The Power of the Guru / Spiritual Teacher
I do believe in the human experience that we can only be lifted out of the darkness by those who live in the light. You can attest to this in your own lives. When you come in contact with people of a higher spiritual quality or nature, you feel lifted almost automatically if you make yourself receptive. If you allow the light from these beings to come into you then you become lifted. In my own experience this has been so.
It did not matter how many books I read, how many days I fasted, how many scholars I met; it was only when I was touched by someone who lived in the light, then my life was transformed. It is amazing. I do believe that spiritual or inner transformation can only take place in a very powerful way when we come in contact with those who live in the light. These beings are so important in our world. Not only when you come in contact with them, but if you remember them. If you connect with them, you will have a powerful channel to the light.
It is always a tremendous joy for me to sing about these beings whom we call ‘Sadgurus.’ Of course, Jesus was a very powerful and great Sadguru, a teacher of the truth and the light. This season it is wonderful to be able to remember that beautiful being who continues to influence the world in a very powerful way.
Let us honour those who live in the light. It does not matter what religion they belong to or what tradition they come from, it really does not matter but the fact that they live in the light.
All those teachers of different religions I have met and who really live in the light, they honour each other. It is only the ignorant who fight with each other. I have met beautiful people of different traditions and they honour each other, they welcome each other, they hug each other and they embrace the words of each other. I have been privileged to meet such people of different traditions. They don’t want to convert you, they are happy to share the truth with you and to accept yours. Those are the real teachers. In Blue Star, those are the teachers we honour.
THE PURPOSE OF LIFE
The purpose of our lives is to go deep within our own consciousness and to become aware of all that we are; to connect to that Supreme power that is within us. That is the purpose of life. It is not just to eat, sleep, to have children and to work and to die, that is not the purpose of life, those are survival things; they bring comfort and they help you to survive. The real purpose of being in the human experience is to know who you are, to become more aware of who you are and to make that connection with that Great Power. And if you don’t do it, you will never be truly happy. You can test this statement any time. Regardless of what you do or what role you play, that is the purpose of life.
Only when you become more aware of who you are then you will understand fully the human experience. Because when a little adversity comes, you are ready to curse and blame everyone around you and wish them bad, including God. That shows ignorance and a lack of knowledge of who you are and what the world around you is. The more you discover your own reality, the more you will realise that everybody is a part of your reality and is a part of yourself.
Soldiers who have been in the war may kill in moments of patriotism. But, when they come back to civilised life and hear the cries of those who died, it is difficult for them to sleep because they killed a part of themselves. If you are really in touch with yourself, you cannot harm another. You just can’t. Hence the reason Jesus said, ‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself,’ because your neighbour is part of yourself. But you are constantly fighting with your neighbours around you simply because you are unaware of what lies within you and what lies within those around you. It is so very important to understand who you are. And that is where spiritual life takes you, into the awareness of who you are and into the experience of who you are.
Spiritual life is not about learning all these scriptural things; those are the early stages of spiritual life. Spiritual life is realising all those things that are written in the scriptures. So, when you come to satsang the emphasis is the inner experience. When you chant, it is really a journey inside your soul to experience the depth of your soul. It is not just to sing to some god outside somewhere, because God is in the depth of your own being.
Chanting is really a journey inside your own soul to experience the power that lies within you. And as you chant, begin to see what is happening inside of you; your mind is going to become quiet as you sing and you are going to feel wonderful energies coming out of you and if you are tired, you are going to feel you are becoming revitalised; if there is worry in the mind, the mind begins to become calm; if you are confused about something, as you go deep inside, you are going to find the answers will ultimately come. I wish you can understand this. I wish you can make that deep connection inside of you and have it not only in these moments of satsang but in every moment.
The Goal of Satsang / Fellowship
The goal of our satsang/fellowship this evening is to move our consciousness from darkness into light; to move from the idea that I am a physical body, that I am aging, that I am going to die, that I am limited, to move from that awareness to divine awareness, that I am a spark of the Divine, I am a part of God’s being. The Bhagawad Gita said that the soul in the body is a particle of God’s being that the jivatma is a part of the Paratma. Jesus said, ‘We are the light of the world,’ and he said, ‘Be perfect even as your heavenly Father is perfect.’
We are being told that we are not just a physical body but we are part of the Mighty Spirit that pervades all of life.
What does this mean to you? You who become frustrated by every little thing, to you who feel that the world is against you, what does this mean to you? That you are part of God; that a part of you is living in the light; that a part of you lives eternally; that a part of you has all the love and peace you are seeking. What does this mean to you? If it means something to you, how does it influence you every day? Satsang is about assimilating and experiencing this knowledge.
When you come here you should leave feeling that ‘Yes, I can feel something divine inside of me. I can feel a tremendous peace inside of me. I can feel connected to love inside of me. I can feel cleansed of worry.’ This is where satsang should take you.
We are constantly being fed by our world by all the limited thinking that we need to be educated to become somebody; that we need to own property and have a lot of money to be somebody; that we need to have big fences and gates to protect ourselves. Indeed, the material things of the world aren’t necessary, but they have a purpose. But, it is connecting with that Higher Self, knowing who we are and identifying with who we really are that would bring the true security, the true peace, the true happiness and the true fulfilment.
Let us identify with that spiritual aspect of ourselves. Let us try to rise above the human consciousness that we are more than human beings.
Even if you are physically tired, there is a part of you that is not tired, whether you believe or not. Sometimes you can see that; if you get very exciting news all your tiredness disappears. It just shows that the exciting news takes you to a certain place inside where the tiredness disappears. If you have a very beautiful spiritual experience now, the body seems to disappear; the tiredness of the body goes away. Why not go into that space? Why not enter into that space where you feel you are not limited by your physical body? This is where satsang takes you.
Your Sacred Space
When you walk out of here and go into your car, the energy is different. What makes the differences? It is simply the kind of activity and awareness you conducted in the space. You enjoy this little meeting very much. How can you keep this in your homes and in your workplace? Does this kind of energy pervade your home? Wouldn’t you like to have this kind of energy in your home? Wouldn’t it bring a protected feeling? Wouldn’t it feel that God is there in your space? I know how challenging this can be because you have all kinds of conversation in the space.
But, if it is possible, can you keep one little room in your home that can feel like this? Do you think that is of value? And in this room you have sacred objects, things that bring this wonderful feeling inside of you and you go there as your sanctuary every day. Or is it possible to have a sacred corner that you can make ‘your’ sacred corner that whenever you sit next to it or look at it, you feel different? Do you think there is a possibility? Do you think it really worthwhile after experiencing what you have experienced here this evening? I think it is a powerful idea. This is bringing this feeling into your home.
Do you know that little space protects your home because that is a sacred space? Even if people who are negative come, they would not want to come near that space or they would not want to enter a house that has this kind of space. This is food for thought.
Of course, the most powerful space is the inner space. If you can keep the inner space sacred all the time, the space of the mind, then that is the most powerful space because wherever you go, you will transform everything around you. But, it is not so easy in every moment to hold that sacred space inside of you. Consider what I am saying to you. If you cannot do it in a room in the house, have a little corner in the house where you have your sacred objects with a little light, some incense and offer your prayer in this space. The energy you invest in this little space stays there and it nourishes you whenever you go to that space.
