Words
fail to describe the eminence of the True Master. If not impossible, it is certainly
difficult to strike words for his glory. In short, True Master is the one who removes the
dirt and dross afflicting the disciple's mind, who rescues it from bewilderment, from
darkness, and satiates its longing. He is the one who makes his disciple spiritually
awakened and illumines his mind with Divine Light. He is the one who makes him
God-conscious, Self-conscious.
This
world is a dense forest where man is required to fend for himself. In every field of life,
he feels the necessity of a guide - proficient, competent and kind, who may enable him to
reach the destination. Man would like to know the way to get rid of the intricacies of the
world. There is a thirst in his heart, which he would like to quench as early as possible.
The role of his parents, it seems, does not go beyond bringing him physically into this
world. The father brings up the child and leaves him alone at the doorstep of the worldly
tangles. As he grows in age and moves forward, the child comes under the ever increasing
influence of tendencies like ego, jealousy, hatred, avarice and so on. And burning with
these emotions, he becomes narrow-minded and selfish. This makes
his life turbulent, troublesome and painful. In view of all this, one cannot deny the need
of a guide to get rid of the worldly problems and complexities. However, a disciple must
approach only a spiritual guide who is already one with the God Almighty.
According
to the Sufi line of thought, one certainly needs the True Master in order to save himself
from the world of materialism. No other person may be competent enough to rescue the
disciple from this devil. Sufi poets have described the True Master as the fountainhead of
spiritual enlightenment, while Sufi saints have mentioned him as the ocean of God
Knowledge. Saints and sages have regarded the
grace of the True Master as a means to cross the ocean of materialism. By following the
word of the True master, they say, one attains the peace of mind, the state of bliss. They
proclaim that with the True Master's grace one can cross the world of materialism, which
is nothing but an ocean of pain and sorrow. The name of saint Malook Das is prominent
among those who hold this view. Sufi poets like Noor Mohammad, Osman, Qasim Shah, Sheikh
Rahim, Ali Murad and others have also eulogised the True Master, giving him almost the
same exalted place. Similarly, Bulle Shah, Kabir, Dayabai, Paltu and many other Sufi
saints like them, have also praised the True Master with great eloquence and deep sense of
reverence. In view of this, if we drop the portions devoted to the glory of the True
Master, all religious books or holy scriptures will appear to be mere coulds without water - dry, meaningless and insignificant. In the absence of the
praise of the True Master, their value will certainly be diminished.
The
True Master is held in the highest esteem. Since he reveals God to the disciple, no other
person is considered to deserve greater reverence than the spiritual guide. The edifice of
Divine Knowledge cannot be visualized without the True Master providing the foundation. He
is the angel in human form. The True Master relieves man of his pain and sorrow, rather
raises him above the same. He bestows a new life on man and makes him noble and pious. The
spiritual knowledge and the guidance received from the True Master awakens the dormant
virtues and adorns man with righteousness. It makes his life purposeful. It turns his
thinking positive. The proximity of the True Master puts an end to his sins just as the
proximity of fire destroys the dry wood. In short, as the disciple's faith in the True
Master grows, he himself goes on imbibing the divine qualities of the True Master. This
makes him live longer, enrich life with more and more sublimity and enhance his
reputation.
One
should never find fault with True Master. One should never be arrogant with him. One
should never insist on a particular thing. In case the True Master does not like a thing
or is not happy over something, every effort should be made to win back his pleasure, to
make him pleased. Nothing remains unfulfilled, if the True Master is pleased. One can find
everything by pleasing the True Master. The Sufi saints declare that the one who has pleased the True Master, has pleased all the angels of God. The
service of the True Master is a religious duty that brings solace to the mind of the
disciple. One gets everything without asking for the same. Even to remember the True
Master leads to happiness. One's heart is filled with divine light that removes the
darkness of ignorance. All the worldly dust stands wiped off from the mirror of the
disciple's heart.
It may not be out of place to mention here that the True Master loves all his disciples ignoring their failings and shortcomings. He wants their life to be more and more cleansed. If some disciples, however, think that the True Master is pleased only with them and they start considering themselves superior to others, they may have to repent and realize their mistake, because the glory of the True Master lies in the fact that he loves all.