The Invaluable Gift

There was a general hush from the crowd as the video came to life on the screen before us. It was the movie on organ donation – The Invaluable Gift. No matter how many times one may have seen it, it never fails to capture the attention. A stillness fell among the sangat as they watched, absorbed in a story that is both touching and thought provoking.

This story of selfless love for humanity is an ideal that not many of us can live up to. The film aptly concludes with the feelings of the man who received the kidney donation. Even though the identity of the donor was never revealed to him, he considered the donor to be an image of God. For only God is capable of such a compassionate and selfless act. In the Bible, Genesis 1:27, it is written that ‘God made man in his own image’. He has placed within man, the very attributes and likeness of himself. He has given us all the capacity and capability to be like him.

It leaves one to wonder, what was the ‘invaluable gift’? Was it the gift of the organ donation? The gift of life? Or more importantly the gift of the image of God?

As in many other events in life, one can see Sant Mat in the situation. We too have been saved from a spiritual death. We are totally unaware of the hopelessness of our predicament. The moment the Master accepts us as his disciple, he protects and safeguards us on this spiritual journey. He lights that flame of love within and puts us in touch with that inner Shabd.

Love is a gift from the Lord. Unless the Lord wishes, we can never think about him. Unless he pulls us towards himself, we can never search for him at all. We think we are loving the Lord, we think we are finding the Lord. Actually he is the one who’s pulling us from within, giving us facilities, opportunities, environments, creating all that atmosphere within us so that we think about the Lord and try to make a search to go back to the Father. He is the one who is giving all that to us. Without him, we can never think about the Father at all. So it is a gift given to us by him.
_{Maharaj Charan Singh, Spiritual Perspectives, Vol. II}

We need to live in this world and go through our destinies, but it is almost as though he has bubble-wrapped us from the karmic blows. We can feel the effects, but they are less painful than they would have been.

We have no idea how protected we really are. No matter what circumstances our karmas have created for us, the Lord makes sure that we have the opportunity to find him. He places himself in our minds and hearts so that we never feel alone when facing the painful situations that come before us. He carefully arranges events, people and places so that in our lifetime we are able to attend satsangs, get the opportunity to see him, and live in that atmosphere surrounded by his love. We can attribute all these happenings to coincidence – or we can realize that it is his loving guidance.

We have to do our best under the circumstances. When we are sincere, the Lord comes to our aid, and nature also helps us in our environment, in our atmosphere, in our circumstances. The Lord’s guiding hand is always there, whether we are conscious of it or not.

We have to depend entirely upon his grace for guidance, real guidance. And, if we are sincere, I assure you, he puts us on the right path.
_{Maharaj Charan Singh, Spiritual Perspectives, Vol. II Spiritual Link}

The Master’s presence in our lives is the greatest gift of good fortune. His grace and love lift our souls out of their worldly stupor, waking us up to our true nature.

The ray has its root in the sun. It comes from the sun and merges back into the sun. It is the sun. Potentially, every soul is God, but we have to realize that potentiality and become God, to be one with the Father.
_{Maharaj Charan Singh, Spiritual Perspectives, Vol. I}

We are surrounded by the Lord’s innumerable gifts, and more often than not, we take it all for granted – the bodies that we are born with, our senses, our intellect and all the parts that allow us to function and subsist in this world, even our parents and family who love and nurture us to adulthood. We forget the value of their love and encouragement in our life, until it is too late. We forget how precious each facet of our life is, until we lose it.

And most importantly, we take for granted our invaluable gift, our image of God, our Master.

It is a cruel reality that is hard to accept, but nothing is permanent on this physical plane. Which is why the Master urges us not to waste our life in trivial pursuits, to realize our true purpose and begin our journey homeward.

Every breath that we take without thinking of the Lord is time wasted. Every day is a step nearer to the end of this life.
_{Maharaj Charan Singh, Quest for Light}