If we clear our mind of all thoughts and be in a state of loving receptivity, we would be open to receive the grace pouring out, says Sant Rajinder Singh

People do not want a love that is fleeting. They do not want a fleeting glance or a brief meeting. They want an everlasting glance, an everlasting meeting to be in an eternal state of union with their beloved. They have realised there is no lasting love in this world. Even the best and closest of relationships in this physical world must ultimately end, because that is the nature of this world. Our physical forms are made to fade. Some people live to one month of age, some to one year, some to five years, some to 10 years, 20, 50, and some to a 100 years or more. However, our physical end is inevitable. When we realise life’s impermanence, we seek a love that will not end. When we choose to love God, we love the one who grants us all the gifts and will never leave us. It is not a temporary love — God is eternal. When we love God, we love a beloved who is with us even beyond the gate of death. We will go to God’s abode and live in eternal wedlock with our true beloved.

Sant Darshan Singh Ji Maharaj wrote the following verse: “I am seeking a land of love/Where there is only talk of peace and kindness.” This verse describes how a spiritual disciple seeks a land of love. The disciple has lived countless lives of suffering and has seen the pain that one can undergo in the world. He or she is sick of gossip and hearing the complaints of others, exhausted from arguments, and fed up with violence and hatred. The disciple is tired of being in a land of ego fights, power struggles and territorial battles and wants to live in a land of love.

The disciple seeks a place in which the talk is of peace and kindness. The disciple wants to speak and hear sweet and loving words and to enjoy the company of others in a harmonious state. The disciple wonders, “Is there such a place and where can it be found?”

Such a place the disciple is not finding in worldly company. There seems to be nothing but talk of problems. The disciple wants the company of someone filled with peace. He or she can find that in the company of a spiritual master who has realised God. Such a saint is filled with love, being merged with the source of all love, with God. Thus, in such company only talk of the love of God is taking place. In such company, only kindness is exhibited.

When one comes to a gathering with the master, one only wants to experience a land of love. There are many opportunities or moments in which one can be transported to this land.

People come to enjoy the peace of being in the spiritual master’s presence. They do not come for gossip. When they are sitting in the master’s presence in a gathering such as satsang, or are waiting for darshan, they do not want to talk about things not loving. In fact, some do not want to talk at all. They remain absorbed within to catch as much of the master’s glances and radiation as they can. They do not want to be distracted by talk of worldly things.

If we want to be in the land of love, we should derive maximum benefit from our time with the spiritual master. We need to come as empty cups ready to receive a sip of love. Think of the time with the spiritual master as moments in which we enter the temple within. If we clear our mind of thoughts of the past or future or of the world and be in a state of loving receptivity, we would be open to receive the grace pouring out. Instead of being critical, complaining, and filled with anger, greed, violence, and ego, we can act with non-violence, kindness, and selflessness. If we become the empty cup waiting to be filled, in a receptive state, we could swim in divine bliss.

The disciple knows there is nothing in the world that will satisfy him or her. There is nothing else in the world that brings lasting intoxication. The disciple has scoured the earth looking for happiness but finds it not and knows that the only lasting joy is in divine love. The disciple then seeks out the company of the master. That is where one sees the glimpses of hope and finds relief from the sufferings of the world.

A blissful pool of divine water is within all the time. We can dip into it anytime. When we tap into this pool, we are free from worries. We enter total relaxation. Its soothing waters caress our being, washing away the tensions of the mind and body. When our soul is bathed, bliss also permeates our mind and body. Mind is under control, so it does not disturb our tranquility at the level of the soul.

Even when we are not meditating, we can be swimming in ecstasy. How? We can keep our attention on the divine beloved all hours of the day and night. While driving, while working with our hands or body, while cooking, while eating, while exercising, or doing any other activity, we can remember God. When we go to satsang, if we are receptive, we can let the waters of divine love flow into us. Swimming with God fills us with love, and we become the abode of non-violence, truthfulness, purity, humility, and selfless service. By diving into the pool of God, we can swim eternally in bliss.

The disciple also knows the importance of going within through meditation. The inner journey begins with the inner light. Absorption in the light leads the soul deeper and further within. The spiritual master serves as our guide to take us on the inner journey to the eternal home in the land of love.

The writer is a spiritual leader