CHAPTER THREE
GRADATIONS IN MASTERSHIP
Masters are of four
different types: The father, the mother, the preceptor or teacher,
and lastly, Satguru (Spiritual Guide or Murshid-i-Kamil).
Of all of these, Satguru
is the greatest teacher, for he imparts spiritual instructions alone. One
who is well-versed in worldly wisdom is called acharya or preceptor,
for he gives us rules of social conduct and of ethical life.
Satguru or
Master of Truth is also known as Sant Satguru. His relation with
his disciples is purely a spiritual one, as he is concerned with the advancement
of spirit and has nothing to do with worldly matters.
From the viewpoint
of spiritual attainments Gurus may be classified as:
Sadh Guru,
Sant Satguru, and
Param Sant Satguru.
A Sadh is one
who has gone beyond the region of Trikuti (Onkar) which is
the same as Lahut in Sufi terminology and Hu in Islamic theology.
He has witnessed the spirit in its pristine glory, after having rid it
of all coverings, and is now Trigunatit (beyond the three
gunas: Satva, Rajas, and Tamas, in which all human
beings work according to their natural and native instincts); beyond
the five elements (earth, water, fire, air and ether, of which the physical
world is composed); beyond the twenty-five Prakritis (the subtle
forms in varying degrees of the elements); and beyond
also mind and matter.
In short, he is an
adept in self-knowledge, or the art and science of spirit, and can, at
will, disengage the spirit from various koshas (sheaths or caskets)
in which it is enclosed like a priceless gem.
The greatness of a Sadh lies beyond the three gunas (as he is Trigunatit).
By a process of self-analysis,
he (a Sadh) has known the self or spirit in its real form-to wit,
that it is of the same essence as God; and now he strives for God-knowledge.
A Sant is one
who is adept not only in self-knowledge but in God-knowledge as well.
He far transcends the material, materio-spiritual, and spirituo-material
realms. Master of Truth as he is, his abode is in the purely spiritual
region, technically called Sach Khand or Muqam-i-Haq, the
Realm of Truth.
A Param Sant
is the Grand Master of Truth beyond all description and hence ineffable.
He is at one with what is variously known as Anami (The Nameless
One) of Kabir; Nirala (Indescribably Wonderful), Mahadayal
(Boundless Mercy) or Swami (The Great Lord of All).
There is no material
difference between a Sant and a Param Sant except in nomenclature.
But none of them,
whether a Sadh, a Sant, or a Param Sant, can act or
function as a Guru or Master unless he is competent to impart spiritual
instructions and he has been commissioned from above to do this work. Whoever
holds this authority for spiritual work becomes a Sadh Guru, Sant Guru
or
Param Sant Guru, as the case may be.
There may be a number
of Sadhs, Sants or Param Sants, but none of them can of himself
assume Guruship or spiritual preceptorship without being commissioned for
the work.
So the terms Sadh,
Sant and Param Sant have a much wider connotation than
the term Guru, which is restricted to a spiritual preceptor alone - the
rest being only spiritual adepts of varying degrees.
The Guru holds a direct
commission from God, and works under instructions just as any vice-regent
would do on behalf of a king.
Again Gurus are of
two types:
1. Swateh Sant Gurus: They are born Sants who come into the world with direct commissions; as for instance, Kabir Sahib and Guru Nanak.
They start the work of spiritual knowledge and instructions right from a tender age. They need no special training from anyone, since they come from the Most High for this purpose. Such beings, when they come, simply flood the world with the light of Spirituality, and establish a line of Gurmukh Gurus for carrying on the work long after them. But in course of time, substance comes to be sacrificed for show, and gradually Spirituality disappears altogether.
Then comes another Master Soul to re-orient this most ancient science according to the needs of the age. In this way, "old wine" remains in circulation for souls athirst. Such Master Souls do appear from time to time in different lands and among different peoples.
2. Besides Swateh Sants there are Sants who by devotional practice and spiritual discipline under the guidance of some Master Soul acquire spiritual merit here and are granted a commission to work as a Guru.
Kabir saith that he came directly from
the Kingdom of God
and held an instrument of instructions from Him.
Bhai Gurdas, while speaking of Guru Nanak, tells us:
First he got a commission and then he worked it out.
In short, the
former come with authority, and the latter acquire authority while here.
But there is absolutely no difference between the greatness of the two,
the nature and scope of their work and the method by which the work is
executed. Each of them is endowed with equal authority, and works out the
grand plan of God according to the needs of the time and of the people.
But the rest who claim
this status and pose and act as Master Souls not only deceive themselves
but misguide the masses at large. In this category are included persons
who are either greedy and selfish or those who are after name and fame.
In innumerably different
ways and wiles they practice deception on the unwary and simple-minded
seekers after Truth with a view to serve their own ends.
It is because of such impositions
that Guruship is being looked down upon by most people, and no wonder that
the science of Spirituality is being stigmatized as a mirage and a fool's
paradise.