32 I Human Life: A Unique Chance for Spiritual Growth – Part 1

In this first part of a 1988 talk, Dr. Harbhajan Singh shares deep insights into the purpose of human life. He explains that the man-body is not only the highest rung in creation, but also the only vessel through which we can solve the mystery of death and realize the Godpower within. Through stories, scripture references, and spiritual analogies, Dr. Harbhajan Singh invites us to rise above body consciousness, overcome illusion, and open the third eye—the seat of the soul.

He clarifies the distinction between theory and practical spirituality, warns of the illusions created by the mind and senses, and emphasizes the uniqueness of a competent spiritual Master’s guidance. The talk offers a direct call to self-introspection and awakening: to go within, recognize the divine Light and Sound, and begin the true art of life.

Transcript

Part 1
Dear brothers and sisters,
I am happy to see you all. I am not going to tell you a new philosophy. It is a very, very old philosophy, since the world began. Man is older than all the philosophies of the world, because everything existed due to man and for man. Man is the highest rung in creation, he is next to God. When God wished that Power came into existence, He created man first and then ordered gods and goddesses to bow before him, because God Himself manifests in man. It is said in all Holy Scriptures that man-body is the true temple of God. God lives in it, and we also live in it. Both live in the human body.
Whatever we read in the Holy Scriptures, that has come out of man. Man is the source of all this knowledge. Every saint has a past and every sinner a future. A saint used to be like us. He solved the mystery of death and became one with that very Power that exists in us. He became a God in man. He became a God-man. As Christ said, “The Word was made flesh and dwelled amongst us.” Whatever exists in the Holy Scriptures is in the man-body. But whatever is in the man-body is not all written in the Holy Scriptures. Man is the abode of all virtues, because he has the link with that Higher power that sustains the whole body and the whole world.
Man is a wonderful creation in the universe, in all the three universes. All holy places like churches, temples, mosques and gurdwaras are made in the shape of the human body. Either they are nostril-shaped like temples and churches, or they are dome-shaped like mosques and gurdwaras. When Guru Nanak went to Persia, there he met Qazi Rukan Din. Qazi Rukan Din inquired from Him, as he was a great saint, whether he had seen the house of God. He said, “This is the house of God” and then he mentioned that he has twelve pillars. This man-body has twelve pillars. It has 52 minarets, 32 teeth and 20 nails. It has two windows – above that, this Power resounds in the holy body. This is the place where that Godpower resounds and we get power back into the man-body.
From where we enter the man-body, all the Masters say that there is a tenth door. When we enter a church, temple, gurdwara or mosque, what do we do there? We light a candle, we light a chirag, we light a diva, or a jot. These are different words, but they all mean a candle (light). So there is no difference between the light; there is only distinction due to the language differences. And then the sound resounds within, like the sound of a bell. When we enter a church, we ring the bell. These are inward symbols that have been brought outside, and these churches are made according to the symbols of the human body. This light and the sound are within the holy body. The Bible, Guru Granth Sahib and all other holy scriptures tell us about the Light and Sound Principle – a way back to God. We have to enter into it; and when we enter into it we come into contact with the Light and Sound Principle. And where does this Light and Sound Principle take us? (To the place) from where the sound of the bell is coming. So our contact in the human body is constant and fresh every moment, since we came into the world.
This preference is given to the man-body alone, to the human body, to realize himself and to realize the Over-self, throughout the creation. This is what is written in the holy Bible. It is our turn to meet God and all other things are side issues. The human body is a gift from God, like in the spring season when the flower blossoms – and when there are flowers, there is a hope for fruit as well. So it is a fruit, it is a gift from God. This man-body is the most precious thing in the world. Kabir says, “One breath that you take in or you take out is priceless. It has more worth than the price of three worlds.” Because this world will not exist, but that exists due to us. But we can attain our Godhood. No other (being) can get this Godhood in the world. So man is the highest rung in creation and is loved by all species, gods and goddesses, avataras.
It is said in the holy scriptures that millions of people come into the world and millions go. Some people take birth in the world, some die from the world, so there is a coming and going process that continues forever. But there are very few blessed souls who go back – after solving the mystery of life. And they are welcomed from stage to stage. Gods and goddesses, and the whole creation lines up to welcome such souls.
The glory that exists in the human body is something unique. We can see that beauty only when we go within, because it (the body) is a wonderful house we live in. There is no beauty in the world which can be compared to the beauty that exists inside. The real thing is within. The outer is only a copy of it. The permanent thing is within and that what vanishes is outside.
We are not the body – we are an indweller of the body. Because it is a rare chance, given to us for a certain period – not for all the time. It is a (limited) time factor which is allotted to us. Only for what purpose? To solve the mystery of death – and for no other purpose. Because man has come into the world – maybe in many forms – but each time he got action and reaction to it. So we had the pralabdh karmas to come into the man-body, and we have to lose those karmas here.
This world is a shadow of reality. Masters say that it is maya. And what is maya? It is something different on the outside, but it is something very different on the inside. You may say, it is an illusion and we are constantly living in the illusion, because maya starts from where? From the body. Because if one forgets his home, he will forget it – throughout the world, throughout his life. If we forget the true purpose of the man-body, we remain throughout our sojourn in life in that state. And Master says: You are directly under the shadow – you are directly under illusion. Because we have the man-body, we have the physical body and our contact is with the physical world. Both exist together, so we do not make any difference. Yes you can say, when two trains drive in the same direction at the same speed – the passenger feels as if they are standing still. So it is an illusion.
Master says, “How to get rid of the illusion?” You just rise above the plane of senses, rise above body consciousness. (When) your third eye is opened and if you see the world with the astral eye – see the physical world with the astral eye – naturally your angle of vision will be changed. You go up the mountain, you see the city below – you see each and everything; where the smoke arises, how the whole work is going on. Even while travelling by plane, you see that big mountains look like mounds and rivers appear like little streams. Your angle of vision is changed only when you leave the body and come above that level.
Only when you rise above body consciousness can you realize the difference – the difference in the relationship between ourselves and the world. Because everybody feels that difference at the time of death. When one leaves the body this phenomenon comes before his eyes. When his third eye is open and he is driven from the man-body – and his contact is lost forever with the world, only for a moment he understands this phenomenon. And in that moment, he can do nothing. He simply has to weep over what he has done in the world – for what harm he did to this human body. He has to repent over it.
So what do Masters tell us? Masters tell us the significance and purpose of the human body. Because the purpose of the human body is to solve the mystery of death – because death is our last enemy that we have to conquer in the world.
You know, a king may conquer the whole world, but he cannot conquer his own mind nor he cannot come above the body consciousness. You know, Alexander the Great, his wish was to rule over the whole world and for that he determined his view. He couldn’t do that. But when his end came, only that time he said, “Why didn’t you say these words to me earlier?” Because his eye was opened, his angle of vision was changed, and he could only realise in that moment that his purpose was not to rule the world, but his purpose was to rule over his mind. And then he had to weep and go back.
We are micro-rulers in this world, I tell you. And due to our mind, everybody roams in this world – enjoys the world through the outgoing faculties of the mind – and with which the man is more identified with the world, even beyond it, and beyond his senses.
When man goes beyond his senses, beyond his thoughts, he becomes a worthless (disoriented) person in the world; he loses his temper, he loses his wits (sanity). Though he doesn’t recognize it beforehand, he experiences that phenomenon when his accounts are put before him. He sees whatever he has done, because he simply loses this human body. He doesn’t lose the attachment, ego or even sexuality.
All these things go with the soul, because these things came out of our wishes. And who gave that power? The soul itself. We are not the body. We are not the mind. We are not the outgoing faculties of the mind. We are not the sense-organs. We are the soul in the man-body – that power which is driven away at the time of death, and then we have no more connection with this man-body. And that power that is driven away from the body – that is what we are. And what is that power? That is the spirit. The whole subject that is written in the Bible is the spirit. The whole subject that is written in other holy scriptures – that is of the spirit.
Everyone in the world is in search of happiness, of peace of mind. Whatever happiness we feel from day to day is our self-created. Out of worldly wishes which we create, fulfil, or you may say, this is the outcome of our mind, through the outgoing faculties of the mind – and that is not permanent. We want to have bliss, happiness all the time. For that purpose we have to seek the higher value of life. And what is that higher value of life? We have to get rid of the illusion. We have to know what is what. You know, to know for that purpose, we have to come back into the man-body. Now we are identified outside. So far you do not come back into the body and then you rise above the body consciousness from where you get the life. Your life is there in the body, but you do not know where life exists. And if you reach that very point or that very centre, you will come in contact with everlasting bliss therein.
You know, now it is the summer season. Today it is very hot. You can sit in the shadow of a tree, but you cannot get hold of the shadow. While living in the man-body, it is also a shadow. You cannot hold this body, because it is not permanent. You have to leave it. But simply you can solve the mystery of death. That is our purpose. That is the real purpose. Just like sitting under the tree, you can feel, you can get rid of the hot weather, similarly you can, while living in this man-body, you can get rid of the clutches of the negative power and that of the mind and you can solve the mystery of death. And that is the real purpose of human life. This man-body is merely a shadow for some time. You have to rise above that shadow, no exception to the rule. All the Masters so far came in the world, they have one opinion, they rose above. Every saint has a past and every sinner a future.
Now this man-body or each one of us has become merely a source of attachment. But for how long will it remain the source of attachment? We have to leave that. Our condition is like a monkey who holds the branch very firmly, but the powerful human hand takes him away from the branch of the tree. He is not proud of his own power. He is proud of that very branch which he holds. He tells, this branch will not leave him. That is an illusion.
Kabir says that the man-condition is like a dog in the house of mirrors, which barks at his own reflection. And that is due to ignorance. That is due to illusion, a very big illusion. That is what everyone is doing.
Let us think very attentively, leaving each and everything aside, because these things do not belong to us. Let us forget those things for a moment. We should think about what we are, who we are. Let us try to realize ourselves. Everyone feels that they are not the body, they are the indweller of the body, some higher power is working. Our contact is with that higher power. And I tell you, it’s better to believe yourself. When you will believe yourself? When you become true to yourself, when you realize what is what. Only after that you can know something higher, or you may say, the higher value of life. For that purpose we have to analyse ourselves. And those who realize themselves, they can realize the God within. Because realizing ourselves means, we are not the body, we are the same essence as that of God and that God lives in us.
After all, what is the fate of a man? Your friend was with you for some time and he is no more in the physical body; what has left him, and what is within you? The power which has left him, that is still working in you and you are no more his friend. And this is due to a big illusion, we do not understand. We must first understand our existence in the world, it is just like a bubble in the water. And what is there in the bubble? There the air is rising into the water. The air is rising into the water, when that slips down, it is no more bubble, it is no more drop there.
(There was a) noble man whose horse was driven away by the thief. And in the morning he went to the temple, he started praying to God, “Oh God, you blessed me. The way you blessed me, you must bless all human beings.” One man who was standing nearby, who knew that he was dependent upon the horse. He even used to feed his children out of the income of the horse. He said, “What nonsense are you saying?” He said, yes, he is saying right, because last night he was not riding on the horse. Otherwise he could also be driven (away) by the thief. So he must thank God. Actually this is the horse and we are the rider in the body. If we do not get down off the horse, if we do not detach from the horse – the rider must know how to ride on the horse and how to come out of the horse, come down off the horse. Otherwise, if we do not learn, we become permanent riders in this man-body. A time will come, when the horse and the rider, both will be driven away by the yama, the angel of death; and this is an illusion.
In this man-body, we have become the permanent rider and we have not learned how to leave it, because we do not know how to leave it and where to go. You know, why do people dread death? Because of the agony they have to face, they have not known. If you know something, then you overpower it. You experience something, you go into the laboratory and do the practical yourself, then you know what is what. It is a wonderful house we live in. You have to enter the laboratory of the house and then you can solve the mystery of death. All the competent Masters of the world, they did it and their fine records are with us in the form of holy scriptures. And we bow down, but we do not – we simply bow down, I tell you. But pity – we misuse them. Really, we misuse them. Because we read, but we do not obey. So simply there is a reason to know those things, perfectly and permanently, because these books will not give you the right aspect as you need it. Because there is a theoretical aspect of life in the holy scriptures. You need the practical aspect of life. Where do you have to enter? You have to enter the church. You have to read the Bible therein. And that is the church and there is the Bible. The Bible came from within. It is placed in the church. So when you enter into it, there you can read the true aspect of life. How can you read it? Analysing practically. So Master says, “Reading, writing, drawing inferences – all these are subject to error. Seeing is above all.” When you see a thing, then you trust the same thing. You know, when the sun rises, you see each and everything with its original condition.