By Sant Kirpal Singh, President of the World Conference on Unity of Man, 6 February 1974, Delhi
The object of the Conference on Unity of Man is to propagate the idea of Unity of Man: That all mankind is one. All are born the same way, their outer and inner construction is the same and all are endowed with the same privileges from God. No high, no low, all are equal. We are drops of the ocean of all consciousness which is God. So we are all brothers and sisters in God.
Our ultimate goal is to attain atonement with the supreme power which controls all creation and controls us in this body. The whole world is His abode, and on a small scale, body is the temple of God in which His eternal Light is shining. "Take heed that the light which is in thee be not darkness." That Light is in all of us. Our Surat or attention has identified itself with the body and the outside world so much, so that it has forgotten itself. If it withdraws from all outside and rises into awareness of its true identity as a conscious entity, it can know the supreme power – God. For that we have to learn to die while living by rising above the body consciousness.
What is death? It is like the sun setting on one side and rising on the other. That is all. We have to realize the controlling power, the source and sustenance of all that is. Why do we not see Him now? Because our attention is identified with the physical body and the world outside so much, so that it has forgotten that it is a conscious entity, the controlling power behind the body. Let me give an example to explain the point. Suppose, I am looking in front of me. I cannot at the same time see what is behind me unless I withdraw my gaze from the front and look behind. Likewise, our attention is fixed on the visible world outside. It has to withdraw from all can see the Reality within? That eye is different – it is the self-luminous Inner Eye mentioned in the scriptures as the Third Eye, Single Eye or Shiv Netra, of which it is said: "If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of Light." That Eye opens when we withdraw our attention from all outside and rise into awareness of our true identity and then realize the supreme power. And when one sees Him immanent in all and working in all, one would love all creation. outside and recede within, to know itself. And which is the eye that
Man is he who is perfect all-round – physically, mentally and spiritually. "Be ye perfect as your Father, who is in heaven." We give food to the body, we also feed the intellect, but what food do we give to the soul, which is a conscious entity? What is food for the soul? Man cannot live on bread alone. The food for the soul, a conscious entity, is to contact God – the ocean of all consciousness, the supreme power that enlivens all creation. It has to know that power, to contact It. Such a man, who has developed all-round, may be called a perfect man. The object of all formations or social bodies is to turn out such perfect man. Man has first to become man, in the true sense of the word. Even God is searching for a man – a perfect man. Who is a man? He who represents the ideal of manhood, who loves God. and since God resides in all hearts, he loves all creation. His body should give out radiation of love and of humanity. He should have love and regard for everybody – his compeers, his superiors and those who are below him – for God is in all of them.
What is the meaning of man? One who is overflowing with love and compassion. Who knows himself and knows God. He loves God. and since God resides in all hearts, he loves all creation. God is Love, and man. who is of the same essence as God, is an embodiment of Love. One who gives out the Godly radiation of love may truly be called a man. The outer labels of the various formations or social bodies are to turn out perfect men who as man-body should reflect the glory of man as soul, the indweller of the body, the glory of God. He should realize his true self of being God plus man. i.e. Godman, and as such be an embodiment of love. And love knows service and sacrifice, so he should think of the good of others and not of his own self-interest.
So the ideal of manhood is that he should be a brother unto all creation. He should earn his livelihood by honest toil and share it with others. If we have such Pak (pure) people in large numbers, the world will become Pakistan (i.e. the land of the pure); and if we have a preponderance of Khalis (pure) people, the world would become Khalistan (i.e. the land of the Khalsa or the pure), and they may bring the Kingdom of God on earth. The country is good which has a large number of such people. So man should live for others. He who will not let his brother man go hungry or naked, thereby ensures his own fulfilment, for God who resides in all hearts, will surely provide for him.
All Masters, who came in the East or in the West, say that God is love. Soul, which is of the same essence as that of God, is also love. Love needs an object for attachment. The natural object for our attachment was God, but we got attached to the world, because we see it. All Masters say: "Love thy God. And since God is immanent in all forms, love all creation." We say: "How can we love Him, whom we do not see?" The answer to that is, seek the company of a Master who has realized Him. He will give you a practical demonstration of how to rise above body consciousness and see the reality within. The Masters come to make people see who do not see. When the attention recedes within to concentrate at the seat of the soul between and at the back of the two eyes, it realizes its true identity that is the indweller controlling the body; and there is a supreme power that controls it – the soul – in the body. Guru Nanak says in this context: "The Lord of Nanak is visible everywhere." And Kabir says: "I saw Him, the uncreated Light Principle, immanent in all, and all my doubts were dispelled."
Love comes with seeing. One cannot love him, whom one does not see. How can we see God? The Upanishads say in this context: "Unless the outgoing sense-faculties are controlled, and the mind and the intellect are stilled, one cannot realize God." When one sees Him in all, he would naturally love all creation and seek the good of everyone. Guru Nanak was moved by the same experience to say: "Peace be unto all the world over, under Thy will, oh Lord."
A true lover of God will love all His messengers who came in the past, all the scriptured records of their self-communion and communion with God. He will love all mankind and the rest of God's creation in many forms. He will love all holy places sanctified by the presence of a Godman at one time or another and now revered as places of pilgrimage. He will never injure nor molest anyone in thought, word, or deed.
Love knows service and sacrifice. Man is he who lives for others. An animal lives for itself and for its progeny. There is no dearth of preaching today. One may read all the books, but unless he acts up to what they say, it is no use reading. We have developed the head and neglected the heart. That is the reason for all the conflicts we see today. There is nothing new in all that I have said just now. I have given out the gist of the understanding I got by sitting at the feet of the Masters and from a parallel study of religions, and that is: "Oh man, know thyself, who you are, what you are." A Persian Faquir says: "Oh man, you know the worth of everything. If you know not your own worth you area fool." The Masters make a man a true man in the first instance and then raise him to the level of an angel, and finally to that of God. The three prerequisites to God-realization are: Right diet, right conduct and right dealings. Guru Nanak says: "Oh Nanak, utter the name of God with a pure heart. The worldly defile themselves by their evil ways." Guru Amar Das says: "When the mind is unclean, all is defiled. Washing the body does not make the mind clean. The whole world is in the rut of delusion. Few there be who know the reality." What is pollution and uncleanliness? The life of the senses. God plus desire is man. And man minus desire is God.
There is a great awakening now which I observed during my third world tour recently. The regeneration of society depends on the regeneration of man. Bricks may be manufactured in any kiln. If they are strong and of good quality, the house will be strong. If the bricks are not properly burnt and the material is substandard, you cannot have a strong house. So whichever the formation, man should be man in the true sense of the word. There is a general awakening today in every direction. People are so unhappy; may God grant them peace and happiness. The way to that is to seek the company of awakened men.
The teaching of the Masters is given out both, directly and indirectly, i.e., through parables. There is a beautiful parable in the Puranas that God invited both, the Devtas or angels and the Danvas or demons, to dinner. When the food was served, God said: "You are welcome to enjoy the food subject to the condition that while eating you may not bend your arms." Now the Danvas, who were slow witted and prone to act without reflection, said: "God has insulted us, for how can one take food without bending his arms?" And they walked out in protest. But the Devtas pondered over it, for the suggestion had come from God and there must be some reason for it. After some time they understood the purpose behind the seemingly strange condition and started to feed each other, and in this way all were fed without bending their arms. Kabir stressed the same point. He says: "So long as you live in the man-body, give, give, give. When you leave the body who will come to you to ask for anything?"
It is a blessing to be born in a social formation, but the real purpose of joining a social formation was to rise above it into universality. If you do not achieve this purpose it is no use merely carrying the label of one or the other formation. The celebrated poet Iqbal says in a couplet that Moses went to Mount Sinai in search of God. Did he not know that God was Himself searching for a perfect man? All mankind is one. They should all be good and be one! "Live and let live," should be their motto. Guru Nanak said: "The highest order is to rise into universal brotherhood, aye, to consider all creation your equal."
The ideal was placed before you that mankind is one. We are all one, it is true, but we have not yet become one! When will that be? When we see Him in all and all in Him. But for that, some effort is required on our part. We should pray to the Almighty to give us strength to change our angle of vision. So I would request all brothers and sisters here to sit still, close your eyes and withdraw your attention from all outside and pray to God in all sincerity and from the depth of heart. A true prayer which comes from the heart is always answered. And what is a true prayer? When heart and mind and tongue are all unanimous and in perfect accord – what the mind thinks, the heart feels, and the tongue expresses. The Almighty heeds such prayers.
First of all, the prayer should be true, it should come from the heart, the tongue should express it the same way, and the mind fully concurs with it. That is a true prayer. The next step is to sit at the door and patiently wait. Hurry won't do. So I say to you, the ideal before us is that mankind is all one. The labels of various formations that we carry on our bodies came later. You are welcome to have them, they are the distinctive labels of the different schools that we have joined to know Self and to know God. The school is best which turns out a larger number of successful students who pass the examination. Pray to God sincerely and from the heart. He is within you and hears all your prayers. He knows the very trend of your thoughts, the way they are shaping. Now sit still, withdraw your attention from all outside and pray:
"Oh God, we are stranded. We have lost the way.
Show us the way.
We are all one family, children of the same Father.
And You are our Father!"