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Obedience Must Be Total
Babuji always used to say, for satsangh there are three reasons. One
is, to promote brotherhood. Two, combined effort is much more than the
multiplication of the individual effort. The third reason is, as Babuji
used to smile and say, "Because I say so!" - obedience to
the Master. Now, I consider this last one to be much more important.
If a man is obedient, his goal is already in sight.
So, spirituality becomes a way of life, in which the practice is undertaken
out of obedience to the Master. We obey the Master because we wish to
go somewhere, achieve some destination, achieve some goal. Therefore
I have to obey him. He says, "Today you meditate one hour,"
I meditate one hour. He says, "Sit again after five minutes,"
I sit again after five minutes. Babuji has told me that, in one case,
he had to give as many as twenty-two sittings! But today I know there
are preceptors who take twenty people at a time for individual sittings!
Or for new introductions to the Mission, they take three at a time,
four at a time. In one centre, it was a hundred persons at one stroke!
So, what is this practice? Just because we call it Sahaj Marg, is it
Sahaj Marg?
As Babuji said, "Three things we must have: Satsangh
with the Master, obedience to the Master, love for the Master.
So, whenever we talk of progress, we must start with the
practice, if for no other reason than obedience to the Master.
He has said it, therefore I must do it. And it is not enough
to just practise. I practise because of my obedience
to the Master. When you meditate for one hour and really
meditate, you are hitting two birds with one stone; satsangh
with the Master and obedience to the Master - two things.
Isn't it?
It is of course necessary that a disciple obeys the Master implicitly.
The great Indian mystic Kabir is stated to have said that while a disciple
should not take alcoholic drinks, nevertheless, if the Master orders
a disciple to drink, the disciple should not merely drink but should
drown himself in a vat of wine so that the liquor should pour into him
through every pore of the body. This emphasises the degree of obedience
that is called for. By obedience and by following the Master's guidance,
not only in spiritual sadhana but in all aspects of one's life, one
comes to realise that the Master is not just a Master of one's spiritual
life but is an all-pervasive Master with franchise over the sum total
of one's human functions. The development of this attitude strengthens
one's attachment to the Master and begins to develop in the disciple
a feeling of total dependence on the Master.
You know the story of Lalaji Maharaj, that when he was in acute pain
- he had stomach ulcers or liver problems. One disciple asked him, "Can
you not remove this pain, this suffering?" He said, "In a
second." Then the disciple said, "Why don't you do it? Lalaji
said, "Nothing can come to me, except from the Lord! Therefore
it must be for my good. Can you refuse something which God sends you?"
You see, that should be the order of obedience, that should be the level
of faith and trust in the Almighty.
Total obedience is what is demanded of one who chooses
to be or wishes to be perfect. Which means, perfection
goes together with obedience. Perfection, in the perfect
state, goes with perfect obedience, ultimate perfection
with ultimate obedience.
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