Instructions for Seekers after Truth
Issued in 1956 as circular letter #2 and was required reading for all prospective initiates.
- To cultivate and develop the five cardinal virtues which constitute the bedrock of spirituality, These are:
- Ahimsa or Non-injury to all living creatures, and more so to fellow beings, by thoughts, words and deeds— the injunction in this behalf being: “Injure not a human heart for it is the seat of God.” We must have respect for others’ feelings and tolerance for others’ opinions.
- Satayam or Truthfulness: As God is Truth, we must practice Truth in all our dealings. If Truth resides in every heart, it must manifest itself in life and action. “Be true to thyself and it must follow as night the day, thou canst not be false to any man.” We must therefore avoid falsehood at all costs. It includes, besides downright lies, hypocrisy and dishonesty, suppresso veri (suppression of truth), and suggestio falsi (suggestions of false ideas).
- Brahmcharya or life of Chastity: it includes continence in thoughts, words and deeds. We must not cast covetous eyes on others nor entertain impure thoughts within, for “Chastity is life and sexuality is death.” If we want to tread the Path of Life Eternal, we must be chaste and clean both within and without.
- Prem or love for all living creatures and more so for all human beings. Let there be hatred for none. The entire manifestation is the handiwork of God and must therefore be loved and respected. “He who does not know love, cannot know God.”
- Nishkam Seva or Selfless Service to all living creatures in sorrow or distress. If one limb of the body is in torture, the other limbs can have no rest. “Service before self” should therefore be our motto in life.
- To practice these three purities—in DIET, LIVELIHOOD and CONDUCT:
- 1) Ahar or Diet. What we eat goes to constitute the body and the mind. “Sound mind in a sound body” is a well known aphorism. We can neither have one nor the other with unwholesome diet. A strictly vegetarian diet consisting of vegetables and fruits, both fresh and dried, cereals, dairy products like milk, cream, butter, cheese, yoghurt, etc., is essential for all aspirants for Truth. We must therefore avoid meat, meat juices, fish, fowl, eggs both fertile and unfertile, or anything containing any of these ingredients in any form or in any degree. Every action has a reaction and flesh eating involves contracting fresh Karmas and thus helps to keep the inexorable Karmic wheel in motion for we have to reap what we sow. We cannot have roses if we sow thistles. The above prohibitions apply equally to all kinds of alcoholic drinks, intoxicants, opiates and narcotic drugs, as they tend to dull our consciousness and make us morbid.
- “The body is the temple of the living God” and it must therefore be kept scrupulously clean.
- Any prospective candidate for initiation should therefore try the vegetarian diet for at least three to six months, to ensure that he or she can adhere to it, when put on the Path.
- 2) Vihar or Livelihood: Closely associated with diet are the means of livelihood. There are no short-cuts in spirituality. The end here does not justify the means, as it may be construed to do anywhere else. Ignoble means to earn one’s living do contaminate one’s diet, the very source of life itself. So an honest living by the sweat of one’s brow is essential in this line. The life plant has therefore to be nurtured with pure water to make it sound and healthy, a fit instrument for the efflorescence of spirituality.
- 3) Achar or Conduct: The above remarks apply equally to one’s conduct in life. Every thought, every word and every deed, good or bad, leaves an indelible imprint on the mind and has to be accounted for. Hence the necessity for right thoughts, right aspirations and right conduct, all of which constitute the hedge around the tender sapling of spirituality. The details in this behalf have been dealt with under the five virtues discussed above.
- SATSANG or Association with Truth: The guidance of the living Master is of supreme importance. A Master is a Master indeed, a Master in all three phases of life: A Guru or Master on the physical plane, sharing our joys and sorrows, guiding affectionately each one of us in our worldly affairs, and above all imparting spiritual instructions; a Guru Dev or Radiant Form of the Master in astral and causal regions helping the spirit in meditation at each plane, and Satguru or Master of Truth or Truth itself in the Beyond.
- The importance of attending Satsangs or spiritual gatherings cannot be overemphasized. Theory always precede practice. It is but necessary to understand clearly the teachings of the Master in all their bearings before starting spiritual practice. The Master is the be-all and end-all of the spiritual path. He does not ask for blind faith, however, though experimental faith is necessary for the purpose, to start with. He emphatically says: “Believe not the words of the Master unless you see the Reality yourself,” or at least have some experience of it yourself.
- SPIRITUALITY: It is a path of love, discipline and self-control. After the initial spiritual experience given at the time of Initiation the rest depends on relentless regular practice as enjoined by the Master. Daily practice with loving faith, in all sincerity and humility, is the cornerstone round which each disciple must turn, so as to make progress on the Path. Love for the Master means implicit obedience to His commandments.
- TO ESCHEW ALL SYMBOLISM AND RITUALS: The observance of religious practices, rites and rituals keeping fasts and vigils, going on pilgrimages, etc., and doing breathing exercises are the elementary steps only which go to create in you a desire for turning to or meeting God. You have made the best use of them when you are put on the way back to God, which is the science of the Word or the Sound Current and is one for all humanity. A devotee of this science need not indulge in the elementary-steps. In short, all acts involving physical labor belong to the realm of the physical world while we have to rise above the body and bodily consciousness to get contact with the primal manifestations of the Godhead: Light and Sound. You cannot pray God with hands. “God is Spirit and can only be worshiped in spirit.”
- RECORD OF CONDUCT AND PROGRESS: Every seeker after God is enjoined to maintain a strictly impartial record of his daily conduct, so as to find out his weaknesses and try to weed them out one by one; to note his/her progress on the Path and the various difficulties and shortcomings in the way. The diary so maintained is to be sent to the Master every four months for further guidance. For this purpose regular forms are available and can be obtained from the nearest center.
- APPLICATION FOR INITIATION: Every true aspirant for spiritual science, who can adhere to the above, after preliminary abstinence in diet for about three to six months, can put in an application on the form prescribed for the purpose, giving his brief life sketch, age, marital status and the like along with a copy of his or her photograph. All applications for initiation are to be forwarded to the nearest representative of the Master for His approval, and instructions in Initiation are given only after the Master authorizes them. The place and time of Initiation are communicated in each case by the representative.
- RUHANI SATSANG or Path of the Masters: The science of the living Masters is the most ancient and the most perfect science the world has ever seen, it is the most natural and the easiest to follow, and can be followed by men of all ages. Married life, avocation, caste and creed, social and religious beliefs, poverty or illiteracy, etc., are no bars. It is an inner science of the soul and consists in contacting the soul with the Oversoul, with the help and guidance of the spiritual adept, well versed in the theory and the practice of Para Vidya or the Science of the Beyond and capable of granting some first-hand spiritual experience at the very first sitting. Nothing is to be taken on trust or make-believe. Miracles, spiritual healings, psychic phenomena, fortune-telling, akashic records and worldly desires are all to be left aside, for these are positive hindrances on the Path. The entire energy is to be conserved for internal progress.
Seek ye first the Kingdom of God,
and all things shall be added unto you.
This is the highest Truth that has been taught from hoary antiquity by sages and seers since the day of creation. It is unalterable and shall remain so. God, Godway, and Godman can never suffer any change and shall ever remain eternal.
