THE MASTER ANSWERS PART 14, Mysticism, reading, forums, Numerology, Sun Signs, Divination

Posts: 5115 · Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2010 8:22 am

Q Do you think contemplation can be attained by anyone, or an ordinary person?

A Everybody should try it, and everybody can try it. And that is what the Lord wants. But we can try only when He wants us to. That is what I said, without His grace nothing can be done. But we have to make the effort and not try to justify our failure to do so by thinking that when the Lord will want us to do so, we will contemplate on Him. We cannot put a condition that we will only beg of the Lord if we are sure that He is going to give to us. But it is entirely at His mercy; He can give us whwnever He likes. When anybody in this world asks us for anything four, or five or six times, we feel like giving it; so how can the Lord be unmindful if we are really begging at His door? The thing is that we must beg at His door. And we can beg only if we find the door of the Lord, and that door is here, between the eyes. We should come here --- concentrate all our attention here --- and beg from Him, and He will definitely give us what we want.

Q The Sound Current purified? Do we connect with the Sound Current before Trikuti, or only after reaching Trikuti?

A Sister, the purpose of the Sound Current, the Shabd, is to untie the knot of the soul and the mind, and to take the soul back to its Home. Our soul has taken the association of the mind, and the mind has become the slave of the senses. With Simran and Dhyan (repeating the five holy Names and contemplating on center. When we are in touch with the Sound, the attachment to that Sound detaches the mind from the senses and takes it back to its own original home, which is Trikuti. Without attachment to the Sound, the mind can never come back to its own origin because the mind is fond of pleasures and every moment the mind runs to the senses. Unless we give the mind a better and superior pleasure to that of the senses, it will not leave the senses. In order to imprison our mind, subdue our mind, catch our mind or purify it, we have to attach it to the Sound. When it is attached to the Sound, all the dirt starts falling off and it gets purer and purer.

As long as our mind is being pulled down to the senses, nobody can be more inimical to us than our own mind, for it is our worst enemy. But when it is attached to the Sound, the Shabd or Nam inside, and it is on its way back to its own home, it becomes our friend, a real friend and real guide, till Trikuti. Then the soul gets released from the mind and merges back into the Lord.

When the soul has pure love and devotion for the Lord, and its longing to merge back into Him increases. That pure love, devotion and longing takes the soul back to the Lord. The mind remains far behind in its own home, and all these karmas --- actions and reactions, good and bad deeds --- to which we are a slave in this world, they all remain with the mind. That is how the soul becomes pure and merges back into the Lord.

Q The books say that the Master connects us with the Sound Current. That is not quite clear to me. It seems to me that if we were disconnected from this force we would not be alive, if you see what I mean? Is not the Sound Current the very life within us?

A The Sound Current is the very life within us. It comes here with our mind, and the mind is scattered in the whole world, through the nine apertures of our body. We have to retrace it back up to this point, between the eyes, and be in touch with the Sound. The Master will put you on that path and will bring you in contact with that Sound. The Sound is always there. That Sound Current is always in the body, because that is the soul itself. Ultimately, the Sound, the soul and the Lord are all one. But the Master will put our mind in touch with that Sound, with that vibrating Sound, here at the eye center. He will put us on that path, and we will practice and make the effort with his help and guidance.

Q In some teachings, they refer one to the mantras, the Om Sound, before meditation. We understand that our body has to be tuned first to the Sound which enters the heart and the vibrations come in closer and we are readier and the mind is easier to discount?

A Sister, that is not a physical sound. When we create sound by saying Om, Om, we are trying to copy that Sound. That Sound seems like that, but by repeating that sound, we are not in touch with the real Sound.

Q One thing I wondered about quite a lot is Sound. It sometimes seems like I have contacted it, and at the other times I am not quite sure. The sound I hear in my ears is ringing, and it is more or less continuous, and I wondered if it is a back echo, or what?

A In the beginning you will hear that type of sound. You should give your attention to it. It is not a back echo, and with the help of Simran, when your mind is concentrated fully here at the eye center, that very sound will become distinct and clear, and you will feel its pull upward.

Q Master, each region has its own particular Sound?

A Sister, the Sound is one, coming from the top of the head to the eye center. Since it passes through five regions, as generally five regions have been explained by the Saints, so we feel that the Sound is different at every region. Actually, the Sound is just one. For example, a river leaves the source and merges into the sea. At the source, it has a particular sound. When it passes through the rocks, it has a different sound. When it spreads out on the plains, it has a different sound. All the same, the river is one. So, that Audible Life Stream, that Shabd, Nam, Nad, Word, Logos or whatever name you may give it, is just one, coming from the top to the eye center. Since it is coming through the many mansions in the Father's House, the Saints have tried to explain to us, as well as it can be done in mortal language, the different sounds at the different regions or mansions of the Lord. Actually, the Sound is one and the same.

Q This bothers me somewhat: Ramakrishna, Mahatma Gandhi and Saint Francis have never mentioned the Sound Current. How can you explain that?

A I have no business to analyze any personality, nor to explain their teachings. I do not know whether or not their teachings are rightly expounded or explained to the world. It is difficult to say. Perhaps you will say that Christ never preached about the Word, the Logos or Sound Current, but I will differ, for when one understands his mystical terms, it is very plain, even in the Bible, from which so much has been suppressed. So, it is very difficult to say whether those people knew about this or whether they concealed it, or whether their teachings have not been properly expounded to the public. It is difficult to say.

But if with an unbiased mind we make a research of the old writings of the East, especially of Persia, of the Arabic world and of India, we will find that they are full of the same teachings. Perhaps you noticed in the discourse given today that religions may appear to us to be different, with their different rituals and ceremonies, but the essence, the base of spirituality of all is the same. With the lapse of time, we forget the real essence, and what is left with us is just the shell. The rituals and ceremonies are not the real teachings; they are just the hold of the priestly class over us and nothing else.

So, if we make a thorough research into the teachings of any saint, we will ultimately come to the same conclusion. Then, also, we may be thinking that someone was a saint, when actually he may not have been a saint. Who are we to judge? I do not now about Gandhi, because Gandhi was a politician. He blended spirituality with politics. He had a spiritual background, and with the background he took to politics. So, he was a spiritual politician. He was not a saint. At least in India, he is not taken to be a saint, from the spiritual point of view. I cannot discuss about Ramakrishna, because I have not gone through his works. But I cannot believe that they did not know about the teachings of the Saints. There may be some reason for our not knowing whether or not they knew about them.

Q About The Lord's Grace and Love?

A That is true, we will get His grace only when He wants us to get it. It is always there, but we are not always receptive to it, and it is. He who makes us receptive. By His grace, we can have His love. We have to make the effort, do our spiritual practice, and it is for Him to give us grace. He does not withhold. His grace. But only with His grace will we get such an atmosphere, such circumstances, that we can devote time to meditation, and that we will long to meet Him, as I said in the earlier meeting today. He is within us, everyone of us. Being within us, He gives us His own love. We think we love Him, but actually He loves us. It is He who creates that love in us. We are just responding to His love. The more we respond to His love, the more we feel His love in us. In fact, it is the Giver who is giving this love. We are not doing anything. We are just responding to what He gives us. The more receptive we become, the more love and devotion we feel within ourselves for the Lord.

Q But the progress is in the hands of the Master, is it not?

A As we have just discussed, it is a matter of grace. We have to put in our efforts. The Master helps us, the Lord, helps us but we must make the effort. Progress we do get accordingly. As we make more effort, we get more grace to make more progress.

Q ?

A Sister, we discussed this question many times in your meetings. Actually, a disciple can never pretend faith. It is for Him to put us on the right path, to bring us face to face with Him. When we are sincere, when we want a Master, we will automatically follow the right path. He will make such circumstances that we will find that we are on the path. If we are following the wrong master, we will eventually slip out of that and find ourselves in the lap of the right Master. Automatically, the Lord will put us right. All we need is sincerity and honest longing to meet Him, to follow Him; then it is for Him to put us on the right path. There are outward signs too, but still the intellect can be deceived. Even though the books are full of all these hints, still the intellect may be deceived. So, for guidance, we can depend only on Him nothing else.

Q How does the idea of grace fit into this business of karma?

A Sister, without grace nothing can happen. Grace means the grace of the Lord. Only by His grace will we come into a certain atmosphere where we can work our way up. Without His grace we can never even think about Him, and we would never know that the Lord exists. But He does not come into this world direct. He sends His grace through some means, through some instruments, through the Masters. As you have often read in the Bible, Christ said, ' I have been sent by my Father. I have been sent for those marked souls, those particular souls that are ready to go back to Him.' That is His grace. When the Lord wants those sheep, those particular souls to be collected, to come back to Him, His grace is there and the Master is sent to collect them. Without His grace, the saints or Masters would not come into this world.

Without His grace, we would not even think of the Lord, much less try to meditate. His grace is the first step in meditation. Without His grace, nothing can happen. But when we are sincere, when we want to work our way up. His grace also comes, If we go one step, He comes ten steps to meet us, but we have got to be sincere in our efforts. He always receives us with open arms, provided we want Him, we long for Him. Mostly we do not try to seek Him, we long for Him. Mostly we do not try to seek Him; mostly we do not try to have real devotion for Him. Even if we turn to Him, it is not for meeting Him but to achieve some worldly aims, desires and possessions. We want Him to fulfill all that our mind wants. we do not want Him for Himself. Very few people want Him for His sake. Most people have ulterior motives; they want Him because He can be a good instrument for fulfilling their desires. That is not wanting Him, that is not invoking His grace.

We would worship Him because we want Him, we love Him. The basis of religion is not fear, but love. We do not want to worship Him to escape from the woes of the world. We worship Him to escape from the woes of the world. We worship Him because we are in love with Him. And when you are in love with anybody, you just want to be with Him for the sake of love, and not for the fulfilment of any desires or worldly things. So, unless that real longing, that real yearning, comes within us and that real devotion takes place in our heart, we cannot achieve our destination.

People hardly pray to Him for His grace, for His blessings, for helping them to merge back into Him. They usually pray to Him for their sons, their litigations, desires to be fulfilled. They never pray to Him for His sake for Him. They only want to make Him their means, an instrument to satisfy their desires. And who creates the desires? The mind creates the desires. And to Lord to fulfill our desires. we are not explaining to our mind to abide by the Will of the Lord. We are trying to explain to the Lord to abide by the will of the mind. We then serve the mind, not the Lord. Unless we completely surrender ourselves to Him, driving all these desires out of our mind, we cannot achieve our destination, because He will always give us what we want. We will have to surrender to Him. When we just want Him from Him, then only we can merge back into Him. So, we have to create within ourselves that real longing and desire for, and devotion to Him.

Q How are we brought to meditation?

A By the grace of the Lord. There is no other way. We may say that we have become devotees of the Lord because we have found the right teachings, we have found the path, we have found the Master. It would be quite wrong to think so. Actually, when He wants to put us on the path, when He wants to give us His devotion, He creates such circumstances that we have no option but to follow that path. We are ultimately drawn to the path. It is all in His hands. When He wishes it, everything becomes clear to us. First is His grace. With His grace we will meet a Master. Through Contact with the Master we will be put on the path, and with our efforts we invoke His grace to travel on that path until ultimately our practice will lead us to our Home and we merge back into Him. Everything is interconnected. Without the Lord's grace, nothing can happen.

Q The decision that makes us decide to accept the Teachings? Where does that come from? From the soul?

A No, that comes from our karma, the fruits of our association and sincerity in the past birth to meet the Lord. It is due to our real and sincere longing to meet Him. Whether we are following the right or the wrong path, if our longing is sincere, then the onus is not on us but on Him to put us on the right path. So, all these things taken together shape our destiny on the path. That is what we call the grace of the Lord. It is through His grace that we get the opportunity to come on the path. Actually, we have worked our way and thus invoked His grace to come on the path in our previous birth, and that is how we find ourselves on the path in this life.

Q Are we not all laggards to be here at this time? We are almost at the end; it has been so long?

A We feel that we are at the end, and the people who have to come into this world after ten thousand years will think that we were at the beginning. We should be glad that we are on the path which leads us out of this circle, this wheel of of transmigration, back to Him. We are definitely not at the end. There are still more to come.

Q By grace, do you mean the Will of the Lord?

A Brother, give it any name. Call it His Will, call it His love call it His Grace, call it by any name. Mere words do not count. His Grace is His Grace. It is His Mercy, His Grace, His Blessings that put us on the path, and we refer to all this as His Grace. The name makes no difference.