Faithful Lover

In moving words from the poem, “Faithful Lover,” by Hafiz, the message is tender and wise, for his words speak of a dynamic, spiritual maturity awaiting each of us. He says:

Hafiz,
Is it true that our destiny
Is to turn into Light
Itself?"

And I replied,

Dear moon,
Now that your love is maturing,
We need to sit together
Close like this more often

So I might instruct you
How to become
Who you
Are!
_{The Gift, rendered by Daniel Ladinsky}

Like Hafiz, our own Master encourages us to “sit together” more often and devote more time to meditation. In fact, Baba Ji has alluded to the fact that if we want to make real spiritual progress, two and one-half hours of meditation daily is just the beginning. Along the same line Maharaj Charan Singh in Die to Live tells us:

Meditation is a way of life. You do not merely close yourself in a room for a few hours, then forget about your meditation for the rest of the day. It must take on a practical form, reflecting in every daily action and in your whole routine. That itself is an effect of meditation…. You are building that atmosphere every moment for your daily meditation. Everything you do must consciously prepare you for the next meditation. So meditation becomes a way of life, as we live in the atmosphere we build with meditation.

With each effort we put forth in meditation, we attempt to become intimately closer to our Beloved. Whether we are conscious of it or not, we are making progress and experiencing far more growth than the mind can fathom. However, our progress has little to do with our own effort but much to do with our Master’s divine grace. He pulled us to the path and he will deliver us to our true home, to be united with the Creator. The more we meditate, the more we become receptive to his grace; by his grace we make more progress, and the more progress we make, the more spiritually mature we become.

Time and time again, the Master shows us the power of his grace. We begin to realize what is really important, what the purpose of our human birth is - to know our true self, the soul, and to merge into the Creator.

In response to a question about clearing away things in life that are unnecessary, Maharaj Charan Singh says:

It’s a matter of changing the attitude of your mind. You have to do your worldly work; you have to discharge your responsibilities, your obligations. But your attitude of mind can be one pointed, focused within…. You have to discharge them [responsibilities]. But an actor is conscious that he’s acting.
_{Spiritual Perspectives, Vol. III}

With this advice, Hazur Maharaj Ji reminds us that we are all actors on a stage and this world is not real. Therefore, even when performing our worldly responsibilities we should proceed with an attitude of being in his presence. The Lord likes us to remember him in all we do - not just during the time of our meditation. He wants our one-pointed focus to be on him.

Saints teach us that without the Shabd, the real essence of the Master, nothing in creation has light or life of its own. Just as without sunlight the moon is an inert black orb, incapable of being seen, so too is our mind and body lifeless and dark without the Shabd. Without the Shabd - without the living force of the soul - we would be inert.

Without the soul, there could be no life, for the soul is a drop of the divine life force or the Shabd. But without a true Master, we would remain trapped here in darkness for all time, with no hope for rescue of our souls.

Our souls are one with the Shabd, and saints tells us our own light is astonishing. But we just cannot see it. The Master, it seems, through our meditation, is now removing all the coverings over the soul and prying us loose from these false blinders so that we can come to know our real identity.

We can appreciate Hafiz telling the moon, “Now that your love is maturing we need to sit together close like this more often, so I might instruct you how to become who you are!”

Meditation helps to strengthen our faith in and commitment to Master and the rewards are most astounding. He teaches us something no one else can teach us. He instructs us how to become who we really are and to attain our destiny by becoming one with him, “light itself”.