What help us to know ourselves what things are not helping factors, and how we can analyse ourselves from the outgoing faculties and intellect is a practical subject. This is truly called spirituality.
Sant Kirpal Singh

The Masters come to fulfil

Talk given by Sant Kirpal Singh, 26 August, 1972, Köln, Germany

 

Sant Kirpal Singh, Köln, GermanyI am a son of man, not a lecturer. I can give you only a heart-to-heart talk, which comes from the heart and goes to the heart – very simple and to the point. First of all, I convey my hearty love to you all, one and all. You see, you are, truly speaking, my own relations. Once, you remember, Christ was sitting in a gathering, and His mother came up from behind and people told Him, "Here comes your mother." He said, "Who is my mother? These are all my brothers and sisters here, who are on the Path." So, there is a real relation with which God has united us from the level of the physical body and also from the soul's point of view.

As a man we are all one. God made man. Is there any doubt about it? He made man and, of course, man has the highest rung in all creation. So, we are all fortunate – born in the same way, no high, no low, with the same outer construction, and the same inner construction: two eyes, two hands, two nostrils, two ears, and also, every man has his heart, lungs, stomach. Every morning the house is cleaned, is it not? But, this is not a house of filth; it is the house of God.

So, as the physical body we are all one, a real relation. After that we took up different labels of religions called by different names. We forgot our manhood also. Eventually we discover that we are not the physical bodies only; we are having the physical body. We are conscious entities, spirit-in-man, of the same essence as God. So, we are all children of God, brothers and sisters; this is the true relationship we have got even as soul and of this Power Whom we worship, call Him by any name you like. He is the same whether you call Him God, Father, Allah, anything. So, as man we are all one; that is our true relation. We become Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists later on, is it not so? We took on labels and forgot our real nature. These labels have formed hedges between man and man. Masters have come from time to time to remove this misunderstanding in a very clear, simple way through heart-to-heart talks. So you see, these true relations we have got already, which we forget, and Masters come so that we may realize that the unity is already there. So, Masters come from time to time to remove this bigotry and narrow-mindedness, ever since the world began. As I just related to you, Christ said, "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers? They are all my brothers and sisters." These very words the tenth Guru said; those who come from God all say the same thing. They don't say, "We are Gods"; They say, "We are sent by God."

So, at the time when Kabir and Guru Nanak came on the scene, there were two parties – Hindus and Mohammedans – very strong in their own way, very bigoted, very narrow-minded; they would not suffer each other's faith, what to speak of mixing with them and sharing their views. So, Kabir came at that time and He gave out as His first slogan, I am neither Hindu nor Mohammedan; I take both as one. That is what Kabir gave out. Guru Nanak was a contemporary of Kabir. He says further, I am neither a Hindu nor a Mohammedan; God Whom we worship is the same. Naturally the Mohammedans asked Guru Nanak, "Who are You?" He said, "I am bearing the label of a Hindu, but I am not a Hindu in that sense. I am not such a Hindu. And you also, a Mohammedan, you simply bear the badge of Mohammedan. You are really man. I am not such a Mohammedan either." So, they asked Him, "What are You then?" He very clearly gave out in a simple way, "This body is made of five elements. The power which drives this man-body – that is conscious – that I am. That is my religion." So, He met all men of different labels and told them, "If you want to be a true Hindu or a true Mohammedan, you must become a man first and know that you are a man."

Further, you are a conscious man, conscious entity, you see; and still further, you are controlled by some Power within the body. The body is such a wonderful house we live in. It is God Who made it so wonderful, with its apertures of eyes, ears, nose, mouth, etc. With ail that the indweller cannot run away out of it. Can you? No. The body works so long as you are in the body, but you are controlled in the body. That Controlling Power we have to know, and that is called God-into-expression Power or Word. In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God. The whole creation came into being after that. It is also called Naam .... So that Power is controlling us in the body. When that Power is withdrawn, we have to leave the body. So, it is a wonderful house we have got in which we reside and in which that other Power, which controls us in the body, also resides. So, the man-body is considered to be the highest in ail creation, which is had by great good fortune, in which we can know God controlling the whole universe; and in no other species of creation is this possible.

All scriptures speak very highly about the man-body. So God, for Whom we are all searching, Whom we are really after, also resides in the man-body along with us. So, the body is the true temple of God. You will find in scriptures it is given: God does not reside in temples made of stone. I gave a talk in England on my last tour. One Bishop stood up and said, "You have thrown an atom bomb on all our churchianity." I told him, "My dear friend, this fact remains: Churches we have made, temples we have made, mosques we have made, all after the model of the man-body." Is it not so? Dome shaped temples, nose shaped churches, forehead shaped mosques, we have made ... So the true temple or church of God is the man-body. That is the house which He has built Himself. This house was built in the womb of the mother, in the hands of God and Nature, is it not so?

So, the man-body is the true temple of God, in which we reside. If you take a small child, three years old or four, and ask him, "Who are you?", he simply opens his eyes and mouth wide. You see, there is something there (points to forehead). He knows a little of this thing. As he grows in years and impressions are received from outside, he will begin to answer, "I am Joe Smith, Mr. Singh," etc. And as time passes, impressions are so much more that he will reply, "I am a Christian, I am a Sikh, I am a Hindu." These are the outer impressions. But, in the course of time we have to withdraw from the body – which we have taken to be the be-all and end-all.

So, all the scriptures say that the man-body is the temple of God, is the church of God, is the true mosque within. We live in there and He Whom we seek also lives in there; so why seek Him outside? Guru Nanak went to Persia, where a Muslim Fakir asked Him, "Have you seen God?" He said, "Yes, I have seen." "Can you describe His house?" Guru Nanak replied, "Yes, look here. There are 52 minarets (32 teeth and 20 nails) and two windows (the eyes). God is in that." He speaks from above and the poor fellows do not understand. God is calling them back, and the poor people have forgotten themselves so much that they do not hear what He is saying. Masters do come from time to time and remind us: Well, you are man; you are conscious entities – drops in the Ocean of All-Consciousness. We are all brothers and sisters in God. We worship the same Power called by different Names. Where is the difference? The Light and Sound symbols in all the places of worship are the same as those things within the man-body. I am asking, "Which light is better?" The outer symbols are models made just like the inner to tell us: such is the man-body – the Light of God and the Voice of God is found therein. Outer temples are made only to show God lives in the church which you are. We have given so much thought to the outer formations – excuse me now – that we have forgotten the true thing which lies within.

So, Masters come to fulfil and not to destroy. Man is a social being. He must have some social body to live in. If you break one, you will have to form another. It is but natural. So, stay where you are – the first step is all right. The next step is to know yourself – on account of which the body is working, and the Power is controlling you in the body. Make the best use of the body. This is the teaching of all the Masters in the past.

So, we reside in the same house – the house that God has made, not us. We are afraid for the outer structures. Don't be misled. They were made as models of the man-body, which is the true temple of God. Those who have got awakened eyes, they respect the rites of everybody.

This is the illusion we are all in. Masters come to revive the Truth. When I came for the first time in 1955, I sent out one pamphlet, Man! Know Thyself, and the world invited me without seeing me on the basis of that small pamphlet. Many simple things appeal to everybody, I think. They are facts. It does not mean that we are against "isms" – they came into being for a purpose. Do you know what history shows? Islam came into being 1500 years ago, after Mohammed. Christianity came into being after Christ, Sikhism came up after Guru Nanak, Buddhism came only after Lord Buddha. So, today let me only say why they came into being: Those who met the Masters themselves solved the mystery of life. They realize the very unity I am putting before you in words. But, when They left the scene, these schools of thought were formed, the labels of which we are carrying to keep Their teachings alive. That school is better which turns out perfect men, is it not so? The buildings may be very good buildings, a very big playground might be there, and good dress also. But with all that, if no student passes the exams of the school, then? It is a credit to the society to which you belong if you know those things for which it was formed.

So you see, Masters have Love for all. They do not come to destroy but to fulfil. The first step is social being. You must have a social body to live in, which you are already having. Why make a new one? When Kabir came there were only two bodies. Now there are more than 700. Is it not right to come to Somebody Who teaches the very Truth we have forgotten? It is no new thing. I think it makes common sense to everybody. These are hard facts.

So, the main purpose before us is to know God. First of all, we are one. The last time I came here I gave talks free in churches and everywhere, and open talks too. Generally, you see, where talks are given fees are charged. Sometimes donation baskets were there; so I removed them. They asked me, "What are you after?" I told them: Body is the temple of God, which we have forgotten. I have come to revive this.

The last time I left America, people offered me a lakh (100,000) of dollars. I refused. They said, "Why? For spreading the mission here." Then they said, "It would have been much better if you had taken away dollars – you are taking away our hearts." As a result of that, people came like wildfire. It appeals to everybody. Basic teachings of all Masters have been the same. Social bodies are there, and different customs and rituals. These change according to the climates and other factors of the different physical areas or customs prevailing there. But, the purpose is the same.

So, Masters love everybody. How to find God, where to find God – there are ways and means to do so. It is very natural. Even a child can do it. With no or little knowledge, you are able to see; and that language is the natural language which is unspoken and unwritten. If we have forgotten – that's all right.

The last time I came was in 1963. It is nine years now that I have been away from you physically. Some of you have been kind enough to pay a visit to the Ashram in India. I was happy, you see, to see my friends, brothers, children – any number that come, you see, are all quite at home. The main purpose of being in India was to improve their progress in Spirituality. So, all come back with a little better understanding and better progress. Some of you have come up there; but you all were always on my mind through correspondence. No child can be forgotten by the Father or Mother, can it? There may be hundreds ....

So, we are all brothers and sisters in God. Last year I had a mind to come – a very strong mind. I made my effort to pay it, flying to different stations in India so that they could keep going for six months or so while I was away here; but that hard work brought me down because I broke the laws of Nature. So, Mother Nature sent me a bill, and I had not expected it. You see, I would have come last year. The strings of Love are very strong – from your side too, and my side. So, I made up my mind to come now, even though there were many hurdles on the way, Satsang affairs and others, and for that reason I got delayed. But Taiji Hardevi said, "You had better go; I will stay for a month or so and set it straight." So it is her sacrifice; she had never been alone for even a day. Now she has sacrificed coming here with me, only for the love of you people. She conveys her love to you all. Love cannot be expressed in words. No words can express It. Yes – you can see from the Light which dances in the loving eyes – by radiation – I send you my hearty love, you see. Two days I am here. I hope you will be enjoying and all will sit together in the sweet remembrance of God. You have been put on the way; the main reason for my coming here now is that you may progress on the way, and have better understanding. What is right understanding? Now you will come to know. And, right understanding will result in right thoughts, and right thoughts will result in right words, and that will result in right actions.

So today, go away with the firm conviction that you are all one. We are all brothers and sisters in God. We have got the same work ahead, the same ideal, the same One Whom we worship. There is no high, no low. Basic teachings are the same everywhere; for the first part, social bodies arise with the same purpose: to prepare the ground for the higher teaching.

I wish you all progress, you see. I address my loving words to you, and also the Love which has driven me here despite all the hurdles on the way; I give thanks to Taiji who has sent me here.

And, we will meet again tomorrow. There will be another heart-to-heart talk, which is the best thing. And, anyone new who wants anything special can have it during the day. In the meantime, I get to feast on you and you get to feast on me.