Loneliness

Sometimes the feeling of loneliness comes with such intensity that even amongst family and friends we cannot escape it, and we seek a remedy by throwing ourselves ever more deeply into the social whirl. Still the feeling persists and, not knowing its real cause, we desperately seek out further relationships. One of our basic misunderstandings is the notion that family and friends, our life companions, are a source of happiness. We find it hard to accept when the Masters explain that, in reality, we do not even have one real friend in the whole world. However, the lessons of life dawn on us slowly, and we learn the hard way when cherished relationships go sour, and the objects of the world that we chased and hankered after lose their lustre.

The mystics tell us that this feeling of loneliness is God-sent and natural. We are of divine origin and our soul is a part of the Lord. Peace and happiness can only be found when the part merges in its source. Just as the mind comes to experience peace when it merges itself in the universal mind, in the same way the soul finds ultimate liberation and perfect happiness in the lap of its heavenly Father.

Our existence away from our source, the Lord, is the root cause of all unhappiness. When this realization dawns on us, it is an auspicious occasion in our life. As Maharaj Charan Singh has written in Divine Light:

This feeling is to be welcomed, and if the situation is understood correctly, a suitable remedy can be found. If a person takes advantage of these moments (which come rarely in one’s life), studies the situation rightly and puts his soul on the way of devotion to God, he eventually reaches his goal and obtains his object in life for all eternity.

We are a combination of body, mind and soul and it is unfortunate that our modern physical sciences have focused entirely on making our bodily life comfortable. The consequence of neglecting the welfare of the mind and the soul is the primary cause of constant crisis in our life. Thankfully, the Lord has kept open an avenue of spirituality through which our soul can travel back to its source. This is the timeless and exact science of the soul. All perfect spiritual Masters, past or present, have taught this method in which daily meditation under the instructions of a living Master gradually collects the scattered mind and brings it into contact with the Shabd.

In Divine Light, Maharaj Charan Singh gives advice that is timeless and an answer to our prayers:

Please take advantage of this blessed feeling [of loneliness] and turn your mind to him who never leaves us. All true happiness, peace and satisfaction proceed from devotion to God alone.

And in Quest for Light he writes:

This constant feeling of loneliness and missing something is in reality the hidden unquenched thirst and craving of the soul for its Lord. It will always persist as long as the soul does not return to its ancient original home and meet its Lord. Only then will it get true contentment and eternal peace. This feeling has been purposely put in the heart of man. If this natural inclination of the soul towards its Lord had not been there, then perhaps none would have turned to the Creator for solace and peace.