Guru Dev: Radiant Form of the Master
The Teachings of Kirpal Singh, Pages 126-129
ONCE THE MIND has been brought under control and it no longer doubts and wavers, "Then the Radiant Form of the Master appears within. There is no difference between it and the physical form. It is like a reflection in a clear mirror. So long as the glass is not clear, nothing can be seen reflected."
The mind was indeed a glass, which when sullied by the muck-flow of worldly attachments blurred and hid everything, but the moment this film was cleansed, it imaged the Universal in itself.
The term Guru Dev, therefore, signifies the self-luminous form of the Master, which is free from and far above his physical body, and which the spirit actually perceives with its inner subtle Light. When the spirit comes face to face with the astral Master, all doubts vanish and its labors get the crowning regard--the summum bonum of life.
This subtle form disengaged from the bodily form of the Guru is termed Guru Dev. It is self-luminous and lustrous with Light extending over miles and miles. Satguru or the Master of Truth is the Power of Truth or God that works through both Guru and Guru Dev. With roots firmly embedded in Sat, or Truth, he directly derives his inspiration from the eternal and unchangeable permanence, Sat, hence is known as Satguru.
Guru Dev meets and greets the spirit as it crosses the border lying between the physical and subtle regions by passing through the stars, the sun and the moon, spoken of in the Vedas as Devian and Pitrian Margs (Paths). This astral form is exactly like the physical form of the Master, but much more beautiful, luminous, and magnetic. Guru Nanak refers to this illuminated path, thus:
"The Luminous Form of the Master is wondrously enrapturing and enchanting. Only a perfect Master can manifest this to a spirit."
This lustrous form of the Master always accompanies a spirit in the various planes, ending with Sach Khand or the Home of Truth. When His luminous form descends to the focus of the eyes, a devotee has nothing more to strive for. Herein lies the devotion of the devotee. Half his success has been achieved, and hereafter the Master's astral form takes over the charge of the spirit with full responsibility for leading it to the final goal. Even the Saints also adore this form and derive ecstatic delight from it.
The manifestation of Guru Dev depends purely on the grace of God and one's special merits in one's progress on the spiritual path.
There is hardly any need to imagine or visualize the Master's Form while engaged in Simran. Any such attempt is likely to scatter the attention. Then there is another danger in doing so. What form you conjure up, will be a make-believe, a projection of your mind and not reality. When one is initiated the Master resides in the initiate for all time. What is already inside will automatically come into view when you get in there fully and completely, though it may take quite some time to adjust yourself to the new surroundings, unknown before. God manifests of Himself more fully in some human form in which He is working without any visualization. It is really a happy day for an initiate to meet his or her Radiant Master within. The enjoining by the Master of regular meditations and stressing the need for living a life of love and purity are intended to make the way clear for the initiates. It is not their efforts alone that will bring them success in their uphill task, but the loving and willing surrender and faithful repose with which they sit and obey the commands.
Once the soul had won access to the Master in his Radiant Form within, its major task was over. The rest was a matter of time. It could of course be taken directly to higher planes by the Satguru, but he worked out the progress gradually for else, as was the case with an insistent Pundit, the shock and strain of it would be too great. When you join the Master inside, you will be able to perceive all things, from the beginning to eternity. The Master talks with His disciple face to face in all the planes and gives him wise counsel in times of need.
A disciple should never be content until he or she contacts the Master within, face to face, in His Luminous Form and talks to Him as one ordinarily does without. You should gather up all your thoughts to gain this end as early as possible, for then alone all your worries will come to an end.
