The Necessity of a Living Master

A living Master is the only hope for the erring mankind;  a kindly Light to guide their faltering footsteps and a Saviour for the sinful. With the help of limitless Naam or Shabd, of which he is a vast treasure-house, he helps the jivas or the embodied spirits to cross safely over the ocean of life and gain Life Eternal.

The Master acts as a lodestar in all spiritual endeavours. He extends all feasible help to the disciple with His exhortations both within and without, and always keeps him steady on the right Path. Distance does not stand in His way. The Master's helping hand goes to the disciple far and near, in the burning desert sands, on the snow-capped mountain tops, and in the dreary wilderness. He exercises a healthy and corrective influence on the spiritual aspirants by releasing forces within His field of influence, like a mighty lodestone that holds marvellous attraction within its magnetic field. The Master is a mouthpiece of God. He is the Pole at which God manifests His Godhood. He may be likened to a switch which has in it the concentrated energy of the power-house.

Sant – the Master may seem an ordinary man to all external appearances. He is, however, a great deal more. He is a Perfect Man with the experience of outer and inner life. Outside experiences differ in various countries, but inner experience never. He may be defined as one brimming with Spirituality and above the life of the senses. He has freed Himself from various sheaths of grosser and finer matter, and He has seen the All Truthful with His spiritual eye. He is Competent to develop the spiritual possibilities lying dormant in man. He is charged by God Himself with the Magnetic Force. He is the mouthpiece of the Eternal. He has in Him the Refulgent Light of the Infinite, and He is Competent to Light the lamps of others.

Satguru is the real friend of the disciple. He saves him from tense and hopeless situations. He comes to his aid when he has despaired of all hope and relief, and is surrounded by seemingly powerful forces arrayed against him, From time to time the disciple feels the overpowering influence of the Master working for his good. At times he works in ways that are difficult for the disciple to understand. just as a mother waits in the early morning hours for her sleeping child to awaken, in the same way, even more anxiously, the Master looks forward wistfully to the time when his disciple, steeped in deep ignorance born of matter and mind, will raise his head, look toward him and gladden his heart.

The loving care of the Master becomes more manifest at the time of the disciple's final leave-taking from the world. While all his relatives and friends helplessly wait beside the sickbed, and the doctors declare the case hopeless, the Luminous Form of the Master appears to take charge of the departing spirit and guide it to the new world, to the judgment seat of God.

After that, he takes it to whatever region he thinks best, for further discipline and advancement on the path. …

All our worldly ties and connections are of an ephemeral character. Some leave us in poverty, some in adversity, some in illness. A few may stay beside us all through life, but they too fall away at the time of death. But Satguru is the real friend, who always overshadows the disciple and keeps his protecting arms around him wherever he may be. He stands by him at the time of his death and even goes along with his spirit as a guide to the other worlds. …

A soul awakened to Reality by a Satguru cannot be a prey to the messengers of death but must go with the Radiant Form of the Master, which comes to receive it when it casts off its physical raiment.

A Competent Master gives full instructions about the true Naam or Word to His disciples at the time of initiation. It is He, who inspires the holy Naam and makes it manifest in the initiates. He shows them that the treasure of Divinity lies hidden within, and He tells them how to get in touch with it.

When I went to the feet of my Master (Baba Sawan Singh Ji), after a few days I asked Him, "This method is very perfect. What is the proof that it will remain even after you?" That was a very insolent question, of course. But I did ask him, because I was very much interested in the competency of the system. Everybody gets experience and advances on the Way so quickly, about which we generally know very little. This is the last, ultimate thing which we have to attain. But the Master's grace is there: he gives it the very day of Initiation.

Then he said, "To whomsoever I will authorize, I'm responsible that this will continue. For others, I'm not responsible." It naturally happens that when a Master leaves the physical body, so many people take up the Way, considering perhaps that it is a matter of honor or income. So He said, "To whomsoever I will authorize, I'm responsible that this will continue. For others, I am not responsible."

"Three Questions" (Washington D.C., Jan. 21, 1964)
published in the Jul. '76 issue of Sat Sandesh

Question: What is a Sant or Master?

Answer: A Sant or Master in the Saints' terminology is one who goes to Sach Khand or the Fifth Plane and comes back at will, and who can give you experience of contact with Word or Naam.

A Mahatma is a word in the vernacular to convey a highly evolved Soul. These words are, however, not properly used these days and an ordinary person of small degree of piousness may be termed a Sant or Master. But you need not worry about words.

Master always holds the hands He takes. There is never a thought of loosening that tight hold. Master- Power will never leave nor forsake the initiate until the end of the world. He is a fathomless ocean of love Incarnate. Love knows only giving. So He gives and gives. He continually sends His grace to them. When the initiate sees the Master's inner glory and charm and listens to the strains of Music, he or she must respond, no matter what those who are ignorant may say. This is a Gift of the Master.

The Master is always with His initiates working over their heads and He is never unaware of their inner longings and feelings. He helps to wind up the karmic debts so that they need not return for another earthly sojourn.

When a Sant walks on the ground, the land becomes pure and sacred. When he walks over the grass or in walking crushes any worms or insects, they get a man's body direct, irrespective of the cyclic order and stages of evolution of creation of life on earth in Nature's science. The fruit trees and plants from which the cereal comes which a Sant uses in his diet also get human bodies directly. The tree, a portion of a branch of which the Sant uses as his datan (toothbrush), and the cows who provide milk for the Sants also get man's body direct. Similarly the mares, etc., Sants ride, the ants or worms whose bodies touch the flowing water in which a Sant bathes, or any flying bird who happens to see the naked portion of the body of a Sant also get the same advantage.

An ordinary man would take this as an enigma or joke and would hardly be prepared to believe because his testing stone is his intellect, and he knows nothing of the Power of God, or such powers delegated to or concessions inherent in the bodies of Sants, unless he acquires experience in the noble science that has been designed by God Himself for man. It is true that God is unseen to external eyes, but He has not left man all forlorn on earth so far as approach to Him is concerned. The door of approach, the starting point, for any search or research in this connection lies within man. The Sant is the means.

Master takes care of and extends protection for all who are dear and near to the disciple and looks after their best interests.

God-Man is the only True Friend. All worldly connections are severed at the time of death. All friends, all relatives, the wife and children must part. Who is there to accompany you to the other world? – the Word personified in the God-Man. He helps you in all your undertakings here and hereafter. The God-Man receives the initiates at the time of death, when all others fail. Like a never-failing friend, He always holds out His helping hand.

How to Recognize a True Master

The life and conduct of a perfect Master single him out as a unique personality apart from the rest of mankind.

How can we distinguish between a genuine and a false Master ? There is in fact no such testing stone or magical formula except that of self-experience, for discriminating right from wrong, truth from falsehood, and reality from unreality.

In these times then, when materialism is on the increase, we do not find competent Masters growing like mushrooms. So search we must, not allowing false propaganda, the testimony of others, blind faith, the promise of future happiness, and our regard for position, wealth and pleasure, to lead us astray.

Regarding Gurus and Masters, it may be remembered that everything seeming similar is not the same. Masters abound and from among those highly thought of or talked about preachers, the majority of them will not be found talking of self- experience, though they are able to express the theory side in a thousand different ways with the sweetest words possible. The only criterion for judging is one's own inner ascent to Spiritual Planes, whereby one can see for himself or herself and meet all the Masters, past and present, wherever they may be, in upper or lower planes. If one having experiences of the lower planes thinks and claims to be in the eternal Home, 'one with Him' and equal to those who have reached the Ultimate Goal, and begins to teach while he or she has much more to learn and to see, how would you accept him or her? The worst of it is that lay people are easily deceived by the acting and posing of such so-called, self-styled teachers as they are quite clever externally in talking about spiritual matters of which they have only a second-hand knowledge through books or hearsay. Even a loving disposition may be imitated to a great extent. That is the reason that the world is full of masters. Christ warns us: "Beware of false prophets who come in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves." Those who contact and talk to the Master within see everything in its true light; do not enter into fruitless discussions, but keep silent.

There are hardly any universal or common marks on the person of a Sant. Still, we need some clues, some key. We may point out, "Rishis and Munis are defined as those who possess knowledge of the past, present and future. Yogis, in addition to that, have miraculous powers to exhibit and attract. Of gods, it is said they do not cast a shadow. At least something must be said about genuine Sants and Sadhus by either the ancients or modems."

The reply is that for the ordinary layman and the negative-minded man, there can be hardly any indications that a man may be a Sant. For the slightly advanced on the path of love of God, and for those of astute observation, there can be given some hints and clues. Much patience is needed, however, to discover them:

Question: How does one determine a ‘Great Master’?

The Master: Swami Ji Maharaj in Sar Bachan has answered this question very beautifully. He exhorts that as and when you hear about a Saint or Master, just go to Him and in deep humility and reverence sit near Him. Just look into His eyes and forehead like a child with deep receptivity. You will feel an upward pull of the soul and Divine Radiation from His eyes and forehead. Besides, if you have any questions in your heart, these will be answered automatically by His discourse without your effort. Over and above all the testing criterion for the Perfect Master is to have the conscious contact of holy Naam within the lowest links of which in the form of Divine Light and holy Sound Current must be had on Initiation. Again He should be Competent to afford guidance for His initiates in the Astral Plane and must protect the soul at the time of their physical death.

Question: There are many self-styled masters. How may one know a True Master?

The Master: A True Master is dedicated to bring souls back to the True Home of their Father. A True Master gives more than mere theory. He gives experience to His disciple. He shows the way to God, which is within. God and Master are within. This question usually besets every true seeker after God. In my boyhood, I had the same doubts and questioning before me. I did not dare to go to any Master for fear of encountering an imperfect master and then my whole life would be one of frustration. So I earnestly prayed to God for guidance. My prayer was heard. A True Master began to appear to me in my medita- tions, about seven years before I came to Him physi- cally, whom I recognized to be the same Great Master Sawan Singh. Your question remains-how to recognize a True Master? Outwardly we should see that He has no selfish motives. He should be living on His own hard-earned money. He should not be fond of outward pomp and show. He will live a simple life. His thoughts will be pure.

His true qualifications will lie in His ability to give the initiate some first-hand experience by opening the inner eye to see the Light of God and inner ear to hear the Voice of God, the Sound Principle. The extent of this experience will be according to the back- ground of the initiate and his receptivity.

After Initiation the only rules for judging for one's self is one's own inner ascent to the Spiritual Planes whereby one can see for himself, and meet all Masters; Past or Present, wherever they are, in the Upper or Lower Planes.

Those who contact the Master inside and talk to Him know.

Concealment is the essential attribute of Sants. It is inherent in their character. God is concealed and prefers to remain so, from the external view of man. This Law is from the High One for those bodies in which the Lord is pleased to work. Disregard of this Divine Law results in bodily punishment. For this reason also, a Master Saint never shows any miracle for attracting souls from mundane life for purposes of initiation. A student or disciple, however, sees any number of miracles at each move in this world or next after initiation. Sants neither dress themselves distinctly nor bear nor keep any mark, sign or symbol with them. They do not say they are high of self, but mention their own Masters. When told they are great, they reply that it is none of their doing; it is the kindness and mercy of their Master.

In the company of a Sant the agitated mind becomes still. He stands for the good of man and does his work as a friend or brother, if one's mind is not prepared to accept him as a guide. He remains concealed, but by his very concealment is added fame to fame and glory to glory.

He does not see who a person is, what position he holds, or to what school of thought or race he belongs. He simply sees that one coming to him is an ensouled human being - man. The Sant is so watchful and alert a merchant of his precious goods (i.e., the spiritual science) that anybody who thinks himself the most clever, the wisest, the most highly educated, a performer of miracles, etc., cannot get even the scent of what he has, though one may try his very best. The Sant loves theists as well as atheists, or even the worst sinners or those who are drowned in sensual pleasures of the world, just as a loving mother will not throw away her child completely covered in dirt and filth.

It takes a Sant to know a Sant. A Sant alone can describe a Sant. His presence in the midst of any society or social group is its most precious adornment. He may be seen going from one place to another but he does not go there for any propaganda or selfish motive, but is attracted by the strong silken ties of love in certain hearts. He is the uplifting leader of moral cleanliness and spirituality. Whether a metal be gold or iron, it is mere metal to a Sant. He is not affected by offers of position of dignity or indignity, honor or dishonor, nor moved by joys and sorrows, praise or censure. Sovereignty, wealth and beauty of women are no attractions for a Sant. He is far above the influences of lust, anger, greed, attachment and ego. He is unaffected.