[ From The Harmonist or Sree SajjanaToshani VOL. XXVII, No 3 , June, 1929 By Prof. Jatindra. Mohan Ghose, M.A., B.L. ]
“KNOCK, and the door will be open unto you”—so says the Holy Bible. Let us see what it means. We may at once say, the general run of readers of the Bible understand it in quite a different light from the Indian Transcendentalists.
The apparent meaning of the text is—and this is the interpretation of almost all people—that if we endeavour patiently and persistently we can reach the goal and acquire the desired objects. So that the acquisition of the desired thing rests entirely with us, it is within our means and reach and there is nothing else that may count in the fulfillment of our desired.
We admit; there is a good deal of truth in the above meaning put upon it, and it may hold good more or less in almost all cases. Yet we must say, there is not the whole truth in this meaning. Although this Interpretation may be partly acceded to with regard to efforts for things mundane, it cannot be so admitted in the case of matters spiritual; moreover, the above truth has been said with regard to spiritual truth. In whatever sphere, spiritual or material, the above saying may be applied, in its popular interpretation, one factor is generally and sadly ignored— that is—the opener of the door.
Efforts of knocking in varying degrees and methods no doubt rests with a particular individual. But to judge its propriety, earnestness, intensity and the Tightness of the method, and the freedom of giving response to it, depends entirely upon the mercy of the Master of the house inside the door in whose hands the key is.
The Master may take mercy and respond; He may open the door, let the knocker in, show him things within, and may bestow upon him anything He likes. The knocker may only knock and pray, it is for the Master to listen to the prayer and open the lock. The Master has the absolute liberty and authority in this matter. Nor can the man break open the door and capture the things from the inside. Even in this material world in one out of a hundred cases, one can hardly break open the door of the house of another. Then what to speak of breaking open the gate of the transcendental region of the Lord?
Efforts of mortal beings do not reach the gate of Heaven go easily, So, in order to properly understand the true meaning of the passage quoted above, two things have always to be borne in mind, viz., the freedom of an individual to knock and pray, and the absolute freedom of the Lord to show mercy.
We are free conscious beings, and can and do make a free choice of doing anything or not. When we make the right choice and go the right way, we prosper and become happy; otherwise we suffer. We may choose to make efforts for knowing the truth and to pray to the Lord to reveal it. But our desire and prayer to know must be sincere and ardent, and our efforts must be directed in the right way. Improper method and misdirected efforts will only lead to disappointment. Here comes in the necessity of submission to and help from an expert who knows the Truth and can be a proper guide. He knows the right method—which is again the eternal method—and is competent to properly advise and lead the sincere seeker to the ultimate goal. Our individual freedom does not preclude such advice and guidance from the expert, the true preceptor. Rather, proper use of freedom implies it. It is our free choice to submit to him for attaining true and eternal freedom. For to know the Truth is the highest freedom. Such submission to the good preceptor, i. e., the expert, continues even when we have reached the Truth.
For the Absolute Truth or Godhead ever reveals Himself, that is, responds—through the good preceptor who is in eternal communion with Him on the same transcendental plane, and is His eternally associated Counterpart. Bound as we are in this limited world with limited capacities, our poor efforts of themselves cannot go very far and transcend the mundane limit. It is the mercy and help of the good preceptor eternally playing the role of the Saviour that accepts and complements our efforts and reaches them to the Holy feet of the Godhead.
Our knocking reaches the door only through the preceptor—the Saviour, So that our knocking practically means earnest and complete submission and abandonment to the feet of Godhead’s saviour on this earth. Then and then only have we properly and surely knocked. We may now really and reasonably expect a response, and the response too now really begins to descend. Sincerity and earnestness are established in proportion to the submission to the preceptor. It may now please God to open the door. As a matter of fact, under such circumstances, i. e., on the completion of submission. God does respond and fling open the door of His mystery and beauty to the ardent votary. Although He is absolutely free in this matter of showing mercy and opening the door, yet when the good preceptor or the Saviour takes along the submit, ted Soul up to the door and appeals in His favour, God withholds His freedom and blesses the devotee with His infinite mercy of revelation. This is what is meant by saying Godhead, the Absolute Lord of the Universe, is submissive to (the wishes of) His devotee.
This is how proper knocking is done and the door opens up. Indian transcendentalists,—true devotees—understand the text of the Bible quoted above in this sense only—which is really the true meaning of the text.
It is so declared in the Sruti—Truth is not attainable by mere mental speculation, neither by extraordinary merit nor by extensive learning. Truth may be attained by him alone whom Truth selects, i. e.. He pleases to favour. To him (the favoured or the chosen) Truth reveals His ownself, (Kat. Upa 1-2-23).
It is not possible for an ordinary creature to achieve this end independently of direction and assistance from the good preceptor. The secret of successful knocking and prayer is never known to an ordinary being, for it concerns a thing belonging to a plane beyond and above the mental, and passes all ordinary human comprehensions. No amount of mental activities and earthly learning is of any avail in comprehending things of the spiritual plane. Accordingly a course of discipline is indispensably necessary in order to qualify for admission into the Kingdom of Heaven—to learn to rise above the plane of mental existence for eternally living in the spiritual plane. The good preceptor—the spiritual guide—can train up and enable a man to rise above the mortal mental and physical existence so that the man can reach the gate of Truth and properly Knock at it.
As has been said above this good preceptor—although appearing in human garb, and seemingly moving like an ordinary mortal,— is ever one of the spiritual plane but mercifully come down to this earth; is firmly established in the Absolute Truth, perfectly competent to answer all questions and remove all doubts of a sincere seeker, and to enlighten and show the way. It is the preceptor who takes the devoted seeker aloft, the only condition of his such selfless and invaluable service being absolutely unselfish and perfect surrender on the part of the seeker himself. Of course, such a good preceptor—the Superme—cannot be found out at every turn of the street. Yet he is, and is not unavailable to a sincere seeker. For he is ever here by the infinte mercy of God for helping such seekers. And it is a very curious secret and inscrutable Divine Law that such a preceptor is found out and trusted upon by an earnest and sincere seeker only and none else.
Further it is another such law that whenever the merciful God is pleased to reveal Himself ( Truth ) to any soul on the earth, He does it through the Acharyya, the good preceptor who is his trusted eternal servant, by creating a keen desire for such an Acharyya—the spiritual guide, and persuading a sincere faith and reliance on the Acharyya,—in the mind of the seeker of Truth. If one would believe in such Acharyya, well and good. If not, he is doomed to grope about in the meshes of darkness of ignorance for long and long till he is made to put faith and seek shelter in the ever merciful Acharyya. Whatever and however much may be said against this, it is but divine despensation. There is no other way.
The seeker now surrenders to the good preceptor and becomes his disciple. The preceptor too accepts him and sets him on a course of discipline. He is now set on the path to the gate of Truth, and with the preceptor’s constant and unstinted help at every step makes advance towards the goal. The good preceptor teaches him how to approach and knock. He gradually approaches and ultimately reaches and knocks. The Lord is now pleased with him at his sincere and disinterested devotion, and mercifully opens up the door of the realm of Truth and eternal bliss. He is admitted in and here begins the devotee’s new yet eternal spiritual life of uninterrupted direct service of the Lord, and he is constantly merged in the ocean of perfect bliss. Here too the devotee finds himself beside his ever merciful good preceptor who as ungrudgingly gives him all directions and opportunities of enjoying the bliss.
The seeker first learns to Knock and then Knocks. The door is flung open, and he is permitted in and finds himself face to face with Infinite Truth, This light in which the Indian transcendentalists understand this passage of the Bible will appeal and be intelligible to those only who have firm faith in the Godhead as also in the good preceptor—the true servant of God.
Gaura Hari Haribol