With and Without Christ

Men in their folly use intoxicants, not only to forget their sorrow but also to get a passing exhilaration and joy. They have not even enough discrimination to know that while a pleasurable effect is obtained from these transitory stimulants, the joy to be found in Him Who has created these things must greatly transcend these pleasures and be more lasting. If they could once taste the true joy of the fulness of His presence, they would never again waste their precious time in seeking artificial pleasure in transient created things.

The foolishness of the world and the reality of Christ’s presence in us will be seen in this incident. A man called Moti Lal, when under the influence of drink, used to do all kinds of absurd and evil things. Some of his neighbours were rather pleased with his exploits and used to applaud him for them. Though he was in no way inclined to associate with Christians, he once went to stay with a true child of God, and there the pure goodness of the life of his friend so influenced him that his life was completely changed. When his neighbours and relatives saw how greatly he was changed, they became angry and began to persecute him, saying: ‘Now he has polluted himself and has forsaken all religion.” He replied: “I am amazed at you; when I was a drunkard and really was polluted you did not object to me. Now that I have repented of my evil life and been saved from it by Christ, you say I have polluted myself.”

When they saw that nothing they could say would make him forsake his faith in Christ, they put him out from his caste and from his home. He taised no complaint or lamentation, but with joy in his heart praised God and began to pray for his brethren. Then he set out across the river to another town. The river at that point was very wide and the ferry had hardly reached the middle when a heavy squall capsised it. Several passengers were drowned and Moti Lal saved himself only by swimming to the other bank.

Now, between what he had lost when driven away from home and what he had lost in the river, he had only a few rupees left, and these were soon taken from him by a band of robbers in the jungle where he had landed. Stripped of home, friends, and money, he was now alone in the world. Had he been without that new and uplifting experience of the Living Christ he would have been crushed. Outwardly all was gone, but that peace and consciousness of the presence of his Lord none could take from him. He told his story to the robbers and they were greatly affected. Then, full of joy and peace of heart, and with tears in his eyes, he said to the robbers: ‘All has been taken from me, but no one can take away from me the real riches which I have in Christ.”

When the robbers heard this, they returned his rupees to him, and he set off to the town. There he stayed and earned his living by his labor and, as far as he was able, continued to bear witness for Christ.

A Christian lady, who gave much of her time to the Lord’s service, fell sick and became a confirmed invalid, being confined to her bed for eighteen years. Her dear ones sympathised deeply with her in the heavy ctoss she had to bear and attended to her with love and patience. Her chief regret was that now she had no opportunity of serving the Lord, and she grieved both over the thought of how much she could have done had she been strong, and also of what a burden sue now was to others. But though she did not know it, she was influencing others by her life of prayer more, perhaps, than she could have done had she been strong. She lay on her bed like a beautiful and sweetscented flower. People who came to visit and comfort her used themselves to get comfort from her and have their lives made fragrant by her sweetness.

So greatly did this quiet influence make itself felt that a man who denied the truth of Christianity and who saw her lying there year after year in peace and happiness began to think that there must be some deep reality in her life, for no mere uninformed faith or imagination could ever have given her peace for such a length of time. Then, with renewed interest, he began again to study the Gospels and the life of Christ, and after a time he was convinced of their truth. He went to the lady and said: “It is unlikely that I should ever have believed in the saving power of our Living Lord and in the truth of Christianity in any other way than by seeing it in your life. I was stirred neither by beautiful sermons nor by the convincing arguments of theologians; but the miracle of your wonderful Christian life has been for me the strongest of all arguments, and is a living and convincing proof before which my philosophical arguments cannot stand. You are wrong when you think that if you had been healthy you would have done more work, for, if that had been true, God would have given you health. But in this weakness, you are doing a service you could not have done in any other way. Do not consider this a sickness, but a way of service that is better for you than all others. This is no bed of death, but a proof of the manifestation of eternal life in Christ.” When the lady saw this fresh proof that her sickness, like the death of Lazarus, was a means of glorifying God, then her already wonderful joy was still further increased. ‘Thus did her heavy cross prove to be a blessing to herself and to many others.

A few weeks ago I had a letter from an Armenian pastor. He had been one of those | present at the massacres of the Armenians a few years ago. He wrote, “Thousands of

true Christians were murdered before my eyes, and I myself was seriously wounded and left for dead. That was a fearful and heart-rending sight, but at the same time it was mingled with great joy. Though men and women, old and young, were being butchered with great cruelty, and with no mercy, yet the power of the Living Christ was manifest in every life. Even the murderers were amazed when they saw it. Strength was given to us according to our

need. Some of us saw Christ and angels

quite clearly and with great joy commended our souls to His keeping. In truth, it was not a day of assassination, but a wedding-day. I wish I had been taken away with the multitude of those martyrs; but still I thank God for this, that for a little further service He extricated me from among the martyrs, and had me taken to a place where in a few days my wound was healed, and I was again ready for work.”

Another Armenian friend also wrote of a similar experience to this through which he had passed, but it is not necessary to quote his letter here.

Many other wonderful incidents could be put forth in proof of the truth and reality of the Christian life. In practically every nation and people there are men and women who live their lives with Christ, and whose lives ate made fruitful with innumerable blessings which they receive from Him. What a real comfort it is for His people to know His life-giving presence, and to have experienced in their lives the truth of His precious promise, “Lo, Iam with you always”!

I was born in a family that was commonly considered Sikh, but in which the teaching of Hinduism was considered most essential, and my dear mother was a living example and faithful exponent of its teaching. She used to rise daily before daylight, and, after bathing, used to read the Bhagavad Gita and other Hindu scriptures. I was influenced more than the rest of the family by her pure life and teaching. She early impressed on me the rule that my first duty on rising in the morning was that I should pray to God for spiritual food and blessing, and that only after that should I breakfast. At times I insisted that I must have food first, but my God- fearing mother, sometimes with love, and sometimes with punishment, fixed this habit firmly in my mind, that I should first seek God, and after that other things. Although at that time I was too young to appreciate the value of these things, yet later on I realised it, and now, whenever I think of it, I thank God for that training, and I can never be sufficiently thankful to God for giving me such a mother, who in my earliest years instilled in me the love and fear of God. Her bosom was for me my best theological school, and she prepared me, as much as she was able, to work for the Lord as a Sadhu.

My mother for some years instructed me from the holy books of the Hindu scriptures, and then handed me over to a Hindu pundit, and to an old Sikh Sadhu. They used to come to our house for two or three hours daily to teach me. The pundit taught me simple lessons out of the Hindu S/astras, and, when he died, another pundit, Kashi Nath, taught me the Sanskrit scriptures. The venerable Sadhu taught me the Granth, or Sikh scriptures. I recognise that I got some degree of consolation from this teaching, but I was still hungering for real peace. They taught me with great sympathy and freely gave me the benefit of their experiences, but they had not themselves had that real blessing for which my soul was craving, so how could they help me to get it?

I often used to read the Hindu scriptures till midnight, that I might in some way quench the thirst of my soul for peace. My father often objected, saying: “It is bad for your health to read so late.” Though there was much in my home to make me happy, I was not attracted by it. My father often remonstrated with me, saying: “Boys of your age think of nothing but games and play, but how has this mania possessed you at so early an age? There is plenty of time to think of these things later in life. I suppose you must have got this madness from your mother and the Sadhu.”

I frequently asked the pundit to explain my spiritual difficulties for me. He said: “Your difficulties seem to be of a new and strange kind. I can only say that, when you grow up and get more experience and knowIedge about spiritual life, these difficulties will disappear of themselves. Now don’t worry about these things at present, but do what your father advises you.” I said to him: “Suppose I do not live till I grow up, then what will happen? Besides, this getting one’s hunger or thirst satisfied does not depend on age or on whether one is big or little. If a hungry boy asks for bread would you say, ‘Go and play, and when you are big and can understand the real meaning of hunger, then you will get bread’? Will he be happy in playing when he is hungry, or can he live till he is grown up if he gets no food? He should get food now. I feel very hungry now for spiritual bread. If you have not got it, then please tell me where and how I can get it. If you do not know where I can get it then say so.” The pundit said: “You cannot understand these deep spiritual things now. You cannot get to this grade of spirituality all at once. To get to it a long time — is essential. Why are you in such a hurry to get to it? If this hunger is not satisfied in this life it will be satisfied in your next re-births, provided that you keep on trying for it.” So saying, he evaded me, and my

I spoke to the Sadhu several times about my difficulties, but he also gave me a somewhat similar answer: “Do not worry about it. When you get knowledge (gyan), all these difficulties will disappear.” I replied: “No doubt it is true that when I obtain this perfect ultimate knowledge my difficulties will disappear, but even at this stage the little knowledge that I have should remove some of my difficulties, while I should be able to hope for further enlightenment in the future. But I do not see how this increase of knowledge will be able to do much, for it looks as if further knowledge will result in my needs and difficulties being still more clearly seen by me, and how will these new needs be met? Here one requires not only knowledge but bread for the hungry, for, when this little knowledge has shown my needs to me, then more knowledge will show more needs, so the question is: How am I to meet these needs?”

The Sadhu replied: “Not with imperfect, finite knowledge, but with perfect and final knowledge will your needs be met; for when you get perfect knowledge you will realise that this need, or want, is only an illusion, and that you yourself are Brahma (God) of a part of him, and, when you realise this, then what more will you need?” I persisted, ‘Excuse me, but I cannot believe this, for if I am a part of Brahma, or am myself Brahma, then I should be incapable of having any Maya (Illusion). But if Maya is possible in Brahma, then Brahma is no longer Brahma, for he has been subordinated to Maya. Hence

Maya is stronger than Brahma himself, and Maya will then not be Maya (Illusion) but will be a reality that has overcome Brahma, and we shall have to think of Brahma himself as Maya, and this is blasphemy.

“In this way, instead of helping me you ate throwing me into a whirlpool. I shall be most thankful to you if from your experience and knowledge you can help me to know him so that I may satisfy my spiritual hunger and thirst in him. But please remember that I do not want to be absorbed in him, but I do want to obtain salvation in him.” Then he said: ‘Child, it is useless to waste time on these things now. The time will come when you yourself will understand these things.”

Again I was disappointed. I could not find anywhere that spiritual food for which I hungered and in this state of unrest I remained till I found the Living Christ.