At the End of the Day

Where do we stand at the end of the day? Where do we stand after a lifetime in the presence of the inner master? So many seva opportunities have come our way, the values of which have slowly been grasped. In spite of our failures, there is an immense gratitude for all his gifts and for his guiding hand that has always been there. We try to put his teachings into practice, studying and absorbing them, ultimately living them. Gratitude and appreciation for what has been given have become the driving force in our approach to the path. Initially, after the euphoria of having found the path and becoming initiated, a sense of duty kept us on track. Also obedience of a kind is slowly being supplanted by a higher form of obedience – the desire to please our master by doing what he begs us to do.

In the New Testament there are some parables referring to the end of the day. In these parables Christ mentions the harvest as the time of the final reckoning. In the Bible, Romans 2:6, the apostle Paul also reminds us, “God will repay each person according to what they have done.” In Light on Saint Matthew Hazur Maharaj Ji beautifully explains the parable of “a man who sowed good seeds in his field.”¹ He says, “The seed must be very good and the ground very fertile.”²

Hazur commented on this passage, “He says, a farmer went to a field. The field was good, it was fertile – the man was receptive to the teachings of the Father of the mystic. And the seed was all right – the Master was also of the right type and had properly initiated the disciple.”³ How unique is initiation by a living master, a disciple will slowly come to realize as he matures, and he will appreciate it more than anything else. The seed of initiation will grow, the small sapling will turn into a tree producing fruits of love. These are the efforts on our part, the only thing he asks us to do. By giving the best part of the day to our spiritual endeavours; by prioritizing our meditation, by not being content with giving the leftovers of the day, we become “receptive to the teachings of the Father.” So much love for the Father is expressed in this small sentence. Masters have their being in the Father, they cannot but share their love for Him.

But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
_{Matthew 13:25}

Hazur further comments, “[the enemy] also sowed tares among the wheat…. So he says, Kal or Satan also became active the moment the soul was initiated, and deceived him with the riches of the world, or with worldly love, or material things…. So the disciple was progressing in meditation, but at the same time tempted by worldly pleasures. His mind was still in the world too.”⁴ Overcoming, mastering the mind is a lifelong struggle. In the beginning ─ that may even take decades ─ the balancing scales will tip to the side of the mind. But to the extent that we are progressing, the power of the mind becomes less, and the soul is slowly gaining the upper hand. It is a subtle, inner process, taking place on a level where you experience the pulling power of the inner master. It has all to do with our receptivity, with our capacity to absorb. There is an inpouring of Shabd every time we’re engulfed by feelings of love for the master and the Divine. Truly, love for the physical form culminates in love for the formless. They go hand in hand.

There is so much comfort when Hazur further explains the parable of the sower. Even though he may be given to negative influences, the disciple should not be discouraged. “Let both grow together until the harvest.”⁵ “[…] let him continue what he is doing, as long as he is also giving his time to meditation. I will wait till the harvest, meaning the end of life.”⁶ That’s why masters say that we need meditation. We’d be absolutely lost without it, helpless victims in the hands of fate.

And in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: and gather the wheat into my barn.
_{Matthew 13:30}

At the end of the day, “at the time of death, all the wicked and bad karmas that a disciple has accumulated during the span of his life, will be collected together on one side. And all the good things that he has done ─ the time that he has given to meditation, the service he has done in the name of the Father, and the life he has lived in love and devotion for the Father ─ that will be collected together on the other side.”⁷ The spiritual treasure we have built over a lifetime will take care of all the negative karmas. An invaluable treasure consisting of the sum total of our meditation, our seva, love and devotion – in short, all His gifts.

When old age starts knocking at our door ─ and it comes faster than we could ever have imagined ─ we should be ready for our final departure from the physical plane. We don’t know how much precious time is left. What the teachings tell us is that our karmic debt is more easily cleared in the physical form than in the hereafter. As Great Master says in a letter from Spiritual Gems, “Try to surrender your will to His Will, so that the moment He calls you, you are ready to go with Him.”⁸