I don't always feel completely at ease in your presence, completely at home. I feel sometimes alienated, apart, you know, not completely at ease, as I feel I should feel, and it really bothers me.

    What is rankling in your mind? Open your mind.

Sometimes there's a resistance on my part.

    What is rankling in your mind? There must be something which causes revolt. Mind revolts, is it not? Then what is it? Open your mind. There's nothing to be afraid of, you see. Maybe right, maybe not right. Some heavy thought, negative thought, rankling in your mind.

I can't always pinpoint it down to one specific thought. But it's there.

    We have to train ourselves to do one thing at a time. You'll have to develop that habit of doing one thing at a time. As I told you so many times before, when you eat, be fully at eating; thank God. When you have some work, be fully at it. One thing at a time. Do you remember, I have given you instances in Napoleon's life. The night before the Battle of Waterloo was to be fought, he was writing the proceedings of a primary school. That was at one o'clock in the morning. The battle was to begin at nine o'clock. The same day at eight o'clock he was strolling in the garden. And his ministers were hovering here, there. 'What is it? What do you want?", he asked. "The battle is to be fought in one hour." "Oh, that is at nine o'clock; it is now eight," you see? That is what he said. So whatever urging by atmospheric charging comes, that is earthed, by not fully devoting your attention to one thing at a time. This is a helping factor.
    Kabir says, "Let us take a worldly point. There were two friends. One was very fond of going to the church, the other was saying it is time for playing a football match. Both were strong in their own way. One went to the church, the other went to the playing ground. So the one who was in the church was thinking, 'My friend must be kicking the ball,' and the one on the playing ground was thinking, 'My friend is praying to God.'" Which is better of the two? Do you follow? So that can be remedied only by developing your habit of doing one thing at a time.
    Suppose I come to receive you, but you are thinking about one thing or another, Bombay, Calcutta, or California. Your body is here of course, but you're not here, do you see? So presence of mind is required. Be there, where you are, then you'll derive full benefit of the charging of the atmosphere. That has to be developed by regular practice. Do all things. You'll have to adjust your time accordingly. Even if you give the busiest man something to do, he will do it, because he knows how to adjust. He'll snatch some time for that. But if you give it to some idler, he will probably say, "I will do it tomorrow; we'll see after that." Never expect him to do it.
    Try to finish some work daily. Perhaps you know the name of John Bunyan, who wrote, Pilgrim's Progress. His motto was to write something daily. And there was one Stanley, whose motto was to finish something daily. So I learned from Stanley to finish something daily. Complete it. Never put off for tomorrow what you can do today--this is the habit to be developed. And once mind is trained like that, naturally it will have the tendency to do that. If you reserve the same time during the day for meditation, and do it daily, after a while when that time comes you'll feel uneasy if you don't meditate. If you are going to a certain place daily, after two, three, four, five months you will find at the time your legs will be going that way naturally. That has to be developed, you see. So forget everything, past and future. Only live in the present: every minute is eternity.
    Tolstoy, a Russian writer, was a great man. Before anybody would come to see him, he wanted to see his photo first. The face is the mirror of the man. All your thoughts, every kind of thought, brings wrinkles and furrows. You will find men of the same profession have heads, foreheads and eyes that are similar. Thoughts are very potent, very potent. They bring out their openness. No wrinkles, here some wrinkles, there, and furrows come as a result of the thought action. So Tolstoy always used to request a photo first. Once he refused a man. And the man wrote him, "I'm not what you see." Man can change for the better, can he not? That is why it is said, you're the maker of your own destiny.
    Even a robber can become a Saint. There are instances like that. Do you know what special quality a robber has? When a robber decides something, he goes at the cost of his life. He will do it regardless. When a horse is very unruly, you have only to change the directions by using reins, that's all. What can a sick horse do? He can hardly walk. Even if he's put on the way, he's plodding and sighing like anything. So ornery strong horses are wanted. You must have something in you. The reins only need to be redirected.
    There was one student, graduated some years back who went to hear so many Saints in India. He bombarded them with questions. And they were unable to give him answers; They said, "You are not yet fit." His father came to me. He said, "There are so many like that" "All right, no matter, send him to me." When he came I told him, "Well, look here, write down all your doubts, all your questions, then sit in the room with me and lock the door. Keep the key and don't open unless you're satisfied. He went on questioning me for two hours, three hours, four
hours. Then he asked for and got initiation.
    You are great, you see, are you not?

I'm what, Master?

    You are great, great man in you. You can do what you say. Where there's a will there's a way. Be not manikin, you see. So simply form that habit. So man-body is affected, changed. You can go back to God, by directing your will, you might say. So all these difficulties only go to prove what? Don't feel manikin. You can do it. Just develop that habit by regularity. Do one thing at a time.
    Yes?

Is it a matter of purity to do one thing at a time and impurity if one mixes up several things at a time?

    You are earthing your electricity by impurity. If you develop and then lose it--what is the use of purity? One very potent factor is to have one thought at a time--the thought of God and nothing else. Is it not the one salient point of purity? One Saint prayed, "Oh God, come in to my closet. There is no one else there except you. There is a clear way for you. Nobody else resides here. Nobody dares to enter." Can you say that? Yes, you can. But develop it. Have it.
    What did Christ say to Satan? Stay a while. Tell your mind, "You want to eat? All right, I will give you something to eat, but wait, let us do this first." There's an example of this in a lady Saint's life. It is a long story of course. When she was young, she was going somewhere with her father and on the way dacoits, robbers, plundered everything from him and also took her away. They sold her to a prostitute. She had never dreamed of this sort of life. When she came of age they wanted her to have that profession. As she was sold, she could not refuse. First day she was sent in. When you have not committed any sin you cannot transcend that imperial wall. You will shudder, you'll be afraid. But once that imperial wall is broken, the way is clear. On the first day the man who came there said, "You should be happy, jolly and captivate my heart." But she was very sad, very pensive. Her eyes showed fear. "What's the matter with you?" he asked. The night came and she said, "All right, it is yet a long time before night, the whole night is ahead of us. Let us pray for a while." You see, she was in the habit of praying. The man said, "All right, let us pray." After some time she said to the man again, "Let us pray, there is still night ahead of us." You see? The praying affected him and he went away. He began to worship that lady Saint.
    Biographies give very great lessons, very practical lessons. When you find something dragging you down, if your friends are affected, you can sit down and pray. A man can change, you see. We are given only strong medicine because we are weak.
    This lady Saint had a very strange life. She was sold away to a brothel home. But while there she began to change people. Whoever went to her, never turned up at the brothel again. And the owners began to wonder what was wrong. They began to quietly watch her in the night. There she was sitting, sitting in prayer. Then she instructed the man to wash his hands and then sit down in meditation also. This happened again and again. The owners said, "Well, she's spoiling our profession, ruining our business." You see, so they set her free, this Mohammedan Saint.
    So I have learned that we can rise above even the worst of circumstances. Now you know what Christ meant when he told Satan to wait. You can see what greatness a man could observe from her life. There are also instances of suchlike people in the West. So reading biographies pays very much. You've learned some practical things, and how to do them.
When I went to Austria there was some fight going on with the Italian people. They were just preparing for war. At any moment war could have broken out. So naturally the governor said, "I'm in a dilemma. What should I do? My country is out for war. Any moment it may burst. What should l do?" I told him, "What is good, do at once, what is not good, try to reconcile through other means." And the result was there was no war. I received a message last month from the governor. "I'm waiting for you. When are you coming back?" You see, a very simple thing. What is good, do at once, what is not good, delay. Just try to divert your attention the other way. Tell Satan, "Wait, please." This was a good example given by Christ, was it not? He simply said, "Wait, wait." Why can't you say "Wait"?
    Which initiate is dearer to the Master? One who just develops the qualifications which He has got. Those qualifications will appeal to Him. To meet God is not difficult: to make a man is difficult. God is after finding out such people who are like that. When man begets children he runs after the best child. Does he not? Kabir says, "I'm now so pure at heart that God is always running after me saying, 'O, Kabir, Kabir, wait, wait.' "You see? Do you remember the story about Moses going to the hills to meet God? And as one poet said, "Was he not aware that God is searching for a man? Why did you go to the hills to find Him?" So, digest what you read. I've given you so many things from the lives of great men. If we simply read "such a man is born there and dies there and visits certain places"--this is not the true reading of a life. "He built a house or reservoir there"--no, not that. Do we simply go to the Master to see what he eats, where he's sitting, what clothes he wears, whether he's got a horse to ride on, etc.? This any man can have. Your life should be a reflection of simple living and high thinking, not of the outer buildings you have made. I met the head of the ---- community who is now president of all ---- here. I asked him, "You are the head of the ---- community. Tell me, what have you done?" He said, "I've made ten temples." I asked, "Have you made any man?" So, to make temples is easier. To make man is difficult. "How many men have you turned out?" There is a vast difference between the angle of vision. People are stuck fast in the other way of viewing. A teacher is very happy when he sees that all his students have passed in the first division or they have stood first in the university. Is he not proud of that?
    How can you earn His pleasure? Just follow implicitly what He wants, not the words but the intention. He need not say "do this or that." See what He's doing and you do it. As a student, I was reading in the ninth class and the teacher was so satisfied with me that he would leave the class to me for teaching in his absence--that very class in which I was a student. So hard work is another name for genius, mind that. In schools you'll generally find British history is taught as one of the subjects. The teacher used to give notes from that. The paper was set. At that time about 55 was the maximum number of marks given for the paper. There was another student who wrote all notes that were dictated by the teacher, and he gave him 34 marks ot of 55. In my case I never stuck to his notes but read two or three British histories and gave my replies from them. And gave me 54 out of 55. Naturally the other student complained, "Well, Teacher, I have written fully, literally what you have dictated. Why are you giving me 34 marks and him 54?" This is but natural questioning. "Well, he has given what all historians say, but I could not give him 55, so I cut down one point." So, your Master, your teacher can be proud of you. Of whom? One who is like Him.
    My Master used to send me difficult heads of some religious sects who used to come to Him. He used to send them to me, to live with me for a week or so at Lahore. He would say to any learned man who went to Him, "All right, you go to him [Kirpal Singh]. He will just open all the parts of the rifle and then reassemble it, and tell you what is what." He was proud of me, and we are proud of having such Saints, you see. But He should also be proud of us. But how? By developing those qualifications that He has. My Master used to say, "Well, I've found only one man in my life. I wish many of you to become like him." For that Way, you are given an experience on the first day of Initiation. Some are progressing, not yet perfect, some are going on all right, others are only trudging along--plodding like a tortoise. So, what a man has done, another man can do with proper guidance and help, is it not so? Then...? If you live one hundred percent according to what He says, you are perfect. But even if you become perfect, should you be proud of yourself? No. Why? One master-tailor made a very good suit which fit very well. He was simply boasting, "Oh, what a good fit. How well I look." The credit should go to the master-tailor, not yourself. So all this credit goes to the Master, or the Teacher, or the God in Him, you see. This is the main thing.
    That's a good question you have asked. It has brought out so many things. Simply try to live up to them. Nothing is impossible. Napoleon said, "The word 'impossible' is found in the dictionary of fools." Everything is possible when a man can catch God, of course with His Grace. What more is left? So I wish each one of you to become ambassadors. I'll be proud of you. And whatever you are doing, I think will be helping me in my job. Credit will go to you, and I may also be pleased. Our Master used to say, "Well, look here, don't do civil disobedience-lying down like a dead body, so that you may be carried away in a public conveyance. Stand on your own legs--help; help others," he says. The same God is within you. Why do you feel manikin? Great is man after all. What man? The physical body? No. That man who works in the body. And he is a micro-god, is he not? Only besmeared with filth by playing with the children in the dust, that's all. All right, God bless you all.

[The original tape of this talk was erased so it was impossible to check it for transcription errors. ]