From the book "Morning Talks", by Sant Kirpal Singh, 31 January, 1968
Available as mp3 at www.audio.sant-kirpal-singh.org
There is lust outside and true love inside. God is love. Love is also innate in our souls and wishes to attach itself to something. A conscious entity should be attached to all Consciousness. It is now attached to the world and outward attachments. This is the reason why we are coming again and again to the world, because we are attached to the world.
How to differentiate and understand what is true love and what is outer love is the question? I was just explaining that we shall really understand the difference between the two, if we just study our own selves. We are conscious beings. We are drops of the Ocean of all Consciousness. The macrocosm is in the microcosm. In the macrocosm there are three planes, physical, astral and causal. We have got a physical body, an astral body and a causal body, which enable us to work in these planes. We are now working in the physical plane and we also have our astral and causal bodies. While working in the physical plane, we use the outgoing faculties, which are fixed in the physical body and open outside to receive the impressions from the external world, whatever they are, good or bad. Those who are imbued with the attachment or love of the outward enjoyments have these impressions embedded in their astral body through their physical outgoing faculties. The true colour of our own selves is not the physical body, which may be very clean, very much beautiful, but is embedded in our astral body. This we cannot see with the outer eyes. Our Master used to say, "When a man comes to me, I see him as in a glass jar, whether it contains sweet things or sour things". His eye had become etherealized, and He could see a man in his true colours.
When we leave this physical body, we appear in our true colours. The man whose astral body is quite clear of outward impressions, with no lust, attachment or hatred, but who is imbued with the love of God, such a man, when you come in His company, will radiate those qualities to you. In the causal body are the impressions of the past births. When these are also cleared, that man is called a Saint, in the true sense of the word. The Masters always deprecate the love of the physical body and outward attachments. If you have the company of or think of someone whose astral body is not cleansed, who is not imbued with the love of God or is imbued with the outer attachments of loves and hatreds, the company of such a man will give you a like radiation. If you think of a man whose causal body is cleared of all past births, His form will always be with you, guarding you, helping you, even if the man concerned is not aware that he is being helped. Suchlike people appear in the case of Saints and Masters. Those who remember the Master are heard and His form appears to them. That is why Kabir said, "My mind has become so cleansed that it is as limpid as the water of the Ganges at Hardwar. If you go there for a bath, even the small pebbles seem very clear. So my mind has become so clear, that my astral and causal bodies are completely cleansed and even God is after me". God is after such a person whose astral and causal bodies are all clear, who is imbued with His love, not imbued with the worldly attachments. There is a vast difference between the love of the outer and the love of the inner. The Masters deprecate the love of the physical body. The man whose astral body is spotted, you might say by the filth of the outside attachments and other things, may look very clean on the outside. If you sit by him, you will have that radiation which comes from his astral body. If you sit by a man whose astral body is clear, you will have the radiation of cleanliness. He is imbued with the love of God and naturally you will feel the same love from him. If you think of one whose causal body is quite clear, even if you have never seen him but have only heard about him, he will appear. So this is the difference between true and false love. We should love whom? We should love God. And who else? He whose mind is so clear, that God is reflected in Him. God is Light and Sound Principle and whenever such a man speaks to you, you will get Light and Sound. The man whose astral and causal bodies are not clear may tell you to do this and that thing and you might be putting in four or six hours a day, but still you won't get anything. You find the difference now, between real love and physical or outward love?
All so-called masters will tell you to meditate on the form of the master. God forbid! If he is not clean inside, then you will become what he is. God is One who comes of Himself. I never ask anybody to meditate on the Master's form. So you should love one whose astral and causal bodies are quite clean. He may for certain reasons be strict outside, but His mind is quite clear, having love for God and everybody. He also has love for His enemies. Such a man is a Master and you should love God for the sake of Him in whom God is reflected in full, whose mind's vision is quite limpid. If you love such a man, then I think that God's love will go in you and you will rise above the physical, astral and causal bodies and go where that very God is manifested from. This is the difference between real love and impure love. So love God and any other whose astral and causal bodies are quite clean. If you sit there you will have radiation like that. If He gives you Initiation, you will get Light, because He has got Light reflected in Him. One who has got no Light reflected in him, how can he give it? A hundred initiations may be given, hours and hours may be put in, but Light cannot be given. This is the vast difference between the physical outer love and the inner love.
I was explaining earlier and in a way that was quite clear, so that there would be no misapprehension, that we should love God and others in whom God is reflected. The criterion to know, is that at the time of Initiation, you will have Light. As Christ said, "I am the Light of the World. Whosoever will come to me shall never walk in darkness". These things are given in books but even then you need guidance from some practical man, who knows what is what. He will explain these things very clearly and in a few words. We should love God, because we are conscious beings and naturally, we all want to go to our own Reality. Why should we love a God-man and not others? What is the criterion of a God-man? A God-man is one whose astral and causal bodies are quite clear, limpid, in which God's Light is reflected. Whoever comes into contact with such a God-man and gets a little of His attention, will have His Light reflected in him. There are so many hundreds of people giving initiation nowadays. There are so many gurus and masters that there are hardly any followers or disciples. The only criterion of a true Master is that when He gives you Initiation, you will have some experience to start with, you will get some Light. This means that the man through whom it is given is clean. God's Light is reflected in Him and that radiates. Others simply give some few words to repeat, some little things to do. Whenever people go to them, they are just told to put in more time. They put in four hours, six hours daily and even then they don't get any Light. The reason why is very clear now.
If you come across somebody who is competent to give you some Light, that means His inner life is clear. Just sitting and repeating something hundreds of times may be good actions but not clean life. Light will come up only (it is there), will manifest only when somebody in whom that Light is reflected simply directs it. If a child is born in a cave, he will be in all darkness. If a mirror is put in, through which the light of the sun is reflected into the cave, the child will see that light. Any heart that has got the Light of God will reflect that same Light and this in turn will be reflected in whom it is directed. This is the difference between a true love and a physical love. You cannot have this thing from a man who has not reflected the Light of God within him. There are so many masters in India and elsewhere. They have good propaganda. Propaganda can be had by money and that anybody can do. But what is the criterion? He has to give you something. So a true Master is one who can withdraw your attention from outside, bring it up from the outgoing faculties and then give you some reflection of Light. This is a sort of gift and is the criterion to judge right from wrong. Books refer to these things, but words cannot explain them as vividly as I am telling you now. So love God and others in whom He is reflected. What is the criterion? When He initiates you, when you think of Him, the Light will be boosted up within you. He is competent to give you a first hand experience on the very day of Initiation.
I am in touch with the heads of religions as I happen to be the President of the World Fellowship of Religions. They all describe these things. That works for a little while since concentration is there, but Light cannot come. A man who is imbued with the lust of the world may look very clean outside and have a very good propaganda, but still you cannot have Light from him. You will only have Light from somebody whose astral and causal bodies are perfectly cleansed, quite limpid, in which God's Light is reflected. Suchlike Masters do come. The world is never without them, the more the better. Suchlike people come to give to the world, not to take anything away. So love somebody who is imbued with the love of God, whose astral and causal bodies are quite limpid, in which the God-into-Expression Power of Light and Sound are manifested. When He initiates you, you will have an experience of these principles. He may be having eyes in His face or not. So love God and He who is competent to give you something. This is a positive proof that He has got a clear astral body and a clear causal body. This is the difference between the love of the physical body and the love of God or the God-in-man. There is a vast difference. These things are referred to in the books by giving various examples, but not quite as vivid and clear to the understanding as I am giving you now. When God meets you and gives you initiation, something to start with, He guards you against revelling in the outward enjoyments, in the low pursuits of lust, anger and their effects. These impressions are received through the outgoing faculties, which are open to the outside world, and they are embedded into the astral body. To give an example, if you take a glass and cover it with some wax, make some impressions on the wax and then pour some acid over it, all of those impressions will be embedded into the glass. Similarly, all impressions from outside are impressed in our astral body through the physical body and outgoing faculties. Therefore, when you leave this body you appear in your true colours. So the outer criterion is, when He initiates you, He gives you something to start with, because God is reflected in Him. A man in whom God is not reflected will ask you to repeat this or that for hours and hours, but still you will not get anything. If because of reactions of the past something comes up, he does not know what to do further. So be very careful, I would say, about having society with people who are imbued with the love of the physical world.
The Sikhs have a prayer which says, "O God, give me the society of one who is the mouthpiece of the Master. Because the Master is the mouthpiece of God, he too becomes the mouthpiece of God". Every day, this is a prayer among the Sikhs. At night they pray, "O God, give us the company of a Saint". The company of a Saint is the company of the God in Him, is it not? So this is the very fine difference why we should love God, why we should love God-in-man and why we should love others. Love the God-in-man, whose criterion I have given you, only for the God in Him. Again, be careful that He is one with God, so that when you become one with the Master, you are also one with God. That is why all Masters who came in the past, or those who just sat at the feet of Masters, said like Saint Paul, "I live, not now I, but Christ lives in me". All other men should be able to say this. God is One who can manifest Himself in the subconscious reservoir of the mind. He will come of Himself. That is why I don't advise anybody to meditate on the form of the Master. A very valid reason, I think.
In my early life, I always prayed, "O God, I want to meet Thee, but I am afraid I might go to somebody in whom Thou are not reflected. Then my life would be wasted. In the olden days, it is said that Thou didst appear to those who loved Thee, then why can't Thou manifest now?" This was my prayer, a very strong prayer. My Master used to appear to me before, but I took Him to be Guru Nanak. I met Him physically seven years after, in 1924, but He was with me in 1917. I happened to be travelling in the hilly country, visiting various places, but was very fond of rivers from the commencement. So when I came to Lahore and as Beas was quite nearby, I thought that I would go to see the River Beas. When I arrived there by train, I asked the station master, which way the river flowed. "Oh! You have come to see the Master," he said. "Is there any Master?" I replied. "Yes, He lives by the side of the river." So I went to see the river and saw the Master, the same Master who used to appear to me seven years earlier. You follow me now? A true Master appears of Himself, but the heart should be pure. God is within you and if you pray to Him, He brings you in contact with somebody in whom His Light is reflected, and truly speaking, such a one is a true Master. So love God and One who is competent to show you that God is reflected in Him. This is the difference between those who are imbued with the lust of the body and those who are imbued with the love of God, whose astral bodies and causal bodies are quite clean.
Those who have got very lusty thoughts will emanate colours of red and black combined. Those who are affected by anger will emanate a lurid red. Those who have love of God will radiate a bluish colour. Those who are men of true Spirituality will radiate a golden colour. These are the differences. The books give us references to these things. Whenever they give a picture of a Master, they show a halo around His head, either in a golden or white colour.
Those who are fortunate are led to a Master and given something to start with, may be little or more. This means that there is something in Him. You are put on the right way and if you develop it, God will manifest of Himself to you. Love of the physical body is the love of a dead body. It is coloured according to the thoughts which are embedded in your astral body. You will become as good as a Saint in due course of time. Of course, the time factor is a necessity. We cannot be above the Master but we can become as good as He is, because He is God in Him, and who can be above God?
So look to the true state of affairs and just stick to it. People are misled by propaganda. They hear one thing and after hearing it ten times that becomes as good as truth. Saints never make any counter propaganda, never. Time will prove what is what. So those who have got the true understanding should stick to it. They may explain things in a friendly way to those with whom they come into contact. If anybody thinks evil of it, then don't you think evil of them, because you will spoil your own inner state of mind. So put in time, as much as you can, with due love for God, for the God in Him, and have love for all the world over, because we are all brothers and sisters in God and God is in them. This is the most important part of our life. As a man, we should have some spiritual food, a contact with Spirituality, the God within us. On spiritual health depends the life of mind and body both. Learning is the food of the brain, of the intellect, but contact with God is the Bread of Life. If you give more importance to that, other things will follow of themselves.