Shabd and Disciple
At satsang we often hear that the only way to realize the Lord and find true peace is through a perfect living Master.
Perfect living Masters are realized beings who come to the world to help those of us fortunate enough to be yearning for the Lord. They come in every age, taking us back with them to merge into that ocean of divinity which is their – and our – true home.
True Masters reflect a unique kind of love, understanding and compassion, which flows from their inner divinity. Their love encompasses a purity and humility that is an example for all. It has no selfish motives – they give their love freely to those who seek the truth. Reading the history of past masters right up to the present age, we find that their whole life is a sacrifice of selfless service. In fact, the mystics’ legacy of love and compassion is without parallel in this world. A perfect mystic is one who has walked the path of God-realization, whose understanding is not derived from reading or external learning, but comes from direct spiritual experience of the divine. Other than that, the mystics are no different from us.
So, how do we find such a Master? If we began by searching the Internet, typing in the phrase ‘Spiritual Master’, we would find that this generates around eighteen million responses! With so many philosophies, religions, and spiritual teachings at our fingertips, how can we make a choice? The truth is that we cannot and do not find a perfect living Master – he finds us. It is a divine law that anyone who is a sincere seeker of the truth is brought into the company of a perfect mystic. Like the mother who cannot ignore the cry of her child, when we are genuine in our search for him, the Lord responds to our call by placing us in an environment where we are sure to not only meet the Master of the time but in which we will be receptive to his message. What is more, sincere seekers are never on their own. Though our journey can seem long and lonely, our every step is being guided. Maharaj Charan Singh used to say that when we take a single step towards the Lord, he takes a hundred steps towards us. All we can do is deepen our longing to be with him – the rest he will take care of. As the old saying goes, “When the disciple is ready, the Guru will appear.”
The gift of initiation
What happens when we go to a Master? He gives us the greatest gift of all: a gift, which once unwrapped, enables us to experience the presence of God within ourselves and realize our spiritual heritage. This gift takes the form of initiation, during which the Master teaches us the practice of meditation to awaken the spiritual core that is latent within us.
The first two stages of our meditation practice – simran and dhyan-lead to the third, bhajan or listening to the inner sound. By practising bhajan we contact the Shabd, which is when the ultimate love story unfolds between Master and disciple. Our love for the physical Master is a priceless treasure because it leads to love for the Shabd. Essentially, meditation is not about asking, it is about giving and, in due course, meditation becomes submission. Through meditation we offer ourselves to the divine and there is no greater service than this. When we surrender ourselves completely, when there is no more self left, we receive everything – the very Father himself. In the beautiful photo album, Legacy of Love, the final message from Maharaj Charan Singh reads, “May your love for the form culminate in the love of the formless.” Essentially, his wish for us was that the love he gave to us for forty years through his physical presence, should grow into love for the Shabd, which has a reality beyond form, shape or colour.
The Master and disciple love story
Having created us, the Creator has not forgotten us. He has given each of us a method through which we can contact him anytime, any place and, ultimately, use it to return home. This method, which is actually our direct link to him, has been given different names by different mystics over time. Some have referred to this link as the Shabd, whilst others have called it the Word or Logos, Akaash Vani (Voice of the Skies), Raam Nam (Name of God) or Kalaam Eh Ilahee (the Word of God). The important point is that such a connection exists rather than what it is called.
The Shabd can both be seen and heard, in the form of uplifting sound and dazzling light. However, we cannot do so through the outer eyes and ears, but must, through meditation, draw upon the hearing and seeing faculties of our soul. The attraction of the soul to the sound and light of the Shabd is so great, it is impossible to describe; the soul yearns to merge with the Shabd and become one with it. It is just as impossible to describe the caring and loving way in which the Shabd looks after the soul, not resting until it has reunited the soul with the Lord. Indeed, pure love is the only way to describe the magnetism that exists between the soul and the Shabd. There is no higher love because the soul and the Shabd are both manifestations of the Lord, who is love itself.
There is a beautiful poem by the Sufi mystic Rumi in which he tries to describe the power of the Shabd. Even though no words can ever describe it, mystics use language to encourage us to take the actions necessary to experience it. Using the image of a bird and its flight, Rumi asks:
How could the soul not take flight
When from the glorious presence
A soft call flows sweet as honey, comes right up to her
And whispers, ‘Rise up now, come away’.
Quoted in Andrew Harvey, The Way of Passion
The Shabd is ringing within us constantly – it is the sound of our Father calling us back to him. Rumi compares this to honey, as there is nothing sweeter. Upon hearing the Shabd, the soul cannot resist:
How could the hawk not fly away
Forgetful of all hunting to the wrist of the King
As soon as he hears the drum,
The king’s baton hits again and again,
Drumming out the signal of return.
Quoted in Andrew Harvey, The Way of Passion
Rumi was brought up in the Sufi tradition where the soul is thought of as a royal hawk lost in a dark wilderness. Naturally, the hawk is fright-ened and misses the comforts of the palace and the love of the king. The king is also fond of the hawk and wants it to return to the palace, so he beats a drum, again and again. The hawk, familiar with the sound of the drumbeat, follows the sound straight to the wrist of the king.
Likewise our Father is also calling us home. It is as a result of his grace that the drumbeat is constantly beating within us. Once we hear it, we are hooked forever. Every cell of our being longs to return to the source of this divine music, the home of our Father.
Rumi concludes the poem by urging the soul to become free and return to its source:
Fly away, fly away bird to your native home
You have leapt free of the cage
Your wings are flung back in the wind of God
Leave behind the stagnant and marshy waters
Hurry, hurry, hurry, O Bird, to the source of life.
Quoted in Andrew Harvey, The Way of Passion
It is love for, and our union with, the Shabd that breaks the chains of our worldly attachments, taking us beyond the realm of mind and matter. When a drop of the ocean merges with the ocean, even though its separate identity is lost, it is not destroyed. In fact, the drop takes on the characteristics of the ocean and becomes the ocean. Similarly, when our soul becomes one with the Shabd and becomes indistinguishable from the Lord, we gain our liberty.
No spoken words are needed, only practice with sincerity, love and devotion. Through this practice, we become aware of the spiritual being that we are: that we are not separate from the divine but are part and parcel of him. It is only a question of realization. And with this realization comes true peace, joy and love.