The Master Answers

A selection of questions and answers with Maharaj Charan Singh

Q: How are we brought to meditation?
A: By the grace of the Lord. There is no other way. We may say that we have become devotees of the Lord because we have found the right teachings, we have found the path, we have found the Master. It would be quite wrong to think so. Actually, when he wants to put us on the path, when he wants to give us his devotion, he creates such circumstances that we have no option but to follow that path. We are ultimately drawn to the path. It is all in his hands. When he wishes it, everything becomes clear to us. First is his grace. With his grace, we will meet a Master. Through contact with the Master, we will be on the path, and with our efforts we invoke his grace to travel on that path until ultimately our practice will lead us to our home and we merge back into him. Everything is interconnected. Without the Lord’s grace, nothing can happen.
_{Spiritual Perspectives, Vol. II}

Q: Maharaj Ji, sometimes we see our own imperfections and our own shortcomings, and we know that these are keeping us from being one with the Father. Yet is there a danger of us being too hard on ourselves for having weaknesses?
A: There is no danger of being hard on ourselves at all. We have been too soft with ourselves all through – that is why we are part of the creation. If we had been a little hard or strong with ourselves, we would not be here today. We have been too soft. We always try to justify our weaknesses and then we become a slave of them. And then we find we are part of this creation. So we should try to be hard with ourselves.
_{Spiritual Perspectives, Vol. II}

Q: Master, I’ve heard so much about determination on this path, and giving your priorities to the meditation and all of the things that are conducive to meditation. And there doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day to really focus on …
A: No. For example, how much time does family take each day? You see, there are twenty-four hours in a day, and you have to give only two and a half hours to meditation. And then the whole day is before you. You can plan it. You have to go to a job, you have to do your housework, and you have to adjust your activities accordingly. You can’t say that I will do everything and also attend to meditation. You have to adjust your schedule.
_{Spiritual Perspectives, Vol. II}

Q: Maharaj Ji, what help can a satsangi give to another satsangi who is dying?
A: We should all be a source of strength and help to each other. We can remind him about the teachings, about the path, we can fill him with love and devotion for the Master, for Shabd, for the Father. We can read Sant Mat literature to him and we can draw his attention to the Shabd and Nam within. And we can create an atmosphere around him so that he can attend to his meditation, and keep away from him whatever is distracting him towards the world. Everybody is not fortunate enough to have just devotees around him. Many people are non-satsangis, and he has dealings with so many people, both satsangis and non-satsangis.

It’s always better if we can build a devotional atmosphere – an atmosphere of satsang – around that soul, so that the soul goes peacefully and is not attached to anything in the world. Anybody who is distracting him and pulling him out, we should try to keep that influence away from him, generally.
_{Spiritual Perspectives, Vol. III}