Every Human Being Has A Secret Chamber Within, by Kirpal Singh, from, The Coming Spiritual Revolution
Light and Sound on the Path
We are the soul, the indweller of the body, and we often say, "This is my body. I am the soul," etc... As I have taken off my coat and placed it here, can you remove your body? Can you rise above it, and analyze yourself from mind and matter, separating yourself from the body? You would then see clearly, who and what you are. Now listen to the hymn, which tells us how we went to sleep and how we can awaken.
"Inner eye sleeps, while one covetously envies the
possessions of others;
Inner ear sleeps,
yet one eagerly hears all slander and scandal."
(hymn of Guru Arjan Sahib)
The Master's message is for embodied souls caught in the web of mind and senses, unable to release themselves. Masters make no distinction between religions and sects. Their message is for the whole human race.
O soul, since you took birth into the world you have developed the habit of seeing things, and so your outer eye is open, but the eye which is used to see within became more securely closed. Although awake from without, you are asleep within, and by greedily envying the goods of others, your inner eye has gone deeper and deeper into this slumber.
Our outer awakenedness is busy coveting the wealth, property, bodies of others, and this creates impressions which are taken in and absorbed into one's being through the eyes. Remember, eighty-three per cent of all impressions we absorb, enter into man through the eyes. Whatever you see is registered in you. This constant intake of impressions closes the inner vision more and more as the years go by. Furthermore, the impressions we absorb from outside are reproduced into our thoughts and dreams, and in this way a superficial life is built up. Up to now, you have never had the opportunity to dip inside yourself.
Guru Arjan... says: "We are finite, 0 God, You are infinite; because we are finite, we can only measure with our finite scales." Is it not true? So the Absolute God cannot be seen by anybody, and nobody has seen Him so far -- the Absolute God, Nameless God, Wordless God, which has not come into expression. That Power which came into expression, that is called "Word," that is called Naam; the outer expression of that Power is Light and Sound, and that Light can be seen, that Voice can be heard.
Every human being has a secret chamber within himself which is called the "closet of the body." That is higher than the mind and heart both, and provides mind with understanding to a certain extent, and the heart with feelings of love. This chamber is the Kingdom of God within us. This is the crest jewel, the pearl of great price. The Saints, when we come in contact with them, open this chamber by withdrawing all our attention from outside. The test of a true Master is the fact that in his company, the smallest realm opens up within us, and the Light, Divine Light, the expression of the God-into-Expression Power, is seen. Christ said, "If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light." Prophet Mohammed said, "The light of Allah is found where? In the human temples." Why am I quoting these things? Because right understanding was given by Saints and Masters coming from time to time. Lord Krishna said, "I will give you divine light and you will see my glory within." Buddha said the same thing: "Every man possesses the bright mirror of illumination." This, all the Buddhas realized.
So the God-into-Expression Power is called Word, Naam, Kalma; He is the Creator of all, and has two aspects: Light and Sound. And when Masters come, they contact us with that Power within us, you see? They open our inner eye by raising us to some extent above the physical body and outgoing faculties; we begin to see.
That is why it is said, you see, that Devotion to Naam is the only true worship. God is spirit; we can worship in spirit alone. Guru Amar Das says, "Everyone does worship but on the sensual plane only; so they get no results which end in salvation. But absorption in the Naam purifies the mind and bears fruit in abundance." You follow? Words are words; but what those words denote is a different thing; that is the Controlling Power of all creation, permeating all creation, and controlling us in the body too.
So, the body is the true Temple of God, in which we dwell, and also that Power which keeps us in the body.
Masters come to give -- not to take. They stand on their own legs; and as Shamaz Tabrez said, "You should be able to see the Beloved within you with your own eye which you have got within; and you should be able to hear His voice with your own inner ear."
Now the question comes: How to open that eye with which He can be seen? He says, when you close your eyes, there is darkness. Look penetratingly into it; put your whole attention into it. That is knocking on the door, you see, and it shall be opened. You continue to look directly into that and you will find Light. Who will see that Light? Your very Self. You will find all Saints -- Tulsi Sahib, Shamaz Tabrez -- all say the same thing. "Sit down in meditation, nothing comes up for years and years and years; Tulsi says, How to penetrate this darkness? Sit at the feet of a Master -- He gives you a boost, you see Light." Is it not wonderful? Is it not a miracle? What more miracle is required?
You see, unless a man rises above the life of senses, the inner Way is not open. It is you who have to see. That is why it is said, "Know thyself 0 Man, know thyself -- who you are, what you are." What are we? Conscious entities. We have got attention. When the attention is diverted from outside and concentrated to our own Self, there you see the Light. Very simple. Do you see the common sense point of what is being put before you? He [Sant Tulsi Sahib] says further, "Why do we not see Him?" Because of the ramification of the mind. Ripples are going on in the subconscious reservoir of our mind. Until those ripples stand still, you cannot see Him. It is something like a pond covered with weeds. If you take out the weeds little by little every day, you can look in the water and see your face. And what are those weeds? Your body; body is the beginning of all delusion. We are having the body, and we are working at the level of the body. Body is changing every minute of life, being made of matter. All the world around is changing, since it is also made of matter, at the same speed at which our body is changing. As we are identified with it, this is an optical illusion; it appears to be stationary. How can we come out of that? This is the demonstration which is given by the Master.
If you are identified with the mind, outgoing faculties, and intellect, and you have recourse to the methods or practices which are concerned with those things, how can you rise above them? So rise above body-consciousness; this is given out by all Masters. "Learn to die so that you may begin to live." Be reborn; be twice born. To withdraw your attention from outside and the body below, come to the seat of the soul in the body; this is called meditation. And meditation is the way back to God which can be had only in the human body, and in no other. All gods and goddesses hanker to have the human body, for this reason. So Kabir says, "O Man, why do you boast that you are the highest if you have not known God?" Your greatness lies only in the fact that you can see God.
Sit and devote time to your practices. Come in contact with the Light and Sound within.
-- Excerpts from, The Coming Spiritual Revolution, by Sant Kirpal Singh, published by Sant Bani Ashram 1997, ISBN 0-89142-049-5, and is now a free online book (PDF file): https://archive.org/details/The-Coming-Spiritual-Revolution-Sant-Kirpal-Singh
Hi James, thank you for sharing, I love the way Sant Kirpal emphasizes coming out of the body, how exciting and what a way to lose attachment to this place! I am going to read this book cover to cover, Jai. P.S we can travel to India now without that requirement!