Physical Separation from the Master

An Explanation by Maharaj Charan Singh

When you are absolutely in love with the Master and there is physical separation, then probably your pain becomes more intense. But if that longing has not taken root and you go out of the Master’s presence, you forget him.

We must have love and devotion for the Master. How it is created – whether by being in his company or by being separated – he knows best. The main idea is to create love and devotion in us. In some people it is created by constant company; in others a little separation is essential. How the Master creates that feeling of love and devotion in us depends upon the individual, but he has to fill us with love and devotion.

Christ also says, near his end, it is expedient for you that I leave, it is in your own interest that I leave now (16:7), because my physical body has created that love and devotion in you, but you are still running after me and do not try to seek me within yourself. When you don’t find me outside, you will have no option but to turn within, because now you cannot live without me. So that may have been his way of creating love for the Father in them.

Bulleh Shah (Bullah) was forced to stay away from his Master for many years. His Master refused to see him. He said, you cannot see me, you cannot enter my abode. Bullah was deeply in love with his Master, and his Master wanted to purify him. He knew Bullah was to succeed him. He wanted to make Bullah like himself, so in this case the separation was the best way to do that. He knew best; ultimately Bullah became the Master. Bullah was the most beloved disciple of his Master, but he was forbidden to enter his Master’s courtyard for many years prior to that.

Until the union, there is always separation in love, and that separation makes us miserable. Even if we meet the Beloved, there is always the fear of separation. That fear makes one still more miserable. So until there is complete union, it is very difficult to escape from the misery of separation.
_{Light on Saint John}