18. The Unlimited One is the Sadguru

18. The Unlimited One is the Sadguru

Kabir said:

               Kan fooka Guru Had ka Behad ka Guru nahee.

               Behad ka Sadguru hai soch samaj mana mahee.

(The ear-whispering Guru is of the Limited; he is not of the

Unlimited.

Of the Unlimited is the Sadguru. Grasp this clearly in the mind.)

Although by 'ear-whispering' Kabir speaks specifically of the 5th

plane Gurus, Gurus of the 6th plane may also be included as both

are within the domain of the Limited.

We find three types of Gurus or Masters in the world at all times:

The impostor; 
The genuine but limited Guru—the Wali or Master of the 5th

plane and the Pir or Master of the 6th plane;

The perfect Guru or Sadguru who is God-realized.

When a Wali is pleased with someone he whispers or breathes a

divine Word in his ear, or he looks steadily into the eyes of the

person concerned and causes a lift in that person's consciousness. In this heightened consciousness the person can easily read the thoughts of those near him if he wants to. He sees coloured lights and sometimes sees the face of the Wali within the light. But the Wali may raise one to his own level of consciousness and cause him to identify himself with the mental body, and he sees his gross and subtle bodies distinctly as garments that he wears. Although this raising of another's consciousness is not mere hypnotism but bestowal of an experience of a very high order, the state enjoyed, being within the domain of limitation (Had), is still part of the passing-show of illusion. The angle of vision has merely shifted from what it was previously. The view is vastly greater, but he still faces Maya* with his back to God.

 A Pir does not use either of the methods of the Wali. When he is pleased with someone he may ask for a glass of water or a cup of tea and taking a sip or two may give it to him to drink; or he may ask the person for something such as a handkerchief or scarf and after using it for some time return it to him. By such a seemingly insignificant action the Pir may bring him up through any of the lower planes, even to his own station and cause him to take a complete about-turn so that Maya is forever behind him and before him is the indescribable beauty and glory of God.

In his lifetime a Wali and a Pir can raise one person or at the most two persons to his own level of consciousness. A Pir cannot take anyone beyond the sixth plane, which denotes the very edge of Limitation. There is an abyss to be crossed between the sixth and the seventh planes of Consciousness  between the last point in Limitation and infinite Limitlessness, the Goal.

A Pir is himself in the realm of duality and therefore cannot take anyone to the Unitive state of Unlimited Consciousness; a Sadguru being beyond the bounds of Limitation, can and does do so. He utilizes infinite ways (including direct physical touch, or even just a wish)

*Maya: The Principle of Ignorance.

for the bestowing of His grace on the ones He chooses, to make

them transcend duality and merge in the Consciousness of God

the Unlimited (Behad).

A Wali or a Pir necessarily requires the physical presence of a

person whose level of consciousness he intends to raise. But time

and space are no obstacles to a Sadguru when he wishes to

bestow His Grace on any person or thing. The person concerned

may be thousands of miles away or not even in a physical body.

Just a wish of the Sadguru can instantaneously establish that

particular individual in the consciousness of the seventh plane of

Limitlessness (Behad).

But where are these planes and spheres? They are all within you.

You are not conscious of them because different states of

consciousness give rise to different levels of consciousness. For

example, take an ant as representing the first plane, a dog the

third plane, an elephant the fifth plane and a man the seventh

plane of consciousness. The ant, the dog, the elephant and the

man move on the same earth, but there are worlds of difference in

their levels of consciousness. The Limited and the Limitless lie

within you. Rather they are you, but you do not experience them

so because of the falseness attached to the Real 'I' which causes

it to play the part of the false 'I'.

All upheavals are in the limitations of the consciousness. A Pir

can make one see God, but even then one's real 'I' still has

falseness attached to it. A Sadguru, at the right moment, whisks

away entirely the entire falseness. And how does He do it? That is

inexplicable. Only he who is Knowledge Itself can do this. When

falseness is entirely shed, Real Individuality is established. This is

the 'I am God' state.

The only way to get beyond the bounds of Limitation and get

established in Limitlessness, is to become as

dust in one's love for the Perfect Master. So Tukaram, one of the

Perfect Masters, has said:

                        Sadguru vachoni sapday-ne-soye,

                         Dharave-te-paye adhee adhee.

Without the Grace of the Perfect Master you

cannot find the way to the Goal;

Before and above everything else hold firmly to His feet.

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