A Message from the Master

Maharaj Charan Singh’s speech delivered on July 27, 1952

You all know, today is the birthday of Hazur Maharaj Ji (Maharaj Sawan Singh).

The days on which saints incarnate in this world are extremely happy and fortunate days for us, because their coming augurs the emancipation of millions of souls. The saints teach us the method of devotion, and by helping us to practise it, they carry us along with themselves to the lap of the Supreme Father. Thus we are released from the bonds of birth and death.

The birthdays of saints and mystics should not be celebrated merely by eating cakes and sweets; rather, we should look within ourselves and reflect over their message, over the divine path they bid us to adopt. We should search within, whether we are truly following their directions, whether we are steadfast on the path that they showed us, whether we are firmly adhering to the high principles of living they laid down for us. If there are shortcomings, then we should earnestly resolve to overcome them.

Saints come to the world not to lay the foundation of a new creed or religion. They come to dispel our illusions, to free us from our shackles of external practices, rituals and ceremonies. They come to impart to us the secret of Nam or Shabd, to teach us the method of meditation, to lead us back to our original Home, to the Lord.

It is we who, after the departure of such great mystics, distort and arrest their teachings so as to give them the shape of a formal religion. But the saints always come to herald the practice of Nam, to impart the secret of the divine Word to the true seekers of the Lord.

You all know, Hazur Maharaj Ji for forty-five years promoted the message of Sant Mat in spite of all odds and obstacles, not caring for criticism from orthodox people; how he travelled to far-off places, from village to village, undergoing all sorts of hardship, even at that age. As a result of his loving efforts and untiring dedication, today we find his blessed devotees not only in all the corners of India, but also spread out in so many foreign countries. They, too, celebrate this day with love and gratitude.
_{Treasure Beyond Measure}

Saints and Masters have left no stone unturned in their efforts to explain their message to us: they spend their entire lives explaining simple, straightforward and basic truths to us. They have spent long periods – often as much as forty or fifty years – serving us. They have written many great books and, by collecting together the writings and discourses of many saints, have explained to us how this world is transient and perishable; we will never find happiness and peace in it; peace can only be found through devotion to the Lord and by loving him. There is nothing lacking in the explanations of the saints. But we let their words go in one ear and out of the other, saying to ourselves: For whom are the saints saying all these things?
_{Maharaj Charan Singh, Spiritual Discourses, Vol. II}