The following section contains the collected quotes from Satguru Sirio Ji and earlier Masters of Surat Shabd Yoga.
“Saints and Mahatmas, lovers of God, have always given out this truth to the world: that our soul is of the same essence as that of God, and after getting separated from the Almighty Lord she has come down into this world. Ever since she has been separated from Almighty God she has always experienced pains and sufferings. First of all the soul never tries to search for God Almighty from Whom she has been separated, and even if she tries to search for God Almighty she never does it at the right place. This means she never goes within herself – within our soul, within our Self, God Almighty resides – instead of looking for God Almighty inside, she goes outside to search for Him. She goes to the forests, to the mountains, and to the other places in search for God. But since He is nowhere outside, and is only within us, that is why she never becomes successful in realizing her goal. And as long as she is separated from God Almighty she goes on having the pains and sufferings. It is the same as when the water of the ocean gets the heat of the sun, it turns into vapor and goes back into the sky and joins the rest of the clouds. When it comes down on this earth in the form of the raindrops, it has to go through many different stages. It mixes itself with the dirt, the stones, and pebbles, and it gets kicked and knocked at many places. And it suffers a great deal until it gets the heat of the sunray again and goes back to the clouds from which it was separated. It does not have any peace unless it goes back to the clouds. In the same way, ever since our soul has been separated from God Almighty she has always experienced the pains. Unless she goes back to her Real Home, Almighty God, and merges herself in Him from Whom she has been separated, she does not find any peace or rest; she has only the sufferings and discomforts.”
“Masters do not tell us to leave our daughters and sons; they don’t tell us to throw away what property and wealth we have; they don’t even tell us to give up the honor and respect we have in this world. But they do tell us: “Whatever you have been given by God, you should be grateful for that; you should think that all the things which you have received are of God, and you should be grateful to Him. And, recognizing that these things are of God, you should use them and never let egoism come in your mind.”
“God Himself does everything and, residing within the people, He makes them work. He is the only One Who can do anything. Whatever He wishes, only that happens. When the disciples asked Guru Nanak, “When it is said that everything that happens, happens in the Will of God, and God Himself does all the things which happen, then why are the souls blamed that they are doing good or bad?” Guru Nanak replied, “As long as the souls really understand that it is all God working, they are not blamed.” But when they think that it is “I” who is doing and when the sense of egoism comes, then they are held responsible.”
“The relationship between the Guru and the disciple is not only just to give the Simran. The relationship of the Master with the disciple is very deep; it is very serious. He not only gives us Initiation, He not only gives us the Simran, but his job is to make us progress. His job is to take us back to the Real Home, and His relationship with us does not end in this world, it continues even when we go in the beyond.”
“Dear ones, the only way to end your suffering is by going within and doing the devotion, by connecting yourself with the Naam. Naam is the only thing which can put an end to your suffering; there is no other thing.”
“Fear is not good and should be discarded by giving your worries over to the ever present gracious Master-Power working overhead. Fear is always based on some unknown apprehension and one should look at it squarely and then it will flee in no time, as it is a result of your self-created frustration.”
“If we do Simran lovingly and affectionately, then without visualizing the form of the Master, the Form itself will come there and start dwelling within us. It is a natural practice. You know that if you remember anything, you will start seeing or feeling that thing in your mind. In the same way, if we do the Simran given by the perfect Master, lovingly and affectionately, then His form will start coming within us by Himself and we will have it. If we are making any efforts on our side, if we are trying to visualize the Form of the Master, then we won’t be able to be successful because we won’t be able to visualize the complete Form of the Master. Sometimes we may be able to visualize only the eyes of the Master, sometimes only His beard or turban; and in that way, our meditation will be disturbed and we won’t be successful. So it is better to just do the Simran lovingly, because if we will remember the Master lovingly He will start coming within us by Himself.”
“The reality is that God Almighty is the King. He comes into this world in the form of the Saints and Mahatmas and He lives among us the drunkards, the indulgent ones, the dirty ones. He lives among us and He lovingly tells us about His qualities and He always forgives us. He always takes us to God Almighty and He makes Him forgive us. So Saints and Mahatmas come into this world and They live among us. They assume this body which is full of dirt and filth. They do this only for the sake of the souls since They come into this world to take the suffering souls back to their Real Home.”
“If you sit for meditation making your mind quiet and emptying yourself of worldly thoughts, then there is no question of your will intervening in your meditation; you have already made your mind empty. If you sit with the desire that you want to go within, it is possible that the mind may make you lose this determination and attach you to some other desire of the world. Yesterday I described how our mind works like a competent lawyer. Sitting within us he goes on presenting excuses to us: sometimes he tells us in a friendly way, sometimes he comes as an enemy and frightens us; he tries his best to make us give up doing our meditation. So when we sit for meditation it is very important for all the Satsangis to remember the few things I often say before we sit for meditation: that you have to make your mind quiet, you have to make your mind empty of worldly thoughts, and you should not allow your mind to wander outside. You should sit there with your mind quiet, and concentrate.”
„It is worse to surrender than to be defeated. When you sit for the meditation every satsangi should say, “No,” to the mind and should tell his mind, “Now we are sitting for something very special, you should not ‘ bother me.” The mind should just leave you alone so that you can do your meditation. Before sitting in the meditation make sure you remember the five Holy Words and if there are any important works to be attended to before the meditation, like your work of the home, or the worldly work, finish all of them before doing the meditation. When you sit in meditation do not understand it as a burden. Everyday meditate regularly – do it with love and affection.”
“He who resigns himself to the Will of the Master, places himself under the protecting power of the Master, who hastens to awaken the divinity in him. The Master never leaves the probationer once taken over, until He takes him to God, whose prototype He is on earth.”
“Ups and downs do come up as a result of the reactions of one’s own actions, past and present. But they are passing phases. They will come whether one is agitated or remains calm and cool. Meditations in spiritual practices and love and surrender to the Master help to tone down their severity and duration and will produce strength of will to combat difficulties cheerfully and calmly.”
“This is just like having an effortless effort. You have to become the inner eye itself. Your job is only to see minutely and with a searching eye into the center of the darkness, while repeating the five Names mentally and slowly, and wait. It is for the Master within to give you results more or less according to the background earned as a result of karmic reactions. We cannot get higher results by clutching. The very anxiety and impatience themselves stand in the way. Your part is to sit at the door behind the eyes, and knock and it shall be opened unto you.”
“The more Simran we do in a much better way, the more our mind will become pure. The more our mind becomes pure the more our thoughts will become pure and the purity of the mind will make our soul also pure. It is just like if anyone wants to keep his courtyard clean, he uses the broom very thoroughly. He sweeps out all the dirt. In the same way, the example is also applied to us. The dear soul who will do the Simran, without allowing the mind to interfere in doing the Simran, he will clean the mirror of his soul in a much better way.”
“If you stand in the doorway of your house and tell your friend to enter, but you do not stand aside that he may pass through, then how do you expect him to come in? Pray and wait; the Lord is not deaf. He knows the innermost part of our soul. He knows where our attention wanders; He knows our each and every whim. Place your desire before Him and await His pleasure. He Who is the true Doer sees our desires. A child’s father may know that the stubborn child wants a certain thing, but he will not grant it if that thing will not give the child any benefit and will bring only misery and loss. Many a desire has been fulfilled, only to leave behind a bitter taste, flavored with regret. So what is the highest prayer? Ask Him for Himself, or ask Him for that which He knows is best for you. Just leave everything to Him and you will succeed in all things.”
“God sees and knows everything, including which child is truly yearning for Him. The True Cry for help comes from the heart, not from the tongue. The loud cries from the tongue do not reach the Lord. The arrow which is drawn back to the chest will reach the target when it is released, but that which is drawn limply will not go very far. He Who has given salvation to millions will bring us to the feet of the Guru, Who places this tiny boat of ours on the mighty Ship of Naam. On very large ships, many tons of wood, iron, or stone can be carried without any danger of the ship sinking; so the Guru puts you on a spiritually unsinkable Ship, and He Himself is the Pilot.”
“God, for whom we are searching, is nowhere outside. All the outer creation is created by God Himself with the help of the Shabd of His power. Saints and Mahatmas do not criticize any temple or mosque. But they tell us the truth. They tell us that the real temple, mosque or church where God resides is our human body. And God is residing in this human body in the same way as butter in milk or color in leaves. God Almighty is absorbed in us, and He is present within us.”
“God cannot be known by the outgoing faculties, by the intellect or the vital airs called the pranas. He can be known only by the soul: like alone can know the like. When is the soul liberated? When it is analyzed from mind and the outgoing faculties. This is a practical question. Now it appeals to you intellectually. But how do we do it? The reading of scriptures, saying of prayers, performing of certain rites and rituals all relate to the outgoing faculties; but this is something that starts when you rise above the outgoing faculties. You also cannot do it with the mind and the intellect; you cannot do it unless you are intellectually still. You might draw an inference to come to some conclusion, but still the mind is intellectually working. We must be intellectually still, too. Then a sort of transport arises to the soul, and it is unbound. This is all we have to do.”
“The spontaneous flow of trickling tears goes a long way in washing off the dross of the mind and fortunate is the eye that sheds these, for they leave unending trails of ravishing bliss and harmony. It is the grace of the Master that He remembers His children and the faithfully obedient ones reciprocate His love and benefit from the ocean of compassion and grace.”
“Instead of becoming the preachers for the world, first we have to become preachers for our own selves. First we have to make our mind understand; first we have to rise above the passions and pleasures. First of all, we have to make our soul free from the clutches of the mind. After taking our mind to Brahm, which is his residence, only after that can we think about preaching to others and making other people understand. But what is our condition now? We have not become the preachers for our own selves; instead we have become the preachers for others. We worry for others and we have become responsible for them, whereas we do not take care of ourselves. So first we have to improve ourselves, and only then can we think about talking to other people for their improvement.”