A soul-realized person is possessed with a right mind and a right heart. They have within and without a perfect spring of peace. Their dealings are fair, open, and unquestionable. Truth springs from the very bottom of their heart.
“Truth is higher than everything, but higher still is true living.”
Guru Nanak
These are the qualities and habits of life, which the Master Saints have always enjoined us to strive for:
Truthfulness | Selfless service | Cheery temperament | Faith in the innate goodness in humanity | Non-indulgence in slanderous talk and idle pursuits | Observance of non-violence, in thought, word and deed | Love and reverence for all creation, from the highest to the lowest
Those who live by this wisdom enrich their lives here and hereafter. They will control their mind and outgoing faculties by coming in contact with the living Word of God through the living Master-Saint.
“So these guidelines have been given to us: not to eat meat, fish, fowl or eggs; and not to drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes, or take any intoxicating drugs. As long as we follow these basic instructions, our spiritual development will not be hindered.
But the real food, the Bread of Life and the Water of Life which nourishes our soul, is to be found in the meditations on the Inner Light and Sound. When we put our attention on this highest energy coming from God, then our bodies will truly be harmonized at all levels: physical, mental, intellectual, and spiritual.”
Sant Thakar Singh
The Law of Karma
The Vegetarian Diet
Selfless Service
Unhealthy Habits
The Law of Karma
The law of karma is a law of action and reaction. For every action (in the form of thought, word or deed) that we commit, an equal action will be committed upon us. Like prisoners awaiting the end of our sentence, we are bound to existence in those lower regions of creation where the law of karma governs until we have borne all the reactions of our good and bad actions since the beginning of time.
All the actions we commit; feeding a hungry person, taking a life, eating an apple, gossiping, praying, having prideful thoughts, are like seeds that we are sowing. Once sown, the seed will bring a harvest yielding similar seeds. The reactions (the harvest) that come must be allowed to have their effect on us in order to clear our karmic debt and free us to progress to higher states of existence.
The Law of Karma is a law of justice – pure, unbiased, absolute, and inescapable. There is also the Law of Grace, which has the power to free us from our karmic bonds. This law can act upon us through the grace of a living Master who has the authority and competency to burn away karmas on our behalf. This is possible because, as the living embodiment of the inner Sound (Word, Logos, Naam, Shabd, etc.), the Master has (or is) the only currency that can actually pay off karmic debt, thus avoiding the otherwise unavoidable and endless sufferings and/or fruits of our actions.
“When one of the disciples of the Master used the sword, then the Master told: No, this is not the way. If you use the sword, then it will also be used on you. He was explaining how things work under the law, “As you sow, so shall you reap.” The Master taught them: You will also be hurt in the same way. Don’t use the sword. Only work with love, only with love. If you succeed, fine. If you do not succeed, it doesn’t matter, but work only with love.
This will be the situation of the world: When we are all awakened as soul, and that time will come, then God, the living God, will be here on earth.
So accept what comes from God, who is real, who is truth, who is eternal, who has been, is and will be for evermore. In whose lap we will live and we will enjoy our life.
You see, I am not only to care for you but I am to care for everyone in the world. You are to be released from bondage and they are to be released as well. Don’t worry about these material comforts, but meditate, meditate and work for the higher things, more and more. Then there will be more and more power to help the greatly disturbed situation of the whole world so that we are really useful. This sense of oneness is the purpose of life. That is why the masters look at the whole world.
We should use this short span of life in the right way, because the purpose of human life is to realize ourselves as soul and to find God.”
Sant Thakar Singh
The Vegetarian Diet
We are to have compassion for all living beings. The following information concerning the vegetarian lifestyle is taken from the booklet True Living and is based on the universal teachings of Sant Thakar Singh. It is a misconception of the modern world that we need meat and other animal products for our diet.
We have a similar digestive system to that of the apes, which are not only vegetarian, but which also far surpass humans in strength. In fact, a survey of the animal kingdom shows that the strongest and most long-lived animals are all vegetarians.
“Look, to you I give all the seed-bearing plants everywhere on the surface of the earth, and all the trees with seed-bearing fruit; this will be your food.”
Genesis 1:29
So we are to eat whatever is offered to us by God on the table of this earth. When the fruit or grain is ripe, it changes colour and becomes very attractive. It is offering itself to us.
If we do not use it, it will fall on the ground. But no animal or bird or fish ever offers itself to us to be eaten. It will try to escape at all cost. So we are not to snatch and grab and kill what is not freely offered. That was never in God’s plan. When he put humans in charge of this earth, He wanted them to look after and care for his younger brothers, the animals, not to eat them and torture them for his own purposes.
When we again revert to our natural diet (the pure vegetarian diet) and we follow a pure and simple lifestyle, and meditate on the inner Light and Sound, we will find the remedy for all our diseases, both physical and mental. All the Saints and Masters have advised their followers to live on simple pure food in small quantities.
Sheikh Saadi, a mystic poet of Persia, suggested that we divide the stomach into four compartments: Two for filling with a limited quantity of a simple diet; one for pure and clear water; and one for the Light of God.
When switching from a meat diet, we need to learn how to substitute vegetable proteins for meat proteins. Research has shown proteins from many vegetable sources are superior or equal to animal proteins in their biological value. Our actual daily need of protein is 25 to 30 grams. In fact, it has been discovered that excess protein saps energy from working muscles, and that too much is actually toxic. There is more and more evidence that excess protein and its toxins are behind many fatal or disabling diseases.
Complete proteins are contained in almonds (to be eaten sparingly like any other nuts as they are very high in fat), sesame seeds, soybeans, buckwheat, peanuts (better if boiled first), sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds (all seeds and grains are better sprouted), and vegetables. We can get protein in abundance from natural brown rice, root vegetables and legumes like lentils, chickpeas and dried beans.
An interesting fact is that mother’s milk (regarded as a complete food) contains only 2.8% protein, the same as fruits and vegetables, and the child consumes it at its fastest growing time of life.
The following list suggests more sources of nutritious vegetable proteins.
- Avocado: is unique in that it can be combined with virtually any other food and is very easy to digest, unlike other concentrated foods.
- Tofu or Tempeh: Made from soya bean curd (tofu) or bean cases (tempeh). No cholesterol and recommended by naturopaths.
- Beans: Mung, aduki, black-eye, and kidney beans are probably the most used and are substantial sources of iron and protein.
- Vegetable rennet: Just the same as ordinary cheese (without the strong smell and taste) using a synthetic enzyme instead of rennet (which comes from the calf’s stomach). Much easier on the system than ordinary cheese.
- Yoghurt: There are several yoghurts around which do not contain gelatin stabilizers. (Gelatin is made from cow hooves). Ask at your local health food store.
- Quark or Ricotta: These are like cottage cheese but do not contain animal rennet.
- Paneer (soft Indian cheese): Boil milk in saucepan, squeeze half a lemon into it, add a bit of salt and strain through a fine strainer or muslin. Quick, econmical, and tasty. Use the liquid for soups, baking, etc.
This information is just to put some ideas before you. You can find more detailed information in the many books and websites that abound on the subject of the vegetarian diet.
Selfless Service
Serving others in a selfless way expands the heart, and is one of the noblest impulses of mankind.
Selfless service is a powerful virtue, although it generally means some extra labour and sacrifice. It is the manifestation of love and goodness already dwelling in the heart. Mind and body become sanctified through selfless service, provided it is undertaken without ego or vanity. This virtue has a strong purifying effect, and can clean a person of much dross, and help prepare him for entitlement to the highest knowledge of divinity. The tougher the struggle, the brighter shines the metal within.
The secret of selfless service is to deny any reward or recognition of any type, and on the contrary consider one’s self as a humble instrument in the hands of the divine, which are the sustainers and protectors of all. Every kind word uttered or helping hand extended to those in distress goes a long way in purifying the mind and the body. A loving heart is a fit receptacle for the Divine Grace, for God is love.
We never lose when we give. When you give love, do you find that you have less love in your heart? On the contrary, you are conscious of an ever greater power of loving, but no one can be convinced of these things till he has applied them in a practical way. An ounce of practice is worth tons of theories. By sharing with others, our Self expands. At the very moment of giving you feel a little joy within. That is the compensation you get, direct.
The noblest service one can render in this world is to help people tread the way to the True Eternal Home. No financial service would be too great for assisting such a noble cause. But it should always be loving and spontaneous. No compulsion, no taxation, no impositions.
Physical service is something we can understand, while the spiritual service we do through meditation may be an entirely new concept for us. Knowing this, the Masters recommend practicing selfless service along side of meditation as a tool to prepare the soil of spirituality within us.
There are many ways to serve, but when we serve the souls of others, we serve at the highest level. There is thus a special benefit in supporting or volunteering for the work of the living Master, whose work is strictly spiritual. When we discover something good we naturally want to help others to find the same. Helping others know their own soul through meditation uplifts all of humanity. We receive spiritual benefits and others are relieved of their suffering also.
Through volunteering our time for the Master’s work, illness or physical difficulties can be reduced or relieved. In the same way, through financial support of this spiritual work, our own financial situation will improve and we will always have sufficient means to live on.
Unhealthy Habits
Smoking
Everyone knows the harm caused by the toxic substances in tobacco. Tobacco companies, while presenting their product in the most enticing way to attract more customers, are nevertheless forced by law to admit the truth: that use of tobacco causes cancer.
This unpleasant truth is disguised in commercials showing impressive natural landscapes that evoke freedom and clean air. Or else we are shown attractive young persons, engaged in happy pastimes.
These are hooks that work on our psychological weaknesses. Their only objective is to create more smokers and fill the pockets of the tobacco companies. The attractive commercials are in stark contrast with the horrible consequences of using the promoted product: pulmonary emphysema, cancer of the lung or throat, and many other ailments.
Tobacco contains more than 3,000 toxic substances, some as poisonous as arsenic and carbon monoxide, which are responsible for numberless diseases.
Alcohol
What happens to it in our bodies? Where does it go? What effect does it have? Few of us give these questions a passing thought as we sip our wine, beer or spirits. As long as we enjoy the taste and it makes us feel good, the less we know, the better. Right?
That depends. You should probably know what it’s doing to your brain. Among other things, the areas affected are involved in reasoning and how thirsty you feel – alcoholics are thirstier than teetotallers for a reason!
Alcohol also causes cancer and heart disease, and it wreaks havoc on the liver. In fact, tens of thousands of people die every year from cirrhosis and alcohol-related diseases.
A single dose of alcohol, if large enough, can be lethal. A blood alcohol level of about 300-400 mg per 100 ml will usually cause loss of consciousness. However, highly tolerant individuals may show only moderate drunkenness at 400 mg per 100 ml, the normal LD50. Death by alcohol usually results from respiratory failure, because of alcohol’s depressive effect on the respiratory centre. Alcohol, then, is a rather toxic substance with the lethal dose uncomfortably close to the usual social dose. Hence the expression “dead drunk”. Fortunately, alcohol has a built-in safety feature: we either vomit or pass out before we have a chance to kill ourselves. The irony is, alcohol is legal, while other much less harmful drugs aren’t.
While it’s clear that heavy drinking is very unhealthy, there is also evidence that light alcohol consumption can decrease the probability of death from ischaemic (loss of blood supply) heart disease. In fact, alcohol is second only to tobacco as the major cause of drug related mortality in Australia. The most common alcohol related cause of death is cancer.
Hallucinogens, Stimulants/Depressants, “Club Drugs,” Etc.
Drugs like these are especially damaging to our body, mind and soul. Any mind-affecting drug alters our consciousness, sometimes even to the point of rendering us unconscious. The objective of meditation is to raise our consciousness to an altogether new and higher level – a direction entirely contrary to the direction alcohol, drugs and cigarettes lead us.
To achieve peace, health, and spiritual realization, we have to keep our inner atmosphere, as well as our physical body, uncontaminated. We have to avoid self-destructive behavior that generates retribution in the form of painful payment.
Respect for the ecology begins with our own self, and is expressed by maintaining the purity of this basic unit of the human ecosystem: our body. Only in this way will we be able to discover the incredible horizons contained within it.
Mental Powers: The Dangers of “Spiritual Healing”
Spiritual healing or the use of mental powers to manipulate energy in order to cure diseases or wounds or otherwise alleviate suffering will only provide temporary relief at best. And in the long term they will be many times more painful and very dangerous.
When someone is “cured” through psychic, spiritual, or supernatural powers, or through so-called universal energy, the karma is not eliminated, but rather transferred to the healer and in this way postponed to be suffered at a later time. There is a high cost for this interference. Generally, the healer must take upon his own body the diseases and pains that he is curing. These consequences can appear immediately or they can be postponed until later years or for future lives, but they cannot be escaped. Additionally, one who passively avails themself of this healing enters into a bond with the powers that served them. According to karmic law, they must somehow return the service as payment at a later time, which incurs interest. Sant Thakar Singh tells us that we cannot even imagine the extent of payment to these mental powers. He warns that spiritual healing should not be actively practiced or passively received — whether one takes up the path of meditation or not.
The meditation on the inner Light and Sound is the best way to heal oneself and help others who are suffering, because through the meditations we find direct help from the true source of life: our own Higher Self, or God.
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