The following section contains the collected quotes from Satguru Sirio Ji and earlier Masters of Surat Shabd Yoga.
“It takes a lot of time to really change deeply our habits. It is a humble association with the Master, it is a long time listening to Satsang, to the teachings with humility and a lot of Seva, selfless service that is what changes us. And this must be done with love and devotion.”
“Remember, he who breaks the wall of the Guru’s orders will never realize the inner knowledge.”
“Saints and Mahatmas, Beloveds of God, come into this world carrying the message of love, because God is love. Lovingly they explain to us that we should not have any enmity or hatred towards anybody or any community in this world; we should keep our heart open for everyone and our heart should be full of love for all people, regardless of their religion or their communities.
Saints and Mahatmas do not come into this world to give us the training of fighting with other people or with each other. They do not come into this world to teach us criticism and backbiting or hating others, and they do not come into this world to make us obtain name and fame and the power of this world. They come into this world to teach us about God and to develop the love of God within us.”
“There is some power who has created all of this. He has made so many species of life and man is the highest, you see. So God made man with equal privileges. Everybody lives in the womb for nine months – even the saints who come. When born, they have the same form outside. Who made that form in the womb of the mother? Is there any machinery in there? So God resides in temples which He has made. God does not reside in temples made of stone. Very common sense things. You come to know that your body is the temple of God, with equal privileges for all. Your present life is based on reactions of the past. Pauperism, richness, sickness, this and that thing – come as a reaction of what we have sown. “As you sow, so shall you reap.” Now, in the man-body you have got some freedom. In all lower species, all are bound – no freedom. When a railway line is laid down, the train will run on that line. If you have right understanding, you’ll be laying it so that it leads back to your home. If not, you’ll come back.”
“The coming of the Saints in this world is to wake us up. They tell us, “You have a very long journey to do, and you have very little time. A traveller should always be aware of the means he has to do his journey, and his attention should always be towards his goal.”
The mind and the sense organs, which are created as the obstacles in our path to meet God, have been created in the Will of God, just to see, “who, despite all this opposition, comes and meets me.”
Many dear ones ask, “Why did God Almighty create Kal? Why did He create the mind and the organs of senses? Because they are so forceful, so dangerous.” Master Sawan Singh Ji used to reply to this question in this way. He used to say, “Why don’t you go inside and ask this question to God Almighty yourself?”
“When we start to make any building, first of all we make the foundation very strong, because if we don’t make the foundation very strong we cannot make a good, strong building. In order to make a good, strong building, we definitely need a good, strong foundation. In the same way, in order to meditate more, we need to make our ground, and purity of heart can be called as the ground for working in the field of meditation. If we will have pure hearts, only then will we be able to progress in meditation. If we will have a good character, good morals, only then will we be able to spend our time and our attention in doing meditation. So purity of heart and good character is very important for the dear ones if they want to progress in meditation.”
“You may have had this happen in your experience too: Sometimes you’re sitting very absorbed; somebody calls you, your ears are open but you don’t hear. He calls you once, twice, thrice. He comes up to you and says, “Well you have not heard me? I have called you so many times.” “No, I have not heard.” “Why?” — “My attention was engaged somewhere else.” So similarly it is your attention that gives life to all your outward things. You are the giver of all attention to these things and you are dragged by all these things. How shameful it is, I would say. The whole thing is topsy turvy. It is you who give the strength to your mind, to your outgoing faculties; and what has happened now? Outer things attract your outgoing faculties; and faculties control your mind. Mind controls intellect. And poor fellow, Soul, is being dragged about. Is it not so? Just come to your own self, that’s all I can say. You know who you are? Now you understand? Forget all outward forms, everything like that. Master does not give you anything new, only [the opportunity] to come to your own Self, that’s all. You may learn it in a day, ten days, ten years, ten births. Why not learn now? Man-body is the golden opportunity you have got. In this body only, you can do it. This is really your own work, personal work. All other works are the question of give and take, finish off. Wind up the whole thing.”
“The real Saint is millions of miles away from all these so-called spiritual fads or cults which exist in the world today. When such a Saint comes in this world, He works only for the inner things and He doesn’t bother about any outer things. [You know that] if any business wants to sell some of its goods, it will have some agent or representative working for the company. In the same way, the real Saint is working for God. He is like an agent of God and He reminds us about our mission, the mission with which we have come into this world. Our mission is to go back to God. So whenever such a real Saint comes, He always gives us the inner things and He always talks about the inner things. He doesn’t work for the outer things; His only purpose is to take us back to God. So whenever such a Saint comes – unlike people in those other cults – He practices meditation and He advises only those people who come to Him. He doesn’t work with or take the help of any group or political party, because His party is that of God, and in fact, God Himself works for Him.”
“To shirk one’s duty is timidity, to face it with determination is manly, to take the results with cheer is bravery and to adjust one’s life according to one’s environments is invigorating and peaceful.”
“Make a regular schedule for meditation and don’t miss meditation even for one day because only Naam will accompany you. As food is necessary to run your body – in the same way meditation is necessary for your soul.”
“Whom should we love? The soul should love God, because a conscious entity must go to all Consciousness. That is but natural. It has been attached to the outward things of the world and the result is, we come and go where we areattached. Everybody is convinced, from their own level of thinking, that they love God. God we have not seen, but He is manifested in some human body. If we say that we love Him, then our foundation stone will be laid by keeping His commandments, first of all. Second, if you love somebody then you will also love those who go to Him. We critize, we sometimes fight, even with those who are on the same Way as us. Then where is our love for the Master? These are the stepping stones, but there are further steps. When you grow in love for God or the God-in-man (they are one and the same), naturally you will hanker after Him. You cannot forget Him. You would like to have the company of somebody who has first hand experience of Him, or who has been with Him. Further, you would like to be near Him, as near as possible. If you are not there, but you hear someone who speaks of Him, your heart becomes full and overflows through your eyes. This is a symptom that you are growing in love for Him. These are the blossoms which herald the appearance of the fruit. If rain is expected, first you will have clouds. If there are no clouds, there will be no rain. If there are no blossoms, there will be no fruit. So to develop this love, we must first obey His commandments, second weed out all imperfections and third devote time to the spiritual practices. You should also have the company of somebody who just reminds you of your ideal. Avoid the company of all others in whose society you are attached to the world or forget Him. If you cannot have the company of those who can help you to remember Him, then it is better to live alone. Live with the Masters speaking through books, through the scriptures. You will be better off. A further symbol that in your love you are drawing closer to Him, is that you will feel separation. You will hanker to see Him. When you hear about Him, your heart will become full and tears will roll down from your cheeks. These are the symptoms to show that the fruit is ripening. These things are the blossoms. Ultimately, when the fruit comes, you are for the Master and the Master is for you. These are the steps and we have now to judge where we stand.”
“When we fortunately meet a perfect Master, then giving up the company of the mind and the organs of senses, we should love that Master wholeheartedly, sincerely and honestly. Because when we will love the Master, then our attachment to the worldly things will decrease and it will become easier for us to go within. So that is why, when fortunately we get the company of such a Master, we should love Him; we should follow His commandments without having any fear. Without having any doubts, we should go within and connect ourselves with the Naam within. He has come into this world to shower so much grace upon us. He resides within us and from within He showers grace upon us. He connects us with that Power within for which we have been yearning and for which we have been searching for a very long time. So that is why, if God Almighty showers grace upon us and if He brings us to a perfect Master, we should take advantage of that grace.”
“You must bear your karmas cheerfully. You should not complain of what suffering comes to you, because it shows that the Lords of Karma think you are worth helping. However hard it is, be thankful that it is no worse.”
“In this world there are two paths for us to follow. One is the path of the mind, the other is the path of the Masters. By following the path of the mind, we get stuck in the pleasures of the organs of senses, and we create difficulties for our own selves. By following the path of our mind, we do such deeds, to suffer the consequences of which, we have to come back into this world of suffering again and again.
On the path of the Masters, we have to improve ourselves; and, by following the instructions of the Saints and Masters, and vacating our attention from all the nine openings of the body, we have to come to the eye center and connect ourselves with the Shabd Naam.”
“This is the ashram. Body is the ashram. He is waiting for you there. You have not to call Him. He is waiting for you.”
“The company which a man keeps makes him good or bad. You should avoid bad company-the company of liars, thieves, or those involved in destructive things – and keep the company of good people, those righteous and true people who do the devotion of the Lord; because whatever company we keep we will become like that. This human birth is very precious: don’t waste it by spending time in bad company. A person who sells wine may have a cup of milk in his hand – or even a cup of nectar – but even so, anyone looking at him will assume that it is wine, because handling wine is his daily routine. So always remember that this human birth is very precious, and have pity on yourself and on your children. Not even in the state of forgetfulness should you do anything which may bring a bad name to your family, your children, and your own self. Remain in good company.”
“The Audible Life Stream is the shield of the initiate and even the Angel of Death dreads its presence and cannot reach the initiate, when he or she is a devoted disciple of the living Master.”
“He who would walk the way of humility must renounce his earlier ways of living. He must give up the opinions he has formed, the standards to which he is accustomed. He must have a new outlook on life. The things the world would worship are to him of no value.”
„When the mind needs no other thing except the Master, He who is always within draws the veil aside and appears. So it is a question of developing an intense desire for Him. This desire is aroused by meditation and by sweetly remembering Him in one’s heart to the exclusion of all other things.”
“The satsangis who want to make their thoughts pure and holy need to do Simran as much as possible, because our thoughts will only be purified by doing the Simran. Simran works like a broom to clean our soul, and the mirror of our soul also gets purified only by doing the Simran. When our soul becomes clean then the Shabd pulls her up.”