Treasure Beyond Measure

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This is a collection of events and some striking recollections concerning Maharaj Charan Singh. They cover a period of more than 65 years, beginning of more than 65 years, beginning from his early childhood. They have been collected from his diaries, letters, talks, from the accounts provided by his friends and from the notes made by the complier.

These narrations are not only interesting in themselves, but also throw much light on the various aspects of Maharaj Charan Singh’s character and personality. They bring out his deep love for his own Master as well as his profound concern for the Sangat. They also Provide a glimpse of his sense of humility, his spirit of tolerance and forbearance, his vision and foresight, his compassion and kindliness, and above all, his dedication to the work assigned to him by his predecessors.

Shanti Sethi, the compiler of these accounts, has had the good fortune of close association with Maharaj Charan Singh for almost four decades. She has painstakingly gathered all the information and amplified her notes. And, not only did she get them confirmed from Maharaj Ji, but also got them elaborated, wherever necessary.

We are indebted to Shanti Sethi for the collection of material for this work and to John Davidson, a distinguished writer of many works, to give it the form of a book. Not-withstanding his constraint to keep the language as close as possible to that of the original narrative given to him, he has been able to give some of the flavor of his style.

Shanti Sethi, who has compiled Treasura Beyond Measure, was born in the family of a well-known art and antique dealer of Delhi. She was educated in the Modern School and in the Indra Prastha College, two of the best educational institutions in Delhi of that time.

Initiated by Maharaj Charan Singh in the Path of Sant Mat along with her husband in 1953, she has ever since been a regular visitor to the Dera, and is now living here since 1977. She has offered her honorary services to the Satsang and is associated with the Publication Department.

Her monograph-Message Divine-giving a brief outline of Sant Mat, has proved very popular with Satsangis as well as seekers. It has been translated into several Indian, European, and Asian latest being a translation into the Japanese language.

How could we ever have known that Treasure beyond Measure was to be the last book to be printed and published during the lifetime of Huzur Maharaj Charan Singh Ji?

Mrs. Shanti Sethi started preparing the book sometime in October or November, 1989, and the first edition of 15,000 copies was made available to the sangat hardly five months later at the Dera book stalls in April, 1990. The book sold out immediately. It had been prepared and put through the press in record time and everyone involed with the project made mention of the sense of urgency that accompanied its preparation. No one, at that time, could possibly imagine the reason for urgency, except, of course, our beloved Master, who knew how the next few months would unfold.

In hindsight, we understand that the publication of this book was closely interwoven with Huzur Maharaj Ji’s decision to leave the body at the completion of His Mission, which He did on June 1, 1990. As his successor said in His inaugural address, “Huzur Maharaj Ji chose to make a minor illness an excuse for leaving us to merge back into the source of Love and Light from which He came, thus casting a shadow of gloom over the entire world. Medically, he would have recovered from the illness, but having completed the Divine Mission assigned to Him, He chose to cast off the mortal coil.”

Mrs. Shanti Sethi has included substantial additional material in this second edition. She has also given a moving account of the last days of Huzur Maharaj Charan Singh Ji’s sojourn in this world and has included the inaugural address of the new Master, surcharged with love and humility, delivered on the occasion of the ‘Dastarbandi’ ceremony.

The first edition, given to us just weeks before the departure of Huzur Maharaj Ji, by revealing such personal details of his life helped us understand the process of transition from one Master to another, acting in the supreme will. It is our earnest submission that this second edition, like the first, will speak directly to the hearts of the sangat and will provide an endless source of inspiration for right conduct in our lives, that we may each travel steadfastly towards self-realization, towards God-realization, and towards meeting with our Master in His Radiant From.

We would like to express our gratitude to Mrs. Shanti Sethi for her foresight in nothing down all the material which provided the base for this book, and for her loving work of compilation. We must also thank Professor K. S. Narang for his most able and meticulous guidance. We are grateful to Miss Louise Hilger and Professor Janak Raj Puri, Who revised the Whole book and endeavoured to remove the errors and defects of syntax that were present in the first edition because of its hurried preparation. We must thank Mr. John Davidson for his contribution, and Shri Thankur Das for his untiring labour of love in typing the manuscript in the shortest possible time. Last but not least, we are grateful to Bruce Becker of U.S.A. who has prepared the index for the entire book.

Words cannot express our profound gratitude to Huzur Maharaj Ji who, in His benevolence, chose to reveal Himself through this book, and to His Beloved Successor, who took up all the facts of His Master’s work in true humility, love and faith.

Treasure beyond Measure is a beautiful collection of events concerning Maharaj Charan Singh Ji, beginning from the early days of his life. They were gleaned at random from his diaries, letters and talks, from accounts provided by his friends, from notes accounts provided by his friends, from notes made by the compiler, and are being published in that order.

Besides giving an insight into Maharaj Ji’s intense love and devotion for his own Satguru, the book also provides us with a glimpse of his deep love and concern for the sangat, of his profound humility and innate grace, his spirit of tolerance and forbearance, his vision and foresight, his compassion and generosity, his kindness and perception, and above all, his dedication to task allotted to him by his predecessors and the great pains he has taken to accomplish it, sacrificing his own comfort and well-being.

Shanti Sethi, who has had the benefit of close association with Maharaj Ji for the last thirty-seven years, is well qualified to undertake the venture of compiling this book. We are grateful to her for collecting all the information and grateful to her for collecting all the information and amplifying her notes, for showing them to Maharaj Ji and obtaining not only his confirmation of the events narrated, but also his elaboration on the events in this book.

We are grateful to John Davidson who, while maintain the original simplicity of style and expression, has given the narrative a book form; to T. k. Sethi for his help in preparation of the book; to Barbara Maynord, Sharon Porter and Elizabeth Irwin for typing the manuscript; and to Louise Hilger, R. N. Mehta and his group of sevadars for seeing the book through the press.

We find no words to express our deep gratitude to Maharaj Charan Singh Ji for granting us the permission to publish Treasure beyond Measure for the benefit to satsangis the world over.

We are confident that satsangis will enjoy the unadorned beauty of this unique book and find it inspiring and elevating.

Down through the years since I became a satsangi in 1953, I have heard so many beautiful incidents concerning Maharaj Ji’s life, from his family members, from old satsangis who had been very close to the Master and from Maharaj Ji’s casual talk, as well as from satsangs-especially the English meetings. From these and whatever other sources I could find, I have gathered information and made notes.

Every satsangi always wants to know all about the Master, to learn all the little details of his life. It was this common desire, which we all share, that inspired me to turn notes into book form, to share with everyone.

With Maharaj Ji’s grace, the opportunity came. my way when Dr. Joshi asked me to take bed rest due to a heart problem form from which I was suffering. This gave me plenty of time to gathering whatever I could to compile it into book form.

While slowly recovering from my heart problem, I was ‘fortunate’ enough to have tripped, breaking a small bone in my foot! This was a blessing in disguise, for with my foot in plaster and still painful after the plaster was removed, I was unable to move about for several weeks, thus enabling further progress on the book.

While writing, whenever I wanted anything to be explained, I asked Maharaj Ji directly, which he graciously clarified

I am thankful for the help provided by Mr. T. K. Sethi and to Barbara Maynord, Sharon Porter and Elizabeth Irwin for typing the manuscript.

In this venture, I am also grateful to Mr. John Davidson for taking my handwritten manuscript and turning it into book from, so that everyone could share these precious treasure concerning the Master.

At the end I express my profound sense of gratitude at the feet of my dear and beloved to express. This whole experience has been an overwhelming, inspiring and elevating one for me, and I trust it would be the same for the readers.

This collection of treasures, mostly of incidents and happenings has been brought together from a variety of sources. Many of them have been related by Huzur Maharaj Charan Singh Ji, both in satsang and otherwise. Some have been narrated by the Great Master, a few by the Master’s mother and some by other disciples of the Masters.

Without exception, the original events have been told either in English or in the vernacular and translated into English. While editing them to read smoothly, all attempts have been made to retain the mood and flavor of the original. To have taken too much liberty with the original narrative would have robbed them charm, beauty and character.

Only a few of the treasures in this collection-notably the letters and speeches-have been recorded verbatim. Others have been reconstituted from notes taken during or after the events were related or happened. However, the Master himself took an active part in their assembly, reading all of them through at least three times during the course of their preparation. We can therefore feel assured of the authenticity of everything between these covers.

While such incidents are always of interest, the real value lies in imbibing their spiritual import-in many cases in observing the saintly character of the Masters and in attempting to allow their qualities to become manifested in our lives. The Masters are ideal examples for us in the spiritual refashioning of our conduct and way of life.

Though the Masters have invariably called their own Masters “Maharaj Ji,” to avoid confusion in this text the present Master has been referred to as “Maharaj Ji,” Sardar Bahadur Jagat Singh Ji as “Sardar Bahadur Ji,” Huzur Maharaj Baba Sawan Singh Ji as “the Great Master” and Maharaj Baba Jaimal Singh Ji as “Babaji.”

The beauty and spiritual radiance of all that the Masters say and do is beyond compare. As disciples, we can only watch in love and gratitude a grace we hardly understand poured upon ourselves and a multitude of other souls with a nature and consistency that is beyond all normal human comprehension. Only a Master can really understand a Master.

Some glimpse of this divine outpouring is caught between these pages. May it uplift and inspire the hearts, the minds and the souls of all who read, and are inwardly the recipients of the Master’s treasure!

All those involved lay their grateful heads at the feet of the Master, without whom nothing would have happened.