Surat Shabd Yoga Editor: Philippe L. De Coster, B.Th., DD Exploring Inner Space via Inner Light and Sound Meditation (Surat Shabd Yoga)

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2 Surat Shabd Yoga Editor: Philippe L. De Coster, B.Th., DD Surat Shabd Yoga or Surat Shabda Yoga is a form of spiritual practice that is followed in the Sant Mat and many other related spiritual traditions. Surat means "attention," or "face," which is the outward expression of the soul, shabd means "word" and yoga means "union." The term "word" means the Sound Current, the Audible Life Stream or the Essence of the Absolute Supreme Being, that is, the dynamic force of creative energy that was sent out, as sound vibration, from the Supreme Being into the abyss of space at the dawn of the universe's manifestation, and that is being sent forth, through the ages, framing all things that constitute and inhabit the universe. The etymology of "Surat Shabda Yoga" presents its purpose: the "Union of the Soul with the Essence of the Absolute Supreme Being." Other expressions for Surat Shabda Yoga include Sehaj Yoga (an easy path leading to Sehaj or equipoise) The Path of Light and Sound, The Path of the Sants, The Journey of Soul, and The Yoga of the Sound Current. Exploring Inner Space via Inner Light and Sound Meditation (Surat Shabd Yoga) "The individual soul has descended from the higher worlds [realm of the Divine] to this city of illusion [bodily existence]. It has descended from the Soundless state to the essence of Sound, from that Sound to Light, and finally from the realm of Light to the realm of Darkness. "The current of consciousness which is dispersed in the nine gates of the body and the nine senses must be collected at the tenth gate (the sixth chakra, the third eye, bindu, centre between the eyebrows). Therein lies the path for our return. This is the act of leaving the gates of the sense organs and becoming established in the soul. We travel back from the realm of Darkness to the realm of Light, from the Light to divine Sound, and from the realm of Sound to the Soundless state. The Divine Essence permeates all beings yet transcends them. (Sant Sevi Ji Maharaj) The Path of the Mystics All our lives we wonder about who we are, where we come from, where are we supposed to go, what is our purpose here? These and many such questions crop up in our minds and we wonder whether there is any answer to these fundamental questions of human existence. Fortunately for us there has been a path, secret, hidden in the mysteries of myths and legends, unknown to many but 2

3 kept alive by those who venture into the depths of eternity and come back to deliver us. With the advancement of internet and the human consciousness one hit on google can bring us millions of results about what this path is, what its inner workings are, many claim the divine order of imparting this message to others and most are charlatans who deceive humanity and lead us astray. Yet there are few true masters who carry the message of truth and power, who show us the path which is as ancient as the creation itself. One may read about this path, discuss with its practitioners, listen to sceptics with their limited mental capacity to comprehend which is beyond the mind and intellect, analyse in their brains as much as they want, but they can never know how deep the rabbit hole goes. The origins of the path cannot be told, its mysteries cannot be understood by reading alone, its depths cannot be reached by mental gymnastics and its power cannot be revealed unless the soul embarks on the most amazing journey & beholds its glory. During the years as the path surfaced from time to time during many yugas, it s been called by various names. Some call it Santmat, others call it Gurumat, Surat Shabd yoga, Path of the Masters, Way of Mystics, Path of Divine light and sound, Naam Marg, Shabd marg etc. and most recently it has also been called Radhasoami Mat (Radha referring to the soul and Soami referring to the Lord) thus Lord of the Soul. The teachings of Santmat are very simple yet very difficult to bring into practice. It s a life long struggle and such heights of spirituality are not to be gained so easily. The basic pillars of Santmat are, the One supreme power which we call by many names as God, the Supreme, the Absolute, Universal Mind, Allah, Bhagwan, Waheguru etc. The Master, who is the manifestation of Shabd, one who, with the practice of shabd yoga has become the shabd incarnate, who is one with the supreme and yet is with us on this level of creation, such concepts are difficult to comprehend but is the truth known to every advanced soul. Finally the Shabd, the divine melody within, the music of the spheres, the celestial life force energy which is the direct manifestation of the supreme personality of Godhead, Satpurush or the One, the only, THE TRUTH which is beyond all forms and illusions, all concepts and analogies. There are many systems of yoga in this world but the path of the Saints is different from all and unique. The yoga of saints is called Surat Shabd Yoga. Within its name itself we get hints of what this yoga is all about. Surat means the soul or the individual consciousness, Shabd means the divine melody, music of cosmos, voice of God, gurbani, akash bani, voice from heaven, Kalma etc. called by names, which resounds within every human being and whole of the creation and finally yoga means union or union of the soul with the divine melody within. Mostly every yoga system believes in the seven chakras within 3

4 the body, many are designed to take the individual from the first charka called Muladhar (root chakra) to the higher chakras from Swadhisthan (sex chakra), Mani Purak (navel chakra), Hirday (heart chakra), Kanth (throat chakra), Do dal kamal (third eye) and finally reaching Sahansrar (crown chakra). Every system of yoga uses some form of energy to travel within. Near the sacral plexus and associated with the function of elimination is the Nadi called Kundalini which lies coiled like a serpent. This is the root of all the nadis. From it twenty four smaller nadis spring forth, which support the body. Out of these ten carry the pranas to different parts of the body. Among these, Ida, Pingla and Shushmana are the major nadis, which control the breath. They reach only as far as the Third eye. Those who practice pranayam end their journey at the Tisra Til (third eye) where the nadis end & pranas merge in Chidakash the place of their origin. Kundalini ends its journey at the crown chakra which is its origin. But Saints start their journey where others end. The Sahansrar chakra is the first stage of the path of the masters which is the terminating point of mostly all the yoga systems. How do Saints achieve this? Well they travel through a power called shabd or naam or divine melody within. This force originates from the highest realm of consciousness and descends till our eye centre. When the meditator ventures within and brings his consciousness to the third eye they catch this melody and travel to higher realms. Since its originating point is beyond all the lower realms it takes the practitioner directly to the realm of Anami or the Supreme abode of the Nameless One. Saints give us an example of how the path of the masters covers all other forms of yoga. We all know of many types of yogis and masters explain that when the disciple lives in the will of the lord, accepts his karmas joyfully and takes full responsibilities for his actions and faces the consequences, what better Hatha yoga can one perform? When the disciple keeps his master s form within his heart at all time what better Bhakti yoga can one perform? When the disciple is doing simran of the holy words given to him by the master all day long what better Japa Yoga can one do? When the disciple listens to the divine melody within 24 hours a day what better kirtan or spiritual chant or prayer can one perform? When by tasting the sweet ambrosia of the shabd and naam one is totally detached by the worldly objects what better vairag or detached state of mind one can achieve? When according to the teachings of the saints one performs his duties with zeal and yet remain aloof what better Karma Yoga can one perform? When the disciple attains supreme transcendental knowledge by traveling within and achieving amazing heights of inner travel and wisdom what better Gyan yogi can one become? Thus the path of the masters integrates all the yogis and more. 4

5 Surat-Shabd Yoga is the complete, master Yoga, which alone provides true liberation and can lead to merger of soul with Oversoul, God Aim of Surat Shabd Yoga Surat means attention which is how the soul outwardly expresses itself. Shabd literally means word. In Surat Shabd Yoga, the term word signifies the music of the soul. Yoga means union. And that is the main purpose of Surat Shabd Yoga the union of the soul with the essence of the absolute Supreme Being, using the dynamic force of creative energy surrounding the universe in the form of sound vibrations. Surat Shabd Yoga meditation aims to help the individual in realizing his true divine self. Liberating the soul from the cycle of life and death, Surat Shabd Yoga helps in achieving enlightenment and ultimately, moksha. The masters of Surat Shabd Yoga often describe the experience of this yogic meditation as dying while living. The meditation involves drawing one s attention from the physical body and merging the consciousness with the inner sound and light. It is similar to the physical process of dying when the attention leaves the physical body and the soul merges into the celestial universe and the Divine. In Surat Shabd Yoga, one experiences the absorption of consciousness into the Light and the Sound in the state of full awareness. 5

6 Meditation is a beautiful experience. And, the best part about meditation is that there are so many ways of doing it. You can pick and choose a meditation technique that best suits your personality and temperament. There are a plethora of simple and easy meditation techniques that will help you get your calm. If you are wondering which one to choose, then let me take you through the five most widely practiced meditation techniques in our times and help you understand what you are drawn towards. Spiritual Initiation Spiritual Initiation into Surat-Shabd Yoga by the living perfect Master is essential, during which He initially imparts, through catalysis, a small portion of His own spiritual wealth to the initiate- it is then up to him/her to cultivate the same in accordance with instructions provided. He takes away the karmic records from the Negative Power and dispenses justice Himself. The Cycle of Birth-Rebirth comes to an end and if necessary, the initiate is given a Human rebirth or two to complete the ascent to Shiv Netra- Single Eye. Outwardly, He gives Satsangs, wherein He outlines the inner path and inwardly, He begins to reside at the Shiv Netra of the initiate and gives his inner Darshan- vision as Gurudev, when the initiate reaches there. At death He receives the initiate Himself, rather than the messengers of the Lord of Death, Yama. If surrendered to, He guides and protects the initiate at all times- all he/she has to do is call through silent, mental remembrance- not even the Negative Power can approach him/her. Finally, at Sach Khand, the Master Himself appears on the Lord s throne as Sat Guru or Sat Purush- Lord of Truth. However, a non-initiate can also take up meditation, known as Jyoti meditation, instructions for which can be found in Sant Sawan-Kirpal s books: Inner and Outer Peace through Meditation and Empowerment Your Soul Through Meditation. In these times when there are said to be as many Gurus as there are stones, all types of meditations are in vogue- some even require holding of hands! It is hence best to learn from a living perfect One. The Five Types of Meditation Techniques There are thousands of meditation techniques from many different traditions, but all could be classified as belonging to either one or a combination of five types: 1.Concentration Meditation 2.Mindfulness Meditation 3.Reflective Meditation 4.Creative Meditation 5.Heart-Centered Meditation 6

7 A person well versed in inner science traditions has access to a veritable apothecary of meditative antidotes to disturbing mind states, as well as to potent methods for enhancing and developing wholesome and helpful states of mind. Mastering our mind in these ways, we will inevitably develop mastery over our physical and verbal expressions and our relationship with the world. Type 1: Concentration Meditation Techniques Concentration meditation techniques are the foundation for all other kinds of meditation. Through the power of concentration we build our capacity to overcome distraction and to sustain mental focus. The power of a scattered mind is very limited. But like a stream of water that can be channelled to make it more forceful and produce hydroelectric power, we can make the mind a more powerful instrument by developing a small seed of one-pointed mindfulness into "concentration power." In classical meditation texts, this one-pointedness of mind developed through the energy of concentration is called Samadhi, which literally means "to establish, to make firm." The power of a concentrated mind can be focused effectively to enhance and deepen insight into other meditative themes or goals. To understand how this works, compare the illuminating capacity of the diffuse and scattered beam of a ten-watt incandescent lightbulb to the penetrating, diamond-like precision of a ten-watt laser beam. Such is the difference in illuminating power of the concentrated mind to the ordinary, scattered, and fragmentary flow of attention that most of us bring to everyday living. By learning how to bring the stream of our attention into a laser-like beam of one-pointed concentration, we can train the mind to become a highly useful instrument for penetrating into and investigating the nature of reality. A concentrated mind is also the precursor of great bliss and the prerequisite for the development of psychic abilities. Whatever technique of meditation you are practicing, it is necessary to have the ability to place your attention on the object of meditation and hold it there without distraction. With patience and practice, your mind will become calmer, more powerful, and able to apply itself to any task with precision and understanding. Any object or activity can be used for the specific development of concentration. The same basic principle, however, always applies, no matter which form of meditation you are practicing: whenever your mind wanders, simply return it -- again and again -- to the object of your meditation. Type 2: Mindfulness Meditation Techniques 7

8 Mindfulness meditation techniques emphasize the cultivation of a receptive, choiceless quality of mindful attention toward whatever arises in the sphere of our experience. At those times in our lives when we were wrapped in wonder gazing into the depths of the night sky, listening intently, marvelling at the beauty of nature, or wholeheartedly listening for the answer to our heart's prayer, we have naturally experienced this type of meditation. Traditionally, the practices of insight or vipassana meditation, zazen, dzogchen, Mahamudra, choiceless awareness, self-remembering, and prayer of the heart are associated with this category of meditation. Mindfulness meditation strengthens our sense of wonder and appreciation, enabling us to effortlessly, precisely, and carefully attend to the totality of our experience unfolding moment to moment. The interplay of concentration and mindfulness meditation allows us to develop the capacity to examine and intuitively understand the deep forces within our ordinary experience. The penetrating insight that develops can then be systematically applied to investigating the very subtle interplay between the phenomena we perceive and the nature of our own mind as the perceiver. As we investigate our participation in the pervasive and dynamic interrelatedness of everything, we will come to sense ourselves as intimately related to and co-creative with the world of our experience. Type 3: Reflective Meditation Techniques The practice of reflective or analytical meditation is like disciplined thinking: choosing a theme, question, or topic of contemplation we focus our reflection, or analysis, upon it. When our attention wanders to other thoughts, we return to our chosen topic. Traditionally, reflective meditation is employed to gain insight into the meaning of life, death, interrelationships, and social conscience, or to come to a conclusive insight regarding some key idea in science, philosophy, or scripture. Following our analysis through, we arrive at a conclusion. This, in turn, gives rise to a strong sense of faith or conviction. In our day-to-day life and work, reflective meditation techniques provide us with a powerful and effective tool for focusing our attention upon personal or professional questions in order to discover a creative solution or breakthrough insight. Reflective meditation also helps us to understand the issues or inner conflicts that may arise during the practice of other meditations. Type 4: Creative Meditation Techniques 8

9 Creative meditation techniques enable us to consciously cultivate and strengthen specific qualities of mind. Patience, appreciation, sympathetic joy, gratitude, love, compassion, fearlessness, humility, tenderness, and other qualities associated with aspects of nature, Divinity, or the natural world are among the attributes that are most commonly cultivated. Creative meditations invite us to actively nurture these strengths of character by thinking, speaking, and acting "as though" these qualities are more fully alive within us. Type 5: Heart-Centred Meditation Techniques Heart-centred meditation techniques help us to awaken the radiance of our loving-kindness and compassion. They deepen our empathy and forgiveness, and teach us to live in kinder ways. They begin first with ourselves, and then open the circle of our compassion to embrace all living beings. They draw inspiration from each of the other meditations: focus and the power of peace from concentration; deep listening and presence from mindfulness meditation; insight into the nature of suffering and a sense of interrelatedness from reflective meditation; imaginative resourcefulness and skill from creative meditation. Properly understood, all of these types of meditation are interrelated and mutually enhancing. Many practices draw inspiration from a variety of meditation types and could be included in several categories. While the intricacies of these interrelationships are beyond the scope of this site, it should be clear to you that the contemplative traditions offer us the inner technology necessary to fulfil virtually any developmental aspiration we may have. Meditation allows us to go beyond words and mental concepts in order to know the true nature and reality of ourselves and our world directly. Basic Principles of Surat Shabda Yoga The stated purpose of Surat Shabda Yoga is to realize the individual's True Self (Self-Realization), True Essence (Spirit-Realization) and True Divinity (God- Realization) while living in the human physical body. This Journey of Soul involves reuniting in stages with what is called the Essence of the Absolute Supreme Being, the Shabd. Attaining self-realization and above also results in jivan moksha/mukti, liberation/release from samsara, the cycle of karma and reincarnation while in the physical body. Initiation by an Outer Living Satguru (Sat - true, Guru - teacher) is required, and involves reactivating the Shabd and stationing the Inner Shabda Master (the Radiant Form of the Master) at the third eye (tisra til) chakra. The spiritual exercises (sadhanas) include simran 9

10 (repetition, particularly silent repetition of a mantra given at initiation), dhyan (concentration, viewing, or contemplation, particularly on the Inner Master), and bhajan (listening to the inner sounds of the Shabda or the Shabda Master). Surat Shabd Yoga cosmology depicts the whole of creation (the macrocosm) as being emanated and arranged in a spiritually differentiated hierarchy, often referred to as eggs, regions, or planes. Typically, eight spiritual levels are described above the physical plane, although names and subdivisions within these levels will vary to some extent by movement and Master. In this arrangement, Self-Realization is attained in the third heaven level, Daswan Dwar, Spirit-Realization is attained in the fourth heaven level, Bhanwar Gupha, and God-Realization is attained in the fifth heaven level, Sach Kand (Sat Lok). (One version of the creation from a Surat Shabda Yoga perspective is depicted at the Sant Ajaib Singh Ji Memorial Site. All planes below the purely spiritual regions are subject to cycles of creation and dissolution (pralya) or grand dissolution (maha pralya). This cosmology presents the constitution of the initiate (the microcosm) as an exact replica of the macrocosm. Consequently, the microcosm consists of a number of bodies, each one suited to interact with its corresponding plane or region in the macrocosm. These bodies developed over the yugas through involution (emanating from higher planes to lower planes) and evolution (returning from lower planes to higher planes), including by karma and reincarnation in various states of consciousness. The Path of Light and Sound involves the initiate traveling the microcosm dharmicly in consciousness (soul) with the guidance and protection of the Outer Living Master in the physical world and the Inner Shabd Master in the higher worlds until the regions of pure spirituality are reached and God-Realization is attained. Surat Shabda Yoga is, obviously, for the discovery of True Self (Self- Realization), True Essence (Spirit-Realization), and True Divinity (God- Realization) while living in the human physical body. This involves reuniting in stages with what is called the Essence of the Absolute Supreme Being, also known as the Shabd. Attaining this extent of self-realization is believed to result in jivan moksha/mukti, which is liberation/release from samsara and positivity in the cycle of karma and reincarnation. Initiation by a contemporary living Satguru (Sat - true, Guru - teacher) is considered a prerequisite for successful sadhana (spiritual exercises). The sadhanas include simran (repetition, particularly silent repetition of a mantra given at initiation), dhyan (concentration, viewing, or contemplation, particularly on the Inner Master), and bhajan (listening to the inner sounds of the Shabd). Surat Shabd Yoga arose in India in the last several hundred years, specifically in the Sikh tradition founded by Guru Nanak. The practice of meditation (shabd), which is the central core practice of Surat Shabd Yoga, is derived from the 10

11 ancient Hindu practice of Nada Yoga. Nada Yoga is expounded in various Hindu scriptures such as the Nada-Bindu-Upanishad, an ancient text affiliated with the several thousand-year-old Rig Veda. The practice of Nada Yoga within Hinduism has been widely affiliated within many yoga traditions including bhakti or devotional yogas, kundalini and tantric yogas, laya yoga, and raja yoga. Modern Hindu teachers still emphasizing Nada Yoga include Swami Sivananda, Swami Rama, Rammurti Mishra (Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati), Paramahansa Yogananda (Kriya Yoga Lineage), and many others. The practice of Nada Yoga is an integral part of various other traditions as well, such as being a form of the advanced Thogal practice in the Tibetan Dzogchen lineage, and is mentioned by H. P. Blavatsky, founder of the Theosophical Society in her book "The Voice of the Silence". The form of Surat Shabd Yoga, practiced by followers of Sant Mat and the Sikh tradition, is most commonly related to Nada Yoga. Furthermore, Nada Yoga resembles and combines elements from the Hindu practices of raja yoga, laya yoga, and bhakti yoga. Movements and Masters Adherents believe Surat Shabda Yoga has been expressed through the movements of many different master. However, a basic principle of Surat Shabd Yoga's tradition is the requirement for an outer Living Master to initiate followers onto the Path. The movements whose historical Satgurus have died and their successors do not purport themselves to be Surat Shabd Yoga Satgurus, usually are not considered currently to be Surat Shabd Yoga movements, either by their own leaders or by movements with current Living Masters. Sadguru Maharshi Mehi Paramahansa Ji Maharaj is a great Sant of 20th century. He came to an alone and isolated cave of Kuppaghat, Bhagalpur (Bihar, India). This cave was located on the bank of the holy river Ganga. He cleaned the cave that was too long inside and started His continuous hard practice of Surat- Shabda Yoga from March November He achieved self-realization and attained ultimate salvation during his practice. This cave has been the holy evidence of His spiritual aura. He embodied His self-experienced knowledge in His books "Moksha-Darshan (Philosophy of Salvation), "Satsang-Yoga", "Shri Gita-Yoga Prakash", "Raamcharit Maanas Saar-Satik", "Maharshi-Mehi- Padaawali" and many others. "Maharshi-Mehi-Padawaali" is the prose collection penned by Him because it was the time He started constant and ceaseless meditation of Drishti-Yoga and Surat-Shabda Yoga. The Radhasoami movement of Surat Shabda Yoga was established by Shiv Dayal Singh ( ) in 1861 and named "Radhasoami Satsang" circa Soamiji Maharaj, as he was known, presided over the satsang meetings for seventeen years at Panni Gali and Soami Bagh in Agra, India, until he died on June 15, Accounts of his guru and successors vary, although he gave 11

12 verbal instructions on his last day as to how his followers should be cared for.[4] According to Radha Soami Satsang Beas, his guru was Tulsi Sahib of Hathras. According to the successors Soami Bagh and Dayal Bagh, Tulsi Sahib [5] was a contemporary guru of the same teachings; but being a natural born Satguru, Shiv Dayal Singh himself had no guru. After his death, six immediate successors carried on Shiv Dayal Singh s teachings, including Huzur Maharaj Rai Salig Ram of Peepal Mandi, Agra, and Babaji Maharaj Jaimal Singh of Dera Baba Jaimal Singh the present day headquarters of (RSSB), Radha Soami Satsang Beas. More information on living masters related to Shiv Dayal Singh's lineage can be found in the Contemporary Sant Mat movement article. Sant Kirpal Singh, a contemporary Sant Mat guru, stated that "Naam" ("Word") has been described in many traditions through the use of several different terms. In his teachings,[6] the following expressions are interpreted as being identical to "Naam": "Naad", "Akash Bani", and "Sruti" in the Vedas "Nada" and "Udgit" in the Upanishads "Logos" and "Word" in the New Testament "Tao" by Lao Zi "Music of the Spheres" by Pythagoras "Sraosha" by Zoraster "Kalma" and "Kalam-i-Qadim" in the Qur'an "Naam", "Akhand Kirtan", and "Sacha ('True') Shabd" by Guru Granth Sahib The more recently promulgated Quan Yin Method of meditation espoused via the spiritual teachings of Supreme Master Ching Hai has notable similarities to Surat Shabd Yoga. Eckankar, an American movement, has many links to Surat Shabd Yoga including terminology, although its American founder Paul Twitchell disassociated himself from his former teacher Kirpal Singh. The Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness, also founded in America in 1971 by John-Roger and now with students in thirty-two countries, also teaches a similar form of active meditation called spiritual exercises. This movement uses the Sound Current and ancient Sanskrit tones in order to traverse and return to the higher realms of Spirit and into God. 12

13 Master Path is another contemporary American movement of Surat Shabda Yoga. Gary Olsen, the current Living Master of this branch, contends that several historical figures are Sat Gurus of Surat Shabda Yoga as representatives for the eternal Inner Shabda Master. A few of these Living Masters of their times include Lao Tsu, Jesus, Pythagoras, Socrates, Kabir, the Sufi Masters, and mystic poets, Hafez and Rumi, the Ten Sikh Gurus beginning with Guru Nanak, Tulsi Sahib, and the Radhasoami/Radha Soami and offshoot Masters, including Shiv Dayal Singh, Baba Sawan Singh, Baba Faqir Chand, and Sant Kirpal Singh. The ten Sikh Satgurus discuss the inner sound and inner light a lot in their scriptures. The first Sikh Satguru was Guru Nanak, but his master (guru) was Waheguru. These masters teach these two techniques. There is a master, Satpal Maharaj, that teaches four techniques that include these two of inner light and inner music. Altogether He teaches inner light (sight), inner music (hearing), primordial vibration (sense of touch), and nectar (taste and smell). These correspond to the five senses, and this is how a student turns them inward to experience what is inside of himself. See Vishnu with his four arms and they correspond to these. One hand is holding a circle (chakra) of light, one holding a conch shell for the inner sound (hold it to the ear and a sound is heard), one holding a lotus flower to refer to nectar, and finally the fourth hand is holding a metal club (mace) for the inner vibration (if you hit something with it, it vibrates like a tuning fork). Some people refer to this inner energy as the soul. Two of the names above were changed. Below the same paragraph is written again with the new names based on Wikipedia [unreliable source?] sources. The ten Sikh Satgurus talk about the inner sound and inner light a lot in their scriptures. The first Sikh Satguru was Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, but his master was Waheguru. Wikipedia[unreliable source?] says: "Kabir's early life is not firmly established. In Indian tradition, he is commonly supposed to have lived for 120 years from 1398 to 1518, which "permits him to be associated with other famous figures such as Guru Nanak. "But none of this is written anywhere or proved yet both personalities used Gurmukhi for writing 'Bani'. The Line of Succession of Sikhs The Line of Succession from Kabir to Present. From Kabir to present, the Masters of the Divine Science of Light and Sound appear and manifest themselves as an uninterrupted line, through which they transmitted to each successor the one knowledge and the one Power. Subsequently, we can trace an exact "family tree" from Kabir Sahib ( ) to Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji ( )and further as shown below: 13

14 ਹ ਕਮ ਪਛ ਨ ਸ ਏਕ ਜ ਨ ਬ ਦ ਕਹ ਐ ਸ ਈ ੩ (GGSG-Page No ) Saint Kabir One who will recognize the Command (hukam), will know One Lord, That person is the real man. ਸਚ ਸਉਦ ਹਰ ਨ ਮ ਹ ਸਚ ਵ ਪ ਮ (GGSG-Page No.570) The True merchandise is the Lord`s Naam (Name). Trader raam (sattguru) is truth. (Through True merchandise (ਸਚ ਸਉਦ ) Guru Nanak got the Naam) ਏਕ ਨ ਮ ਹ ਕਮ ਹ ਨ ਨਕ ਰਸਤਗ ਰ ਦ ਆ ਬ ਝ ਇ ਜ ਉ ੫ (GGSG-Page No.72)..Guru Nanak "The One "Naam" is the Lord's Command",O Nanak, the "True Guru(teacher)" helped me to guess the lamp(light). (One Naam means One Word, and Hukam=Naam) ਦ ਹ ਅ ਦਰ ਨ ਮ ਰਨਵ ਸ (GGSG-Page No.1026) The Naam or word or kalma, abides deep within the body. And then to the nine Gurus of the Sikhs: Sri Guru Angad Dev Ji ( ), Sr Guru Amar Das Ji ( ), Sri Guru Ram Das Ji ( ), Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji ( ), Sri Guru Har Gobind Sahib Ji ( ), Sri Guru Har Rai Sahib Ji ( ), Sri Guru Har Krishan Ji ( ), Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Ji ( ) and Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji ( ). Variations in movements Among the exponents of Surat Shabd Yoga and the commonly shared elements related to the basic principles, notable variations also exist. For example, the followers of the orthodox Sikh faith no longer lay emphasis on a contemporary living guru. Different Surat Shabd Yoga paths will vary in the names used to describe the Absolute Supreme Being (God), including Anami Purush (nameless 14

15 power) and Radha Soami (lord of the soul); the presiding deities and divisions of the macrocosm; the number of outer initiations; the words given as mantras; and the initiation vows or the prerequisites that must be agreed to before being accepted as an initiate. Inner Mansions and Divine Melody This Shabd or Naam is the creative power of the Lord and manifests itself as the divine light and sound. When God Almighty manifests himself as the power which brought everything into existence, that power, that manifestation is called Naam or Shabd. Saints explain to us that there are twelve mansions within or major chakras. The higher stages after Sahansrar are Trikuti, Daswan Dwar, Maha sunn, Bhanwar Gupha and Sachkhand. These make up the twelve grand charkas of the cosmos. However when subdivided the total centres of consciousness according to the saints comes up to twenty-two which are also described by Sant Kabir in his amazing poem Kar Naino deedar mahal mein pyara hai Behold within this body resides your beloved. Below is the road map to the nameless realm which shows the various divisions of the inner cosmos. In Santmat the masters teach us that it is with this current of light, sound and energy that we can travel back to the supreme abode since it comes from the highest realm. Now the first thing which bothers the new age mind is why we need a master? Although it s a common question among seekers but it s the most stupid of all questions that the mind designs to deceive us. Since childhood we need a master for each and every skill we learn. We cannot even learn the skills of this world without someone teaching us, our mother is our first teacher, we need someone to teach us how to walk, speak, read, write etc. we go to schools, colleges and get educated & yet we need a teacher who can teach us these subjects, yet when it comes to the most complex of all sciences we say why we need a master..it s due to the ego of the self that we find it hard to bow our heads to the master and ask for guidance. Some say our holy scriptures are the words of our past masters and so we need no living master, they should ask themselves that although there are millions of books available in the world today yet we need our teachers to explain to us their true meaning, similarly we need the one who has experienced himself the depths of the teachings of the past mystics and then teach us how to achieve those heights ourselves. That is why every past mystic has given so much stress on the fact that one needs a perfect master to walk the path. But on my own I would have still been lost, O Bahu, Were it not for my Master showing me the way. (Sultan Bahu) 15

16 It is the Guru who shows the way To reach the compassionate Lord. He has the key to open all locks. (Dadu Dayal) O Nanak without the Guru The mind s door is not opened, For none else has the key. (Guru Ram Das) The Yoga of the Celestial Sound Current In the foregoing sections of this study, we have seen how it I has been taught since time immemorial by the Indian sages that behind the apparent self of which we are conscious in everyday existence, the self that shirks pain and seeks pleasure, that changes from moment to moment and is subject to the effect of time and space, there is the permanent "Self," the Atman. This Atman forms the basic reality, the final substance, the essence of essences, and it is in the light of its being that all else assumes meaning. Likewise, we have seen how the Indian mystics have analysed the nature of the Universe. Seen from the surface, our world appears to be a queer composition of contradictory elements. Faced with these contradictions, man is compelled to look for a Creator who holds the opposing forces in balance and represents permanence behind the flux of existence. But as he penetrates deeper and still deeper, he discovers that the contradictions are only apparent, not real: that far from being opposed in nature, they are differentiated manifestations of the same Power, and that they are not even "manifestations" properly so called, but are illusions of the ignorant mind which are dispelled in the light of realization when one begins to know that the ocean is changeless though it appears to change. These two insights are basic to Indian thought, and on closer examination will be seen to be not separate, but one. The recognition of the absolute nature of the inner Self, the Atman, implies recognition of the true nature of existence of the Paramatman, the Brahman; while an understanding of the nature of Paramatman or Brahman implies an understanding of the Atman. If behind the changing, time-ridden self, there be an eternal, changeless and timeless One, and if behind the flux of mutability of the creation as we normally know it there be an Absolute Immutable Reality, then the two must be related and must in fact be identified. How can there be two Absolutes? How can the Atman be distinct from the Brahman, when all that is, is only a projection of Brahman? 16

17 The moment we realize these truths about the nature of Self and Over Self, or the One Truth about the nature of Reality, the problem that inevitably poses itself is: Why do we in everyday existence experience the world in terms ( duality and plurality, feeling ourselves separate from each other and from life in general, and What may be the means for transcending this unnecessary constriction of ourselves and merging into the Ocean of Consciousness that is our essential state? The answer to the first part of this question has been that the spirit, in its downward descent, gets enveloped in fold upon fold of mental and material apparatus which compel it to experience life in terms of their limitations, until, no longer conscious of its own inherent nature, the soul identifies itself with their realm of time and space -- nam-rup-prapanch. The answer to the second part has been that the soul can be witness to itself, provided it can divest itself of its limiting adjuncts. The many forms and variations of yoga that we have examined are no more than the various methods evolved for accomplishing this process of disentanglement or spiritual involution. The one recurring theme in the teachings of all great rishis and mystics has been that their insights are based not inherited learning, philosophical speculation or logical reasoning, but on first-hand inner experience or anubhava--a word whose lucidity of expressiveness defies translation. They explain that seeming differences are not because of any contradiction inherent in what they say, but because men vary greatly in temperament, and what is possible for the man of a cultured and refined intelligence is impossible for the unsophisticated peasant, and vice versa. Various rivers may wend through different plains, but they all reach the sea. Patanjali's Eightfold Path is the first major attempt to correlate the many available avenues into a single coherent system for spiritual reintegration. Later rishis and teachers derived much guidance from him, but their teachings implicitly embody the recognition that his system is too exacting and tends to deny spiritual attainment to the average man. Furthermore, it is so complex that for the majority of sadhaks (aspirants) it is likely to become a maze in which they lose their way and mistake the intermediate goals for the final destination. And so, while Mantra Yoga, Laya Yoga, Hatha Yoga and especially Raja Yoga carry on Patanjali's tradition in modified forms, there emerge three other major forms that represent, in contrast to the Ashtanga Marg, a great simplification and specialization. The Jnana yogin, the Karma yogin or the bhakta no longer needs to retire from the world or undergo exacting psycho-physical disciplines. Each approaches the goal from a particular angle and reaches it by sheer purposeful concentration. The end of all yoga, as Shankara clarified, is absorption into the Brahman. All the paths therefore aim at samadhi, in which state such experience can be attained. But if Patanjali's system and its derivatives have certain serious drawbacks, it is a question whether the three other major forms are wholly 17

18 without them. If for the Karma yogin freedom lies through detachment and desirelessness, is it possible for him to be completely free? Does he not seek emancipation in following his path, and is not that itself a form of desire? Besides, is it psychologically possible for the human mind to detach itself completely from its normal field of experience without first anchoring itself in another and higher one? It is a universal characteristic of man that he seeks kinship with something other than himself. This is the law of his life and source of all his great achievements. The child is bound to his toys, and the adult to family and society. As in the case of a child, you may not without harm deprive him of his playthings until he has outgrown them psychologically, likewise to expect the sadhak to give up his social and family attachments without first outgrowing them by discovering something greater and larger, is to cut at the root of life. It will not bring progress but regression, for the man who undertakes it as an enforced discipline only succeeds in repressing his natural desires. The result is not the enhancement of consciousness but its numbing and atrophy, not detachment but indifference. This, as Mr. T. S. Eliot has pointed out, "differed completely" from both "attachment" and "detachment,'' resembling... the others as death resembles life, being between two lives-- unflowering, between the live and the dead nettle. The discipline of Karma Yoga is a necessary one, but if it is to fulfil its end it must be completed by another discipline of an esoteric kind, without which it tends to reduce itself to an ineffectual attempt to lift oneself up by one's shoestrings. As for the Jnana yogin, jnana may carry him very far indeed. It may take him beyond the gross physical plane into the spiritual ones. But can jnana carry him beyond itself? And if jnana, which as we have seen, forms one of the koshas that encompass the atman, albeit a very rarefied one, how can it then give the soul absolute freedom? Jnana is the help and yet it may prove to be the hindrance. It has indubitably the power to rid the soul of all encumbrances grosser than itself, but having reached thus far it tends to clog further progress. And since it is not of the true essence of the soul, the Absolute, it cannot be wholly above the reach of Kala or Time. Mystics distinguish between the two realms of time, Kala and Mahakala, thus: the first of these extends over the physical world and the less gross regions immediately above it, whereas the second stretches to all the higher planes that are not of pure spirit. Hence, the gains that the jnani achieves may be out of the reach of time as we normally conceive it (kala), but they are not wholly beyond the reach of greater time (mahakala). It need hardly be pointed out that what is true of Jnana Yoga is also true of those forms of yoga that depend upon the Pranic energies. They too are not of the true nature of the Atman, and as such cannot lead It to a state of Absolute Purity, beyond the realm of relativity. 18

19 Besides its inability to ensure absolute freedom, Jnana Yoga is not a path accessible to the average man. It demands extra-ordinary intellectual powers and stamina which few possess. It was to meet this difficulty as well as that posed by Karma Yoga when practiced by itself, that Bhakti Yoga came into prominence. He who normally would not be able to detach himself from the world nor had the mental powers to analyse the true Self from the untrue could by the power of love leap or bridge the gap and reach the goal. But how can man love that which has neither form nor shape? So the Bhakta anchors himself in the love of some Isht-deva, some definite manifestation of God. But in overcoming this practical difficulty he exposes himself to the same limitations as the jnani. The chosen Isht-deva by its very nature represents a limitation upon the Nameless and Formless Absolute. And even if the Bhakta reaches the level of that manifestation, can that limited being take him beyond itself to that which has no limitation? A study of the lives of the prominent exponents of this system clarifies the point. Ramanuja, the well-known mystic of the Middle Ages, failed to apprehend the teachings of his predecessor, Shankara. He followed what in Indian philosophy is known as the school of vasisht advaita, i.e., that the Atman can reach Ishwar (God as the manifested Creator of the Universe), and can get saturated with cosmic consciousness, but it can never become one with Him. What to say then of reaching God as the Unmanifested, Nameless Brahman? The experience of Sri Ramakrishna in our own time once again brings out this limitation. He had always been a worshiper of the Divine Mother and she often blessed him with her visions. But he always perceived her as something other than himself, as a power outside himself and one for whose operation he could often become a medium, but in which he could not merge himself. When he subsequently met Totapuri, an advaita sanyasin, he realised that he must get beyond this stage to one where there was no name or form and where the Self and the Over selfbecame one. When he attempted to enter into such a state he discovered that his earlier attainments became a hurdle in spite of all his efforts. He tells us: I could not cross the realm of name and form and bring my mind to the unconditioned state. I had no difficulty in withdrawing my mind from all objects except one, and this was the all too familiar form of the Blissful Mother -- radiant and of the essence of pure consciousness--which appeared before me as a living reality and would not allow me to pass the realm of name and form. Again and again I tried to concentrate my mind upon the Advaita teachings, but every time the Mother's form stood in my way. In despair I said to "the naked one" (his Master Totapuri), "It is hopeless. I cannot raise my mind to the unconditioned state and come face to face with the Atman." He grew excited and sharply said, "What! You can't do it? But you have to." He cast his eyes around for something and finding a piece of glass he took it up and pressing its point between my eyebrows said, "Concentrate your mind on this point." Then 19

20 with stern determination I again sat to meditate, and as soon as the gracious form of the Divine Mother appeared before me, I used my discrimination as a sword and with it severed it into two. There remained no more obstruction to my mind, which at once soared beyond the relative plane, and I lost myself in Samadhi.* * Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna (Mylapore-Madras, 1954), page 313. It is clear therefore that while the bhakta can go very far spiritually, can greatly enhance his consciousness, gain miraculous powers, and anchored in a higher love rise above the love of this world, it is nevertheless not possible for him to get beyond the plane of "name and form," and therefore of relativity. He may get lost in the contemplation of the Godhead with His amazing attributes, but he cannot experience the same in its Nirguna and its Anami, its "Unconditioned" and "Nameless" state. He can feel himself saturated with Cosmic Consciousness, but it comes to him as something outside himself as a gift of grace, and he is not able to lose himself in It and become one with the Ocean of Being. If he does seek to attain that state, his accomplishment as a bhakta, instead of helping him further, tends to hinder and obstruct him. The two things that emerge from an examination of the popular forms of yoga that were evolved after Patanjali are: first that the soul can rise above physical consciousness, given means whereby it can focus its energies, without recourse to the arduous control of pranas, and second that full spiritual realization or true samadhi is not merely a matter of transcending the physical (though that is necessary as a first step), but is the end of a complex inner journey in which there are many intermediate stages the attainment of which, under certain conditions, may be mistaken for the final goal and may thus debar further progress. The problem that arises before the true seeker in the face of such a situation is to discover a means other than that of pranas, jnana, or bhakti of an Isht-deva, as not only to enable the spirit-currents to be released from their present physical bondage, but also to enable the soul to be drawn upward unhindered from one spiritual plane to another until it transcends completely all the realms of relativity of naam and rup, of kala and mahakala, and reaches its goal: at-one-ment with the Nameless and Formless One. The Sound Current It is in the context of this problem that Surat Shabd Yoga, or the yoga of the celestial Sound Current, assumes its unique importance. Those who have mastered this yoga teach that the Absolute, though free of attributes in Its primal state, projects itself into form and assumes two primary attributes: Light and Sound. It is no mere accident, they point out, that in the revelatory literature of all major religions there are frequent references to the "Word" which occupies a central position in their pattern. In the Gospels we have: 20

21 In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. - ST. JOHN In ancient Indian scriptures we read repeatedly of Aum, the sacred Word pervading the three realms of bhur, bhuva and swah (i.e., the physical, astral and causal). Again, Nanak says: The earth and sky are of naught but Shabd (Word). From Shabd alone the light was born, From Shabd alone creation came, Shabd is the essential core in all. Shabd is the directive agent of God, the cause of all creation. (Prabhati) The Muslim Sufis declare: Creation came into being from Saut (Sound or Word) and from Saut spread all light. (Shamas Tabrez) The Great Name is the very essence and life of all names and forms. Its manifest form sustains creation; It is the great ocean of which we are merely the waves, He alone can comprehend this who has mastered our discipline. (Abdul Razaq Kashi) Moses heard the commandments of God amidst thunder and flame, while in Zoroastrian and Taoist thought alike there are references to the "Creative Verbum," the "Divine Light," and to the "Wordless Word," the silent Word. Some learned scholars and theologians in subsequent times, because of their own limited experience, have interpreted these descriptions as metaphoric references to intuitive or intellectual enlightenment. On closer examination such a position will be found to be untenable. The terms "Word" or Logos as used by the Greeks, Hebrews and Europeans, may be distorted to mean "reason" or "order," and "light," may even be made to mean no more than mental illumination, but their equivalents in other religious literature--nad, udgit, akashbani, shabd, naam, saut, bang-i-ilahi, nida-i-asmani, sraosha, tao, and jyoti, prakash, tajalli, nur-i-yazdani, etc., refuse to bear such a travesty of their original mystic meaning. What is more, some seers have stated their real connotation in such a way that there can be no scope for equivocation or room for doubt that what is involved is not figurative expression of ordinary mental experience, but transcendent inner perception. Thus, in the Revelation of St. John we have: His eyes were as a flame of fire... His voice as the sound of many waters... His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength... 21

22 And I heard a Voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers, harping with their harps. While in the Upanishads we are told: First the murmuring sounds resembling those of the waves of the ocean, the fall of rain and then running rivulets, after which the bhervi will be heard, intermingled with the sounds of bell and conch. (Nad Bind Upanishad) The Prophet Mohammad heard celestial music which gradually assumed the shape of Gabriel and formed itself into words; while Baha U'llah relates: Myriads of mystic tongues find utterance in one speech, and myriads of His hidden mysteries are revealed in a single melody; yet alas, there is no ear to hear nor heart to understand! Blind thine eyes, that thou mayest behold My Beauty, and stop thine ears that thou mayest hearken unto the sweet melody of My Voice. These references to Light and Sound, say the Masters of the Surat Shabd Yoga, are not figurative but literal, referring not to the outer illuminations or sounds of this world, but to inner transcendent ones. They teach that the transcendent Sound and Light are the primal manifestations of God when He projects Himself into creation. In His Nameless state He is neither light nor darkness, neither sound nor silence, but when He assumes shape and form, Light and Sound emerge as His primary attributes. This spirit force, Word, Naam, Kalma or God-in-action, is responsible for all that is, and the physical universes that we know are not the only ones that It has created. It has brought into being myriad regions and myriad creations over and above the physical. Indeed the whole is a grand unfathomable illimitable pattern in which the Positive pole (Sach Khand or Sat Lok) is a plane of pure, unalloyed spirit, while the Negative pole (Pind) is of gross physical matter with which we in this world are familiar. In between are countless regions which those who have journeyed from one end to the other often divide into three distinct planes in accordance with the balance of Positive-spiritual and Negative-material forces in each plane. The Masters teach that the one constant principle that links all these planes from pure spirit to gross matter is the principle of the flaming sound or the sounding flame. The Word or Shabd as it descends downward assumes a varying density of spirituo-material forces. Mystics speak of the purple light and the light of the noonday or setting sun, and refer to the sounds of flutes, harps, violins, conches, thunder, bells, running water, etc., but though manifesting differently at different levels the Shabd yet remains constant in Itself. 22

23 As a river springing from the snowy peak of a towering mountain flows toward the sea, it undergoes many changes of setting, shape, motion and appearance, and yet its waters remain the same. If one could discover this audible life-stream within oneself, if one could discover its lower reaches, one could use it as a pathway leading inevitably to its source. The currents might at certain points enter gorges and rapids, but nevertheless they are the surest way on the upward journey. Be a range howsoever unscalable, the waters will have cut a pass and carved a passage, and he who will avail himself of their guidance would never fail to find a way. And since this Naam or Word-current springs from the Anaam or the Wordless, he who holds firmly to It will inevitably reach the starting point, transcending plane after plane of varying relativity until he arrives at the very source of name and form; thence to merge into That which has no name or form. The Cornerstones The Sound Current undoubtedly offers the surest way to man for reaching from form to the Formless, but the question arises, how can man get access to It and thus accomplish his inner journey? Those proficient in this path always maintain that there are three conditions that must be fulfilled before success in this truest of all yoga s can be attained: Satguru: The first condition is that of finding a Satguru or true teacher who is an adept in this mystic science. The subject is one of practical self-realization, not of philosophic dissertation or intuitive feeling. If it were one of mere theory, then books and scriptures would be enough for our purpose, and if it were one of mere feeling then each could trust the promptings of his own mind. But the question before us is that of unlocking a "sixth" sense, one of direct transcendental perception, of inner hearing and seeing. One born deaf and blind may, with the help of Braille, learn the most detailed expositions of man's rich and varied audio-visual experiences, but his study can never give him direct experience. The most that he can get from books is the realization of an extensive plane of experience wholly beyond him, and this can generate in him the urge to discover means whereby he can overcome his physical limitations. It is the expert surgeon or doctor who alone can effect a cure (provided his ailment is curable). And should he fall into the hands of a charlatan, his condition will only become worse and more complicated. In like manner, the aspirant who seeks inner spiritual mastery must seek the aid of one who has already mastered the way. All his readings of scriptures, all his thinking, can at best lead to a single conclusion, provided he is sensitive to the point involved: the need for a living Master. Without such a Master he cannot even understand the true import of the revelatory scriptures. They speak of 23

24 experiences beyond his level of experience, and even in his own language they can only speak in metaphors and parables, for how can the discourses of the blind be made to express directly that of the seeing? To attempt to interpret the rich spiritual heritage in our religious literature wholly in terms of our own limited experience might lead to a distortion of the true meaning. We might gather a great deal of psychological wisdom, but the inner significance would be lost on us, and all our intellectual theorizing would only land us in unending theological contradictions with which the various institutionalized religions are encumbered today. Only one who has himself experienced what the great scriptures describe, can guide us to their real significance. But the task of a spiritual teacher does not end there. The elucidation of the true meaning of religion is no more than a first step. After the aspirant has understood the nature of his goal, he must pursue it practically and rationally. To know is one thing, and to do is quite another. It is only after he has explained to the aspirant the end to be attained that the Master's real task begins. It is not enough that the doctor diagnoses the cause of the blind man's ailment, he must perform the operation as well. So too the spiritual guide at the time of initiation gives the disciple a first-hand experience of the inner Light and Sound. He puts him into touch with the Divine Stream, be it at its lowest level, and instructs him in the sadhnas to be followed for consolidating and developing this inner experience to its full extent. He who can find such a teacher is blessed indeed. But to discover such a one and be initiated by him is not enough. The germinal spiritual experience that he gives must be nurtured and developed to the point of full spiritual efflorescence. To be able to do this, one must accept whatever one learns and attempt to put it into practice. To know such a man is to love him, and to love him is to follow his commandments. Until one can thus love and obey, and so transform one's life, the gift of the Guru remains as a seed locked away in a steel vault where it cannot sprout and grow to fruition. Sadachar: It is the necessity for self-discipline that makes sadachar the second cornerstone of the pattern. The word sadachar is not easy to translate. One can find many literal equivalents, but none of them really expresses its extensive and many-sided significance. In brief, it stands for the good and pure life. It does not imply any rigid code or set moral formulae, but suggests purity and simplicity, which radiate from within and spread outwards, permeating every action, every word, every thought. It is as much concerned with one's personal habits, good and hygienic, as with one's individual and social ethics. And on its ethical side, it is concerned not merely with one's relation to one's fellow men but to all living things, i.e., harmony which is the result of recognition that all things are from the same Essence, and so a worm is as much a part of Brahman as the mightiest of gods, Indra. 24

25 The first lesson taught by a true Guru is that of "the identity of substance," and he who has grasped this truth will discipline his life accordingly He will not be a prey to inordinate desires, and his one aim will be to reach the still point which holds in itself all actions, the point where to have nothing is to possess everything. He will know that the one path to fulfilment is through renunciation, and the one way to reach the Almighty is through freeing himself from all other attachments: In order to arrive at having pleasure in everything, Desire to have pleasure in nothing. In order to arrive at possessing everything, Desire to possess nothing. In order to arrive at being everything, Desire to be nothing. (St. John of the Cross) Cleanse the chamber of thy heart That thy Beloved may enter. (Tulsi Sahib) Freed from the demon of desire (kama), he will be freed from the demon of wrath (krodh), which follows upon frustration of desire. Liberated from these, he would be freed also from greed (lobh), attachment (moh) and pride (ahankar), which are but the extensions of desire. His would be a life of detachment or of nishkama. But detachment would not be for him a life of indifference or of ascetic renunciation. To know all life is to discover a new bond between oneself and the rest of creation. He who knows this cannot be merely "indifferent." He must perforce be filled to overflowing with sympathy for all that he confronts, and sympathy toward the whole must imply a certain holy indifference to the part. He will no longer be tied to his own narrow individual interests, but will share his love and resources with all. He will develop, slowly but surely, something of the compassion of the Buddha and the love of Christ. Nor will he feel himself called upon to leave the world for the solitude of the forest, the mountain or the desert cave. The detachment must be an inner one, and one who cannot achieve it at home will not achieve it in the forest. He will recognize the great use of occasional retreats from worldly affairs and cares to the silence of solitary meditation and concentration, but he will not seek to escape from life and its responsibilities. He will be a loving husband and a good father, but while being these he will never forget the ultimate purpose of life, always knowing how to give unto Caesar that which is Caesar's, and preserving for God that which is God's. The way for transcending desire, he will know, is not through repressing it but meeting it squarely and overcoming it. To him, sanyasa is not a matter of outer evasion or escapism but of inner freedom, an idea that is well expressed by Nanak thus: Let contentment be your earrings, And endeavour for the Divine and respect for the higher Self 25

26 your wallet, And constant meditation on Him your ashes, Let preparedness for death be your cloak, And let your body be like unto a chaste virgin. Let your Master's teachings be your supporting staff. (Jap Ji) The two cardinal virtues that such a man will cultivate will be charity and chastity. He will be large of heart and bounteous, caring more for the sufferings of others than for his own, and easily forgiving those that injure him. He will be simple and restrained in his habits. His wants will be few and easily satisfied, for one who has too many desires and too many attachments cannot be pure of heart. For him chastity will extend even to giving up meat and drink. When all life is one, to live upon the flesh of other living beings would be to defile oneself. And when one's goal is to attain even higher realms of consciousness, to resort to narcotics and intoxicants is only to court regression. It is not an idiosyncrasy of Indian seers that they should have made abstinence from meat and drink a necessary part of the spiritual discipline. We have similar injunctions in the Koran and the Holy Bible. Thus in Proverbs 23:20, we find: Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh. And in Romans 14: 21: It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor anything whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak. And in I Corinthians 6:13: Meats for the belly, and belly for meats; but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body. In the Essene Gospel of John (direct translation from the Aramaic of the pure original words of Jesus), we have: But they answered Him: "Whither should we go, Master,... for with you are the words of eternal life. Tell us, what are the sins we must shun, that we may nevermore see disease?" Jesus the Nazarene answered: "Be it so according to your faith," and He sat down among them, saying: "It was said to them of olden time, 'Honour thy Heavenly Father and thy Earthly Mother, and their commandments, that thy days may be long upon the earth.' And next was given this commandment: 'Thou shalt not kill,' for life is given to all by God, and that which God has given, let not man take away. For I tell you truly, from one Mother proceeds all that lives upon the earth. Therefore he who kills, kills his brother. And from him will the Earthly Mother turn away, and will 26

27 pluck from him her quickening breasts. And he will be shunned by her angels, and Satan will have his dwelling in his body. And the flesh of slain beasts in his body will become his own tomb. For I tell you truly, he who kills, kills himself, and whosoever eats the flesh of slain beasts, eats of the body of death. And their death will become his death. For the wages of sin is death. Kill not, neither eat the flesh of your innocent prey, lest you become the slaves of Satan. For that is the path of sufferings, and it leads unto death. But do the Will of God, that his angels may serve you on the way of life. Obey, therefore, the words of God: 'Behold, I have given you every herb, bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth wherein there is breath of life, I give every green herb for meat.' Also the milk of everything that moveth and that liveth upon each shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given unto them, so I give their milk unto you. But flesh, and the blood which quickens it, shall ye not eat." And Jesus continued: "God commanded your forefathers, 'Thou shalt not kill.' But their heart was hardened and they killed. Then Moses desired that at least they should not kill men, and he suffered them to kill beasts. And then the heart of your forefathers was hardened yet more, and they killed men and beasts likewise. But I say to you: Kill neither men, nor beasts, nor yet the food which goes into your mouth. For if you eat living food the same will quicken you, but if you kill your food, the dead food will kill you also. For life comes only from life, and from death comes always death. For everything which kills your foods, kills your bodies also. And everything which kills your bodies, kills your souls also. And your bodies become what your foods are, even as your spirits, likewise, become what your thoughts are." With the chastity in food and drink will go another kind of chastity, the one that pertains to sex. One will not suppress all sexual desire, for repression can only breed neurosis and prepare the way for a downfall, but he will be ever seeking to sublimate it. He will understand that nature's purpose in this instinct is to preserve the race and will channel it so as to fulfil that purpose, never making it an end in itself, a source of physical pleasure, for when it becomes that, it turns into a drug that anaesthetizes the spirit and begins to defeat nature's purpose of procreation by encouraging the invention and use of contraceptives. In short, the sincere and conscientious aspirant will reorient his entire mode of life, in eating and drinking, thinking, acting, feeling, etc. He will gradually weed out of his mind all irrelevant and unhealthy desires, until he gradually attains the state of purity and simplicity that marks the child. 27

28 Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of God. (St. Matthew) All religious teachers the world over, laid great stress on higher moral values, and these in fact, constitute the groundwork for their teachings. A true Master always insists on the maintaining of a record of daily lapses in thought, word and deed, from non-injury, truth, chastity, universal love and self-less service of all, the five cardinal virtues that pave the way for spirituality. It is only the knowledge of our faults that can make us weed them out and strive in the right direction. Through all this process of reintegration, his inspiration will be the example of his Master and the inner experience he gives. His Master's life will be a living testament beckoning him toward the ideal of sadachar, and the experience he has of the Word within will stand as a proof of the truth of what his Master teaches. Sadachar is no dry discipline that can be attained by following certain set formulae. It is a way of life, and in such matters only heart to heart can speak. It is this that makes Satsang, or association with a true Master, so important. It not only serves as a constant reminder of the goal before the seeker, but through the magic touch of personal contact, gradually transforms his entire mode of thinking and feeling. As his heart and mind under this benign influence grow gradually purer, his life more fully centres in the divine. In short, as he increasingly realizes in practice the ideal of sadachar, his thoughts, now scattered and dissipated, will gain equipoise and integration till they arrive at so fine a focus that the veils of inner darkness are burnt to cinders and the inner glory stands revealed. Sadhna: And now we come to the third cornerstone of the spiritual edifice, that of spiritual sadhna or discipline. The one recurrent theme of a puran guru or perfect teacher, is that the good life, though highly desirable and indispensable, is hot an end in itself. The goal of life is something inner and different. It is an ascension from the plane of relativity and physical existence into one of Absolute Being. He who recognizes this will mould his life accordingly, first, because such a recognition implies a state of mind that, being free from ego and attachment, expesses itself in virtuous and creative action, and second, because without cultivating such a state of mind and of life one cannot attain the poise and concentration required for inner ascension. So the basic stress of the enlightened teacher is laid always upon the transcendental goal. He teaches that the pranic and vigyanic energies are not of the essence of Atman, but take their birth in planes lower than those of pure spirit. He who would use them as a ladder may transcend bodily consciousness, may reach the planes whence they originate, but he cannot reach beyond. The spirit being similar in all, the means to spiritual enlightenment should likewise be accessible to all. But, as has been seen already, such forms of yoga as are 28

29 based on the pranas or on jnana make special demands which all cannot fulfil. Thc pranic systems are beyond the reach of the old or those of tender years, and also of those who suffer from any respiratory or digestive disorders. The path of jnana presumes mental and intellectual capacities that Nature bestows only on few. If these approaches were indeed the natural ones open to us, then the logical conclusion would be that Nature is very partial in her blessings, discriminating between man and man. Why, if the sun shines for all, and the wind blows for all, should the inner treasures be available only to the chosen few? They are also for the learned and the unlearned. Yogas that are so discriminating in selecting their practitioners, and so exacting in their practice, cannot be wholly natural. The method taught by the Masters of the Surat Shabd Yoga is different. As mentioned earlier, the nature of creation and the way back to life's initial source is explained to the seeker. At the time of initiation, he is given a first-hand inner experience which he is taught to develop. The seat of the soul is between and behind the eyebrows. This at least is accepted by all yoga s. It is to this point that mvstics refer when they speak of shiv netra, divya chakshu, tisra til, Brahmrendra, triambka, trilochana, nukta-isweda, koh-i-toor, third eye, single eye, figuratively called the still point, the mount of transfiguration, etc. It is at this point that the sadhak having closed his eyes must focus his attention, but the effort at concentration must be an effortless one and there must be no question of any physical or mental strain. To assist this effort the teacher gives the disciple a mantra, or charged verbal formula, which is symbolic of the journey ahead. This formula, when repeated slowly and lovingly with the tongue of thought, helps the disciple to collect his scattered thoughts gradually at a single point. What gives this mantra its potency is not any magic inherent in the words per se, but the fact that it is given by one who, by his own spiritual practice and mastery, has charged it with inner power. When the aspirant, by his inner concentration and by the mental repetition of the charged words, has brought his inward gaze to a sharp and steady focus, he will find that the darkness within that he at first confronted, gets gradually illuminated by shifting points of light. As his powers of concentration increase, the lights cease flickering and develop into a single radiating point. This process of concentration, or the collection of surat, automatically draws the spirit-currents, normally dissipated all over the body, toward the spiritual center. This withdrawal is greatly assisted by simran or repetition of the charged mantra; and the perception of the inner light, leading to dhyan or one-pointed concentration, quickens the process still further. In turn, dhyan when fully developed, leads to bhajan or inner hearing. The inner light begins to become resonant. Within thee is Light and within the Light the Sound, and the same shall keep thee attached to the True One. (Gurbani) 29

30 The practitioner, when he shuts his physical ears, gets rapidly absorbed into the music. It is a common experience that though light can catch the eye, it cannot hold it for very long and has no very magnetic quality about it. But with music it is different. He who hears it in silence and stillness, is drawn irresistibly, as it were, into another world, a different realm of experience. And so the process of withdrawal that begins with simran, is stimulated by dhyan, and is rapidly extended by bhajan. The spiritual currents, already moving slowly, are carried upward, collecting finally at the third eye--the seat of the soul. The spiritual transcending of physical consciousness, or death in life, is thus achieved with the minimum of effort and travail. When students of the other forms of yoga reach the state of full physical transcendence after a long and exacting mastery of the lower chakras, they generally assume that they have reached their journey's end. The inner plane at which they find themselves--the realm of Sahasrar or Sahasdal Kamal, often symbolised by the sun-wheel, the lotus or the multifoliate rose--is indeed incomparably more beautiful than anything on earth, and in comparison appears timeless. But when the student of the Surat Shabd Yoga succeeds in rising above physical consciousness, he finds the Radiant Form of his Master waiting unsought to receive him. Indeed, it is at this point that the real Guru-shishya or teacher-student relationship is established. Up to this stage, the Guru had been little more than a human teacher, but now he is seen as the divine guide or Gurudev, who shows the inner way: The feet of my Master have been manifested in my forehead, And all my wanderings and tribulations have ended. (Guru Arjan) With the appearance of the Radiant Form of the Master within, No secret remains hidden in the womb of time. Jesus the Nazarene also speaks in the same strain: There is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed, and hid, that shall not be known. (Matthew) Under the guidance of this Celestial Guide the soul learns to overcome the first shock of joy, and realizes that its goal lies still far ahead. Accompanied by the Radiant Form and drawn by the Audible Life Current, it traverses from region to region, from plane to plane, dropping off kosha after kosha, until at last it stands wholly divested of all that is not of its nature. Thus disentangled and purified it can at last enter the realm where it sees that it is of the same essence as the Supreme Being, that the Master in His Radiant Form and the soul are not separate but One, and that there is naught but the Great Ocean of Consciousness, of Love, of Bliss ineffable. Who shall describe the splendour of this realm? Only heart to heart can speak of the bliss of mystic knowers: No messenger can tell it and no missive bear it. (Hafiz) 30

31 When the pen set to picturing this station, It broke in pieces and the page was torn. (Persian Mystic) Having reached the journey's end, the seeker too merges with the Word and enters the company of the Free Ones. He may continue to live like other men in this world of human beings, but his spirit knows no limitations and is as infinite as God Himself. The wheel of transmigration can no longer affect him, and his consciousness knows no restrictions. Like his Master before him, he has become a Conscious Co-worker of the Divine Plan. He does nothing for himself but works in God's name. If there be indeed any Neh-Karmi (one free from the bonds of action), it is he, for there is no more potent means to freedom than the Power of the Word He alone is action-free who communes with God. Freedom for him is not something that comes after death (videh mukti); it is something achieved in life itself. He is a jivan-mukta (free-in-life); like a flower shedding fragrance, he spreads the message of freedom wherever he goes. Those who have communed with the Word, their toils shall end. And their faces shall flame with glory. Not only shall they have salvation, O Nanak, but many more shall find freedom with them. (Jap JI) In actual practice of the spiritual discipline, stress is laid on Simran, Dhyan and Bhajan, each of which plays a specific role in unfoldment of the Self. The Master gives Simran or mental repetition of the charged words, which help in gathering together the wandering wits of the practitioner to the still point of the soul between and behind the two eyebrows, to which place the sensory currents now pervading from top to toe are withdrawn, and one becomes lost to the consciousness of the flesh. The successful completion of this process of itself leads to dhyan or concentration. Dhyan is derived from the Sanskrit root dhi, meaning "to bind" and "to hold on." With the inner eye opened, the aspirant now sees shimmering streaks of heaven's light within him and this keeps his attention anchored. Gradually, the light grows steady in his sadhna, for it works as a sheet-anchor for the soul. Dhyan or concentration when perfected, leads one to Bhajan or attuning to the music which emerges from within the center of the holy light. This enchanting holy melody has a magnetic pull which is irresistible, and the soul cannot but follow it to the spiritual source from whence the music emerges. The soul is helped by this triple process to slide out of the shackles of the body and becomes anchored in the heavenly radiance of its Self (atman), and is led on to the heavenly home of the Father. The entire process is nurtured by Sat Naam, Satguru and Satsang, which in fact are synonymous for the Master Power at work. Sat Naam is the Power of the Absolute stirred into compassion and when It puts on the flesh, It assumes the 31

32 form of the Guru (Word made flesh), and works through him by means of Satsang, both outer and inner, which helps the jivas ripe for regeneration. This Power works on all the planes simultaneously, according to the needs of each individual; by word of mouth as a Guru in human form, sharing in all joys and sorrows of the human beings; by inner guidance as Guru-deva in his astral, luminous or radiant form, and finally as Satguru--a veritable Master of Truth. There are two ways within: jyoti marg and sruti marg (the way of light and the way of sound), respectively. The holy Light keeps the soul anchored and absorbed and to a certain extent leads the soul as well, but the holy Word pulls it upward and carries it across from plane to plane in spite of various hurdles on the Way, like blinding or bewildering lights, densely pitch darkness, etc., until the soul reaches its destination. Baba Sawan Singh ( ), also known as The Great Image result for Sant MatMaster was an Indian Saint, the second Satguru of Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB) from the death of Baba Jaimal Singh in 1903 until his own death on April 2, (Sawan Singh was master to Sant Kirpal Singh). Shabd is the Sound Current vibrating in all creation. It can be heard by the inner ears. Variously referred to as the Audible Life Stream, Inner Sound, Sound Current or the Word. Surat Shabd Yoga arose in India in the last several hundred years, specifically in the Sikh tradition founded by Guru Nanak. Surat Shabda Yoga is also known as Sehaj Yoga the path leading to Sehaj or equipoise, The Path of Light and Sound, The Path of the Sants or Saints, The Journey of Soul, and The Yoga of the Sound Current. Also called Sant Mat. Masters want to take us into an entirely different world; and when you ascend above the body, you will yourself experience that audible Sound. A certain Saint says that the Sound, which is the God Power, the Christ Power, the Guru Power, is telling us to, Come children; He is awaiting us above. It is there, awaiting us, and is apparent in the form of Light, audible in the form of Sound, and leads the soul to its Source, where all is a wordless state. Sant Kirpal Singh Image result for website welcome iconस रत Surat. Surat Shabd Yoga is a type of yoga in the Sant Mat tradition. Surat means attention or face, that is, an outward expression of the soul. Shabd or Shabda has multiple meanings including sacred song, word, voice, hymn, verse, or sound current, audible life stream The essence of the Absolute Supreme Being. A dynamic force of creative energy sent out into the abyss of space at the dawn of the universe s manifestation, as sound vibrations. These vibrations continue and are sent forth through the ages, framing all things that constitute and inhabit the universe. Yoga is literally union, or to yoke. Surat Shabd Yoga means the Union of the Soul with the Essence of the Absolute Supreme Being. This 32

33 process includes connecting one s soul or attention, Surat with the inner Current of Light and Sound of God, the Shabd. Sat This Sound Current cannot be heard by the uninitiated. The central tenet is the need to be initiated by a living Master or Satguru, sat meaning true, and guru meaning Master or Spiritual Teacher. The Master must be competent in the sense of having been commissioned by God, not just a person who feels like working in the role of a guru. Sant Mat literally means Teachings of the Saints the Path of Sants (Saints), Path of Truth, Right or Positive Path. As point of view of the Sants, the term Sant is pivotal. Derived from the Sanskrit sat (सत) and has overlapping usages (true, real, honest, right). Its root meaning is one who knows(is) the truth or one who has experienced (merged into) Ultimate Reality. Contemporary Sat Mat movements assert that the Master or Guru is provided by God as the channel through which God manifests in the world God is believed to be unknowable and inconceivable, so he has created Gurus as a way in which to be available. Teachers of contemporary Sant Mat movements claim to teach a spiritual path which is intentionally easier than others described in the ancient scriptures as it requires nothing more than sitting quietly and looking and listening within. Offshoots The 20th century religion Eckankar is a contemporary, western style version of Sant Mat. It s founder, Sri Paul Twitchell was initiated by Kirpal Singh. Eckankar is modeled after the original surat shabd yoga: The path of the light and sound current. The Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness, founded in America in 1971 by John-Roger with students in thirty-two countries, also teaches a similar form of active meditation called spiritual exercises. This movement uses the Sound Current and ancient Sanskrit tones in order to traverse and return to the higher realms of Spirit and into God. Sant Kirpal Singh Man, Know Thyself! by Sant Kirpal Singh Since the beginning of creation, when the first flicker of self-awakening dawned on man, his attention has been more and more concerned with the problem of his own worldly existence and the investigation into the cause and source of all creation. For ages, he has probed and queried in vain, but now, at last, his 33

34 increasing thirst for knowledge is turning him to study the results achieved by others in the field. Ancient and modern sages asked, What is that, the knowledge of which makes everything else known? and in the same breath replied, Knowledge of the higher self the true man. So the supreme knowledge is that which deals, both in theory and practice, with man s true nature and his relation to God. It is, in fact, a natural science without a hypothesis, subject neither to change nor time. In ancient India it was called Para-Vidya (science of realized truth or science of the beyond) and different denominations sprang up to interpret this knowledge. The term Apra-Vidya, standing for preparation for achieving the knowledge of Para-Vidya, was then introduced. This preparation consists of following an ethical and moral life, and the practice of concentration or meditation (in so many ways) both being indispensable for spiritual development. Man is constantly changing or introducing new names and terminologies to describe this science. The Masters were called Sants, and the nature of knowledge Mat, thus giving us the term Sant-Mat, which is at present mostly used to name the path of the Masters. Other terms, such as Shabd Yoga, Surat Shabd Yoga, Sehaj Yoga, are also used to describe the same science. In the Sanskrit language, the word Sant means Master of the highest order, and Mat is a confirmed opinion or statement made by an adept after personal experience. The foundation of this science, therefore, is the result of a critical study, minute investigation, and the lifelong personal verification of facts based on practical experience of the self in man. This experience of the self is something that a competent Master is prepared to give to each individual who approaches him. Sant Mat, therefore, is the teaching, system and path of the Saints. The Masters do not attach any importance to names, designations, or the fact that many religious sects, groups and circles, have claimed this science as their own and named it after their leaders or founders. They look upon these groups as schools where man the noblest being in creation can study with other men as children of one and the same almighty father. A Master (also called Sant Satguru), has complete mastery of both the theory and practice, and is competent to impart both knowledge and experience to all sincere seekers after truth, without any distinction whatsoever of colour, caste or creed. Any man or woman, whether rich or poor, young or old, sage or sinner, learned or unlearned, who is able to grasp the theory of the Science, has a right to acquire this knowledge. Sant Kirpal Singh, a contemporary Sant Mat guru, stated that Naam ( Word ) has been described in many traditions through the use of several different terms. In his teachings, the following expressions are interpreted as being identical to Naam : 34

35 Naad, Akash Bani, and Sruti in the Vedas Nada and Udgit in the Upanishads Logos and Word in the New Testament Tao by Lao Zi Music of the Spheres by Pythagoras Sraosha by Zoraster Kalma and Kalam-i-Qadim in the Qur an Naam, Akhand Kirtan, and Sacha ( True ) Shabd by Guru Granth Sahib Kirpal Singh s excerpts from the Bible on Naam, or the Word. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. John 1:1-3 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. John 1 : 14. Forever, O Lord, Thy Word is settled in heaven. Psalms 119 : 89 Upholding all things by the Word of his Power. Hebrews I : 3 By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made. For He spake and it was done. Psalms 33: 6-9 And they were astonished at his doctrine for his Word was with power. Luke 4 : 32. Now ye are clean through the Word which I have spoken unto you, General Hindu and Surat Shabd Yoga Spirituality The first paragraph describes the origin of the soul. The soul is part of the Supreme Being in the true realm, ultimate reality. Then the soul individualized, and incarnated into various coverings or bodies (mental, akashic, astral and physical) going to various realms, living out separate existences being dominated by the senses. God or the Supreme is described as the Nameless or Soundless One. Then there are realms of Sound and Light, and the relatively dark matter of the physical universe or multiverse. This is where most of us are, 35

36 or where we think we are - this is where are awareness is most of the time. We are aware of the world as we perceive via the five senses. In the second paragraph we see a reversal of this process being advocated, an inversion or going within. The soul, during meditation, begins the journey back to its Source. By merging into the divine Light, then the divine Sound, the soul, transcending the physical world, astral, causal, mental, and etheric realms, eventually returns home. It returns to itself again as the pure naked soul, it's true Self. In Sant Mat, one is trained to listen for certain inner Lights and Sounds of the various planes. In meditation, it can appear like one is going through a tunnel, or, scenes change from one thing to another, lights within lights, lotuses within lotuses. There are sounds within sounds also. The bell sound morphs into a conch-shell, or thunder/drums, sitar, flute-like sound, bagpipes, vina, and so on. Beyond all the "veils" of the physical body and the subtle bodies associated with the different planes, is the soul. In this form of meditation, surat shabda yoga, the awareness of the soul travels from this outer world of the five senses, through astral, causal, mental, and etheric realms, and back to itself again - know thyself as soul. Beyond all these veils of darkness, Light, and Sound, is the Soundless One, the Supreme Being. The third paragraph discusses the meditation techniques used to "get There from here". 1) Manas jap: "manas" means mental, and "jap" or, "jappa" refers to the chanting of mantras, sacred names. Thus, manas jap is the practice of mentally repeating names of God with the "tongue of thought". This practice is also called Simran, and the Sufis call it Zikhr. This is a spiritual exercise one can do within the privacy of one's mind throughout the day to remember God in all of our activities, and this is also the first technique in Sant Mat meditation. 2) Manas dhyana, is the technique of mentally visualizing a Form of God or the image of one's Guru. This is a visual form of relaxation, and the repetition of sacred names is the auditory equivalent. One repeats the name their teacher gives them while visualizing. Together, these are a powerful combination, making it possible to get centered and helps to prepare one for the next stage. "Coupled with this physical stillness and ceaseless repetition of God's name [Simran practice], the next step is to contemplate the Light within." (Yogani Mataji) The Spiritual Senses, Seeing and Hearing Within 3) Dirsti yoga: the Yoga of Light: "the practice of the meditation on the infinitesimally small point [bindu] is the worship of the subtle qualified form of God (God perceived as the infinitesimal point)." Other terms for this 36

37 "infinitesimal point" are: Single Eye, Third Eye Center, Seat of the Soul, and Tishra Til. As one is in the darkness repeating divine names and visualizing the form of their Guru or Ideal, Light may manifest itself: flashes of Light, shimmering Light, lights of various colours, clouds of Light, sparks or fireflies, stars, suns, moons, etc... This is being centred at the Third Eye, which is like a Door or Portal to the worlds beyond. This is our own Hubble Space Telescope Within, so to speak. In meditation, one simply gets relaxed and centred, and notices a shift from an awareness of the five-sense world to our "Within" or Inner Space. With a certain amount of concentration, with the help of the sacred name or names one is repeating, along with visualizing the form of the teacher, one sees the inner Light. Seeing Light beyond the darkness is what it means to reach the Third Eye Centre. At the time of initiation, one's teacher reveals the details of what kinds of visions and Lights one should contemplate. Certain sights in Inner Space are associated with particular planes and serve as markers along the way. "At first, Mataji pointed out, there will be only darkness but eventually Light will appear in the form of either small flashes or small star-like points. In any case, one should focus on the radiance, keeping one's Simran intact and allowing the Light to draw the soul inward." (Yogani Mataji) 4) As one's concentration develops at the Third Eye Centre, one begins to make the transition from lower to higher, from outer to inner, from visualization of a form, to real-light-seen, from the sound of Simran words being repeated in one's thoughts, to the Divine Sound, a Mantra that repeats all by Itself. Even as contemplating real inner Light is preferable to visualizations, there is meditation upon inner Sound, which is viewed as a higher or more advanced stage of practice than the repetition of mantra-names. There is a higher Name of God one can encounter. The Divine Word is the True Name or Naam. Nadanu-sandhana: Concentration on divine Sound -- the Yoga of Sound: These are inner Sounds. At the time of initiation one is given instruction on meditating upon certain sounds within. There are many sounds, but certain ones will attract the soul, pulling it up to higher levels of awareness. "The most important step, Mataji said, is to listen to the Sound that issues forth from the Light. It is this Internal Music which will numb the body and allow the consciousness to leave its ordinary dwelling. By riding this Current of Light and Sound, like a fish going upstream, the soul will be able to go back to its original Home." (Yogani Mataji, a Radhaswami Guru I've always liked, quoted in the book, Enchanted Land) 5) Soundless Yoga: Beyond form is the Formless. Beyond Sound is the Soundless State, God, the Nameless, the Soundless One, the Formless, Nondual Ocean of Love. Of this state, Swami Ji Maharaj said: "The Supreme Being Sat Purush Radhaswami is Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent. His attributes are Grace, Mercy, Love, Bliss and Peace." 37

38 "From one step to another the soul beholds strange things which cannot be described in human language. Every region and everything is utterly beyond words. What beauty and glory! How can I describe them? There is nothing here to convey the idea. I am helpless... "Love plays the supreme part. It is all love. "So says RADHASWAMI." Why the need for a living master and Initiation into the Secrets of Surat Shabda Yoga? Of course, if it wasn't for living masters, recent masters and past masters, we would not be having this conversation. There would be no understanding or organized path teaching this as a divine possibility, that human beings can taste something of heaven, even now during this present life, in this present moment of time. Note: a word about masters and spiritual paths: A true master does not charge money for this sort of meditation practice according to the Sant Mat tradition. A spiritual master also is compassionate, and is ethical in his or her conduct, practicing what they preach, following the principles of ahimsa: non-violence in thought, word, and deed. In other words, with a true master there is no abuse of power, no sexual misconduct, no misappropriation of funds, and no unloving tone or atmosphere. The tone of the teachings will be compassionate, positive and healthy. Even if a guru's teachings are essentially correct but they are not ethical in their conduct, they are not a real master. 'The student is genuine, even if the teacher is not', and therefore may benefit somewhat from any number of teachers over the years, but a more advanced master of the Positive Power will be a much better influence and will take one higher. In the ancient Sanskrit language, the word "Sant" means master of the highest order. The definition of a master in Sant Mat is, esoterically, someone who has reached the Fifth Plane or Above - that makes them a Sant - a soul that has merged in God. For them to function in the capacity of a Satguru, they are usually someone who has been appointed ('accredited') by their teacher to be the next master of a lineage or spiritual community. Someone like this gives out not only the theory of the meditation, but is the embodiment of it as well. A true master experiences these realms for themselves. Thus, their students not only have the theory of the meditation practice, but generally, they have success in their own experience of Divine Light and Sound within when they meditate and are accurately following the instructions they were given at the time of initiation. There is a spiritual principal that: "we are influenced by the company we keep". When we associate with those who experience Divine Light and Sound, there is a spiritual influence which helps us to open up to Light and Sound as well. In India, this is called Satsang (association with eternal Truth or God). People get together to hear the teachings and meditate together. There is a Group Energy that provides a boost or jump-start that helps open us up to our own experience. 38

39 "Where two or three are gathered in My Name, I Am in their midst", as the saying goes. Even better than meditating with other initiates is to meditate with a living master, and this is what initiation is, along with complete guidance and instruction on how to meditate, as well as on how to integrate this sort of meditation practice with one's daily life in a balanced and healthy sort of way. It is a "far out" form of meditation, but we need not meditate in a cave all day long or be "blown away" by the experience. We are simply adding another level of consciousness to our existence. Along with the waking state, the unconscious state of deep sleep, and the dream-state, we are adding the meditative state of inner Light and Sound - Surat Shabda Yoga, to our daily schedule and spend some time in Inner Space, what some call "the Fourth State of Consciousness." Yogani Mataji: "On the journey within, the soul must be guided by a true master so as not to be detained in any of the lower illusory regions." The self-existent Lord pierced the senses To turn outward. Thus we look to the world Outside and see not the Self within us. A sage withdrew his senses from the world Of change [samsara] and, seeking immortality, Looked within and beheld the deathless Self. (Katha Upanishad, part 2, 1, 1,) Meditation Technique Surat Shabd Yoga Meditation Practices "The five practices are gross to subtle in an ascending order: manas jap and manas dhyana, Dirsti yoga, Nadanu-sandhana (Sound Yoga), and the Soundless Yoga. The practice of manas japa (mantra) and manas dhyana is the worship of the (material) qualified (personal) form of God (God perceived as name and form in the gross realm); the practice of the meditation on the infinitesimally small point is the worship of the subtle qualified form of God (God perceived as the infinitesimal point); Concentration on divine sounds (other than Sar Sabad, the Divine Sound of the beginning, Word, Logos) is the worship of the qualified formless Divine. And, finally, meditation on the Sar Sabad (the Original Divine Sound) is worship of the Unqualified-Formless (transcendent Godhead)." (Sant Sevi Ji Maharaj) 39

40 The mystics and saints call Surat Shabd Yoga the science of the soul. This meditation is also called Sadhna as it leads to moksha. Surat Shabd Yoga believes that initiation by a Satguru is a must for a successful sadhna. This surat shabd yoga meditation technique is a simple process, but it needs practice to master it. 1. Time Although this meditation could be done anytime and anywhere, the masters advise to meditate early in the morning, before breakfast and possibly before sunrise and also just before you go to bed at night. Make it a regular habit. This helps in becoming adept at this form of meditation. With regular practice, you can perfect it and then can do the meditation successfully whenever you need or want to do it. 2. Comfort The next thing that comes is your position and comfort. It is recommended that you do this meditation, like all other kinds of meditation, in a comfortable position. You need to relax your body to divert your attention from the outer world and turn it inwards. You can sit in a comfortable chair, or in Sukhasana or Vajrasana. But keep your back straight and do not let it slouch. Comfort does not mean hunching your body as that interferes with breathing. Sukhasana, Easy Pose, Decent Pose, or Pleasant Pose is an asana practised in yoga. Sanskrit: स ख सन; Sukh Pleasure, Asana Pose; Pronounced As sookah-sah-nah. This pose is best-suited for meditation for both beginners and advanced practitioners. Sukhasana comes from the Sanskrit word Sukham that means easy, pleasure, comfort, and pleasure. People of all ages can do this asana. 3. Dhyana Next step in this meditation is dhyana or concentration. Close your eyes and relax your body. Let your breathing be natural; do not interfere. Let your consciousness leave your physical body and try to take it away from the mental mess in your mind. Concentrate on the dark screen that you see in your mind and concentrate at the eye centre. Slowly you ll hear the inner sounds, the inner music, the shabd. Gradually that dark veil will get replaced by colours and light. 4. Simran Simran means repetition of the Naam (Name). This could be OM, Allah Hul, Vahe Guru, Jesus, Satnaam, or any name that you believe can lead your mind out of the chaos. Our mind is like a butterfly, it is restless. Simran is the key to make it focus and open the door to our inner being. Surat Shabd Yoga believes 40

41 in the Panch Naam mentioned by the ancient gurus in the scriptures Jot Nirinjan, Omkar, Rarankar, Sohang and Satnaam. Keep repeating the Naam (Name) to guide your mind out of the chaos brewing inside your brain. History of Simran Practice The Nameless God has been given many names over the centuries. There are countless Divine names used as mantras or sacred words of Remembrance in various schools of spirituality. In Dadu Panth, that sacred name of God at the highest level is Satya-Raam. The name Raam was very frequently mentioned in the hymns of Guru Kabir, Sant Namdev, and other classic Sants of India. Some receive a single Name, others a longer Guru Mantra phrase. Some are given The Five Names (panch naam) consisting of five holy names of God. These are revealed at the time of Initiation into Sant Mat or Surat Shabd Yoga meditation practice. These same five names have been used for centuries in certain branches of Sant Mat connected with Kabir and Sant Dharam Das, Sant Dariya Sahib, Sant Tulsi Sahib, and Sant Radhasoami Sahib. Others have been given five Sufi names of God at the time of Initiation into Surat Shabd Yoga meditation. These five Sufi or Islamic names have the same essential meaning as the five Indian names used in some forms of Sant Mat, and, as with the Indian names, also correspond to five basic inner regions. (In one of the Jewish Gnostic paths of antiquity, a group known as the Sethians, there was also a five-named or panch naam mantra approach, only with five Hebrew names that have been found in Coptic texts of Egypt. Those were associated with certain heavenly regions: Harmoz-el, Oroia-el, Daveithai, El-eleth, and another word meaning, the Self-Begotten One.) Others are given the name of the Most High God RADHASOAMI (Rad-Da-Swam-e, Soul-Lord or Lord of the Soul ), associated with the Eighth Plane, to use in simran practice along one s journey through all of the various states and stages within during meditation. Other Sant Mat lineages use a two-syllabled sacred word revealed at the time of Initiation, and it represents a name for the Soundless One. In the classic bhajans and banis of the Sants of India appear numerous names of God. One can read verses exhorting devotees to repeat many names of the Nameless, Soundless, Formless One: Repeat the Name of Raam. Repeat the Name of Radhaswami. Repeat the Name of Hari. Repeat the Name of Govinda. Repeat the Name of Vitthala. Repeat the Name of Allah. 41

42 Repeat the Name of HOO (HU). Many names have used by various Sants: Param-Atma, Hari, Alakh, Allah, Raam or Rama, Rahim, Agam, Purushotama, Khuda, Gobind, Panduranga, Pandhari, Vitthala, Narayana, Vitthoba, Sat Purusha, etc Some of these names are used by Hindu paths too, and have different meanings. As Sant Dariya Sahib once said: Notes: Consider the four meanings of Ram, The first Ram (1) is our inner self. Parashu-ram (2) is said to be the second one. The third one lived in Dasharath s (3) home. The fourth Ram is the Primeval Sat Purush (4) Call Him (Sat Purush) Ram or call Him Naam, Ram and Naam are one. Both are mutually indistinguishable; Satguru s Sound Current reveals this wisdom. (1) The Life Principle that pervades everywhere, permeating, within all. (2) Parashu-ram, the son of Sage Jamadagni, is regarded as the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu. (3) Ancient king of Ayodhya, the father of Ram. Rama: the seventh incarnation of Vishnu and the hero of the great epic Ramayana (Adventures of Rama). (4) The Nirguna or Formless Raam, All-Spirit. ( Dariya Sahib, Saint of Bihar, K.N. Upadhyaya, Mystics of the East Series) For the Sants of the East, all names of the One God represent the Nameless, Formless (Nirguna) God of Love and Compassion Who is Timeless (Akal), Spirit, and Eternal (Sat). The True Spirit of Simran Practice is Bhakti Simran is a term which means Remembrance, the spiritual practice of remembering or being mindful of God by repeating his Name. Devotees sing or chant various names for God. Higher spiritually, and more within is the practice of manas jap, the mental repetition of God s name or names with the tongue of thought in other words, chanting names of God within one s mind. The Sants have always placed much greater emphasis upon mental Simran over vocal chant. 42

43 There is however, more to Simran than the repeating of sacred names. Simran must be approached with the right attitude, the right spirit, for one s intent determines how successful the practice will be, and what effect it will have upon one s consciousness. Simran has never been intended to be a dry or lifeless mantra practice. The path of the Sants is a Bhakti path, a path of love and devotion for the Supreme Being. Thus, the true Masters have always instructed their students to repeat God s Name with love and devotion, as a lover calling out to one s Beloved, the Lord of Love. Guru Kabir Keep your mind ever engrossed in the Name of the Lord As the lover s mind is ever engrossed in his Beloved. He never forgets her for a single moment Through day and night he remembers her. Happiness rests in ever-repeated simran, Sorrow and suffering is removed by simran. Kabir declares with utmost force and clarity: Practise this simran and be one with the Lord. (Kabir The Great Mystic, by Isaac A. Ezekiel) What, then, is the practice of the Name? It is a form of interior prayer by which a person learns to keep his or her attention always in the Lord, in every circumstance and situation, at all moments, through day and night. It is a form of inner remembrance that leads to a heightened awareness beyond the limitations of the physical world and the portals of death. Through meditation on the Name, or Naam Bhakti, one learns to draw one s attention away from the outer world. Sant Namdev Always be in rapport with the Lord And enjoy true contentment This is the state of ineffable serenity. There is no peace except in the Name of the Lord Meditate on it with one-pointed attention. 43

44 Experience the state of superconsciousness Where the Lord s love surges And you will see your own form In each particle of the creation. 0 Nama, the Lord will make The pupil of your eye his home, And your eye will expand To contain the entire universe. (Saint Namdev, Mystics of the East Series) The Simran of God s Name Will Lead One to the True Name: The Sound of God The repetition of the holy Names is the truest spiritual technique. An uninterrupted inner repetition of the holy Names given by the living Master has to be practiced daily with love, devotion, and one-pointed attention. One thereby transcends one s body and is transported to the realms of Light. The repetition develops into an ever-going spontaneous process, and one catches the unceasing inner Music which takes one to its Source, and reveals God face to face. One is, therefore, exhorted to search daily for the Source of this Unstruck Music. Whatever one does and wherever one happens to be, one is asked to be a sacrifice unto His Name and to have ardent longing to behold Him and hear His voice. Sant Dadu Dayal From within, the indwelling Lord Himself tells me. The repetition of My Name alone is true; all else is delusion. The Name, the essential Truth of the three worlds, alone is efficacious. 0 Dadu. With discrimination, repeat it exclusively day and night, 0 mind. 44

45 At every breath be devoted to it, and thy Beloved will meet thee one day. Repetition is the path leading to bliss; thus hath the Master explained. Be dedicated to God moment by moment, even if thou art to lose thy life. No other way is there to support the self. Who is that ill-fated one preaching some other means? Without the Name, tell me, where can one find a foothold? asketh Dadu. Let not the Name be separated for a moment from within thy heart, 0 Dadu. Millions have been purified by repeating God s Name alone. Be dedicated to God while the body is in good condition, Else later on, when the body and mind are worn out, thou shalt repent, sayeth Dadu. The whole world is full of poison; rarely someone is free from it, 0 Dadu. He alone will be free from poison who is steeped in the Name of the Supreme Lord. Repeat the Name with the pang of separation, and sing its glory with love and devotion. Fix thy mind in repetition with joy and dedication, 0 Dadu. While speaking or listening, giving or taking, eating or drinking, Repeat the Name of God at all times, 0 Dadu, thus shalt the self-rest in the inner lotus. 5. Bhajan 45

46 Bhajan here means the music of the soul. This step helps in listening to that music. Squat down in Malasana, also known as Bhajan Pose in Surat Shabd Yoga, and put your thumbs in your ears to block all kind of external noise. Focus on the seat of your soul, your Ajna Chakra and slowly you ll start listening to the inner sound. When you will successfully complete Dhyan, Simran and Bhajan, then you will merge with the celestial sound and the divine light. Feel the vibrations and the oneness with the Cosmos (universe) and feel your soul soar high up! Malasana is also called Upavesasana or Garland Pose. It is, quite simply, a squat. Squatting comes naturally to kids and people who work in the fields. However, those who have desk jobs have lost practice and find it painful and uncomfortable to do it. But that should not discourage you from doing this asana because it is, in fact, most beneficial to those who have a sedentary lifestyle. What is Para-Bhakti and Shabd Surati Yoga Sadhna [Supreme Love and Inner Light and Sound Meditation]? Another Meditation Outline: Awakening Inner Thunder 1. Chair Pose. From a standing position, squat down, spread the knees and bend forward until the spine is parallel to the ground. Put the arms between the legs and reach the hands around the back of the heels and around the outside of the foot until the palms can rest on the tops of the feet. Keep the head level or slightly lifted; do not let it drop. Concentrate at the brow point. Begin long, deep complete yogic breaths. Mentally inhale with the mantra, Sat and exhale with Nam. Continue for 3 to 5 minutes. Then inhale and exhale complete. Hold the breath out and apply Mulbandh firmly. Relax. 2. Wide Leg Life Nerve Stretch. Sit erect and spread the legs wide. Bend forward to grasp the toes of each foot. [NOTE from Shakta: If student cannot grasp the toes with a straight spine then grasp the thighs, knees, shins or ankles instead.] Keep hold of the toes as you rhythmically alternate stretching over each leg as you exhale, rising up to the center as you inhale (NOTE from Shakta: Direct student to twist completely before exhaling down over each leg). The breath is full and coordinated with the motion. Continue for 26 to 108 times over both legs. Then inhale up in the center position, focus on the brow point, exhale and relax. 3. Easy Pose or Lotus Pose. Grasp the shins with both hands. Inhale as you lift the chest and flex the spine forward. Exhale as you tilt the pelvis and flex the spine back. Flex back and forth in a steady, powerful rhythm. Mentally chant Sat as you inhale and Nam as you exhale, concentrating at the brow point. Continue for 3 minutes. Then inhale, apply Mulbandh, hold briefly and relax. 46

47 4. Easy Pose. Place the hands on the shoulders, fingers in front, thumbs in back. Grasp each should with the hand on the same side of the body. Raise the elbows until the upper arms are parallel to the ground. Inhale deeply as you turn the head and the torso to the left. Exhale completely as you turn the head and torso to the right. Continue at a steady pace for three minutes. Then inhale deeply to the center, focus at the brow and apply Mulbandh. Hold for seconds, exhale and relax. 5. Easy Pose. Bring the hands together in front of the heart center in Bear Grip. Face the left palm out and the right palm toward the chest. Hook and curl the fingers together. Lock the thumbs over the little fingers of the opposite hand. Keep the forearms parallel to the ground. Pull the hands slightly. Begin long, deep breaths. Continue for three minutes. Then repeat three times: inhale, exhale completely and apply a firm Mulbandh as you focus at the brow point. 6. Easy Pose. Bear Grip mudra once again, this time 4 inches over the crown of the head. Concentrate through the top of the head. Do powerful and steady long, deep breaths. Continue for three minutes. Then repeat the following three times: Inhale, exhale complete and apply Mulbandh as you hold and concentrate on the anterior fontanel. Then relax. 7. Sit with the Spine Erect and Extend the Legs Straight. Keep the legs together. Place the hands by the sides on the ground. Do 26 to 108 Body Drops: Inhale as you lift the buttocks and the legs including the heels off the ground. Exhale as you drop the body back to the ground. Continue rapidly until done. 8. Repeat Exercises #2: Stretch the Life Nerve with legs spread wide. 9. Bow Pose. Lie on the Stomach. Bend the knees. Reach back and grasp the ankles, first with one hand, then the other. Pull the shins away from the head. This will gently arch the head and torso upward. Powerful Breath of Fire for three minutes. Inhale, exhale and hold out briefly. Inhale and relax down slowly. 10. Sit in any Meditative Posture. Relax the breath and meditate quietly on the vastness of the universe and on the beauty of life. Commentary on the above Outline The energy of the nervous system and consciousness can dwell in different areas of the body and attach to different objects of concern. This Kriya mobilizes the energy of the lower chakras and the lower and mid regions of the body. As that energy is released and synchronized, it concentrates through the heart centre and 47

48 then the head centres. As the pituitary and pineal glands start to function at a higher level, the inner sounds become more apparent. Meditation becomes automatic. You can easily be absorbed into the inner sounds. Exercise #1 is for the whole lower triangle of the chakras and for nervous system strength. #2 is to balance the sciatic and sex nerves. #3 opens the flow of the spine and pumps the spinal fluid. #4 opens the thoracic spine, unlocks the diaphragm s motion and stimulates the heart centre. #5 accumulates and adjusts the Pranic energy at the heart. #6 completes the cycle by opening the crown chakra and stimulating the head centres. #7 goes back to the base to stimulate the circulation of the Kundalini energy and to strengthen the heart muscle. #9 releases the energy up the full length of the spine. #10 concentrates the prana at the pineal gland and opens the inner sounds, the inner thunder. It is often referred to as a thunder, although there are many sounds. The implication is the power of sound to dissolve your old attachments and break the habitual attention of the subconscious. When you open the inner Surat Shabd, it is like traveling through a turbulent sound barrier at first everything is shaken and scattered, then there is profound silence and smoothness. The Yoga of the celestial Sound Current from the book "The crown of life", written by Sant Kirpal Singh Extract In the foregoing sections of this study, we have seen how it has been taught since time immemorial by the Indian sages that behind the apparent self of which we are conscious in everyday existence, the self that shirks pain and seeks pleasure, that changes from moment to moment and is subject to the effect of time and space, there is the permanent "Self", the Atman. This Atman forms the basic reality, the final substance, the essence of essences, and it is in the light of its being that all else assumes meaning. Likewise, we have seen how the Indian mystics have analysed the nature of the Universe. Seen from the surface, our world appears to be a queer composition of contradictory elements. Faced with these contradictions man is compelled to look for a Creator who holds the opposing forces in balance and represents permanence behind the flux of existence. But as he penetrates deeper and still deeper, he discovers that the contradictions are only apparent, not real: that far from being opposed in nature, they are differentiated manifestations of the same Power, and that they are not even "manifestations" properly so called, but are illusions of the ignorant mind which are dispelled in the light of realization when one begins to know that the ocean is changeless though it appears to change. These two insights are basic to Indian thought, and on closer examination will be seen to be not separate, but one. The recognition of the absolute nature of the inner Self, the Atman, implies recognition of the true nature of existence of the 48

49 Paramatman, the Brahman; while an understanding of the nature of Paramatman or Brahman implies an understanding of the Atman. If behind the changing, time-ridden self, there be an eternal, changeless and timeless One, and if behind the flux of mutability of the creation as we normally know it, there be an Absolute Immutable Reality, then the two must be related and must in fact be identified. How can there be two Absolutes? How can the Atman be distinct from the Brahman, when all that is, is only a projection of Brahman? The moment we realize these truths about the nature of Self and Overself, or the One Truth about the nature of Reality, the problem that inevitably poses itself is: Why do we in everyday existence experience the world in terms of duality and plurality, feeling ourselves separate from each other and from life in general, and what may be the means for transcending this unnecessary constriction of ourselves and merging into the Ocean of Consciousness that is our essential state? The answer to the first part of this question has been that the spirit, in its downward descent, gets enveloped in fold upon fold of mental and material apparatus which compel it to experience life in terms of their limitations, until, no longer conscious of its own inherent nature, the soul identifies itself with their realm of time and space nam-rup-prapanch. The answer to the second part has been that the soul can bear witness to itself, provided it can divest itself of its limiting adjuncts. The many forms and variations of yoga that we have examined are no more than the various methods evolved for accomplishing this process of disentanglement or spiritual involution. The one recurring theme in the teachings of all great rishis and mystics has been that their insights are based not on inherited learning, philosophical speculation or logical reasoning, but on first-hand inner experience or anubhava a word whose lucidity of expressiveness defies translation. They explain that seeming differences are not because of any contradiction inherent in what they say, but because men vary greatly in temperament, and what is possible for the man of a cultured and refined intelligence is impossible for the unsophisticated peasant, and vice versa. Various rivers may wend through different plains, but they all reach the sea. Patanjali's Eightfold Path is the first major attempt to correlate the many available avenues into a single coherent system for spiritual reintegration. Later rishis and teachers derived much guidance from him, but their teachings implicitly embody the recognition that his system is too exacting and tends to deny spiritual attainment to the average man. Furthermore, it is so complex that for the majority of sadhaks (aspirants) it is likely to become a maze in which they lose their way and mistake the intermediate goals for the final destination. And so, while Mantra Yoga, Laya Yoga, Hatha Yoga and especially Raja Yoga carry on Patanjali's tradition in modified forms, there emerge three other major forms that represent, in contrast to the Ashtanga Marg, a great simplification and specialization. The Jnana yogin, the Karma yogin or the bhakta no longer needs to retire from the world or undergo exacting psycho-physical disciplines. Each 49

50 approaches the goal from a particular angle and reaches it by sheer purposeful concentration. The end of all yoga, as Shankara clarified, is absorption into the Brahman. All the paths therefore aim at samadhi, in which state such experience can be attained. But if Patanjali's system and its derivatives have certain serious drawbacks, it is a question whether the three other major forms are wholly without them. If for the Karma yogin freedom lies through detachment and desirelessness, is it possible for him to be completely free? Does he not seek emancipation in following his path, and is not that itself a form of desire? Besides, is it psychologically possible for the human mind to detach itself completely from its normal field of experience without first anchoring itself in another and higher one? It is a universal characteristic of man that he seeks kinship with something other than himself. This is the law of his life and source of all his great achievements. The child is bound to his toys, and the adult to family and society. As in the case of a child, you may not without harm deprive him of his playthings until he has outgrown them psychologically, likewise to expect the sadhak to give up his social and family attachments without first outgrowing them by discovering something greater and larger, is to cut at the root of life. It will not bring progress but regression, for the man who undertakes it as an enforced discipline only succeeds in repressing his natural desires. The result is not the enhancement of consciousness but its numbing and atrophy, not detachment but indifference. This, as Mr. T. S. Eliot has pointed out, "differed completely" from both "attachment" and "detachment," resembling the others as death resembles life, being between two lives unflowering, between the live and the dead nettle. The discipline of Karma Yoga is a necessary one, but if it is to fulfil its end it must be completed by another discipline of an esoteric kind, without which it tends to reduce itself to an ineffectual attempt to lift oneself up by one's shoestrings. As for the Jnana yogin, jnana may carry him very far indeed. It may take him beyond the gross physical plane into the spiritual ones. But can Jnana carry him beyond itself? And if Jnana, which as we have seen, forms one of the koshas that encompass the atman, albeit a very rarefied one, how can it then give the soul absolute freedom? Jnana is the help and yet it may prove to be the hindrance. It has indubitably the power to rid the soul of all encumbrances grosser than itself, but having reached thus far it tends to clog further progress. And since it is not of the true essence of the soul, the Absolute, it cannot be wholly above the reach of Kala or Time. Mystics distinguish between the two realms of time, Kala and Mahakala, thus: the first of these extends over the physical world and the less gross regions immediately above it, whereas the second stretches to all the higher planes that are not of pure spirit. Hence, the 50

51 gains that the Jnani achieves may be out of the reach of time as we normally conceive it (kala), but they are not wholly beyond the reach of greater time (mahakala). It need hardly be pointed out that what is true of Jnana Yoga is also true of those forms of yoga that depend upon the pranic energies. They too are not of the true nature of the Atman, and as such cannot lead It to a state of Absolute Purity, beyond the realm of relativity. Besides its inability to ensure absolute freedom, Jnana Yoga is not a path accessible to the average man. It demands extraordinary intellectual powers and stamina which few possess. It was to meet this difficulty as well as that posed by Karma Yoga when practised by itself, that Bhakti Yoga came into prominence. He who normally would not be able to detach himself from the world nor had the mental powers to analyse the true Self from the untrue could by the power of love leap or bridge the gap and reach the goal. But how can man love that which has neither form nor shape? So the bhakta anchors himself in the love of some Isht-deva, some definite manifestation of God. But in overcoming this practical difficulty he exposes himself to the same limitations as the jnani. The chosen Isht-deva bv its very nature represents a limitation upon the Nameless and Formless Absolute. And even if the bhakta reaches the level of that manifestation, can that limited being take him beyond itself to that which has no limitation? A study of the lives of the prominent exponents of this system clarifies the point. Ramanuja, the well-known mystic of the Middle Ages, failed to apprehend the teachings of his predecessor, Shankara. He followed what in Indian philosophy is known as the school of vasisht advaita, i.e., that the Atman can reach Ishwar (God as the manifested Creator of the Universe), and can get saturated with cosmic consciousness, but it can never become one with Him. What to say then of reaching God as the Unmanifested, Nameless Brahman? The experience of Sri Ramakrishna in our own time once again brings out this limitation. He had always been a worshiper of the Divine Mother and she often blessed him with her visions. But he always perceived her as something other than himself, as a power outside himself and one for whose operation he could often become a medium, but in which he could not merge himself. When he subsequently met Totapuri, an advaita sanyasin, he realized that he must get beyond this stage to one where there was no name or form and where the Self and the Overself became one. When he attempted to enter into such a state he discovered that his earlier attainments became a hurdle in spite of all his efforts. He tells us: I could not cross the realm of name and form and bring my mind to the unconditioned state. I had no difficulty in withdrawing my mind from all objects except one, and this was the all too familiar form of the Blissful Mother radiant and of the essence of pure consciousness which appeared before me as a living reality and would not allow me to pass the 51

52 realm of name and form. Again and again I tried to concentrate my mind upon the Advaita teachings, but every time the Mother's form stood in my way. In despair I said to "the naked one" (his Master Totapuri), "It is hopeless. I cannot raise my mind to the unconditioned state and come face to face with the Atman." He grew excited and sharply said, "What! You can't do it? But you have to." He cast his eyes around for something and finding a piece of glass he took it up and pressing its point between my eyebrows said, "Concentrate your mind on this point." Then with stern determination I again sat to meditate, and as soon as the gracious form of the Divine Mother appeared before me, I used my discrimination as a sword and with it severed it into two. There remained no more obstruction to my mind, which at once soared beyond the relative plane, and I lost myself in Samadhi. (Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna (Mylapore-Madras, 1954), page 313) It is clear therefore that while the bhakta can go very far spiritually, can greatly enhance his consciousness, gain miraculous powers, and anchored in a higher love rise above the love of this world, it is nevertheless not possible for him to get beyond the plane of "name and form," and therefore of relativity. He may get lost in the contemplation of the Godhead with His amazing attributes, but he cannot experience the same in its Nirguna and its Anami, its "Unconditioned" and "Nameless" state. He can feel himself saturated with Cosmic Consciousness, but it comes to him as something outside himself as a gift of grace, and he is not able to lose himself in It and become one with the Ocean of Being. If he does seek to attain that state, his accomplishment as a bhakta, instead of helping him further, tends to hinder and obstruct him. The two things that emerge from an examination of the popular forms of yoga that were evolved after Patanjali are: first that the soul can rise above physical consciousness, given means whereby it can focus its energies, without recourse to the arduous control of pranas, and second that full spiritual realization or true samadhi is not merely a matter of transcending the physical (though that is necessary as a first step), but is the end of a complex inner journey in which there are many intermediate stages the attainment of which, under certain conditions, may be mistaken for the final goal and may thus debar further progress. The problem that arises before the true seeker in the face of such a situation is to discover a means other than that of pranas, jnana, or bhakti of an Isht-deva, as not only to enable the spirit-currents to be released from their present physical bondage, but also to enable the soul to be drawn upward unhindered from one spiritual plane to another until it transcends completely all the realms of relativity of naam and rup, of kala and mahakala, and reaches its goal: at-one-ment with the Nameless and Formless One. 52

53 Hearing the Celestial Sound Current during Meditation Discourse on Inner Sound Meditation Various sorts of Sound Currents reverberate in the human system from which the initiate has to pick up the right one and listen to it, otherwise he will go astray and lose his equipoise. The practical Guru forewarns his disciple and directs which Sound to listen to and which one to discard. (Shiv Brat Lal) Only the Central Sound has the power to attract the consciousness to the centre and carry the soul to the centre of a higher realm. Other illusory material sounds do not have that magnetism to attract the consciousness to the higher realms. (Swami Vyasanand) The Masters teach that the world indeed many realms are illusion, and that on inner planes there are many reflections or copies of higher realities. There are phenomena than can imitate or mimic spiritual experiences. There are even realms that to some extent might appear to be heavens or copies of Sach Khand. Hall of Mirrors. Matrix. Labyrinth. Astral fly-paper. In this world there is the illusion of the master, a meat-eating guru offering instruction and initiation, but also who says ethics do not matter the illusion of having a spiritual teacher. The illusion of Satsang. The illusion of enlightenment. One can stare at a bright light or contemplate the flame of a candle, then close one s eyes in a darkened room and continue to see a kind of photo-like retinal image of that candle an optical illusion of inner light. Some electronic devices and electrical appliances generate white noise, humming sounds, or high frequency ringing tones and overtones. These to some extent can mimic inner spiritual Sounds the illusion of the Sound Current. Sometimes in the news there have been reports about people hearing a mysterious sound that seems to be coming from nowhere. One of these has been called the Taos Hum. In, Philosophy of Liberation, Maharshi Mehi states that not only are there spiritual sounds associated with the heavenly realms, but there are also many vibrations or semi-subtle sounds associated with the grossmaterial realm. He says one should not falsely assume they are accessing the real inner Sound Current just by hearing ANY kind of sound that may manifest itself in one s perception during the silence of meditation: There are sounds due to gross vibrations in the material body. To meditate on these gross-material sounds and believe it to be as the full practice of the Yoga of Sound shows a lack of knowledge of Yoga. There are gross-material sounds one can hear in the silence of meditation that do not lead one Above, do not lead to spiritual growth, transformation or enlightenment. Swami Vyasanand: This is because only the Central Sound has the power to attract the consciousness to the centre and carry the soul to the centre of a higher realm. Other illusory 53

54 material sounds do not have that magnetism to attract the consciousness to the higher realms. There are inner Sounds that one receives instruction from a true Master about at the time of initiation into Surat Shabd Yoga (Inner Sound Meditation, the Yoga of the Audible Life Stream). These Sounds are perceived to come from the right side or centre and represent the Ascending Current. Sounds that appear to be coming from the left side are of the descending current flowing downward into the material creation or multiverse. One is instructed to focus on the Sounds of the Ascending Current or Audible Life Stream certain Sounds. There are of course many other sounds one might hear, but one has to focus on certain Sound Currents. The reason for this is these Sounds, if focused upon during meditation practice, will keep pulling the soul s attention up to ever higher and higher levels. These are coming from regions Above. Other sounds, though mistaken for the Sound Current, are interesting, miraculous or even mystical, will not help the Surat-soul to ascend or make spiritual progress. Various sorts of Sound Currents reverberate in the human system from which the initiate has to pick up the right one and listen to it, otherwise he will go astray and lose his equipoise. The practical Guru forewarns his disciple and directs which Sound to listen to and which one to discard. (Shiv Brat Lal) I have heard accounts of some practitioners who follow unusual sound meditation practices and claim to hear sounds. However, these gross-material sounds are imaginary or generated by metabolic functions and blood circulation. An ear disease can also create a humming sound that can be mistaken for the inner Divine Sound. (Swami Vyasanand) Shiv Brat Lal: The devotee in his spiritual journey upwards hears sweet melodies which attract him. The melodies are a powerful magnetic force which draws the attention inwards and makes it fully attuned to proceed up and up. Maharshi Mehi in, Philosophy of Liberation: Each of the Sounds of the centres of the five realms possesses an attribute to draw Surat (the consciousness) upward to its centre. The Essential Sound or Pure Spiritual centres of the five realms possesses an attribute to draw Surat (the consciousness) upward to its centre. The Essential Sound or Pure Spiritual Sound has the attribute to draw one s consciousness up to the Supreme Sovereign [God]. The other mayavi sounds (material Sounds mentioned above) of each of the respective five realms have the attribute to attract the person who hears it (or focuses on it) and to draw that person s Surat (consciousness) to the Sound of the realm directly above. Further, for the practitioner, the realization of the Essential Divine Sound is impossible without first attaining the Sounds of the lower realms. Sar Shabda (the Essential Divine Sound) beckons a return to the Supreme Sovereign. The progression of Sound in all centres of the realms is upward, carrying one s 54

55 consciousness from the lower centres to the higher centres ultimately reaching the Supreme Sovereign God. In, The Inward Journey of the Soul (Chal Hansa Nij Desh), Swami Vyasanand says, The question arises: What is the secret of correct technique for Shabd (Sound) meditation? Sant Radhaswami says: Focus your consciousness stream on the Inner Space. You will find the Divine Sound which will lead you beyond the snares of this illusory world. You should focus your consciousness or inner Current in the middle of the eyebrows the meeting point of the Ida and Pingla channels which is known as the tenth gate, Sushumna, Ajna Chakra or third eye. The practitioner will attain one-pointedness through this practice. In other words, the subtlest and most luminous sign of the light realm (bindu) will appear. With that luminous sign the inner Sound will also manifest. Sant Paltu Sahab says; Out from that burning light comes the Divine Sound, and only the one immersed in the Samadhi (meditation) of Divine knowledge can hear, none other. This is the Sound that is heard when concentrating on that first mark of light. Due to carelessness, it is possible to also hear the other sounds of the lower realms that have the potential to distract the consciousness Current. It is conceivable then, that the upward ascent of consciousness becomes distracted, thus creating a hindrance in progress. This is because only the Central Sound has the power to attract the consciousness to the centre and carry the soul to the centre of a higher realm. Other illusory material sounds do not have that magnetism to attract the consciousness to the higher realms. 55 Swami Vyasanand Ji Maharaj More from Swami Vyasanand: Sant Kabir Sahab says: A rare practitioner who abides by the knowledge given by the Guru listens to the subtle Sound of Inner Space. First that Sound emanates from the bindu or Ajna Chakra (third eye). A practitioner who can withdraw his mind from the nine gates of the body and concentrate in the tenth gate, he or she alone is able to hear that subtle Sound. Sant Tulsi Sahab says: Enter into the Inner empty Space (Shunya) of Sushumna and listen to the Sound that is beckoning you toward the Divine. This Sound has been vibrating since the beginning of creation. If you want to meet your True Friend (Supreme Being) then constantly and carefully listen to that Sound. This body is the sacred holy place (Ka ba, the holiest place in Islam) created by the Divine, and within it is found the arch (the higher realms of macrocosm beginning from the tenth gate). It is the inner sanctum within, in which is found the Divine Sound reverberating. O practitioner, listen with full concentration; the Sound that originated from the Divine is constantly reverberating and calling you. Someone must have asked, generally, if the Sound is not heard with the physical ears then with what kind of ear is this subtle Sound heard? When the mind

56 becomes concentrated, then the physical sense of hearing becomes quiet and one does not hear. This occurs because the attention withdraws from the senses and one is unable to hear physical sound. In response Sant Tulsi Sahab says: A practitioner who is able to focus in the Sushumna or the tenth gate for some time will experience the opening of the inner subtle hearing faculty. That inner sense of hearing is also known as the consciousness Current. My Guru Maharshi Mehi says: A practitioner hears the sweet Sound of the flute through the stream of inner consciousness. When the outer ear ceases to hear and the mind is fully concentrated within, then the inner hearing opens up and the practitioner can hear the Divine Sound within (through the inner ear). From this, do not infer that a deaf person could easily hear that inner Sound, because complete concentration is the key, not a lack of physical hearing. Sants have articulated about the closing of three gates of the body to experience the inner Sound. The three gates are eyes, ears, and mouth. Close these and, only then, can one hear the inner Sounds. According to Sant Kabir: Close your eyes, ears, and mouth, and listen to the Anahad (inner Unstruck Divine Sound). Sant Nanak Sahabsays: Close the three gates and listen to the reverberation of the Divine Sound. Sant Maharshi Mehi and also Sufi Sants have used similar vocabulary to describe the process of closing three openings for hearing the inner Sound. I have heard accounts of some practitioners who follow unusual sound meditation practices and claim to hear sounds. However, these gross-material sounds are imaginary or generated by metabolic functions and blood circulation. An ear disease can also create a humming sound that can be mistaken for the inner Divine Sound. Some false gurus boast about their imaginary inner experiences of Divine Light and Sound in order to impress their followers. Other Hatha Yogis perform postures (asanas) such as mula bandh (contracting the muscles of lower organs), uddiyana bandha (contracting the abdominal muscles and diaphragm that involves breathing exercises), and jalandhara bandha (throat lock to the flow of energy in the nerves and blood flow in the neck). Some practitioners use ketchari mudra (touching the root of the palate with the tongue) and attempt sound meditation in that mudra. Still others try to listen from the right or from the left ear. Some listen from below the tenth gate and others above the tenth gate. Some press their eardrums with their fingers and hear vibrations and think them to be the Divine Sound. Some stare at the tip of the nose; some listen to music in the dark, and some in the light. Some place their head down, others straighten their chest. In today s world, in the name of the Divine Sound there is a prevalence of a great variety of illusory and imaginary practices claiming to be techniques of Sound meditation. These are not only against the teachings of Sants but are also incapable of providing any real inner experience of Divine Sound. 56

57 Sant Tulsi Sahab declares: Without the true knowledge of the Yoga of Sound, all efforts are hopeless. Only a Satguru who is accomplished can impart this knowledge about the different forms of Sound. Therefore, Maharshi Mehi says, Practicing Sound Yoga (Inner Sound Meditation) is not child s play. Sant Kabir says: Without practice of this Sound meditation man is subjected to birth and death. Therefore having learned from an accomplished teacher, the practitioner would gain the ability to hear the Celestial, not illusory, sounds. The closing of the eyes, ears, and mouth is used to help tune out the distractions caused by the outer senses. This is essential for the purpose of focusing one s gaze in the Sushumna. Therefore, in the initial stages it is advised that the practitioner close these three senses of sight, hearing, and speaking. Consequently, the mind begins to be focused in the third eye. For those whose consciousness stream has become mature in the power of concentration, it is not necessary to close these three sensory organs. This is due to the fact that the practitioner s mind is focused on the target of the third eye becomes detached from the senses and is no longer held by experiences arising from the sensory objects. The secret of practicing Sound Yoga is to attach the consciousness to the centre of the third eye. It is necessary for the following reasons: following this instruction, the practitioner will be distracted by the lower physical sounds imbued by rajas guna (passion) and tamas guna (dark inertia). The consciousness Current would not be able to grasp the Nada (Essential Central Sound) and ascend to the higher realms. It gives the practitioner only a satisfaction of listening to a sound but not the true benefit of the experience of the Sar Shabd (the Essential Sound) (Swami Vyasanand, The Inward Journey of the Soul (Chal Hansa Nij Desh)) Closing of the Ears in Meditation Swami Santsevi Ji Maharaj in, Quintessence of Yoga, The Secrets of Success, writes: Closing the ears when we hear the Divine Sound within ourselves is the best approach. There is no harm in it. We can include this along with other practices. This practice of inner Sound can go on in the night, because there is no noise at that time and environment is peaceful When the inner Divine Sound merges into the imperishable Supreme Lord, there is the absolute State of Soundlessness (the Ultimate Reality). You may ask, what does it mean to close the ears? There is a technique initiates learn to do just that in order to focus on inner Sound. Also, sometimes people use earplugs to block outer sounds during inner Sound practice [bhajan]. But there is another meaning. Some clarification is given in the book, The Harmony of All Religions, by Santsevi Ji, who states that closing the ears is primarily an internal reality that occurs after one s awareness [attention] has 57

58 gone within: When you focus your gaze within the Ajna chakra [third eye] then automatically your physical ears will close and the inner ears will open. Supreme Love and Devotion (Bhakti), Inner Light and Sound Meditation Practice. Note, the spelling of various mystical terms varies from place to place, and to some extent from Guru lineage to Guru lineage in India. For those more acquainted with the teachings of Radhasoami, Sawan Singh, Kirpal Singh, etc..., despite slight differences in the spelling of certain words, nevertheless it should be quite readable, all the same. Below is a delightful and rare glimpse into Surat Shabd Yoga meditation practice as taught in the tradition of Kabir Panth and Sant Dharamdas -- the Dharamdasis, -- the People of the Anurag Sagar, translated into English here for the first time. What is Para-Bhakti and Shabd Surati Yoga Sadhna [Supreme Love and Devotion and Inner Light and Sound Meditation Practice]? Shabd Surati Yoga [also spelled Surat Shabd Yoga] is a practical (Dhyan Maarag) meditation technique to enable the mystical experience of seeing the Inner Light and listening to the Shabd Soul Music. This science of the spirit has been distilled from the ancient yogis of India. The method was re-defined for modern times by Satguru Sant Kabir Saheb. The (Dhyan) meditation technique of "Shabd Surati Yoga Sadhna", which the mystics have called the Para-bhakti or "Science of the Soul", can be practiced daily in the comfort and convenience of one's own home. The practice of Shabd Surati Yoga Sadhna is a process of "dying while living", in which the externalized attention is inverted to allow one to come in contact with the divine power within. Contact with this Primal Source of (Shanti) Peace, (Prem) Love, and (Anand) Bliss, penetrates our entire being, removing our fears, worries and anxieties. Reference to the Divine Light and Inner Sound that flow from the Creator, is found in the writings and recorded experiences of saints, yogis and mystics. In the Guru Kabir Bijak Granth and Kabir Brahm Nirupan Granth we have a spiritual dialogue in accurately recorded mystical poetry of Satguru Kabir and Dharam Dass, which is set to traditional Indian music (raags) to guide, inspire and elevate us. Its universal message is known as Guru Kripa. Everyone has the capacity to reconnect to the Primal Source of inner Peace, Love, Harmony and Bliss. The (Dhyan Maarag) concentration is the method "to go within", and experience it. 58

59 The Soul's Journey -- Returning to the Essence Preparation: General (Dhyan) -- Meditation Instructions 1. Choose a Place and Time for Meditation Practice (Abhyaas) Dhyan Maarag can be practiced at any time and place we wish. However, when we first begin to meditate, it is best to sit in a clean and quiet place free from the noise of mobile phones and television, and away from other noisy activities. The Gurus of Shabd Surti Yoga Sadhna encourage meditation on the Five Holy Names/Naam in the quiet early morning (before breakfast), and before retiring for sleep. 2. Choose a comfortable position (Asana-sitting still) Meditation begins with first making our body still, by choosing a position that is comfortable, either sitting in a chair (both feet flat on ground) or in a crosslegged position with spine erect (keeping spine, head and neck aligned naturally) in the basic yoga pose called "sukhasan". It is important to gradually develop one's capacity of sitting with a relaxed attitude, without any bodily tension. To transcend the body is the goal, not torturing oneself. 3. Concentrate at the Eye Centre (Trikuti, mind's focal point) Once in the sitting position, the eyes are closed, shutting out the external world, and returning the attention within one's self. This is done by focusing the gaze in the middle of the dark inner screen. By continuously looking into this "dark veil", the darkness will fade to lighter and lighter shades, eventually opening into the infinite space. The mystics call this "Entering the Til [third eye]." In Shabd Surati Yoga Sadhna the concentration is not inside the body, but horizontally straight out, 8 to 10 inches out of the forehead or vertically, elbow length above the crown of the head (Surati Naal) [with eyes closed gazing at the field of darkness ahead]. No tension is put on the eyes or the forehead, or crown of the head. Gentle, loving steady concentration is needed. This concentration merges into meditation. SIMRAN: repetition (to quiet the mind and calm the vritties [thoughts, impressions, feelings, emotions) The Gurus of Surati Shabd Yoga Sadhna understood the fleeting nature of the mind, which they say prevents us from experiencing the soul (atman). The restless mind has a tendency to wander from thought to thought, thinking and worrying and fantasizing, and reflecting on anything and everything. It is never still, always going towards the exterior. Massive amounts of continuous distractions prevent us from "going within." However, this same mind can be gradually tamed, not by force, but by focusing on repetition. The masters have devised methods of concentration to keep the mind focused away from daily 59

60 thoughts, by repetition (Simran, Zikr) of the Five Holy Names of God, the Panch Naam. This simran of Naam is the key that helps us transcend thought (time and space) and opens the lock of our inner being. Each tradition and lineage has used a different Name or Names [sacred names or mantras given by a spiritual master] to help still the mind (Satyanaam, Allah HU Akbar, Radha Soami, Haqq HU, Nirankar, Great Spirit, Immaculate One, Blessed Light, Infinite God, Om Mani Padme Hum, Vahi Guru, Akal Purkh, Noor Allah, Sat Chit Ananda, Rama, Krishna, Holy Spirit, Jesus, [The Five Names/Panch Naam], etc...). Absorption into The Light The first part of Shabad Surati Yoga Sadhna (Dhyan) begins with sitting still, being quiet, eyes closed, mentally repeating the Five Names, and lovingly gazing into the middle of the darkness lying in front of us, which will develop into meditation on the inner light. Repetition (Simran) is continuous during this. Breathing is natural and free flowing without paying any attention to it. Breath is not interfered with. It goes on by itself. As we do so, the attention will be focused between and behind the eyebrows. (Any strenuous effort will interfere with the process, for it creates resistance to the natural flow of meditation). Repeating the Panch Naam and steadiness of the gaze is all that's needed. While meditating on what lies in front of us, darkness will fade and Light will emerge. We may see lights of any colour, red, blue, purple, green, yellow, orange, golden or white light -- or flashes of light. It is best to concentrate in the middle of whatever we see inside, and continue the repetition slowly at intervals so as not to disturb the gaze. Guru Kabir Saheb said: "Panch Naam Ka Sumiran Karo." "Repeat the Five Holy Names." Eventually one experiences the withdrawal of the sensory currents and numbness at the eye focus (Third Eye). The Inner Light will focus your attention there. Merging into the Sound Current The second part of Shabd Surati Yoga Sadhna (Dhyan) meditation involves listening to the Sound Current. The preferred traditional position for this is done by squatting on one's feet in the "Bhajan position" (known as "Crow Pose" in Kundalini Yog), and resting one's arms on the knees and putting the thumbs in the ears (a seal from the exterior) to listen to the inner Sound. The focus of our attention is at the seat of the soul (Ajna Chakra, Tisra Til, Third Eye, Aggya Chakra between and behind the eyebrows) and one listens to the inner Sound Current coming at first from the right side and ultimately from the top of the 60

61 head ("the heavens"), the Sahasrara chakra (Astam chakra.) This Sound is the Voice of God, and is referred to in the various scriptures as the Holy Word, Naam, Shabd, Naad, Nij Naam, Saar Naam, Sajeevan Naam, Kalma... It is the Creative Impulse that brought about all of creation with billions of galaxies and solar systems into being. Our soul, being of the same essence as the Sound Current and God, is attracted to the Celestial Melodies by which the soul can travel through the inner spiritual regions. During the Bhajan practice the Panch Naam is not repeated. All of one's attention is on simply listening to the Audible Lifestream, the "Music of the Spheres", which will pull the spirit awareness above the body-consciousness and into the intoxication of the higher realms, eventually all the way to Sach Khand, Satyalok, Amarlok and beyond -- God willing (Guru Kripa). The secret to successful (Dhyan Maarag) meditation lies in the time and effort devoted to sincere daily practice, and not in worshipping a person, idols, photos or relying on books/shastras nor in intellectual debate or poojas, vrats, archanas and upasnas. Japo Man Sat Naam, Sada Sat Naam Japo Oh my mind Concentrate on [the True Name]. Forever recite [the True Name]. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was Satya-Naam! In the Kabir Panth, Satsangh, Parvachan, Bhajan and Kirtan are to connect people to Prem Bhakti (loving devotion) and generate Shraddha, Satya Bhav and Vivek (Atma Gyan). Shraddha Bhav + Vivek (Atma Gyan) = Para-Bhakti. Para-Bhakti is Sumiran and Dhyan (meditation) on Five Holy Names (Surati + Five Names = Satpurush). Surati Ka Hai Khel Saara, Surati Mein Rachyo Sansaara; Jaaki Surat Laag Rahe Jehevaa, Kahe Kabir Pahuchaun Tehevaa Para-Bhakti is above all other Bhaktis, such as Sagun Bhakti (Worship Devis and Devas, Nirgun Bhakti (Meditation on Chakras or Mudras). Para-Bhakti is meditation on the Five Holy Names given by Kabir Panth Gurus and Saints. The Higher Spiritual Regions of Deep Meditation The following discourses of Soami Ji Maharaj represent His most esoteric teachings. The passages I ve taken are all from His Sar Bachan Poetry, and many from a section entitled, Hidayatnama (Esoteric Instructions). The latter 61

62 begins with the following words: This discourse is meant for those who are desirous of finding the Supreme Being, and who are true seekers and want to know which religion is the highest and which path is the most sure and direct. If the reader is like myself, they will be awed by Soami Ji s descriptions of the heavens above the physical universe, which ultimately culminate in the region of RADHASOAMI. Soami Ji Maharaj, Himself, often confesses that these higher heavens are beyond description and, thus, infinitely greater than the human mind could ever imagine. For those of us who meditate daily and have love and faith in the Supreme Being, Radha Soami Dayal, these esoteric discourses could very well give us a glimpse into our own future. First Heavenly Sphere Hearken my friend! I tell you a secret. I reveal details of the first heavenly sphere. It is called Sahas-dal-kanwal (astral realm). It is the region of Jyoti and Niranjan. This is the region of the creator of the three Loks or worlds and the source of the four Vedas. Know that Brahma, Vishnu and Mahadeo (Shiva) are the sons of Jyoti and Niranjan. The entire phenomenal creation was brought about by these three. They have joined hands in entrapping spirits. Hear the resounding of the bell and be delighted. Then hear the sound of the conch shell and get immersed in its bliss. It s effulgence will exhilarate your spirit. You will at that stage, witness Niranjan, the lord of the three worlds. Several religions which attained this stage and took the deity hereof to be the lord of all, were deceived. Seeing the light and refulgence of this region they felt satisfied. Their progress was stopped. Second Heavenly Sphere Now proceed to the second region. Behold Trikuti (causal realm), the abode of Guru. There abides the Sound of Omkar, and resounds the thunder of dark and heavy clouds. This is the region of the red morning Sun. Guru reveals Guru s Name (Shabd form) Thunder and the sound of the Drum are heard here. Spirit moves onward and opens the door. It enters Banknal (crooked tunnel) and gets across The seed of Karma is burnt; Spirit is raised higher. There are numerous varieties of glories and spectacles at that plane which are difficult to describe All the time, melodious sounds of Ong, Ong and Hoo Hoo and the sounds resembling thunder of clouds reverberate there. On attaining this region, the spirit becomes very happy and purified and subtle. From here onward, it becomes cognizant of the spiritual regions. Third Heavenly Sphere 62

63 Spirit now proceeds further removing the third veil. It hears the sound of the sphere of Sunn. This Daswan Dwar (tenth opening) has a brilliant light Spirit bathes in Mansarovar, and joins the assembly of Hansas (celestial beings). Spirits, like beauties, dance at various places. There are pleasing and sweet victuals, all savoury and fresh, and sonorous and musical strains can be heard everywhere. All this bliss can be experienced by the spirit only when it reaches there. It cannot be described. At every place, fountains of nectar are at play, in other words, pools of nectar are overflowing and streams of nectar are gushing out. How can one describe the splendor and decoration of this region? There are platforms of diamonds, beds of emeralds. According to some it is equal to one thousand Kos or two thousand miles and plants of jewels, all studded with rubies and precious stones. Bejeweled fish, swimming in pools there, display their beauty and ornamentation and their glitter and sheen attract attention. Beyond this, there are innumerable palaces of crystals and mirrors, in which spirit entities reside at their respective spots, as allocated by the Lord. They witness and exhibit ever changing festivities. In Hindi, they have been described "Hansa Mandlies." The decoration and embellishment of these regions can be appreciated only by seeing them. The entire creation there is purely spiritual. It is free from material constituents. The residents there are spiritual and free from physical taints. Full particulars of these regions are known only to Saints. It is not meant to describe them in greater detail. The Great Void (Crossed Only by the Grace of a Sant Sat Guru) It (spirit) reaches the threshold of Maha-Sunn, and acquires the secret knowledge thereof. There is a great darkness and labyrinth in Maha-sunn Four hidden notes are resounding here. Spirit hears many novel tunes. The depth of this dark region cannot be fathomed There are four extremely subtle sub-regions there, the secrets whereof have not been revealed by any Saint. There are prison cells for the condemned spirits ejected from the court of the True Supreme Being. Although these spirits are not subjected to any trouble and they perform their functions by their own light, yet, as they do not get Darshan (vision) of the Lord, they are restless. However, there is a way of their remission also. Whenever Saints happen to pass that way with spirits reclaimed from the lower regions, some of these spirits fortunately get Their Darshan. Such spirits go along with the Saints who very gladly take them to the court of the Lord and get them pardoned. 63

64 Fourth Heavenly Sphere Now prepare for the fourth stage, O Spirit! Catch hold of the Shabd (Divine Sound) and proceed Spirit now sees the mountain of Bhanwar Gupha and perceives the Shabd Sohang. The Sound of the flute is resounding there all the time. Spirit beholds a white resplendent sun. The region is beautiful and full of light. Endless Sound is resounding there. There are groups and assemblies of Hansas (celestial beings) and devotees who are frolicking in the vast expanse there. There is a rotating swing here which is all the time in subtle motion, and the spirits ever swing on it. All around, there are innumerable spiritual islands from which the sounds of "Sohang Sohang" and "Anáhoo Anáhoo" rise all the time. Spirit entities playfully and rapturously enjoy these sounds. Other characteristics of this region cannot be reduced to writing, as they can be realized by the spirit only when it reaches there by performing Abhyás (spiritual practices). Fifth Heavenly The fifth citadel is the royal throne. Know that He is the True Lord. Spirit advances and sees an extensive plain, a wonderful city and marvellous squares. There abound pools of ambrosia, moats of nectar and golden palaces. There are moon-lit squares, incomparable islands. Hansas of exquisite beauty, and having wonderful forms abide there. Each resident of that region has the light of sixteen suns and moons. Spirit ascends and sees the Nij Dwar, the august portal. Hansas are the door-keepers there. There are Ansas and Bansas (other type of celestial beings) The Sahaj Spirit asks the newcomer, Say how you came here? The newcomer replies, I met a Saint who disclosed the path to me. Saying this, the newcomer enters and is thrilled to have Darshan of Sat Nam-Sat Purush. There (spirit) rises to view silver and golden streams full of nectar, and vast gardens, each tree thereof being one crore-yojans in height. Ten million suns and moons hang from them as flowers and fruits. Innumerable spirits and Hansas sing, chatter and play on those trees like birds. The wondrous beauty of this region is ineffable. While enjoying it, the spirit enters Sat Lok and comes into the presence of Sat Purush. Now as regards the glory of the person of Sat Purush, each hair of His is so brilliant that ten million suns and moons look pale in comparison. When such is the refulgence of each hair, how is it possible to describe the glory of all His hair, and where are the words to describe the beauty and glory of His entire person? How can one describe His eyes, nose, ears, face, hands and feet? They 64

65 are all nothing but refulgence, even to describe them as oceans of refulgence does not give even the remotest idea. The Highest Spheres of the Saints The spirit proceeds to Alakh Lok and gets Darshan of Alakh Purush (and) goes on and attains Agam Lok the forms of Hansas of this region are amazingly wondrous and the state of Ecstasy and Bliss that one obtains there passes description. The whole region is dazzling with the light millions and billions of suns and moons. How should I describe the Infinite Refulgence of that region? Music of merriment is resounding everywhere, and innumerable pools of Amrit (nectar) are overflowing there Where lies the throne of RADHASOAMI, Hansas congregate in all majesty. The whole region abounds in mesmerizing grandeur. Radhasoami Dham is boundless, infinite, endless and immeasurable. It is the special resting place of the Saints all speech and description end here. Teachings of Sant Tulsi Sahib -- Light and Sound on the Path -- Sant Mat Satsang "Have trust in God alone, And in none other, says Ravidas. If one is engrossed in something else, leaving God aside, One will ever remain disappointed." (Sant Ravidas) "Love cannot be hidden, O Ravidas, Howsoever much one tries. Love is never expressed by the mouth, But tears do appear in the eyes. The body is ablaze with the fire of longing As soon as the memory of the Beloved comes to mind. Like the sprinkling of water on pieces of limestone, 65

66 Instantaneous fire arises every time." "My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness." (Dalai Lama) 66 (Sant Ravidas) "Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens." (Khalil Gibran) "Be good, do good, and be one." (Kirpal Singh) "All bliss, peace and glory lie within you, on the Holy Road upon which you are traveling. So please carry on with your meditations with love, faith and devotion, and you will progress within from day to day and enjoy in ever increasing measures the great love and peace that inner spiritual development affords. Master-Power is working overhead and is your ever benign companion giving all feasible help and grace." (Kirpal Singh, Spiritual Elixir, Volume One) "After rising above the physical body, you will have self-awareness. When you rise above the astral and causal bodies, you will come into your true I-hood. You will see that 'I and my Father are One'. The whole thing depends on the concentration of your attention within yourself. Then, whichever way you direct your attention, you will work wonders." (Kirpal Singh) "We sit in meditation, fail to concentrate, and get upset or fed up. A pessimistic thinking sets in as to whether or not 'I would be able to do it.' No, we should not get nervous, or anxious, nor should we nurture any doubts in our minds. We must go on trying, with persistence and perseverance." (Swami Sant Sevi Ji Maharaj) Bhajan (Hymn, Chant) of Param Sant Tulsi Sahib of Hathras: "Dil ka huzra saaf kar, jana ke aane ke liye": Discovered a new Youtube video recently showing scenes from the Sant Tulsi Sahib Mandir/Ashram in Hathras: I recognize several of the images: Sant Tulsi Sahib, Surswami, and Girdhari Saheb, a disciple of Tulsi Sahib who was friends with Swami Ji Maharaj, staying at his house for a time according to the Biography of Soami Ji Maharaj. The previous mahant, Prakash Das, and current mahant in Hathras are also shown in the video. Am not familiar with some of the other photos, perhaps teachers connected with a couple of other ashram centres. Glad to see everyone from India getting online these days: Hathras, India: "It was during the times of Ramayana, that Hathras was established. When Tulsi Sahib began to recite a particular version of the epic

67 poem called Sampurn Ramayana, he chose to start with the town of Hathras...Tulsi Sahib's grave is housed at the Siyal, Kila Gate, Hathras, and throngs of devotees and admirers flock to this site each year to celebrate the great poet." "Within This Body" - Mystic Poem of Sant Tulsi Sahib Within this body breathes the secret essence. Within this body beats the heart of the Vedas. Within this body shines the entire Universe, so the saints say. Hermits, ascetics, celibates - all are lost seeking Him in endless guises. Seers and sages perfectly parrot the scriptures and holy books, blinded by knowledge. Their pilgrimage, and fasting, and striving 67

68 but delude Despite their perfect practice, they discover no destination. Only the saints who know the body's heart have attained the Ultimate, O Tulsi. Realize this, and you've found your freedom (while teachers trapped in tradition know only the mirage in the mirror). "It was Kabir who first gave out the secret of Surat and Shabd. That Shabd is Sar Shabd (True Shabd, True Sound), which is inaccessible and unique. The soul travels in the region of Saat Naam [True Name], and it is the Surat which merges into Sar Shabd." (Sant Tulsi Sahib) "In the month of Kuar (September-October), Surat [the soul], the paragon of virtues, has lost memory of its Original Abode because of the company of crowlike impudent persons. It has forgotten all about the delicacies available in its own abode of pure spirituality, the secrets of which are disclosed only in Satsang of Sants. Without adopting saran (refuge) of the Sat Guru, the path cannot be known, nor the method of elevating the Surat and mind to higher regions. With the approach of the month of Katik (October-November), the Surat receives secrets of all chakras and ganglia in the human microcosm. It starts its upward journey from the Third Eye, the centre at which is to be found the first true form of Surat (spirit). It proceeds to Sahas-dal-kanwal [the sphere of the Thousand- Petaled Lotus]. It adopts the saran (refuge) of Sat Guru, wipes off impurities and attains true knowledge. The heart is illumined with the inner Light." (Sant Tulsi Sahib) Sant Tulsi Sahib: "External practices and formalism are worth nothing. The real sadhana [spiritual or meditation practice] is within one's own self." Sant Tulsi Sahib: "Without realizing the soul and the Sound Current, all this is a vain show. All this is a vain show till the soul rises above and abides in it's Natural State." "Without the Saints, O Tulsi, we are tossed about endlessly. Without the merciful, compassionate Master, aeon after aeon we rove." (Shabdavali of Param Sant Tulsi Sahib of Hathras) 68

69 "Masters reveal the Path of Inner Light and Sound. They still the mind and raise one's attention to Mystic Skies within. The soul concentrates at the Portal [Third Eye] and is in bliss." (Sant Tulsi Sahib) The True Guru Does Not Neglect His or Her Students, is a Good Teacher of Wisdom, and Properly Guides Their Followers "Tulsi Sahib says that people devote themselves to worldly learning, but of what use will it be if they do not recognize Sants? "The Jiva's [soul's] inner eye has not opened, and though he has his external sight, he is really blind, that is, cannot see things in their true perspective. Without the Satguru, he will drift in the lower centers and will never be rid of his worldly attachments. "No other Yuga [epoch] can be compared with Kali Yuga in which Sants [Saints, Heavenly Beings, Enlightened Masters] incarnate themselves. If the Jiva adopts the Saran [refuge] of a Sant, he will get across the ocean of material existence." "From the Source of the Ocean opens a Window of Light. Awaken that resplendent Light within thee...repeat the name of the Lord and secure Him." (Shabdavali/Hymn of Param Sant Tulsi Sahib of Hathras) Sant Tulsi Sahib: "He who follows the precepts and teachings of Satsang, is a blessed soul. I sacrifice myself at him again and again. His Surat [soul] is absorbed in the bliss of Satsang, and is sure to attain the goal. Tulsi says that he who has come under the protection of the all-powerful and merciful Sat Guru is enjoying the greatest bliss and joy internally. He is one with the Beloved. The bliss of the Holy Feet is indescribable." "I saw a brilliant flame bursting forth within me, on which I kept my Surat [attention of the soul] fixed. Then, piercing the flame, my surat proceeded onward and it reached a gateway, as it were, from where could be seen a sky studded all over with suns and moons. By your grace and compassion have I been able to partake of the bliss of higher regions." (hymn of Shyama, disciple of Tulsi Sahib) "Tulsi Saheb says that the Master resides in Gagan [the inner mystic sky] and to meet Him, Surat [the soul] has to rise up. Only in this human form which is a replica of the whole infinite expanse, can the soul [jiva] work out his salvation and can easily cross the ocean of existence." "When my Surat [soul] reached Gagan [the inner mystic sky], I met the Sat Guru, who guided my path onwards. He embraced me and made me one with Himself, and, by His grace, my Surat ultimately reached the abode which is unfathomable and where there is no fear of any kind." 69

70 "Tulsi Sahib used to go often to places quite far from Hathras wrapping his body in a blanket and with a stick in hand. He usually used to remain in a state of withdrawal, and in that very state, an incessant flow of utterances concerning the secrets of higher regions used to emanate from his mouth like a babbling stream. Ghat Ramayan, Shabdavali (collection of hymns) and Ratan Sagar are well known works of Tulsi Saheb. Another book which he wrote but remained unfinished is Padam Sagar. All these books were written after Tulsi Sahib's coming to Hathras... "...Near the above-mentioned Banyan Tree, a stupendous two-storeyed building had been constructed later on by Tulsi Sahib's devotees, which is still there and in which he stayed till he left his mortal coil. In this very building there is a place marked, where Tulsi Saheb used to sit whilst initiating people into Sant Mat [inner Light and Sound Meditation Practice]. There is also a hemispherical cave where he used to practise Bhajan [meditation]." ("Param Sant Tulsi Saheb", translated into English by Sant Das Maheshwari) All Tulsi Sahib quotes above are from, "Param Sant Tulsi Sahib", edited by Sant Das Maheshwari, Agra, India. Sant Tulsi Sahib, from his Spiritual Classic, "Ghat Ramayana": "The Surat i.e. consciousness-force or individual soul [soul's attention or awareness] is true and she has been extended and entrapped in the untrue realms of Pinda (the microcosm or body, physical plane) and Brahmand (Universe or macrocosm). So, being deprived of the attainment of the self-existence of the Supreme Sovereign God, she is suffering from the pain of falling down (degeneration). To be free from this pain of degeneration, take care of the Surat in such a way that she be liberated from all miseries by concentrating through the untrue realms, being free from untrue spheres, and thus attaining the innate (natural and pure) form of the Supreme Sovereign God. "The practice of holding Surat (consciousness-force) will begin with Maanas Jappa [Simran] (a meditation process in which an alphabetical holy word instructed by Guru is chanted/repeated with eyes closed), and then Maanas Dhyaan (a meditation process in which holy form of Sadguru is concentrated upon with eyes closed), and then Bindu Dhyaan (Drishti Saadhan, the Yoga of Inner Vision), and then finally: Surat Shabda Yoga (the Yoga of Divine Sound). The first shutter within our inner vision is hard and impenetrable darkness. The Surat can cross it by the practice of Dhrishti Sadhana (Yoga of Vision). "When the Surat (consciousness-force) will experience the miracles of Brahma within its own body while crossing the concealment of darkness, then she (the Surat, soul) will be immersed always in the love of Supreme Sovereign God. Then she will move ahead grasping the notes (Sounds) of the Flute by knowing the proper method. 70

71 "The Surat will recognize the Sar-Shabda (Essential Divine Sound) through catching the 'Gagan-Dori' -- (Divine Light or Divine Sound of the Inner Sky). "The Surat being poised onto the Essential Divine Sound (Sar-Shabda) will become tranquil in that Unlimited (Infinite) State where form, design, appearances, body, mind and Maya (illusion) do not exist; and that is the Inexpressible and the fundamental Original State. "To whom this Ultimate State will be realized, his/her Surat (consciousnessforce, individual soul) will be merging into that Ultimate State (the Nameless State, the State beyond Sound) again and again." Tulsi's earlier name was "Dakhani Baba", meaning, "Saint from the South," and he often meditated in a cave. I know some living saints who, like Tulsi Sahib, also meditate in caves! The term "Sant Mat" was coined by Param Sant Tulsi Sahib of Hathras, during the 19th Century, but the Sant tradition, with its many guru-lineages or branches, is a spiritual movement that dates back to ancient India. Sant Tulsi Sahib was of the opinion that the Sant movement dates back to the time of Krishna thousands of years ago, that Krishna knew of Sants during his day, the time of the Bhagavad Gita. God is Like a Black Hole or Gravitational Singularity Maharishi Mehi in his spiritual discourse, The Philosophy of Liberation, states that "the individual self, the part of God which dwells in the body, is concealed. Direct knowledge is not experienced because of the concealments of the four Realms of Qualified Lower Nature: Gross [Physical], Subtle [Astral], Causal [Akashic] and Supra-Causal [Universal Mind]." "The realm of creation in which we live is the Gross Realm. Above the Gross is the Subtle Realm; above the Subtle is the Causal; above the Causal is the Supra- Causal, and above the Supra-Causal is Kaivalya, the realm of Oneness (Pure Conscious Realm). The existence of these four realms is as fixed as the Pole star. Thus, there are five spheres of creation including the Gross Realm. Kaivalya is of Pure Consciousness and the other four realms are Non-Conscious, but coexisting with the conscious." (Philosophy of Liberation) Note: the top part of Kaivalya in some systems of Indian cosmology is called "Nirvana", "Radhaswami", "Anami" or "Anadi". Maharishi Mehi called it "The Soundless State", a State beyond Light and Sound, a heaven beyond the other heavens. 71

72 God is described as being Formless (Nirguna), Nameless (Anami), Soundless (Anadi), Unknowable (Agochar), Invisible (Alakh), and Inaccessible (Agam), unfathomable, hidden or veiled by divine Light and Sound. The above reminds me of the description by astronomers of black holes in the cosmos, which are invisible but indirectly seen all-the-same as they are a kind of "donut hole" surrounded by luminous matter of swirling atoms smashing together, which give off immense light as this matter falls into the gravity well, just before slipping out of the normal space-time of the regular universe. Looking for the halos of light astronomers are able to sometimes indirectly see these invisible black holes. By the light surrounding black holes one sees black holes. So too, mystics can see the Light that veils the Supreme Being. "By the Light of Allah, I see Allah." (Quran) Sat Purush [True, Eternal, Original Being, God] sends His sons to the world to save the living beings from the clutches of Kal [time, illusion]. Sant Dariya Saheb came to this world under the instructions of the Lord to save Jivas [souls]. Sat Purush came to Dharkandha (a village in Bihar, India [in the form of Dariya's Satguru]) to instruct Dariya Saheb. The Lord enthroned Sant Dariya and assured him to save the souls that followed his teachings. The Sant preached ahimsa (non-violence in thought, word, and deed) against all living beings. According to him, unless the lamp of kindness and compassion is lit, the soul cannot find the Path that leads to the Lord. The teachings of Dariya Saheb are above sects, castes and religions. People belonging to any race, religion and caste can be benefited from His teaching. According to the Saint, all the men and women are the creation of the Sat Purush. One should love and respect others as one expects love and respect from others. Harsh words should not be spoken. One should see his own image in others. The Sant preached love and devotion to the Sat Purush only. According to him no purpose is served by visiting places of pilgrimage if true devotion to the Lord is missing. The Sant preached against ritualism. The human body has all the sixty eight tirthas (places of pilgrimage). It is the true mandir/masjid [temple] in which the Lord can be discovered and worshipped. Sat Purush is unborn, eternal, all-powerful, the creator of everything. He does not take birth and meet death. He is beyond description. The Jiva [soul] is the resident of Satlok [True, Eternal Spiritual Realm]. It has got entangled into the snare of Kal [lord of time and illusion] and is wandering in samsara (the world of changes) in different forms. Sat Purush sends Satgurus to the samsara (world) to teach the misguided souls (Jivas). Only the Satguru knows the Path that liberates Jivas from the snares of Kal. The Jiva, by following the teachings of the Satguru, gets liberated and goes to his permanent abode, that is: Satlok. 72

73 Devotion to Sat Purush alone can free the souls from the clutches of Kal. Worship to poly-gods, ghosts and other celetial objects have been discouraged by the Saints/Sants/Sant Mat. Observance of rituals and wandering in places of pilgrimage without true devotion to the Lord serves no purpose. One should take vegetarian food only. The eating of meat is completely prohibited in his order. The Sant has advocated two paths only for attainment of Nirvana: 1. The Path of Knowledge [Inner Experience], and, 2. The Path of Bhakti (Devotion) Human birth is most precious and it should not be lost in mere satisfaction of sensuous pleasures, accumulation of wealth and wielding power. Human birth should be utilised for the realization of Pad-Nirvan (God). If this opportunity is lost, none can say when one would be fortunate to get human birth again. Getting human birth is rare. One does not become high or low from his origion of birth. By acquiring virtues and doing good deeds only, one becomes high. Like all other Saints of the Nirguna School [Devotion to the Formless God], Dariya Saheb discarded Avatarbad (Incarnation theory). He did not believe in the theory of Divine creation of four classes of people as Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaisya and Sudra. Jiva and Brahma are two different entities. The Jiva takes different forms (Rupas) in Samsara, whereas Brahma is beyond Samsara. Brahma is one while Jivas are many. The Jiva gets tainted by loads of deeds and reaps the fruits of his actions. Brahma is nirlep (beyond getting tainted). The Teachings of Sant Dariya Sahib could be summarized as these three: 1. Right Gahani (Understanding) 2. Right Rahani (Living) 3. Simran (Mindfulness, Remembrance, Meditation) Hinduism A Brief Study of the World Religions The Hindu religion is a vast ocean of religious thought, springing as it does from the earliest times, long before the dawn of history, and comprises in its multicoloured texture shade after shade, an endless variety of design and pattern as it 73

74 grew in the human mind; from animism to Nature worship, from powers of Nature in the abstract to personified and concretized natural forms, from gods and goddesses to the one Supreme God, first personal, and then impersonal; from form to formless. The Hindu Pantheon offers a view of a vast and mighty host to the curious inquirer who pierces into the mists of the hoary past. Heliolatry, the worship of Helios or the Sun, was a common practice with the people of the world. Sol or Sun has ever been an object of great veneration for man and has been adored and worshiped all the world over from time immemorial. The ancient Greeks and the Romans built temples to Apollo or Phoebus as they termed the Sun-god in their own time. In all their temples, the image or representation of the Sun-god occupied an important place in their hierarchy. There is a famous Sun-temple in Konark, in South India, and in the historic town of Mooltan or the land of the Sun, in the North. In addition, Jogmaya or Jot-maya temples dot the whole Indian subcontinent. The ancient Greeks also spoke of Shabd. It is written of Socrates that he heard within him a peculiar sound which pulled him irresistibly into higher spiritual realms. Pythagoras also talked of Shabd, for he described God as "Supreme Music of the nature of Harmonies." God was to him, "Absolute Truth, clothed in light." When he commanded an eagle to fly down to him and a bear to stop ravaging Apulia, the wondering multitude inquired of him the source from where such powers came to him. He replied that he owed it all to the "Science of Light." Again, in the Greek language we have the mystical word Logos. It comes from the root lego which means to speak and from it we have the common terms, monologue, dialogue, prologue, epilogue and so on. The Logos means and stands for the "Word" or "Reason." The term Logos also occurs in both Hebrew and Christian philosophy and theology and is used, in its mystic sense, by the Hellenistic and Neo-platonist philosophers. The Christians use it to denote the second person of the Trinity. The ancients in the West inherited this concept from their ancestors who, thousands of years before the Christian era, had come to acquire a great love and adoration for Surya which they regarded as the be-all and the end-all of all human endeavours in their search for the mighty power of God, and as a visible representation to this earth. They carried this notion along with them wherever they went, Eastward or Westward, and composed hymns and chanted psalms in praise of the glorious orb, the source of all life on this solar planet. Those who settled in Iran (Persia) and came subsequently to be known as Parsees, still worship the great deity in yet another form--fire--which they keep burning all the time in their temples as symbolic of the sacred flame that burnt in the human heart and always sprang heavenward. Ratu Zoroaster, the Iranian prophet of life 74

75 and light, sang in loving and living faith of the greatness of the God of Light and taught the people to do so. Agni or fire was a hidden secret with the gods, who guarded this mysterious power very jealously. It was, as the Greek legend goes, stolen by Prometheus and given to man, for which Jupiter, the father god, bound him to eternal torture. In Chapter VI of the Chhandogya Upanishad, it is said to be "the prime element whose creation made possible that of other elements, water, earth," etc. The second branch of the Aryans which turned eastward into the Indo-Gangetic plain also referred lovingly to Aditya; and we have hymns in the Vedas addressed to Hiranyagarbha, Savitar and Usha, all of which stand for the One life-sustaining power, the Sun. The worshipful Masters of the Vedic age were, one and all, admirers of the purifying and healing attributes of the Sun-god, and so no wonder that we see many hymns in the Vedic literature deifying the sun. In Book X, 121, we find: In the beginning rose Hiranyagarbha, born as the only lord of all created beings; He fixed and holdeth up this earth and heaven; What god shall we adore with our oblation?... What time the mighty water came, containing the Universal germ, producing Agni, Thence sprang the God's One Spirit into being: What god shall we adore with our oblation? In another hymn, he is referred to as "the self-radiant wise Aditya." In Book I, 113, we have a hymn to Dawn and in it occur, inter alia, the following lines: This light is come, amid all lights the fairest; born is the brilliant, farextending brightness. Night, sent away for Savitar's uprising, hath yielded up a birthplace, for the morning... Arise! the breath, the life, again hath reached us: darkness hath passed away, and light approacheth. She for the sun hath left a path to travel; we have arrived where men prolong existence. All this could be taken on the literal plane as little more than Nature-worship, an adoration of the sun, understandable among a people dependent upon agriculture for their existence. But ancient Indian literature has an elusive quality. It seems 75

76 to teach us at one level, and when we have adjusted ourselves to it, it suddenly shifts us to another. He who can follow its subtleties finds in it a richness rarely to be met elsewhere. There is multiplicity of meanings, ranging from the physical to the cosmic and the spiritual, and from the literal to the symbolic and esoteric, which challenge us at multiple levels of experience and offer us worthwhile rewards. Thus, when we begin studying these frequent references to the sun, we begin to see that the "sun" referred to is not always the center of our physical Universe, which we initially took it to be. Thus, in the Isha Upanishad, we are told: The door of the True One is covered with a golden disk. Open that, O Pushan, that we may see the nature of the True One. After recounting such statements, when we read of Brahman or the Supreme One, as being Jyotisvat, full of light, and Prakashvat, endowed with splendor, we begin to discover in such terms an esoteric significance we earlier overlooked. This comes to a head when we read the Gayatri, the tenth mantra of the sixteenth sutra in the third mandala of the Rig Veda: Muttering the sacred syllable "Aum" rise above the three regions, And turn thy attention to the All-Absorbing Sun within. Accepting its influence be thou absorbed in the Sun, And it shall in its own likeness make thee All-Luminous. This mantra is considered the most sacred, the mool mantra among the Vedic texts, and is taught for recitation among Hindus from an early age. Here, the inner spiritual meaning of the "Sun" becomes abundantly clear. The object of veneration is not that which provides us with light in the outside world but it is a principle that transcends the three planes of existence, the physical, the astral and the causal, and is the source of inner illumination. This principle is referred to as Aum, a term whose three letters suggest the three phases of human experience: "A" referring to the waking state (jagrat), "U" the dream state (swapna) and "M" the deep sleep state (sushupti). The ultimate reality includes all three planes, and the three phases of human experience, yet goes beyond them. The silence that follows each recitation of the word Aum suggests the state of Turiya or Absolute Being, which is the indescribable source and end of everything. It is the Brahman, the All-transcending One, whose prime attribute is effulgence, but who is in himself even beyond this effulgence. Hence the mantra in its original Rig Veda form has another line added to it, which is given out only to sanyasins and chosen disciples--paro Raj-asal Savad Aum: He who transcends the effulgence is this Aum. The Gayatri not only clarifies the routine implications of the references to the sun, abundant in the Vedas, but it also highlights another recurring theme in 76

77 Hindu thought. Its wide imagery and popularity bring us to the question of mantras and their place in Indian religious practice. The mantras or verbal formulae in Sanskrit verse or prose are classified into two types: those that are meant simply for recitation and need not be understood, and those that are divine invocations, whose import must be known in order to enable the devotee to keep his attention focused on the divine object. The various mantras each have their individual benefits. There are those whose mastery or siddhi gives one contact with magical powers of a lower order (tamsic); there are others that bestow strength and courage and power (rajsic); and finally those whose sole object is spiritual upliftment (satvic). Among the last, as we have already seen, the Gayatri is the most venerated. The mode of mantras, since time immemorial, stresses the spiritual importance of Sound. If the chanting of certain verbal formulae brings magical potential or assists spiritual advancement, then there must be latent in Sound itself an esoteric power. This is why Vak Devi, the goddess of speech, was held in high esteem. Each word has its unique character and place, but of all words Aum is the most sacred. We have already examined some of its symbolic meanings. To these we may add still others. It is not only a term that connotes the qualities of the Absolute Brahman, but one that also denotes Brahman Himself. In the Rig Veda, we have: Prajapati vai idam agref aseet Tasya vag dvitya aseet, Vag vai parmam Brahma. ("In the beginning was Prajapati, the Brahman, with whom was the Word and the Word was verily the Supreme Brahman.") This text remarkably parallels the opening of the Gospel according to St. John: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. Thus Aum becomes Brahman as manifesting Itself in the Word, and in the Taittriya Upanishad, It is referred to as the "Sheath of Brahman," as something which takes Its life from Brahman and contains Him. This aspect is made even clearer in the Sam Veda: Brahman is at once Shabd and Ashabd both, And Brahman alone vibrates in space. In other words, the Absolute One is not only inner effulgence but also beyond it, as suggested in the Gayatri. He is with the Word, the Shabd or Aum, yet beyond It. Both Sound and Light are in fact referred to as His prime manifestations. The Gayatri recommends that while concentrating on the Divine Word Aum, we fix 77

78 our attention upon the inner Sun, while in the Chhandogya Upanishad, we are told that Naad, or the divine music, springs from the Universal Sun (of Brahmand), a secret that was given by Angris Rishi to Krishna, the darling son of Devki (III:17-6 and 93). It was this mystic insight to be found in the srutis, the scriptures revealed through inner hearing, that led to the development of what came to be called the Sphota-vada or the philosophy of the Word. The teachers of this path preached that the Absolute was Wordless, imageless, indescribable and unconditioned. When He came into manifestation, He projected Himself as the Sphota or the Word, radiant with Light and vibrating with indescribable Music. The seeker wishing to transcend the relative plane to the Eternal and Unchanging must contact the Sphota or the Word Power through which he can rise to the Brahman who is beyond Shabd or Sphota. The Path of God-realization is certainly not easy. It is difficult to have access to, difficult to cognize, difficult to abide by and difficult to cross; yet it is the only possible Way, for one who is true to his Guru and His cause. Such indeed are the truths that were taught and practiced by the forest sages of ancient India. But how much of them has survived since then? For the most part we find rituals such as the blowing of conches, ringing of bells, waving of lights, and the worship of the sun. These bear testimony to the mysteries within, but how few are conscious of their real significance? In spite of Lord Krishna's powerful and lasting influence which brought the best of the Vedantic teachings to the heart of the common man, religion in India as elsewhere has tended to degenerate into mere caste and ceremony. The light and music outside are worshiped, but the flaming and sounding Word within, toward which they point, goes unheeded; "the light crieth in the darkness and the darkness comprehendeth it not." Buddhism The teachings of Buddha represent in many ways a reaction against the religious traditions, some distorted, of the Vedas, and yet they confirm many of the basic tenets that we have already examined. The life of Buddha himself has become a legend embodying in a vivid and striking way, man's need to turn from the phenomenal, outer world, to the noumenal, inner one. With his royal lineage and with everything that could make life happy at home, Buddha's going out of the palace into the wilderness as a mendicant in quest of Truth was an unprecedented sacrifice. It indeed was a heroic endeavour on his part to wander for six long years, and to resort to all sorts of austerities and physical sufferings, reducing himself to a bare skeleton, and this compels deep and abiding admiration and adoration. But neither the life of luxury at home nor of tapas in the jungles could help him solve the problem of the misery, distress, sickness and death, which he had witnessed as the common lot of man's life in the physical world. It was a momentous decision of his to forsake the ascetic life as 78

79 he had done the one of luxury before. Seated under the Bodhi tree in Gaya, in calm contemplation, he gave himself up to the divine influence that operates of itself and by itself when one resigns his self completely to the holiest and the highest in Nature, when suddenly there flashed upon his inward eye the much sought solution to the most baffling problem of life, in a serrated chain of cause and effect: (1) the undeniable fact of suffering, (2) the cause of suffering, (3) the possibility of removing suffering, and lastly, (4) the path that leads to freedom from suffering. This was the Path of the Golden Mean, between self-indulgence and self-mortification, both of which were equally painful and unprofitable in the search after truth. Hence it was given the name of the Middle Path, consisting of righteousness in the eightfold aspects of life, which have already been described in the earlier part of this book. This, in brief, was the purport of the Master's first sermon at Sarnath, delivered to the first five Bhikkus. The simple and direct teachings, free from sophistications of the priestly order --the Brahmins--who had made rites and rituals as the be-all and end-all of man's salvation, had a tremendous influence on the people as a whole. No wonder then that the new faith had a large number of converts from the ruling chiefs down to the laymen, who eagerly took to the yellow robe. This is the outer aspect as in all other religions of the world before and after Buddha's time, and it worked well with the masses, for it gave them a clear perspective of life and life's way. The intricate Vedic problems, the Vedic Pantheon and the Vedic mode of worship were bypassed in a single sweep, and the people were asked to evolve and elevate their conduct and everything else would follow of itself. This was, in a way, the strict observance of yamas and niyamas that go to make for Sadachar (right conduct), the first and foremost step in the right direction. It does not mean that Buddha denied the existence either of God, or of the steps leading up to Him on the spiritual path. A mere public non-affirmation of something of higher value and vital interest far ahead of his time and which the common man was not yet prepared and ready to accept does not mean the negation of the same. The higher Path was of course left for the chosen few and kept for the elect, who were worthy of the mystical teaching relating to transcendental hearing, as we read in the Surangama Sutra, wherein are described the spiritual experiences of the highest Bodhisatvas and Mahasatvas and great Arhats, like Maha Kasyapa, Sariputra, Samant Bhadra, Metaluniputra, Maudgalyana, Akshobya, Vejuria, Maitreya, Mahasthema-Prapta and others. All of them in their accounts testify, in one form or another, to the purple-golden brightness, the infinitude of pure mind-essence, the transcendental perception, the transcendental and intrinsic hearing experienced by the inner mind, leading to the indescribable and mysterious Sound of Dharma like the roar of a lion or 79

80 the beating of drums; the penetrating power of the element of fire, making the intuitive insight luminously clear and enabling them to view all the Deva realms and finally the Buddha-land of Immovability, laying bare to the core the very heart of balanced and rhythmic ethereal vibrations. They also speak of the "Supreme, wonderful and perfect Samadhi of Transcendental Consciousness" called the "Diamond Samadhi," that is attainable by means of "Intrinsic Hearing," when the mind, freed from mental contaminations, loses itself into the "Divine Stream." After listening to the various personages, Manjusri, the prince of Dharma, laid great stress on attaining "the supreme purity of mind-essence and its intrinsic brightness shining spontaneously in all directions," and exhorted the Great Assembly "to reverse the outward perception of hearing and to listen inwardly to the perfectly unified and intrinsic Sound of the mind-essence." He then summed up the subject in the following memorable words: This is the only way to Nirvana, and it has been followed by all the Tathagatas of the past. Moreover, it is for all the Bodhisatvas and Mahasatvas of the present and for all in the future if they are to hope for perfect enlightenment. Not only did Avalokiteswara attain perfect enlightenment in long ages past by this Golden Way, but in the present, I also, am one of them... I bear testimony that the means employed by Avalokiteswara is the most expedient means for all.* (* For a fuller account in this connection, see the section "Evidence from Various Religions" in Naam or Word by the same author.) Again, the contemplators in the Hinayana school of Buddhism were also called Shravaks which means "hearers," i.e., hearers of the inner Sound-principle. But after the passing away of the Lord, the secret teachings given by him to the chosen few gradually disappeared, and Buddhism like all other religions after having served the great need of the hour, now remains just a collection of dogmas and beliefs and offers little solace to the seekers after Truth, which comes only from a Truth-realized soul, a real saint with spiritual attainment and inner experience of the Reality. Taoism Turning to China, we find the best in Buddhist thought passing into the religious traditions of the Chinese. But along with this, we may note the message taught on his own by Lao Tze, the father of Chinese Mysticism (Hsuanchiao) or Taoism. The term Tao meaning "road" or way, denotes the hidden "principle of the universe." Lao Tze speaks of Tao as "Absolute Tao" Which is the "Essence" and "Quintessence" (the spiritual truth) quite apart from and yet immanent in its manifestations. Just as Indian mystics had distinguished between the Aum that 80

81 we chant and the Aum that is the Indescribable, Inexpressible, Wordless Word, so too Lao Tze tells us: The Tao that can be told of Is not the Absolute Tao; The names that can be given Are not Absolute Names. Of the character of Tao, it is further said: Tao is all-pervading And Its use is inexhaustible! Fathomless! Like the fountainhead of all things. Again: The Great Tao flows everywhere, (Like a flood) It may go left or right. The myriad things derive their life from It, And It does not deny them. And again: The Tao never does, Yet through It everything is done. In Book II, dealing with the application of Tao, is given the Principle of Reversion: Reversion is the action of Tao, Gentleness is the function of Tao, The things of this world come from Being, And Being comes from Non-Being. Tao is the source of all knowledge: Without stepping outside one's door, One knows what is happening in the world. Without looking out of one's window, One can see the Tao of Heaven. 81

82 The further one possesses knowledge, The less one knows. Therefore the sage knows without running about, Understands without seeing, Accomplishes without doing. The Grand Harmony of Tao, the mysterious secret of the universe, becomes manifest when: When the mystic virtue becomes clear, far-reaching, And things revert back (to their source), Then and then only emerges the Grand Harmony. Of his own teachings (as of the great sages), he said: My teachings are very easy to understand and very easy to practice, But no one can understand them and none can practice them. In my words there is a principle, In the affairs of man there is system, Because they know not these They also know me not. Since there are few that know me, Therefore I am distinguished. Therefore the sage wears a coarse cloth, But carries jade within his bosom. And finally, speaking of the Way to Heaven, he says: True words are not fine sounding, Fine-sounding words are not true. A good man does not argue; He who argues is not a good man. The wise one does not know many things; He who knows many things is not wise. The sage does not accumulate (for himself). 82

83 He lives for other people, And grows richer in himself; He gives to other people, And has greater abundance. The Tao of Heaven Blesses, but does not harm. The way of the sage Accomplishes, but does not contend. From the above, it would be clear that Tao is the Way; the Way to Reality, the ineffable and transcendent, the very ground of all existence, the womb from which all life comes into being. It comes only through the cultivation of stillness, or ridding the mind of the mind-stuff, a stillness which but a few can practice, enjoy and radiate to others. The process of approach to inwardness lies through reversion and purification of the spirit by putting the "self" aside. "Bide in silence, and the radiance of the spirit shall come and make its home." It is by the alert watch-and-wait method that the mind becomes blank and still. It is to such a mind, that Nature yields her secret. We Wei or "Creative Quietude," which comprises and connotes at once "supreme activity" and "supreme relaxation,'' is vitally necessary for the realization of Tao. It is "life lived beyond tension," that acts as a magic spell. Tao works without working and can never be learned and so "a sensible man prefers the inner to the outer eye." The Way to Tao is ever in concord with nature and comes by a drive toward simplicity. It is a way of life to be lived that brings in the all-embracing continuity of Tao. But now, Taoism without Lao Tze has lost its original deep meaning and has acquired a secondary sense, denoting just the Way of the Universe, or the Way according to which an individual may order his life, and it is difficult to see how far one can by himself come to Tao by ordering his life without a Master-soul to put him on the Path. Zoroastrianism What the Hindus refer to as Aum, Naad, Shabd, the Buddhists describe as the Lion roar of Dharma, and Lao Tze as Tao, Ratu Zarathustra, the ancient Persian sage, speaks of as Sraosha, or that which is heard: I cause to invoke that Divine Sraosha (i.e. the Word) which is the greatest of all divine gifts for spiritual succour. Ha 33:35 The Creative Verbum; Assimilating one's unfolding self with 83

84 His all-pervading Reality, The Omniscient, Self-existent Life-giver has framed this mystic Verbum and its melodious rhythm, With the Divine Order of personal self-sacrifice for the Universe, unto the self-sublimating souls. He is that person who, with the Enlightened Superb Mind can give both these (Mystic Verbum and Divine Order) through his gracious mouth unto the mortals. Ha 29:7 In Gatha Ushtavaiti, Zoroaster proclaims: Thus I reveal the Word which the Most Unfolded One has taught me, The Word which is the best for mortals to listen. Whosoever shall render obedience and steadfast attention unto Me, will attain for one's own self the All-Embracing Whole Being and immortality; And through the service of the Holy Divine Spirit Will realize Mazda Ahura (Godhead). Ha 35:8 But today we see only the symbolic fire burning all the time in the Parsi temples and the Parsi households and the chanting of psalms and hymns regardless of the living Sraosha or the Creative Verbum, which the noble Iranian himself had practiced for a number of years on Mt. Alburz and of which he taught the people, as opposed to the worship of the ancient gods of Babylon and Nineveh. Bound however to the fiery symbol of the original Sraosha, it is no wonder that the Parsis are now known as "fire-worshipers." Thus we see that each saint or sage, in his time, gave to the world what he had himself experienced, in a form that could be easily understood and assimilated by the people in general. Each one of them is worthy of the highest respect for his contribution to the sum total of spiritual knowledge that we have, but a real insight into this knowledge and actual experience of the spiritual truths cannot be had from the past Masters, for they cannot now come down to the physical plane to give a living contact of the holy Word to the people and establish them in communion with the Holy Spirit, call it by whatever name one may like. This needs the touch of a living Master, who like the past Masters is himself in constant touch with the Word, for all life comes from life as light comes from light. 84

85 II. Christianity Jesus Christ, the Nazarene was essentially a man of the East, and his teachings are imbued with oriental mysticism. It is even speculated that he spent many of his early years (on which the Gospels are silent) in India, and learned much from the Yogins and the Buddhist monks, in his travels from place to place. He perhaps even started his teachings right in India and may have had a foretaste of persecution from the Brahminical order and the so-called high class social circles for his catholicity of vision, for he did not believe in class barriers and preached the equality of man. (Cf. Nicholas Notovitch The Unknown Life of Christ, Chicago: Indo-American Book Co., 1894.) His contribution to the religious thought of the world may be seen in the emphasis he laid on the need for Universal love, and the Kingdom of God within man; the two cardinal principles known to the ancients long before, but forgotten and ignored in practice. Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the Prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. (Matthew 5:17) Let us examine some of the pertinent sayings which reveal that Jesus was conversant with the ancient religious thought and practiced the Path of the Masters of the Audible Life Current, sayings which are often ignored or misconstrued by those studying his teachings today: The light of the body is the eye; if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness. (Matthew 6: 22-23) Obviously, "the eye" refers to "the single eye" and the words "if thine eye be single," mean concentrated awareness within at the centre between and at the back of the eyes. Again, the words "if thine eye be evil" refer to a state of mental dispersion without, as opposed to concentration within, and the result will certainly be "darkness"--darkness born of ignorance about the true and real values of life, for this is the greatest ill of the soul. Luke then sounds a note of warning when he says: Take heed therefore, that the light which is within thee be not darkness. Luke 2:35) 85

86 What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light; and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. (Matthew 10:27) Here are the words of advice from Jesus to his elect, the chosen few, viz., to carry to the people openly (in light) the significance of what they heard in "darkness," that is in secret meditation, and to tell of the divine melody that they heard in the ear by means of transcendental hearing. But hearing, ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive. (Matthew 13:14) The idea conveyed is of the esoteric nature of the spiritual science which can be experienced in the depths of the soul in the human laboratory of the body, and cannot be understood on the intellectual level or the level of the senses. Matthew then goes on to explain the matter: For verily I say unto you, that many prophets and righteous men desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear; and have not heard them. (Matthew 13:17; Luke 10:24) In clear and unambiguous words, we have a reference to the inner spiritual experience, a realization of the Kingdom of Light and Harmony, which a real Master like Jesus could make manifest to his disciples. Like other seers, Jesus gave a mystical experience to his sincere disciples. To the multitude, he always talked in parables, like those of the mustard seed, the fig tree, the ten virgins, etc., with which the Gospels abound. In a picturesque parable, he explains the sowing of the Word in the hearts of the people, and tells us that the Word sown by the wayside is generally stolen by Satan from the heart; that the Word sown on stony ground takes no roots, endureth for a while and is washed away by the afflictions and persecutions for the Word's sake; that the Word sown among thorns is choked by worldly cares, deceitfulness and lusts of the flesh, and finally, the Word sown on good ground, such as those who hear the Word and receive, brings forth fruit (Mark 4: 14:- 20). The Path that Jesus taught is one of self-abnegation and of rising above bodyconsciousness, a process which is tantamount to the experience of death-in-life. Then Jesus said unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his tile shall lose it; and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain 86

87 the whole world and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:24-26) It means one has to sacrifice the outer man, consisting of the flesh and the carnal mind, for the sake of the Inner man or soul. In other words, he has to exchange the life of the senses for the life of the spirit. Again, the love of God is to be made a ruling passion in life: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. (Matthew 22:37) The Evangelist Mark goes further and adds, "and with all thy strength" (Mark 12:30). This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:30-31; Luke 10:27) The principle of love is still further amplified as follows: Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you. (Matthew 5:44) And why all this?--in order to gain perfection in the likeness of God: Be ye therefore perfect as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. (Matthew 5:48) In the Gospel of Luke, Chapter Three, we are told that "the Word of God came to John son of Zacharias in the wilderness," and John while preaching the baptism of repentance for remission of sins, told the wondering crowd, "I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh... he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire" (Luke 3:2-3, 16). We have to mark carefully the words "baptize by the Holy Ghost" and "fire," for one refers to the heavenly music (the Holy Word) and the other is symbolic of the heavenly Light, and these are the twin principles of Sound and Light, the Primal manifestations of Godhead, or God's Power behind the entire creation. The way to the Kingdom of God can be opened unto him who knows how to "ask" for it, how to "seek" it out and how to "knock" at the gate. In these three simple words, St. Matthew in Chapter Seven and St. Luke in Chapter Eleven have summed up what the aspirant has to do. Unfortunately, we do not yet know where the gate to be knocked at lies. Guru Nanak also emphatically declares: 87

88 O ye blind, ye know not the gate. About this gate, St. Matthew tells us: Enter ye in at the strait gate... Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. (Matthew 7:13-14) It is essentially a path of conversion, for no one can enter into the Kingdom of God unless he is converted and becomes as a little child (Matthew 18:3), i.e., leaves off his vanities, becomes meek, pure, simple and innocent like a little child. St. Luke elaborates on this theme in Chapter 18:15-17, for when the disciples rebuked them that had brought infants along, Jesus called them unto him and said, "Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such (like-minded) is the Kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein." In the Gospel of John, Chapter One, we come to an elaborate exposition of the teachings of Christ. He begins his gospel with the memorable words, the intrinsic significance of which few have cared to grasp: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was Life; and the life was the light of men. And the Light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not... That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not... And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt amongst us. In the above statement of the Evangelist John, there cannot be any doubts about the nature of the Word. It is clearly the light and life of the world, the Creative Life-principle in which we live, move, and have our being. It is the Spirit of God, the very essence of the soul but now lost in the mighty swirl of the world 88

89 and all that is worldly. It is only the contact with the Spirit that shows the way back to God and thus is the true religion. This contact is termed variously as the second birth, the resurrection, or the coming into life again. Addressing Nicodemus, a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews, Jesus said: Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God... (Mark the word "see.") Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God... (Mark the word "enter.") Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again. (John 3:3, 5,7) Jesus the Nazarene compares the one born of the spirit with the wind which "bloweth where it listeth, for thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell where it cometh, and whither it goeth" (John 3:8). Elsewhere, he speaks of the holy Word as the "living water," the water that springs up into "everlasting life" (John 4: 10, 14). Jesus the Nazarene speaks of himself as the "bread of life," the "living bread" come down from heaven; and asks his disciples to eat "the flesh of the son of man, and drink his blood," for without these, "ye have no life in you" (John 6). These in brief are the essential teachings of Jesus the Nazarene called Christ, the Master Christian, but not of institutional Christianity. Most of the Christian doctrines were formulated not by Jesus but by St. Paul, who turned Christ into the sacrificial lamb to atone for the sins of the world, and around this central idea, as borrowed from Judaism and the cults flourishing around the Mediterranean at that time, there has grown a mass of ritual and ceremony. The tenets of Jesus the Nazarene (referred to as Christ) remain as excellent moral precepts and doubtlessly point the way to the inner realization, but cannot in themselves put the seeker on the Path of realization, for they now lack the living impulse and the pulsating touch of the teacher, who having completed the job assigned to him in his own time, cannot now initiate and lead the people and make Truth real to them by bringing them face to face with Reality. Of all the mystical teachings of Christ, we now find but the symbolic lighting of candles in the churches and the ceremonial ringing of the big bell at the time of service. Few, if any, know the real significance behind these rituals, which are the outward representations of the twin principles of Light and Sound, or the primordial manifestations of the Godhead, responsible for all that exists in the Universe, seen and unseen. Some of the great church dignitaries, when asked, say that the bell is pulled simply to call men to prayer, and that to speak of God as the Father of Lights (James 1:17), is but a figurative form of speech to denote his greatest gifts (of the lights of reason and intellect). With hardly any 89

90 experience of the inner truths, they take the words literally and try to explain things theoretically. Jesus the Nazarene himself in no ambiguous words declared: I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. (John 8:12) To speak of oneself as the "light of life" can have no reference to the light of the sun, even though the solar light may in the physical world be a source of lifegiving energy. In Matthew 13:14, Jesus goes on to clarify the position and warns against literal interpretation of his words, when he draws the distinction between "hearing" and "understanding" and between "seeing" and "perception." It is only the awakened souls, the Masters of Truth, in living touch with the Reality, who hold the key to the Kingdom of the spirit and can draw forth an individual, now completely lost in the life of the senses, and rediscover for him the great heritage of All-life and All-light, for then it is said that, "The eyes of the blind shall be opened and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and then the tongue of the dumb sing; for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert" (Isaiah 35:5-6). How few of us really comprehend and appreciate the inner significance of the words of Jesus. We are content only with the ethical side of his teachings, which of course was a necessary accompaniment to the spiritual. The ethical tenets have been widely propagated and have even been assiduously kept alive, for they mark a great advance indeed in the moral scales of human values since the days of Moses. But by themselves, they fail to account for declarations like those about the "Day of Judgment," or "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand," or "God is Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth." If such sayings were to be taken in their literal sense, it would be to reduce them to meaninglessness. The "Day of Judgment" has failed to come, in spite of the prophecy of its proximity, and either Christ was speaking in ignorance or we have failed to comprehend his real meaning. There is behind whatever he said always an inner meaning that is clear to those who have had the same mystic experiences, but baffle those who attempt to interpret it in terms of intellect or even intuition. Not having direct inner perception (not to be confounded with philosophic speculation or intuitive insight), we attempt to interpret the significance of the teachings left to us in terms of our own limited experience. What was meant as a metaphor we take as literal, and the super sentient descriptions we reduce to metaphors. We easily forget that when Jesus said that he was "the light of the world," the "Son of God," and one who would not leave or forsake his disciples even unto the ends of the world, he spoke not in his mortal capacity, but like all other great Masters, as one who had merged with the Word and become one 90

91 with It. Forgetting this, instead of following him on the spiritual path he showed, we think of him as a scapegoat for bearing our sins and as a means of evading the inner spiritual challenge. III. Islam As the name indicates, Islam is the religion of peace and good will for all who believe in the Prophet and follow his behests. Every religion that comes into being fulfils the purpose of God, the need of the hour, and fills a gap in the religious history of man. Prophet Mohammed too came at a time and in a place which was stinking with rank superstition, idolatry, social degradation and moral bankruptcy of the virile Arab race, debased as their brethren, the Jews, and other races had sometimes been. Both Arabs and Jews are Semitic in origin and are the descendants of Abraham: the one from Ishmael, banished eastward, and the other from his brother Isaac, who remained in the general area of Palestine. The rough and sturdy Bedouin tribes of the desert, owing allegiance to none but Mammon and Bacchus, were steeped in utter ignorance and given over heart and soul to warring against one another. It was to save such people that Mohammed, a deeply religious shepherd-boy, was chosen by the most High as His Elect, to carry out the fiat of the most Merciful among His creatures. The call to the Ministry of God came to him only after he had practiced intense spiritual discipline for several years in the rough and barren cave--ghar-i-hira--in the suburbs of Mecca. He started his mission in the true spirit of humility, not to work wonders and offer miracles, which he always decried and desisted from, but as a simple preacher of God's words, a common man like anyone else. His message was essentially that of One God, for he emphatically declared: There is no God but God and Allah is His Name. Mohammed is but His messenger, or message-bearer. On this fundamental basis of monotheism, he built his system of ethical teachings and democratic brotherhood. This was, indeed, the need of the time, and he admirably fulfilled it. To the barbarous, crude and intellectually semideveloped race, he could hardly offer metaphysical postulates for their consideration, especially when even his simple teachings evoked derision and ridicule from the people, and fierce vilification, leading in time to open hostility, that forced him and his followers to flee to Medina for safety. It was in the year 622 A.D. when the band of the faithful migrated from Mecca, and was followed by a period of hard struggle for the newly born faith, for the preservation and propagation of which, the Prophet had to unsheath the sword in self-defence. The process of consolidation took about a hundred years of relentless fighting, during which was carved a mighty empire from East to West, the Indian Ocean on the one hand and the Atlantic Ocean on the other. 91

92 The Koran or the Islamic Bible is a great wonder and an outstanding miracle that surpassed everything else of that period. It has one hundred and forty-four Suras or chapters, each with verses varying from two hundred and eighty-six to six, the number of verses going down in a descending order. It is in an elegant and polished Arabic and was revealed in parts to the unlettered Prophet when in moments of intense meditation, by Gabriel the Archangel of God, whose voice, originating in the reverberation of bells, would gradually assume sound, shape and form. The simple teachings of the Koran centre around Allah (God), His Makhluq or the created world, Insan (Man) and Qiamat or the doomsday. Since Allah is real and basically good, so is everything else created by Him. As all life is individual, so everyone is to render an account for his deeds in life, for he who wanders from the path has to bear the full responsibility for his deviation in the after-life, on the day of reckoning or qiamat. The Path of peace and righteousness for Man is defined as one dedicated to (i) Allah or God; (ii) Namaz or prayer, which is enjoined at least five times a day whether standing, sitting, kneeling or lying down (to signify constant remembrance), and which may be performed anywhere by just spreading the prayer-carpet (Sajadah) and facing Mecca, the one common center of adoration for the faithful; (iii) Zakaat or charity of one-fourth of one's effect's once a year, for the poor and the needy, so that all may share jointly as members of the same human family; (iv) Roza or fast, during the month of Ramazan, so that the faithful may know what hunger is and learn to alleviate the sufferings of the hungry and also develop spiritual discipline, love of God, and compassion for their brethren, and lastly (v) Haj or performance of pilgrimage to Mecca, the Jerusalem of the faithful, at least once in one's lifetime, in simple sheet clothing, similar for all, thus making the rich and the poor alike, at least for the time being. These in brief are the social teachings of Islam, designed for the betterment of the Arabic society. But there is in the Koran not much mention of the spiritual practices of the Prophet himself, which transformed a simple camel-driver into a Prophet-preacher and a statesman of high order. This once again brings into bold relief the ancient formula that there is some knowledge, by knowing which all else becomes known, that brings about complete identification with the heart of the Universe in a state of maraqba or meditation. We are told by the Mastersaints that the practice in the solitary Ghar-i-Hira (cave of Hira), was no other than that of Shughal-i-Nasiri, or the Sound that works as an open sesame to the Kingdom of Allah. Sheikh Mohd. Akram Sabri tells us that the Prophet practiced communion with Awaz-i-mustqim for fifteen years before he started receiving messages from God. We also learn that the Prophet accomplished Shaqul-qamar, i.e., he broke 92

93 the moon in twain astride a milk-white charger barq, which figuratively and literally means lightning. These are clear indications of the inner spiritual experiences of those who travel the Path of the Sound Current and who know that they have to cross the star and the moon in their spiritual journey. Today, we see the symbolic representations of this in the star and the crescent moon on Muslim banners, Muslim coinage and postage stamps, etc. Again, the appearance of the moon on the Id days is always hailed with rejoicing and acclamation, and everywhere the people of the Mohammedan religion anxiously wait and watch from the housetops to see the dawning of the new moon on the horizon, little knowing the inner meaning that it conveys. Bound to the Book, they are rightly called the Kitabis or the people of the Book. Mohammed may be the last in the chain of the Prophets who have come, but the Koran enjoins one to seek some mediator for contact with God. Apart from these references, we have the incontrovertible testimony of the Muslim mystics or Sufis, who have, in unmistakable words, spoke highly of the saving life-line as Kalam-i-Qadim,Bang-i-Ilahi, Nida-i-Asmani, Saut-i-Sarmad, all signifying the Abstract Sound (Ism-i-Azam), the one creative life-principle in all nature--the Kalma, which created fourteen Tabaqs or Regions. To this class of mystics belong Shamas Tabrez, Maulana Rumi, Hafiz Shirazi, Abdul Razaq Kashi, Inayat Khan, Baba Farid, Bulleh Shah, Shah Niaz, Hazrat Abdul Qadar, Hazrat Mian Mir, Hazrat Bahu, Hazrat Nizamud-din and many others, who all practiced Sultan-ul-Azkar (the highest Sound Principle). The Fukra-i-Kamil, travelers in the domain of Marfat, or true wisdom, bypass both Shariat and Tariqat, the paths of scripture, as well as Hadis or tradition. Hazrat Inayat Khan in his book The Mysticism of Sound speaks of the creation as the "Music of God," and tells us that Saut-i-Sarmad is the intoxicating vintage from the Garden of God. All space, he says, is filled with Saut-i-Sarmad or the Abstract Sound. The vibrations of this Sound are too fine to be either audible or visible to the material ears or eyes, since it is even difficult for the eyes to see the form or color of the ether vibrations on the external plane. It was Saut-i-Sarmad, which Mohammed heard in the cave of Hira, when he became lost in his ideal. The Koran refers to it as Kun-feu-kun---Be and all became. Moses heard this very Sound on Koh-i- Toor or Mount Sinai, when in communion with God. The same Word was audible to Christ when absorbed in his heavenly Father in the wilderness. Siva heard the same Anhad-Naad in the Himalayas. The flute of Krishna is allegorically symbolic of the same Sound. This Sound is the source of all revelation to the Masters to whom it is revealed from within and, therefore, they know and teach the one and the same Truth for it is in this abstract reality that all the blessed ones of God unite. 93

94 This Sound of the Abstract is always going on within, around and about man. Those who are able to hear it and meditate on it are relieved from all worries, anxieties, sorrows, fears and diseases, and the soul is freed from the captivity of the senses and the physical body, and becomes part of the All-pervading Consciousness. This Sound develops through and into ten different aspects, because of Its manifestation through the different tubes of the body (Nadis), and sounds like thunder, the roaring of the sea, the jingling of bells, the buzzing of bees, the twittering of sparrows, the vina, the flute, the sound of Shankha (conch) are heard, until It finally becomes Hu, the most sacred of all sounds, be they from man, bird, beast or thing. In one of his addresses, Abdu'l-Baha said: We must thank God that he has created for us both material blessings and spiritual bestowals. He has given us material gifts and spiritual graces; outer sight to view the light of the sun and inner vision by which we may perceive the Glory of God. He has designed the outer ear to enjoy the melodies of sound, and the inner hearing wherewith we may hear the Voice of our Creator. In the Hidden Words of Baha'u'llah, a mystic saint of Persia, we have: O Son of dust! hearken unto the mystic voice calling from the realm of the Invisible... up from thy prison, ascend unto the glorious meadows above and from thy mortal cage wing thy flight unto the paradise of the Placeless. Many other Sufi mystics have sung likewise: From the heavenly turret, God bids thee home, Alas! thou listeneth not to the divine call, None knows the mansion of the Beloved, But sure enough the chiming of the bells comes from. (Khwaja Hafiz) Rising above the horizon, hearken to the melody divine, The prophet would attend to It as to any other task. (Maulana Rumi) O God, lead me to the place from where flows the ineffable Kalma without words. (Shah Niaz) 94

95 All repeat the Kalma by word of mouth, A rare soul may do it with the tongue of thought, He who communes with it mentally, He can hardly describe it in words. (Hazrat Bahu) In Tazkra-i-Ghausia (p. 332), Amir Khusro, a great mystic poet and a scholar of repute, has given an account of the ten types of sounds that one hears within, and he beautifully concludes with the following lines: Such indeed is the Heavenly Orchestra, O Khusro, It is in these ten melodies that a yogin gets absorbed. With senses stilled and the mind at rest, so saith Khusro; With the flourish of the limitless blast within, All the lusts of the flesh and the deadly sins fly off, The Master too has a wonderful world of His own, And Khusro is now deeply engrossed within his self. From the above, it is abundantly clear that the inner spiritual experience of the Sound Current is within the reach of an individual provided there is a competent Master who is capable of imparting his own life-impulse, and who can bring the consciousness in man to the centre of his being and then into contact with the Light and Sound of God by opening the inner eye and by unsealing the inner ear. Traces of these may now be found in the Qawalis or the outer music, and the raqs or dances with jingling anklets in which some of the Muslims engage to produce Wajd, a state of forgetfulness, as a means to the higher inner way. IV. Sikhism Sikhism is the youngest of the world religions, tracing its origin from Guru Nanak, the first of the succession of ten great Gurus. Like other faiths, it assumed the character of a distinct religion only in subsequent times. Its Masters never claimed any novelty for their teachings. In fact, they laid great emphasis upon them as being the truths taught from time immemorial. To underline the universality of the spiritual message, Guru Arjan Dev (the fifth Guru), when compiling the Sri Adi Granth, the holy scripture of the Sikhs, drew the hymns and devotional pieces from the mystical writings of saints of all castes and 95

96 creeds, including Kabir the Muslim weaver, Dhanna the jat, Ravi Das the cobbler and Sadna the butcher, etc. The Sikh scriptures occupy a unique position in religious history. They represent not only the first deliberate attempt to present the oneness of all religions, but are composed in a language that is still alive and not a thing of the past. Hence they have lost none of their pristine freshness and have not been wholly buried under the debris of theological interpretation. Being mainly in the form of devotional lyrics, their appeal is not merely expositional. They speak of the whole man, singing of his problems, his weaknesses, the vanity of the world and the eternity of the Absolute, beckoning him on to greater and ever greater effort, toward his divine home. The language they employ lends itself to condensation-- conjunctions being freely dispensed with--thus enabling its poetic and musical elements to be used with great effect. A searching philosophy and profound metaphysic are implicit in every statement, yet their writings speak directly to men's hearts in the language that they use, whose meanings are inexhaustible and which leave an imprint on all. Moreover, the Sikh faith springing from the teachings not of one, but of a succession of great Masters, covers almost every major aspect of man's spiritual quest. If Buddha emphasized the need for moderation and non-attachment, Christ for love, the Sikh teachings succeed in stressing all facets. Besides, being of comparatively recent origin, the records of the personal lives of the ten great Gurus have been preserved, and we know much of their travels and actions. Nothing in a like manner is known of the Master-souls who gave to Hinduism its Upanishads. They speak as distant voices, reaching out to us from the remote past of mythology. The inner path is a practical one, and man needs not only philosophy but the demonstration of some life that illustrates it. Whether we read of the humility of Nanak as he passed on foot from place to place, bearing the spiritual torch, or of Gobind Singh, the last of the ten Gurus, riding from one end of the country to the other, organizing his followers into a brotherhood that could meet force with force and successfully resist the threat of physical extermination posed by the fanatical emperor Aurangzeb, we realize again and again that the life of God is inner perfection, a mode of being, a self-fulfillment, not to be confused with intellectual philosophy or metaphysical conundrums. He who had won this spiritual liberation could not be touched or tarnished by outer action, for he had made God's Will his own and did nothing of himself. And so, while leading his warriors to war against the Moguls, Guru Gobind Singh could yet sing: Sach Kahun, sun leyo sabhay Jin prem kiyo, tin he Prabh payo. Verily, verily I say unto you 96

97 They that loved, found the Lord. To attempt to outline the mystical message of the great Sikh Gurus would be to repeat most of what we have already said in the preceding chapter. For the teachings of Nanak and of Kabir (his contemporary), represent the final development of the mysticism of inner seeing and hearing into the Path of the Surat Shabd Yoga. Both great Masters--one the first of the line of Sikh Gurus and the second a weaver of Varanasi (formerly Benares), were indefatigable in emphasizing the inefficacy of outer ritual, intellectual sophistication and yogic austerities: Sant mata kuchh aur hai Chhado chaturai The path of the Masters is distinct; Let go thy intellectual subtleties.(kabir) One cannot comprehend Him through reason, even if one reasoned for ages; One cannot achieve inner peace by outward silence, not though one sat dumb for ages; One cannot buy contentment with all the riches o! the world, nor reach Him with all mental ingenuity. (Nanak) Both saints decried caste distinctions, and they were alike in stressing the unity of all life, the oneness of the spirit that sustained everything, and both declared repeatedly that the highest and most feasible way to at-one-ment with God lay through the path of Naam or Shabd. Indeed, no other scriptures are so insistent on the all-pervasiveness of the Word as are those of the Sikhs or the writings of Kabir, a selection of which, as has already been mentioned, was included by Guru Arjan Dev in the Sri Adi Granth. The inner light--antar jot--and the inner music--panch shabd, or the five-melodied Word, whose music is limitless (anhad bani), are a recurring theme in nearly all of the compositions contained in the Granth Sahib. The Jap Ji by Guru Nanak, which figures as a prologue to the Granth Sahib, may serve to illustrate the spiritual riches embedded in the Sikh scriptures. It is a wonderful lyrical composition, remarkable for its poetic beauty, and even more for the divine heights it reaches. It opens by dwelling on the nature of the Absolute Reality as distinct from the phenomenal: There is one Reality, the Unmanifest Manifested; 97

98 Ever-existent, He is Naam (Conscious Spirit); The Creator pervading all; Without fear, without enmity; The Timeless, the Unborn and the Self-existent, Complete within Itself. Prologue This Reality is beyond human reason and comprehension: One cannot comprehend Him through reason, even if one reasoned for ages. Stanza I And yet, It may be reached, and the path leading to It is single: There is a Way, O Nanak: to make His Will our own, His Will which is already wrought in our existence. Stanza I (bis) It is not something outside of us, but within; it is a part of our being, our very essence, and all that is needed is to attune ourselves to It, for to be attuned to It is to be freed from the bondage of the ego and therefore of maya: All exist under His Will, And nothing stands outside, One attuned with His Will, O Nanak, is wholly freed from ego. Stanza II How may one attune oneself to the divine Will? The answer is hinted at in the very opening itself: Through the favour of His true servant the Guru, He may, be realized. This subject is taken up in Stanza XVI in greater detail: The saint (the Word-personified) is acceptable at His Court and is the chief elect therein; The saint adorns the threshold of God and is honoured even by kings; The saint lives by and meditates on the One Word. 98

99 The gift of the true Master is a gift of Naam, in which he himself is an adept. This Word is the manifestation of God's Will and Command and is at the heart of all His creations: With one Word of His, this vast creation blossomed into being, And a thousand streams of life sprang into existence. Stanza XVI The way to at-one-ment with God's Will is through attunement with the Word: By communion with the Word one becomes the abode of all virtues; By communion with the Word, one becomes a Sheikh, a Pir and a true spiritual king; By communion with the Word, the spiritually blind find their way to Realization; By communion with the Word, one crosses beyond the Limitless Ocean of illusionary matter; O Nanak! His devotees live in perpetual ecstasy, for the Word washes away all sin and sorrow. Hence it is that Nanak declares: Stanza XI Exalted is the Lord, and exalted His abode; More exalted still His Holy Word. Stanza XXIV Having outlined the nature of the Absolute and the way leading to mergence with It, Nanak goes on to tell us of what is required to successfully pursue the journey. It is not necessary, he implies, to turn an outward Sanyāsin; what one must do is to be a Sanyāsin in spirit, dispensing with external forms, and instead to inculcate the inner virtues: Let contentment be your ear-rings; Endeavour for the Divine and respect for the Higher Self be your wallet; And constant meditation on Him your ashes; Let preparedness for death be your cloak, And your body be like unto a chaste virgin; 99

100 Let your Master's teachings be your supporting staff. The highest Religion is to rise to Universal Brotherhood, Aye, to consider all creatures your equals. Conquer your mind, for victory over self is victory over the world. Hail, Hail, to Him alone, The Primal, Pure, Eternal, Immortal and Immutable in all ages. Stanza XXVIII Finally, in the closing sections of the Jap Ji, Guru Nanak gives us a bird's-eye view of the spirit's pilgrimage. The first realm to be transcended is the plane of Dharm Khand--the Realm of Action, or the world of good and evil deeds as we know it. Next comes Gyan Khand or the Realm of Knowledge, the first of the inner heavens, full of gods and demi-gods: Countless its elements, air, water and fire, And countless Krishnas and Sivas, And countless the Brahmas fashioning various creations of countless forms and countless hues. Countless the Fields of Action, countless the golden mountains... Countless the sources of creation, countless the harmonies, countless those that listen unto them. And countless the devotees of the Word, Endless and unending, 0 Nanak! this Realm. Stanza XXXV If knowledge is the reigning virtue of this region, ecstasy is that of the next, which is Sarm Khand, the Realm of Bliss. This plane is beyond description and whoever tries to describe it must repent his folly. Herein at last, the soul is freed from its mental adjuncts and finally comes into its own: Herein the mind, reason and understanding are etherealized, the self comes to its own, and develops the penetration of the gods and the sages. Stanza XXXVI But "higher still" stands Karm Khand, the Realm of Grace--grace earned through right action and meditation. 100

101 Here the Word is all in all, and nothing else prevails, Here dwell the bravest of the brave, the conquerors of the mind, imbued with the love Divine... All hearts filled with God, they live beyond the reach of death and of delusion. Stanza XXXVII This is the realm where the soul finally escapes the coils of relativity; the bonds of time, death and change, no longer affect it. But though it dwells in the constant presence of the Lord, it may move still further to merge into His Formless State: Sach Khand, or the Realm of Truth, is the seat of the Formless One, Here He creates all creations, rejoicing in creating. Here are many regions, heavenly systems and universes, To count which were to count the countless. Here, out of the Formless, The heavenly plateaux and all else come into form, All destined to move according to His Will. He who is blessed with this vision, rejoices in its contemplation. But, O Nanak, such is its beauty that to try to describe it is to attempt the impossible. Stanza XXXVII The world shall go on along the rails of good and evil deeds, caught in the limits of Karma, but: Finale Those who have communed with the Word, their toils shall end, And their faces shall flame with glory. Not only shall they have salvation, O Nanak, but many more shall find freedom with them. Such was the lofty message not only of Guru Nanak, but also of his successors. Their word blazed like a summer fire through the plains of the Punjab, sweeping away all the false distinctions of caste that a decadent Brahminism had created. 101

102 At a time when religious bigotry between the Hindus and the ruling Muslims was growing, it demonstrated the unity of all true religions, purifying Hinduism of its servility to outer ritual and setting up before Islam the higher inner ideal it was forgetting in outer names and forms. It is no accident that the Sufi tradition and the Sikh religious movement should have flowered at the same time. Indeed, history at many points, suggests an active cooperation between the two. Some of the Sikh Gurus, especially Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh, and their followers like Bhai Nand Lal, were masters of Persian and have left some exquisite compositions in that language. Guru Nanak is said to have journeyed to Mecca and, like his successors, had many Muslim disciples, while Sufi mystics like Hazrat Mian Mir were on intimate terms with Guru Arjan. Both the Sufi and the Sikh Masters were not tied to dogma, and taught the lesson of universal brotherhood. They acted and reacted upon each other, and it is significant that the Surat Shabd Yoga, or the Yoga of the Sound Current, should find equal stress in the writings of the greatest Sufis and in the Sikh scriptures, a fact summed up by Inayat Khan in the passage already quoted from his book The Mysticism of Sound. But the teachings of all great Masters tend to trail off into institutions after they leave this world. Those of the Sikh Gurus have been no exception to the rule. While they still exercise a profoundly uplifting influence upon the masses, they no longer impel them to mystic efforts as they once must have done. That which once sought to transcend all religious divisions has itself become a religion. That which sought to castigate caste and caste-emphasis has gradually developed a certain caste-consciousness. That which sought to break through all outer forms and ritual has cultivated a form and ritual of its own. At every religious ceremony, people hear verses chanted, singing of the glories within: All knowledge and meditation sprang from Dhun (the Sound Principle), But what That is, defies definition. GURU NANAK The true Bani (Word) is given by the Guru, And is reverberating in the Sukhmana. GURU ARJAN The Unstruck Music is heard through the Grace of a Godman, But few there be who commune with it. GURU NANAK Perfect is the Anhad Bani (Limitless Song), And Its key is with the Saints. 102

103 GURU ARJAN And yet these verses are chanted without heeding or understanding the deep spiritual meaning hidden in them. Meditation Remembrance of God Within, The Higher Self Remembrance the God Within, one s Higher Self through Meditation is the means by which stations yield their fruit, until the devotee reaches the Divine Presence. Through the journey of daily meditation, the seed of remembrance is planted in mind and heart, and nourishes with the water of praise and positive thinking, the food of glorification until remembrance becomes deeply rooted and bears its fruits. Meditation is the power of all journeying and the foundation of all success. Meditation is entering the inner Sanctuary of one s Higher Self (God), the bridge to the One Within remembered. The Yogis strive to remember as such their Lord (of choice) with every breath, because one-pointed thoughts like angels are always in a state of praising to the God Within. If the meditator will mention his Lord in every moment, he will find peace and satisfaction in his mind and heart, he will uplift his spirit (mind), and as such he will sit in the Presence of his Lord. Meditation polishes mind and heart, and is the source of Divine Breath that revives those in darkness, by being filled with spiritual blessings, decorating them with Divine Attributes, and bringing them from a state of heedlessness to the state of complete wakefulness. The Journey Begins Within me are five great mansions All five brightly lit; What need have I of another lamp? I am no longer accountable To the five lords and tax collectors Who barricade the inner path. Five prayer leaders call the faithful To the five mosques within. What need have I of another mosque? IF the Lord calls for your head, O Bahu, do not hesitate; offer it at once. (Kalam e Bahu) The journey of eternal life begins and the soul finally decides to take the steps back home, back to our source. This inner journey of mystics, is one of wonders and amazement. There are worlds upon worlds, many countries, many sights and many mansions to explore. The traveller after entering the inner door, steps into a world of beauty, light and music. No words, no description, but simply a feeling of awe towards that great power that brought into being this glorious creation and gave us the opportunity to explore its marvels. The need for a perfect master under whose guidance one must undertake this journey into higher realms cannot be neglected, but it also possible on a lonely 103

104 basis. One must find a True Master (many may be false and commercialised) of the path to make further progress within. Still the basic method of meditation can be used by seekers of the path to train themselves, for further research into the path. One cannot expect that the doors within shall open so easily without the master s grace behind them, but yes one can achieve a certain amount of mental peace and faith by meditating and alongside continue their search for a perfect master who can further initiate them into the worlds of higher spirituality. Since we know that there are probably millions of books available on the internet about astral traveling etc. and a true seeker will try to meditate using some form or the other until they find a real master, so why not practice the right way, practice the path of the saints instead of wasting our time with useless meditative techniques which generally lead us nowhere. That is why a student who is very keen on entering the worlds within can use this information to build their practice of meditation until they find their master but the reader must be aware that one must not think that only by knowing the technique of meditation, it can lead you into the highest realm. The fact is, the real journey begins only when one is initiated into the path of the mystics by a perfect master. This information is only provided, to give you an overview of the meditation process. Just as in any new activity we are learning, it takes time to develop the habits and strength needed to grow in our new endeavour. The same is true with the art of meditation. With meditation, we are learning to still our body, shut out the world, and still the mind. These are new exercises, and it takes time to develop new habits. Here are some tips for your meditation practice. Try to meditate at the same time each day. Early in the morning after you have rested is best before you begin the day. Find a spot and sit in the same place every time you meditate. Make this a sacred place, a place of prayer. Meditate when you are wide awake and do not meditate on a full stomach as this may cause you to be sleepy. Set a spiritual atmosphere before meditation by reading from the scriptures, singing a spiritual song, saying a prayer or poem. Try to put yourself in the mood of devotion and longing for God (the Higher Self Within). Sit with all humility knowing that it is God's will (the still small Voice of the Higher Self Within) to bless you with divine experiences. 104

105 Start with shorter sittings and build to a half hour, an hour, and eventually two or more hours. Leading an ethical life creates the conditions conducive to meditation. The number one helping factor in developing one's spiritual practices is the guidance of a living, spiritual Master, one who has completed the course of meditation and who is competent to give direction along the way. This simple meditation technique can be practiced at home every day. Meditation is a process of concentration by which we come in contact with the divine Power within us. It can be practiced by people of any age, religion, or lifestyle. Each religion contains references to this power, the divine Light and Sound, that flows out from the Creator. Contacting this divine Power through practicing this simple meditation technique fills us with peace, love, and bliss. We can learn to meditate by carefully following the five steps in this guide: Meditation Outline in Five Steps Step One: Choosing a place, time for meditation You can meditate at any time and at any place you wish. At first, it is best to sit in a quiet area free from noise and away from other activities. As you develop your concentration, you will be able to meditate even in noisy surroundings. Sit in meditation when fully awake, so do not fall asleep. Step Two: Choosing a position To meditate, you must first still your body. Select a pose that is most comfortable for you in which you can sit for the longest time without moving. You should be relaxed, with no tension in any part of your body. Lying down is not recommended as it is conducive to sleep. Step Three: Concentrating Close our eyes very gently, just as you do when going to sleep. Focus our attention into the middle of what lies before you. Do not put any strain or tension on your forehead or eyes. It is not the outer eyes but the inner eye that sees. Your gaze should be loving, sweet, and penetrating. Look straight ahead, keeping your eyes on a horizontal plane around eight to ten inches in front of you. Do not turn your eyeballs up as this will create pressure on your forehead, which may generate heat or cause a headache, interrupting your concentration. Step Four: Silencing you thoughts 105

106 When you close your eyes and focus your attention in front of you, the mind will interrupt your concentration by sending you thoughts: thoughts about problems, work, family, about the past, present, or the future. Our soul is our real self; it is that part of us which is of the same essence as the Creator. The mind tries to keep us from learning about our soul and God, and has many ways to distract us. To help bring your attention to the eye focus and still the mind, repeat the charged Names given to you at the time of initiation. If you are not initiated, just sit with your eyes closed, looking at the darkness within and remember your master, contemplating on his form or just sit in sweet remembrance of God while looking at the darkness in front of you. Keeping your gaze still in the darkness within is the key to proper meditation. The mind may lead us astray by taking our consciousness towards thoughts, but our job is to get our consciousness back to the screen of darkness in front of us within. This will keep the mind occupied and prevent it from wandering. Repeat the Name mentally with the tongue of thought, while gazing into the middle of whatever lies in front of you. Repeat the names slowly, at intervals and not in quick succession, so your gaze is not disturbed. Step Five: Concentrating on the inner Light and Sound We need to experience the Light within us. Our situation may be compared to a light bulb with four or five coverings over it which prevents us from seeing the light from the bulb. In meditation we remove these coverings one by one. When we realize how much luminosity there is within us, we will want to see more and more of it. There are two meditation practices: concentration on the inner Light and concentration on the inner Sound. In the first practice, we repeat the Names given to us by spiritual Master. We should not pay any attention to our breathing; it should go on automatically, just as it does normally. Our job is to sit quietly, and lovingly gaze into the darkness lying in front of us. As we do so, the attention will collect between and behind the eyebrows. It requires no effort. Any effort will only interfere with the process, for it means our thinking is activated. We should continue repeating the Names and gazing. While concentrating on what lies in front of us, Light will sprout forth. We may see lights of any colour; red, blue, purple, green, yellow, orange, golden or white light, or flashes of light. We should concentrate in the middle of whatever we see, and continue repeating the Names. We will see various inner vistas, such as inner stars, moon, and sun, or have other experiences. We are to gaze into the middle of whatever we see, and the Light and Sound of God will guide us beyond the physical into the inner plane. The second practice of meditation involves the listening to the inner Sound. We focus our attention at the seat of the soul and listen to the inner Sound Current. This Sound is the Power of God, and is referred to in the various scriptures as the Holy Word, the Naam or Shabd and other names. It brought all creation into 106

107 being. Our soul is of the same essence as the Sound Current and God, and is attracted to the divine Melody. The soul travels on the Sound Current through the inner spiritual regions. During this practice the Names are not repeated. Jyoti Meditation An introductory form of meditation on inner Light, this method familiarizes students with the process of meditation by helping them to focus their attention at the single or third eye behind and between the eyebrows where divine Light manifests within. Shabd Meditation For those wishing to further their meditation practice, Shabd meditation is offered. Through initiation by the living, spiritual Master, students meditate on the inner manifestations of the divine Light and Sound of God. (Note: The Shabd meditation practice requires abstinence from alcohol and recreational drugs as well as adherence to a lacto vegetarian diet.) By practicing meditation for an hour or two every day, we will find great rewards: 1. Increased concentration, which can be applied to our workaday life. 2. Increased attention span, which allows us to learn and process more information. 3. Physical well being and relief from stress that causes physical ailments. 4. A calmer, more relaxed attitude toward problems in our worldly life. 5. We begin to experience ourselves as soul, thus beginning our journey of self knowledge and God realization. 6. As our connection to our soul and to God deepens, we radiate profound love to everyone around us. Some reflections on the process of meditation: The practice involves a specific meditation taught by a qualified teacher. Dhyana (the meditation) has four levels of practice each building on the preceding practice: The first stage is manas japa (repetition of sacred name meditation). This is a simple technique and has been widely taught and practiced in the East as well as the West. It has the effect of calming the resteless mind and preparing for the following stages of meditation. 107

108 The second stage is the manas dhyana practice of focusing on a specific image. In this level its mostly the satguru's form which is to be visualized and contemplated upon but even concentrating on any other visualization helps in keeping the concentration in the darkness and at the eye centre, although there's no substitute for the satguru's form. The third stage is known as drishti yoga uninterrupted concentration of an infinitesimal point. Here the two currents of our gaze converge at one point, think of it as when we use a magnifying glass and concentrate the sun rays on a piece of paper when the rays are at a infinitesimal point it creates fire and burns the paper similarly when our two currents of eyes or our inner gaze when kept steady at one point join at one point within in the darkness, it results in the inner light. The fourth stage surat shabad yoga (the meditation of divine sound) is focus on celestial inarticulate sounds within, which ultimately leads to the final goal. In this level it s better to be aware of all the subtle sounds you hear inside. Masters advise us to be careful not to turn meditation into a ritual, into something that we do every day without even thinking why we do it. When preparing to get started in our meditation practice we can remember why it is that we meditate and what our goal is. Masters give the following example to illustrate the importance of being still during meditation. They say that if we pick up a glass of water from a table & then place it back on the table, the water still continues to move even though the glass is not moving anymore. Masters call this the ripple effect. Likewise, if we move our body when we are meditating, even if it is a slight movement, that is enough to send ripples through the mind that disturb any calmness achieved. However if we gently keep our mind on the words and do not move soon we will experience how stilling the body helps to still and calm the mind, and conversely how stilling the mind helps to still the body. With the stillness of both body and mind, we begin to enjoy the peace that comes from concentration in meditation. Meditation means trying to hold our attention at the eye centre but not let it come down to the senses. That is concentration, to keep the mind steady at the eye centre but not let it come down. Masters say that the mind is like a computer; whatever we download into it, that is what we get. We input data of the physical world and the mind collects impressions of material things. We input data of spirituality and the mind collects impression of subtle things. The mind works equally well in both spheres. 108

109 When you close your eyes, you are there where you should be. Being there, do Simran, concentrate. When you close your eyes, you are nowhere outside. You are just here at the eye centre. Some Thoughts from Masters and Mystics Your wildest dreams or imaginings cannot picture the grandeur of what lies within. But the treasure is yours and is there for you. You can have it whenever you go there. Take it from me and once and for all, that everything, including the Creator, is within you, and whosoever has attained it has attained it by going inside the eye focus. (Maharaj Sawan Singh ji) Sit in one pose, a little apart from the person next to you so that if they move you are not disturbed. And move not your head, limbs or eyes. Sit straight but relaxed with no tension in the body below. Sit still, please. To be still does not mean moving! (Here, his tone is a little crisp for those inattentive in the audience.) Arms sweeping inward, Master s hands contract to form a circle in front of his eyes; he then taps the point between and a little above the eyebrows. Close your eyes as in sleep, and look sweetly, lovingly, intently into the middle of the darkness lying in front of you. You will see a dark veil. That which sees the dark veil within, without the help of your physical eyes, is the inner eye. Do not put any strain on your physical eyes, nor turn them upwards, for that will result in headache or heat in the head. Pay no attention to the breathing process...let it go on naturally. There are two currents working in the body; one of motor currents or prana or the vital airs, and the other of surat, or attention, which gives us the sense of feeling. The Saints do not touch the prana currents which govern breathing, circulation of blood and growing of hair and nails. The Pranic system of breath control is the way of yogis and not that of Sant Mat [the Path of the Sant Satgurus]. The Saints way is to concentrate surat or attention at the single or third eye while mentally repeating the mantra of five charged names which act as an open sesame to the higher planes. As you look within, you will see a sky, or blue sky. If you look minutely into it, you will find it studded with stars, or pinpoints of Light. If so, locate the Big Star out of them, and fix your whole attention on that. Then you may see the inner Sun or Moon. If so, focus all your attention into the middle of it; it will break into pieces, and you will cross it. Beyond you will see the radiant form of the Master or his Master... He continues with the esoteric instructions, until everyone is absorbed....become the eye itself. With eyes closed, go on looking constantly without a break directly in front of you. Those who are initiated, repeat the five charged words, one by one, very slowly, mentally, internally, at intervals, so that your inner eye is not disturbed. Those who are not initiated, just sit in sweet remembrance of God...repeating with the tongue of thought any name of God or 109

110 Saint which you hold dear. Any effort on your part stands in the way; let yours be an effortless effort, and you will find that your soul will be withdrawn from the body as easily as a hair drawn from [soft] butter. It is by the grace of the Guru that we see. (Excerpts from the book The Enchanted Land by Dr. David Lane.) Yogini Mataji Coupled with this physical stillness and ceaseless repetition of God's name, the next step is to contemplate the light within. At first, Mataji pointed out, there will be only darkness but eventually light will appear in the form of either small flashes or small star like points. In any case, one should focus on the radiance, keeping one's simran intact and allowing the light to draw the soul inward. The third and most important step, Mataji said, is to listen to the sound that issues forth from the light. It is this internal music which will numb the body and allow the consciousness to leave its ordinary dwelling. By riding this current of light and sound, like a fish going upstream, the soul will be able to go back to its original home. On the journey within, however, the soul must be guided by a true master so as not to be detained in any of the lower illusory regions. According to Mataji, what near death patients experience is only the beginning of a vast sojourn into great universes of light, love and beauty. Personally I was overcome with the profundity of Mataji's account. Although it seemed plausible, especially given the findings of near death patients who have been resuscitated, the soul's journey in the beginning stages appeared too difficult. How can one sit so still, repeat only holy names and think of God constantly? "By falling in love," Mataji answered serenely. "Because when one is truly in love nothing but the beloved can enter one's mind. So the secret of surat shabd yoga and of mysticism," she goaded, "is not necessarily practice and more practice, but love. To be so devoted to one's Lord that nothing can stand in the way this and nothing else is the truth of Sant Mat," Mataji stressed. Sitting quietly, doing nothing, spring comes and the grass grows by itself. (Zen Saying) Swami Shri Bhagirath Baba Shri Bhagirath Baba on Manas Jappa - Simran - Name Repetition Done With Devotion and Love (Prem-Bhakti) There are three layers (coverings) over the Jeevaatmaa (Individual Soul). Those are: darkness, light and sound. Darkness is the shadow of the light. This darkness is the first layer on the Jeeva (individual soul) whom all beings see. One who crosses this layer of darkness through a special kind of meditation sees the inner Light within oneself. This inner Light is called Aatma-Aalok (Light of the self) or Brahma-Prakash (Divine Light), on achieving it, Divya-Drishti 110

111 (Divine Eye, Third Eye) opens completely. One should repeat (reiterate) the Guru-instructed mantra within the mind, gazing into the darkness that appears while closing the eyes. This process is called Maanas Jap. In doing this process neither lips are oscillated nor the tongue. Instead, the mantra (word or name given by Guru) is repeated within, through the mind. This Jap is actually a kind of meditation. Repeating mantra through the mind is to call the Ishta (the tutelary deity, most beloved, Sadguru) near oneself. So, Jaapak (a practitioner who does Jap) should perform Jap with great love. He (Ishta, Guru) becomes happy/merciful if one does Jap with immense love and devotion, and he appears at will. The practitioner who does Jap sitting in a secluded place with the right method and immense love, becomes the excellent devotee. Sant Charan Das says: "Sakal shiromani naam hai, sab dharman ke maahi Ananya bhakta wah jaaniye, sumiran bhoolai naahi " [Name (Jap) is the crown of all and has been described in all creeds. Know that person as the superior devotee who never forgets Jap.] By doing Jap, the mind and heart become devotionally pure, morale is uplifted, one gets strength in inner meditation. Japaat Siddhi (divine power after getting perfection in Jap) is obtained. By doing Jap, so much sanctity begins to flow within the body and mind of the practitioner (Jaapak) that the vibration or wave of Jap (mantra the practitioner repeats) penetrates (flows into) whatever the practitioner touches. Exploring Inner Space Via Inner Light and Sound Meditation (Surat Shabd Yoga) "The individual soul has descended from the higher worlds [realm of the Divine] to this city of illusion [bodily existence]. It has descended from the Soundless state to the essence of Sound, from that Sound to Light, and finally from the realm of Light to the realm of Darkness. "The current of consciousness which is dispersed in the nine gates of the body and the nine senses must be collected at the tenth gate (the sixth chakra, the third eye, bindu, centre between the eyebrows). Therein lies the path for our return. This is the act of leaving the gates of the sense organs and becoming established in the soul. We travel back from the realm of Darkness to the realm of Light, from the Light to divine Sound, and from the realm of Sound to the Soundless state. The Divine Essence permeates all beings yet transcends them. (Sant Sevi Ji Maharaj) 111

112 Meditation Practices "The five practices are gross to subtle in an ascending order: manas jap and manas dhyana, Dirsti yoga, Nadanu-sandhana (Sound Yoga), and the Soundless Yoga. The practice of manas japa (mantra) and manas dhyana is the worship of the (material) qualified (personal) form of God (God perceived as name and form in the gross realm); the practice of the meditation on the infinitesimally small point is the worship of the subtle qualified form of God (God perceived as the infinitesimal point); Concentration on divine sounds (other than Sar Sabad, the Divine Sound of the beginning, Word, Logos) is the worship of the qualified formless Divine. And, finally, meditation on the Sar Sabad (the Original Divine Sound) is worship of the Unqualified-Formless (transcendent Godhead)." (Sant Sevi Ji Maharaj) Further Comments of Major Importance The first paragraph describes the origin of the soul. The soul is part of the Supreme Being in the true realm, ultimate reality. Then the soul individualized, and incarnated into various coverings or bodies (mental, akashic, astral and physical) going to various realms, living out separate existences being dominated by the senses. God is described as the Nameless or Soundless One. Then there are realms of Sound and Light, and the relatively dark matter of the physical universe or multiverse. This is where most of us are, or where we think we are - this is where are awareness is most of the time. We are aware of the world as we perceive via the five senses. In the second paragraph we see a reversal of this process being advocated, an inversion or going within. The soul, during meditation, begins the journey back to its Source. By merging into the divine Light, then the divine Sound, the soul, transcending the physical world, astral, causal, mental, and etheric realms, eventually returns home. It returns to itself again as the pure naked soul, it's true Self. In Sant Mat, one is trained to listen for certain inner Lights and Sounds of the various planes. In meditation, it can appear like one is going through a tunnel, or, scenes change from one thing to another, lights within lights, lotuses within lotuses. There are sounds within sounds also. The bell sound morphs into a conch-shell, or thunder/drums, sitar, flute-like sound, bagpipes, vina, and so on. Beyond all the "veils" of the physical body and the subtle bodies associated with the different planes, is the soul. In this form of meditation, surat shabda yoga, the awareness of the soul travels from this outer world of the five senses, through astral, causal, mental, and etheric realms, and back to itself again - know thyself as soul. Beyond all these veils of darkness, Light, and Sound, is the Soundless One, the Supreme Being. 112

113 The third paragraph discusses the meditation techniques used to "get There from here". 1. Manas jap: "manas" means mental, and "jap" or, "jappa" refers to the chanting of mantras, sacred names. Thus, manas jap is the practice of mentally repeating names of God with the "tongue of thought". This practice is also called Simran, and the Sufis call it Zikhr. This is a spiritual exercise one can do within the privacy of one's mind throughout the day to remember God in all of our activities, and this is also the first technique in Sant Mat meditation. 2. Manas dhyana, is the technique of mentally visualizing a Form of God or the image of one's Guru. This is a visual form of relaxation, and the repetition of sacred names is the auditory equivalent. One repeats the name their teacher gives them while visualizing. Together, these are a powerful combination, making it possible to get centered and helps to prepare one for the next stage. "Coupled with this physical stillness and ceaseless repetition of God's name [Simran practice], the next step is to contemplate the Light within." (Yogani Mataji) The Spiritual Senses, Seeing and Hearing Within 3. Dirsti yoga: the Yoga of Light: "the practice of the meditation on the infinitesimally small point [bindu] is the worship of the subtle qualified form of God (God perceived as the infinitesimal point)." Other terms for this "infinitesimal point" are: Single Eye, Third Eye Centre, Seat of the Soul, and Tishra Til. As one is in the darkness repeating divine names and visualizing the form of their Guru or Ideal, Light may manifest itself: flashes of Light, shimmering Light, lights of various colours, clouds of Light, sparks or fireflies, stars, suns, moons, etc... This is being centred at the Third Eye, which is like a Door or Portal to the worlds beyond. This is our own Hubble Space Telescope Within, so to speak. In meditation, one simply gets relaxed and centred, and notices a shift from an awareness of the five-sense world to our "Within" or Inner Space. With a certain amount of concentration, with the help of the sacred name or names one is repeating, along with visualizing the form of the teacher, one sees the inner Light. Seeing Light beyond the darkness is what it means to reach the Third Eye Centre. At the time of initiation, one's teacher reveals the details of what kinds of visions and Lights one should contemplate. Certain sights in Inner Space are associated with particular planes and serve as markers along the way. "At first, Mataji pointed out, there will be only darkness but eventually Light will appear in the form of either small flashes or small star-like points. In any case, one should focus on the radiance, keeping one's Simran intact and allowing the Light to draw the soul inward." (Yogani Mataji) 113

114 4. As one's concentration develops at the Third Eye Centre, one begins to make the transition from lower to higher, from outer to inner, from visualization of a form, to real-light-seen, from the sound of Simran words being repeated in one's thoughts, to the Divine Sound, a Mantra that repeats all by Itself. Even as contemplating real inner Light is preferable to visualizations, there is meditation upon inner Sound, which is viewed as a higher or more advanced stage of practice than the repetition of mantra-names. There is a higher Name of God one can encounter. The Divine Word is the True Name or Naam. Nadanusandhana: Concentration on divine Sound -- the Yoga of Sound: These are inner Sounds. At the time of initiation one is given instruction on meditating upon certain sounds within. There are many sounds, but certain ones will attract the soul, pulling it up to higher levels of awareness. "The most important step, Mataji said, is to listen to the Sound that issues forth from the Light. It is this Internal Music which will numb the body and allow the consciousness to leave its ordinary dwelling. By riding this Current of Light and Sound, like a fish going upstream, the soul will be able to go back to its original Home." (Yogani Mataji, a Radhaswami Guru I've always liked, quoted in the book, Enchanted Land) 5. Soundless Yoga: Beyond form is the Formless. Beyond Sound is the Soundless State, God, the Nameless, the Soundless One, the Formless, Nondual Ocean of Love. Of this state, Swami Ji Maharaj said: "The Supreme Being Sat Purush Radhaswami is Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent. His attributes are Grace, Mercy, Love, Bliss and Peace." "From one step to another the soul beholds strange things which cannot be described in human language. Every region and everything is utterly beyond words. What beauty and glory! How can I describe them? There is nothing here to convey the idea. I am helpless... "Love plays the supreme part. It is all love. "So says RADHASWAMI." Why the need for a living master and Initiation into the Secrets of Surat Shabda Yoga? Of course, if it wasn't for living masters, recent masters and past masters, we would not be having this conversation. There would be no understanding or organized path teaching this as a divine possibility, that human beings can taste something of heaven, even now during this present life, in this present moment of time. Note: a word about masters and spiritual paths: A true master does not charge money for this sort of meditation practice according to the Sant Mat tradition. A spiritual master also is compassionate, and is ethical in his or her conduct, practicing what they preach, following the principles of ahimsa: non-violence in thought, word, and deed. In other words, with a true master there is no abuse of 114

115 power, no sexual misconduct, no misappropriation of funds, and no unloving tone or atmosphere. The tone of the teachings will be compassionate, positive and healthy. Even if a guru's teachings are essentially correct but they are not ethical in their conduct, they are not a real master. 'The student is genuine, even if the teacher is not', and therefore may benefit somewhat from any number of teachers over the years, but a more advanced master of the Positive Power will be a much better influence and will take one higher. In the ancient Sanskrit language, the word "Sant" means master of the highest order. The definition of a master in Sant Mat is, esoterically, someone who has reached the Fifth Plane or Above - that makes them a Sant - a soul that has merged in God. For them to function in the capacity of a Satguru, they are usually someone who has been appointed ('accredited') by their teacher to be the next master of a lineage or spiritual community. Someone like this gives out not only the theory of the meditation, but is the embodiment of it as well. A true master experiences these realms for themselves. Thus, their students not only have the theory of the meditation practice, but generally, they have success in their own experience of Divine Light and Sound within when they meditate and are accurately following the instructions they were given at the time of initiation. There is a spiritual principal that: "we are influenced by the company we keep". When we associate with those who experience Divine Light and Sound, there is a spiritual influence which helps us to open up to Light and Sound as well. In India, this is called Satsang (association with eternal Truth or God). People get together to hear the teachings and meditate together. There is a Group Energy that provides a boost or jump-start that helps open us up to our own experience. "Where two or three are gathered in My Name, I Am in their midst", as the saying goes. Even better than meditating with other initiates is to meditate with a living master, and this is what initiation is, along with complete guidance and instruction on how to meditate, as well as on how to integrate this sort of meditation practice with one's daily life in a balanced and healthy sort of way. It is a "far out" form of meditation, but we need not meditate in a cave all day long or be "blown away" by the experience. We are simply adding another level of consciousness to our existence. Along with the waking state, the unconscious state of deep sleep, and the dream-state, we are adding the meditative state of inner Light and Sound - Surat Shabda Yoga, to our daily schedule and spend some time in Inner Space, what some call "the Fourth State of Consciousness." Yogani Mataji: "On the journey within, the soul must be guided by a true master so as not to be detained in any of the lower illusory regions." The self-existent Lord pierced the senses To turn outward. Thus we look to the world 115

116 Outside and see not the Self within us. A sage withdrew his senses from the world Of change [samsara] and, seeking immortality, Looked within and beheld the deathless Self. (Katha Upanishad, part 2, 1, 1,) Mysticism in the Past, and being a Mystic Today More and more people have been asking me lately What do you mean by the word mystic? There seems to be quite a lot of blurry confused notions and outright misconceptions about the word. And yet, it is perhaps one of the most important words pointing toward a fundamental truth about who we are at the soul of matter. Mysticism is about how we can come to live within the fullness of our True Nature. In a very real sense and because mysticism concerns the essence of life it is audacious to even try and define it. Words are insufficient, often in the way of understanding. That to which the word mysticism refers, is a quality of presence that is quite literally beyond and before any words (more on that later). Still, and like others, I feel compelled to try and come as close as I can to pointing toward something that speaks of our original nature. And I beg pardon in advance for the terrible insufficiency of language and the limits of my own mere glimpses into these realms of an endless sacred mystery. Still, let me try. A mystic is one who, above all else in life, desires to know (not in the intellectual sense of knowing) the deepest Truth of existence. A mystic is one who senses more to life than making a living or being of service in the world although these things are both necessary and good. The mystic, however, is looking beyond an exclusive (or preoccupied) focus on these survival/selfactualization desires to something more: he is looking to discover the deepest truth of our being as incarnate souls; to understand our greatest potential as reflections of God; to realize our wholeness within the Ground of All. The primary interest in life for the mystic is to discover truth, to know God, to see into man s whole nature. The mystic sees all of life as an abundant opportunity to discover, realize, and express the Divine. Mysticism springs from an insatiable curiosity for understanding the essential questions of Life: matters of God, Creation, the Infinite and the human potential for knowing Truth. The mystic is in reality the ultimate scientist who, looking beyond the apparent or obvious in all matters, asks: Is this that I am seeing reality or the illusions that stem from fear? What existed before this sense of reality? What existed before my mental constructs, my beliefs, my 116

117 self-identity? Who is this that observes and is self-reflecting? What is at life s very source?. Do not misunderstand Mysticism Mysticism is terrifically misunderstood by mainstream culture. It always has been. Many people (incorrectly) think mysticism is some kind of odd occult someone who studies magic or renounces life and goes off to live in a cave. Nothing could be further from the truth. The reason this has often been confused though is not so surprising. The mystic is one who undergoes a radical shift in conscious understanding and that often looks, sounds, or seems very mysterious to our accustomed ways of thinking and being. The mystic consciously enters into the sacred journey that all the world s great religions speak of in various ways: Some call it becoming awakened, enlightened, born again. It is an inner journey that requires a deconstruction of the conditioned illusions of separation so that the true freedom of living can emerge. It is the true meaning of being born anew. It is the process and realization of letting die our stale and conditioned habits and beliefs so that we may live in the fullness of each new moment of Creation. It is the understanding that conditioned patterns, belief systems, and memory are not living, but dead moments already. It is the realization that true living can only be lived in a freedom that moves with the current of Creation forever open to each moment teaming with new potential. To let go the illusions of ego identity and stand naked before our true original nature, often requires a removing of oneself from typical ways of living and thinking (at least for a time). In the sacred literature this is often referred to as entering the wilderness, facing the dark night of the soul, annihilation of the ego, or dying to oneself to be born again. It is a process of fundamental transformation of conscious understanding that the mystic takes on. The journey it takes to successfully deconstruct the layers of conditioning that block true awareness, and what emerges from this inner journey of realization (or awakening) can often look and sound very mysterious (if not down right confusing) to the uninitiated and linear mind. But in truth it is the deepest meaning upon which all the world s great religions have their original foundation. It is the journey to discovering and experiencing direct relationship with/as God or the Source of All Creation. It is each individual soul coming to directly know itself within the Divine. It is the fulfilment of our purpose: I and my father are one. 117

118 Great Mystical Teachers of Past and Present Throughout all of history, mystics have been our way showers, those who go before, those who see beyond, those who seem (so often) to speak in riddles. They are those who have lifted the veil of worldly illusion to experience a deeper truth and wisdom of Being. The mystic is not so much concerned with survival as with coming to realize the full potential of being. The mystic is seeking direct realization of Truth even within a dynamic evolving Great Mystery. The mystic finds the eye of the needle and enters into the realization of the Kingdom of Heaven within. Every religion the world over (both of the east and west, orthodox and liberal) has at its origin the way-showing wisdom of one or more great mystics. Indeed, all the men and women throughout recorded history who have had the greatest spiritual integrity and direct authority are rightly called mystics: Jesus of Nazareth was a true mystic, as was Gandhi, Meister Eckhart, Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, William James, Thomas Merton, Sri Aurobindo, Sri Ramakrisna, Lao-tse, Shankara, Vivikananda, Abraham, Job, Carl Jung to name a mere few and scores more of men and women poets and artists. Commonality amongst the World s Mystics of religions and Philosophies If you study the life of past mystics you ll find they share several things in common: First, they all speak of an induction or of a need to learn/realize a new level of understanding. They all speak of a fundamental shift in consciousness (be it called awakening, realization, divination, or being born again). Second they all tell of making a journey into and through a despair process of being undone as the precursor to this fundamental shift in consciousness be it through experiencing 40 days and nights in the wilderness, starving under the boddhi tree, facing the dark night of the soul, or the hero s journey. There is a Journey of metamorphosis that all mystics have undergone in some way. Third, it is an inner journey that must be taken up and navigated alone. This is a hallmark of the mystic s realization: The reason the journey must be alone is because that which must be faced, seen, and surrendered in order that something new can emerge, is only possible through sustaining the fear and despair process of being alone and meeting the ultimate and fundamental fear of non-being and annihilation. Fourth, they all seem to realize the frustration of being misunderstood by those who have not yet been through the awakening journey those who have ears to hear, let him hear. A great deal of the mystical writings are devoted almost exclusively to the fact that fundamental spiritual truth cannot be understood by 118

119 the intellect nor correctly put into words. Forever, the great spiritual teachers have tried through the insufficiency of words to point toward that which can ever and only be experienced and known on a level that is before and beyond the mind. This is something unfathomable to those who have not yet had this breakthrough revelation and particularly so in our contemporary culture that has become so overly reliant and blinded by the limiting paradigm of the scientific method that forever reduces our understanding of intelligence to that which is sensory, measurable and linear in nature. ( Life isn t (only or always) linear.. In fact it rarely is, except in man-made constructions and habituated uses of the mind.) The (Mysterious) Language of the God Within each one There is literally a new language/understanding that accompanies spiritual realization. The same old words now have entirely different, deeper layers of meaning and significance within the framework of spiritual realization. In fact no words can encompass that which has been realized. That is why when the words of our world s great mystics are heard through the common language of those who have not yet made the mystic s journey, they are invariably misconstrued and misused. That is why Jesus was crucified. It is why we have religious wars. And it is why we have so much religious politic and prejudice corrupting a universal truth that one has to enter into alone. That is why we see so many people (wrongly) trying to practice their way into spiritual realization with all sorts of dogma, belief systems, religious structures, postures, and prayers. The reason these things don t work is because the need to grasp something (the very mechanism of the mind that needs to hold on to anything for its salvation) is the very thing that has to be let go of! It s an odd sort of reverse psychology (with a double twist): The path to spiritual realization is completely antithetical to what anyone would call a path at all. It is always the subtle paradoxical opposite of what one tries to see, know, find, understand. That is why so much of it sounds like riddles. That is why I say it is a fundamentally different language. That s as close as I can come to pointing toward finding your way: realize that we re talking about developing an ear for a completely foreign language. Start listening into the unfamiliar, the unclear, the uncomfortable, the not-knowing. Start living in not-knowing anything (not anything!) From there, the new language of Knowing emerges like one of those 3-d picture puzzles where the image is embedded within (and is more than) the dots. Listen in a new way and not so much for new things. (a key). The word Mystic at its root stands for that which cannot be named that which is forever before the naming: Source. The word also hints at the path to spiritual realization that is, to become capable of going into a terrain that is beyond the 119

120 mind (before the naming), separate from any belief, any identification or security, and opens through a sense of awe for the great mystery. What is mysticism really? Discussion From the outset it should be noted that mysticism is not a fully elaborated philosophical system. It is, instead, a loosely organized collection of premises, held to be self-evident. The evidence comes from experience; which is to say, the foundation of all categorical concepts is believed to be simple, unsophisticated experience (Suzuki, 1964, p. 33). It is for this reason that mysticism is always characterized, in its most basic form, by reference to direct experience. Mysticism, in this sense, shares a commonality with phenomenology and existentialism. The existential focus on existence rather than essence reflects this same understanding of evidence (Hammond, Howarth, & Keat, 1991, pp ; Merleau-Ponty, 1967). Mystical Experience Mystical experience, that is, the end to which mystics aspire, is depicted in a number of interrelated aspects, as described below. The All-Inclusive Whole The most distinctive aspect of mystical experience is the appreciation of all phenomena as manifestations of a basic oneness (Capra, 1976, p. 117). As the Avatamsaka philosophy teaches: "The One embraces All, and All is merged into One. The One is All, and All is the One. The One pervades All, and All is in the One." Though there might be differences in its expression, this is not an unfamiliar premise to contemporary scientists of every variety (Wheatley, 1992). Physicists, in particular have operated on the premise of unity-as-reality for many years (Capra, 1976; Zukav, 1979). Bohm and Hiley (1975) describe this burgeoning understanding in the following passage: One is led to a new notion of unbroken wholeness which denies the classical idea of analysability of the world into separately and independently existing parts... We have reversed the usual classical notion that the independent "elementary Parts" of the world are the fundamental reality, and that the various systems are merely particular contingent forms and arrangement of these parts. Rather, we say that the inseparable quantum interconnectedness of the whole universe is the fundamental reality, and that relatively independently behaving parts are merely particular and contingent forms within this whole. A concept like interdependence, as understood in physics and other sciences, in focusing on relations among things, as opposed to things in relation, is a step in the right direction. It doesn't go far enough, though to make contact with 120

121 mystical views in this regard. There is still implied in scientific philosophy an enormity of things or forms upon which relations among them may be construed as reality. This is not the sense in which the oneness of reality is understood in mysticism. Participation as Reality In mystical tradition, it is not the whole that constitutes reality, but rather the experience of participating in the whole. Participation here is carefully construed. One's participation in the all-inclusive whole, that is to say, one's experience of the oneness, is conceptualized as the oneness. There is no reality other than this; and it is this interpretation of reality that gives mysticism the solipsistic character that has yet to develop in scientific philosophy (although see Hayes, 1993, 1997). Harding (1986), in a brilliant essay entitled "On Having No Head," articulates the solipsistic implications of the participation premise, as follows: The reality behind all appearances is lucid, open, and altogether accessible. I know my way in and out of the secret innermost heart of every creature... because we are all one Body, and that Body is one void. And that Void is this void, complete and indivisible, not shared out or split up into mine and yours and theirs, but all of it present here and now. This very spot, this observation post of mine, this particular "hole where a head should have been" - this is the Ground and Receptacle of all existence, the one Source of all that appears... as the physical or phenomenal world, the one infinitely fertile Womb from which all creatures are born and into which they all return. It is absolutely Nothing, yet all things; the only Reality, yet an absentee. It is my Self. There is nothing else whatever. I am everyone and no-one, and Alone. What Harding is pointing to in this passage is that participation in the oneness means the dissolution of multiplicity This aim distinguishes mysticism from other philosophical systems more acutely than any other characteristic. The dissolution of multiplicity is often contrasted with dichotomous thinking in mystical writings. It is articulated as a denial of dualities of every sort, among which is the duality of the observer and the observed. In the mystic's oneness, subject and object fuse into a unified, undifferentiated, boundless, whole. In the all-inclusive whole there are no things to be observed and no observer to observe them. The apprehension of the all-inclusive whole is achieved, thereby, when the world of the senses is transcended and the notion of things is left behind (Capra, 1976, p. 128). To reiterate, reality is not the all-inclusive whole in mystical perspective; it is rather the experience of participating in that whole. The idea of reality as participation, in contrast to observation, underlies cosmic understandings in physics as well. It was this appreciation of the observer's participation in observation, as it applied to both spatial and temporal 121

122 specifications, that eventuated in the concept of space-time (Sachs, 1969.) The irony of this situation is that although both space and time lost their reality status in an appreciation of the participatory status of the observer, no such realization appears to have impacted confidence in the ontological character of space-time. This oversight is explicit in Minkowski's famous lecture; and although a great deal more has been constructed about this entity since its conceptualization, its reality status does not appear to have come into question. Scientists are still discussing space-time as an existent which knowers may eventually come not only to know, but to know why (Hawking, 1990, pp ) In short, the duality of observer and observed, though violently challenged in scientific circles, remains intact. This is not what participation - what experience - what reality - means in mysticism. The Void An intimately related and equally pervasive feature of mystical experience is the apprehension of the void. Paradoxically, in mystical thinking, the all-inclusive whole is synonymous with the void. Mystical writings are permeated with ideas of emptiness, nothingness, quietude, stillness, no thought, and other similar notions (Suzuki, 1964, p. 50). The assertion of nothingness in these writings is another way of speaking of the whole as a unity. It is another way of denying multiplicity. The whole has no parts and pieces. The whole is comprised of no things, and no one, conceptualized as an independent existent, to make contact with them. The all-inclusive whole is the void; the void, the all-inclusive whole. The Unity of Opposites This identity of the all with the none has given rise to the view that mysticism is nihilistic (Suzuki, 1964, p. 39). This is a common misunderstanding, which, as all misunderstandings of mystical thinking, has its source in dichotomous thinking. Lay persons and scientists alike are so accustomed to thinking in terms of dichotomies that they have come to see the referents of their constructions as independent existents. They implicitly acknowledge a here and there, this and that, then and now, as existent and opposite realities. The most fundamental, and thereby most abstract of these dichotomies is that of yes and no. In nonmystical thinking, the circumstances under which "yes" applies are held to be not the same as those under which one would say "no." The realities in these cases are held to be different, and further, irreconcilable. This intellectual history makes it difficult for scientists to make sense of the mystic's blend of assertion and denial. Non-mystics cannot see that in affirming the all-encompassing whole one is also affirming the void; and likewise, in denying the void, one is also denying the whole. Non-mystics believe it possible to affirm only one of these two, the other necessarily denied in that affirmation. Non-mystics do not see it possible for both and neither to be affirmed at the 122

123 same time: These are opposite realities. Hence when mystics speak of the void, scientists see this an affirmation of nothingness in place of allness, and retreat from the void and mystical understandings as representing a dangerous alliance with nihilism (Schnaitter, 1987). Nothing is not the antithesis of everything in mystical understanding, however. Just as there is no good without bad, no right without wrong, happy without sad, there is no none without all. The difference between these lesser dichotomies and that of the all and the none, though, is that although both good and bad, right and wrong, happy and sad may be said to prevail in the context of the all, the all is a super-ordinant category in which the none cannot participate. At least, the none cannot participate in the all as the none, because when both the all and the none are unified in the oneness, neither prevails as itself. The oneness constitutes a newness in which both and neither prevail. The oneness is the neither-both, the yes-no, the all-none, characterized in Zen tradition as the experience of nirvana. This understanding is reflected in the following passage: Thus... all things have the character of emptiness, they have no beginning, no end, they are faultless and not faultless, they are not perfect and not imperfect. Therefore... here in this emptiness there is no form, no perception, no name, no concepts, no knowledge. No eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind. No form, no sound, no smell, no taste, no touch, no objects... There is no knowledge, no ignorance, no destruction of ignorance... There is no decay nor death.... There is no knowledge of Nirvana, no obtaining of it, no not-obtaining of it. (Taken from the Prajnaparamita-Hridaya Sutra, as cited in Suzuki, 1964) Nihilism, as a philosophical system, rests on the assumption that the all and the none constitute a duality, as it is only in contrast to the all that the none can be conceptualized from this perspective (Deleuze, 1983, pp ). In mystical thinking, by contrast, the all and the none are not separate, independent realities. Experientially, they are the same and the only reality. Dynamism Finally, mystics and non-mystics alike see the universe as a dynamic unity, a oneness with the fundamental characteristic of change. For example, in discussing how the world is experienced in a state of enlightenment, Suzuki (1964) comments that "the past and future are both rolled up in this present moment of illumination, and this present moment is not standing still with all its contents, for it ceaselessly moves on." There is, as such, a sense of the oneness as an evolving present. Likewise, in physics the assumption of change is fundamental. The universe is not only held to be dynamic at a subatomic level, but also at a cosmic level. Capra (1976, p. 181) captures this understanding as follows: "When we study the universe as a whole... we have reached the 123

124 largest scale of space and time; and (as was the case at a subatomic level), at that cosmic level, we discover that the universe is not static - it is expanding!" In summary, in mystical understanding, a dynamic oneness, which is both everything and nothing is alluded to. Participation in this oneness is understood to be reality. The mystic's path leads to this end - to what is known as mystical experience. The Way to Mystical Experience The way to mystical experience is implied in the end to which the path leads. The path is obscured by a number of what appear to be insurmountable barriers, however. Among them, for example, is the poverty of language - the problem of expressing the inexpressible. This is a problem recognized not only by mystics, but also by contemporary physicists and philosophers. The mystic's solution to this problem, as with others encountered along the way, differs from those of other intellectual workers, however. The result is that mysticism is held to be illogical (Suzuki, 1964, pp ); and other formulations are defended as merely other-logical. We turn now to these barriers, beginning with language. My aim in this section is first to understand the nature of these problems and the conflicts produced in adopting ordinary solutions for them; and secondly, to examine the solutions ultimately adopted by both mystics and non-mystics, specifically with respect to their adequacy in avoiding systemic inconsistencies. The Barrier of Language The trials of Zen pupils to reach the oneness, in the face of what appears to a non-mystic as bizarre and obscure instruction, are legendary. Examples of such instruction abound in Zen literature. The inclusion of a few of them here may be helpful in understanding the mystic's perspective. We consider first the following interaction between pupil (Seihei) and master (Suibi), concerning the fundamentals of Buddhism, as cited in Suzuki (1964, p. 73): 'What is the fundamental principle of Buddhism?' 'Wait,' said Suibi; 'when there is no one around I will tell you.' After a while Seihei repeated the request, saying, 'There is no one here now; pray enlighten me.' Coming down from his chair, Suibi took the anxious inquirer into the bamboo grove, but said nothing. When the latter pressed for a reply, Suibi whispered, 'How high those bamboos are! And how short those over there!' 124

125 A second exchange, initiated by a Zen philosopher to a master, concerns the logic of Zen understandings (cited in Suzuki, 1964, p. 57): 'With what frame of mind should one discipline oneself in the truth?' Said the Zen master, 'There is no mind to be framed, nor is there any truth in which to be disciplined.' 'If there is no mind to be framed and no truth in which to be disciplined, why do you have a daily gathering of monks who are studying Zen and disciplining themselves in the truth?' The master replied: 'I have not an inch of space to spare, and where could I have a gathering of monks? I have no tongue, and how would it be possible for me to advise others to come to me?' The philosopher then exclaimed, 'How can you tell me a lie like that to my face?' 'When I have no tongue to advise others, is it possible for me to tell a lie?' Said (the philosopher) despairingly, 'I cannot follow your reasoning.' 'Neither do I understand myself,' concluded the Zen master. One final example, again an exchange between a master and a pupil, (as cited in Suzuki, 1964, p. 84) grapples with knowing as doing: Sekkyo... asked one of his accomplished monks, 'Can you take hold of empty space?' 'Yes sir,' he replied. 'Show me how you do it.' The monk sketched out his arm and clutched at empty space. Sekkyo said: 'Is that the way? But after all you have not got anything.' 'What then,' asked the monk, 'is the way?' The master straightaway took hold of the monk's nose and gave it a hard pull, which made the latter exclaim: 'Oh, oh, how hard you pull at my nose! You are hurting me terribly!' 'That is the way to have a good hold of empty space,' said the master. The peculiarity of these instructions does not reflect a perversity on the part of mystics. It is, rather, a necessity, given their premises concerning reality and the inadequacy of language to make contact with it. The dissolution of distinctions, as implied in an appreciation of the oneness, cannot be achieved by language. On the contrary, language is the very means by which distinctions are created. 125

126 As such, reason and consciousness are regarded as impediments to understanding. Enlightened understanding is achieved in silence. As Suzuki (1964, p. 54) explains it: "In Zen tradition, the Buddha reveals himself when he is no more asserted; that is, for Buddha's sake, Buddha is to be given up. This is the only way to the realization of the truth of Zen. So long as one is talking of nothingness or of the absolute, one is far away from Zen, and ever receding from Zen. The only way to get saved is to throw oneself right down into a bottomless abyss." This same conclusion is reached by more conventional logic. Through a process of verbal abstraction and generalization, the here and there, this and that, now and then of ordinary experience collapse into more and more inclusive categories until we arrive at the one category of this event in which the all is implied. To get from one to none, though, to achieve the synonymy of the all and the none, requires a different strategy. In other words, whereas verbal behaviour is a means by which we may be able to reach the point of transcending ordinary experience, so long as we engage in verbal behaviour toward that end, we are still on the path. Extraordinary experience occurs in silence. In other words, the way to salvation, is through the letting go of language. To simply not speak, not reason, not question, would appear to be an obvious strategy, given this understanding of the way. It might seem possible, in other words, to find truth in the absence of any discussion of it. One implication of this position would be that animals, having never discussed anything, much less the truth, are living in a state of enlightenment The mere absence of language does not constitute a state of enlightenment in Zen perspective, however. Enlightenment is achieved in the letting go of language. It is the act of letting go that achieves a higher affirmation in Zen understanding. In Suzuki's (1964, pp ) words: "Zen must never be confused with naturalism or libertinism, which means to follow one's natural bent without questioning its origin and value. There is a great difference between human action and that of animals, which are lacking in moral intuition and religious consciousness. The animals do not know anything about exerting themselves in order to improve their conditions or to progress in the way to higher virtues." Accordingly, the mystic's solution to the problem of language takes a different form than merely abiding in silence. Silence might be the end, but it is not the means. Rather, the letting go of language is an active process, provoked by various methods of deliteralization of language. Among them are speaking in contradictions; answering questions with non-sequiturs or by repeating the question; and by giving, without hesitation, different answers to the same questions over time. It is this solution that is exemplified in the bizarre and 126

127 nonsensical directions to pupils cited above, and which renders the position illogical from the standpoint of non-mystics. Non-mystics have also commented on the poverty of language as a means of knowing what is there to be known, however. Their arguments have centred around the premise that the words we use to describe our reality are not themselves that reality. This understanding is reflected in the writings of many a renowned physicist, as Zukav (1979) has pointed out. For example, Heisenberg's (1958) recognition of the distinction between reality and our knowledge of it is exemplified in the following remark: 'What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning." Philosophers, likewise, have made a similar point in suggesting that although language may be necessary for carrying out the business of everyday life, it cannot grasp the bare reality of nothingness and as such should not be assumed to disclose the world as it actually is (e.g., Heidegger, On Time and Being, trans., Joan Stambaugh, 1972). Similarly, Ryle (1979) and Wittgenstein (1969) have made the point that the meanings of words are dependent on social practices. That is to say, there are no absolute meanings of words which correspond, in the sense of "truthfulness," to the intrinsic properties of things and events conceptualized as reality. In more precise terms, the eminent psychological philosopher, J. R. Kantor (1950, 1963, 1981) has for decades warned of the danger to scientific advancement of confusing constructs with the events from which they were merely derived. These arguments, denying the adequacy of language to represent reality, should not be taken to imply that reality cannot be known. They suggest, instead, that other means of knowing are required for this purpose; and this is due, in part, to certain assumptions about what is there to be known. The difficulty here is that what is assumed to be there to be known, and the means suggested or implied in knowing it, defy ordinary understanding and logic. The Barrier of Logic The deficiency of ordinary logic in making contact with the known and the means of knowing has not gone unnoticed in the physical sciences. Classical logic assumes that every element of physical theory must have a counterpart in physical reality, such that there is sustained a one-to-one correspondence between theory and reality. A problem arises, however, when this logic is applied to particular kinds of phenomena, namely quanta. In this domain, classical logic produces more than one representation of such phenomena, and contradictory ones at that. A quantum comes to be understood as both a wave (an action), as well as a particle (a thing), which is everything a wave is not (Zukav, 1979, p. 260). As Max Born (1957, p. 97) explains it, the difficulty is that ordinary language and logic compel us to understand things by visualizing them; and quanta, being unlike other things of our experience, cannot be understood by this means. This is to say, none of the words or concepts we use 127

128 to describe ordinary physical objects, such as their position, velocity, colour, size, and so on are applicable to quantum phenomena (Heisenberg, 1958, p. 114). The solution to this problem, adopted by most physicists, is to make use of a nonrepresentational language to explain quantum phenomena (Zukav, 1979, p. 261). The solution is achieved, in other words, by retreating to mathematical analysis. This solution is workable, but only in so far as the lingering problem of a mathematical analysis of "what" is not seen as necessary to address. The latter problem - what the "it" is that quantum mechanics describes - was initially resolved in the 1927 Copenhagen Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics, namely, that it doesn't matter what quantum mechanics is about. What matters is that it works as an explanation in all experimental situations (Zukav, 1979, p. 37). The solution achieved by the Copenhagen Interpretation, in other words, was that the truth of a theory does not depend on one-to-one correspondence between aspects of the theory and aspects of reality, but was instead a matter of the utility of the theory in predicting events, or more accurately, event probabilities. These solutions, both the employment of a nonrepresentational language and a pragmatic interpretation of truth, are not themselves without problems. We may deal with each of these problems in turn. The problem of nonrepresentation. Mathematics is not, in fact, a nonrepresentational language. Mathematics evolved out of counting operations which are premised on the existence of objects or events to be counted. That increasingly elaborated and manipulated formulations of these basic operations lead to event constructions that are not able to be visualized, does not imply that the formulation is fundamentally nonrepresentational or nonreferential. With perhaps the exception of certain conceptualizations of this enterprise as a kind of game or intellectual intrigue, mathematics is not taken to be a frivolous occupation. What this means, in essence, is that it is referential in kind. In other words, mathematics does not purport to formulate an understanding of nothing. That ordinary language cannot make contact with the something to which mathematics alludes, does not change the fact that mathematics, as a symbolic system, assumes a something alluded to. In a similar vein, Finklestein (1976, as cited in Zukav, 1979, pp ) takes issue with the mathematical analysis solution. He argues that the problem confronted in attempting to describe and explain quantum phenomena is not peculiar to particular kinds of languages or symbolic systems, but is instead an inherent deficiency in symbolic analysis per se. In his view, symbolic systems of every variety, including mathematics, operate against a background of classical logic. That is, they presume to mimic reality on a one-to-one basis, serving as a substitute for the experience of that reality. The reality they imitate is not the 128

129 reality experienced, however. What is needed, according to Finklestein, is not an artificial substitute for experience, but rather a means of alluding to it, which neither attempts to replace it nor to mould our perception of it. In short, the true language of physics, as Finklestein would have it, is a kind of experience that resists description, and toward which ordinary logic cannot proceed. What remains at issue, given Finklestein's approach, is how one communicates this experience - how one expresses the inexpressible. His response to this question is that you can't communicate it. You merely arrange conditions, by telling others how to make quanta and measure them, for example, through which those others may come to have the same experience. This is precisely the strategy employed by mystics and more traditional philosophers in solving the problem of communication. For example, existential philosophers provide others a means of experiencing their understanding by writing novels (e.g., Sartre, 1947). The mystics' solution, namely exposing their pupils to language stripped of ordinary meaning, while somewhat more unconventional a practice, achieves the same outcome. The solutions to the problems of language and logic achieved in all of these domains fall short of their aims nonetheless. In all of these treatments there is sustained the view, explicitly or implicitly, that language and logic have a place in knowing - that they have utility - but up to only a certain point or with respect to only certain phenomena. From a philosophical perspective, both mystical and non-mystical, it is only in contacting the All and/or the None that language ceases to have utility as a means of knowing. In physics, it is in making contact with the infinitesimally small that language cannot achieve its more usual purpose. In these cases, genuine knowing, it is argued, can come only from direct experience. This argument lacks coherence. After all, in what sense is language not an aspect of direct experience? How can saying "hello" be conceptualized as different in kind from waving the hand or nodding the head as a form of greeting? That is to say, language acts are no more nor less "real" than any other sort of act. Moreover. even when language plays a substitutive role, the experiences engendered by it are no less aspects of direct experience than any other. To imagine the face of someone upon hearing his or her name called is not fundamentally different from seeing the face upon confrontation with the person directly (Parrott, 1984, 1986). From this perspective, it does not seem plausible that the mystic's objection to language is that it does not participate in direct experience. Surely it does. Moreover, if language were so completely useless, why would so much be written about mysticism and mystical experience? How is it that language is useful in approaching the edge of the abyss, yet so completely useless once over the edge? Likewise, how could language be the fundamental means of achieving 129

130 scientific knowledge, including the "discovery' of quanta, yet be so completely non-serviceable in characterizing its product? How is it not contradictory to solve a genuine problem by denying the utility of the very thing that led to the problem in the first place? These arguments show considerable finesse, but they are not convincing. They are examples of dichotomous thinking, a logical formulation already found wanting in both mystical philosophy and physical science. Dichotomies, in both Eastern and Western thinking, have a way of falling away, as discussed previously. It seems likely that the dichotomy implied of the utility of language as logical understanding and explanation will come to this same end. Not, I believe, in discovering that language is useful beyond what appear, at present, to be its boundary conditions; but rather in the pushing back of those boundaries until the utility claim vanishes altogether. To suggest that language may not be "useful" is, admittedly, an odd suggestion. Verbal behaviour is the means by which we act in concert with all that is not a part of the immediate situation. It is the means by which we are able to conceptualize the past, the future, the remote, and the plausible (Hayes, in press). How could this extension of direct experience not be useful? More than this, how could civilization have come about in the absence of language? All that we might include as aspects of civilization - the procurement of food and other resources, protection from the elements and predators, the coordination of people toward these ends - all is fundamentally dependent upon the participation of language in human experience. How is it possible to conceive of language as lacking in utility? The arguments in support of this rather unusual claim about language, come from two sources; one having to do with the problem of truth and its implication for reality; the other with concept of time. Let us consider these issues in turn. The problem of truth. With regard to the issue of truth, we may first acknowledge that this concept has numerous interpretations (Pepper, 1942). This is to admit that truth is an outcome of logical operations; and, as such, what is held to be true by one set of operations is not necessarily so by another (Hayes, Hayes, & Reese, 1988). Among these interpretations of truth is the utility criterion of pragmatic thinking. This criterion gained popularity out of two sets of considerations. The first of these has already been addressed. To reiterate, support for pragmatic logic arose out of failed attempts to characterize the "it" for which quantum theory constituted an explanation. The workability of the theory in predicting event probabilities was thereby taken to be sufficient to establish the truth of the theory, despite an absence of specification as to what the theory was about. The second source of support for the pragmatic interpretation of truth came with an appreciation of certain insurmountable problems in achieving truth by way of 130

131 a correspondence criterion. In order to formulate truth by this means, it is necessary to contact reality directly and without bias. In the absence of these constraints, it is not possible to establish the one-to-one correspondence between aspects of reality and aspects of theory, as demanded by classical logic (see Hayes, 1993, for further discussion). What was needed was a truth criterion that didn't depend on correspondence and was, further, free of bias. The utility criterion of pragmatic logic appeared to overcome the correspondence problem in claiming that theories were true to the extent that they were useful in the achievement of particular ends. The bias problem was handled in suggesting that corroboration among observers as to what was useful was not necessary in formulating truth. The utility criterion of truth is not as powerful as these arguments suggest, however. Pragmatic logic does not overcome the correspondence problem: An assessment of the utility of a theory depends as much upon a correspondence between the world and what we say about the world as the classical theory required. This is the case because the utility of a formulation is a way of referring to certain goals having been achieved; and in making this assessment, we are claiming that what we say about goals having been achieved corresponds to their having, in fact, been so. The latter is a matter not of language, but of the world represented by language (see Hayes, 1993, for further discussion). In other words, it is not possible to assess the utility of a theory in the absence of a one-to-one correspondence between the world of ends having been met and what we say about having met them. Secondly, pragmatism does not solve the bias problem. As a psychological occurrence, an observer's description of his or her observations cannot be understood to reflect an absolute or universal reality, but merely the reality historically and uniquely experienced by the observer. No description is free from the idiosyncratic and cultural histories of the describer. Pragmatism, as such, does not overcome the problem of bias in truth-telling, it merely entertains multiple biases. More fundamental than these problems is the problem of making contact with reality. Both correspondence- and utility-based theories of truth are characteristic of realistic philosophies in the sense that both assume the presence of an independently existing universe that is in some way knowable. Both are what might be called two-universe systems, assuming a universe of which we speak and a universe of speaking. The insurmountable problem for two-universe systems is their inability to contact the existence of that about which we speak except by speaking about it. This is to say that what anyone observes is not known until some sort of report is provided. In other words, we cannot compare our observations with our descriptions of observations, so as to assess their correspondence, because in order to do so we must first convert our observations 131

132 into descriptions, with the result that we are no longer comparing descriptions with observations but descriptions with other descriptions. In short, the only things that can correspond as a means of determining the truth of a formulation are what we say about the universe and what we say about the universe. What we say now is true if it corresponds to what we have said, or conversely, what we have said is true if it corresponds to what we say now. This circumstance leads to the conclusion that there is no justification for the adoption of one set of beliefs over another (see Hayes, 1993, for further discussion). Pragmatism does not constitute a solution to this problem. The larger issue underlying this conclusion is the status of the concept of truth within the systemic foundations of contemporary science. There is, in other words, some question as to whether truth, however interpreted, is a meaningful construction (Hayes, 1993). Physicists aspire to admit of only one reality, one universe. It is further a reality in which distinctions are progressively dissolving into a oneness, a seamless whole. In the present context, speaking constitutes that reality. Not speaking about something, though. Rather, simply speaking non-referential speaking. In a one-universe system of this sort, admitting that what we say is true only if it corresponds to what we say does not present a problem. In the first place, there is nothing else to be used in making such an evaluation; and in the second, there really is no truth to be told. Truth, bear in mind, is a relation between two things existing in different domains of existence. That is, truth pertains to relations between what we say and that about which we say it - between verbal and nonverbal events. Verbal events are not true in and of themselves; neither are nonverbal events. In short, when existence is confined to only one domain, it is neither true nor false. Truth is a two-universe concept. In a one-universe system, to which both mystics and physicists aspire, truth has no meaning (Hayes, 1993). What does have meaning in a one-universe system in which speaking is held to be the existent, the reality, is its consistency or coherence. A correspondence between what one says and what one has said is not an insignificant issue in such a system. On the contrary, it is the only reason for saying anything at all. Progress in such a system, moreover, is measured in the construction of ever more inclusive categories into which all one has to say may find a place and nothing so incoherent as to be unfit for inclusion survives the telling. Progress is the saying of less and less until the boundaries of there being nothing to say are reached - until the categories into which all one has to say are equal to one, to the one category of the universe as a whole. Beyond this acknowledgment of the oneness is the oneness itself in which there is no-thing to observe and no-one to observe it - nothing to say and no one to say it. 132

133 In taking this perspective on language and understanding the problem of truth implied by it, the issue of reality cannot help but be confronted. Both scientists and mystics have commented on this issue, and with some considerable similarity of opinion. We turn now to the problem of reality. The Problem of Reality The notion that there exists a reality independent of an observer's participation in it has never been sustained in mystical thinking. This idea is clearly expressed in Buddhist thinking as follows: "It was taught by the Buddha... that the past, the future, physical space... and individuals are nothing but names, forms of thought, words of common usage, merely superficial realities" (Madhyamilca Karika Vritti, as quoted in Murti, 1955). In physics, a similar realization is expressed by Sachs (1969, p. 53): "The real revolution that came with Einstein's theory... was the abandonment of the idea that the space-time coordinate system has objective significance as a separate physical entity. Instead of this idea, relativity theory implies that space and time coordinates are only elements of a language that is used by an observer to describe his environment." The difference between these views centres on the concept of participation and the attitude of each toward it. In mystical thinking, participation is reality. It is the appreciation of the participatory status of the observer in the observational event that constitutes the final achievement in Eastern thinking. "(Mystics) arrive in deep meditation at a point where the distinction between observer and observed breaks down completely, where subject and object fuse into a unified undifferentiated whole. This then is the final apprehension of the unity of all things" (Capra, 1976, p. 128). In physics, by contrast, participation is not so much reality as what prevents us from knowing it in an unbiased way. The participatory status of the observer is not an end; it is rather a problem to be solved in order that other ends may be reached. For example, the problem of space and time, as verbal constructions of individual observers in different locations and moving at different velocities, is solved by asserting the reality of space-time. In Capra's (1976, p. 153) words: "Since space and time are now reduced to the subjective role of elements of the language a particular observer uses for his or her description of natural phenomena, each observer will describe phenomena is a different way. To abstract some natural law from their descriptions, they have to formulate these laws in such a way that they will have the same form in all co-ordinant systems, that is, for all observers in arbitrary positions and relative motion. This requirement is known as the principle of relativity and was, in fact, the starting point of relativity theory." In short, to accommodate the unique experiences of individuals which can neither be predicted nor controlled, a class construction, in which these experiences may be appreciated as members, is derived. That 133

134 construction is space-time. Hence while space and time lose their reality status, space-time emerges as the existent to which an objective observer may point. Despite this solution to the problem of the observer's role in observation, the concept of an independently existing reality remains at issue. Zukav (1979, p. 28) claims that quantum physicists find themselves pondering questions like: "'Did a particle with momentum exist before we conducted an experiment to measure its momentum?'; 'Did a particle with position exist before we conducted an experiment to measure its position?' and 'Did any particles exist at all before we thought about them and measured them? "Did we create the particles that we are experimenting with?'" (emphasis in original). In this same vein, Wheeler (1973, as quoted in Zukav, 1979, p. 29) asks: "May the universe in some strange way be 'brought into being' by the participation of those who participate?" These questions attest to the physicists' quandary concerning the existence status of the universe observed, at least in as much as quanta are the immediate focus. Beyond this wonderment with respect to quanta, is its application to all phenomena. That is, if there is reason to believe that quanta are created in our discussions of them, ought not the same be wondered of all phenomena? Does this path not lead from an independently existing universe to an understanding of participation or experience as the only reality? Although physicists may be reluctant to pursue this implication of their questions concerning quanta, it seems clear that the concept of an independently existing reality has come to rest on rather shaky ground. Buddhist views on this issue are quite explicit. As explained by Zukav (1979, p. 236): "[R]eality is 'virtual' in nature. What appear to be 'real' objects in it, like trees and people, actually are transient illusions which result from a limited mode of awareness. The illusion is that parts of an overall virtual process are 'real' (permanent) 'things. "Enlightenment' is the experience that 'things,' including 'I,' are transient, virtual states devoid of separate existences." It is not only reality that is shaken in grappling with the problem of truth, however. It is also the broader question of utility. Utility is an issue of what something does - its workability toward some end as yet to happen. Something useful, in other words, serves the end of some future. This interpretation raises a question if reality is comprised of non-referential speaking, as contemplated above, namely: To what end but its own elimination is language directed? What purpose does it serve but to eliminate itself? It is, in fact, exactly this end to which mystics assume language proceeds - what is meant by the "letting go" of language. To understand the purported uselessness of language, beyond its own elimination; and more generally, the uselessness of all aspects of living as understood from a mystical perspective, requires further understanding of time from this perspective, as previously mentioned. The concept of time has 134

135 undergone considerable revision in scientific thinking as well, and its conceptualization in this domain bears remarkable similarity to Eastern views. We turn now to the problem of time and its bearing on the issue of utility. The problem of time. As previously discussed, the oneness, to which both mystics and scientists point, is said to be dynamic in character. Attributing a property of dynamism to the oneness is a way of referring to its transience - to its changeability over time. What exactly is implied by the attribution of this characteristic? Hayes (1992) has commented on this issue from a psychological perspective, proposing a conceptualization of then as now - as a continuous moment of now into which the past has culminated. This notion, referred to as the "psychological present" was depicted as the immediate, instantaneous, and transient aspect of time - the durationless instant. The psychological present was further described as an evolving moment of now, with the express purpose of eliminating time while sustaining change as the fundamental unquestionable. As for how change might be reflected in space, it was suggested that spatial change might be understood as the reorganization of space, the reorganization or rearrangement of extended mass (Hayes, in press). These notions are problematic, however. The problem is that points in time, including the present, lie along a continuum which includes the past and future. From this standpoint, the present emerges as a point separating the past from the future. Time is not eliminated by reducing points in time to the point understood as the present, however. Time can be eliminated only by denying the continuum, denying the transience, denying change. Physicists have also come to this realization, arguing that time is an illusion produced by the unavoidable narrowness of individual observers' visions of reality. For example, de Broglie (1949, p. 114) writes: "In space-time... everything for which each of us constitutes the past, the present, and the future is given in block... Each observer, as his time passes, discovers, so to speak, new slices of space-time which appear to him as successive aspects of the material world, though in reality the assemblage of events constituting space-time exist prior to his knowledge of them." Zukav (1979), conversely, ponders the possibility of human beings' experiencing timelessness. In his words: "If (consciousness is a quantum process) then it is conceivable that by expanding our awareness to include functions which normally lie beyond its parameters... we can become aware of... these processes themselves. If, at a quantum level, the flow of time has no meaning, and if consciousness is fundamentally a similar process, and if we can become aware of these processes within ourselves, then it also is conceivable that we can experience timelessness" (p. 222). 135

136 Despite the promise of the conclusions reached by physicists in this regard, the arguments by which they are reached leave something to be desired. The argument based on the observer's narrowness of vision harks back to the problem of reality. It suggests, in essence, that the problem of the participatory status of the observer may be overcome by an uncritical assertion concerning reality. It suggests that while an observer is unable to make contact with it, there nonetheless exists a reality independent of the observer. The problem with this suggestion is that it was the observer's participation in the observed that raised the spectre of there being no reality other than this participation to begin with. They can't have it both ways. The physicists' problem in this area is a lack of sophistication in psychology. In other words, what anyone says about reality, time, participation, and so on, is human action; and no human being stands outside of his or her context of experience such as to assert the reality of that which is not part of their experience. Zukav's (1979) contemplation concerning the nature and possibilities of consciousness bespeaks of the same problem. In his case, however, it is not so much a lack of sophistication as it is an adherence to "objectionable" views, namely mind-body dualism. Regardless of the adequacy of physicists' arguments concerning the elimination of time, their conclusion that such is possible remains significant. The significance is to be found in what this conclusion suggests with respect to space. In the absence of time, there can be no spatial rearrangement, no spatial reconstitution. There can be no first this organization then another, because there is no time other than now in which to speak of organizations. In short, if transience is denied, if change is denied, there can be no space nor time (Hayes, in press.) The perplexing problem with this resolution is that although it unquestionably articulates the void, it is not a void that sustains a synonymy with the all. The resolution to this puzzle is not to eliminate space and time, as had seemed inescapable by this reasoning. It is rather to understand them as a unity of opposites - a synonymy of opposites - in which the distinction between time and space no longer prevails. It is not sufficient, though, to eliminate them by constructing their composite. A synonymy of opposites is not achieved when each survives as itself in reciprocal relation to the other. Required is a newness in which both and neither participate. It is a newness which both mystics and scientists have found themselves conceptualizing as change. Conclusions about utility. If time is collapsed into the elaborated present, then what becomes of the concept of utility? Utility is about how the here and now is related to the there and then. It is about prediction. Even that which has been useful is a way of referring to a future in which it will continue to be so. It is a 136

137 way of speaking about how the future is circumscribed by the past-present. It is a way of speaking about the future. It assumes a future to be spoken about. The concept of utility, as just described, is foreign to mysticism. As Watts (1983) describes it: "The whole notion that any event in life might be useful... is to a Taoist absurd. The universe is viewed as purposeless and useless through and through.... [W]hen a Taoist sage is wandering through the forest, he is not going anywhere, he is just wandering. When he watches the clouds, he loves them because they have no special destination. He watches birds flying, and he watches waves slapping on the shore. Just because all of this is not busy in the way that human beings are normally busy, and because it serves no end other than being what it is now, he admires it.... The joy for the Taoist is that things have no use, and the future is not important" (pp ). In contrast to Watt's implication in this passage, it seems more consistent to suggest that it is not that the future is not important, but rather that there is no future to be important. In the absence of a future, the notion of things and events having utility with respect to it becomes nonsensical. Again, it seems likely that scientists will come to this same conclusion. The Insurmountable Problem of the Synonymy of Opposites The central issue in the attack on language and logic, and the questions raised about truth, reality, time, and utility, all of these issues, have to do with the problem of unifying opposites. Ordinary logic cannot accomplish the unification of opposites; and even if it could, we would have no words to describe the newnesses created by this process. That is to say, the yes-no, neither-both, allnone character of the Oneness is incomprehensible by means of ordinary logic and language. In short, the synonymy of opposites is not possible of achievement by these means. This inadequacy presents an enormous problem in as much as the unification of opposites is the essence of mystical understandings, as well as a burgeoning aspect of scientific formulations. The only way out of this dilemma, in both mystical and non-mystical treatments, is to suggest synonymy of opposites by way of other sorts of relational constructions possible from within the constraints of the available descriptive tools. Our aim in this section is to examine the descriptive formulations thereby employed, as well as some of their implications. From the outset, we may acknowledge that the yes-no, neither-both, all-none character of mystical thinking is variously interpreted. None of these interpretations appears to fulfil its purpose in going beyond the world of opposites to the world of non-distinction, however. In the physical sciences, the unity of opposites is seen as a kind of dynamic interplay or dance between two opposites, namely creation and destruction, whose conflict is irreconcilable, and hence endless (Zukav, 1979, p. 217; Capra, 1976, p. 211). In more static terms, 137

138 opposites are understood as two aspects of the same reality. The Yin and Yang of Chinese thought is the most familiar example of this premise in mystical thinking. The duality implied in these conceptualizations of the unity of opposites is of less concern to scientists than mystics. Physicists make no apologies for their failure to sustain a true synonymy of opposites in favour of reciprocal relations. In fact, they do not appear even to appreciate the difference between these two. One reason for this, as discussed previously, is that physicists have never achieved the mystic's understanding of participation as the oneness. That is to say, they have never completely dissolved the dichotomy of the observer and the observed. In keeping with the maintenance of this dichotomy, reality is not assumed to be discovered in direct experience, but rather indirectly through the lens of logic. In the domain of physics, and in science more generally, what is real is our description of experience. Reality is constructed by language; and it is constructed, as it must be, from the standpoint of an independent observer. Sustaining this position is surely becoming a problem, though, in that scientists cannot claim on one hand that logic leads to an understanding of reality as the all-inclusive and empty whole while, on the other, argue that any actual observer is in a position to come to such an understanding. In short, there is also the problem of the observer's history of interaction; there is also the psychology of the observer with which to deal. As a psychological occurrence, an observer's description of his or her observations cannot be understood to reflect a universal reality, but merely the reality uniquely experienced by the observer. No description is free from the history of the describer, including that of space-time. That is to say, space-time no more reflects an absolute reality than did the earlier concepts of space and time. These are all constructions; and they are not about reality. Physicists rarely take the psychology of the observer into account, though, and as a result they do not appreciate the observer's participation in reality as reality, as does the mystic. As a result, physicists assume their constructions are progressive - that they are approaching a correspondence with what really exists - that they are coming closer to the truth. Mystics suffer under no such delusion. To recapitulate, a true synonymy of opposites is not sustained in scientific thinking. The relationship between opposites articulated in much of this work is more properly understood as one of reciprocity. Any suggestion of reciprocity between opposites - the dance, as it is sometimes called - is fundamentally dualistic; and the position along the path from which it springs is a long way from the end. Mystical thinking also falls short of its objective in this realm, however. The dissolution of distinctions is not achieved by recasting different things as aspects of the same thing. If the all is indeed one, it has no characteristics, not of 138

139 opposites, nor of aspects, nor of any other sort. The all is made up of no things, and no one to encounter them. The all is void of everything and everyone. The failure to achieve synonymy of so fundamental a set of opposites as the all and the none, opens the door to other failures on the parts of both mystics and scientists. Two of these failures seem particularly significant. The first is evident in the attribution of dynamism to the oneness; the second in the assertion of its essential characteristic. Attribute of Dynamism While we may take some comfort in the unification of space and time into a newness of change, as described above, we are still some steps short of reaching the world of non-distinctiveness with this resolution. To reach the world of nondistinctiveness - the all-inclusive void - we will have to let go even of change. Why be so sure of change? Must we not address ourselves to the unity of change and stillness? How will we understand this newness? Some appreciation of this understanding is expressed in the following passage: "When the impediments of consciousness are annihilated, then (a person) becomes free of all fear, is going beyond the reach of change, enjoying full Nirvana." (Taken from the Prajnaparamita-Hridaya Sutra, as cited in Suzuki, 1964, emphasis mine.) This is the end to which the path leads. It is the end of mystical travel - the end of mysticism as an enterprise. If the commonalities between Eastern thought and Western science already elucidated suggest anything about the likelihood that they will be seen to share other characteristics, then it seems likely that scientific formulations will also reach beyond change. And this understanding will be the end of science as a path - as a means - just as it has this implication for mysticism. The end of science has not been overlooked by scientists. Their speculations are not fostered by a reconsideration of change as fundamental, at least not in particular. It is more a question about fundamentals per se and the need for entirely new forms of intellectual activity. For example, Capra (1976) comments on the bootstrapping world view of Geoffrey Chew, in this regard. Chew sees the universe as a dynamic web of interrelated events. None of the properties of this web is fundamental, though. Rather all properties follow from the properties of other parts and the overall consistency of their interrelations determines the structure of the web. Capra imagines a network of future theories which will contain increasingly fewer features, deriving more and more of its structure from the consistency of its parts. "Someday, then, a point will be reached where the only unexplained features of this network of theories will be the elements of the scientific framework. Beyond this point, the theory will no longer be able to express itself in words, or rational concepts, and will thus go beyond science" (Capra, 1976, p. 276). 139

140 Chew also ponders the end of science, as the following remark in reference to a theory of particle physics illustrates: "Our current struggle (with certain aspects of advanced physics) may thus be only a foretaste of a completely new form of human intellectual endeavour, one that will not only lie outside physics but will not even be describable as 'scientific' (Chew, as cited in Zukav, 1979, p. 314). The Essential Characteristic of the Oneness One final problem, perpetuated by an inadequate formulation of the synonymy of opposites, concerns the essential character of the all-none. Mystics argue that the ultimate character of the oneness is spiritual; non-mystics, material. As before, arguments of this sort depend on sustaining the dichotomy of subject and object, of the observer and the observed. Although a unity may be understood as having the characteristic of a particular sort from the standpoint of an independent observer who can stand outside of that unity sufficiently to appreciate its characteristics, a unity has no characteristics from the standpoint of its participants. All inherent characteristics are identified in contrast to characteristics assumed to exist elsewhere. But if the oneness is the all, there is no elsewhere in which such opposing characteristics may be found for contrast or comparison. The all-inclusive oneness cannot sustain a non-inclusive characteristic, in other words. The ultimate character of the universe is, in such views, thereby, not the experience of oneness but an attribute imposed upon it from without. It is an observer construction. Although both physicists and mystics appear to recognize this problem, their arguments as to the unity of these opposites is unconvincing. Many an esteemed scientist has speculated about a higher authority, for example; and mystics routinely argue that what appears to be material will, in the end, reveal its spiritual nature. I think, however, that these ideas do not reflect a unity of opposites resolution. Scientists would have a lot less to say if there were nothing to talk about, and mystics a lot more if there were. The Unfettered Path Mystics claim that true a synonymy of opposites can only be sustained in mystical experience, not in the description of mystical experience. The experience of "letting go of language," of abandoning consciousness, of enlightenment, is held to be one of inexpressible joy. Enlightenment in Zen does not mean withdrawal from the world. It means, instead, experiencing the Buddha nature of all things achieved through active participation in everyday affairs. Living entirely in the present and giving full attention to everyday affairs, one who has attained enlightenment is said to experience wonder and mystery in every single act: "How wondrous this, how mysterious! I carry fuel, I draw water." 140

141 On the surface this argument seems intuitively plausible, and sustains a consistency with the underlying system, but there remains a lingering doubt. In the world of non-distinction, who is experiencing what? Who is sufficiently separate from the all to be aware of its characteristics, much less appreciate them? In the world of non-distinction there is nothing to feel and no one to feel it. In short, joy too is an illusion. Hence to whatever extent joy abounds, we have not yet arrived. We are still on the path. It is rather in the unification of joy and its opposite, fear, that we may reach the end - of nothing and everything at once. Epilogue We return now to the question of what all of this means to behaviour scientists. In the first place, the intellectual work of physicists and mystics concerning these issues is itself behaviour, subject to the kind of analysis behaviour scientists alone can provide. We have no reason but personal preference to exclude such behaviour from our purview. Moreover, to address these issues from within our own philosophical system, and to do so consistently, presents a difficult challenge. That is to say, we may learn something about our own systemic foundations in the process. Beyond the domain of philosophy, though, is the domain of everyday scientific affairs. We assume that we are observing something in our laboratories, that we are talking truthfully about our observations, that we are predicting events and constructing practices that will be useful in the future. As such, we are no more immune to the problems of language, logic, reality, truth, utility, and time than is any other intellectual worker. Finally, the behaviour analytic literature is punctuated with examples of the unification of central categorical concepts. Among them we may note the following: The unification of stimulus and response into a newness of function The unification of form and function into a newness of interaction The unification of interaction and context into a newness of uniqueness The unification of cause and effect into a newness of field The unification of reality and appearance into a newness of participation The unification of truth and falsehood into a newness of language The unification of the past and future into a newness of presence The unification of time and space into a newness of change 141

142 These examples suggest that behaviour analysis may be on the same journey as physics and mysticism. We may expect, thereby, to find ourselves pondering the same questions as have occupied our fellow travellers and may be better prepared to address them in being forewarned. More than this, we may find some peace, some joy, in acknowledging our fellow travellers. To see ourselves traveling among so many others may facilitate our awareness and appreciation of the oneness in which we are participating. And, we may yet find a greater peace. Some Modern Religious Movements The first impact of science on the West seems to have been to undermine religion. Christianity, having developed into a complex and rigid institution with a dogmatic framework, was in no position to adjust itself to the demands made by the new knowledge available from science. The result was unavoidable; a head-on collision between the two, which left religion shaken, and science firmly entrenched. However, as we have already suggested in an earlier chapter, the physical sciences by themselves cannot explain life completely or even adequately. When the outer sciences have had their say, certain unknown problems of being remain to baffle and trouble the mind of man. The last century has seen the emergence of many a movement that has sought, in some way or other, to point toward an inner life, that science at least to a degree tended to discount. Modern India has been the birthplace of many religious movements, but for the most part they have been by way of a revival of what the ancients already knew, be it the Vedantism of Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Aurobindo, or Ramana Maharshi or, as we have already examined in some detail, the various Indian yogic systems. However, it may be fruitful to glance at some of the movements prevalent in the West, movements that often converge on Eastern traditions and are affected by them. Rosicrucianism, Theosophy and "I Am" Activity Even while Christianity held unquestioned sway in Europe, certain heterodox schools of mysticism flourished in a small way alongside it, Rosicrucianism being one of the earliest. However, these continued as secret societies which were looked upon with suspicion by the general public. But when institutional Christianity began to suffer at the hands of science, they suddenly acquired an importance that they never had before. Men whose faith in Christianity had been shaken by Darwin and Huxley but who could not accept the mechanistic view of the Universe, turned to these societies in the hope of arriving at a more satisfying explanation of life. Many took to the tenets of Rosicrucianism while others, seeking their inspiration from the East, founded the Theosophical movement. Still others, claiming to be guided by St. Germain, have developed what is called the "I Am" Activity. These movements do not claim to be 142

143 religions in the traditional sense, even though they have their own codes. They are rather occult societies which share in common a belief that human life is guided and directed by unseen Cosmic Beings or Mystical Brotherhoods. These Beings cannot be met directly in this physical world; they either live in remote mountain fastness or work from a plane higher than the earthly one. However, one may, by believing in them and by following a particular discipline, lend oneself to their influence and benefit thereby. Though they all imply, in one way or another, the ultimate unity of life, in practice they seem to touch it at its fringes. The most a disciple may hope to do is to get in direct touch with one of the Cosmic Beings, but that state in which the soul becomes one with the Source of Time and the Timeless, of which the great Masters have spoken, is seldom treated as a practical possibility. Again, since one seeks guidance not from a human being like oneself, who has realized the Infinite, but from visionary beings whom one may never meet, the kind of detailed instruction and step by step guidance in every field of life, which is an essential feature of the Surat Shabd Yoga, is also missing. However, each in its own way seeks to carry human evolution a step further, and the step taken is certainly not a mean one. Thus, Madam Blavatsky, writing in The Voice of the Silence, speaks of a fairly advanced mystic experience when describing the inner Sound: The first is the nightingale's sweet voice chanting a song of parting to its mate. The second comes as a sound of silver cymbals of the Dhyanis awakening the twinkling star. The next is plaint-melodies of the ocean spirit imprisoned in its shell. And this is followed by the chant of Vina. The fifth, like the sound of a bamboo flute shrills in the ears. It changes into a triumphant blast. The last vibrates like the dull rumbling of thunder clouds. Christian Science and Scientology The Christian Science movement is yet another heterodox Western movement, but it differs from those that we have already noticed in its shift of emphasis. Though it implies a mystical base, yet in practice it is not very much concerned with it. It seeks to interpret Christ's life in its own light, focusing its attention simply on the miracles performed by him. It argues that God, or the Truth, is good, and that all evil and disease are but a result of losing contact with this Inner Power. He who can be put in touch with it can be cured of all disease, and Christian Science has tended to concentrate its attention on this end. The result has been that it has become more a study of health than one of spiritual evolution, and the line between healing through auto-suggestion and hypnotic suggestion, and healing (as Christian Science claims) through the power of Truth is not always easy to draw. Many have even questioned the nature of the motives of its founder, Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy. But of one thing one can be certain: that even if the cures effected by Christian Science spring from a 143

144 spiritual source, the agents are not its conscious masters, are not in direct and conscious contact with the higher power, but act as its unconscious instruments. Though it would be rash to class with Christian Science Subud or Soshiel Bodhi Dharm, founded by the Indonesian mystic teacher Pak Subeh, which has now become an international movement, yet one may with some justice notice a similar trend. The mystic base in the case of Subud is much more important than in that of Christian Science, yet is often directed toward the same end. It seeks, through following a certain course of exercises called Latihan, to put its followers in touch with hidden psychic powers. It does not seem to enhance consciousness directly but enriches it indirectly through increasing one's powers of intuition. Whether one looks at the experiences of Mohammad Raufe or those of John Bennett, one realizes that in the case of Subud, a person may serve as a medium for higher spiritual forces, curing people of diseases, without becoming a conscious co-worker. The result is that instead of progressing to higher and still higher planes of consciousness, until one merges with the Infinite, one tends to cultivate a passive receptivity to psychic powers which may not necessarily be of the higher kind. Many disciples during Latihan reproduce strange animal or bird experiences--a far cry from the Nirvikalp Samadhi or the Sehaj Samadhi spoken of by the greatest mystics. Spiritism and Spiritualism Last but not the least, we must distinguish spirituality from spiritism and spiritualism, as spirituality is quite different from both of them. Spiritism inculcates a belief in the existence of disembodied spirits apart from matter, which are believed by those who believe in spiritism to haunt either the nether regions as ghosts or evil spirits, or even as angels or good spirits in the lower astral regions. At times, they even become interested in the individual human affairs, and for the fulfilment of long-cherished but unfulfilled desires, try to seek gratification by all sorts of tricks, and those who dabble in the Black Art claim and profess to exercise power over them through magical incantations. But none of the Master's disciples need bother about them, as no evil influence can come near one who is in communion with the holy Word, for it is said: The Great Angel of Death is an invincible foe, But he too fears to come near one in communion with the Word. He flies far out and away from the chants of the divine Harmony, Lest he fall a victim to the wrath of the Lord. Spiritualism goes one step further than spiritism. It is a belief in the survival of the human personality after physical death, and the possibility of communication between the living and the dead. The advocates of spiritualism very often hold séances for getting into communication with so-called spirits. Their modus 144

145 operandi is by mediumship, for they work through some sort of medium, maybe a planchette for planchette writing, a table for table rapping, or even a human being who is rendered unconscious so that the spirit called may make use of his body and communicate through it. This relationship generally works between just the physical or earth plane and the lowest sub-astral planes known as magnetic fields. The results that follow from such communications are very limited in scope, mostly unreliable and extremely harmful to the medium, who suffers a terrible loss at times by deprivation of his intelligence. The Masters of spirituality, therefore, strongly condemn the practice of spiritualism. Their contact and intercourse with the spiritual regions right to the mansion of the Lord (Sach Khand) are direct and they come and go at their sweet will and pleasure, without any let or hindrance and independent of the subjective process of mediumship. While their approach is quite normal, natural, direct and constructive, the spiritualist on the other hand works subjectively, indirectly, and mediately through a process which is fraught with dangers and risks both to himself and to the medium. Spiritualism, apart from the knowledge of survival of spirits after death, adds little to our experience and offers nothing of substance in the way of spirituality. Hypnosis and Mesmerism The above remarks apply equally to hypnosis and mesmerism, in both of which a person with a stronger will power tries to influence those with weaker stamina by means of passes of hand or gestures coupled with a riveted attention on the subject. In certain ailments, like hysteria, etc., some physicians also make use of these processes and are able temporarily to effect cures and alleviate pains and aches for which they are not able to find a proper remedy. Spirituality nor religion, on the contrary, is the science of the soul, and consequently, it deals with all the aspects of the soul, where it resides in the human body, its relationship with the body and with the mind, how it seemingly acts and reacts through and on the senses, its real nature, and how it can be separated from all its finalising adjuncts. It describes the spiritual journey with its wealth of spiritual planes and sub-planes, the spiritual powers and possibilities and their intrinsic worth. Spirituality discloses what the holy Word is and how to commune with It, tells us that the ultimate goal is Self-realization and God-realization, or the union of the soul with the Over-soul, and teaches how it can be achieved by means of Surat Shabd Yoga or the Path of the Sound Current, as described in the foregoing pages. 145

146 Initiation into the Mysteries of the Beyond The concepts of Surat Shabd: within Yourself Man is not body, he and she HAS body, mind and intelligence. Man is embodied soul, which makes her course from one incarnation to another one including incarnations in lower species, in order to learn by experience. By very good chance the soul comes into touch with a living competent Master, who will give her initiation. What is initiation? The Master openness the inner eye and inner ear of the disciple in order to see the inner light and hear the inner sound of God. With this first-hand experience the disciple has to develop it by practice. Further on the Master extends all possible help and protection on the inner path of progress of his disciple. During initiation the Master gives you a couple of words (Simran) which function as door-openers to the inner planes. They are not the same as a mantra, but more, as they are loaded with the life-impulse of the Master, so that you are protected by them at anytime and anywhere. The Master may give those five words in any language he likes; mostly in Sanskrit, Hebrew or Arabic. Initiation into Surat Shabd Yoga -- Inner Light and Sound Current Meditation The technical details of Shabd Yoga to a certain extent appear in Kriya Yoga. This does not mean that they are the same systems with different names. However, Shabd Yoga claims to reach the highest Spiritual Regions without the latters use of pranayam, or kundalini awakening. Moral requirements for Initiation into the Spiritual Path of Sant Mat: 1. Abstinence from alcohol and drugs (intoxicants) 2. Following Ahimsa: Non-Violence including vegetarian diet (no fish, meat, or eggs) 3. Lead a truthful life 4. Practice non-stealing (an honest living) 5. Loyalty to one s partner. 146

147 A belief in a Higher Power -- One Supreme Being. All beings form together the One Supreme Being. Within you is the power not without. Seven Teachings of Sant Mat (Way of the Saints/Sages/Masters) 1. There is God, not a God but God, man s Higher Self Within. 2. God is Love. 3. In fact, all of the world scriptures and mystics teach about the same manifestation of God as inner mystical Light and Sound (the Higher Self Within). 4. Confirming the three points above, our true identity is soul, the Self, the Higher Self Within. Soul is part of God and therefore is, like God, pure love. 5. During this human existence we have an opportunity to experience God. 6. As we experience communing with God's love during meditation -- Surat Shabd Yoga, we can rise above body-consciousness and explore Inner Space, the "Kingdom of the Heavens" that are within us. "We travel back from the realm of Darkness to the realm of Light, from the Light to divine Sound, and from the realm of Sound to the Soundless state." (Sant Sevi Ji Maharaj) The drop merges back into the Ocean of Love. 7. As we get initiated into the Mysteries of God by a Living Teacher (Sant Satguru, enlightened spiritual teacher who has become one with God), the purpose of our life is fulfilled. Reuniting with God is our reason to be here: "It was for the sake of the God-conscious beings that our True Lord created this earth, and began this play of death and birth." (Adi Granth) Kabir says: "For millions of years you have slept. This morning, will you not wake?" Lineage of Sant Mat Masters in the Maharishi Mehi Ashram Branch of Sant Mat Sant Sevi Ji Maharaj, Living Master -- Sant Satguru The Scope and Technique of Surat Shabd Yoga Man is now living in the Atomic age, the epoch of release of power, which can be easily and foolishly misused by world-powers in the West as well as in the East. The outer symbols of such an age is the cloud-wreath of an atomic 147

148 explosion, but the inner significance of such an age is the development of nuclear consciousness, the delving into the soul centre of man s own being. The awakening man turns from the illusion of temporal power and endeavours to realize his own nuclear potentialities: to become self-realized and Godrealized. The development of higher levels of consciousness leads man to awareness of a cosmic scheme of things which is so vast that it is incomprehensible to the human mind and imagination. The entire physical universe, with its millions of galaxies, separated by immeasurable number of light-years, is a speck of dust in the universe of Anda and Brahmanda, the latter of which is far vaster than the former. Brahmanda itself is insignificant in the cosmic scheme of the first spiritual division, from whence it draws its power and sustenance. The creation and maintenance of the physical, superphyical, and mental universe is entrusted to a great hierarchy of beings. This hierarchy is headed by Sat purush, Lord of the lowest plane of the first Division, and descends in successive stages through many cosmic regents, gods, archangels, angels cherubim, seraphim, down to man himself. This cosmic hierarchy is represented on earth by holy men who have advanced beyond the present stage of human consciousness. The concept of a Magi, or priest of wisdom, guiding humankind through divine inspiration, has been set forth down the ages in ancient mythologies and religious scriptures. The Hebrew Scriptures, for example suggest a succession of historical eras in which those holy priests, After the order of Melchizedek, received divine illumination through the Holy Spirit, and governed the destiny of ancient people thereby. The Term theocracy is often used to describe the primitive form of government, the only type possible among ancient peoples. Plato himself asserted that the transference of power from the God-like to the human led inevitably to much anarchy and tyranny, from which humanity has had to struggle constantly as consciousness evolved. In the Christian era, for example, the history of the Catholic and Apostolic Church itself shows evidence of the misuse of power vested in individuals through an ecclesiastical hierarchy. Modern theosophy and other mystical cults of the present day affirm that there is an inner government of the world, and its primary task is to control the stream of evolutionary influence among all races and nations, whilst also serving the cause of world betterment. This government comes under the jurisdiction of Brahm, also known to the mystic adepts as Kal, while he was dominion over the lower levels of creation, still work in accordance with the divine laws of Sat Purusha. It is the duty of Kal, as the Negative Power of creation, to bind humanity to the wheel of Rebirth, and mankind s long, upward struggle against this force is designed by the Supreme Being to purge us of our sins and impurities and make us ready for our journey to the True Home. 148

149 The term Kal literally means Time, and Kal thus comprises within his being the past, present and future, as commonly understood by human beings. However, it is impossible to fix a cosmic date for the origin of Kal, or to predict when he will come to an end. Beginning and ending are unreal concepts, created by man s outgoing senses, which see an apparent commencement and an apparent termination to everything which transpires in his environment. From the point of view of higher consciousness, that which can be seen as the beginning of an event in the people world has previously been occurring invisibly as an idea in the mental world; and beyond the mental world are realms which transcend time ( or Kal) itself. A mental function always precedes physical organism. Similarly, a Termination of something is simply a passing away from one level of experience to another. It can reasonably be said, however, that the duration of Kal extends from one major cycle to another, during which the universe of mind and matter remains in its manifest form until its dissolution. The cycles of experience, as far as our planet is concerned, have been computed as four in number by oriental sages. These sages are Sat Yuga, the golden age of perfect righteousness; Treta Yuga, the age of predominant righteousness; Duapar Yuga, the age of comparatively lesser righteousness; and finally, Kali Yuga, the age of no apparent righteousness at all, except in its latent form and surcharged with darkness in abundance. We are at present living in Kali Yuga, and this planetary cyclic order from Sat Yuga to Kali Yuga is followed by a planetary dissolution, whereupon a new cyclic order starts again in another world-scheme. In Kali Yuga, Kal reigns supreme over the lower realms of creation, and we live within the limitation of a completely dimensional world of time, space and causation, which thwarts the flight of the soul in its struggle for freedom. As the consciousness of man expands, so he becomes more aware of the shackles of time. In primordial days, while the consciousness of physical organism was still in a semi-dormant state, the incredible slowness in the rates of growth and changes on our planet was reflected by what can be considered as sub-mundane time. If this primal time-sequence is relived in the human consciousness, it will be seen that our present (mundane) time-measurement would appear to equal the rate of evolutionary change covered by eight to ten thousand years of primordial (sub-mundane) time. Thus the awakening soul feels that divine discontent with his time-bound world. He seeks the ability to rise above the transient qualities of mind and matter, which are the two chief agents of Kal. Present-day humanity is ruled by the time-concept and released more energy in each succeeding second than the primordial life-wave was capable of doing in many sub-mundane days. The speed of present human life is in inverse proportion to the rate of change of the primal geologic epoch, and the primordial epoch was space-ruled. Animal and vegetable life in the sub-mundane era 149

150 tended to great bulk and slimy, alkaline conditions. Kal ruled creation then, as he does now, eliminating each living beginning from the stage from the stage of life as soon as its ordained time was exhausted. Once his space-time evolution is achieved, the human being s work in physical incarnation should be finished, but the downward-flowing pull of the Negative Power holds him in worldly bondage. Kal is the author of the laws of Nature, which all must obey while living in physical incarnation. As the creator of the lower worlds, he is known as God to most of the social religions. He is served faithfully by the hierarchical agents of the inner planetary government. Only the mystic adepts of the highest order, their disciples and their students, know of higher God than Kal; and yet the Negative Power is worshiped by millions as the supreme Lord of creation. In comparison with the spiritual perfection of Sat Purusha, the True Lord, Kal is only a subordinate in the hierarchy of the cosmic universe, and as such a subordinate he is not entirely free from imperfections. However, compared with mankind, Kal is an exalted being, an embodiment of light, wisdom and power. It should be well remembered that Kal controlled the eternity of cosmic, solar and planetary evolution. He watched over his creation for those aeons of time before the appearance of moss-like species of vegetation on Earth, and before the advent of dinosaurs and sauric beasts. The facts of the Negative Power controlling our material and materio-spiritual universe gives us a clue to the origin of so-called evil, for evil is a turning back into outmoded (and thus lawful) patterns of behaviour. In primary organisms, a damaged cell feels pain and will endeavours to focus its message of pain through the organism. Lack of attention to this message leads to the surrounding cells becoming affected by the plight of the damaged cell. If this imbalance is still ignored, more and more cells will become involved until the collective resistance of the group of cells is broken down. The organism then becomes dis-eased. In Kal s universe the sensation of pleasure and pain represents the language of the single cell and the human individual alike. Physical pain is the warning of somatic disharmony, and the pain of the soul is the warning of gross spiritual disharmony in the human organism. Neither warning should be ignored. The hierarchical representative of Kal, known in the East as incarnations of Brahm, are the avatars and prophets, whose mission it is to incarnate themselves in every age in order to root out unrighteousness and evil, to protect the good and to punish evildoers, and to establish laws of righteousness in the world. The avatars and Prophets thus bring the promise of redemption to the righteous; but this redemptions is nevertheless bound by the time-scale of the lower worlds and is not lasting. The current of Kal, or time, is endless in its course for humanity, but souls with the help of a true mystic adept can rise above time into the timeless realm of Sat Purusha, and gradually merge into the 150

151 spiritual immensity of the highest realms. This inner journey commences on the lowest rung of ladder of creation, the world of Pinda, and gradually ascend to Brahamanda, the highest kingdom of Kal, and thence to Par Brahm, and eventually achieves the pure spiritual realms. Only the highest type of mystic adept, one who has himself traversed this spiritual journey and merged into the highest spiritual state, can help others do likewise. Such a mystic adept is not part of the inner government of Kal s world, although he has deference for all who play their role in the ordering of creation. The Mystic adept is an emissary from Sat Puruha, and is commissioned by the Supreme Being to save souls and lead mankind back to its True Home. Such a mystic adept is termed a Sant Satguru in oriental terminology, and it is he alone who can free man from bondage to the lower worlds and give him eternal liberation. Here it must be stressed that the difference between man and all the ascending scale of beings who comprise the grand hierarchy of creation is merely one of spiritual attainment. There is no difference in soul quality between the most arrant materialist and the most spiritual Saint, for all souls are of the essence of the Supreme One. The awakened and purified soul, cleansed by the audible life stream through the grace of a competent mystic adept, moves up the ascending cosmic scale until it reaches its true home. There is no other yardstick than this for measuring the comparative degrees of advancement between various human beings, and only a mystic adept can use the yardstick with complete correctness and accuracy. Only the Satguru is completely Beyond the rule of Kal and not subject to the laws of the Negative Power. Above and apart from the great hierarchy of Kal and his agents is the Akal Purush, the great Positive Power which controls not only the Grand Division of Sach Khand, but maintains and supports the lower regions of Brahmanda, Anda and Pinda, all of which he allows to kal, who holds sway over these three lower worlds. The satguru is an incarnation of this great Positive Power, and as such has been commissioned by Sat Purusha to lead mankind on the inner path to the true Home. The Satguru puts the aspirant in contact with the spiritual Sound current. This audible life stream varies with different levels of frequency as it passes through the five inner levels of creation, and is thus termed by oriental sages as the five melodies of heaven. The Satgurus, mystic adepts of the highest order, recognize two types of knowledge in religious experience. The first type is known as Apara Vidya, and consists of the study of religious scriptures, the performance of rituals and ceremonies, and the giving of alms and doing of good works. The second type is known as Para Vidya, and this is the science of realized truth, or the science of the soul. An initial creation of interest in knowing his true self and knowing God, together with the living of an ethical life, are prerequisites to man s search 151

152 for spirituality. But for practical inner unfoldment, the individual aspirant has to seek the guidance of one who has realized the highest spiritual goal. There are many teachers of Apara Vidya, theoretical and intellectual knowledge of religious experience, but there are very few teachers of Para Vidya, the science of realized truth. The soul of man is under the bondage of mind and matter. The aspiring seeker after Truth must learn a practical method of self-analysis and then the method of rising above body consciousness. When he attains this degree of awareness, he truly discovers that he is not the body, nor the intellect, nor the outgoing faculties. He realizes that although he may know many objective facts, these are all conditioned by the limitations of the mind. He knows that he must perfect his own self-realization, becoming aware of the God-Power within; and this he can achieve by following the instructions of an adept of Para vidya, a Sant Satguru. The science of Para Vidya can be followed by people of all ages, for it is a simple and natural way to spiritual attainment. Unless man becomes aware of his own higher Nature and his relationship to God and creation, he cannot attain inner joy and true peace. The core of Para Vidya lies in Yoga of the Audible Life Stream, which is known in the East as the Surat Shabd Yoga. This, the most ancient yogic science of the mystic adepts, is the method used to link the soul consciously with the transcendental Sound Current, the God-in-Expression Power. In the practice of this spiritual science, the Satguru lays stress on the performance of mental repetition of the spiritually charged words what help to collect the scattered attention of the aspirant and focus it at the point of the soul at the pineal centre within the head. This particular aspect of Surat Shabd Yoga is known as Simran. The successful completion of Simran leads to dhyan or concentration. The inner eye of the aspirant is now opened and he sees the radiant point of spiritual light within. The radiance may fluctuate at first, but it becomes increasingly bright and eventually the light is steady and strong. When dhyan is perfected the aspirant is led to Bhajan or attunement to the spiritual Sound current that emerges from within the centre of the spiritual light. This supernal melody has an upward magnetic pull which is inevitable, and the soul eventually must travel with the inner music until it reaches that spiritual source from whence the music emerges. By this three-fold process of Simran, dhyan and bhajan, the soul is finally freed from the fetters of mind and matter and becomes anchored in its true self or atman, and thus returns to its primal spiritual source, the realm of pure spirit. Jesus, the Galilean adept, said, Take my yoke upon you! And the word yoga, which is cognate with yoke, means to join up, to link the soul with God. The spiritual Sound Current is the connecting link with God, and it is the same Word spoken by Christ and all the mystic adepts. The entire process of God-realization 152

153 is nurtured by the three essentials: Satguru, or adept-mystic, who must be living practitioner of the holy science; Shabd, the power of the Supreme Lord sounding through creation; and Satsang, or association with a true mystic adept. The living Satguru is truly the Word made flesh, or the embodied form of the eternal Shabd. The Shabd works through the Satguru on both the outer and inner planes of life, and this gives him the divinely-ordained power to take the individual soul safely back to its spiritual home. The combination of the spiritual light and the spiritual sound is the essence of the inner journey. The spiritual light keeps the soul absorbed in its goal, and to a certain extent leads the soul onward; the spiritual sound the word pulls the soul upward and transports it from plane to plane, until it reaches its destination. The Surat Shabd Yoga is not only the most perfect of the various spiritual sciences but it is also comparatively easy to practice, and it is accessible to all people. The aspirants who assiduously follow this spiritual discipline, not only reach their ultimate goal, but they do so with greater economy of effort than is possible by any other method. The Surat Shabd Yoga begins where all other yogic techniques end. The yogic practitioner attempts the transcending of physical consciousness by techniques which vivify the various charkas, or microcosmic force centres in the body, on after the other. Such practices are concerned with the manipulation of the Pranas, or subtilized life currents, and any results thereby is attained only after long and arduous disciplines. The technique of Surat Shabd Yoga begins at the highest microcosmic centre, the seat of the soul, between and behind the eyebrows, and often the aspirant to this highest spiritual science will receive the same experience at his first initiation sitting that the advanced yogi has worked long and hard for. In point of fact, the Surat Shabd Yoga is a far more scientific and natural science than any of the other yogic techniques. It asserts that if the spiritual current reaches the bodily charkas from above rather that below, then why should it be necessary to vivify each of the lower charkas in turn in order to attempt the path of spiritual attainment? Also, the yogis depend almost exclusively on the powers of the mind and the Pranic currents, and these energies even at their most refined are not of the true spiritual essence and thus cannot free the soul from its thraldom in the lower worlds. It is from the point of tisra till, the third eye, that the energies of the soul spread themselves into the body. All that is required is to check the downward flow of this spiritual current by the control of the senses; it will thus, of its own accord, concentrate itself and flow back toward its source. The Surat Shabd Yoga starts the aspirant on his inner journey at a stage where the yogi usually tends to finish his. This is the region of Shans-dal-Kanwal (the region of the thousand pedalled lights), and this generally marks the final stage 153

154 of a yogi s journey after he has traversed the various bodily charkas. It is the first rung on the ladder of ascent for the practitioner of the Surat Shabd Yoga. Also, because the aspirant of the highest spiritual science refuses to disturb the fiery kundalinic force within the body, the strain of physical transcending is greatly reduced, and there is no possible risk or harm being done to the physical or mental organism. By contact with the Shabd, the sensory currents of the body are automatically drawn upward without any conscious striving on the part of the aspirant. Also, the aspirant needs no external assistance in returning to physical consciousness as is the case with some yogic techniques, and inner ascent and descent can be achieved by him with the rapidity of thought itself. The Satguru is the Shabd personified. He stands above all the hierarchies of the inner universe, even though he has the outer appearance of a man among mankind. His relationship with his disciples is a purely spiritual one; he is concerned with their spiritual progress and has nothing to do with worldly matters. The true spiritual teacher is the holy Shabd or Word, and the only disciple is the Surat, or individual spirit. For each individual, as he comes before the true adept-mystic, the adept-mystic is truly God in human garb, the Word made flesh, and the individual aspirant is a living soul, the essence of the universal soul. Kabir, the poet-saint of India, was an example of the external Word in human form. He spoke of himself thus: I come from the kingdom of God to administer the law of God. Truly the Satguru is the greatest gift of God, and God is the greatest gift of the Satguru. There can be none higher than such a one. Part One A Technique in Meditation for Self-Initiation (Example) Sit straight in a cross-legged position. Place your left hand on your heart and raise your right hand in front of your right shoulder, as though you are taking an oath. Elbows are relaxed down and fingers of both hands are spread. Eyes: Your eyes are 1/10th open and focused at the tip of the nose. Mantra: Chant the mantra, ONG NAMO, GURU DEV NAMO, with the recording by Nirinjan Kaur, or this one:

155 Time: Begin with 11 minute, increasing to 28 minutes. Part Two Maintain the same posture, as you listen to the mantra and breathe Long Deep Breath. Time: Continue for three minutes. To end, inhale deeply, hold, and tighten your fingers. Squeeze your entire being and put as much pressure on your heart centre as you can. Exhale. Repeat two more times. Relax. However, a non-initiate can also take up meditation, known as Jyoti meditation, instructions for which can be found in Sant Sawan-Kirpal s books: Inner and Outer Peace through Meditation and Empowerment Your Soul Through Meditation. In these times when there are said to be as many Gurus as there are stones, all types of meditations are in vogue- some even require holding of hands! It is hence best to learn from a living perfect One. Jyothi Meditation Based on Bhagavan's step-by-step directions. Jyothi (flame) Meditation is the foremost spiritual discipline geared towards gaining inner peace, and used for self-initiation as well. 1. We should have a fixed time and place every day where we sit for meditation either in the morning and/or evening. 2. We should sit on a thin mattress for this exercise. The sitting pose or asana should be comfortable both for our mind and body. 3. We should then chant Omkar, the Universal Mantra glorified as 'Nada Brahma' at least 3 times but preferably 21 times. The mind under the influence of this divine sound slowly loses momentum and becomes more and more tranquil and steady. 4. The next step is to put the breath in rhythm. The easiest and the most effortless method is to watch the breath, thereby the process becomes normal, that is, longer and calmer. When we inhale, the breath sounds 'So' and when we exhale, it sounds 'Humm' which means 'He' i.e. "God" and 'I' respectively or "God am I". 5. Accordingly, synchronizing with these two breaths, imagine that the flame 'Jyot' is within us. Feel that the light of the flame is in our heart, right in the centre of the Lotus. Gently move the light to other parts of your body -- the stomach, the limbs, the eyes, the ears and the tongue. Feel that the entire body is illumined thereby. Rejoice that the light is the 155

156 light of love; it removes hatred; it dispels darkness and doubt; it reveals that all are Divine. 6. As the light fills the eyes, you must feel that they have been purified. They shall no longer seek to look upon evil sights. When the light lights the tongue with love, decide that there is no more scope for uttering harsh words. Similarly, once the radiance of the divine light bathes the arms, they can no longer delight in performing harmful deeds while the feet can no longer move into polluting areas and places. 7. Now visualize the light as surrounding our physical body and spreading far out to family members, neighbours and even those whom we do not like. Every object is enveloped in that divine effulgence. Isavaasyam Idam Sarvam. All this is illumined by God. This is the stage of bliss. 8. In this manner, the ONE flame on which we concentrate can cleanse our mind and body and spread its light and radiance to include our entire environment. 9. Finally, take the Jyot on to the figure of our Ishta Devta or the Deity of your choice and/or fix our vision on the Jyot, and commence meditation or silent sitting for a few minutes, followed by Japa of our chosen Mantra with the full understanding of its meaning and firm faith in its power and benefits. It should be inter-woven with our breathing process of inhaling and exhaling. Exercise on Jyoti Meditation -. Instructions 1. Let us close the eyes and chant Omkar (OM) three times to make the mind become tranquil and steady. 2. Keeping the eyes closed, let us put the breath in rhythm. To make it normal and calmer. In our mind (mentally) repeat "SOHUM'. (1-2 mins.) As we inhale mentally repeat "SO" As we exhale mentally repeat "HUM". (1-2 mins.) 3. Let us mentally bathe the senses in the light. Look at the Jyoti, imagine that the flame is ablaze in the Lotus of our heart. Having the beautiful feeling of LOVE. Take the flame to the different parts of the body. "Let not my eyes see evil "Let not my ears hear evil or bad "Let my tongue speak only sweet words 156

157 "Let my hands do only right things "Let my legs be always moving towards places for good actions and good work." Now, bring the flame up the legs slowly, strengthening; up through the stomach, cleansing; through to the eyes, taking away all the darkness and out of the body through the head, purify us. 4. Open the eyes and look at the Jyoti. (2-3 mins.) 5. Now imagine the figure, of the form of your choice (Baba), for worshipping in the Jyoti. (2-3mins.) 6. Effortlessly repeat OM SAI RAM or your personal mantra. (2-3 mins.) It should be natural and without tension. Relax. 7. Slowly close the eyes and meditate for a few minutes. (15-20 mins.). 8. Keep the eyes closed, stop repeating the mantra, or having the flame and form consciously. (2-3 mins.) 9. End meditation. Softly and slowly. Om Asato Ma Sadgamaya Lead me from untruth to truth Tamaso Ma Jyotirgamaya Lead me from darkness to light Mrutyor Ma Amrutamgamaya Lead me from death to immorality Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Peace Peace Peace Lord Sai Baba on Meditation We always have enough time to talk, visit cinemas etc. There is certainly time for meditation. The power is from God (referring to the feeling of strength after meditation). Early morning is best. Mind is quiet and there is not the pressure of responsibilities. There is difficulty during the day. People are around, and there is work. If meditation is attempted, even work may suffer. 157

158 Real meditation is getting absorbed in God as the only thought, the only goal. God only, only God. Think God, breathe God, love God. Concentration means, when all senses and desires fall away and there is only God. In between concentration and meditation, like a separation between the two, is contemplation. Concentration to contemplation, then meditation. As long as one thinks "I am meditating" that is the mind and not meditation. As long as one knows he is meditating, he is not meditating. In absorption in God, one puts aside every form and merges into God. In that process the mind naturally stops. Meditation for its proper practice, should be at the same place, at the same time. 158

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161 Master Sirio had a spontaneous spiritual awakening at the age of nineteen in Under the impact of this experience, he began an intensive practice of Yoga and meditation. In 1973 he went overland to India in search of The Master who would guide him in his inner journey. He recognized such in the person of Master Sant Kirpal Singh, a character of great charisma. On the twenty fifth of April he was initiated personally by the Master into the practice of Surat Shabd Yoga and had a great inner experience. After the Initiation Sirio could not help but sit in meditation for the next two years. The inner upliftment was such as to make the practice extremely pleasant and easy. Sirio Ji says that in that period of two years he did nothing but meditate all day and many were the fantastic experiences that were granted to him that completely changed the quality of his life. 161

162 After the death of Kirpal Singh in 1977 he joined a Master in Rajasthan, Sant Ajaib Singh, also a disciple of Kirpal Singh, and became His Italian representative. At the age of twenty-five he was asked to give the Initiation into contact with the divine Light. He was the first European representative of Ajaib Singh ji and had to travel to various European countries to give Initiation. From that time to this day he has continued to impart such Initiation. Sirio Ji says: "Ajaib Singh was a man of great holiness who lived in the Thar desert in Rajasthan. I had a long spiritual relationship of twenty years with Him and He is the one who turned me into a real man." Since his first meditation with Master Kirpal in 1973, even before his Initiation, Sirio ji felt that his destiny was to become a master of this path. In the coming years this was confirmed in many ways and from many aspects, especially during long meditation retreats that lasted several months. After the death of his second Master Sirio ji took up this role by his Master's will. From 1973 to now Sirio ji has conducted many meditation retreats at the Sant Bani Ashram in Italy and abroad, first as a representative of his Master and then in his role as a Master. In addition, he also made long retreats alone that lasted months. Sirio Ji does not accept any payment for his seminars and retreats He makes his living by other means, but this is secondary to His great work as Master and allows Him to give full attention to those attending His retreats. He also keeps the Ashram in a pristine condition doing almost everything by himself. He says that someone who claims to have the divine in him/her must be able to manifest it in the environment that surrounds him otherwise these are just unfounded claims

163 A last thought from the Editor The human race has provided its membership with a mass of fine and intriguing spiritual teachers throughout its history: one does not want to get into the business of special claims. Yet in accepting authorship within this series of 163