SPIRITUAL GEMS By HUZUR MAHARAJ SAWAN SINGH RADHA SOAMI SATSANG BEAS PUNJAB (INDIA) HUZUR MAHARAJ SAWAN SINGH CONTENTS SUBJECT Page No. FOREWORD .. vii PREFACE .. Xiii Excerpts from Huzur Maharaj Sawan Singh Ji's Letters .. 1 to 385 Glossary .. 387 Index .. 419 Books on this Science .. 437 FOREWORD These letters, written by Huzur Maharaj Baba Sawan Singh Ji, originally formed part of a bigger book of the same name "Spiritual Gems," whose first part consisted of letters written to him by His venerable Master, Baba Jaimal Singh Ji Maharaj. That portion has now been printed separately under the name of "Spiritual Letters." This arrangement, besides sepa- rating the letter of each Master into different volumes, has rendered the books handy and of a convenient size. The Great Master wrote these letters in response to the questions and queries of his American and European disciples and seekers, so nearly all the questions and doubts that crop up in the minds of seekers after Truth and Reality have been amply dealt with in this volume, which makes it extremely valuable. As these answers are mainly based on Sant Mat Principles, so incidently the teachings of the Saints have also been elaborately discussed in them. Sant Mat—Teachings of the Saints—is not a reli- gion, cult or creed. It does not consist of any rites, rituals, ceremonies, dogmas, priesthood, or church or temple worship. It is a scientific method of entering and realizing the kingdom of heaven within us, while still living here and now. Or it may be called a School of practical spiritual training for God-Realization. Living in the world and discharging all our obligations towards wife, children, relatives, friends and humanity, we have simply to turn our heart God-ward. Saints' teachings are very simple. They say that all the woe, misery and anguish that is the lot of the human race, are due to our sad separation from God. This world, which we love so much, is not our true home. Our soul is a drop from the Ocean of Bliss, Life and Energy, from which it separated milliards of ages ago. It is a stranger in this foreign land of agony and grief. There is nothing homogeneous to it here below in this world of earth, water, fire and air. Unless it returns to its Ancient Original Home, its sorrows and sufferings cannot and will not end. For this purpose, it is not to seek anywhere outside of itself. Our body is the temple within which the Lord resides. No one has ever found nor will ever find Him outside. All the saints, sages and prophets of the world affirm that "the Kingdom of God is within us" and one is not to wander outside to achieve Salvation. In this Temple of Nine Gates (our body) the Lord dwelleth. One only needs a Teacher or Guide, who knows the Secret of the Path to enter this Palace and who can lead us to the Presence of the Lord—our Loving Father. This is possible only in the human life. No sub human specie has this capacity or privilege. A teacher of the science of spirituality is as much needed as is a teacher of any other science or art. This unknown Path is so curved, complex and labyrinthine that one cannot tread it without the help of a Guide—an Enlightened Soul. This Guide must be a Living Master, who can take us to the Highest Region, beyond death and dissolution, whence there is no coming back. Such Masters are always present in the world. The Masters who died long ago, or their writings, can be of little help to us. The method of God-Realization taught by all the Saints, to whichever country or religion they belonged, has always been the same and will ever be the same. It is not designed by man, that it may need alteration, addition or modification. It is the Lord's own design and is as old as the creation itself. It consists of three parts :— First is the "Simran" or the Repetition of Lord's Holy Names. It brings back our scattered attention to the Tisra Til—Third Eye, (behind our eyes) which is the headquarters of our mind and soul, in the waking state, whence it has scattered. Second is the "Dhyan" or Contemplation on the immortal form of the Master. This helps in keeping the attention fixed at that center. Third is the "Bhajan" or listening to the Anhad Shabd or Celestial Music that is constantly reverberating within us. With the help of this Divine Melody, the soul ascends to higher regions and ultimately reaches the Feet of the Lord. This is, in a nutshell, the gist of the spiritual practices -which the Saints of all ages and countries have been teaching to their disciples for the purpose of God- Realization. Blessed are those who come across a Perfect Master, who takes them back to their Original Home. The Great Master, Huzur Maharaj Baba Sawan Singh ji, has been one of the greatest exponents of these teachings, that the world ever produced. Born in 1858 in a highly respectable Jat family of Punjab, He showed signs of great Spiritual Understanding from early childhood. As a boy he could repeat by heart the Japji Sahib of Guru Nanak and Jap Sahib of Guru Gobind Singh. His great spiritual hunger and thirst for Knowledge of Truth and Reality brought him in contact with Baba Jaimal Singh Ji, in 1894, who at the time of initiating Him remarked that He had been holding something for Him in trust from the Lord, which he had discharged that day. In 1911, He retired prematurely on pension from the Military Engineering Service, to attend to his real task for which He was commissioned by the Lord. He preached and taught the practice of Surat Shabd Yoga at the Radha Soami Colony, Beas (Punjab), which He named Dera Baba Jaimal Singh after the name of His Master. Millions flocked to hear his spiritual discourses. He initiated more than 125,000 Souls into this Mystic Path, the largest number in the history of the world to be ever initiated by any Saint, Sage or Prophet. He spread the Light of Sant Mat, not only in every nook and corner of India, but carried its torch to distant lands of Europe, America, Canada and South Africa also. The Spiritual practices taught by Him for God- Realization are the same as taught by Christ, Kabir,. Nanak, Paltu, Dadu, Jagjiwan, Tulsi, Maulana Rum, Shamas Tabriz, Hafiz, Mujadid Alf Sani, and other Saints of the world. These practices are mentioned in the Vedasas"AnhadMarg,"by the Mohammedan Mystics as"Sultan-ul-Azkar,"and in the Bible as the"Word"or the "Logos". The followers of the Great Master includ- ed people of all religions, countries and nationalities. When He started His work, the Light of Sant Mat was slowly fading out. People under the influence of priestly classes had taken to rites and rituals and had forgotten the teachings of the Saints. Nobody knew what the Surat Shabd Yoga was. Now, by His grace, there are established big Sat Sang Centers, not only in the length and breadth of India, but throughout Europe, America, Canada, South Africa and other countries. His famous book, "Gurmat Sidhant" — "Philosophy of the Masters" — consisting of two big volumes of 1000 pages each, and His "Discourses" in two volumes, have been translated into English and many other languages. He left the mortal coil in 1948, after duly appointing Sardar Bahadar Jagat Singh Ji, Retired Vice Principal of Lyallpur Agricultural College, as his successor to carry on his mission of pointing out the way to the Abode of Bliss. Dera Baba Jaimal Singh CHARAN SINGH Beas, Punjab, India January 1965. PREFACE The contents of the present book first appeared as Part II of a large volume bearing the same title, published in 1958 and again in 1960, which includ - ed as Part I, letters written by Baba Jaimal Singh Ji Maharaj to his dearly beloved disciple Maharaj Sawan Singh Ji, during the early days of his discipleship. Part I, the letters from Baba Jaimal Singh Ji to Baba Sawan Singh Ji, are now being published as a separate book entitled "Spiritual Letters". They give a revealing insight into the substance of true discipleship and the loving quality of Master-Disciple relationship. The other letters, formerly Part II, which form the contents of this book carry a more analytical presentation of Sant Mat Principles that are useful alike to seekers and disciples. They were addressed to seekers and disciples mainly in America and Europe, with modern, intellectual backgrounds, and bring out the rationale of Sant Mat in a remarkably lucid manner. By presenting Part I and Part II separately, one as "Spiritual Letters" and the other as "Spiritual Gems" it is hoped to achieve the twin objectives of securing a more convenient size and of conveying the immutable principles of spiritual life in forms more suitable for seekers and disciples with varying back- grounds and degrees of appreciation of a way of life which has been extolled by Saints of all ages and climes. The letters from which the excerpts in this book were taken were written during the period between 1919 and 1948. Not only did the Colony expand XIV during this time into a flourishing Community but the Sant Mat teachings were spread far and wide to all corners of India and into America, Canada and Europe. Since then increasing numbers in these countries as well as others and in our own have tested these principles on the touchstone of their own lives.