Path of the Masters

The Path of the Masters, Julian Johnson explains the four grand divisions :

The entire universe of universes is divided into four grand divisions, each marked out and differentiated from the rest by certain characteristics of the substances composing them, and the nature of the phenomena to be seen there.

… the highest grand division in all creation [is] the finest and purest, composed entirely of pure spirit. This region is definitely beyond the sphere of matter. There is no mind in this region… Its name is Sat Desh.

It is obvious that we must do our learning as apprentices under the guidance of a Master, for it well be imagined that each region seems, from the one below, to be the highest and our ultimate goal. Naturally, the guide must be one who freely travels this grand path himself and therefore knows it well.

The expression “seventh heaven,” used to describe great happiness, implies recognition, however dim, of six other heavens, and these must be passed through safely to reach home. To pass through all these various heavens or paradises unaided is impossible. Unless we have a firm and knowledgeable guide who can keep our eyes on the goal ahead, we are certain to be enticed from the path by their beguiling splendour and become lost, just as Ulysses would have fallen prey to the song of the Sirens had he not plugged his crew’s ears with beeswax and had himself lashed to the mast. Only when we have reached our home in the most beautiful and blissful region of all are we no longer tempted by the lesser beauty below.

On his journey home to Ithaca, Ulysses had to sail past the hazards of many islands, some delectable, some deadly, and endure great trials and temptations. The Guru sees to it that the path of bhakti (devotion & or Spiritual exercises) a safer one, for the disciple is at all times under his immediate supervision. His responsibility is to take his disciples to their real home in Sach Khand, ( Soul Plane) conducting them through several heavens safely and avoiding all the seductive side attractions.

Lesser sages revere the exaltedness of universal mind-the Om of the Vedas-and conclude that it is the Absolute. But it is still part of the created world and is thus subject to dissolution. Therefore, Sant Mat regards the region of Brahm, as well as the physical and astral regions, as changeable and illusory. It is not the home of the soul but of Kal or Mammon, the negative power, and of Maya, illusion.

We are taught that not until it reaches the region above Brahm has the soul served its apprenticeship in matter and does not have to reincarnate. It is to this high estate that a disciple of a Master should aspire; therefore, he exerts himself to reduce his outstanding karma by using every means of devotion shown to him by the Master.

The worlds of mind and matter, then, in spite of their glories and temptations, are what the soul has to disentangle itself from, if it is to experience and to benefit from its own immortality. Above the realms of mind and matter, only “devotion consciousness” and love can exist. This kind of devotion is not the kind that shows itself as religious fervour or fanaticism; it is far beyond emotion. Without this kind of devotion, all our longing and crying for freedom is an empty gesture.

True Gurbhakti, or devotion for the Master, is an accomplishment that, for most disciples, is achieved slowly. What may start as incredulity when a seeker first meets the path changes to intellectual acceptance before he is initiated. Then, through meditation, he gains positive conviction of the teachings, and devotion automatically grows. Meanwhile, many favourite convictions of the past have to be modified or rejected, especially those about the unbridgeable gap between this world and that, between life and death. Since the two are interpreting, it is possible by practical experience to replace the fear of the unknown with the joy of anticipation of what lies beyond death.

The moral codes and precepts laid down by great spiritual teachers throughout the ages are simple guides for a rather unruly and unthinking mass of humanity, but the mystical, more advanced instructions that they give to their disciples are different in intention. These instructions are concerned with the inner path, but except by a few, they are rarely accepted and tested and are therefore not understood. They are often greeted with incredulousness, with ridicule and even anger. Indeed, we al know that Christ was killed for his unorthodox inner doctrines, as were many redeemers of the soul of man.

In spite of the cold and hostile receptions of the past, the saints continue to come to this world to disentangle the soul and reestablish the lines of communication with God. This has always been the raison d’etre of true saints and Satgurus, and it is the object of Sant Mat and of the Master’s efforts on behalf of the disciple. The author, in a moment of great enthusiasm, once said to Maharaj Ji: “Sir, how I wish you would come to England to give your message.”

“What message?” he said with a smile.
“Your message of Sant Mat. There would be a landslide!”

But he shook his head and said slowly, “There would not, you know.”
But the Master did send the following message in 1957 to those westerners who were already his disciples:

The soul and the mind being knotted together, as it were, the soul has perforce to follow the mind and lend its support and, as a result, has to be born again and again to suffer the consequences of the karma’s and the longings of the mind. To escape these dire consequences, the mind must be prevented from going out and running after pleasures. It should be withdrawn gradually and made steady at its centre, known as the tisra til or the third eye, so that it may contact the Shabd or the audible life stream and rise above the world of phenomena. This is the only way to get permanent release from this prison house.

Saints and mystics have compared the human body to a house with ten doors .The nine apertures-organs-lead outward and involve us in the world; the tenth leads us within to our true home and brings our wanderings to an end. The secret of this door is known only to saints and mystics, though it has been referred to in the sacred books of almost every religion.

The pleasures of the world are not only transient but turn into bitterness and disappointment in course of time. No situation here is free from pain and in grief. Disease, poverty, disharmony in the family, national jealousies and wars are the lot of man here and make him miserable and wretched. We are kept bound to this world by our karma’s that we perform lead to other karma’s, which fetter our life and our existence both now as well as in subsequent births.

Saints, therefore, exhort us to turn within, knock at this tenth door and attach ourselves to Shabd, (sound current) where alone we can find permanent peace and unalloyed happiness. But our desires and attachments stand in the way. Our egoism and desire for possession make us return to this world again and again. Egoism makes us claim and appropriate everything, and the result is that, instead of possessing those things which we want to own, we are possessed by them. We become the slaves of those things, and to such an extent that they occupy our minds even at the time of death; and, according to the well-known rule, we are born again in the surroundings which had so fascinated us. The saints take us out of this difficulty by teaching us Nam Bhakti [devotion to Nam], and thus turn inward and Godward the tides which are now flowing outward.

It is the nature of the mind to run after pleasures, but no pleasure in the world has the power to captivate it forever, and it flirts from one subject to another. When, however, it takes to Nam Bhakti and, going in, it tastes the bliss of Shabd, its fickleness goes and it becomes steady.

Gurbhakti (Master) and Nam Bhakti (devotion to God) are the means by which the mind is weaned from sensual pleasures and attached to the Shabd or the audible life stream, which ultimately takes us back to our origin, God.

Interested in finding one of few Masters in this world who may be able to help you out of this “merry go round world of illusion? We know of two that may be able to help you….
Contacts: Radha Soami Satsang Beas Australia  http://www.santmat.net/contacts/contacts.php?lang=en&country=au   Phone 02-8238 3269 Sydney or other cities. (English & Indian)
or enquire about the very special Mahanta consciousness:
Eckankar: Web Site…. www.eckankar.org.au  Phone 02-9634 5683 Sydney (English only)

A short biography of Paul Twitchell

(Note: Some believe there can be only one LIving Master at the time…others accept there can be more, to connect Soul to the Sound. We leave it up to the individual to decide)       

The Living Master definition: They are immersed in their love of the Lord and they dye all those that come to them in the same colour. They are forbearing and have enmity towards none. They are perfect men amongst men and they are perfectly luminous amongst the holy.They come into this world to connect us with the sound within to give us release from the bondage of birth and death.
Though outwardly meek and humble inwardly they are all powerful, having merged with the Lord himself.

The Saints do not come into this world to start a new religion or creed. They do not come to entangle us in delusions and the practice of outward observances.
They have come to unite with the Lord those who have been wandering in search of God for countless lives.
They give their disciples the secret of ” going within” and take them to their destination stage by stage. 

 THE JOURNEY of SOUL and how we get lost…

The world can be seen as one large family, that once lived together in peace and harmony. Then, due to circumstances they were scattered all over this earth and lost memory of other family members, all being our brothers and sisters, but no longer recognized as fellow souls.

Division between groups started, separation within family and disharmony spread all over the world. We call ourselves Christians, Protestants, Born again, Anglican, Mormon, Jehovah Witness, Buddhists, Hindu, Sikhs, Islamic and many more, while in the process we separated from each other and lost sight of each others true identity as soul.

The very religions that were intended to impart love and understanding actually served to divide people. Unless we see through this illusion of separation, we will never have harmony or find God. No matter what we call ourselves, we are not spiritually evolved until we have unconditional acceptance of each others identity, and in fact embrace each others chosen path without criticism.

The positive forces at work in this world are doing whatever they can do to help people become spiritually aware, while the negative forces take every opportunity in exploiting our separateness. That which divides us and keeps the fight going between us.

Have you ever realized that the only reason the world is in the state it is in, is because we as individuals simply cannot help but impose our will and standards upon others, at this point we are vulnerable to be manipulated by those forces that have an interest in fear and division while at the same time restricting ones journey back home.

If only we could “wake up” and create heaven on earth.