From Fear to Faith
In Treasure Beyond Measure, Maharaj Charan Singh tells us, “Separation from the Beloved is essential to know the depth of your love.” Indeed, the Sufi mystic Shams Tabrizi deemed it essential to separate himself from his disciple Rumi in order for Rumi’s devotion to mature.
When it was announced that Baba Ji had appointed as his successor Hazur Jasdeep Singh, we feared the worst; many of us succumbed to our fears even though the announcement clearly stated that Baba Ji was “in good state of health.” But did we believe it? We let our fear overpower our faith. Many of us took the first opportunity we got to travel to India. We had to see Baba Ji, no matter what! Many who couldn’t go were in anguish, feeling helpless and anxious. It wasn’t until Master’s Satsang Program was announced for the following summer that we truly believed that Baba Ji was fine, at least for now.
Ever merciful and generous, Baba Ji quelled our anxiety as he bestowed on us three gifts. First, he gave us time – to accept separation as the inevitable end of our access to his physical form, and to work through our grief and increase our longing and effort while he was still with us in the physical world. The second gift was darshan: he traveled extensively so that many of us could see him in person.
The third gift Baba Ji gave us was the opportunity to prepare for the unavoidable future. He gave us a helping hand in the form of another true living Master, whom we could relate to and develop love for over time.
How do we connect with our Master today? In moments of joy and achievement, we thank him, whether he is Hazur Maharaj Ji, Baba Ji, or Hazur Ji. In moments of adversity and pain, we cry out to him for help. Whether our Master has passed away or is miles away on the other side of the world, we talk to him inside and believe he is hearing us. Once, when Hazur Ji came by himself to one of the Western evening meetings at Dera, somebody asked him why Baba Ji had not come. Hazur Ji emphatically responded that Baba Ji was with them. And Hazur Maharaj Ji also used to tease satsangis that he was there with them even when he wasn’t physically present.
The Master is here – even when we don’t see him, when we don’t feel him. Wherever we are, there he is, for he is inside us, in his Shabd form. And he will remain with us, no matter what, whether we leave the physical frame first or he does. Our link of inner communication with him will always remain. That is the connection we need to focus on and strengthen. As Hazur Maharaj Ji said:
The master never leaves the disciple. For a disciple, the master is always living because the body is not the master. The master is that divine melody which is within every one of us. And the body is not even the disciple. The soul is the disciple, and the shabd is the master. Once the soul is brought in contact with the shabd, the shabd never leaves the soul….
When master initiates us, his duty does not cease until he takes us back to the Father. Even if he leaves his body the next day, he is always within us to guide us back to the Father. We have only to look to him to guide us, and we will always find our own master within ourselves.
Spiritual Perspectives, Vol. III
We need to channel our fear of loss into faith that the Master who initiated us will be with us forever in his radiant form. But what if we don’t see the Master’s radiant form? Saints tell us that the radiant form is in fact formless. There is only light and sound. Shabd projects the physical form of our Master because of our familiarity with it. But eventually that form merges into sound and light. We will be drawn to it, recognize it, be comforted by it, and feel that this is my Master.
Through his formless presence, our Master guides us through all facets of worldly and spiritual life. It is the same even when we no longer walk with him on the surface of this earth. We always have his guiding hand leading us throughout our devotional journey. The only way for us to know this is by taking the journey from fear to faith.
How can we gain the realization that we are always under the Satguru’s protective hand? It can only come by establishing a connection with the radiant Master, who is the Shabd itself. By connecting our soul’s consciousness with the Shabd, we can rest in our Master’s presence. Tulsi Sahib explains:
The physical form of the Guru is not what saints extol.
The secret of the Satguru is far beyond this physical world.
By ascending within and piercing through the inner skies –
He alone attains the refuge of the Satguru.
Tulsi Sahib, Saint of Hathras
We cannot comprehend the secret of our Master simply by looking at his physical frame. To cement our inner connection with him, we need to live by our vows. We need to lead a vegetarian, sober, and moral life imbued in our meditation practice as taught to us at the time of initiation.
The body is impermanent. Meditation helps us overcome the fear of death and connect with the true self, which is the deathless reality. Meditation helps us lead a peaceful and contented life, unites us with the inner Master, and merges us with the creative power of Shabd. Meditation is always fruitful, whether we believe it is or not. Through meditation, we enter the inner realms and turn homeward. We’ve been given the biggest reinforcement imaginable – access to the inner Master. Now we need to put that knowledge into action.
Our Master has given us the limitless treasure of Nam. We need to make use of that treasure in this very life by merging with it. Reminding us of the uncertainty of tomorrow, Soami Ji Maharaj warns us in Sar Bachan Poetry: “Keep the fear of death in your heart day and night.”
Soami Ji forcefully states that we need to remember the perishable nature of this body and do what we must to conquer our fear of loss. Only through meditation can our faith in the Master grow, so that we can overcome our fear and rest in our faith. The saints remind us that faith does not come by knowledge but through our effort, which results in experience. It is personal experience that will provide the basis of our faith. The whole process begins with meditation.
Simran is the key to the door of liberation, leading us to divine union. Simran is the sole language through which we can constantly stay in contact with our Master. We realize his omnipresence not merely by way of the daily two-and-a-half hours we spend in meditation, but in 24 hours of communion with him.
Throughout our struggles to persist, our True Friend is never far, never separate from us. Simran becomes an intrinsic part of our life. Saints tell us that incessant simran gradually becomes second nature to the point that we are not even conscious that it is ongoing. This endless simran connects us to the Shabd, and the act of seeing and listening becomes ingrained in our consciousness.
We are told that in meditation, all we need to do is sit and start repeating the names, and the Master will take care of the rest. We are the ones who are not letting go. We lack confidence in ourselves that we can overcome our struggles, and we lack faith in the Master’s words when he tells us that we can do it.
We have heard over and over that there are no failures in Sant Mat. When we put in due effort, union is guaranteed. When he initiated us, the Master promised us that he would help us merge with the Lord. What are we waiting for? The prophet Mohammad wrote of God’s promise:
I [Allah] am with My servant when he thinks of Me. I am with him when he remembers Me. If he remembers Me in himself, I will remember him in Myself. If he remembers Me in company, I will remember him in a company better than his. If he draws nearer to Me by one inch, I will draw nearer to him by one cubic [a hundred-fold]. And when he comes to Me walking, I [will] come to him running.
Rabi’a: The Woman Who Must Be Heard
Our Master is with us now, and he will be with us until he has delivered us to the Lord. We will continue to miss him when we are not in his physical presence, and we will even miss him when he is right in front of our eyes. This sorrow of missing him will stay with us until we become one with him inside and finally be redeemed. As Sheikh Fakhreddin Eraqi wrote in The Face in Every Rose: “Happy is the heart which is redeemed by the sorrow of missing You.”