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

How to develop the attributes of the Master

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

1968-02-01, Delhi, Sawan Ashram
Talk available as mp3 at audio.sant-kirpal-singh.org

 

We ­should ­have ­love ­for ­God, ­but ­how is ­this ­love devel­oped? ­How ­can we ­develop ­love ­for ­God ­unless we ­see ­Him, ­come in con­tact ­with ­Him ­and ­enjoy ­His com­pany? So ­for ­that, we ­have to ­love ­some ­human ­pole at ­which ­God is man­i­fest, ­for ­the ­God in ­Him. So ­how to ­develop ­love ­for ­Him? ­That is ­the ­point.

We ­should ­develop ­those ­very qual­i­fi­ca­tions or attrib­utes ­that ­the ­human ­body in ­which ­God is work­ing ­has ­got. ­Let us ­say ­that He is a ­good ­painter, He ­likes paint­ing. ­Then ­you ­should ­develop paint­ing, ­because at ­the ­time of devel­op­ing paint­ing, ­you ­will ­always be remem­ber­ing ­Him, ­for ­whom ­you ­are ­doing it. In ­this ­way, con­stant remem­brance ­will ­come in. ­When ­you ­become a ­good ­painter, nat­u­rally ­you ­will ­draw ­His atten­tion to ­you, ­because ­that qual­i­fi­ca­tion is in ­Him. Sup­pose He is a ­good ­singer. He ­likes sing­ing, ­poetry or ­verse. ­Then ­you ­should ­develop ­that ­same tal­ent ­within ­you. ­Poets ­are ­half ­saints, I ­tell ­you. ­When ­you ­develop ­that tal­ent it ­will go to ­Him ­and He ­will be ­attracted to ­you. In pre­par­ing to be a ­painter, a ­singer or a ­poet, ­all ­the ­time ­you ­are think­ing of ­Him. If ­you ­keep some­body in ­your ­mind, ­you ­will ­react in ­his ­mind. If ­the dis­ci­ple remem­bers ­the Mas­ter, ­the ­God in ­Him, ­the Mas­ter ­will remem­ber ­the dis­ci­ple. ­Action ­and reac­tion ­will ­take ­place. So ­the ­first ­thing is, ­that we ­should ­develop ­those qual­i­fi­ca­tions ­which ­are ­within ­the Mas­ter. ­For exam­ple, if ­some appoint­ments ­become ­vacant ­and appli­ca­tions in writ­ing ­are ­called ­for by ­the offi­cer in ­charge, ­who him­self ­has a ­good hand­writ­ing, ­who ­will ­stand ­the ­best ­chance of get­ting ­the posi­tions? ­There ­may be hun­dreds of appli­ca­tions ­but ­only a ­few appoint­ments. ­The offi­cer ­will ­sort ­through ­all ­the appli­ca­tions ­and ­accept ­only ­those ­that ­are in ­good hand­writ­ing, ­because ­that ­very qual­i­fi­ca­tion is in ­him.

So if ­you ­want to ­develop ­love ­for some­body, ­just ­develop ­the qual­i­fi­ca­tions or attrib­utes ­which ­are ­within ­Him. At ­the ­very ­time of ­developing ­them, ­you ­will be remem­ber­ing ­the ­very ­same qual­i­fi­ca­tions ­that ­are ­within ­Him. ­That ­will ­act in ­two ­ways. If ­you ­keep some­body in ­your ­heart, ­you ­will ­reside in ­the ­heart of ­Him ­whom ­you ­are remem­ber­ing. At ­the ­very ­time of devel­op­ing ­that qual­i­fi­ca­tion or attrib­ute, ­you ­are ­also remem­ber­ing ­Him, ­and ­that ­will ­attract ­Him. So ­this is ­the ­first ­thing ­required. ­There is no ques­tion of ­whether ­you ­are in ­His pres­ence or ­away. ­You ­are ­just to ­develop ­that qual­i­fi­ca­tion. I ­have ­given so ­many exam­ples. ­One I ­gave ­was ­about Bul­leh ­Shah, ­who ­was a dis­ci­ple of ­Inayat ­Khan. Bul­leh ­Shah ­belonged to ­the ­high ­caste ­among ­the Moham­me­dans ­and he ­was ­afraid of ­what ­the peo­ple ­would ­say ­when ­they ­learned ­that a ­man of ­the ­higher ­caste ­had ­gone to some­one belong­ing to a ­lower ­caste. So ­Inayat ­Khan ­sent ­some of ­His dis­ci­ples to Bul­leh ­Shah ­and ­asked ­them to ­say to ­him ­that he ­was ­now ­their ­brother. ­When ­they ­reached ­the ­street ­where Bul­leh ­Shah ­lived,  ­they ­called ­out: "­Where is Bul­leh ­Shah? He is ­our ­brother in ­faith". So ­the peo­ple ­told Bul­leh ­Shah ­that ­his broth­ers ­had ­come. Bul­leh ­Shah ­was ­afraid of ­what ­they ­would ­say, ­since he as a ­man of ­the ­higher ­caste ­had ­gone to a ­man of ­the ­lower ­caste ­and so he ­said, "No, ­they ­are ­not my broth­ers". ­When ­the dis­ci­ples ­returned ­and ­told ­Inayat ­Khan ­what ­had ­occurred, he ­said, "­All ­right, we ­won’t ­water ­his ­field any­more".

­The dis­ci­ple ­who ­gets ­the atten­tion, or ­Water of ­Life ­from ­the Mas­ter ­only ­then is ­all ­right. ­With a lit­tle ­thought of ­the Mas­ter, ­the ­very ­ground of ­the dis­ci­ple is ­watered.

So ­that ­was ­stopped. ­The ­man ­who ­had ­that bless­ing ­before ­was ­deprived of it. ­How ­could Bul­leh ­Shah ­approach ­the Mas­ter?  ­What ­face ­had he ­got to go to ­the Mas­ter ­and ­tell ­Him ­that he ­was ­not a dis­ci­ple! Bul­leh ­Shah ­knew ­that ­his Mas­ter ­was ­very ­fond of hear­ing ­poetry, ­verse ­and lov­ing ­songs. ­Now, he ­had no ­taste ­for ­that ­sort of ­thing, ­but he ­had to ­develop it ­for ­the pur­pose of attract­ing ­the atten­tion of ­the Mas­ter. So he ­went to ­some danc­ing ­girls, ­whose pro­fes­sion ­included ­these ­things. He ­remained ­with ­them ­for ­months ­and learn­ing sing­ing. He ­served ­them ­free, ­day ­and ­night, ­until he ­had devel­oped ­that sing­ing ­within ­him. A ­week or so ­later, ­the danc­ing ­girls ­were to ­sing ­their ­songs to ­Inayat ­Khan. Bul­leh ­Shah ­said to ­them, "­Well, ­look ­here, ­you ­have ­got ­these wom­an­ish ­clothes, ­give me ­some ­and I ­will go ­today ­and ­sing ­before ­the Mas­ter." So he ­put on ­the ­clothes ­and ­went to ­sing to ­his Mas­ter. He ­was sing­ing ­from ­his ­heart ­and nat­u­rally radi­a­tion ­was ­there ­and ­the Mas­ter ­said, "Oh, he is Bul­leh," ­and ­got up ­and ­embraced ­him. Peo­ple usu­ally ­see ­from ­their ­own ­smoky ­glasses ­and ­they ­started say­ing, "Oh, ­look ­here, ­the Mas­ter ­has ­gone ­down ­and ­embraced a ­woman! ­The ­cat is ­out of ­the ­bag ­now." ­Inayat ­Khan ­said, "Bul­leh,  ­take ­off ­these ­clothes, so ­that ­the peo­ple ­may ­know ­who ­you ­are." Bul­leh ­Shah ­said, "No, I am ­not wor­thy, I am ­just a ­fool ­who ­has ­left ­you. I ­have com­mit­ted a hei­nous ­crime in ­not call­ing ­myself ­your dis­ci­ple." ­How ­did he suc­ceed? On ­account of ­the attrib­utes or qual­i­fi­ca­tions ­which ­his Mas­ter ­had, ­who ­was ­fond of sing­ing. He devel­oped sing­ing to ­please ­his Mas­ter.

This is ­one exam­ple, ­but ­there ­are ­also oth­ers. ­Lord ­Rama ­was ­exiled ­for four­teen ­years, ­and ­one ­woman ­called ­Shivri, ­who ­was liv­ing in ­the wild­er­ness to ­where ­Lord ­Rama ­was ­exiled, ­heard ­that he ­was com­ing. ­She ­thought to her­self ­that he ­would be com­ing ­bare ­footed ­and ­that ­the ­thorns ­would ­prick ­his ­feet. So ­she ­began clear­ing ­the ­way of ­all ­thorns. ­Love is devel­oped ­not nec­es­sar­ily by see­ing, ­but ­also by hear­ing. ­She ­also won­dered ­what ­she ­would ­offer ­him to ­eat. In ­the wild­er­ness ­there ­wasn’t ­much, ­only ber­ries. So ­she ­started pick­ing ­the ber­ries, ­tasted ­each ­one of ­them, ­and ­kept ­only ­the ­sweet ber­ries. ­There ­were ­also ­some ­great ­yogis liv­ing in ­the wild­er­ness ­but ­Lord ­Rama ­never ­went to ­them ­first. He ­went to ­Shivri, ­who ­cleared ­the ­way ­for ­him so ­that ­the ­thorns ­would ­not ­hurt ­his ­feet, ­and ­who ­had ­kept ­the ­half ­eaten ber­ries ­only ­for ­the ­sake of know­ing ­those ­which ­were ­sweet ­and ­those ­which ­were ­sour. So ­love ­knows no ­law. ­After ­Rama ­had ­been to ­Shivri, he ­went to ­visit ­the ­yogis. ­There hap­pened to be a ­pond ­where ­the ­yogis ­lived ­which ­was ­full of ­insects ­and ­the ­yogis ­asked ­Lord ­Rama to ­wash ­his ­feet in ­the ­pond, so ­that ­the ­insects ­would be ­cleared ­out. ­Lord ­Rama ­declined ­and ­said, "No, ­you ­are ­great ­yogis, it is bet­ter if ­you ­wash ­your ­feet in ­the ­pond, ­and it ­will ­then be ­cleared." ­All of ­the ­yogis ­put ­their ­wash ­water ­into ­the ­pond ­but it ­was ­not ­cleared of ­the ­insects. ­The ­yogis ­then ­said, "­You ­are ­Lord ­Rama, if ­you ­wash ­your ­feet in ­the ­pond it ­will ­surely be ­cleared." "­All ­right," ­said ­Lord ­Rama, "­We’ll ­try it." He ­washed ­his ­feet in ­the ­pond ­but it ­still ­was ­not ­cleared. ­Lord ­Rama ­then ­told ­the ­yogis to ­wash ­the ­feet of ­Shivri (­whom ­they dis­liked) ­and ­when ­they ­washed ­her ­feet ­and ­put ­the ­wash ­water ­into ­the ­pond, it ­was ­cleared.

­Those ­who ­love ­God, ­love ­the Mas­ter, ­the ­God in ­Him of ­course. It is ­not mat­ter of ­show. ­That ­very ­power is ­within ­you ­and ­knows ­every ­act of ­yours, ­what ­you ­are ­doing ­and ­why. He ­knows ­the ­very ­trend of ­your ­thoughts. ­Love ­knows no ­show. ­Love ­knows ser­vice ­and sac­ri­fice. ­The out­ward sym­bol of ­love is a ­sweet ­tongue, ­imbued ­with humil­ity. ­When ­you ­have devel­oped ­that ­love, ­what ­should ­you do? ­You ­must ­have ­patience, per­se­ver­ance ­and go on ­with it. ­Just ­like a ­moth ­which ­burns ­itself on ­the ­flame of a can­dle ­but ­never ­makes ­any ­sound. So ­those ­who ­want to ­love ­God ­should ­not ­care ­for ­their ­name or ­fame, hon­our, ­this or ­that ­thing. ­They ­should ­leave ­every great­ness ­that ­they ­have ­got phys­i­cally out­side, ­and ­lay ­down at ­His ­feet. If ­they ­lose ­their ­life in sac­ri­fice, ­even ­then ­they ­won’t men­tion it. So ­this is a ­very del­i­cate ques­tion, I ­would ­say. ­Those ­who ­have ­love ­for ­God, or ­the ­God-in-­man, ­well, ­this is a rela­tion ­between ­you ­and ­the ­God in ­Him ­and ­nobody ­else. ­You ­have to ­develop it. ­For ­that ­you ­must ­have per­se­ver­ance. It ­takes ­time. ­The ­work of ­the ser­vant is to do ­work, ­that’s ­all. It is ­for ­the Mas­ter to ­see ­what He ­has to ­give to ­him.

­Once a ­very ­nice Ara­bian ­horse ­was ­given to ­Guru ­Har ­Govind, ­the ­sixth ­Guru of ­the ­Sikhs. ­Guru ­Har ­Govind ­said ­that ­whoever ­should ­recite ­from ­the ­Jap Ji ­with no ­other ­though inter­ven­ing dur­ing ­the ­time ­that ­the ­verse ­was ­being ­recited, ­would be ­given ­his ­heart’s ­desire. ­One ­man ­came for­ward ­and ­said ­that he ­would ­recite. He ­began recit­ing ­and ­just ­before he ­was near­ing ­the ­end, he ­thought to him­self, "I won­der ­what ­the ­Guru ­will ­give me?" He remem­bered ­the Ara­bian ­horse ­that ­had ­been ­given to ­the ­Guru ­and ­thought ­that it ­should be ­given to ­him. ­When he com­pleted ­the rec­i­ta­tion, ­the ­Guru ­ordered ­that ­the ­horse be ­given to ­him. He ­then ­turned to ­the ­man ­and ­said, "­You ­poor fel­low, ­you ­did ­not ­know ­what I ­was ­going to ­give ­you ­. I was going to give you my very own place." So it is ­not ­for ­you to ­judge ­things ­and ­request ­what ­you ­want, ­but it is ­for ­Him to ­see ­what is ­really in ­your ­best inter­ests.

­­How can you ­develop ­love? ­First, ­just ­develop ­those attrib­utes ­which ­are in ­the Mas­ter. If He is a ­good ­painter, ­then ­develop paint­ing. If He is a ­good ­singer, ­then ­develop sing­ing. ­Our Mas­ter ­used to ­have ­wells ­dug ­for ­the ­good of ­the peo­ple at ­large. So ­those peo­ple ­than ­began to ­dig ­wells ­for ­Him ­and He ­was ­pleased. He ­wanted self­less ser­vants ­who ­would ­never ­utter ­any ­word to ­Him ­about ­what ­they ­were ­doing ­for ­the Mas­ter. He ­was a ­very ­plain ­spoken ­man. ­Those ­who ­went to ­Him ­and ­said, "Mas­ter, I ­have com­mit­ted ­this or ­that ­sin," He ­would ­say, "­All ­right," ­and for­give ­them. ­But ­those ­who con­cealed ­their short­com­ings ­from ­Him ­would ­lose ­out. ­

When we go to ­the Mas­ter, we sim­ply ­think ­that He ­does ­not ­know any­thing. ­But at ­the ­heart of ­hearts He ­knows ­what ­you ­say. As I ­was tell­ing ­you yes­ter­day, ­just ­like some­thing in a ­glass ­jar, He ­sees ­what is in us. ­Even if ­you ­try to con­ceal it, He ­still ­sees.  So we ­should go to ­the Mas­ter ­with ­very ­clean ­hearts, ­with ­love ­for ­Him, ­with ­all ­due def­er­ence ­for ­Him. ­Then nat­u­rally, He ­will ­give ­His ­own ­Self to ­you. So ­this is ­how we ­can ­develop ­love ­for ­the Mas­ter, ­for ­the ­God in ­Him. ­The attrib­utes ­that He ­has devel­oped in ­Him, ­you ­should ­try ­and ­develop in ­you. ­What ­are ­they? He ­wants ­love, no ­show, ­strict obe­di­ence to ­what He ­says. ­Once He ­says some­thing, ­obey ­Him. ­Obey ­Him lit­er­ally. ­While devel­op­ing ­these ­things ­you ­will ­all ­the ­time be hav­ing ­the ­sweet remem­brance of ­the Mas­ter ­within ­and ­also out­wardly.

It is ­for ­the Mas­ter to ­see ­what He ­has to ­give. He ­has ­come ­only to ­give ­Life. He ­has no ­other busi­ness. He is ­Life, ­Light ­and ­Love. He ­can ­give ­you ­these qual­i­ties ­only ­when ­you ­have ­become recep­tive ­and ­there is noth­ing ­that ­stands ­between ­you ­and ­Him. ­The attrib­utes of ­God ­are ­reflected in ­Him. If ­you ­just ­adopt ­those attrib­utes in ­your ­own ­life, ­then ­you ­will be ­loved by ­the Mas­ter ­and by ­the ­God in ­Him. As ­Christ ­said, "­Those ­who ­love me, ­will be ­loved by my ­Father, ­and ­whom my ­Father ­loves, I man­i­fest ­myself to ­him". ­All Mas­ters ­have ­said ­the ­same ­thing.

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