Turning Inwards

One of the hardest things is to break free from our tendency to commit bad deeds. Every thought, word and action needs to be kept in check because of our commitment to leading an honest, moral life. But it is easy to falter and difficult to remain righteous, particularly when good intentions are not reciprocated, or we are tested under pressure. As a result, given the law of karma, we find ourselves returning again and again to this cycle of transmigration to account for our mix of good and bad deeds. We are wary that the balance is often tipped toward a negative rather than a noble record. We find ourselves overwhelmed by the consequences of our actions that we must face. But there is hope in where or to whom we can turn to for help.

If a child commits any mischief, does not behave properly, even breaks the law, the father never hands him over to the police. A father never likes his son to go to jail, but all the same the father wants to put him on the right path, so he punishes him, though he may not hand him over to the police or to the jail. That does not mean that if we do not practice, even then we will be accepted and taken back. We have to get punishment – sometimes perhaps the father’s punishment is more severe than that of the police – but all the same, there is love coupled with the idea of discipline behind this punishment; there is no revenge in the father’s heart. His object is to improve the son, to make him a better human being; but he will not hand him over to the police or the district jail.
_{Maharaj Charan Singh, Spiritual Perspectives, Vol. II}

Taking refuge in a true, living master is an opportunity to surrender to his dispensation of our karmic account. The glossary of Jap Ji provides us an insight to the Master’s approach in settling our scroll of deeds:

A soul initiated by a perfect master is not under the jurisdiction of Dharamrai (the Lord of Judgment) because the Master himself administers the karma of his disciples, tempering justice with mercy.
The deed of our karmas
Has been torn up
In the court of the Dharam Rai,
The lord of justice;
O Nanak, the Guru has settled
The account forever.
_{Guru Ram Das, as quoted in The Path}

This does not mean the Master simply erases our account. He dispenses our karmic account with fairness and wisdom, all the while cushioning or counterbalancing it with mercy. We have often heard that the Master is like a potter who pounds and slaps the clay he is trying to mould. The pounding is on the outside, while at the same time, his other hand firmly provides support from the inside to guide its shape.

Interestingly, tempering has another meaning referring to the heat technique applied to alloys, such as steel or cast iron, to achieve greater toughness by decreasing the hardness of the alloy. By tempering, the alloy becomes more pliable by decreasing the brittleness of the metal but without it losing its toughness.

That is what happens for us when the Master takes charge of our karmas after initiation. He takes the responsibility to help us return to our eternal home. He gives his love, support, and grace to go through our karmas with fortitude and equanimity. To become receptive to his tempering, to achieve greater strength, toughness and fortitude, we meditate to attune our consciousness to Nam or Shabd, the divine sound current resounding within.

Hazur Maharaj Charan Singh illustrates the power of meditation in many ways:

One little portion of nam or shabd, an atom of it, burns thousands and millions of our karmas. We actually burn or destroy and rise above them, and do not make new ones in the process…. When, with the help of nam or shabd, our mind goes back to its origin, these karmas just drop down. However rusty a knife may be, if you hold it against a revolving grindstone, all the rust is removed. The knife again shines like new. It becomes pure.
_{Spiritual Perspectives, Vol. II}

The masters often emphasize that meditation gives us the strength to face our destiny without losing our balance. Meditation allows us to develop that attitude of accepting things as they come. There are many questions, many problems in life for which there seems to be no solution, but we can rise above them with the help of meditation.

By turning our attention inwards with meditation, we repent for our transgressions and surrender ourselves unconditionally to the Master, having faith in his divine dispensation. We then feel a sense of relief that our journey home is of his design and on his terms. Moreover, we become grateful that he accepted us as is, and did not turn us away.

There can be no holiness, Lord, if You withdraw Yourself. No wisdom can avail, if You cease to guide. No courage can uphold, if You cease to defend. No purity is secure, if You are not guard. No watchfulness of our own can save us, unless Your holy care protects us; for if You abandon us, we sink and perish. But if You visit us, we are raised up and live once more.
_{Thomas à Kempis, Imitation of Christ}