Written by Sant Kirpal Singh, June 6, 1967
How fortunate you are that you have been initiated into the secret inner path leading to the kingdom of God; the kingdom that comes not by observation (without), but that which lies within you. Know you not that you are the temple of the holy ghost? Verily you are so, and you have witnessed within yourselves the primal manifestations of the Godhead, no matter at what level, according to your mental makeup and the receptivity developed by you. You have seen what many prophets and righteous men desired to see but did not see, and you have heard what they desired to hear but did not hear.
God is spirit and can only be worshiped in spirit. You must therefore try to rise over and above the body consciousness and strive to arise into the consciousness of the higher order – I mean spiritual consciousness – rather than remain tied to your own persons or in fact to any other person, howsoever great he may appear to be in his own eyes or in the eyes of others. Principles are higher, much higher, I would say, than personalities. Persons may come and go, personal cults may linger for a while, yet principles, the spiritual values, last and last beyond time.
Your main concern should now be to develop the inner experience granted to you. Love the God-in-action power with all your mind, with all your heart, with all your strength and with all your soul. This will enable you to expand beyond all measure, so as to embrace the totality of His being, far above party affiliations, party politics and all politickings.
A tree is known by the fruit it bears. Do glory unto the Godpower and you shall be glorified in return without any effort on your part. That is the law. And again, a fruit-laden tree bends with the weight of the fruit it bears. Try to cultivate and attain the divine virtues of love, humility and understanding for all. Who is there under the sun who has no failings and shortcomings? With all our righteousnesses, we are but filthy rags. Be polite and courteous with all. Courtesy costs you nothing but it pays rich dividends. Human heart is verily the seat of God and must be kept sanctified at all times and at all costs, no matter what the sacrifice. Learn to live peacefully and amicably with each other, giving due regard to the feelings and sentiments of others. "By love serve one another" should be your rule in life. A loving service adorns both the server and the served alike.
The above injunctions apply equally, nay with greater force, to the group leaders and representatives of the Master, for they have to set a better example to all those who are within the sphere of their influence. They must know that they are just instruments in the divine plan and not the flywheel running the plan itself; and unless they work smoothly in loving harmony and cooperation, they are bound to generate heat by constant friction, damaging not only the quality of the work but even themselves.
Ye are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing. Should the protecting hedge itself start nibbling the farm enclosed in its fold, you can well imagine what would remain of the farm: a pestilence-stricken arid ground of no consequence.
It hardly serves any useful purpose to cast aspersions upon anybody or assign motives to whatever one says or does, for it is not given to us to read anybody's mind when we cannot read even our own. Judge not, lest ye be judged and found wanting in the divine scales. Therefore, arraign not anybody, much less your colleagues and brothers in faith. In the case of honest differences of opinion, which sometimes may arise, try to iron them out lovingly and in private, rather than wash the dirty linen in public meetings and public places, spreading a nauseating foul smell around you. If you cannot do so between yourselves, for one reason or another, you will do well to refer the problem to the Master for solution and reconciliation of the apparently divergent views. I, therefore, enjoin on all of you to keep loving and friendly relations among yourselves as children of the same Father and do not do anything that may make anybody raise a pointing finger at you and bring disrepute to the highest knowledge – the science of the beyond – which you have come by after an evolution through ages past. "Ye are the light of the world" and hence should keep this light aloft on the hilltop so that those who see it, even from a distance, are encouraged to seek you for advice and bless you for your sage counsel and the Masterpower that helped you to it. As such, you are to help your brothers in faith, keeping them firm in their loving devotion to the Master instead of coming in between them and the Master – for all belong to Him.
All of us are, in fact, fruit-gatherers in the vineyard of the Master. We have nothing in us to recommend us to His grace. The puppets in a pantomime show dance not by themselves but by the wire-puller behind the screen. To assume any importance, in doing the Master's work, is not worthy of noble souls, as you are.
We are all of the Master and for the Master, but not the Master – Gurbhais and not the Guru, for Gurupower is only in one commissioned from above. The Master knows best how to carry on the divine plan. Let us, therefore, submit our individual wills to His will and not appropriate to ourselves any credit for the gifts freely and lovingly bestowed upon us by Him. After all, what is there in the conduits that simply pass on the refreshing and life-giving water that comes from the overhead reservoir (the Masterpower).
The greatness of the Master is not to be judged by the strength of his following or by the outer glamor of his court. He is not after wealth nor after name and fame nor after the numbers that follow him. He, standing on the hilltop, knows in what hearts the fire of anguish is smouldering and, like oxygen, comes in so many diverse ways to fan the flames of loving devotion in them. So nobody should feel that he or she is indispensible and therefore put on airs which others may resent or cavil at. Remember that we cannot add to or detract from the glory that is His. If we can be of any service in His cause, that may, on the contrary, be taken as a privilege coming from Him in His grace.
In the end, I hope that every one of you, whatever your position in life, whatever your place in the administrative setup for furthering the holy cause, will contribute his mite, as best as possible, in a spirit of loving and selfless service and try to enrich himself inwardly by living in peace and amity in his respective circle, radiating nothing but fragrance to all around him, as so many children in the one grand family of man.
One thing more, which I cannot help but emphasize for the benefit of all the dear ones on the path. If at all, any of you, at any time, feel that you are the most favored in divine manifestations, you should try to exercise restraint and observe decorum in society, rather than be carried away by the emotional tide that may take you off your feet. Humility is the first and last adornment that embellishes the noble soul.
My best wishes are ever with you and nothing will give me greater pleasure than to see you all, well set on the spiritual path, with appreciation of each other, moving shoulder to shoulder, forming one spiritual phalanx so that those who see you will admire you and get inspiration from you.
Wishing you, one and all, God-speed on the God way.
Yours affectionately, Kirpal Singh