By : C. L. Gulati

Ever since the advent of mankind, progress made in the sphere of civilisation directly or indirectly, centers round two aspects: Science of Life and Philosophy of Life. The anatomy of the body has been studied to such an extent that now man can withstand diseases and live a healthier life. Millions of people are living in the world with artificial limbs in their bodies. Producing ‘Test Tube Baby’ is the latest trial in this field. The comforts and conveniences that scientific progress has added to human life can well be imagined from our daily life-experience. Man is now able to fly in the air like a bird and swim in the sea like a fish. While attaining mastery in the science of life, the equal and next important aspect is the philosophy of life, the which aims at making man live on the earth like a man, worth the name.

One of the greatest modern psychologists Sir Jung has described in his book Modern Man in Search of Soul that among all his patients, there had not been even one whose problem in the last resort was not that of finding a religious outlook on life. Another noted psychologist Dr. Hadfield also shares his experience the same way when he says that he attempted to cure his nervous patients with suggestions of quietness and confidence but without success until he linked those suggestions on to their faith in the power of God. Then the patient became strong.

The modern man has no time to think of God. Despite astounding material achievements, there is at the bottom an emptiness and yearning for peace. Great thinker, Augustine of Hippo, writes, "Restless are out souls until they rest in Thee, my God." He further adds, "There are plenty of people who are dead without knowing Him." Knowledge of God establishes relationship of man with his Creator. It is through this relation that an element of spirituality can be imparted to human thought and action. A man’s life is incomplete without knowing God. People with lacerated hearts have gone to the extent of saying that even if there is no God, let us create one; therein lies true happiness of life.

Trying to live superhumanly, man has sunk into a kind of superhumanly. Bereft of knowledge of God, the world has become an inferno of frustrations and dejection. From North Pole to South Pole, it seems to be a vast seething cauldron. It is, therefore, high time to ponder where the human race is heading to. In the absence of spirituality, man is just like a cadaver with psychological blindness, while mankind, as a whole a ship without a rudder in the grip of waves of the tempestuous sea.

The apostles laboured hard, the martyrs died in torments, the scholars and the scientists proclaimed the beauties of higher life, the sociologists untiringly inculcated the sense of duty, the philosophers thought sublime thoughts. However, all agreed that God is one and that man’s first duty is to realise Him. If a man loses faith in God, he loses faith in himself. This spells crisis of character, resulting in chaos and violence in the society.

It is this philosophy of life, which is the subject matter of the Nirankari Mission. The Mission is neither a new sect not a splinter group nor a reformist movement. As has been done by the prophets and the seers down the ages, the Mission ‘deals’ with the spirit in man and lays stress on the role of the individual, because it is the inter-relation and liaison of the individuals that go to constitute the human society. Ultimately, the unit of a family, nation or human society is the individual. And who is that individual? You and I. Therefore, no power ion earth can possibly realise the slogans of world peace and human brotherhood unless relation between you and I, i.e. man and man become smooth and sweet. The fulcrum of every world problem, in reality, lies in our own minds and hearts. Far-reaching results can be achieved only by making a start at the nearest point, and that nearest point is one's own self. If each individual is at peace the world at large would, automatically, be at peace.

It is not a matter of choice, but sheer chance that one is born in a particular family. Surrounded by the walls of religion, caste, colour, creed languages, diet, dress, culture, etc., human family stands shattered by artificial divisions, conflicting ideologies and ism. Consequently, the human race is now passing through a period of tension and turmoil, but efforts have failed to reverse the gear of human degradation. Though gregarious by nature, human beings stand completely divided. They do not even mix up with each other, freely. As a result, there is no mutual love. In the absence of love, there is no reciprocal respect. Lack of respect breeds distrust, which ultimately culminates in hatred and consequent violence all around, alienating man from man. Loss of love is, therefore, the root cause of shocking crash of human values, resulting in global tension. Man unto man is a wolf!

To check all the human maladies, we have to reverse the gear from violence to love and peace, by realising the Fatherhood of God, the by-product of which is the spontaneous Brotherhood of Mankind. Though invisible, God is a concrete and cosmic force, unifying the whole universe. The Nirankari Mission asserts that God-realisation is the mortar, which can bind together the many-shaped bricks of human society into a coherent structure. It vouchsafes that it is possible to realise the dream of a world family with the unifying bond of love among its members in the wake of realisation of Fatherhood of God.

The Nirankari Mission believes in God, who is one, omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, eternal, formless, a non-psychic objective reality and perceivable. He is distinct from celestial bodies known as the sun, moon stars, and gross elements such as the earth, water, fire and subtle elements such as air, ether and Jiva (embodied soul). These nine elements constitute the entire creation and the tenth is the all-pervading Divine Spirit, which creates, sustains and regulates the whole universe.

Five Elements

The Nirankari Mission believes that a human being is made up of the five (basic) elements i.e. the earth, water, fire, air, ether, plus the soul. The first five material constituents form the body, while the sixth represents the individual unit of consciousness. However, the deficiency of one element cannot be made good by any other . For example, the necessity of water cannot be met with earth, fire, air or ether. Similarly, the lack of air cannot be replenished with water or ether, and so on. Exactly on the same pattern, on material elements can substitute the sixth i.e. the soul or the individual unit of consciousness.

The human body fulfils its material needs from the corresponding mainstreams of earth, water, fire, air, etc. Though simple, these elements, are precious for human life, and are easily and abundantly available around us. Likewise, God is the mainstream of individual unit of consciousness. In fact, God is the ultimate reality of life and everything else. The living experience of this objective reality is indispensable for the fulfillment of the prime aim of human life.

This reality has been termed as Nirankar (Formless God). In fact, all that we see is unreal, as it decays and dies. But what we do not see is real, because out of this invisible power, visible comes into existence. The changeless in the changing world is existence. The changeless in the changing world is called God and the changeless in the changing body is called the soul. The one who realises Nirankar is known as a Nirankari. The Mission imparts the Knowledge of Nirankar (Formless God) to the God-seekers; hence its name, the Nirankari Mission.

As an intake of pure drinking water does not interfere with one's religion or ideological background, the realisation of the cosmic consciousness also does no come in conflict with one's existing religious or political ideology. The Nirankari Mission reiterates that it is the prime purpose of every human being to realise the sixth aspect of the human life, irrespective of his cultural, socio-economic, religious or ideological background. This spells unity in diversity. The unity is Knowledge of God and the diversity, different cultures, languages and ideological systems.

This way the widespread alienation between man and man is abridged. They come closer by understanding and appreciating each other's viewpoint, faith and philosophy which, in turn, are discovered to be like the petals of the same flower, emitting the same fragrance. Understanding and imbibing of human values is as significant as anything else. Our civilisation, which is a civilisation of machine, can teach man everything except how to be a human. The spiritual Nirankari Mission has undertaken this job to teach man "To be human."

The Nirankari Mission does not convert anyone to a new faith, but harks the seekers back to their respective faiths with added firmness. They are advised to understand and acquire a deeper understanding of their Holy Scriptures in all minute philosophical details, so that they can live together in a spirit of peaceful and harmonious co-existence. The Mission thus represents a right about turn, as it makes a welcome renascence of teachings of the past saints, seers, gurus, messengers and prophets. All the higher values of life such as love, humility, tolerance, fellow feeling and brotherhood have always flown though the True Master of the time. Today, the Nirankari Baba is generating the understanding of spirituality through as living revelation of God, thus paving the way to universal peace, unity and fraternity. The Mission lays stress on the role of individual, because if each individual is at peace, the world, at large, would, automatically, be at peace. The Mission is thus rehabilitating the human race by unlocking the Kingdom of Heaven through a holy communion between man and God, and eventual understanding between man and man, promising millenium of peace, bliss and happiness on the earth.

If one can easily acknowledge the concept of one God for all, it should not be difficult to accept the idea of one religion for all, i.e. the religion of man, a religion that can suit the whole human race. The Nirankari Mission had succeeded in achieving this end through a living revelation of God, the same for all religions, ignoring the non-essential rituals, which are different for different religions.

The world stands divided into sects and ism, each claiming to hold a banner of peace. But in order to maintain their assumed superiority, they do not hesitate striking others on the head with their banner-sticks. They are running amuck like excited molecules of an atom. It is, therefore, not the divided atom but the divided mankind, which is becoming more and more difficult to deal with.

As the Law of Gravitation was there even before Newton discovered it, the True Master has always been there to redeem the errant humanity. With the Divine Knowledge bestowed by the True Master, an enlightened person perceives God in all and all in God. He regards every human being as the image of God. With true love and faith thus developed, he starts loving and serving his fellow-beings in the real sense. A compass of righteousness is fitted in his heart, which always keeps him in the right direction and relieves him of doubts and superstitions. When spiritualism takes the place of ritualism, one follows and observes the golden tenet: All to give all for all! Consequently, one believes that all his assets, material and mental, belong to God, and as a trustee one should make use of these for the common good of whole human race. This spells a living above narrow prejudices and dogmas of caste, colour, creed, etc. One becomes tolerant towards others' mode of dress, diet and culture, and leads a purposeful and harmonious life. God-realisation is thus, a panacea for all ills.

Lord Jesus Christ says:

"I am the way, the Truth, the Life. None can comets unto the Father but by me."

- Bible (John 14:6)

In the absence of actual realisation, God is different for different persons; even different occasions for the same person. Seemingly, religions differ from one another because they were originally preached at different times and in different environments. Yet identifying their genesis, one discovers that all seek to lead man to the common goal of God-realisation. For the realisation of God, who is all pervading, all that is needed is the grace of a True Master. A True Master does not prescribe any rituals rather he frees the disciples' form such bondage. No amount of individual effort can help reveal God to any one. It is purely a matter of grace of the Satguru that God-knowledge is bestowed:

"By grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourself. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast."

• Bible (Ephesians 2:8)

As we can see the sun with its own light only, we can test the Satguru on the touchstone of the knowledge imparted by him. The True Master is the communicator of Dive Truth. He is the object of devotion and his voice is the veritable voice of God. Anyone, who approaches him, perceives God. The True Master's sole mission is to communicate the Message of Truth and Light to the whole mankind. He manifests himself to fulfil the task of his predecessors. He himself leads a household life and does not require others to renounce the world in search of Truth.

Today, the Nirankari Baba bestows enduring peace of mind on the seeker by establishing a Holy Communion between him and his Maker. He lays stress on character building and leading a pious life worth emulating by others. Completely identifying themselves with God, his devotees show deepest regards and respect for all the great masters and scriptures and fellow-humans.