The following section contains the collected quotes from Satguru Sirio Ji and earlier Masters of Surat Shabd Yoga.
“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.”
“Desire is the root-cause of all bondage and rebirths.”
„I always advise the dear ones that they should not stop doing their Simran even for a second, because egoism is a very powerful thing and it is the last one to surrender. It is very powerful; and you have to fight a lot with it; it is the last thing which leaves you. You can only abstain from it by doing Simran. Master Sawan Singh Ji used to say that when you have egoism about anything you have done, you lose the benefit of all that you have done. If you have had some good thought or have done some good deed, you should understand yourself as the most fortunate one, and just as you have worked hard and had that good thought or done that good deed, at the same time you should work hard to maintain its fruit. You should be grateful to the Master that because of His grace you were able to do this good deed, and you should always feel yourself as the most fortunate one. But the satsangi should not expect a reward for any good deed which he has done, because egoism comes and we get stuck in it only when we expect a reward for our good deed.”
“We know that if we are sick we cannot do any work in the world. If the body is not fit, how can we? In the same way when our mind is sick, we cannot get ourselves connected with Shabd Naam, or meditate properly. What are the diseases which our mind has? Lust, anger, greed, attachment, and egoism-these are the sicknesses by which our mind is affected.
We can serve our Master only when we have a pure mind, because a pure mind doesn’t take us away from the service of the Master.
When we connect our soul with Shabd, after completing our Simran, and crossing the stars, moon and sun, when the form of the Master is manifested-reaching that place then “I and mine” go away.
When the I-hood disappears and only “Thou” is there, then the duty of the disciple ends and the duty of the Master starts. After that, Master takes the soul from one plane to another until he finally reaches his Home.”
“The mind will not allow man to have knowledge of the soul. Its nature is to seek pleasure and its constant fluctuations are difficult to subdue. Attuning one’s self with the internal Sound Current is the best way to calm the mind and practice concentration.”
“Always keep your tongue under control. This is one thing. The wound given by a sword will be healed in a month or so, but the wound given by the tongue is not healed.”