wisdom of thesadhu
T E A C H I N G S O F S U N D A R S I N G H
wisdom of the sadhu
T E A C H I N G S O F S U N D A R S I N G H
compiled and edited by kim comer
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C O N T E N T S
to the reader vii
I . S C E N E S
the hungry birds 2
dharma • devotion 4
five holy men 9
maya • illusion 14
the saint 20
santi • peace 25
the scholar 30
jnana • knowledge 33
I I . C O N V E R S A T I O N S
the pilgrim 2
darshana • the divine presence
48
avatara • incarnation 1
the lovers 68
karma • bondage 76
moksa • release 85
the prince and the thief 1
dyva vileenam • oneness with god 98
dhyanam • contemplation 15
three seekers 3
seva • service 25
tapas • suffering 1
the king and the farmer 54
amrita • eternity 63
a warning to the west 72
seeker and master 1
background and
context 8
sources 196
Seek not to understand so that thou
mayest believe, but believe so that
thou mayest understand.
Augustine of Hippo
To the reader
As a large, red sun rises from the
holy man – comes into view, trudging along a
dusty road. In another frame the figure appears again,
this time toiling to reach a remote Tibetan village
along a narrow, icy track better suited for goats than
for humans. In yet another, the man appears at the
edge of an ancient marketplace at dusk, mingling with
the crowd as he seeks a place to sit and rest. Wherever
this sadhu appears, those who look into his eyes immediately
sense his extraordinary humility and peace.
They discover a mystic…
Just as Sundar Singh appeared in such scenes
again and again – without prior announcement, without
introduction, without credentials – so he appears
in this book. “Scenes,” the first section, contains impressions
from key events in his life. It is based both
on accounts by Sundar Singh himself, and by writers
who knew him. “Conversations,” the second, contains
dialogues that draw freely on material from all
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six of Sundar Singh’s books, as well as interviews and
articles. Both sections are interspersed with parables
that punctuate the themes. Though structurally unusual,
the resulting collage allows us to encounter the
sadhu in the way his contemporaries did: not as a systematic
thinker, but as a personal teacher.
In his teachings as in his life, Sundar Singh offers
little by way of rational orientation. He defies categorization
and critical analysis. The impact of his message,
however, is always direct and immediate. His
voice rings with a clarity that rises from the deepest,
clearest sources of life itself.
K. C.
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the hungry birds
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P A R A B L E
the hungry birds
Once as I wandered in the mountains, I
came upon an outcropping of rocks, and as I sat on the highest
rock to rest and look out over the valley, I saw a nest in the
branches of a tree. The young birds in the nest were crying
noisily. Then I saw how the mother bird returned with food for
her young ones. When they heard the sound of her wings and
felt her presence nearby, they cried all the more loudly and
opened their beaks wide. But after the mother bird fed them
and flew away again, they were quiet. Climbing down to look
more closely, I saw that the newly hatched birds had not yet
opened their eyes. Without even being able to see their mother,
they opened their beaks and begged for nourishment whenever
she approached.
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These tiny birds did not say: “We will not open our beaks
until we can see our mother clearly and also see what kind of
food she offers. Perhaps it is not our mother at all but instead
some dangerous enemy. And who knows if it is proper nourishment
or some kind of poison that is being fed to us?” If they
had reasoned thus, they would never have discovered the
truth. Before they were even strong enough to open their eyes,
they would have starved to death. But they held no such
doubts about the presence and love of their mother, and so
after a few days, they opened their eyes and rejoiced to see her
with them. Day by day they grew stronger and developed into
the form and likeness of the mother, and soon they were able
to soar up into the freedom of the skies.
We humans often think of ourselves as the greatest living
beings, but do we not have something to learn from these
common birds? We often question the reality and the loving
nature of God. But the Master has said: “Blessed are those
who have not seen and yet believe.” Whenever we open our
hearts to God, we receive spiritual nourishment and grow
more and more into the likeness of God until we reach spiritual
maturity. And once we open our spiritual eyes and see God’s
presence, we find indescribable and unending bliss.
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dharma devotion
Candlelight flickers across the worn
pages, and the Sanskrit characters dance rhythmically,
like graceful maidens chanting ancient hymns. Transfixed,
the young boy follows their motion, and his
soul sings in unison with them:
A mass of radiance, glowing all around,
I see thee, hard to look at, on every side;
Glory of flaming fire and sun, immeasurable,
without beginning, middle, or end of power.
Infinite arms, whose eyes are the moon and sun,
I see thee, whose face is flaming fire,
burning the whole universe with thy radiance.
Quietly another voice enters the song. It is a gentle,
beloved voice, calling him, calling “Sundar,” drawing
him out of the chant, away from the dance. Slowly
closing his inner eyes, he looks up into the candlelit
face of his mother. “Come, Sundar! It is past midnight
already. Soon it will be morning. You are only eight
years old, my son. You must rest.”
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Obediently, reverently the boy returns the holy
books to their place and seeks his mat. The candle
flickers one last time and dies. Later he remembers:
Although my family was Sikh, we had great reverence
for the Hindu scriptures. My mother was a living
example
of the love of God and a devoted follower of
Hindu teachings. Every day she awoke before dawn,
prepared herself with the cold water of the ritual
bath,
and read either from the Bhagavad Gita or
from one of
the other sacred writings. Her pure life and her
complete
devotion influenced me more strongly than it did
the other family members. From the time of my earliest
memories, she impressed upon me one rule above all
others: when I woke from sleep, my first duty was to
pray to God for spiritual nourishment and blessings.
Only then could I break the night’s fast. Sometimes I
objected to this rule and insisted on having breakfast
first, but my mother would never relent. Usually with
coaxing, but when necessary with force, she impressed
this rule deep onto my soul: Seek God first and only
then turn to other things.
At that time, I was too young to recognize the true
value of this education, and I resisted her. Later,
however,
I came to appreciate her example. Whenever I
think back now on her loving guidance, I cannot thank
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God enough for her. For she planted in me, and tended
in my early life, a profound love and fear of God. She
carried a great light within her, and her heart was the
best spiritual training anyone could have: “You must
not be careless and worldly,” she would say. “Seek
peace of soul, and love God always. Someday you must
give yourself fully to the search, you must follow the
way of the sadhu.”
With pleading eyes, the boy looks up at his father:
Please help her, Father! She is so old and the weather
is
turning cold. I spent all my pocket money to buy food
for her, but I did not have enough for a blanket.
Please
give me money to buy her a blanket.
Sardar Sher Singh retorts:
Listen, Sundar! Over the years I have given that widow
all manner of help. We are not responsible for her. The
other people in town should also help look after her.
They must also learn charity. You cannot be responsible
for everyone all the time. Others must learn to
play their part. Do not worry about her now. You have
done more than enough for her.
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Downcast, the boy turns away. Agony of conscience.
Has not Mother always said we should show compassion
and pity? Has Father no heart? What if no one else
helps her? She might freeze in the night. Is there
nothing
I can do? Maybe…No, I mustn’t! That would be
wrong. But then again, Father has so much; he will
never miss a few rupees. It is for a good cause; I’m
not
stealing for myself…
Sundar was wrong. Father does miss it. In the
evening, Sardar Sher Singh calls together the household
and announces that he is missing five rupees.
“Has anyone taken money from my purse?” he asks,
gently but firmly. Each one answers in turn. Sundar
quietly says, “No Father, I didn’t do it.” The day closes
somber and unresolved.
Sundar sleeps fitfully. He tosses and turns. In his
dreams, he sees the stern face of his father, hears the
disappointment in his voice: “How could you steal
from me, your father? How could you secretly disobey
me? Even now, after I ask for the truth, still you
lie to me.” Sundar knows this is not dharma – devotion.
This is adharma – sin.
It is evil. The holy books speak of karma –
the relentless
cycle of sin and death by whose law every sinful act
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burdens the soul and carries painful consequences. The
holy books warn that we will reap what we sow, in this
life or the next. How can I escape this karma? How can
I undo what I have done? What good is compassion for
others in need if my own soul is burdened?
Sardar Sher Singh hears a quiet, frightened voice:
Father! Wake up, Father! Something terrible has
happened.
It was I, Father. I stole your money to buy a
blanket for the widow. Forgive me, Father. I want to
escape
the karma; I am ready to accept punishment; I am
ready to accept it as penance for this sin.
Now awake, Sardar Sher Singh sees the anguish in the
boy’s face and sees the hours of anguish behind it. He
takes hold of the boy – not to punish him, but to take
him up into his strong arms; not with anger, but with
love. Gently he says: “I have always trusted you, my
child, and now I have good proof that my trust was
not misplaced. Sleep in peace now, for you have
shown courage to choose what is right. In this way,
you have turned the wrong to good. I, too, am sorry
that I refused you money for the widow. I will not
refuse you such a request again.”
five holy men
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P A R A B L E
five holy men
Once in Haridwar I met a sadhu lying on a
bed of nails. I went to him and asked, “To what end do you
wound and torture yourself so?” He answered:
You are a sadhu yourself. Do you not know why I do this?
It is my penance. I am destroying the flesh and its desires.
I serve God in this way, but I still feel all too clearly the
pain of my sins and the evil in my desires. Indeed, the
pain of them is far worse than the pain of these nails. My
goal is to kill all desire and so to find release from myself
and oneness with God. I have been exercising this discipline
for eighteen months, but I have not yet reached my
goal. Indeed, it is not possible to find release in such a
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short time; it will take many years, even many lives, before
I can hope for release.
I considered the life of this man. Must we torture ourselves
through many lives in order to find true peace? If we do not
reach our goal in this life, why should there be another chance
in another life? Is it even possible in thousands on thousands
of lives? Can such peace ever be found through our own efforts?
Must it not be a gift from God? Surely we must seek the
life of God, not the death of flesh.
I met another sadhu doing penance. His feet were tied
with a rope and he was hanging upside down from the branch
of a tree. When he had ended his exercise and was resting under
the tree, I asked him, “Why do you do this? What is the
purpose of such torture?” He answered:
People are greatly amazed to see me hanging head-down
from a tree, but remember, the Creator sets every child
head-down in the mother’s womb. This is my method to
serve God and do penance. In the eyes of the world it is
folly, but in this exercise I remind myself and others that
all of us are bound by sin and lead lives that are, in God’s
eyes, upside down. I seek to turn myself upside down
again and again until in the end I stand upright in the
sight of God.
It is true that the world is upside down and its ways are
perverted.
But can we ever hope to right ourselves through our
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own strength? Must we not turn instead to God, who alone
can set right what is wrong and free us from evil thoughts and
desires?
Later, I met yet another sadhu. In the hot summer, he
would continually sit within the five fires – that is, with four
fires around him and the burning sun overhead. In winter he
would stand for hours in the icy water. Yet his whole expression
was marked by sadness and despair. I learned that the
man had been undergoing this exercise for five years. I approached
him and asked: “What have you gained from this
discipline? What have you learned?” He answered sadly, “I do
not hope to gain or learn anything in this present life, and
about the future I can say nothing.”
The following day I went to see a sadhu who had taken
an oath of silence. He was a genuine seeker after truth. He had
not spoken for six years. I went to him and asked him questions:
“Did God not give us tongues so that we can speak?
Why do you not use yours to worship and praise the Creator
instead of remaining silent?” Without any hint of pride or
arrogance
he answered me by writing on a slate:
You are right, but my nature is so evil that I cannot hope
for anything good to come out of my mouth. I have remained
silent for six years, but my nature remains evil, so
it is better that I remain silent until I receive some blessing
or message that can help others.
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Once in the
lama who lived in a cave in the mountains. He had closed off
the entrance of the cave by building a stone wall – leaving only
a small opening for air. He never left the cave and lived only
from the tea and roasted barley that devout people brought
and passed through the small hole. Because he had lived so
long in utter darkness, he had become blind. He was determined
to remain in the cave for the rest of his life. When I
found this hermit, he was engaged in prayer and meditation,
so I waited outside until he had finished. Then I asked if I might
speak with him, and we were able to converse through the
hole in the wall, although we could not see each other. First he
asked me about my spiritual journey. Then I asked him, “What
have you gained through your seclusion and meditation? Buddha
taught nothing about a God to whom we can pray. To
whom do you pray, then?” He answered:
I pray to Buddha, but I do not hope to gain anything by
praying and by living in seclusion. Quite the opposite, I
seek release from all thought of gain. I seek nirvana, the
elimination of all feeling and all desire – whether of pain
or of peace. But still I live in spiritual darkness. I do not
know what the end will be, but I am sure that whatever I
now lack will be attained in another life.
I then responded:
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Surely your longings and feelings arise from the God who
created you. They were surely created in order to be fulfilled,
not crushed. The destruction of all desire cannot
lead to release, but only to suicide. Are not our desires
inseparably intertwined with the continuation of life?
Even the idea of eliminating desire is fruitless. The desire
to eliminate all desire is still itself a desire. How can we
find release and peace by replacing one desire with another?
Surely we shall find peace not by eliminating desire,
but by finding its fulfillment and satisfaction in the
One who created it.
The hermit closed our conversation, saying, “We shall see
what we shall see.”
maya
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maya illusion
The sunlight speckled with jungle
shadows paints leopard spots on the hermit’s yellow
robe. The hermit, the old sadhu, the holy man sits
cross-legged on a leopard skin, one with the skin, one
with the leopard, one with the jungle.
At the feet of the sadhu sits Sundar, a boy fleeing
maya – illusion –
and hungry for certainty and knowledge
– jnana. The boy
is devout. He is a Sikh, a devout
Sikh, a devout among the devout, a lion among the lions.
But he is restless.
Sikh priests have taught him all they know, but
he is not satisfied. He can recite the entire Guru Granth
Sahib, the holy
book of the Sikhs, but it does not
quench his thirst. He can recite the Upanishads, the
Darsanas, the Bhagavad Gita and
the Shastaras of the
Hindus; the Qur’an and the Hadis of Islam are known
to him by heart. His mother fears God and sees in him
a pilgrim; she sees in him the making of a sadhu. His
father is worried. He asks Sundar: “Why do you tor
maya
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ment yourself over religious questions? You will twist
your brain and ruin your sight.” The boy answers, “I
must have santi. I must have peace.”
In his quest, the boy has come to the old sadhu in
the jungle:
Sadhu-ji, you say my hunger and my thirst are illusion,
tricks of maya. Only Brahma is
truth. Brahma is the divine
source of all things, you say; Brahma is
God. You
say I will see that I am part of Brahma, and
that once I
do, my needs will cease to concern me. Forgive me,
Sadhu-ji, and do not be angry with me, but how can this
be? If I am Brahma or have
even a part of it, how then
can I be deceived by maya? How can
illusion have
power over me? For if illusion has power over truth,
then truth is itself illusion. Is then illusion
stronger than
truth? Is illusion stronger than truth?
Sadhu-ji, you say I must wait. You say I will gain
knowledge of spiritual things as I grow older. My
thirst
will be quenched. But can it be so? Is not food the
answer
to hunger? Is not water the answer to thirst? If a
hungry boy asks for bread, can his father answer, “Go
and play! When you are older, you will understand
hunger and you will not need bread?” If you, Sadhu-ji,
have found the understanding I seek, if you have found
certainty and peace, please tell me how I can find it.
If
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not, then tell me so, and I will continue my search. I
cannot rest until I have found peace.
Something is wrong. Why do the Shastaras no
longer
come alive before my eyes? Why does our holy book
now seem so distant? Why do I return from the peace
of yoga meditation to find my
heart still burdened with
unrest?
An adolescent boy struggles to hold onto all that his
mother taught him. It was so natural and so simple
while she was alive, but since her death the spiritual
exercises require so much effort. Faith has become
clouded by doubt. The words of the old sadhu in the
jungle sound like hollow promises, with boldness he
questions the sadhu’s teaching. The words of the
Vedas and of Guru Granth Sahib no longer answer his
seeking. Instead, question after question stumble over
one another, and all is confusion. The lives of those
around him seem fraught with hypocrisy. Where is
the fire and clarity of the early Sikh believers? And
now Christian missionaries bring still another truth,
but their arrival brings Sundar only further, deeper
confusion.
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This is not the truth of my mother, of our ancestors,
of
our culture. This is a foreign truth, one brought to us
by outsiders who do not understand our ways. But why
then does Father make me attend the Christian school?
I would rather go to the state school at Sanewal. I am
ready to walk the six miles through the desert. I am a
Sikh. I will show them. I will show Father what I think
of these colonialists and their western ways, their
foreign
faith…
When the elders come to him, Sardar Sher Singh cannot
believe his ears. There must be some mistake.
Quiet, respectful Sundar throwing stones at his teachers,
disrupting classes, and mocking the missionaries
– impossible! When Sardar Sher Singh goes to see
for himself, he cannot believe his eyes. Yet there, in
the courtyard of his own house, a group of teenage
boys gather around his son, who first tears the
Christian’s holy book to shreds and then, in a frenzy
of rage, hurls it into a fire. Never in the history of the
village has anyone publicly burned a sacred book of
any faith! And his own son! He rushes out in confusion
and anger. He seizes Sundar:
Are you insane? Why would you do such a thing? Is
this the respect for sacred things you learned at your
mother’s breast? Is this your thanks to those who teach
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you? You will not commit such blasphemy in my presence.
As your father and head of this household, I command
you to stop such insanity. There will be no more
book burning here!
Peace is gone. No one is left. Mother is dead. Father is
shamed. The sadhu in the jungle has no more to say.
The holy writings are remote and foreign. Meditation
offers escape, but no resolution, no realization. The
ritual bath cleanses the body, but all is still dark
within. The familiar words of the scriptures whirl in
his mind. There is Guru Nanak: “I cannot live for a
moment without you, O God. When I have you, I
have everything. You are the treasure of my heart.”
And there is Guru Arjim: “We long only for you, O
God. We thirst for you. We can only find rest and
peace in you.” That is the only hope. If there is a God,
then let him reveal the way to peace. If there is no
God, then there is no point in living.
The fifteen-year-old boy rises long before the
sun. With solemn ritual he bathes and chants the ancient
invocation as he has done every morning for as
long as he can remember, just as his mother taught
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him. This morning will be the last time. He thinks of
his mother and wonders if he will find her in the world
beyond. At : A.M. the express train to
pass. It will pass over the tracks near the edge of Sardar
Sher Singh’s property. It will pass over the body of a
desperate, confused young man. It will crush all
doubts and drive all questions from his heart and
head.
The prophecy of the Sikh priest nears fulfillment,
for had he not said to Sardar Sher Singh: “Your
son is not like the others. Either he will become a great
man of God, or he will disgrace us all by going
insane.”
the saint
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P A R A B L E
the saint
Many years ago there was a saint who after
finishing his daily round of duties would go to a cave in a jungle
to pray and meditate for hours. One day a philosopher happened
to come across the cave. Finding the saint on his knees,
he first stood there in amazement. Then he went up to the entrance
of the cave and tapped, but the saint was so absorbed
in contemplation that he did not respond. The philosopher
waited at least half an hour and was on the point of leaving
when the saint rose and called him in to sit down. Both remained
silent for a few moments. Then the philosopher broke
the silence.
Philosopher: Do you know that this cave is known as a
den of robbers?
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Saint: Yes,
sir, I know it well. This cave is a meeting place
for robbers but it is a shelter for me. When I am in the city
in the midst of so many people, when I have done my
work and want to pray and meditate, I find obstacles and
impediments that disturb my worship and distract me so
that neither I nor others receive any real benefit from my
spiritual exercise. So I retire from the disturbances of city
life to this quiet place and rest here in the presence of my
God and worship him in the beauty of his holiness. Here I
spend my time in prayer and offer intercessions on behalf
of others. This spiritual exercise has done much good not
only for me but for others as well.
Thieves often visit this place, but they never trouble
me. One of them once said to me, “See, honorable saint,
we are not blind and stupid. We rob those people who,
though not called robbers, yet rob others as much as we
do.” I will not report them to the authorities, because I
know a worldly government cannot reform them. It can
only punish them and further harden their hearts. But I
pray to God, who can change them and grant them new
life. Some of them have already changed and become
good citizens. So by the grace of God, my spiritual work
is being carried on in this solitude in the same way as it is
done among the multitudes.
Philosopher: You truly believe that you are helping others
by sitting here silently and praying?
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Saint: Some
people equate watching and praying with
laziness or carelessness. This is wrong. As a matter of fact,
it means diving into the ocean of reality and finding
pearls of divine truth that will enrich not only the diver,
but others as well. As a diver holds his breath while he is
diving, so a man of contemplation and prayer shuts himself
in a chamber of silence, away from the distractions of
the noisy world. Then he is able to pray with the Holy
Spirit from above, without which it is impossible to lead a
spiritual life.
My meaning is clear: God works in silence. No man
has ever heard him speak or make any sound. To hear his
voice, we must wait for him in silence. Then, without
voice or words, he will speak to the soul in the secret
room of the heart. As he himself is spirit, he addresses the
soul in spiritual language, fills it with his presence, and
finally
revives and refreshes it forever.
Philosopher: Silence is important. I, too, know that if I do
not concentrate silently, I cannot think. But I am not convinced
about your silent God. What proof do you have
for his existence?
Saint: Remember
that though millions experience his
presence, he exists above and beyond all human comprehension.
He dwells only in the heart of those who have a
childlike faith. As putting our hand near the flames and
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experiencing the warmth of the fire proves the existence
of fire, so experiencing God in spirit is the only strong and
solid proof of his existence. I know of a woman who,
when she was twelve, was told by her teacher about God
and his love. It was the first time she had ever heard of
God, yet as her teacher spoke, she said, “Yes, I have known
this already. I just did not know his name.”
Philosopher: But why is it that you renounce the world?
Do you hate the world and regard yourself as superior to
others?
Saint: I
do not hate the world, and I would never dare to
regard myself superior to others – God forbid. I am only a
weak and sinful man, but grace saves and helps me. Nor
have I renounced the world. I renounce only its evil and
everything in myself that hinders my spiritual life.
As long as we are in this world, it is impossible to renounce
it. If we leave the city and go to live in the jungle,
we will find that the jungle is also part of the world. It is
ridiculous to think of renouncing the world. No one can
renounce the world except through death. God put us on
this earth to live and move and be. His holy will is that we
may use the things of this world in the right way – to prepare
ourselves for our true spiritual home.
Philosopher: If you are so weak and sinful, why do
people call you a saint?
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Saint: The
Greek philosopher Socrates once said that in
all his life, he had learned only one, single lesson – namely,
that he knew nothing. Whenever people asked him what
then the difference was between him and other folk, he
replied that he differed from others only in one respect:
he accepted that he knew nothing, while they obstinately
clung to the belief that they knew something.
Let people think what they will, but I am no saint –
they are mistaken. I only desire intimacy with God. In fellowship
with him I experience a peace that is unknown to
the worldly. I know that I am weak and sinful, but most
people do not even know that they are sinners. Hence,
they do not know the cure for their sin, and they die
without ever finding the peace that I have found.
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santi peace
Though at the time I had considered myself
a hero for burning the Gospel, my heart found no
peace. Indeed, my unrest only increased, and I was
miserable
for the next two days. On the third day, when I
could bear it no longer, I rose at : A.M.
and prayed
that if there was a God at all, he would reveal himself
to me. Should I receive no answer by morning, I would
place my head on the railroad tracks and seek the
answer
to my questions beyond the edge of this life.
I prayed and prayed, waiting for the time to take
my last walk. At about : I saw
something strange.
There was a glow in the room. At first I thought there
was a fire in the house, but looking through the door
and windows, I could see no cause for the light. Then
the thought came to me: perhaps this was an answer
from God. So I returned to my accustomed place and
prayed, looking into the strange light. Then I saw a
figure
in the light, strange but somehow familiar at once.
It was neither Siva nor
Hindu incarnations I had expected. Then I heard a
voice speaking to me in Urdu: “Sundar, how long will
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you mock me? I have come to save you because you
have prayed to find the way of truth. Why then don’t
you accept it?” It was then I saw the marks of blood on
his hands and feet and knew that it was Yesu, the one
proclaimed by the Christians. In amazement I fell at
his
feet. I was filled with deep sorrow and remorse for my
insults and my irreverence, but also with a wonderful
peace. This was the joy I had been seeking. This was
heaven…Then the vision was gone, though my peace
and joy remained.
When I arose I immediately went to wake my father
and tell him what I had experienced – to tell him
that I was now a follower of Yesu. He told me to go
back to bed. “Why, only the day before yesterday you
were burning the Christians’ holy book. Now you say
you are one of them. Go and sleep, my child. You are
tired and confused. You will feel better in the
morning.”
Sardar Sher Singh tried to be understanding and patient,
for he felt the boy was still distraught from the
loss of his mother. So he discreetly avoided discussing
Sundar’s strange experience. Sundar in turn spent
most of his time in solitude and meditation, seeking
penance and wondering how to atone for his mockery
of the One who had revealed himself to him. Deep
within, he sensed that release would only come if he
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was prepared to serve Yesu as one serves a master – to
publicly declare himself a follower of the very being
he had publicly insulted.
No one could have foreseen the outcry that followed.
Robbed of their ringleader, Sundar’s peers
turned on their Christian teachers (and on Sundar
himself ), hurling abuse, accusing them of forcibly
converting the boy, despite Sundar’s repeated assertions
that the teachers knew nothing of what had happened.
Feelings ran so high that the school had to be
closed, and the missionaries escaped to
At home Sardar Sher Singh tried everything he
could to dissuade his son from his new-found faith. At
first he exercised patience. Then he appealed to the
boy’s honor:
My dear son – light of my eyes, comfort of my heart –
may you live long! As your father, I appeal to you to
consider your family. Surely you do not want the family
name to be blotted out. Surely this Christian religion
does not teach disobedience to parents. I call on you
to
fulfill your duty and to marry. I have chosen your
bride,
as is our custom, and everything is prepared. As an
engagement
present I will give you a legacy of ,
rupees that will provide enough interest for you and
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your family to live comfortably for a lifetime. Your
uncle will add to it a chest of gold.
I am not an unreasonable man, my child. But if you
refuse me, I will know that you are determined to
dishonor
your family and I will have no alternative but to
disown you. You wear the bracelet of the Sikh, you
wear your hair uncut as is the sign of the Sikh, you
bear
the name of a Sikh. Have you forgotten the meaning of
the name that our fathers adopted? Have you forgotten
what it means to be a Singh?
No, Father; the name means “lion.”
You know the meaning of your name, yet act like a
jackal of the desert. Why? The time has come for you
to make your choice.
Sundar Singh returned to his room and prayed. Then
he cut off his hair.
The face of Sardar Sher Singh was dreadful to behold.
Rage born of frustration, desperation and shame reddened
his eyes. In the presence of the entire household,
his heart heavy with grief, he led his son to the
door as darkness was falling. Already death had taken
his wife and one son; now he was to lose his beloved
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Sundar. But he saw no choice: the boy had made his
decision. Now he spoke the fearful curse: “We reject
you forever and cast you from among us. You shall be
no more my son. We shall know you no more. For us,
you are as one who was never born. I have spoken.”
The door closed behind him.
I will never forget the night I was driven out of my
home. I slept outdoors under a tree, and the weather
was cold. I had never experienced such a thing. I
thought to myself: “Yesterday I lived in comfort. Now
I am shivering, and I am hungry and thirsty. Yesterday
I had everything I needed and more; today I have no
shelter, no warm clothes, no food.” Outwardly the
night was difficult, but I possessed a wonderful joy
and
peace in my heart. I was following in the footsteps of
my new master – of Yesu, who had nowhere to lay his
head, but was despised and rejected. In the luxuries
and
comforts of home I had not found peace. But the
presence
of the Master changed my suffering into peace,
and this peace has never left me.
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P A R A B L E
the scholar
After his death, the soul of a German scholar
entered into the world of spirits. From a distance he saw the
indescribable glory of heaven and the unending joy of those
who dwell there. He was overwhelmed by what he saw, but
his intellect and his skepticism stood in his way and blocked
his entrance to the realm of bliss. So he began to argue with
himself:
There can be no doubt that I see all this, but how can I be
sure that it is real and not just a subconscious illusion? Let
me apply the critical tests of science, logic, and philosophy;
then we will see whether this apparent heaven really
exists.
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Now, the angels who dwelt in that place knew his thoughts
and approached him, and one addressed him:
Your intellect has warped your entire being. If you want
to see the world of the spirit, you must look with spiritual
eyes. You must apply spiritual insight, not the rational exercise
of logic. Your science deals with material reality. In
this realm, however, you can only apply the wisdom that
arises from love and reverence. It is a pity that you do not
take to heart the words of the Master: “Unless you
change completely and become like a little child, you
shall not enter the heavenly realm.”
Clearly you long to see spiritual truth. If you didn’t – if
your life and thoughts were only evil – you would not
even see heaven from afar, as you do now. But until you
tire of your folly and turn around, you will continue to
wander the world, banging your philosophical head
against reality. Only then will you gain true insight and be
able to turn with joy to the light of God.
In a certain sense, all of space and time is spiritual. God’s
presence
pervades everything. Thus all people live in the spiritual
world. Each of us is a spiritual being clothed in a mortal body.
But there is another level of reality where our spirits go and
dwell after physical death. This can be understood as a kind of
misty twilight between the glorious light of heavenly bliss and
the frigidity and darkness of death. Already in this life we set
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the course that determines where we shall enter into the world
beyond death. From there, we either turn joyfully toward the
light, or rebelliously toward the darkness.
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jnana knowledge
Cast out of my father’s house, I sought
the advice of my former teachers at the missionary
school. They provided for my material needs and
arranged
for me to go to the Christian Boys’ Boarding
School in
kindly and protected me in every way. But I was
shocked to see the godlessness of some of the students,
and of some of the local Christians. I had believed
that
Christians would be like living angels; in this I was
sadly mistaken.
A newly captured tiger prowls restlessly, while a tiger
that has been caged for a long time sprawls lazily,
awaiting the next feeding. Sundar’s thoughts fled the
comfortable confines of the missionaries’ kindness.
Everything was available to him: a good education, a
position in the colonial establishment. Everything
would be given him if he accepted the cozy life of a
good Christian boy. Yet on his sixteenth birthday, he
disappeared into the jungle. He reappeared thirtythree
days later in the saffron robe of a beggar-monk.
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No more a lion, he had become a tiger – a tiger that
seeks the thorny tracks of the jungle. His pilgrimage
had begun.
Two sadhus sit cross-legged and converse with one
another. One is old, very old, the picture of wisdom
with a long, gray beard and faded saffron robe. The
other, Sundar, is young and strong – a slight hint of
fuzz on his chin. The one is a tranquil hermit at
slowly flows in its ageless, unchanging course past
masses of bathing pilgrims. The other is a wanderer
seeking the source, seeking the mountains where the
sacred river dances and leaps in rushing, unpredictable
torrents.
Old sadhu: The
ancient rules laid down for the way of
the sadhu are wise. A man follows first the order of
the
student, gaining the knowledge and skills for a
productive
life. Next he takes on the order of father, caring for
family and property to exercise responsibility. Then,
when
his duties of the second order are fulfilled, he
retires
from the affairs of family and household, adopting the
ascetic order of the sadhu and renouncing the comfort
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and pleasures of this world. In this way, he can offer
penance for the failings of this life and all the lives
that
have gone before; he can restore his karma.
Young sadhu: I am
not opposed to the ancient customs,
but my motive in becoming a sadhu is different from
yours. I have not become a sadhu because I think that
there is any merit or salvation to be gained by it. I
long
only to serve God the Master with all my heart and soul
and mind and strength and to love my fellow men and
women even as I love myself. If we allow this principle
to guide our lives, then selfishness will flee from our
hearts and we shall be like children of God. We will
find in every man and woman our own brother and sister.
This is the only salvation; this is the only release
from karma, from the cycle of sin and death. So I lay
aside all worldly encumbrances and lead the life of a
sadhu not to gain release from karma, but in thankfulness
to God, who has already released me.
Let one of your disciples come with two mangoes,
one ripe and juicy, the other skin and stone with all
the
juice sucked out. What would you say if he gave you
the withered fruit and sat down to enjoy the delicious
fruit himself?
Old sadhu: Such
behavior would be inexcusable. It
would be an insult and the height of disrespect.
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Young sadhu: Well,
if in the days of our youth we
waste ourselves in our own pleasures and then, in the
weakness of old age, offer in service to God only the
bones and skin of our former strength, have we not also
acted selfishly and treated God with disrespect?
Where the wild, rushing Ganges leaves the
near Rishikesh, there is the thick, wild jungle of
Kajliban, a place of complete seclusion that few pilgrims
penetrate. Two bamboo cutters discovered
there the collapsed form of a sadhu in a clearing, too
weak to speak or move. They took him to a village
where he was nursed back to health with milk and
broth and sago.
After several years of service, I felt led to go into
the
forest, where I would be free from interruption. I
could
fast for forty days even as the Master had done, and I
could seek blessing on my past work and strength for
my future work. Soon I was so dehydrated and enervated
that I could not even move into the shade. But my
spiritual awareness grew correspondingly sharper.
Through this I discovered that the soul does not fade
and die with the body, but goes on living, and I sensed
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the presence of God and the fullness of the Spirit, a
reality
that cannot be expressed in words. I also had a vision
of the Master, though this time with spiritual – not
physical – eyes.
Throughout the fast, I felt a remarkable enrichment
of the peace and bliss that I had known in varying
degrees
since my first vision of the Master. Indeed, so
great was this sense of peace that I was not at all
tempted to break the fast. The experience has had a
lasting effect on me. Before it, I was frequently
assailed
by temptations. Especially when I was tired, I often
grew annoyed when people came to talk to me and ask
me questions. I still grow irritated at times, but not
as
often as I used to. Moreover, I used to toy at times
with
the thought of giving up the self-denial required of a
sadhu – of getting married and living in comfort and
ease. Now, however, I see clearly that my calling is
different,
and that the gift of ecstasy God has given me is
far better than any home, and far greater than any
hardship
I might endure.
“He’s back! The Sadhu has returned!” The news ran
like wildfire through the dingiest alleys of Kotgahr.
No adult took notice; few even heard the excited cries
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above the din of the marketplace. But the children –
the dirty toddler with the bloated stomach; the girl
with the maimed foot; the boy with the scarred face;
the scrawny offspring of the lepers, shunned even by
the Untouchables – they heard the cries. Sundar
Singh was back – and he was there again for them.
And so they hurried – running, scuffling and limping
– to his cave. It would be impossible to imagine a
happier band of children.
Meanwhile, many miles away, among the students
of the Christian Boys’ Boarding School, Sundar Singh
was changing the lives of other children too. C. F.
Andrews, a close friend of the Sadhu, remembers:
Whenever Sundar Singh was in town, he spent most of
his spare time visiting the boys in the school. They
sat
up with him into the long hours of the night and became
intensely eager to go to Kotgahr and live with him
there, so that they might catch something of his brave
spirit.
The changes that resulted were marvelous to witness.
One of the students, a cricketer and athlete, gave up
assured prospects in government service for a life of
Christian service. Another made up his mind to enter
the
ministry of the Church for a life of sacrifice and
devotion.
When one of the school sweepers, an Untouchable,
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fell ill, one of the boys who had come most under the
influence of the Sadhu, went into the sweepers’
quarters,
stayed with him and nursed him through his illness.
Such a thing had never happened in the history of
the school.
One of the senior students returned late one evening,
carrying on his back a man from the hills who was in
the
last stage of a terrible infectious disease. The boy
had
found him in an unfrequented place at the edge of the
jungle, where he had been lying neglected, possibly for
some days. Without a thought he loaded the man on his
back and carried him for nearly two miles along a
mountain track. Even the physical feat was remarkable;
but the moral stamina that made him ready to risk a
dangerous disease while others had passed by was more
noteworthy still. Only because he was living with the
Sadhu, did the inspiration come to this young man with
such compelling force as to make him act in this
manner.
Still further, the humility and reticence with which
this brave deed was done were themselves a reflection
of the Sadhu’s spirit.
What, it may be asked, was the attraction that made
such a wonderful change? Nothing that was merely
second-rate could possibly have effected it. No mode
of living, half in comfort, half in self-denial, could
have worked such a miracle. Indeed, those of us who
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did our work surrounded by too much outward comfort
did not impress the young people. We did not think
it possible for us to change our style of living,
though
we often talked the matter over. But Sundar Singh’s
life
could stand the test. It was reckless in its
self-spending.
He had counted the cost. The Cross was not preached
only, but lived – and that made all the difference.
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P A R A B L E
the pilgrim
There is a deep and natural craving in the
human heart that can be satisfied nowhere except in God. Our
being in this world is a test, a preparation for the deepest state
of spiritual communion. But most of us, suppressing our deepest
longings and disdaining God, seek satisfaction from this
world. Such a path can only lead to despair.
The story is told of a man who made it his goal in life to
find peace and to satisfy all his desires. He thought that if he
wandered the world, he would be sure to find a place where
he could live a life of peace and rest without having to work or
worry or suffer pain. Having made careful preparations, he set
out on his journey. For months he wandered from place to
place but could not find what he was seeking. One day he saw
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an old man sitting by the edge of a new grave. The traveler
came closer and asked the old man whose grave it was. The
man told him a remarkable story:
Two woodcutters from my village went out into the
nearby jungle to cut wood. By chance, I was also walking
that way. I saw them and greeted them from a distance.
They were seated near a bush in conversation and did not
notice me. So I approached them, and as I came closer,
one of them saw me and quickly covered something with
a cloth. I asked him what was under the cloth. At first,
the men tried to evade my question and keep their secret
hidden. So I asked again. Finally, they told me their story,
saying that I was to be the judge of what had happened,
and I was to give them my advice.
One of the men told me that as they were walking
through the forest, they noticed something glittering under
the bush. Coming closer, they found two gold ingots.
When I arrived, they were debating what to do with this
treasure. I told them that these bars were death traps in
the guise of gold and they should be left under the bush
and forgotten. I explained to them that I had heard about
a banker in a nearby town who had been killed by burglars
in his house. If the thieves were somewhere about
and discovered the woodcutters with their treasure, they
would not hesitate to kill them. Moreover, if the woodcutters
kept the gold and were discovered, they would
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surely be accused of the theft and the banker’s murder.
They nodded in agreement and said they would do as I
suggested. Then I went on my way.
However, they continued to argue over the gold, ignoring
my advice. The first woodcutter demanded twothirds
share, because according to him, it was he who
had discovered the gold; the other insisted that they
should divide it equally. Finally, the first agreed. To celebrate,
one of them went into the village to buy something
to eat.
Once separated, however, both men burned with such
greed that each plotted to kill the other. When the woodcutter
who had gone into the village returned, the one
who had remained to watch over the gold attacked him
and killed him. But the murderer did not live to enjoy the
gold, because – not knowing that his companion had
poisoned the food he had bought – he ate of it and fell
dead. Now both of them lie in this grave.
Looking over to another grave with a marble headstone, the
traveler asked the old man, “Whose grave is that there?” The
old man shook his head thoughtfully and said:
That man was exceedingly rich. But now he is dead, and
what use is his fancy monument? And look over there.
Do you see that mound? That was a man who was proud
and cruel, using violence and smooth words to take over
a kingdom. Once he was in power, he demanded that all
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the citizens should satisfy his desires and worship him as a
god. Then he was stricken with a fatal disease, and
worms fed on him till he died. A few days after his burial,
wild animals dug his body from the grave and feasted on
it, scattering his bones over the graveyard. The head that
had borne a crown was now a bare skull on the ground.
As the traveler was pondering the meaning of what was being
said, the old man continued:
These stories illustrate human depravity, but there is also
a solution. There is a stream of love in this world that
gives health, joy, and peace. Those who live in this current
of love (which is God) always try to do good to others and
never return evil for evil.
There was once a widow who, after mourning the
death of her husband, had a dispute with her sister over
the distribution of the property. Finally, the widow’s sister
became so angry that she took the widow’s son and
abandoned him in a basket in the river. A fisherman who
found the child took him home and brought him up as
his own son. The boy grew into manhood. One day, while
selling fish in the marketplace, he unwittingly met his
mother. Though she did not recognize the young man as
her son, she felt pity for him, and invited him and the old
fisherman to come and live with her.
Not long afterwards the widow noticed among the
fisherman’s possessions a basket she recognized as her
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own. She also noticed, on the boy’s elbow, a familiar scar
that identified him as her son.
Confronting her sister later, the widow, however, wrung
a confession from her. Her anger knew no bounds. Thankfully,
she was kept from taking revenge, for the boy held
his mother back and prevented her from retaliating. Serving
both his mother and his aunt for the rest of his days,
he showed, by his acts of kindness and mercy, how evil is
overcome only with good.
The traveler thanked the old man for his stories and set off
down the road. On the way he met an athlete and a leper talking
together. “How did you get leprosy?” the athlete asked. “I
have been told that it is because I lived in evil and immorality,”
the leper replied. “You have kept yourself in good health and
your body is strong. But in the end, your body and mine shall
be the same – dust in the earth.”
The traveler continued on his way, thinking. He saw now
that his longing for a life of comfort and ease was mere
selfishness,
and that only a life lived for others and for God would
bring him true freedom. To live selfishly, he saw, is to flap like
a
bird that has escaped its cage, only to realize it is still
tethered.
The harder it struggles, the more entangled it becomes.
It has been well observed that though nations may differ
from nations, communities from communities, and people
from people, human nature is the same everywhere. As there
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is but one sun that warms and gives light to the earth, there is
but one God who teaches us to love one another and care for
each other.
It is not just the widows, orphans, the poor, and the
needy that are unhappy. Kings in their kingdoms, the wealthy
in the midst of their luxury, and the learned with their wisdom
are also restless and unfulfilled. As with Noah’s dove, which
found no place to rest in the world, so it is with us. As
strangers
and pilgrims on the earth, we can find no rest without the
Master who said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest.”
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darshana the divine presence
Seeker: Sadhu-ji, I
am searching for
inner peace, but the many religions and philosophies I
have studied fill me only with doubts and questions. I
am no longer even sure if God exists. Can you help
me find spiritual truth?
Sadhu: Only the
fool says in his heart, “There is no
God.” Such a thought says nothing about the existence
or non-existence of God, but only about the
skeptic’s own spiritual blindness and inability to recognize
God. Indeed, atheists deny the existence of
God altogether, but they cannot prove their claim that
God does not exist. Even if we assume for the sake of
argument that they are correct, we would only further
the cause of ignorance, not the cause of truth, because
what could be a greater waste of time than to try and
prove the non-existence of something that doesn’t
even exist? Time would be better spent on more worthwhile
pursuits. Yet if God does exist, as all spiritually
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enlightened souls know, then it would be still greater
foolishness to try and prove God’s non-existence.
Though many argue that the belief in God is a harmful
superstition that must be eliminated for the sake of
human progress, the opposite is the case. Uncounted
spiritual blessings have enriched the lives of those
who believe.
Unlike atheists, agnostics believe neither in the existence
nor in the non-existence of God. They claim
that we cannot know whether God exists. But again
this is a mistake. We have an innate longing in our
hearts to know God, and every race in every age has
shown in some form or another its deep craving for
God. Is God simply a human invention, as an ancient
philosopher once said? He argued the following: “In
the primeval age of disorder and violence, as always,
laws could punish crimes committed in the open day,
but they could not touch the secret crimes hidden in
the gloomy depths of conscience. So the best way to
make people lead moral lives was to make them afraid
by inventing gods who could see and hear all things,
not only all human actions, but also the inmost
thoughts and intentions of the human heart.” Yet,
even this argument actually acknowledges that the human
soul is incomplete and unfulfilled without God.
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Some claim that God is unknowable, but this is utter
nonsense. Such an assertion can only be made on
the basis of some kind of limited knowledge of God.
If God is completely beyond our knowing, how can
we know that he is unknowable?
Seeker: Can no one
prove to me whether God exists,
so that I can know the truth?
Sadhu: God has no
need or desire for anyone to
prove his existence. Our arguments are feeble, our
minds limited. God could have provided proofs convincing
enough, way beyond anything we could
imagine. God desires rather that we should enjoy his
life-giving presence and so bear witness to something
far more sublime and convincing than anything the
rational mind can produce.
Our spirits live and grow in our human bodies
much like the chick develops inside the egg. If it were
possible for the chick to be told that a great world
waits beyond its shell, that this world is filled with
fruits and flowers, rivers and great mountains, and
that its own mother is also there waiting for it to be set
free and to experience this splendor, the chick could
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still neither comprehend nor believe it. Even if one
explained that its feathers and wings and eyes were
developing so that it could fly and see, still it would
not be able to believe it, nor would any proof be possible,
until it broke through its shell.
In the same way, there are many people who cannot
comprehend the spiritual life or the existence of God
because they cannot see beyond the confines of their
bodily sense. Their thoughts – like delicate wings –
cannot yet carry them beyond the narrow confines of
logic. Their weak eyes cannot yet make out those
eternal treasures that God has prepared for his children.
The only condition necessary for us to break out
of our material limitations and attain spiritual life is
that we accept the life-giving warmth of God’s spirit,
just as the chick receives its mother’s warmth. Without
that warmth, we will not take on the nature of the
Spirit and we may die without ever hatching out of
this material body.
We have been endowed with spiritual senses so that
we can feel and enjoy God’s presence. But the influence
of irreverence and sin deadens these senses till
we are no longer able to see beyond ourselves, nor beyond
the material world. As long as we follow this
path, we cannot believe that God exists, and so we
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starve ourselves until in the end we have committed
spiritual suicide. Our end is total enslavement to the
material world.
Seeker: If we
cannot prove that God exists, then how
can we ever know God or any spiritual truth?
Sadhu: God is the
author of creation and provides all
that is necessary for our wellbeing. If it were helpful
or necessary for us to know God perfectly already
now, then God would have provided the means to
meet that need. Quite the contrary, it is important for
our own spiritual growth that we persevere in trying
to know more of God. True and satisfying knowledge
of anything is always the fruit of mental exertion and
the exercise of our own consciousness.
God is infinite while we are finite. We can never
fully comprehend the infinite, but we do have within
us a spiritual sense that allows us to recognize and enjoy
God’s presence. The ocean is vast beyond our
imagining, and it would never be possible for a person
to fathom it or take in all its great treasures. But with
the tip of our tongues we can recognize at once that
the ocean is salty. We have not understood even a
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fraction of all there is to know about the ocean, but
with our sense of taste we can experience its essence.
In the end, how can we expect to have full knowledge
of the creator, when even our knowledge of created
things is limited? We know a little about the
physical characteristics of the created world, but we
know next to nothing about the unseen spiritual
world. Indeed, we know next to nothing about our
own spiritual lives. If we had complete knowledge of
our own spiritual nature, then perhaps we would be
capable of knowing the nature of God, for we were
created in his image.
From the moment of birth, every child loves its
mother dearly in its own way, but the child cannot
know and love the mother as the mother loves the
child. With age, the child grows to know the mother
better and to enjoy her company in new, fulfilling
ways. Our knowledge and age would have to be infinite
if we were to truly comprehend God who is infinite.
But at every age and level of knowledge we can
appreciate and enjoy some aspect of God’s presence.
Why do we need to know more than this? As we grow
spiritually, we will come to know more and more of
God, but there is no need to be impatient. Eternity
stretches before us.
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One day I saw a flower and began to contemplate
its fragrance and beauty. As I thought more deeply, I
recognized the creator of such wonders – not with
my mortal eyes but with my spiritual eyes. This filled
my heart with joy, but my joy was still greater when I
recognized that same creator at work within my own
soul. How wonderful is God, separate from creation
and yet ever filling it with his glorious presence.
Seeker: Since we
know so little about God’s nature,
how is it even possible to recognize his divine presence?
Sadhu: Many people
experience the Master’s presence
without actually seeing him. When we apply
medicine drops to our eyes, we experience the healing
effect, but we cannot see the drops. In the same way,
we recognize the presence of the Master and his work
of cleansing our inner eyes and aiding our spiritual
sight even though we cannot see him.
Those who turn to the Master with open hearts will
feel his power and experience peace. It is like something
sweet on the tongue. Both our sense of taste and
the sweetness of the sugar are invisible to the eye.
Similarly, the Master sustains us with unseen nourishment
– wisdom that the five senses cannot grasp.
darshana
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God is revealed in the book of nature for God is its
author. Yet we only comprehend this book if we have
the necessary spiritual insight. Without reverence and
perception we go astray. We cannot judge the truthfulness
of any book merely by reading it. Agnostics
and skeptics, for example, find only defects instead of
perfection. Skeptics ask, “If there is an almighty creator,
why then are there hurricanes, earthquakes, pain,
suffering, death, etc.?” This is like criticizing an unfinished
building or incomplete painting. When we
see them fully finished, we are embarrassed at our
own folly and praise the skill of the artist. God did not
shape the world into its present form in a single day,
nor will it be perfected in a single day. The whole creation
moves toward completion, and if we see it with
the eyes of God moving toward the perfect world
without fault or blemish, then we can only bow humbly
before our creator and exclaim, “It is very good.”
Seeker: From what
you say, Sadhu, it seems to require
patience and great effort to recognize God’s presence.
What do we actually gain by seeking God?
Sadhu: A mother
once left her child for a time playing
in the garden. When her little son noticed she was
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not there, he searched the whole garden over. He
looked everywhere but could not find her. Finally he
cried and called out, but still she did not appear. The
gardener saw him crying and tried to calm him, saying:
“Do not cry! Look at these beautiful flowers and
delicious mangoes. Shall I pick some for you?” But
the child answered: “No! No! My mother has better
food than these mangoes and her love is far sweeter
than all these flowers. I want my mother.” When his
mother heard these words, she rushed out, embraced
him, and smothered him with kisses. At that moment,
the garden became a paradise. This world is like a
great garden full of wonderful and beautiful flowers,
but we cannot find true joy in it until we meet God.
Seeker: So how do I
find the path to spiritual truth
and to knowledge of God?
Sadhu: God never
discourages a seeker by judging
his or her beliefs to be wrong. Rather, God allows
each person to recognize spiritual error or truth by
degrees. The story is told of a poor grass cutter who
found a beautiful stone in the jungle. He had often
heard of people finding valuable diamonds and
thought this must be one. He took it to a jeweler and
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showed it to him with delight. Being a kind and sympathetic
man, the jeweler knew that if he bluntly told
the grass cutter that his stone was worthless glass, the
man would either refuse to believe it or else fall into a
state of depression. So instead, the jeweler offered the
grass cutter some work in his shop so that he might
become better acquainted with precious stones and
their value.
Meanwhile, the man kept his stone safely locked
away in a strongbox. Several weeks later, the jeweler
encouraged the man to bring out his own stone and
examine it. As soon as he took it out of the chest and
looked at it more closely, he immediately saw that it
was worthless. His disappointment was great, but he
went to the jeweler and said: “I thank you that you did
not destroy my hope but aided me instead to see my
mistake on my own. If you will have me, I will stay
with you and faithfully serve you, as you are a good
and kind master.” In the same way, God leads back to
truth those who have wandered into error. When they
recognize the truth for themselves, they gladly and
joyfully give themselves in obedient service.
Some say that desire is the root cause of all pain and
sorrow. According to this philosophy, salvation consists
in eliminating all desire, including any desire for
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eternal bliss or communion with God. But when
someone is thirsty, do we tell him to kill his thirst instead
of giving him water to drink? To drive out thirst
without quenching it with life-sustaining water is to
drive out life itself. The result is death, not salvation.
Thirst is an expression of our need for water and a
sign of hope that somewhere there is water that can
satisfy our thirst. Similarly, the deep longing in our
soul is a clear sign of hope that spiritual peace exists.
Something can satisfy our thirsty souls. When the