Only Connect

We human beings are a wonderful creation. This physical body is a covering over the much finer astral and causal bodies. The three bodies, together with mind, cover the soul, the true self. When we are born as a human being our individual mind and soul must adjust to the physical plane. From the day of our birth we begin to learn the skills we will need to survive here. Whether it is looking, listening, or learning to walk or talk, we become familiar with the physical world.

A common term in scientific circles, used to describe the learning process is ‘wiring’. When we learn something new, the parts of the brain involved become ‘wired’. They connect with one another and certain neurological pathways are established. It is necessary for this wiring or conditioning to take place for the learning to become embedded in our brains. Take for example the process of learning to play a musical instrument. It may take a considerable period of time, involving hours of practice, but this results in the brain being ‘wired’ so that playing becomes second nature.

Suppose a particularly gifted musician learns to play an instrument and becomes a virtuoso: the musician will still require constant practice to maintain complete competence with the instrument. If he gives up playing and some years later starts again, he will obviously not be so competen,t as his practice has lapsed. The same is true of athletes and other professionals when they no longer continue in their chosen profession. This is because the pathways in the brain are no longer wired or connected as efficiently as before.

This wiring process applies equally to meditation. The technique for meditation leading to self- and God- realization can be learned from a true living Master. When we first apply the technique it appears to be very difficult. Unless we engage in the meditation practice regularly, it will continue to be difficult.

On the other hand, if we sincerely engage in meditation and we put in hours of daily practice then, just like the musician, we will begin to master the practice. Through repetition of the five holy Names given to us at initiation, and through bhajan, the practice of listening to the sound current that is reverberating through each one of us, we will tune in to the Shabd.

Maharaj Sawan Singh gave the example of tuning an analogue radio set to a particular frequency in order to hear the radio broadcast. We are currently unable to hear the sound current that is ringing within us because we have not tuned into it. Our brainwaves at present take us on an outward trajectory – but we are perfectly capable of breaking these patterns of behaviour to become focused within.

Meditation is nothing but a silent prayer to the Lord to ask for help in changing these patterns. Nothing should come between us and the Lord during this time. The more we devote ourselves to the practice, improving our concentration through simran and bhajan, the more we are developing those inward qualities, and the pathways in the brain which will enable us to hear the Shabd.

Our outlook changes as a result. We become more positive and contented. Our faith in the Master deepens. We no longer react negatively to our destiny. Instead we accept all that comes to us as coming from him, the one true Lord. This is a form of submission to his will.

The Master who has initiated us has made it his mission not just to take us out of the physical but also out of the astral and causal bodies in which the soul is enveloped. He can only fulfil his mission if we play our part and put in the required practice in our meditation. His grace is then all that we need to escape from continual death and rebirth in the physical creation.

This will give us absolute faith not just in the Master but also in ourselves. It will prove to us that God resides within us and that we can find him there and become one with him.