55. Necessity of a Living Adept for Spiritual Training

DISCOURSES ON

RADHASOAMI FAITH

BY

MAHARAJ SAHAB

Pandit Brahm Sankar Misra, M.A.

55. NECESSITY OF A LIVING ADEPT FOR SPIRITUAL TRAINING

            88. The Saints and other adepts withdraw their spirituality, at the time of death, from the various planes with which it was associated in consequence of their advent on this earth, and regain the original place which they had first occupied. Departure from this earth in their case is not like that of ordinary human beings. It is all along known to them, and it takes place when the purpose, for which their advent had been ordained, has been served. Their spirituality, while they are on this plane, is so great that whatever object comes in contact with them is spiritualised to some extent, and contact with or the use of such objects is beneficial; but the energy of the spiritual force of the sphere from which they had sprung up ceases, with their departure, to function on this plane. And as the law is that the spirituality assigned to the various planes in creation does not act on a lower plane save by percolation, which allows passage to a fractional part alone of the spirituality, the Saints or adepts after departure do not, in contravention of this rule, extend the same spiritual assistance as they afforded during their life. Of course, disembodied spirits, who have been liberated from the coarse physical bondage by death, but whose worldly desires and mundane affinities are as strong as they were during life, often hold communion from the astral plane (which is associated with the earth and is situated in the ethereal plane) with friends and kindred to whom they are attached, or dabble otherwise in worldly matters, be this good or bad. The religious teachings of Saints, specially of the incarnation of Radhasoami, therefore, lay special stress upon the necessity of a living adept for practical spiritual training. The science of the spiritual development is highly technical and subtle, requiring regular daily training on planes with which the devotee is unacquainted. A perusal of the holy books is, therefore, not sufficient for spiritual experimentations. The successful performance of such experimentations requires constant aid from an adept both internally and externally. The root of all evil is 'egotism', which has been used here in its literal sense, and means and conveys the idea of a consciousness that whatever is being done, whether it be temporal or spiritual, is the outcome of the worth or power that the actor possesses within himself, forgetting or ignoring the source from which that worth or power was derived. So long as this function remains, a translation of the spiritual entity to higher planes is impossible, and the disciple will revolve round his mental ego, which he considers to be his inner self, and no real progress is possible. The adept who acts from higher planes can alone overcome this great impediment. Assistance of the description we have been speaking of comes unsolicited at moments when the disciple is in despair in consequence of the futility of all his efforts. The frequent occurrence of such a condition during the course of spiritual training of a devotee gradually introduces a change in his nature and character. Confidence gives way to diffidence and true humility; and the devotee off and on turns his gaze and attention to higher quarters within himself for assistance. This exercise gradually results in a change of the plane of action. When the powers of the higher planes are developed to a degree, the devotee is enraptured by the freedom, bliss, and the enlargement of the scope of vision he has acquired. He then becomes truly conscious by personal experience of the evils concentrated and concealed in egotism, and also of the efficacy and bliss of devotion. Such pure and true devotion, which leads the devotee rapidly on towards the object of his devotion, can be generated by a living adept alone and not otherwise. Devotees who have made some advance can to some extent render assistance to others, who have not made so much progress, in the shape of strengthening the faith and the eagerness for religious devotion of the latter by a description of their own internal experiences and by their example; but the ascension of a spirit from its ordinary seat to higher planes is possible only when a living adept is present. It is not necessary that the disciple must always be in the personal company of the adept. So long as the adept is alive, his spirituality is kinetic on higher planes, and he can extend help (of course spiritual) even when the disciple is away from him at a distance. The absence of adepts has been the cause of deterioration and stoppage of internal progress in all religions, whether they appertain to the second grand division of creation or to the first. Continuous internal progress is possible only when the succession of one adept after another is continuous, or when it takes place at very frequent intervals. During the gap, the spirituality, which had already been gathered, consolidates as it were, and on the advent of the next adept, it is fit for further exaltation from the foundations already laid.