What Do We Know?

Baba Ji has mentioned that often when we tell something to another person, they say “I know”. But what do we actually know?

Perhaps we should think about our own situation and how we filter the information the Masters reveal to us through our own thoughts and opinions. This makes two things happen. Firstly, we think we know so we don’t listen carefully, and we may get an incorrect message; or secondly, we change the information to fit in with our belief system, and again we get the wrong message. Baba Ji illustrates this by saying that he is always amazed at how many versions of his answers there are by the time we get to the dining room after the evening meetings.

It is important to come to Sant Mat with an open mind, so that we can act on the information given to us and make the best use of it. This may also explain why simple people who live a lifestyle that is also simple and are unencumbered by preconceptions, appear to be more receptive to the Masters and their message, and are therefore able to make good inner progress.

At an evening meeting a scientist said to the Master that he had difficulty accepting that there is a God running the creation – to which the Master replied that we should just think of God as the energy that keeps it all going. Of course we call this energy Shabd: Shabd that is in every speck of the creation and is present in all forms of life in the world. Without it the creation would not exist.

Perfect living Masters have already walked the spiritual path successfully and are able to give us very important information − information that they have from first-hand experience − and so they really do know. They tell us that there is a God, Creator, Lord or Supreme Being − whatever name we care to call him − and he controls every aspect of the creation, including our individual lives.

Our soul is that part of us that gives us life. It is a spark of the Supreme Being within us. It is in fact the very core of who we are, but we are not aware of this part of ourselves, this inner being, or drop of the ocean of the Lord himself. Therefore, to find the Lord, we have to look within the body, within ourselves, and not anywhere outside. The Lord is not some benign old man sitting on a cloud somewhere. He is right within us. And he knows more about us than we know about ourselves.

The Masters tell us that to be born as a human being is a very special gift from the Lord, because it is only as a human being that we can make an effort to find him and know him. Only man has the sense of discrimination, which gives us the ability to think, analyze and take decisions, and we should use these gifts to find him.

The Masters emphasize time and again that the Lord is responsible for our welfare and everything that happens to us. If he has the power to give us what we ask for, then surely he has the power to know what we need and what is best for us. Everything is in his hands.

The Masters know this to be true and work tirelessly doing the Lord’s will, by encouraging us and pulling us from within. Because they have achieved oneness with the all-knowing Lord, they also know all about us and what we do. But we, as limited human beings, have difficulty in accepting these facts. To us they are only concepts or theories, because we have not reached that level of being where we are able to experience them as the truth. We simply don’t know. It is because of this limitation that our minds tell us that all this is impossible. If we are not careful we may miss a remarkable opportunity, or give the teachings a low priority in our lives, which will delay our progress on this spiritual path.

Maharaj Charan Singh often said that the path is very simple to understand but very difficult to follow. The main reason for this difficulty is due to the mind, because it is a dominant part of our make-up. The mind or ego separates us from everyone else, creating our individuality. Under the influence of the senses, the mind encourages us to do those things that give us pleasure, but often these are bad for us and can get us into all sorts of trouble. Mainly however, it is the mind that prevents us from accepting all that the Masters have come to tell us.

Fortunately, the Masters are aware of the mind’s trickery, and suggest that we just give the path a try. They tell us it is not necessary to accept everything. Once we have taken the first step and received initiation, all we have to do is follow the Master’s instructions to the best of our ability. Once we are accepted by the Master, we are on the path. Our destiny is now in his hands and, regardless of what we know or don’t know, he will take us home.

Himself the lover, himself the essence of love,
  the Lord is himself the recipient of his own love.
_{Jap Ji: A Perspective}