The Celestial Music

 About meeting Sant Kirpal Singh Ji for the first time.  L Gurney Parrott's story:

L. Gurney Parrott: The Celestial Music A very disillusioned elder gentlemen, 65 at the time of these events, meets Kirpal Singh, of whom he knows nothing. A few days later, not very willingly, I accompanied my friend to the house where his Master was staying. The compound was full of an excited crowd milling around, for where a holy man is to be found, Indians will flock even from great distances to see him. I was still in a critical and unresponsive mood. At the top of the stairs I discarded my shoes as custom demanded, and stood rather self-consciously in my socks, apathetically watching people going to and from a room at the end of a corridor. I felt rather foolish, very English, an outsider and an intruder, the only European present on that occasion, with no clear idea of what it was all about. I wondered if the Master was one of those half-naked fakirs I had heard about, and if there would be an interpreter if he deigned to see me, which I thought by no means certain. I had forgotten the words of the Master Jesus: "Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out." Suddenly my reverie was broken by a voice at my side saying: "The Master will see you now." I turned to see a smiling, handsome young Sikh in a blue turban, and involuntarily exclaimed: "See me!" "Yes," he replied, "come this way," and in a turmoil of conflicting thoughts I followed him down the corridor to the Master's room. As I passed through the doorway, I hesitated in momentary confusion. Here was no emaciated, half-naked ascetic, no saffron-robed pundit with begging bowl. A tall, strongly-built immensely impressive white-bearded figure rose from a low couch and came forward to greet me. Taking both my hands in his, he said "Hello!" as if we had met before. I was completely taken aback for I had expected some sort of Oriental greeting, some pious words perhaps; some indication of religiosity, or some kind of protocol; but there was nothing of the sort. This almost affectionate and informal reception astonished and then heartened me. There was nothing unusual in the Master's dress—spotless linen, white turban, black threequarters coat over a tunic and trousers of white cotton, and slippers. He wore no religious emblem; there were no prayers, no incense and no music, just a simplicity and naturalness which of themselves were far more impressive than any pomp or splendor could be. Over and above all was his fine physique, distinguished bearing, and spiritual serenity and strength, presenting a picture of a holy man utterly different from anything I had imagined. With gentle courtesy he himself brought forward an armchair and placed me in it, a gesture which was much appreciated by his elderly Western visitor who would have found the traditional cross-legged position on the floor uncomfortable and impossible to maintain for long. His seat on the couch which he resumed brought him well below my level—such is his humility—and I found myself looking down on him. This made me acutely uncomfortable with its implications and I realized I could not possibly remain in that position. In an uprush of emotion I slipped off the chair and sat on the floor at his feet as a child would do. In that moment alone was unconsciously expressed an inner recognition and acceptance of the spiritual peace and power flowing from the Master, but he only smiled and said tranquilly: "Tell me something about yourself." "You must know it already, as the Master; what is there to say?" was all I could stammer out, and it must have sounded rather disrespectful. "Never mind," he said, "tell me something and we'll take it from there." I tried to speak of my past life, of my spiritual search and longing for proof of the things I had come to believe in, but emotion gripped me and after a few halting sentences I came to an embarrassed stop, fighting for self-control. Seeing my distress, the Master made a small gesture and immediately I regained composure. He went on to speak of the Christ and His teachings, of the Kingdom of God which He declared to be within us, and of the "light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world." He evidently knew the Christian Bible thoroughly and explained many obscure and difficult passages in the New Testament. During his talk, owing to our changed positions, he was now looking down on me and I became aware of an extraordinary sensation in my eyes as I looked into his. It was as if an electric current was being poured into them; the sort of sensation one would get if very fine jets of water were sprayed upon the eyes; and I could hardly keep them open—indeed, for the rest of the time I could only use them nearly closed, as slits. (It is remarkable to read this now, as it is exactly what I experienced with Darshan Singh in 1980 - NT) When finally I rose to leave, he said: "Come again; come tomorrow early, at about eight o'clock." I left him with a feeling of exhilaration, of having met a tremendous personality, and that here at last perhaps was a spiritual teacher who could help me to understand what life and religion were all about. A Peep Within Next morning I found myself one of seventy or eighty people in a large room. There was a buzz of conversation, mostly in Hindi; but several people spoke to me in English in a friendly effort to lessen any feeling of strangeness I might have had as an alien in an apparently exclusively Indian gathering. There was a sudden hush as the Master entered, pausing now and again to chat briefly with some and giving me a kindly and courteous welcome. I was now able to look at him critically and calmly, noting his luminous eyes and fine carriage, and found nothing to detract from my impressions of our first meeting. He would be about seventy years of age, I thought, but obviously remarkably fit and vigorous; which I found afterwards, when I knew him better, to be an almost absurd understatement. I had no notion of the purpose of this gathering and little dreamed of the quite incredible awakening in store for me. The Master seated himself in an armchair at the end of the room and men and women squatted yogi-fashion facing him, the men to his right and the women to the left, and I in another armchair at the back. Without any preliminaries he began talking in a very simple way, referring to the statement by Jesus that the Kingdom of God is within us, and asserting that this kingdom could be entered here and now.... God Himself in His absolute state could not be seen by man, but only through His primal manifestations of Light and Sound could He be realized, by the grace of a living Perfect Master or Godman. In the opening chapter of St. John's Gospel we have: "In the beginning was the Word." This Word created all the spiritual and spirituo-material worlds, from the highest realm of pure Spirit to the lowest, the physical universe. The seat of the soul is at a point midway between the two eyebrows. It was through this center that the soul entered the body at birth and would leave it at death, and it is here that our first conscious contact with the Light of God would be made. All we had to do was to introvert our minds, still our thoughts, and focus our attention at this point between the two eyebrows, and watch and wait patiently, quietly, reposefully, without any strain or worry. Each of us, the Master calmly stated, would be given a "peep within," a conscious spiritual experience, each according to his or her spiritual development and receptivity. It was a stupendous statement. Here in the simplest possible way, without any of the usual ritualistic accompaniments of an approach to God, was the promise that by the Master's grace our inner eye—the Third Eye—would be opened and we would see the Light of God. Only the power of a Godman, or the Word made flesh, could do it. As I tried to compose myself for the ensuing meditation, it is not surprising if for some time I failed to control my whirling thoughts. We were about to be given in a fully conscious and waking state proof, by personal experience, of an inner finer world; it would automatically show that death is not the end of the human personality and that "the bourn from which no traveler returned" could nevertheless be perceived and entered during life. I had no sense of fear, only a sort of stupefaction that almost inhibited thought; but I grew watchful and critical, and more than a little skeptical. Yet here was a practical demonstration of the truths taught by all religions. I was conversant with the theory, and here was the practice, and more incongruous than anything else was the mere fact that I should be taking part in it. Could I be blamed for doubting? No one could feel less worthy than I to receive such a gift; it surely was not possible! For some time so it certainly seemed, for nothing happened and the demon doubt reared again his ugly head. With an effort I dismissed such thoughts and resumed meditation, but not before casting a swift glance around to see if anything unusual was going on. But no, there they all were, sitting quietly with eyes closed. There was the Master sitting in front, motionless, gazing tranquilly across the room, the sunshine streaming in at the windows and the birds singing outside. I closed my eyes again. And then it began. Slowly light came within and grew in intensity to a brightness greater than our sun, and shadowless. In that pure Light other manifestations presented themselves to my astonished and enraplured gaze about which it is not permitted to speak. Words indeed fail me and it is impossible to convey any idea of the glory of those scenes, or the supreme joy and happiness—nay, ecstasy—that coursed through me. Here was proof of immortality, a glimpse into that astral world to which the soul passes on relinquishing this body at death. There is no death; there is no death! My whole being sang it, every sense thrilled to it, for now I knew in truth and there could be no more fear.  

The Master closed the meditation which had lasted for 45 minutes and: asked each person separately and privately what he or she had seen, explaining and commenting. Every soul there had received a spiritual experience, but all different as no two people have exactly the same background or development. Each received according to his or her degree of receptivity. There was, however, yet another incredible experience waiting for us. In dismissing us, the Master told us to reassemble in about.an hour for another kind of meditation, this time for Sound, the Word or the Voice of God. If I was dazed and almost stunned by the revelations of the first meditation, what could possibly be the nature of the coming one, I wondered. I was thankful to rest quietly in a corner to reflect upon this amazing session and to regain a composure so powerfully but happily excited. We again assembled, the Master seated in front as before, the men and women squatting on the floor and I at the back of the room in my armchair. The Master explained that the Sound Current, which St. John in the opening chapter of his Gospel refers to as the "Word," or Audible Life Stream, emanates from God and vibrates through the whole of creation. By it all the worlds, seen and unseen, were created and are sustained. With the Sound there is Light, and it is only through these two primal manifestations of the Godhead that the Supreme One can be known or reached. The Sounding Flame, or the Flaming Sound, is also known by the Indian name of Shabd. This Sound can be heard only if a Perfect Master who has come with a special commission from God to lead souls back to Him connects them with this Celestial Music, this Shabd.<br><br>The original Shabd is One, and as it descended it created the pure spiritual region, then the lower spirituo-material planes of which there are four. It becomes five strains at the level of this material universe, but on the earth there are actually ten variants of this Celestial Music and we should hear For some time nothing happened, but this time I waited patiently, with absorbed attention. Then came a continuous sound from the right side and soon swelled in an amazing crescendo, and continued unbroken for some twenty minutes. I may not give further detail except to add that at the end, after describing the nature of the sound to the Master and having his explanatory comment, I was filled with a blessed serenity and peace I had never known before. It is impossible to convey the joy and rapture experienced in this double cognition of a supersensual state. Here was practical vindication of the Master's injunction in his book Godman (page 9l ): "Believe not the words of a Master Soul unless you see the things he tells about with your own eyes." If the theory of religion had thus been practically demonstrated to me "in the laboratory of the soul," by whom had it been accomplished? Who was this apparently ordinary man who could give spiritual experience; who could open or raise the consciousness to a higher level to glimpse the spiritual world? Who was this man who "spoke with authority" and who gave so freely? The Master asked me to come again the next morning, early, at eight o'clock, and as I taxied back to my hotel that evening, I suddenly realized that all my misery and sorrow had gone and I was brimming over with happiness. I understood then as never before the words of Christ: Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. MATTHEW I 1:28 When I reached my room, I switched on the light, and as I moved around I happened to blink or close my eyes momentarily. To my astonished gaze there stood the Master in his Radiant Form, as though made of light, smiling. I opened my eyes and closed them again, and there he was. I opened them, and he was still there, shining and wonderful, whether my eye's were open or closed. I did this several times in amazed wonder, putting the light on and off. It made no difference, and I cried aloud in joy and astonishment: "There he is, there he is! It is true, it is all true! Oh God! how wonderful!"