EVALUATE YOURSELF THROUGH THE EYE OF JESUS CHRIST
amandeep
GOD is eternal and unchangeable. So is the voice of the Great Masters,
who manifest themselves from time to time to guide the mankind to the
Kingdom of God. Like the shower of rain, the word of the Master is
alike for one and all. However, as the impact of rain varies from soil
to soil, the word of the Master affects different people differently.
This fact is illustrated by Lord Jesus Christ when he says:
"A sower sows seed. Some seeds fall on the roadside and is eaten by
birds; other seed falls on soil with an underlying rock-moss. Since
the roots lack depth, the new plants wither under the scorching sun.
Still other seed falls among thorns, which choke the plants when they
come up. Finally, some seed falls on good soil and produces a hundred-
fold yield."
What does this illustration means? The seed is the word of the Master
and the soil is the human heart. Some people are devilish by nature
and in conduct. The Satanic forces do not allow the word of the Master
to enter into the heart of such people. They even oppose the Master
preaching the message of truth and righteousness. They are tyrants who
made the wise Socrates and the great saint Meera Bai to drink poison,
crucified Jesus Christ and inflicted indescribable sufferings on Guru
Arjun Dev Ji. History testifies the reality of such beings. We know
that Prithivi Chand was the elder brother of Shri Guru Arjun Dev Ji
and was the incharge of Langer (community kitchen) and also looked
after other important jobs, in the Darbar (Court) of Sri Guru Ram Das
Ji, the fourth Guru, and the father of Prithivi Chand. He would daily
listen to the word of Guru Ram Das Ji but his mind was not set on the
teachings of the Guru. Out of jealousy, Prithivi Chand, connived with
the Mughal authorities who committed unspeakable atrocities on his
real brother, Guru Arjun Dev Ji. There are numerous such examples. The
heart of majority of the people is governed by the Satan. They either
do not listen to the word of the Master or let it slip away from their
mind because they are worldly-minded, not spiritually-minded. Their
view of life is very short-sighted; they cannot see beyond the
physical existence of life. Human and moral values have no meaning for
them. Being narrow-minded and short- sighted, they do not know what
life really is and its prime purpose.
The second type of people are like the soil (heart) with an underlying
rock-moss. The rock-moss does not allow the seed (Master's word) to
take deeper roots, with the result that the plant withers away soon
due to the 'scorching heat' or some other reason. They do listen to
the word of the Master with great joy and praise fellow-devotees for
their lofty thoughts and try to win the heart of others by repeating
the Master's word. But the word of the Master is not deep-rooted in
their own heart, with the result that any upheaval in life shatters
their faith in God and they abandon the path of truth and
righteousness when a time of test or persecution comes. They are
neither honoured in this world nor welcomed in the Kingdom of God.
They are fair-weather friends and remain with the fellow devotees till
such time they get (worldly) respect and their material interests are
fulfilled. For such follower, Lord Jesus says :
"Everyone hearing these saying (teachings) of mine and not doing them,
will be likened to a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand.
And the rain poured down and the floods came and the winds blew and
struck against that house and it caved in, and its collapse was
great."
Here the floods are the ups and downs of life that shake the sand-
founded houses of faith and trust.
The third type of people are those who grow 'throns' of rites and
rituals, inhibitions and tradi-tions, customs and formalities in their
heart. These 'thorns' do not allow the seed of Master's word to sprout
into a blooming plant. The worldly temptations and attach-ments divert
their attention towar-ds the worldly affairs and material possessions.
They want to please others with the motive to win their applause. For
this type of people, Lord Jesus remarks:
"An out-of-focus eye leads to a mistaken estimate of things, to
putting material pursuits ahead of service to God, with the result
that the "whole body" becomes dark... No one can slave for two
masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he
will stick to the one and despise the other. You cannot slave for God
and for riches."
(The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived, p.35)
The fourth type of people are those whose soil (heart) is fertile and
every seed in the form of Master's word is deep-rooted, and well-
nurtured with the water and manure of selfless service (Seva), God-
remembrance (Simran) and Congregation (Sangat). Such godly beings
retain the word of the Master in their heart and live up to the same
in their day-to-day life. They are one in word and deed. They do not
argue about the word of the Master. Rather, they follow each and every
word of the Master, in letter and spirit. They are the true devotees.
They do not hanker after worldly name and fame. They want to be
eternally at the holy feet of the Master. They do not run after the
worldly possessions; the latter follow the former, automatically. They
understand the reality of life and try to be one with the Almighty.
They sacrifice their own identity and adopt the identity of the
Master. As Sufi poet Bulle Shah wrote that he adopted Arain, the caste
of his Master, discarding his own caste, Sayeed. (Sayeed is a higher
caste than Arain). The trust and belief of such beings remains firm
under all circumstances. They never grudge the doings of God Almighty,
rather surrender to all His doings and express their gratitude for His
bounties and blessings. For such godly beings, Lord Jesus says :
"Everyone that hears these sayings of mine and built house upon rock-
moss. And the rain poured down and the floods came and the winds blew
and lashed against the house, but it did not cave in, for it had been
founded upon the rock-moss."
(The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived, p.35)
For such devotees, Jesus Christ further says:
"You are the light of the world. A lamp is not put under a basket but
is set on a lamp- stand. Likewise, let your light shine before men."
It is high time for each one of us to evaluate ourselves through the
eye of Lord Jesus Christ and ask ourselves in which category do we
fall:
- Do we obey the word of our True Master, in letter and spirit, or do
we interpret it to suit our self-interests and selfish motives?
- Do we serve selflessly, or with the expectation of some reward,
title, status or authority?
- Do we work for the welfare of the whole humanity, or only for the
people belonging to our own community, region and status?
- Do we live only for our own family members, or do we regard every
human as a member of our family?
- Do we share the sorrows and sufferings of others and pray for their
well-being, or only of our near and dear ones?
If our vision and approach is universal, we are no less than angels.
And, if we feel we lack this spirit, let us pray from the core of our
heart to the True Master to bless us to be as he wishes us to be. This
would be the highest achievement of our life.