Zoroaster was once asked what is wanted to know God.
He said, "Righteousness". He was then asked, "What is Righteousness?"
He replied, "Good thoughts, good words and good deeds."
The whole thing depends upon your attention, or surat as it is called, which is the outward expression of your soul. Wherever you keep it engaged or attached, those very thoughts will always be reverberating within you. We have to make the best use of things of course, but we are not to become attached to them. If we can only attach our soul to something higher within us, we would be all right.
But if our attention is diverted through the outgoing faculties, so much so that it becomes identified with the outer things, what is the result? You cannot withdraw your attention from them. It is a question of the attention or surat, whether you keep it engaged to the outside things or invert and attach it to your Overself. So for that, you must see where you are driven away through the outgoing faculties of seeing, hearing, smelling, taste and touch. These are the five outgoing faculties working through the five physical outlets. Unless these are withdrawn from outside, you will not be able to have some awareness of your own self or be able to contact the Higher Self or God within you, which is Light and Sound principle.
So what is Righteousness? It is not to attach yourselves to outside. You are not to leave the world of course, but you are to make the best use of the outward things. If you go to a garden, you enjoy the flowers and various plants. You may enjoy them the whole day and nobody will question you. But the very moment you cut the flowers, the gardener in charge will take you to task and report you to the police. So we are here to make the best use of all outward things, but not to be attached to them. We should make them a stepping stone to reach the Higher Self. If you are addicted to or become identified with any enjoyments outside, so much so that you cannot even withdraw from them, then how can you invert and have that contact within you with God, which is given at the time of Initiation? So these outer faculties should be under our control. Whenever we like, we should make the best use of them, but they should not drag us out. If you obey the Master literally, then He will make you the master of your own home. These outer faculties should serve as your servants, not as your masters. Now they drag you away, whether you wish it or not.
Whatever you do, whether for one day, two days, ten days, a month or two, naturally becomes a habit. Habit is strengthened into nature. If you want to go to one place and you are attached somewhere else, your mind will go one way while your feet will go the other way. You know now what is needed? God is within you, but unless you withdraw from outside, how can you contact Him? If you are attached to outside things, you cannot withdraw from outside. If you leave this building, you are the same. When you leave this body, you are not changed. You are what you are now. After leaving the body you cannot become a learned man. If you are attached here while living in the world, your attention will still be in the world even after leaving the body. Where will you go? Where you are attached. Where should we attach ourself? The soul is a conscious entity, it should be attached to the Overself, which is all Consciousness, even in life. Then while remaining in the world, you won’t be attached to the world. You will be in the world and yet out of it. When you leave the body, you will go to the feet of the Lord.
Sant Kirpal Singh