The Masters are not the monopoly of anyone, they come for everyone, not for one group of humanity or another. They give a knowledge which is beyond the senses, which is an ocean of intoxication – a mighty effulgence of bliss.

Sant Kirpal Singh

How to love God

From the book "Morning Talks", written by Sant Kirpal Singh, 24 January, 1968

Available as mp3 at audio.sant-kirpal-singh.org


I ­was tell­ing ­you yes­ter­day ­how ­love dete­ri­o­rates ­into attach­ment. ­Love is ­the ­essence of ­the ­soul. It ­has to be con­tacted ­with ­the Over­self. ­When it is ­attached to bod­ies, ­outer envi­ron­ments, it dete­ri­o­rates ­and is ­called attach­ment. Yes­ter­day it ­was ­explained ­how, on ­the ­way to ­God, we ­are ­stopped ­and ­instead of ­going in ­the ­right direc­tion, we ­are ­diverted down­ward. ­Today's sub­ject is ­not ­what is ­love ­and ­how it dete­ri­o­rates ­but ­how ­love ­should be exer­cised. It is ­already in us. We ­are ­also ­love per­son­i­fied. We ­are a ­drop of ­the ­Ocean of ­all ­Love. So ­this ­love, as I ­told ­you yes­ter­day, ­should go to ­God. Or if ­you ­have ­not ­seen ­God, ­then it ­should be ­given to ­the ­human ­body ­who is over­flow­ing ­with ­the ­love of ­God. ­For exam­ple, if ­you ­see ­some advo­cate, nat­u­rally it ­will ­bring to ­mind ­the ­courts, ­and ­the ­cases ­going on in ­the ­courts. ­When ­you ­see a doc­tor, ­then ­your atten­tion is ­diverted to med­i­cines, ­sick peo­ple or hos­pi­tals. Sim­i­larly, ­when ­you ­see ­some ­man on ­the ­way, ­your atten­tion is ­directed to ­feel ­the ­work ­that he is ­doing. So ­the Mas­ter or ­the ­Saint is ­one, ­who is a ­labourer in ­the har­vest of ­God. ­The har­vest is ­much, labour­ers ­are ­wanted. If ­you ­think of ­Him, ­you ­will ­always ­think of ­God. Nat­u­rally ­that ­will ­come of ­itself. So ­you ­should ­always remem­ber ­the Mas­ter. He is ­the pro­to­type of ­God on ­earth ­and ­God is ­within ­Him. He is ­within ­you ­too of ­course, ­but ­not man­i­fest. He is how­ever, man­i­fest at ­the ­human ­body of ­the Mas­ter. ­The Mas­ter ­loves ­even ­His ene­mies, ­for nat­u­rally He ­loves every­body, includ­ing ­those ­who ­speak ­ill of ­Him. He ­loves ­the ­worst sin­ner, ­just to ­raise ­him up to ­the ­level of man­hood, ­then to ­the ­level of God­hood. So ­you ­should ­love ­God, ­but ­you can­not ­love ­God ­unless ­you ­see ­Him. So ­love of ­the ­human ­pole, or ­the Mas­ter, at ­which He is man­i­fest, is ­love of ­God. ­When ­you ­see ­Him, ­you ­see ­God. As ­Christ ­said, "­Those ­who ­have ­seen me, ­have ­seen my ­Father". ­The ­same ­thing is ­explained by ­all Mas­ters ­who ­came in ­the ­past. ­Their lan­guage is dif­fer­ent, ­but ­they ­say ­the ­same ­thing. Sim­i­larly, ­when ­you ­see a Mas­ter, ­don't ­take ­Him as a ­son of ­man, ­but as ­God in ­Him. ­Only ­then ­are ­you  ­saved ­and ­your ­love ­for ­God ­will over­flow. If ­you ­take ­Him as a ­man ­like ­you ­then…? ­Even if ­you ­take ­Him as a ­good ­man, ­you ­can ­have ­only good­ness ­from ­Him. So ­when ­you ­think of a Mas­ter as ­the pro­to­type of ­God on ­earth, as ­the man­i­fested ­God in ­Him, ­only ­then ­will ­true remem­brance be over­flow­ing ­within ­you.

Gen­er­ally, ­when ­you ­think of any­body con­stantly, ­you for­get ­your ­own ­self. I ­was speak­ing of an inci­dent in ­Guru ­Nanak's ­life. He ­was weigh­ing ­out ­wheat in ­the ­shop ­where He ­was ­employed ­and ­when He ­came to ­the ­word ­Tera (mean­ing ­both 'thirteen' ­and '­thine'), He ­became intox­i­cated ­and ­went on repeat­ing "I am ­Thine, I am ­Thine," ­until He ­had ­given ­away ­all ­the ­grain. So ­those ­who ­have ­got ­love ­for ­God, nat­u­rally ­that ­love over­flows. ­Such a dis­ci­ple ­becomes ­absorbed in ­the Mas­ter. As St. ­Paul ­said, "It is I, ­not ­now I, ­but ­Christ ­lives in me". Sim­i­larly, ­saints in ­other coun­tries ­said ­the ­same ­thing. ­One of ­them ­said, "I am so ­much over­flow­ing ­with my Mas­ter, ­that I ­have for­got­ten ­whether it is He or I". ­The ­same expres­sion is ­given by ­almost ­all ­saints, of ­course in ­their ­own lan­guage. ­Their ­mode of expres­sion ­may be a lit­tle dif­fer­ent, ­but ­they ­say ­the ­same ­thing. So ­when ­you ­have ­such a ­love ­and ­you ­see ­the Mas­ter, ­you ­don't ­see ­His ­body, ­you ­see ­the ­God in ­Him. ­That is ­also ­the ­true ­love of ­God. I ­gave ­you exam­ples ­just ­before of ­when ­you ­see an advo­cate, remem­brance of ­the ­courts ­comes in, ­when ­you ­see a doc­tor, remem­brance of hos­pi­tals, ­sick peo­ple ­and med­i­cines ­arise. Sim­i­larly, ­when ­you ­see a ­Saint, ­then ­you nat­u­rally remem­ber ­God, ­because he is a pro­to­type of ­the remem­brance of ­God. He is over­flow­ing ­with ­the ­love of ­God. Mau­lana ­Rumi ­says, "­When ­you ­accept a Mas­ter, ­then ­you ­accept ­God ­and ­the ­Prophet in ­Him ­both". If ­you ­read ­the pref­ace of a ­book, it ­gives in ­digest ­form ­what is in ­the ­book. ­After ­you ­have ­read ­the ­whole ­book ­and ­you under­stand ­what it ­says, ­that ­can ­also be under­stood ­from ­its pref­ace. Sim­i­larly, ­when ­you ­see a Mas­ter, ­you ­are read­ing ­the pref­ace of ­God.
­

These ­are exam­ples to ­show ­that ­when ­you ­meet a Mas­ter, ­you ­meet ­the ­God in ­Him. ­Such a ­God-in-­man is ­met ­with ­only by ­the ­grace of ­God. If ­you ­want to con­tact ­God ­and ­are pin­ing ­after find­ing ­Him, ­then He ­makes an arrange­ment ­whereby ­you ­are ­brought to ­the ­human ­pole ­where He is man­i­fest. I ­gave an exam­ple of a dis­ci­ple of a ­Saint ­named ­Bheek. He ­was so ­absorbed in ­the Mas­ter ­that he ­always ­used to remem­ber ­Bheek, ­not ­God, ­but ­Bheek. He ­took ­his Mas­ter as a pro­to­type of ­God on ­earth. ­His ­whole rep­e­ti­tion ­was ­not of ­the ­five ­names ­but of ­Bheek, of ­the Mas­ter. ­This is ­but nat­u­ral. He ­saw ­the ­God in ­Him, ­not ­the ­son of ­man. He ­was repeat­ing ­all ­the ­time, "O ­Bheek, O ­Bheek." He ­was liv­ing in ­the ­time of ­the Moham­me­dan ­reign ­and ­the Moham­me­dan peo­ple ­asked ­him, "­Who is ­your ­God?" He ­replied, "My ­God is ­Bheek, my Mas­ter is ­God." "­Who is ­his ­prophet?" "My ­Bheek is ­the ­Prophet." To ­say ­that ­was ­against ­the Moham­me­dan ­law, ­and so ­they ­passed a sen­tence of ­death ­against ­him. ­Such ­cases ­where a cap­i­tal sen­tence ­had ­been ­passed ­were ­brought ­before ­the ­king ­for ­final ­approval. ­When ­the ­case ­was ­brought ­before ­him, ­the ­king ­saw ­that ­the ­eyes of ­Bheek's dis­ci­ple ­were intox­i­cated. "­Well, ­who is ­your ­God?" ­asked ­the ­king. "My ­Bheek is my ­God". "­Who is ­your ­prophet?" "My ­Bheek is my ­prophet." ­The ­king ­said to ­his peo­ple, "­Leave ­this ­man, ­don't ­mind ­him." ­The peo­ple ­said ­that he ­would ­run ­away. "No, no", ­said ­the ­king. ­The ­king ­then ­turned to ­him ­and ­said, "­Well ­look ­here, we ­are hav­ing a ­dearth of ­rain in ­our coun­try ­for ­the ­past ­few ­months. If ­you ­would ­kindly ­request ­your ­Bheek ­for ­some ­rain, we ­would be ­able to ­grow ­more ­corn". "Oh, ­yes, I ­will ­asked ­Him", ­replied ­Bheek's dis­ci­ple. ­Just ­like a ­child ­you ­see, ­that ­has ­all con­fi­dence in ­its ­mother. It ­has no ­doubt what­soever ­that ­the ­mother can­not ­give ­what it ­desires. "­All ­right, ­when ­will ­you ­return?" ­asked ­the ­king. "I ­will ­come in a ­day or ­two", ­replied ­Bheek's dis­ci­ple. ­The ­next ­day ­there ­were ­heavy ­rains through­out ­the coun­try. On ­the ­third ­day, ­Bheek's dis­ci­ple ­returned. ­The ­king ­said, "­Well ­thanks to ­your ­Bheek, we ­have ­got suf­fi­cient ­rains. It ­was ­very ­kind of ­you ­and of ­your ­Bheek". ­The ­king ­then ­offered to ­Bheek's dis­ci­ple ­the ­land rev­e­nue ­from 21 vil­lages ­for ­his Mas­ter. ­Bheek's dis­ci­ple ­refused to ­accept ­the ­money, say­ing, "­This is a mate­rial ­thing, I am ­not ­going to ­take ­this to my ­God. He ­does ­not ­need it".

So such­like remem­brance ­gives ­you ­true ­love of ­God. As ­the nee­dle of a com­pass, ­even ­though ­you ­shake it, ­always ­points to ­the ­north, so in ­worldly ­affairs, every­thing, ­you ­should ­always ­have ­the ­sweet remem­brance of ­God. To ­look at ­the ­son of ­man ­who is over­flow­ing ­with ­the ­love of ­God, is to ­meet ­God. ­This is ­the ­true ­state of ­affairs. ­All so-called mas­ters ­are ­not Mas­ters of ­course, ­then ­how ­can ­you rec­og­nize a Mas­ter? ­The ­only cri­ter­ion is ­that He is ­able to ­give ­you ­some expe­ri­ence to ­raise ­you ­above ­the ­body ­level ­for a ­while, to ­give ­you some­thing to ­start ­with. ­Big gath­er­ing ­and prop­a­ganda ­can be ­brought ­about by ­very ­easy meth­ods, by pay­ing ­and ­other ­ways. ­You ­may ­appoint ­five or ­six peo­ple to go ­around ­and pro­claim ­that ­our mas­ter is ­God, ­and ­pay ­them ­for it. A ­true Mas­ter is ­met ­with ­only ­through ­the ­grace of ­God. He is ­met ­with by ­one ­who is pin­ing ­for ­God. ­God is ­within ­you, ­and it is He ­who ­makes ­the arrange­ments to ­bring ­you in con­tact ­with ­God ­who is man­i­fest in ­some ­human ­body, ­because ­the ­teacher of ­man is a ­man. So such­like ­love ­causes ­you to remem­ber ­God, ­not ­the ­Master's ­face or ­His ­coat. I remem­ber a dis­ci­ple ­who ­lived ­for ­forty ­years ­with my Mas­ter. He ­was serv­ing ­the Mas­ter ­while liv­ing in ­His ­home. ­One ­day, ­the Mas­ter ­asked ­him to go to ­one of ­the ­rooms in ­His ­house ­and ­get a cer­tain ­book ­from ­one of ­the cup­boards. ­The dis­ci­ple won­dered ­what cup­board ­and in ­which ­room ­the Mas­ter ­was refer­ring to. ­Just ­think, ­how ­absorbed he ­was in ­the Mas­ter, ­that ­while liv­ing in ­His ­house, he ­did ­not ­know ­which cup­board ­was in ­what ­room. ­This is an exam­ple to ­show. ­Such ­love ­just trans­fuses ­you ­into ­Him. ­The ­Love of ­the Mas­ter is ­the ­love of ­God. ­The ques­tion ­arises ­that ­how ­should we ­know a ­true Mas­ter? ­There ­are so ­many mas­ters. ­The ­only cri­ter­ion ­lies in ­the ­fact ­that He is ­able to ­give ­you some­thing to ­start ­with, ­not ­only ­the ­mere rep­e­ti­tion of cer­tain ­things or ­the per­for­mance of cer­tain out­ward meth­ods of wor­ship. ­The ­true Mas­ter ­will ­give a lit­tle ­boost, ­some cap­i­tal to ­start ­with, ­may be lit­tle or ­more. ­That ­depends on ­the back­ground of ­each ­one. ­But every­body ­must ­get some­thing. ­Even ­the ­blind ­man ­should ­get some­thing. ­They do ­get, ­when ­they ­come ­for Ini­ti­a­tion. ­One ­man ­came ­from Amrit­sar, ­was ­given ­half of ­the Ini­ti­a­tion ­and ­then ­stood up ­and ­said ­that he ­had ­many ­doubts. I ­told ­him to ­leave ­and ­take ­time to ­have ­them ­cleared up. I ­met ­him in ­the eve­ning ­and ­told ­him to for­get ­all ­his learn­ing ­for a ­while ­and ­sit ­like a ­child ­who ­knows noth­ing. He ­got ­the ­best expe­ri­ence. He ­then ­put a ques­tion ­that see­ing ­Light dur­ing Ini­ti­a­tion in ­the day­time ­was ­maybe ­due to ­the ­light out­side. I ­said, "­Well, ­here is a ­blind ­man ­next to ­you, he ­saw ­the ­Light." So it is ­the ­inner ­Light ­that we ­have to ­see. ­Christ ­said, "I am ­the ­Light of ­the ­world. Who­soever ­comes to me ­shall ­never ­walk in dark­ness". ­All Mas­ters ­say ­this ­and ­when ­you ­meet a Sat­guru ­you ­see ­Light, ­both ­inside ­and out­side. ­When ­that ­Light is devel­oped, ­you ­also ­see it out­side.

So ­today's sub­ject ­was "­How to ­Love ­God, or ­the Mas­ter". ­Love of ­God is man­i­fest in ­the Mas­ter ­and ­all of ­the qual­i­fi­ca­tions of ­God ­are in ­the Mas­ter on a min­i­a­ture ­scale, ­because ­God is ­reflected in ­Him. He is ­the pro­to­type of ­God on ­earth.