August 15th marks Independence Day in India. It was on this day in 1947 that India gained its freedom from British rule. Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj began his discourse this evening by describing the important role that Mahatma Gandhi’s nonviolent approach played in India’s liberation. Sticking to the principles of nonviolence, in whatever situation life brings our way, can be very effective, he said. When we embody this principle, it comes through in our words and in our actions.

Gandhi Ji was a loving, peaceful and calm person who was always looking to help others, even those he did not know. He did not let negativity affect him. Sharing an account from the life of Sant Darshan Singh Ji Maharaj, the spiritual Master explained how positivity is a quality that we learn from the lives of saints and mystics. Their attention is always focused on the positive aspects of life. He advised everyone to lead their lives in this manner, while keeping their attention focused on God.

This evening, Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj delivered a powerful spiritual discourse on the soul’s relationship with God. Our true nature, he explained, is not the body, but the soul, a part of God that is the power that gives life to the physical body. We are drops of the Ocean of All Consciousness that is God, and it is possible for us to experience our true nature and to experience God. This happens, he said, as we meditate. Meditation is the process of focusing our sensory currents away from the world outside and onto the gateway to the inner spiritual regions, the spiritual or third eye. These inner spiritual regions exist concurrently with this physical region of ours. Within these regions are the answers that we seek to the mysteries of life.

Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj shared a beautiful analogy to describe the spiritual significance of life’s challenges. Drawing from an example in nature, he explained how a challenge can be the beginning of something beautiful. A pearl, said the spiritual Master, is born from a disturbance. When a grain of sand slips between the shells of an oyster, nature takes the disturbance and turns it into a lustrous pearl. Similarly, the difficulties that we face in life that lead us to question the meaning of life are disturbances that signal the beginning of a lustrous pearl within us.

It is during these times that we remember God and open up to God’s presence. These are moments of spiritual awakening when our spiritual thirst is intensified, and we grow spiritually. Thus, out of a disturbance comes the beginning of something beautiful—our spiritual quest. As we progress on the spiritual journey, we experience the characteristics of the soul, which are also the characteristics of God. Within us is everything we need to embark on this journey. It all begins with meditation, he said.