Divine Light Magazine Vol 1, No 5, February 1972
Salutations at the Lotus Feet of Satgurudev
No-one can comprehend the embodied form
Satsang from Mahatma Gurucharnand Ji, published in Divine Light Vol 1 No 5, Magazine of Divine Light Mission, February 1972.
Dear sisters and brothers,
How blessed we are who have approached the Holy Lotus
Feet of our glorious Master whose radiance is Divine,
whose Knowledge is perfect, whose Love is Nectar. It is
not really the result of our good actions that we have
found Him in this dark age. It is His boundless
compassion and mercy alone that has enabled us to take
eternal refuge in His Holy Lotus Feet and has made us
able to become His humble disciples.
There is nothing higher and holier, no greater good
fortune, than to become the humble devotee of the living
Perfect Master. Even the gods and angels are very anxious
to serve the Lotus Feet of the Divine Master. Not just to
talk of them.
What a beautiful universal garland our beloved Lord has
made, picking us like flowers from the various gardens of
the world. No evil power is able to break it because He
has planted the sincere love in our hearts and by His
almighty grace, He is always taking care of us.
The first purpose of our life is to discover the Truth
which, by His compassion, we have fulfilled. Now the most
important duty is to meditate upon it unceasingly and
serve Him wholeheartedly with mind, body, and wealth. Let
our life become His instrument, for He knows its proper
utilization. Let us throw the burden of our life at His
Lotus Feet, for He is capable of carrying it, and let us
trust solely in Him, for He alone is trustworthy in this
changing world.
It is not child's play to become lost into pure
consciousness, it can only be achieved by the Divine
Grace of the Perfect Master which comes to those devotees
who have totally dedicated themselves in order to spread
His Sacred Knowledge for the sake of humanity. He who
pleases his Spiritual Master through sincere devotion and
selfless service reaches the highest goal of life in the
twinkling of an eye. By the boundless compassion of the
Perfect Master every human being becomes capable not
merely of knowing about the ultimate Truth, they can also
merge into it and receive direct experience
instantaneously. This immediate experience unites the
knower with that which is known.
The supreme Lord knows human weaknesses, therefore He
manifests Himself in the form of Satguru to reveal the
mystery of His own Divinity and to give to His devotees
the opportunity of performing service at His Holy Lotus
Feet.
Those who have been blessed with the Divine presence of
Satguru will undoubtedly be saved and never be abandoned
to the clutches of birth and death. Such devotees are
always in peace and attain the state of immortal
bliss.
Truth does not depend on any intellectual assent or
dissent, any doctrine or dogma. Truth stands on its own
evidence. One does not need any external method to
discover it, for it lies in the innermost recesses of the
heart. What one needs is the assistance of a living
Spiritual Master who has discovered and is at one with
the Truth. Guru Nanak says, "Guru's devotees get inner
rhythm and bliss, Guru's devotees get True Knowledge and
happiness. God resides in thc heart of Guru's
devotees. Guru's devotees are the index of God's mind". He says,
"The universe is the temple of God but without the Guru,
darkness reigns."
Guru Maharaj Ji has revealed to us the fundamental unity
of all faiths and religions and the oneness of all men,
and the need of such a Perfect Master has never been more
imperative than at the present time. Everybody requires
the assistance of a competent Guru who can guide him on
the path of truth safely and perfectly. With regard to
the ultimate aim of human life, which is the discovery of
the absolute Truth, all the religions of the world are in
complete agreement, but through lack of practical
experience they have adopted different external methods
which have created conflict in their minds and lead them
astray from the right path of Truth.
Shri Ramakrishna Param Hans says, "In trying to reach God
one must implicitly follow the advice of one single
Satguru who knows the way to God, one must have faith in
thc Guru's words. The Satguru is none other than the Lord
Himself. If you only follow His instructions like a child
you will undoubtedly reach God."
Devotion is developed by the company of saints who always
sing the praises of the Lord and remember His Holy Name.
Without the company of saints there is no talk of the
Lord, and one cannot be rid of doubts except through
satsang. And until one's doubts are dispelled one cannot
have deep rooted affection for the Lotus Feet of the
Supreme Lord Guru Maharaj Ji. Doubts are only eradicated
when one enjoys the fellowship of saints for a long time
and listens to the delightful stories of the Perfect
Master. When the Lord assumes human form He performs
various lilas (divine actions) which can only be
recognized by the faithful devotees but not by those who
are steeped in lust, greed, anger and arrogance. The
attributeless aspect of Godhead is easy to understand but
no-one can comprehend the embodied form. Even the sages
are bewildered on hearing of the various exploits of the
Lord. The real devotee knows His lilas because he loves
God for the sake of love alone, and asks nothing more
than devotion.
I would like to tell you the most inspiring conversation
about devotion between Lord Rama and His devotee
Kakbhusundi, written in the Ramayana.
Once the Lord was very pleased with His devotee, so He
spoke in words which were not only soft and pleasing, but
profound at the same time, "Kakbhusundi, ask of me a
boon, knowing me to be highly pleased with you. Be it
mystic powers, fabulous wealth and final beautitude which
is the fountain of all joy, spiritual wisdom, critical
judgement, dispassion, realization and numerous other
virtues that cannot be easily attained in this world even
by the sages. Today I am prepared to give you all
undoubtedly. Therefore, ask whatever pleases your
mind."
On hearing the words of the Lord, Kakbhusundi was
overwhelmed with love and began to reason thus within
himself.
The Lord, it is true, has promised to give me all kinds
of blessings, but He did not offer to grant me devotion
to His own Lotus Feet. Without such devotion all sorts of
virtues and blessings are like so many auxiliary dishes
without salt. Of what avail is any blessing without
devotion? Pondering thus, he replied as follows.
"if it is your pleasure, my Lord, to grant me a boon, and
if you are kind and affectionate to me, I ask my
cherished boon O Master, for you are generous and know
the secrets of all hearts. O my Lord! The tree of
paradise to the devotees, friend of thc suppliant, ocean
of compassion and abode of bliss, in your mercy grant me
that devotion to your Lotus Feet, uninterrupted and
unalloyed, which the Vedas and holy scriptures extol,
which is sought after by sages and great yogis but
attained by few and that too by the Lord's Grace."
"So be it!" said the Lord, and continued in these most
pleasing terms. "Listen Kakbhusundi, I am very pleased to
see your sagacity in that you have sought devotion which
is extremely dear to my heart. By my grace, now all good
qualities shall abide in your heart. Devotion, spiritual
wisdom, realization, dispassion and yoga. By my Grace,
you shall obtain insight into all these. Truly I say to
you, no-one in this world is so highly blessed as you,
since you have sought the gift of al I blessings."
If Guru Maharaj Ji tells us to go to hell, let us go
there cheerfully, without any hesitation, for He has the
power which can convert hell into heaven. Therefore, my
blessed brothers and sisters, obey Guru Maharaj Ji
implicitly, serve Him wholeheartedly and love Him for the
sake of love alone. Ask nothing, want nothing in return,
just devotion. Devote to Him what you have to devote. It
will come back multiplied a millionfold, but do not think
of that now. Remember! Guru Maharaj Ji is not hungry of
our possessions. He is always selfcontented, perfect in
His Divinity, His Knowledge is infinite in its
application. His soul is the foundation of immortal
bliss. What He wants from us is only pure love and
devotion, and really He is the only source of love and
devotion. We poor people have got nothing but hatred,
jealousy, envy, pride and so on. Truly, He loves the
whole world selflessly He has devoted His whole life for
the sake of humanity.
Let us drink His Divine love continuously. Let us follow
in His Divine footprints. Let us beg Him sincerely to
grant us His devotion and love and nothing else. Really
blessed are those devotees who have bathed in the intense
love and the unalloyed devotion of the Lotus Feet of Shri
Guru Maharaj Ji, who is the highest manifestation of God
and the embodiment of truth, love and compassion.
After receiving Knowledge, meditation, satsang, service,
obedience and the darshan of Guru Maharaj Ji are
absolutely necessary. Meditation on the primordial Word
is the infallible technique to awaken the spiritual
awareness which lies deep in the innermost center of our
being, it will also cultivate firm conviction and
unshakable faith in the Master's Knowledge. Satsang is
the only key to unlock the door of Divine wisdom, the
discriminative faculty and right understanding of our
fellow men. Service is the true way to reach the Holy
Lotus Feet of the Perfect Master. It spontaneously brings
about intense love, pure devotion and humility. Darshan
of the glorious Master is the divine resource to unfold
the fountain of immortal bliss and Joy. Obedience of the
Spiritual Master's commandments is the only means to get
security from the secret enemies of man, i.e. pride, ego,
greed, lust and jealousy, which are hidden in the evil
propensities of mind.
If a devotee possesses these qualities he is undoubtedly
the most fortunate one and he will be the sublime channel
for the pure love of his beloved Master to flow as well
as the Divine melody of His Spiritual Knowledge,
simultaneously. But after initiation, if a disciple does
not pursue all of these ideals then he will depreciate
the value of his own life.
What is the use to receive Knowledge if we do not follow
these ideals? What profit will we gain after initiation f
we neglect these spiritual instructions? And of what
avail is this life if we do not realize the significance
of them?
So my beloved brothers and sisters, awaken from the dream
of false ideas, give up all laziness and stand firm on
the path of Truth. Put all the spiritual ideals into
practice, change your life, and be a perfect shining
example, spreading the sacred Knowledge of Guru Maharaj
Ji throughout the world. Let even every child know and
realize the glory of our Perfect Master. Let the
Himalayas begin to float on the surface of the oceans and
the waves of the ocean climb to the top of the highest
mountains, but our faith in Guru Maharaj Ji should never
be shaken for an instant.
O Almighty Master! grant us the unalloyed devotion of Thy
Holy Lotus Feet, that we may be able to serve you
better.
O Lord! grant us strength that we may march forward
smilingly facing all difficulties to spread thy Holy
Knowledge.
Jai Sat Chit anand
Mahatma Gurucharnand Ji