children are not hungry for this property, but since I have seen so much in my life, [I know that] afterwards people who have gone astray themselves lead others astray. With the grace of my Master I have lived my life very lovingly. In my whole life I never tried to fight with anyone. I have never used any part of the innocent body which I got from the Almighty Lord for any evil, even though allegations were made against me, which I received in the love of my Master. I always had this in my heart, and I always believed, that Truth is, after all, Truth. "Remain firm on the Truth." This was the saying of Guru Kirpal. Never in my heart was the feeling of taking revenge created. SANT BANI

20 I am happy saying all of this to my children. Never accept any donation and consume it. They have enough property for their maintenance. They should earn and live. Very happily they can do the Satsang only at the ashram. If they are my children, if they have become mine, they should definitely not mourn for me, as I am not going after doing anything bad. They are very dear to me with body and mind. If someone says, "They didn't call me, they didn't include us in this (the final rites)-" It is not in their control, because I myself have given them instructions, which I hope they will follow. Saints do not come into this world to make Their tombs. Specifically I would like to instruct them according to the tradition of the Saints, not to make any place of mine. Saints are not attached to any place. They come from the Shabd and merge in the Shabd. One gets such a Saint only if he is the most fortunate one. I have always said, "What is the use of taking Naam from the Saint if one has to come back to this world again and again like the ghosts? Naam is the insurance of life." I will only make this request to the sangat. I did not remain in

21 hiding. My Master did not let me hide myself. He gave the spiritual wealth to everyone wholeheartedly. People came from the West and I told them only this, "Now the Mauj (Will) of Kirpal is created only to give. Dear Ones, take It." I am very happy that they appreciated the Spirituality. The dear ones who helped me, like Russell Perkins, Norma Fraser, the Bagga family, Dr. Molina, Don Macken, and many other dear ones who did not understand me as a human being, they understood me as the Form of God. I will recommend all of them to my beloved Master. He is the Forgiver and the Gracious One. I have not said this to upset anyone. My ashes should be spread in the fields, and the remains should be immersed in the canal. No one should try to make any place [as a monument]. If they think, "If we will bury Him in a good way, make some good place for Him, something of His will increase; but if we do not, something of His will decrease-" Kabir Sahib says, "If you offer sandalwood to the dead, what reward can you get from it? If you put dirt on the dead, what does he lose?" I have always maintained, "It is better to die in a place away from home where no one is your mother or father, where no one cries or weeps, and no one becomes sad." Today the date is the ninth month, September 5th. The time is approximately 9 p.m. Once again I say that those in the sangat who will remain strong will be protected the most. If you will be divided in parties, then Kabir says, "What can the poor Master do if there is lacking in the disciples? The blind one does not accept anything, like the blowing of air in the bamboo." I hope that whatever I have said - the instruction is the same for everyone, whether one is from the West or the East, because the dear ones are spread all over - and that is, "Remain strong!" Of course, if you find someone who has meditated like my Master made me meditate, very happily you can take advantage of him. I am ready to help you in that case. Do not follow the false one; do not waste your life. Sawan was told that people have made many parties. Sawan said, "They are still very few. The time will come when no one will be willing to become the disciple. Everyone will prove himself to be a guru and will say, 'I am the only true one!' " So I hope that all of you will lovingly [carry on] - this is a kind of Will which I have spoken - not on legal papers - which will always remain valid in the sangat. Much love and best wishes to the whole sangat. 2 0 SANT BANI

22 To Our Strangely wonder ful Saint, Sant Ji you left this plane of suffering and pain, In the midst of the greatest affair. YOU diverted our minds from the passions and binds, Then left us in despair! ~eloved Lord, unsheath Thy sword, And cut away the chains! For in Your love, we'll rise a b ove, The sadness and the pains. The souls are Yours, and to the shores, Of Sach Khand they wj1 go. But until then, come back again, And save us from this woe. JAIMAL WARFIELD March 1999

23 The Unveiling He has come, the voice cries, he is born He is there, the star shines to the sky Then the hallow of the wind In the night's silent stare Tells who it is That has come everywhere On His word, the world turns right anew By His grace, each is blessed their just due, As each tree and flower bows The saint turns to show us how, How to love and to live How to love and forgive For He has come, He is born, He is Now printed anonymot~sly at the poet's request SANT BANI

24 Efforts and Grace Work Side by Side Sant Ajaib Singh Ji Sant Ji, I've had several dreams oj You. How do I know if they 're just my mind or if You've come to me in my dreams? I think that this question has been answered many times and I think it was published in the Sant Bani Magazine also. I would like to tell all of you that whenever you read the magazine you should read it carefully. Anyway, I will reply to this question again. We get the dreams always on the level of mind and the organs of senses. When our soul is below the Eye Center, our daily activities change their form and we get dreams of them. In the worldly dreams we do not get any happiness, there is no joy, because they are the changed form of our day to day activities. Many times when we get the worldly dream, instead of getting any happiness or joy we become upset. The lower level of the organs of senses is filled up with dirt and garbage. That is why when we get the This question and answer- session was given October 31, 1982 at Sant Bani Ashram, Rajasthan, India. dreams of a worldly nature we do not experience any peace or happiness. Since Master is the highest being that is why He never goes down below the Eye Center. If He went below the Eye Center, at the level of the organs of senses, then we would have His dreams every day and we would not find any peace and happiness even after seeing Him in our dreams. Master is a pure soul and He is not bound in the body. He is not dirty with the worldly pleasures, that is why He always tells us to abstain from the worldly pleasures and become pure. God is very pure and God sends the Master, Who is a great soul, making Him so pure that He is not affected by the worldly dirt. Even though He is living in the world but still He is not affected by the worldly pleasures and the [worldly] dirt. He always remains pure. That is why He emphasizes keeping our lives pure. I'll give you an example: If there is a sleeping child who is being bothered by mosquitoes and flies, no matter how busy his mother is still she will take care of him. She will keep the flies and mosquitoes March 1999

25 24 SANT BANI

26 away from him and maybe she would put some mosquito net or a sheet on the boy, and if his face is dirty, she will clean that. The boy is sleeping and he does not know what is happening with him. He does not realize that his mother is taking care of him even when he is sleeping. In the same way, Satguru never forgets us. After giving us Initiation He does not remain unaware of us. He always takes care of us; He always nourishes us. What does the Master do when we are sleeping? You know that when we are asleep we are sleeping carelessly and we do not know about ourselves. We don't know what's happening near us when we are sleeping. We don't have any consciousness while we are asleep. At that time Satguru is using His gracious sight and He is washing our soul. When He comes to us He has come to give us His grace, but since we have made our soul so dirty, all the grace which we receive during sleep is used up in washing our soul. If our soul were pure, whatever grace we would get from Him during sleep would take us right up. But since we are indulging in the worldly pleasures and doing all sorts of worldly things which make our soul dirty, that is why when we have the presence of the Master during sleep His grace is used up in cleaning our soul. Sometimes when our mind has become quiet during sleep our Mas- ter pulls our soul up into the higher planes. He gives us a lot of experience and by getting those experiences one gets intoxication, one gets a lot of love and one likes that place very much. Many times during our dreams when our mind has become quiet the Master takes our soul up in the higher planes and He gives us many warnings, but since the disciple has not visited the higher planes in a state of consciousness and since he has not seen the Radiant Form of the Master in meditation, that is why he does not understand that and that is why he does not appreciate that experience. He thinks that like the other worldly dreams, it was also a dream in which he saw the Master. He does not understand that through that experience he was getting a lot of grace from the Master. From South America I received a letter from an initiate who was in an automobile accident last month in which one person was even killed. Before he met with that accident he had received a warning from the Master many times, but he did not pay any attention to it. Later, when the accident happened, he realized that Master had been giving him a warning, but he did not pay any attention. Many times Master tells us what is going to happen, but since we are obeying our mind that is why we do not appreciate the warning of the Master; we do not understand what Master is telling us.

27 Just imagine if anything bad is going to happen with you and without accepting any fees or asking for anything in return Master travels thousands of miles and comes to you and tells you that this thing is going to happen to you and you should be aware of it - and if we do not understand that, if we take that experience as just a dream and if we do not take any action, take any precautionary measures, what other mistake could we make? And you can think, What more grace can a Master do for the disciple? He may travel thousands of miles to tell you that this is what is going to happen with you and you should do something to avoid this, and if we are not doing that, what else can we do as far as our mistake is concerned? Many times I have explained that some Mahatmas are like the hen, some are like the tortoise, and some are like the cuckoo bird. The Mahatmas of the highest degree are like the cuckoo bird. You know that when the hen lays her eggs she sits on the eggs and hatches them, and if any egg goes [astray] she [retrieves] that egg and sits on it and in that way she hatches her eggs. In the same way, the tortoise lays her eggs on the ground and while living in the water, using her attention, she hatches her eggs. And you know that the cuckoo birds lay their eggs in the mountains in the winter and they come to the flat land to spend their winter because it is very cold in the mountains, and through their simran they hatch their eggs. In the same way, the Mahatmas who are not of the highest degree can take care of the disciples only when they are near the disciples. But the Mahatmas of the highest degree work like the cuckoo bird: distance does not make any difference to them. In one minute They can go to America just by remembering that place; in one minute They can come back to India. Distance does not make any difference. In fact, many times it happens that the Mahatmas of the highest degree may be giving Satsang and talking to [the] people at one place and at the same time They are taking care of the souls at some other place. Hazrat Bahu said, "Although the Master is living hundreds of miles away from us, He has always kept us within His sight." That is why Bhai Nand La1 said, "[For You] it is the question of Your one glance. and on my side it is the question of my whole life. Your one glance can liberate my whole life." Guru Nanak Sahib said that with only one glance the Perfect Master can liberate us. Such great souls are always ready to give us Their grace. Master Kirpal often used to say that the giver has no problem. since He has come into this world to give; the only problem is with the receivers. Now the question arises of our receptivity, and the question is of our 2 6 SANT BANI

28 faith in Him. It depends on how we appreciate, understand, and receive the grace of the Master. Master Kirpal Singh Ji said that he used to see Master Sawan Singh's Form in the within, seven years before he met Him physically. Just imagine if he also had understood [this] as we are understanding: if he also had not understood the Form of the Master, if he had not had faith in Master Sawan Singh he would have never become successful in his devotion. Regarding myself I have said many times how I started seeing the Form of Swami Ji Maharaj a year before I met Master Kirpal Singh Ji, in which I would see Swami Ji Maharaj clean-shaven, and His hair was also short. He started appearing within me only a few months before I met Master Kirpal Singh in His real form. When I met Master Kirpal I told Him about all that I was seeing. We people just go on fighting about the useless things and we do not realize that this Path is of love and devotion, this Path is of yearning, this Path is of purity. Our efforts and the grace of the Master work side by side. If we make efforts we will definitely get the grace of the Master because He is sitting within us. He is not unjust. Whenever He sees us making the efforts He will at once open His door for us. Swami Ji Maharaj said that the Shabd will get opened by the grace of the Master, and the mighty Master will pull your soul inward. The Master is always waiting at the Eye Center with the key to the door of the Real Home, and He is waiting for us. Why has He come into this world? He has come into this world carrying the key to the door of the Real Home for us; God has sent Him for our benefit. You can never enter the Kingdom of God if you do not have the grace of the Master. Without the grace and the help of the Master we can not take even one step in the Path of the Masters. There are two powers which work in our body. One is the mind and the other is the Power of Shabd Guru. When we meditate for a couple of days, or if we have abstained from indulging in the worldly pleasures, if we have not used the organs of senses a lot, if we have remained pure for a couple of days - then our mind will start working like a competent lawyer. He will tell us, "You have been doing this for such a long time and still you have not gotten any results." And then he will create a feeling of hurriedness within us. He will say, "You have wasted all your time and have gotten nowhere. You should have gotten the results soon after you started meditating." Just still yourself at the Eye Center even for a little bit. Then you will see how much the flames of love are burning within you. Then March 1999

29 you will see how Master is waiting there and how He is ready to help you to fight with the five dacoits. No doubt the five dacoits are very mighty and they have bothered the whole world, but you are not all alone in the battle with them. When you get to the Eye Center you have your Master with you. He is ready to help you and He is patting you on your back. He is telling you, He is inspiring you, to fight with them. As Guru Nanak Sahib said, "No doubt these five dacoits are great wrestlers, but you have the grace of the Master with you. Go ahead and fight with them." When the disciple gets to the Eye Center and when he gets to see the Master, after that he can always fight with the five dacoits because Master is there to inspire him. Master tells him, "Don't be disappointed if you are defeated at [first]. Look at the condition of the ant: she is trying to climb the wall. Many times she falls down, but again she tries, and [eventually] one day she becomes successful in getting to the top. In the same way, don't become disappointed if you are defeated. Keep on trying and one day, with the grace of the Master, you will definitely become successful." In India, in many places, when two wrestlers come together to fight, or when there is some competition, they beat a drum and that gives the inspiration to the people who are taking part in that competition. In the same way, when we come to the Eye Center and when we listen to the Shabd which is sounding there, our soul gets intoxicated and we get the inspiration to fight these dacoits and to go to the higher planes. Our soul starts dancing like a peacock starts dancing when it sees the clouds in the sky and it is about to rain. How does meditation increase our love and devotion? By doing it. [mich, much latighter] I know You've spoken on this before but I seem to need some more encouragement. I have been to India now - this is my fourth time - and as the time goes on I talk more and more; I know this is not good. Could you please encourage me a little more to control my tongue? In Sant Mat talking too much has no importance and in the same way talking [very] little is also not important. You should talk only when you have to talk, only when it is very important. Otherwise, don't involve yourself in useless talking. All the Saints have said that you should maintain discipline. that you should abstain from talking too much. I have seen many people who go on talking about useless things throughout the day and in the evening when they go back to their home they tell their children to give them [a] mas- 28 SANT BANI

30 sage because they have a headache. Sometimes they take some medicines and they put a piece of cloth around their head to control the headache. They should think about this when they are talking. They get headaches only when they talk too much. Sant Ji, there seems to be a lot written about chastity by the Masters, not much about chastity in dress. In our country there seems to be a problem ofchastity in dress. This is what the young men say. I can 'tfind much written about it or discourses on it. What can we [tell] the new initiates about it? Would Sant Ji comment on chastity in dress? No one can satisfy lust by wearing different types of clothes, and there is no way to maintain chastity by wearing different types of clothes. If one could maintain chastity by wearing certain types of clothes then what was the use for the Masters to work so hard in maintaining chastity? The physical residence of lust, anger, greed, attachment and egoism is at the Eye Center and its astral [residence] is in Trikuti. So unless we rise above the Eye Center and unless we go beyond Trikuti and reach Daswan Dwar, we cannot control lust in any way. Regarding choosing the clothes, one should dress according to what their society is wearing, because wherever you live, you have to live according to the [customs of the] people living there. As Guru Nanak Sahib said, "Somebody wears blue clothes, someone wears yellow, but one cannot control lust by wearing any particular type of clothes." Unless we do the meditation of Shabd Naam we cannot maintain chastity. Master, what are the twenty-five prakritis and other forces affecting the soul 's progress? These are the natures which we have. Lust, anger, greed, attachment and egoism are the bigger forces, but the twenty-five prakritis are the twenty-five different natures, or you can call them attitudes, which we have. They are also in our within. You can even understand them as the powers of mind. You can even call them the desires, good or bad. Sant Ji, in the West there's an epidemic of many bad diseases - cancer, high blood pressure, circulatory problems - and many people die from these, more so in the West than the East. In treatingpeople who are dying, doctors often have them on painkilling drt~gs and medication which leaves the patient qtiite groggy and foggy of mind, sleepy. If some satsangi who we know is hospitalized and it's their end time and they're treated by a doctor with medication which may leave their minds foggy - I was wondering - it's probably important that they March

31 have a clear mind so that their Sinzran will be strong at their end time. Should their fellow satsangis ask the doctor to remove the drugs so that they will have a clear mind and be ready jor the end time, or should they just let it be in the hands of the Master and not interfere in any way? The diseases which you have mentioned are all over the world. It is not only in the West; in the East also many people are suffering and dying because of these diseases. Everywhere the doctors are using the same methods, almost the same methods, according to their understanding. I have seen many people suffering with so many diseases, especially in the army when soldiers had been shot and they had many bullets in their body. The doctors used a lot of painkillers and other things which would make the body unconscious and the mind foggy in order to remove those bullets or to operate on them. It is very important for the doctors to make the patients' minds unconscious, because when our mind stops having the power of thinking only then we will be able to get rid of the pain. So it is a must for the doctors to use the painkillers. The wise doctors, mostly before giving their patients painkillers or before making them unconscious, tell them that they should remember God or that they should remem- ber the One Whom they are worshipping. The satsangis know that they have to remember the Master. So mostly the wise doctors always tell the patients to remember God so that when they are made unconscious they may have the remembrance of God and God may help them. During the Second World War, when Master Sawan Singh was still in the body, I saw many of His disciples who were in the army going through many types of treatments. I saw that when they were being operated upon they would always remember the Master and then they would have Master sitting with them or standing by their bed during the operation, and after the operation they would tell the people how the Master was there to take care of them and how they did not feel any pain. So if anything like that happens with any satsangi, what should he do? Before becoming unconscious, before taking the painkillers and the medicines which make one unconscious and the mind foggy, one should do the Siinran of the Master and remember Him. When the dear one will repeat the Simran and will remember the Master, the Master will come there and He will take that disciple in His lap and sit there hust] as a mother takes her son and sits there with her son in her lap. Whenever you will remember the Master, Master will come there and He will help you. 3 0 SANT BANI

32 I have seen many doctors who are so wise that many times before making the patient unconscious they ask him, "Do you have any Master or Pir or any Teacher? If so, you should remember Him." So I think that if you will interfere in what the doctor is doing, how will he be able to do his work? The doctor does not have any enmity towards the patient. Whatever he is doing, whatever he is giving to the patient, is for his benefit. I have seen many doctors, those who are God-fearing, who before starting any major treatment always remember God and then they start working. No matter that they are not satsangis but I have seen many doctors, those who are very sensitive and God-fearing who, when they are doing the surgery, always remember God and they always say that God is the one who is going to cure the patient. Guru Nanak Sahib said, "Only that treatment becomes successful in which God Himself is taking part." Kabir Sahib said, "The doctor says, 'I will do my best in giving the medicine and taking care of the patient, but the breathing, the life, is in the hands of God. Whenever it will please Him He will take these breaths out of the body. I cannot do anything as far as the breathing is concerned; I can only give the medicine.' " When Sant Ji goes to South America, can people from the United States go there or are there restrictions? Next month the group from South America is going to come and then we will talk about it and decide the dates and we'll see what the arrangements there are. I don't think there will be any restrictions, but we will inform you later on. Last night You said that in many instances we should keep our love for the Master a secret so as not to cause problems with our friends and the society around us. At other times I've heard that we should shout the Path of Naam from the rooftops. I would like You to talk about the dfference. There is a little bit of a difference in understanding both things. There is a proverb which goes like this: If you have the Truth with you, even if you just dance in your courtyard, people fi-om far away will know that you have the Trtlth. Only one who has made his soul very strong and who has manifested the Naam within him can shout the Path of Naam from the rooftops. Only he can tell people that he has got the Truth and that people should follow him. But we people are stuck in the world and are giving the example of the lovers, and we pretend as if we are the real lovers. We do not want to take even a single step in the Path of Love and still we expect the en- March 1999

33 joyment just by talking about it. I was talking about those weak souls who are even afraid of coming to the Satsang, those who think, "What will other people say if they know that I am going to the Satsang?" This was only when the dear ones start coming, in the beginning, and they are afraid of society and other people. This is only for them, that in the beginning they should love the Master in such a way that the other people may not know and may not bother them. Try to remember in the beginning when you got the Initiation how much your mind was giving you trouble and how much pressure you were getting from other people. But now when you have become strong in the devotion, now you think that it is far better for you to go on singing the glory of Master without worrying about what the world says about you. I have heard this from the blessed mouth of Baba Sawan Singh, that when he invited Baba Jaimal Singh to do the Satsang in his home he was afraid of the people. He thought that if Baba Jaimal Singh would comment on the bani of Swami Ji Maharaj, on the Sar Bachan, what would people think? People might think that he was no longer following the Guru Granth Sahib, that he had left the Sikh religion and that was why he was believing in the writing of some other Master. That is why he requested Baba Jaimal Singh to comment on the Guru Granth Sahib and he himself brought the Guru Granth Sahib and had Baba Jaimal Singh give the Satsang on it. Sawan Singh wanted to please the people who were around him, that's why he did that. But he used to say that in the evening when Bibi Rukko, the sevadar who was accompanying Baba Jaimal Singh, went up on the roof and started singing the hymns of Swami Ji Maharaj, for a few minutes in the beginning he felt embarrassed, but later on all his public shame and all his embarrassment went away. SANT BANI

34 Scrnt Ji greeting the cooks and servers at the lang~zr., Sant Bani Ashr-am, Jcdy 1996