Fabric of Humanity

[Guest guest]

James Bean

Sant Mat Fellowship:

http://groups.comsantmatfellowship

 

Fabric of Humanity

 

I believe in the goodness of all creation and of those who inhabit

this beautiful planet suspended in a limitless expanse of space. The

 

Almighty did not work without a design. He had a definite purpose

when He created the universe, to which the holy scriptures make

reference. Khwaja Mir Dard has defined it thus:

 

It was to share in the pain of his fellow beings that God created

 

human beings;

He had no dearth of cherubim to sing His glories.

 

This thought is carried a step further by Dr. Mohammed Iqbal:

 

The Lord has a thousand devotees who seek Him day and night in

the wilderness;

But I will be devotee of one who is a lover of those whom God has

 

created.

 

Being part of God's creation, we are ultimately all one. This unity

 

is fundamental to our nature. We may differ with regard to color,

race, or nationality, but these differences are the result of living

 

in varying geographical regions and environments. When we experience

 

pain or sorrow, joy or happiness, when we perceive a moral order or

 

a spiritual power that spontaneously invites devotion, we are

indivisible from each other.

 

I seek a world in which each individual is valued for his or her

uniqueness and merit, and all people lead a life of dignity and

respect. It is a world in which we live together in harmony, with

sincerity, sympathy, and kindness toward each other, sustained by

hope and spiritual aspiration.

 

Let this world become a temple of love and peace.

Let love and Truth illumine the world.

Let the adversaries of peace awaken to its Light.

This sacred land of God has been trampled with the burden of

 

oppression.

Life is not a dagger stained with the blood of hatred;

It is a branch filled with the flowers of love and compassion.

 

Humanity has always dreamed of a time of amity and peace when we

would live and let others live, when one would pursue his or her

chosen ideal unhindered and attain self-knowledge and God-

realization. This hope, at first sight, may seem impractical. But

if we individually and collectively determine to realize our full

potential, the impossible will become possible. Humanity will move

towards its true destination and its highest point of development.

There are some, no doubt, who will regard my faith in God with

disapproval. But I am a believer and regard creation as a divine

trust which no one has the right to exploit.

 

We are part of the common fabric of humanity, and we must stand

together if we are to survive. We must do so, not merely to save

Europe or America or Russia or Asia. Life itself is threatened, and

 

we must unite to save humanity from destruction. Is it not strange

that:

 

We are communing with the moon and the stars,

But alas, we have not reached the heart of our neighbor.

 

All nations have a right to attain and preserve their independence

and sovereignty. Goaded by a misplaced sense of patriotism, they

must not build nuclear arsenals to perpetrate a balance of terror,

which they refer to as peace. Such peace is in fact, a preparation

for war and generates fear and suspicion. No country has the right

to destroy another in order to expand its territory and to gain power.

 

I grew up in the lap of mysticism. I do not look upon the mystic

life as inactive or sterile. Despite its emphasis on meditation,

pure living, and persistent striving for God, it is a vibrant

philosophy. It affords us an ever-renewing intoxication and fills us

 

with the joy of life. It is a source of strength and wisdom that

brings about our moral and spiritual evolution. Our ancient rishis,

 

and the saints, fakirs and swamis who came after them, trod the

spiritual path without feeling that they were rejecting life.

 

 

It is a gross error to assume that our spiritual guides encourage

humankind to reject the world. Rightly understood, renunciation is a

 

dynamic philosophy. This philosophy, as I see it, rejects an

egocentric view of life based on "me" and "mine," which inevitably

leads to the clash of wills. It invites us to lead a more expansive

 

and universal. life. It rejects our negative thoughts, emotions, and

 

impulses. If we study it in this light, we will come to realize that

 

continence and self-denial have helped humanity to progress. Why

should we not rid our lives of the narrow possessiveness and selfish

 

desires which are at the root of tension and conflict? Why should we

 

not seek instead to create a world in which we see ourselves as part

 

of an ever-expanding unified community in which each member helps and

 

supports the other?

 

I am a firm believer in what I term "positive mysticism." I have

little use for a negative philosophy that encourages indifference and

 

resignation towards life. True mysticism compels us to pursue life's

 

supreme goal unwaveringly. It focuses its attention constantly on

that divine Power which is indivisible, complete, and perfect in

itself. You may refer to this Power as God, Allah, Khuda, Wah-i-Guru,

 

or Parmatma. The Almighty created and sustains the cosmos and all

living things. Those who pursue the mystic path and succeed in

attaining the ultimate goal not only become one with God, but also

become one with His creation. Those who have attained this exalted

state cry out in ecstasy: "Aham Brahm Asmi," or "Anal Haq," which

means "I am God." This experience of spiritual union is shared alike

 

by mystics of all religious traditions.

 

Both my spiritual guides, Hazur Baba Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj and Sant

 

Kirpal Singh Ji Maharaj, lived by the principle of universal love.

They held that God is love, and the soul being of His essence is

love, and the way back to God is also love. If God is the whole,

then the soul is part. If He is the ocean, then the soul is a wave

upon that ocean. Love necessitates ahimsa or non-injury, a spirit of

 

live and let live. Through their teaching and through the example of

 

their own lives, both these saints spread this message throughout the

 

world. They taught us to love God, to love all creation, and to work

 

for human unity and brotherhood.

 

I was indeed blessed in being brought up under their influence. It

was from them that I learned of the oneness of all humankind and of

the goal of divine union. When I pursued the study of comparative

religion under their guidance, I came to the firm conclusion that all

 

religions point to a single reality underlying existence. This

universal Truth is the solution to the world's problems.

 

I believe that if we can only transcend our seeming differences of

form and name, and live by the basic principles taught by various

religions, we can achieve true happiness. In fact, our well-being

and redemption depend on this. In one of the stanzas of Manzil-e-

Noor I make the fervent appeal:

 

He bears a thousand names, call on Him by any;

Summon Him to the assembly of your thoughts and adore Him;

Offer Him a seat in the inner-most chamber of your heart, and

 

burnish His image;

Suffuse your life-blood with His name, and fix Him in your

soul.

You surely will meet Him, just let your soul soar, He is

close to you,

just call for Him.

 

The Vedic dictum, Vasudhev Kutumbhkum, "All creation is God's

family," expresses a truth central to my poetry. Sheikh Saadi points

 

to the same principle when he says:

 

Humanity is like the limbs of the body:

When one limb aches, the whole body is in agony.

 

Wherever we may be, we share a common heritage and destiny. If a

disaster occurs in one region, it affects humanity in other parts as

 

well. My poetry offers equal reverence and adoration to all the

world's religions and their founders. It serves to further human

unity and peace, and to nurture a climate of faith. As I said in

some of my verses:

 

All places of worship are symbols of the One Beloved.

Bow your head when you see a temple, and salute when you see

 

a mosque.

 

-- Sant Darshan Singh Ji Maharaj, October/November 1995, Sat Sandesh

Magazine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Thank you for this, James. It is quite wonderful!

 

Dharma

>I believe in the goodness of all creation and of those who inhabit

>this beautiful planet suspended in a limitless expanse of space. The

>Almighty did not work without a design. He had a definite purpose

>when He created the universe, to which the holy scriptures make

>reference. Khwaja Mir Dard has defined it thus:

>

> It was to share in the pain of his fellow beings that God created

> human beings;

> He had no dearth of cherubim to sing His glories.

>

>This thought is carried a step further by Dr. Mohammed Iqbal:

>

> The Lord has a thousand devotees who seek Him day and night in

> the wilderness;

> But I will be devotee of one who is a lover of those whom God has

> created.

>

>Being part of God's creation, we are ultimately all one. This unity

>is fundamental to our nature. We may differ with regard to color,

>race, or nationality, but these differences are the result of living

>in varying geographical regions and environments. When we experience

>pain or sorrow, joy or happiness, when we perceive a moral order or

>a spiritual power that spontaneously invites devotion, we are

>indivisible from each other.

>

>I seek a world in which each individual is valued for his or her

>uniqueness and merit, and all people lead a life of dignity and

>respect. It is a world in which we live together in harmony, with

>sincerity, sympathy, and kindness toward each other, sustained by

>hope and spiritual aspiration.

>

> Let this world become a temple of love and peace.

> Let love and Truth illumine the world.

> Let the adversaries of peace awaken to its Light.

>snip<