MORE LIGHT ON SAINT JOHN
Conclusion of excerpts from LIGHT ON SAINT JOHN
Masters may take birth in any nation, race, or religion, but they all preach the same Truth. They come not to condemn any religion nor to establish a new one, but to create in us a longing for that Reality; and they explain to us the method and means to realize it. They all have the same message to give, the same spiritual Truth to share with us. Christ, too, in this gospel, has referred to that Truth and has drawn our attention to the Father, the creative and sustaining Power within.
Different Mystics, at different times, have referred to that same Power by different names. Christ called it Word, Logos, Spirit, Name, Holy Ghost, and the Voice of God. Persian and Arabic Mystics have named it Kalma, Bang-i-Asmani, Nada-i-Sultani, Ism-i-Azam, Sultan-al-azkar, and many other names. Indian Mystics have called it Akash Bani, Ram Nam, Ram Dhun, Nirmal Nad, and, more generally, Shabd, or Nam. The Chinese called it Tao. This divine Power is also known by many other names.
All true Mystics point only towards that Reality by means of which the Lord created this universe. That same Reality is the Lord himself, who is the very foundation of all that is manifested and keeps the creation in existence. When we realize that Reality within ourselves, we become whole and pure, and worthy of becoming one with the Lord.
After such Saints and Mystics leave the world, we deviate far from their real teachings and become entangled in rites, rituals, and ceremonies, which lead us outwards. Thus we arrest the real teachings in small, narrow compartments and give them the forms of religions, nations, and countries. Then we begin to quarrel with one another.
The path has always been the same. It has been taught by all Saints and it is also taught now, in modern times, to all true seekers and lovers of the Lord. That is why there is so much similarity between the teachings of the Bible and those of Persian, Indian and other true Mystics. The teachings are the same. The approach may be different, our interpretations may be different, but the teachings cannot be different. Christ's parables had to suit the conditions that existed in that area at that time; but today we cannot as effectively employ the same parables, because conditions now are different. People are perhaps more intellectual, and parables that suited the conditions two thousand yearts ago may not be able to satisfy the modern mind.
For example, somewhere in the Bible is written that eagles (vultures) come wherever there is a carcass. Christ was explaining that whenever a Son of the Father comes, devotees always flock around that Mystic to imbibe his teachings. The example appears to be crude and not in good taste, but I think Christ had no other option, because that was the only way he could illustrate his teachings to those desert people. In a desert, when there are dead bodies, vultures gather to eat the carcasses. Those people understood what he was trying to explain much better with this example than they would have with any other. Saints have to explain their teachings, keeping in view the background, the intellect, and the traditions in which the people in the audience have been brought up.
But still, many of the mystic parables and similes that I read in the Bible are like those given by other Mystics, and even their way of explaining is the same. Christ refers to the key to the door of heaven, and Guru Nanak also refers to the same thing. I was reading a book written by a missionary who even wrote to the extent that Guru Nanak seems to have borrowed all these ideas from Christ, because the ideas are similar. But historians do not understand that WHOSOEVER WALKS ON THE SAME PATH AND REACHES THE SAME GOAL WILL HAVE THE SAME THINGS TO EXPLAIN. There is no question of one borrowing from the other, because in the time of Guru Nanak, Christianity was hardly known in India. Hence the question of Guru Nanak having any contact with the missionaries or reading the Bible in any way does not arise.
If you go deep into the roots of Christ's teachings, you will find that his teachings are the same as the teachings of all other Saints, and in that light I will discuss Saint John with you.
AND THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH, AND DWELT AMONG US,...FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH. (John 1:14)
Unless God comes in the flesh and dwells amongst us, we can never know Him within ourselves. The Word, or Shabd, is God, and God is the Word, or Shabd. God, or the Word, came into the flesh, down to our level then --- even as He does now in the form of the living Masters --- and explained the Way, the Truth, and the Light. In this way He puts us on the path leading back to Him, removes the veil of darkness within us, shows us the true Light, and takes us back to himself. Only then do we recognize and realize God, our Creator.
God is far beyond human comprehension, and unless He comes down to our level to take us back to Him, there is no way out of this mud and mire, this vale of tears, ignorance, and darkness. Every true Master who comes into this world is that Word incarnate, and dwells amongst us.
There is a great difference between the Master and us. He is the Word made flesh, we are just victims of the flesh. The Word, Nam, or Holy Ghost saturates his whole being; but in us it is dormant --- smothered and covered by the darkness of our ignorance, our ego. Unless we come across a Master who is the Word made flesh and follow his instructions, we cannot see that Light, we cannot merge back into that Word and become one with the Father.
This contact cannot be made with a Master of the past any more than we can contact God directly, for this is God's method. This is the way He has ordained it and this is why He sends His beloved Sons into the world. He sends them now, He sent them before the time of Christ, He sent them in Christ's time, and He will continue to send them as long as it pleases Him to do so. We must contact a Master, the Word made flesh, while we are in human form, for the human body is the precious gift through which we can make contact with the Supreme Being.
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It is also important to notice that when John denied that he was the Christ, he was being consistent with the Jewish tradition. A Master generally does not make public claim to being a Master. John does not do so here, nor does there seem to be any biblical evidence that Jesus ever called himself "Christ."
Then, in the form of a parable, John the Baptist further reassures his disciples: HE THAT HATH THE BRIDE IS THE BRIDEGROOM: BUT THE FRIEND OF THE BRIDEGROOM, WHICH STANDETH AND HEARETH HIM, REJOICETH GREATLY BECAUSE OF THE BRIDEGROOM'S VOICE: THIS MY JOY THEREFORE IS FULFILLED. (3:29)
This is truly a beautiful parable. A bridegroom is happy because he is marrying a beautiful girl. But why do his relatives and friends also become happy? They are not getting the bride. They are happy because their friend, the bridegroom, is happy, and they rejoice in his happiness.
through this parable John points out that Jesus is the bridegroom and the Lord is the bride. Jesus has become one with the Lord through the initiation that John has performed, and John knows that Jesus, by initiating the souls that have been marked for him, is carrying out the will of the Lord, which makes John happy. John's happiness is like the happiness of the bridegroom's friend in the parable, and is the result of the happiness that Jesus has in doing the will of the Lord.
Saints are one with the Father, and this oneness gives them spiritual bliss. When we go in their company we share in their happiness, even though we have not yet enjoyed those inner spiritual realms nor seen the Father.
If we go to a happy person, he will make us happy in no time. As the Saints are one with God, they cannot help radiating happiness, and when we are in their presence we also share their contentment, bliss, and peace, though our inner eye has not yet been opened.
Even before we are able to travel on the inner path, the very association with or company of a Mystic makes us feel relaxed and happy. A man with eyes enjoys both the beauty and the fragrance of a flower, but even a blind man can enjoy the fragrance of the flower.
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AND THE JEWS MARVELLED, SAYING, HOW KNOWETH THIS MAN LETTERS, HAVING NEVER LEARNED? (7:15)
This man is giving such beautiful mystic teachings and yet we know that he has not had that type of education. How can he even know of such things, much less talk about them? No Saint or Master obtains his knowledge by book-learning or formal education; he acquires it by inner experience, by direct contact with the Father through His Word --- His Shabd, or Nam. He knows by direct perception of the soul, without the medium of the physical organs or the mind. History reveals that some Masters have had practically no education, while others had some, and still others had the best education that this world could offer. But their learning or lack of it had no bearing whatsoever on their spiritual knowledge, and this was also the case with Christ.
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IS IT NOT WRITTEN IN YOUR LAW, I SAID, YE ARE GODS? (10:34)
He says: find your own scriptures; you read the books written by Moses or the sermons given by John the Baptist. It is written very clearly in these scriptures that everone is potentially God. What difference does it make if I have said that I am God? Even all of you are God --- not only I. Every human being has the capacity to become God again. I have realized the Father, and you too can realize the Father.
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IF YE LOVE ME, KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS. (14:15)
Then he says: Do not forget one thing --- always live up to the teachings, always remain on the path and attached to the Word. And what is Christ's commandment? Love one another. You should be so much in love with the Master that you see nothing but the Master in whomsoever you meet. That is the only way you can really love one another. Otherwise it is impossible.
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HE THAT BELIEVETH ON ME, AS THE SCRIPTURE HATH SAID, OUT OF HIS BELLY SHALL FLOW RIVERS OF LIVING WATER. (7:38)
This is very beautiful. When do we believe in a Mystic? When we try to follow his teachings, when we change the basic pattern of our life according to his instructions. "As the scripture hath said" means the writings of every Mystic who came before me and explained the same spiritual truth. It is in your own scriptures if you will but read and understand them. Every prophet has been giving you the same law. If you go deep into the scriptures, they will tell you of the necessity of the living Master and of drinking that living water.
"The living water" is just another name given to the Divine Melody within and does not pertain to the water of this world. It is that Divine Melody, that Sound, that Light. So you can call it Nectar, Amrit, living water.
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QUESTION: You were saying that Christ told his disciples that once they had gone inside, they would have their questions answered more directly. Is this because they could not understand in their physical form?
ANSWER: There are two reasons. The first thing is, our questions outside are worldly. We ask a Mystic for the worldly boons, and all these questions become meaningless when we go to that higher level of consciousness. And Masters never want to interfere in our destiny. Whatever is in store for us, we will get. They may give us strength to face it, but they never try to interfere in our destiny. So they can be evasive to our questions.
The second reason is that we do not have enough faith to follow whatever a Master says, because he seems to be just a human being like us. So Saints will not like to burden the disciple unnecessarily by telling him too much. I mean, they know that the disciple is not going to follow it. He cannot. He has all sorts of doubts. He wants only the answer which pleases him; he does not want an answer which does not please him.
AND INSIDE THERE ARE NO WORLDLY PROBLEMS AT ALL, NO WORLDLY AMBITIONS, NO WORLDLY QUESTIONS. THERE THE ONLY QUESTION IS OF SPIRITUAL PROGRESS WITHIN, OF GRACE AND MORE GRACE, OF LOVE AND MORE LOVE. WHAT WOULD YOU ASK OF THE MASTER INSIDE? WHAT WOULD A LOVER ASK OF THE BELOVED WHEN THE BELOVED IS BEFORE HIM? "I DO NOT WANT TO LOSE YOU! STAY HERE." THAT IS ALL THAT A LOVER WOULD ASK A BELOVED. HE HAS NOTHING ELSE TO ASK AND HE IS GETTING WHAT HE WANTS. SO THEN THERE IS NO QUESTION OF EVADING A QUESTION.
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If you liked these excerpts and would like to read the book and others in the series, ordering information can be obtained by writing to: Science of the Soul Study Center / BAV Department Fayetteville. 4115 Gillespie Street. Fayetteville, NC 28306-9053 USA. The books are very inexpensive.
There is a very nice "community" on the web which is devoted to this spiritual discipline: http://www.onelist.com/community/santmatfellowship (see link at bottom of this page.) They have a free interactive email newsletter. Many very interesting links there, including LOTS of free online articles, books, etc. to read online or to download!
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