"Is there a God or not? If there is, give some evidence for its existence." Admittedly this question dilated upon here, there and everywhere, is not only a difficult question, but strange also because this is asking about something in which millions of people rest their belief and normally, inability is expressed to prove or disapprove scientifically the existence of God. Watching the ways of the world, everyone deplores the animosities that have plagued the society at large merely on the basis of differences in religious labels.
The question shares genuine concern of all human beings. The apostles labored hard, the martyrs died in torments, the scholars and scientists proclaimed the beauties of higher life, sociologists untiringly inculcated the sense of duties of good citizen, the philosophers pioneered sublime thoughts and all agreed that God is one and that man's first duty is to know Him as one. Witnessing shocking crash of human values both vertically and horizontally, seeking evidence of God is not the question but answer to the multiple hydra-headed problems defying peace, purity and prosperity throughout the world.
One of the greatest modern psychologists, Sir Jung has described in his book, "Modern Man in search of soul" that among all his patients, there had not been even one whose problem in the last resort was not that of finding a religious outlook on life. Great thinker, Augustine of Hippo writes, "Restless are our souls until they rest in Thee, My God." Life is incomplete without God. If a man loses faith in God, he loses faith in himself. It spells crisis in character resulting in chaos and violence all around.
Her Holiness Satguru Mata Sudiksha Ji – Spiritual Head of the Sant Nirankari Mission says that oblivious of their spiritual identity, the people have raised suffocating walls inter-se. They do not go beyond their faith to mix up with each other freely. As a result, there is no mutual love. In the absence of love, there is no reciprocal respect. Lack of respect breeds distrust which ultimately culminates in hatred and violence, causing global turmoil and shocking crash in human values. To reverse the gear from hatred and violence to love and peace, it requires mutual trust between man and man. Trust presupposes mutual respect borne out of love. Natural love is possible when man treats and tolerates the other man like a brother. Coming to this point, universal brotherhood and emotional oneness of mankind is the utmost need of the day and that is possible to achieve spontaneously and simultaneously through the realization of Fatherhood of God.
God is one
As God is one and omnipresent, He is cosmic and common to all. All the prophets have total agreement on this – God of one prophet is also the God of all other prophets. Being one, God cannot be divided or sub-divided. Only such a God is to be worshipped. As per the Old Testament, man is made in the image of God, superior to all species having inherent power to know God. The prophets rejected the deadwood of religious rites and put forth the concept of true worshipper. As a social being man needs wisdom which is more valuable than material wealth, making one humble and lovable.
The eternal continuity of True Master (Prophets) with their revelation of one Formless God, the process of humanisation and rearrangement of human relations on the basis of love and humility characterise the mainstream of spirituality in the world. In this background, all the prophets and the acknowledged scriptures are part and parcel of the mainstream of spirituality. The centre of God is everywhere and circumference nowhere. The whole of the universe is stationed in the Omnipresent and the Omnipotent God. (Atharva Veda 19:53:3).
TRUE MASTER (Prophet) SATGURU
As the Divine Truth is eternal, so is the True Master (Satguru) to bless the seekers with Divine Knowledge. "Prophet is said to be the oldest and the newest on the earth, like the day and night which have followed each other down the ages, and are still ever new." (Atharva Veda 10:8:23). Going by all the acknowledged scriptures, there is one and only one method for knowing God and that is through the grace of the living Satguru. It is the prerogative of the True Master, who with a combination of spoken words and a practical hint, pointedly introduces the seeker to the all-pervading God, "Braham Binde So Satgur Kahiye". As the sunrays are the proof of the rising sun, showing God at hand is the only test of the True Master. True Master and Divine Knowledge prove each other. Inspite of hundreds of moons and thousands of suns shining in the sky, there will be stark darkness of ignorance without the True Master. There is no sin as great as living in ignorance and there is no sin greater than letting others live in ignorance. Darkness of ignorance is a curse and spiritual enlightenment cures every curse!
“The True Master also known as Prophet is the manifestation of the Formless in human form. in this world for the benefaction of the entire humanity by preaching the concept of One God. None is as benevolent as the True Master, and there is no comparison to his wisdom.” – Sampurav Avtar Bani-67.
Philosophy of Life
The anatomy of body has been studied to the extent that man can withstand diseases and live a healthier life. Transforming adult cells back into stem cells that may regrow tissues in damaged brain and heart is a break-throw discovery in scientific field. The most important next aspect is the philosophy of life, as mentioned in the expressive words of Nirankari Baba Hardev Singh Ji, "No God, No Peace; Know God Know Peace". It is the impressive philosophy of life which is the real and actual subject matter of the Sant Nirankari Mission. As pronounced by the acknowledged scriptures and prophets down the ages, the Mission endorses and accomplishes the established age old truth that knowing of Fatherhood of God is the primary aim of human life and its spontaneous and simultaneous by-product is the cherished achievement of human brotherhood, rehabilitating the human race through holy communion of man with God and harmonious understanding between man and man. "If peace based progress is the need of the day, spiritual awakening through actual knowledge of God is the only means to achieve it," says Nirankari Babaji. He unfolds the concept of one earth, one family and demystifies spirituality to promote and celebrate unity in diversity. The rainbow vesture aptly symbolises this unity where all colours are distinctly visible but inseparable.
The Sixth Element
It is believed that a human being comprises of 5 elements i.e. the earth, water, fire, air, akaash (ether) plus the sixth element – the soul. The first five material constituents form the body, while the sixth element is the individual unit of consciousness, Atma (Soul), the self within, synonymous with God, the Universal Consciousness i.e. self-contained in self, so explains respected Narayani Ganesh Ji in her recent article in TOI, “The Individual is not Really a Single Entity”. For sustenance, the human body fulfils its material needs from the counterpart mainstreams of earth, water, fire, air etc., working outside the body. Whenever the link of any of the five elements is broken with its respective mainstream outside, its deficiency causes some sort of disease or disturbance in the body. However, the deficiency of one element cannot be made good by any other element. For example, the necessity of water cannot be met with by earth, fire, air or ether; and the lack of air cannot be replenished with any other elements and so on.
Likewise, God, the omnipresent mainstream of individual unit of consciousness (Soul, also known as Atma) exists around the human body. For spiritual health, individual unit of consciousness (Atma) is supposed to remain in constant touch with omnipresent God. When this link is not maintained, there will be disturbance or depression in the mind. This mainstream of consciousness is easily and instantaneously sharable. The Sant Nirankari Mission demonstrates the objectivity of this feature which, in fact, is the Ultimate Reality of life and everything else. The living experience of this objective reality is quite indispensable for the fulfilment of human life. To repeat, as the lack of water cannot be made good with an intake of any other element, the lack of contact of individual consciousness soul (Atma) with Cosmic Consciousness Formless God-Nirankar (Parmatma) also cannot be made good with any amount of material gains whatsoever. For a thirsty man it is not essentially the scientific knowledge of composition of water i.e. Hydrogen + Oxygen (H2O) but the water at hand that quenches his thirst. So is the case of a human being to satiate his thirsty soul with God at hand. God shown at hand by Satguru is a unique and invaluable gift to the seeker, “Rattan Jawahar Lal Hari Nama Gur Kadh Talli Dikhlaya” Adi Granth - 880. The one who experiences it, is known as a 'Nirankari'. The sole aim of the Sant Nirankari Mission is to impart the knowledge of the Formless God (Nirankar) to the seeker's soul, hence its name, 'The Sant Nirankari Mission'.
ONE RELIGION FOR ALL
Like the white light of heavens, religion stands broken into many-coloured fragments by the prisms of men. Religion essentially means knowledge of God. In the absence of actual knowledge, God is naturally different for different persons and for the same person on different occasions.
The concept of one-God-for-all foresees the idea of one-religion-for-all that suits the whole human race. The Mission has succeeded in achieving this objective through a living revelation of Fatherhood of God, the central seed of all religions, ruling out question of any conversions. The mission does not convert but reverts the seeker to their respective faith with added firmness, bringing man face to face with the Omnipresent God.
Caught in cobwebs of rites and rituals, different for different faiths, religion has lost its gravity. Instead of uniting it has in itself become the major dividing force. It is therefore not divided atom but divided mankind which is getting more difficult to deal with. Sant Nirankari Mission asserts that God-realisation is the only force, that is the mortar, binding together the many-shaped bricks of human society into a coherent structure. It marks unity in diversity and resolves the very purpose of Interfaith Harmony. Man’s relationship with God is marked by his dealings and doings with fellow beings. He sees God in all and all in God. Votary of 'Peace, not Pieces', the Mission founded its moto, "Religion Unites, Never Divides" and stressed the key words, "Know One, Believe in One and Become One".
The law of the land allows the decendents and legal heirs to pay off one's debt or accomplish his unfulfilled obligations, but none can help the deceased to accomplishing his individual responsibility of God-realisation and salvation after his death. So, it is incumbent on every human being, to turn to God, before he returns to God.
The search for God-knowledge has brought millions of seekers across the world to the Sant Nirankari Mission. Hope springs eternal in the mind that man rises to the occasion, submits to God and helps bringing millennium on earth before long!
(The writer is president, Sant Nirankari Mission)
The Mission is celebrating its 74th International Annual Sant Samagam which shall be webcast live from 5 to 9.30 p.m. on 27th to 29th November on the mission’s website: https://live.nirankari.org. Galaxy of learned speakers are participating globally in the august presence of Her Holiness Satguru Mata Sudiksha Ji Maharaj.
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