So Masters did See. The Masters did See and then said something. We cannot really appreciate what they say, really appreciate, I would say. That is why I say unless you see for your own self, don't believe even the sayings of the Master. That is a very open truth. All outer ceremonies are secondary. They are symbols to say there is something: All say so, you see.
    Kabir says, "I'm going away to be married with God--Oh people, I'm going away to be married with God." Marriage of the soul with the Oversoul. Can we say that? So first see and then say. The vast difference between a Saint and others is that others may give long connotations of philosophy, but really they have never seen Him. So bookish knowledge is all wilderness, no way out. Even the sayings of the Masters are not understood in their right perspective... unless you see. All say God is light; all say God is Light. Nobody says God is darkness, nobody says it. Those who have not Seen, also say God is Light. It is just saying without seeing. So foremost thing is to see first and then say. And don't deceive your own self. We deceive our Self, God first, then others. It is Masters only who said, "See, then say. There is God." Others only say by drawing inferences, by feelings. And they're all subject to error. Masters say: "We've seen." Where? In this manbody, where there's the whole universe. Why can't we see? This is a natural question which arises. You say, "You've seen Him in the temple of the manbody. Well, how? Why can't we see when He's here? If there's Light here; I'm here, why can't I see the Light?" The mind is between us. We are in control of mind. Mind is in control of outgoing faculties, and outgoing faculties are driven by outer enjoyments. Unless we withdraw from outside, from the entanglements of the outgoing faculties, mind and intellect, we cannot see. They say, "What is the proof?." Sit and see, that's all. They may have something to start with according to each man's background. But there is something. So the criterion of a Saint, of a Master, is only one who can give you some demonstration, may be little or more.
    All the Masters, most all scriptures say so. You may have all these scriptures learned by rote; may have filled your brain with all of them. What's the good of that? Can you taste anything from the spoon which is going through the pudding without taking any? No. This is a very simple natural way of telling you. They say they've Seen. They require no philosophy to prove their theories. They say, "All right, there is God, go and see. Son knows the Father and others whom the Son reveals." You may learn the biographies of Saints. They give you something special in each man's life. If people begin to read the biographies of Saints they'll gather more than all the scriptures. Each Saint has his own beauty, his greatness. There was some principle working in Their lives.
    So, the main thing is, you have got the manbody. What is the highest thing that you can do in the manbody? It is to know God, to see God. Guru Nanak was asked, "With what eyes do you see God?" He said, "It is not the eyes of the flesh and bones, but the inner eye that sees, O Nanak." The Bible says, "If thine eye be single thy whole body shall be full of light." It is not one of the outer eyes to which he refers. "It is better to enter in the world with one eye rather than two, because if you always work through two eyes, you'll go to Hell." This is the digest of all teachings, you see. Have you seen? That's all right. Grow more. See, see, see and so much see that you forget yourself--so that you may say, "It is not I, it is not I, but Christ lives in me." And the means to it is only love. Love develops receptivity. Your own self is now in that Overself so much so that you forget yourself. This is why St. Paul said, "It is I, not now I, but Christ lives in me." These are the very facts. This is what is called Gurumukhta--Actions of a Guru. When you absorb through Love, you forget your other self. You will arise into the true Self, egress, become born. You become one.
    Last night I was giving you some different views of Christianity. I've got no new religion with me. Why? It would lead people astray, further astray. They would be involved in more vagaries, what to say of ignorance. Believe what He says. Because what He says, He sees. Others say what they have not seen but only as a matter of inference or feeling and they're all subject to error. So seeing is above all. So God is all alone, you see. He has got no father, no mother. He wants everyone to come to Him all alone. He does not want you to bring your children, your outer matters, or your physical body or your own intellect. He does not want all these things. Come alone, go to Him all alone. He's waiting for you. Meditation means only that. What does meditation mean? To be all alone with Him, is it not? That is all. Very simple way. There is nothing difficult. People have made it hard to understand from their own intellectual wrestlings. You want to go to Him all alone, then withdraw from outside. If you're involved in outer things, how can you go to Him? And even if you sit before Him at all, like a blind man, even then you'll want from Him. "Give me this thing, give me that thing, give that thing . . . things of this world or the other world." One Saint has prayed--in fact that's a very ideal prayer, "Oh God, I want a gift from you." What is that gift? "I should not ask anything from You. You do what is best for me." Sometimes we do pray and get [what we have prayed for], later on we repent. Why did we ask for it, is it not so? So the best prayer is "Oh Master, Oh God, give us what You think best for us, we want to come back to You, that's all."
    How can the man who is involved in so many outer things go? Christ gave a parable like that. It is easier for what--Do you know?--For a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. How can the man who is involved in so many outward things--101 irons in the fire--withdraw from outside? That's the first problem: How can you withdraw? You enjoy outside and unless you get more blissful enjoyment inside you cannot withdraw from outside. A child who is playing with playthings, won't leave them unless you give him something sweet.
    Some run and then recede. God helps those who do not help themselves. God also helps those who help themselves, but only those who help themselves and forget in all that effort, lose themselves, only then, not before. Which is the easier one? First or second?

Not to help yourself.

    Don't help yourself. You'll see. You'll have progress. You'll hear. Just withdraw, go back to your own self. That's all.

And it isn't a matter of belief, is it?

    Belief?

Depending on how much our faith is...

    Look here, faith comes only as a result of the reaction of the past; or if you see something. How does faith come? Either as a reaction of the past--man is in the make--or if he has received something substantial before him. When the Pakistan-India war broke out, I remember very spiritual religious people who were praying to God night and day, like that. Thousands were killed. They said, "Where oh God, oh where are you?" Because they did not see, their faith breaks away. Faith remains only so long as you have everything to meet your own desires. If that is not given, then... So faith is the root cause of all religions, that's true, but faith arises how?. That's the point. Either as reactions of the past, or if you have something substantial before you. So blind faith does not help you, only to a certain extent, not beyond. When everything goes according to your wish and pleasure, then, "Oh God is all right." But if you are put to adversity and nobody helps you, 'Oh where is God?' Preaching only goes to the heart from such people who talk from the abundance of their heart, from what they are. The arrow that is driven to the breast goes to the target. What comes from the level of the mouth of the intellect, words with so many sermons and lectures and so many books, can have little or no effect. And those are given only from the level of, if I may use the word, belly. How can they help? They are not after the real things. So first see and then say, that's the point. Usually I write in my circulars, group leaders and others should speak of what they're fully convinced. Otherwise say, "All right we've learnt this." That's all. Sometimes we act as bosses, "Oh this is all right. My word is the word of God." There are people like that; generally very few. They don't carry further effect to the people as they are colored with the worldly colors so much so that no other colors can come through.
    So this topic is to see and then say. Follow the words of the Master or the Saints. They come from time to time. They have been coming, they may come in the future too. There's no hard and fast rule against it, because we are all His children. The Father will look after His children, in what way? To bring back the prodigal sons, you see.
    So, leave all philosophies, I would say. The word philosophy means, do you know what? Love of God. It comes from the word philosophia, love of God, and the philosopher is one who loves God. Now we take it in a different way. We don't go to the root of the words. Somebody asked Socrates, "Do you love truth? .... Yes." "Do you love Plato?" He said, "Yes, I love Plato." "Who do you love more? .... I love Truth more than Plato." You love Plato because you've understood God, you see. So we all should be philosophers. Nowadays the word philosophy means, intellectual wrestling, drawing inferences, that's all. Do you now follow what is the difference between the sayings of a Saint and others? These things are not clear in books, I tell you honestly. Philosopher is one who loves God, who loves God, sees Him. So I am giving you what I've come to in my life. I wish you the same, you see. Every father wishes his children to develop even more than himself. But there's no goal except to be with Him There. They are all One There. We're all micro-Gods, sons of the same Father, brothers and sisters in God. That's the open Truth. We've made it hard to understand. I'm a Christian, I'm a Mohammedan, I'm a this, I'm a that. Well those are the badges you are wearing on your body, are they not? You're a man. You're not even a man, you bear the body of a man. You are something else; a conscious entity. A drop of the ocean of all consciousness, environed by mind and matter and outgoing faculties, identified with them so much so that you have forgotten yourself, that's all. That is why I say, "Know Thyself, O man." I respect all scriptures. Masters came from time to time to teach according to the need of the hour. Puritans came in the west. They were Soldiers of the Truth, Khalsas. Khalsa means one who has got full Light of God refulgent in him. Whoever has got God refulgent in Him is the Son of God. Others are also Sons of God but they have not realised it, not even seen it. The Masters never say "we speak," they say, "He speaks." They become only a channel. They speak what comes, not what they want to speak, according to the need of the time, occasion. They speak books. They speak scriptures, scriptures came through Them, is it not so? They are men like you. They have the same manbody, born in the same way. So I wish you all to have the same perspective. You'll change like anything. So that comes through by loving God with all thy, heart, with all thy soul, with all thy strength. And further?

Love thy neighbor as thyself.

    Why? If you say you love God and you hate your brothers, then, you are a liar. Is it not so? This is what all scriptures say.
    There is only a diversion of your attention from this side to that side, that's all. One Bulleh Shah, a Saint, came to his Guru who was just a gardener, placing saplings here and there. He asked him how to get God, how to see God. "Oh, dear fellow, it's very easy. Like taking out a sapling from one place and putting it in another place." You are attention-Divert your attention from here to there. A very simple way of explaining. Withdraw your attention from outside, place it inside; then you'll see. They want you to see within. Then, "Let me see you, not the others." That's all. Where to see? Within your own self. He is your Controlling Power within you. You and He both reside in this very man-body. You want to see Him? Then put your whole attention in there. That's all. The same thing is explained in so many ways. So the only difficulty arises; we don't want to see God. Be sure. Don't deceive yourself. If you do want to see Him, surely you will see Him. He's waiting for you. But you're entangled here, there. You don't have to leave the world, but pay off your debts and go back home, please.
    Two things were before me after leaving my educational career: One, ambition of life. I was very fond of reading scriptures like that. In my school career, I read two libraries. I had two things before me: God or world. Nobody was to advise me. I went to the wilderness all alone at night from six, seven till twelve, one, two at night. Ultimately, I came to the conclusion: God first and world next. You see. The result was, every step taken was a step to that goal. "God first, Wait."
    Is God first or is world first? We take world first and God to help us in the world, that's all. Everybody must decide what he wants to do. We are adrift. Sometimes we want God, sometimes the World. So decide first what you want to do. Sometimes I tell people, "Decide what you want to do from this day on." You must have something before you; and work. Work for it, maybe only a step is taken but it will take you closer to the goal. Sometimes you are running like a hare, then sleeping, then again turning your head some other way. It's better to go regularly like a tortoise, step by step, step by step, every day, not turning but going ahead. So you are on the way. God is waiting for you, each one of you. He is also waiting for me. I want to go back. I tell you how far I'm imprisoned here.