Becoming Love

In these words the mystic poet Eknath describes the state that we long to achieve:

Blessed are those who dance through life
  loving God, singing his Name.
Merciful towards all, they feel
  happiness and sadness as one.
Fountains of wisdom, love and devotion,
  they’ve forgotten the senses,
  forgotten ‘I’ and ‘you’ as two –
  they live in contentment and certainty.
They’ve dropped the baggage
  of intelligence and skill,
  and walk through the world as tourists.
Awake or asleep, says Eknath,
  they sing the Name,
  always attuned to the One within.
_{Many Voices, One Song}

Any person who’s reached that blessed condition that Eknath speaks of will have gained everything out of life that the Lord intends for us. But this state is sublime and no doubt rare.

If one has been at the bedside of someone who is dying, one would probably know that most people have the same kind of concerns when they reach the end of their lives. The questions often asked are: Did I make the best use of my life and live my life fully? Did I love well? Did I learn to forgive and to let go?

These seemingly simple questions lie at the very core of our being. When all is said and done, these are the things that should matter to us – the hallmark of a life well lived. But sadly, for so many it is only when time has run out that they suddenly come to realize that perhaps they should have done things differently; they could have done better.

When we consider these questions, we begin to see how our fears, distractions and attachments have hampered and limited us for most of our lives. How many of us can say that we have really learned what it means to love fully without any attachment? Can we honestly say that we are no longer subject to the obstructions of the mind and have accepted all of life’s challenges and changes with wisdom, compassion and grace?

Have we truly experienced the sense of freedom and joy that comes when we leave all our worldly cares behind us, turn to our Master within and allow him to guide us – so that we can reach that sublime state where we, too, become love? When our life comes to an end, will we be able to say: Yes, I have lived my life fully, I have reached my spiritual goal and I have learned to love fully – I have become love?

In Philosophy of the Masters, Vol. II, Great Master tells us that love is a force greater than any other. Sant Mat is a path of love. Only a perfect living Master, the embodiment of love and already one with the Lord, is able to show us how to achieve this sublime state of being: where we are able to become love.

But how can we describe what love is? Mere words cannot convey its true essence. Although the Saints have tried to clarify its mystery, it can only be understood through personal experience. For us there are essentially two types of love, two ways in which we can experience love. Firstly, there is the love that is most familiar to us, which finds expression through the faculty of the mind and senses. And then there is the true love which is experienced through the faculty of the soul.

At some point every seeker on the spiritual path and, indeed, every human being has experienced a feeling of emptiness or being lonely and has sought comfort in the physical world. The mind is only able to love what it sees, so it seeks to attach itself to another human being or object. But nothing in this material world remains the same for very long and everything is always changing, so the result of worldly love is all too often heartache and sorrow.

Although the source of true love is actually the soul, the mind interprets feelings of attraction to worldly people or objects as real love. And as long as we are here in the physical creation, the loving worldly relationships that we experience are important to us. They inspire and uplift us and give us a sense of purpose and belonging. But regardless of how wonderful it may seem, worldly love is only a pale reflection of our true heritage, the divine love that awaits us. It is a mere stepping stone to our destination. Great Master describes it this way:

The physical love is like a bridge, and a bridge is meant only to cross the river and not to live on. Those who stay on the bridge do not achieve any progress in their endeavour to meet the Lord.
_{Philosophy of the Masters, Vol. II}

When it comes to loving God or our Master, we may truly believe that our love is sincere and that we are already one with our Master. And it’s good that we should believe that. But at our level this is still only a perception of the mind. However, when we eventually experience that sublime love that the saints tell us about, then we will be able to surrender ourselves completely to our Master. Then every aspect of our lives will reflect this. As Eknath says in his poem, we will be in a permanent state of joy and contentment.

By now we may have already found that the ever-changing face of worldly love holds no lasting contentment for us, leaving us unfulfilled and restless. We start to know an increased longing to be connected to the real and lasting love of the Father – that exalted love experienced through the faculty of the soul.

The only way in which the true spiritual seeker can reach this state, though, is by being connected to the Shabd. This can happen only through initiation by a perfect living Master who is the physical manifestation of divine love. It is only through his grace and mercy that we are shown the way to seek within, so that we too can become one with his eternal love. Great Master tells us:

God is Shabd. God is love. Therefore, Shabd is also love. Saints are Shabd incarnate. They bestow the gift of Shabd on others. Those who practise Shabd and listen to the Divine Music become oceans of Love. They love everybody and by the currents of this Divine Love radiate a virtuous influence in this world.
_{Philosophy of the Masters, Vol. II}

The natural tendency of the soul is towards the Lord and the Lord is love. But still, the path to becoming one with that love is long and arduous. Great Master spells it out for us:

To take to the path of love is not the work of ordinary people. Only those who are fearless and who are prepared to sacrifice their very lives can do so. Cowards cannot approach it. The Lord of Love is very high and it is not possible for weaklings to gain access to his Court. So long as we do not sacrifice our head at the altar of our Beloved, we cannot succeed on the path of Love.
_{Philosophy of the Masters, Vol. II}

We may ask ourselves why this all-consuming love, this surrendering of our will to the Master, is so difficult to achieve. Why do we struggle so much? From the time of initiation, the inner connection to the Shabd has already been made, but we are still blinded by the ego and our task is made difficult by our scattered minds. The mind has been wandering in the world for thousands of lifetimes, so withdrawing the attention from the outside world and focusing within is far from easy. The Masters assure us, though, that we can do it – through our devotion and by following our Master’s instructions.

Our first priority then is to still the mind. When the mind is still and the soul is concentrated at the eye centre, the soul will begin to blend into the Shabd, which will take it to the home of love. The road home may be long and challenging, but we are not alone in our struggles. Our Master is ever by our side. But aspiring to this goal asks of us a humble and disciplined way of life if we are to make spiritual progress and reach it. As Great Master tells us:

The path of love is as narrow and as sharp as the edge of a sword. There is room for only one to tread on it. Here God and the devotee have to become one, and the least waver or negligence on the part of the devotee will cause his downfall. Therefore, only the strong-willed can follow this path with the support of God and the Master and by surrendering themselves at all times into the lap of the Beloved.
_{Philosophy of the Masters, Vol. II}

All who have the blessing of initiation by a perfect Master do have to struggle to achieve spiritual liberation. But we are guided at every step and cannot fall. But then, it is imperative that we remain focused on our Master and our work for him. We cannot let anything else get in our way.