Master Escorts Soul to Paradise. {118.}

Master Escorts Soul to Paradise. {118.}

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Radhasoami!

Meditate: when there is external silence {or having grown indifferent to it}, and internal silence bred of a cessation of your thoughts.

As the self comes to roost within itself, focus on the seat of the refulgent soul within your being.

Pray for the Grand Master or Param Guru to Dawn within and Grant you His Darshan {the fortune of beholding His Countenance}.

Let the Shabda Roop {Sound Form} of the Guru escort your surat or soul internally to the lofty divine realms.

Attain unto the loftiest paradise of Radhasoami Dham thus, with earnest perseverance, and the Guru’s Grace.

Radhasoami!
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Extremely Joyous Holi Celebrations, Indeed. {83.}

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Radhasoami!

As Satsang celebrates its memorable
150 years in the world,
the Holi festivities in Dayalbagh
and in the hearts of Satsangis worldwide
have now taken unprecedented forms,
coinciding as Holi does
with the sacred Birthday
of Gracious Huzur “Prem” Saran Satsangi Saheb Ji.

The two-day delightful, morning
Holi Bhakti Sangeet Milan program
at the fields in sacred Tannery
almost transported one to Radhasoami Dham!

Let us all gratefully celebrate
the forward march of Satsang
in this world during Kaliyuga,
and humbly pray to our
Most Supreme Lord, Radhasoami Dayal
for befitting Grace enabling us
to grow and spread globally,
leading devoted, exemplary, happy lives.

Radhasoami!
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Control is Key to Action. {81.}

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Radhasoami!

I have found most people
to be careless, almost reckless,
in their living,
as if they have little to lose,
and don’t care if they do so.

The Paath or hymn lines teach us:
“Main pyari Pyare Radhasoami ki /
Chutayi Guru ne jag begaar.”

That is,
"The Lord has
Saved me from useless world."

It is pointless seeking the world,
which is anyway doomed to destruction
in the forthcoming MahaPralay or apocalypse.

It would be prudent to strive earnestly
to attain the divine realm
of Satloka and Radhasoami Dham,
which are eternal and blissful.

Like Arjun, in the epic Mahabharata,
you can aim and shoot
directly at the bird’s eye,
only if you are shut
to everything else in life.

Control in worldly activities
is the key to
progress in spiritual pursuits.

Life involves choices,
and decisions need be taken.

If you do not decide
about your life and fate,
others will by default decide
on your behalf.

Be responsible for your self,
one’s destiny is as one makes it!

Radhasoami!
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God Also Naturally Plays Favorites. {56.}

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Radhasoami!

Humans need to believe
that they deserve God and Grace.

Sure, life’s opportunity has been
granted to the jeevas {living beings},
but they are severely circumscribed by,
as to be virtual
prisoners and slaves of,
their cycle of sanskaras,
thoughts, desires, karmas.

It is easy to escape
the tyranny of an external despot,
but these internal demons
render a human grossly inadequate
for deserving God’s Grace.

God does play favorites too.

The devotees who worship
and serve Guru more,
naturally evoke God’s Grace
the greater for it.

Besides, God remains closely
with the sincere devotees.

There is no need for rivalry
in spiritual matters,
indeed, that would be self-defeatist,
for ultimately, one’s innate
goodness and sincerity
can merit one God.

Since one can control one’s own being,
the key to God’s Grace
is through one’s own self,
by striving towards wholity and perfection,
and valuing nothing but blissful rest
in the loftiest and eternal Radhasoami Dham.

Radhasoami!
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Remain, Live True to Yourself. {49.}

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Radhasoami!

The self hides the Self,
and the Self is God.

Seek your self, beyond your ego.

Know and understand yourself.

Only then can you be,
remain and live
true to yourself.

This doesn’t necessarily
mean becoming “selfish”.

I have usually found myself to be
at odds with the milieu.

I was either a round peg
in a square hole,
or a square peg
in a round hole.

Mere friction, disharmony and strife;
never to my liking,
to no purpose whatsoever.

I remained myself.
I survived people and life.
That was victory.

The beautiful lady is resented and hated
by all the other less pretty ones,
for no fault of hers.

Despite the malice and baseness
that one encounters in life,
one must continue with one’s
goodness, faith, devotion and service.

It is pointless to yield
to those who are incorrigibly
wrong, perverse, sinful and hostile.

Be clear and remain strong.
After all, the endless Source
of all Wisdom and Strength
remains our Guide and Redeemer.

Life is quite a silly nightmare
that shall end once the surat or soul
finally reaches Radhasoami Dham.

Radhasoami!
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Regularly Increase Your Spiritual Wealth. {41.}

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Radhasoami!

Always better keep on the right track.

Indeed, of what?

Your own integrity, because “Khuda apne imaan hee mein hotha hai”, or God exists in one’s own integrity.

The one who is insincere, lying in speech, & dishonest in conduct loses both self & Guru-God.

Also stay on the right side of the Radhasoami Faith & the Param Guru of Dayalbagh, by practicing its principles & obeying His Fiats respectively.

We don’t realize it, but our lives & destinies depend crucially on these.

This is because Radhasoami Dayal Is Omniscient, our Mission is fated, & the mystical Law governs all of existence.

Next, continuously make premeditated, decided, systematic, significant & effective efforts to increase your spiritual earnings, or the sum total of “Punya” or good deeds that form your spiritual capital or bank balance.

Your worldly wealth is not transferable into the hereafter, but your spiritual capital is what determines the quality of your future life or state {ideally, redemption through a blessed nook in the loftiest paradise, Radhasoami Dham}.

Radhasoami!
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Materialism: Its Purposes & Uses. {21.}

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Radhasoami!

Satsangis have been enjoined to aim for & remain satisfied with merely a moderate degree of worldly success. Why is this so? What does the above injunction really mean, in practical terms?

There is, of course, no end to human desires. As the Buddha had very rightly described as his first Great Truth, desires are at the root of all human suffering. Hence, being extremely selective in one’s desires makes eminent sense, both practical and spiritual.

Moreover, globalization & consumerism subject the lay person to a virtual barrage of material products that are desirable and apparently necessary for one’s living. Under such circumstances, it is rather tempting for one to succumb to the craze for more & more material possessions.

This would naturally entail a greater focus on & efforts expended in amassing wealth. Not for nothing had the holy Bible also asserted that “The love of money is the root of all evil.”

So, if Satsangis were to recklessly seek money by hook or by crook, & determinedly rival others in the possession of worldly success & material possessions, then they would forget their real goal in life: that of ensuring their salvation.

Life in human form is precious, not because of the consumerist goods that we can buy while alive, but because it offers one the chance to mystically secure one's eternal seat in the loftiest paradise of Radhasoami Dham.

However, Satsangis are also mandated to live by one’s honest efforts, & not to have any loans pending against others. Thus, financial independence & integrity are central to the Satsangi lifestyle.

Further, various studies conducted around the world suggest that if a person’s material needs have been well taken care of, the person becomes naturally drawn towards religion & spirituality.

It is also an obvious truism that even the performance of one’s devotions & services by an individual requires money.

Besides, the spread and establishment of a new religion in the whole world will naturally entail finances of a mind-boggling order.

Hence, Satsangis should responsibly draw the line rightly on how to earn enough money for a comfortable & dignified living that enables one an adequate performance of their religious duties & aspirations, while taking care not to get caught up in the senseless vortex of naked pursuit of wealth or the acquisition of material possessions.

Radhasoami!
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Satsang Ideal: Mystical yet Better-worldly. {14.}

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Radhasoami!

Classifying religions, cults, sects, faiths & denominations on various bases has been a favorite pastime of the many. Popular categorizations of a religion would include its being:
** Mystical or ritualistic; &
** Unworldly or worldly.

Buddhism may be regarded as having been initially at least essentially mystical, focusing on the practice of meditation. Mere external rituals mark most major religions. There may have been unworldly elements in certain major religions, but since no religion or its followers could have survived & expanded on such an ethereal basis for long, most chose to coyly adopt the worldly route.

Only fringe and offbeat sects can afford the luxury of being unabashedly unworldly, such as the one in Japan that even exhorts its followers to commit suicide en masse as a way of exiting the earth & ostensibly gaining paradise. Well, who hasn't heard that it's a crazy world?

The quest for paradise inevitably came to be regarded as not being in conflict with one’s acquisition of material possessions; indeed, worldly prosperity came to be viewed as an indication of one’s likely gains in the beyond as well. Hence, there has been a growth of capitalism worldwide, with the active involvement of Christians {particularly Protestants, as studied extensively by Max Weber}, Jews, Jains, Sikhs, Hindus & others.

So, how may the Radhasoami religion of Dayalbagh be described?
** Is it mystical or ritualistic?
** Is it unworldly, worldly or “better-worldly”?

Does being a Satsangi mean that one:
** Pray to the exclusion of all life, or merely superficially perform certain rituals timely?
** Scorn & shun the use of material trinkets, or actively rival with the Joneses -- or Kapoors, if you please! -- in the modern consumerist culture?

Or, is there a middle & optimal route instead that Satsangis are enjoined to practice?

The actual Satsang worldview regards the world as real, but perishable, & as headed for destruction at the end of Kaliyuga in the form of a MahaPralay. Life is an opportunity to progress spiritually, so that the soul attains access to higher divine realms, & ultimately achieves salvation by reaching Radhasoami Dham, the loftiest divine realm in existence.

Hence, Satsangis are NOT to confuse their essential worth or Grace merely with their stock of material possessions.
Satsangis are NOT to rival others over such trinkets.
Satsangis are NOT to fritter their lives -- or lose sight of their true goal in life -- in a blind, mad & never-ending chase of the numerous attractive products being thrown up by the present consumerist culture worldwide.

However, a dignified life requires a certain degree of material success. This is again treading on thin ice, because individual perceptions can vary considerably on what may constitute a "dignified life". Is it merely a couple of square meals a day, and minimal shelter, or does it include occasionally buying an exotic island in the middle of an ocean "far from the madding crowd", and perhaps a few acres on the moon? I confess I am now slightly digressing in a lighter vein, so let's resume the relatively more profound ruminations!

Certain “scientific research” {I am quite sceptical about what such words are supposed to exactly mean, but more on this perhaps later!} has even apparently confirmed that when someone’s material requirements have been adequately met, the person’s focus turns more towards God. Moreover, since Satsang is to spread in the world, we shall require finances on a mammoth scale.

.

The Satsang ideal exhorts Satsangis to aim for “ausath darje ki” or moderate degree of {& not “aala” or superior} material facilities. This is doubtlessly based on the expectation that any human who pursues wealth and possessions to a great degree gradually gets attached to them, & begins to crave them more. This effectively diverts her or him from the true goal of salvation.

.

Unlike several other peoples across the world, who have institutionalized the fine arts of begging, borrowing, stealing and plundering, Satsangis are enjoined to live by their own work, or by the sweat of their own brow. This promotes the traits of independence, integrity, morals, values and ethics. One cannot wallow in muck daylong to effectively quote the scriptures by the night. One cannot partake in the rampant corruption prevalent in most societies worldwide -- particularly, the Indian - and pretend to maintain the purity of one's soul.

Most importantly, for the Radhasoami religion to spread adequately in the world, as per the Paath lines,
“Badhath Satsang ab din din / aha ha ha oho ho ho.”,
phenomenal resources will be required. Hence, Satsangis may be excused a greater attempt at more earnings, if their focus on the true Abode remains foremost in their minds, & the striving is oriented towards Seva in some form or the other.

Paisa saath nahin jatha hai, sachi Bahkti aur Seva hee saath zarur jathe hain. That is, one doesn’t lug one’s lucre or bucks into the afterlife, only one’s devotions and services get carried forward into the beyond as one’s spiritual capital. More money is good, desirable & beneficial, to the extent that it enables more & better Bhakti & Seva, or devotion and service. The efforts for added riches become bad, undesirable & self-defeatist if they are at the expense of one’s faith, or distance oneself from one’s quest for salvation.

.

So, it would appear prudent to accept, albeit with certain qualifications, the biblical observation about the love of money being the root of all evil {Timothy 6:10}. However, the interested reader may also read what Ayn Rand says in her incisive and brilliant writing style on this topic, basically arguing that money is a mere tool and is the root of all good {Atlas Shrugged}.

.

Radhasoami!
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Satsangis Promised Two Priceless Boons. {13.}

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Radhasoami!

Satsangis, or the followers of the Radhasoami religion of Dayalbagh, have been promised two priceless boons. Satsangis frequently do not realize how extremely fortunate they are. Hence, it would help to expressly restate them here briefly.

The first Priceless Boon that Satsangis have been promised by the Incarnation of Radhasoami Dayal & the Param Guru of Dayalbagh is that once an individual surat or soul has been mercifully granted initiation into the Radhasoami religion, it stands instantly freed from the cycle of “Chaurasi lakh yonis’ or 84 lakh different life species, to which the rest of living creatures are subject; & within a maximum of four successive janams or lifetimes, its entire process of eradication of Karmas shall be effected, & the surat shall be enabled a place in Radhasoami Dham, the loftiest divine realm in existence.

The second Priceless Boon is one for whom we must all be grateful to Param Guru Huzur Maharaj Ji. He had once prayed to our August Founder, & sought the categorical assurance that the Nij Dhar or Incarnated Divine Current may Be Pleased not to ever Return to Its original Abode until Its Mission of universal salvation in this world-system was fully achieved. Param Purush Puran Dhani Huzur Soami Ji Maharaj had thereupon mercifully granted this too. This naturally includes within it incalculable Grace for all non-Satsangis, & other living beings as well.

Radhasoami!
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