The Master Answers

A selection of question and answers with Maharaj Charan Singh

Q: I believe Great Master said that satsang is the haven of the agonized.

A: Yes, it is an anchor. You see, if your boat is caught in a storm and you reach the shore, you feel so relieved. We are all in the storm of our mind, and when we go to the satsang of the mystics, we find we can land on a shore. How relieved we feel. Satsang is a great anchor. We are always influenced by the company we keep. If you can become a drunkard by being with people who drink or a gambler by remaining in their company, why not become a devotee by remaining in the company of mystics and saints? It’s the Lord’s grace that we seek such company, and that we get such company. Christ said, wherever two or more meet in my name, I’ll be there. What does that mean? That is why we have group meetings and discussions, because nothing but the Master and the teachings are discussed. In satsang we discuss nothing but the Lord.
_{Spiritual Perspectives, Vol. III}

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Q: Master, after we get initiated, sometimes it becomes very difficult to continue living with our families and friends who are not initiated.

A: You see, sometimes satsangis start feeling superior to the people they live with, thinking that they have become superhuman and that other people are inferior because they’re not following the path. That hurts the ego of the other person, which creates discontentment and disharmony. Why should we feel superior or superhuman? We only have to do our duty in meditation. We should rather be an example to the people we live with and win them by more love and affection rather than acting superior. When we try to show that we have become something better, it hurts the other person’s ego and it’s very difficult for them to bear that. So slowly and slowly, conflict starts. We ourselves have a certain responsibility to behave as satsangis. We’re all struggling souls. We’re not born satsangis. After all, we have come to this by passing through so many stages, and the people we associate with may be passing through the same stages. So we should be helpful and useful to others rather than show our superiority.
_{Spiritual Perspectives, Vol. III}

Q: Master, are heaven and hell situated on this side of the first stage, of earth?

A: This whole world is a heaven and hell. You can make this world a heaven, you can make this world a hell. They exist within you. If you make yourself hell, you are in hell here. If you make yourself heaven, you are in heaven here. Why think about hell and heaven? Make this world a place of heaven. Have that peace within yourself and this whole world will be at peace with you. If we are able to build that heaven within ourselves, then the whole world becomes heaven here. And if we make ourselves miserable, the whole world is miserable to us.
_{Spiritual Perspectives, Vol. I}

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Q: Master, if a person were to become desireless and without attachment, does it mean that he is karmaless?

A: No. You see, karmaless is something very different. The moment we become karmaless the soul goes back to the Father – you can’t exist in this creation. The very fact that we are in the body means that we have some karmas which are attaching us to this body. If we had no karma we would not be here at all. It is karma, fate karmas, which are keeping us bound to this flesh, this body. The moment we become karmaless we go back to the Father. If you can become desireless, you can become detached from the world. But you can’t become karmaless by being in the flesh. Whatever you do in this world is karma. You drink, you eat, you walk, you talk, they’re all karmas. They’re all actions. So you can’t become karmaless. You can have desireless actions – you’re helping somebody, you have given something in charity, you are not desiring a reward. You can say that you have a desireless karma. But you can’t become karmaless. It’s impossible as long as you are in the flesh.
_{Spiritual Perspectives, Vol. I}