Path of the Masters: Sant Mat - Santmat, Radhasoami - Radha Soami, Satsang, Inner Light and Sound Meditation: Surat Shabd Yoga, Audible Life Stream, Quan Yin Method, Spiritual Science, Spirituality, Kabir, Maharshi Mehi, Kirpal Singh, Gnosticism, Third Eye, Out Of Body Experiences, Near-Death Experiences, Inner Space, the Kingdom of the Heavens Within, Mystic Poetry, Vegetarian Vegan, Ahimsa, Love, and God. The term "Sant Mat" was coined by Sant Tulsi Sahib of Hathras during the 19th Century.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Dadu Dayal, Poet-Mystic from Rajasthan
Dadu is one of my all-time favorite classic Sants of India. He was a great poet-mystic and spiritual Master of Divine Light, Sound, and Nirguna Bhakti from Rajasthan in the lineage of Guru Kabir. Anyone who studies his teachings will encounter a very genuine, pure version of Sant Mat with the perfect balance of God and guru bhakti, love and mysticism (Surat Shabd Yoga, meditation).
Translations of Dadu bhajans are quite rare in English. Volume 25 in the glorious Encyclopaedia of Saints Series represents the most complete collection of the works of Sant Dadu Dayal in English to date. It is published by Criterion of New Delhi (distributed by Deep & Deep Publications). Nataraj Books is one source where this volume can be ordered from in North America. See link below.
Enjoy! Happy New Year! Meditate!
James
SantMat_Mystic_Blog_at_Yahoo360
http://blog.360.yahoo.com/santmat_mystic
Sant Mat Fellowship:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SantMatFellowship
Radhasoami Reality:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Radhasoami-Reality
Sant Dadu Dayal, Encyclopaedia of Saints Series (Volume 25),
Edited by Bakshi and Mittra, Criterion Publications, New Delhi, India
https://www.VedamsBooks.com/no28758.htm
https://www.NatarajBooks.com
Background on Dadu from the Preface
Sant Dadu Dayal was a Saint from Rajasthan. 'Dadu' means brother and 'Dayal' means "the Compassionate One." He lived in the second half of the sixteenth century (1544-1603). His songs are in a Hindi dialect known as Braj Bhasa, being a mixture of Hindi and Rajasthani. Like the earlier Saint Kabir, Dadu came from one of the many low artisan castes that had converted to Islam. He lived in the Jaipur region of Rajasthan, most probably as a pinjari, a cotton carder. He married and had a family of two sons and two daughters.
Dadu gathered around himself a group of followers, which became known as the Dadu-panth. This organisation has continued in Rajasthan to the present day, and has been a major source of early manuscripts containing songs by the North Indian Saints [the Panch Vani]. He himself did not write down any of his compositions. These were recorded by his disciple Rajjab. Another disciple, Jana Gopal wrote the earliest biography. [A translation of the Janma Lila by Jana Gopal is also included in this book]. Dadu clearly experienced the bliss of Sahaja and alluded to it in his songs. Surviving songs do not record the name of Dadu's guru. Certainly much of the imagery used in his songs is similar to that used by Kabir, and similar also to that used by the earlier Sahajiya Buddhists and Nath Yogis.
Some Mystic Verses of Sant Dadu Dayal, a Lover of the Beloved
Results of True Love --- The Vision of the Beloved
One sits fearlessly by repeating God's Name;
the Negative Power can never consume him.
When thou ridest the elephant, 0 Dadu,
then dogs bark in vain.
When love and devotion arise,
one is firmly established in blissful meditation.
With the grace of the Master,
he then drinks the divine Nectar, 0 Dadu.
By being dedicated to the Lord,
millions of obstacles are removed.
A tiny spark the size of a mustard seed
burns a huge amount of wood, 0 Dadu.
Impurities and blemishes of the mind
are burnt up in the fire of separation.
The separated lover will now see
the vision of the Beloved, 0 Dadu.
An Outer Guru that is not an Inner Guru, not a Qualified Teacher
The whole world makes an outer display,
whereas the practice of the Saint is within.
This is the difference between the two;
hence no accord is found between them.
A new pot taken from the potter's furnace
may be decorated with many pictures outside;
But of what use will it be to thee,
0 Dadu, without any contents?
Such are the ones who make outer display of religiosity.
From one who bears no outer religious symbols,
but has unfathomable riches within,
Receive the wealth and keep it within
thy heart, 0 Dadu, and be obedient to such a Saint.
There is a great difference between a Saint and a mimic,
the two are as far apart as earth and sky.
The Saint is absorbed in God, whereas
the mimic pins his hopes on the world.
The One alone dwells within my heart,
Day and night I repeat His Name.
The Name of God alone is true;
keep that within thy heart.
Forsake all hypocrisies and cumbrous practices;
this is the teaching of all Saints, 0 Dadu.
True Sants Focus Our Attention Upon God
Sadagati Sadhava re
Saints are the true redeemers,
They make one see the Creator face to face.
Having themselves crossed the ocean
of the world, they take others across;
They are the saviors of beings.
Dyed in the colour of the Supreme Lord,
They have the blameless Name
as their support;
Always truthful, disciplined, blissful and contented,-
Their wisdom and reach knows no bounds.
In eternal love, in eternal ecstasy,
In eternal company with the essential Truth;
In eternal union, in eternal life,
In eternal knowledge and contemplation are they absorbed.
Crest-jewel of all, bestower of bliss to all,
They are rare in this world.
They are the Swans, the dwellers of the Ocean of Bliss,
Who come for the good of others, 0 Dadu.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Happy Solstice Light from Spiritual Awakening Radio
Happy Solstice Light from Spiritual Awakening Radio
For northern latitude dwellers the colder weather causes many to dwell within in a variety of ways. I have some great meditations during these more solitary winter months! It can be a time for New Year's resolutions, an opportunity to reflect, to be introspective. Over the years I've always noticed that the number of letters and emails from radio listeners peak during Winter.
May interior warmth
cause seeds of contemplation
to sprout into new growth, new life.
Happy Solstice Light from Spiritual Awakening Radio Productions.
Namaste',
James
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Conversations with Maharshi Santsewiji Paramhans
Sant Mat Fellowship:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SantMatFellowship
{"This mysterious path is described in the holy books,
but it cannot be found simply by the study of sacred texts.
It is found by the grace and guidance of an accomplished teacher."}
Special on His 87th Birth Anniversary (20.12.1920)
[English rendering of interactions with Maharshi Santsewi ji Paramahans excerpted from the book titled `Samvaad' (meaning dialogue or conversation) authored by Kumar Ashok and published by Santmat Satsang Publication, Kuppaghat, Bhalpur, India in 2000]
- Translated by Pravesh K. Singh http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sant_santati http://blog.360.yahoo.com/praveshksingh
Q. God is Absolute Knowledge, Absolute Light and Infinitely Powerful. Despite being so, how his own part (jivaatmaa) came into bondage? How it fell into the dark abyss of ignorance?
Ans: When the Supreme Sovereign, God, thought in a playful mood: "Ekoham Bahusyaam" (I am one, Let Me be Many!), a sound or vibration was produced. Rishis called this sound by various names such as `Om', `Sfot', `Udgeeth', `Pranav' etc. Creation or Universe(s) was formed by this very sound or vibration. Two large spheres or realms of creation came into being. The first sphere or realm is called `Chetan Prakriti' (Realm of Pure Consciousness), and the second realm is called `jad prakriti' (Realm of Ignorance or Realm lacking in consciousness of its own). `Chetan Prakriti' is one only, while the `jad prakriti' came to be divided into four spheres namely, `Mahakaaran' (supra-causal) `Kaaran' (causal), `sookshma' (astral) and `sthool' (gross). In accordance with the characteristics of these five spheres, five bodies came to be formed namely; `kaivalya' (conscious body), `mahaakaaran' (supra-causal body), `kaaran' (causal body), `sookshma' (astral or subtle body) and `sthool' (gross body).
Currently the realm we are living in is known as `sthool' or gross sphere and accordingly, `jeev' (unliberated individual soul) is living in the gross body. Thus, the `jeev' is bound by five bodies and five spheres. Just as, within one and the same `mahadaakaash' (larger space or sky) its numerous parts such as `ghat' (space or sky within the body), `pat' (space contained between partitions of curtain or cloth) and `math' (space enclosed within the walls of a room or house) come to be separated from it (the parent larger space or sky) due to the covers of body, curtains and walls, the `jeevaatmaa' (unliberated individual soul), because of getting covered by the layers or sheaths of darkness, light and sound has become separated from its original main stream (God), has forgotten its true nature and has come within the influence of `maayaa' (illusion).
Q. What is the difference between `jeevaatmaa', `chetanaatmaa', `aatmaa' and `paramaatmaa'?
Ans: The `aatmaa' (soul) when attached with `antahkaran' (a collective term used to include mind, intellect, ego etc.) is called `jeevaatmaa'. A soul which has got free of `antahkaran' but is attached with `chetan' (consciousness) is called `chetan aatmaa' (conscious soul). There is no difference as such between the `aatmaa' (soul) and `paramaatmaa' (God). The above concepts can also be put like this: the soul attached with or covered by gross layers is known as `jivatma', that with the cover of consciousness only is termed `chetan atma' and the soul which is free of both gross and conscious sheaths is called `atma' (soul) or `paramatma' (God).
Q. God is surely without a beginning, but what about `prakriti' (Nature or Cosmos) – is it with or without a beginning?
Ans: From the point of view of space and time, nature or creation is without a beginning, but from the point of view of origin or birth, it is with a beginning. Because, space and time come into reckoning only on formation of creation or nature or universes, not before that. Both types of nature or creation, namely gross creation and conscious creation came to be formed through the playful wish of God.
"Ye prakriti dwaya utpatti laya, hovain prabhu kee mauj se.
Ye ajaa anaadyaa swayam hain, haregij na kahanaa chaahiye." (Maharshi Mehi Paramahans)
[The two natures (gross as well as conscious) are formed and destroyed through `mauj' (playful wish) of God. One must never say or believe these to be unborn, or without a beginning.]
Mahabharat says, "Just as the sea waves (rise on and) merge into the sea itself, similarly the nature or creations, too, are created and destroyed (within God only)." – Mahabharat Shanti Parva.
Sant Sundardas ji Maharaj has said,
"Brahma te purush aur prakriti pragat bhaee."
That is, both `purush' and `prakriti' originated from `Brahma'. Here `purush' means `paraa prakriti' (also written as `para prakriti') or conscious nature/realm. In Chapter 15 of Shreemad Bhagwad Geetaa `aparaa prakriti' (part of creation or nature not having consciousness of its own) has been called as `kshar purush' (Destructible Nature or Realm), whereas `paraa prakriti' (Conscious Realm) has been called as `akshara purush' (non-destructible Realm); `purushottam' or God is said to be beyond both these realms. For instance,
"dwaavimau purushau loke ksharashchaakshara eva cha.
Ksharah sarvaani bhootaani kootasthokshara uchyate" (Shreemad Bhagwad Geeta)
[In this universe two types of purush are there – `kshara' (destructible or non-permanent) and `akshara' (non-destructible). Bodies of all the beings in the world are destructible or impermanent, while the individual soul indwelling them is said to be `akshara' (non-destructible']
Nature or creation, too, is said to be without a beginning but not because it is also without an origin like God; it is called so because no time or space can be ascribed to its origin, for these two (space & time) come into reckoning only after the creation or nature is formed. The nature or universe or the creation appeared, with the `mauj' (playful will) of God, within God only; thus its beginning or origin lies in the God who Himself is beyond space & time, without a beginning and an end. God is even said to be the `aadi' (beginning or origin) of `anaadi' (beginning-less or without an origin i.e. nature). Nature or creation is also said to `anaadi saant' (without a beginning – from the point of view of time & space – but with an end).
Q. Lord Mahavir and Lord Buddha have not explicitly made any references to the term `Brahma' or God. Should they be, thus, treated as atheists?
Ans. Though Lord Mahavir and Lord Buddha have not directly used the term `Brahma', they have used words with similar connotations like `attaa', `aatmaa' (Soul), `gahakaarak' (Builder of House) `naath' (Master or Lord) etc. Bhagvan Mahavir has said: "aatmaanam viddhi" (Know your `Self') whereas Lord Buddha has said,
"Attaa hi attano naatho ko hi naatho paro siaa.
Attanawav sudantena naatham labhati dullabham."
[An individual is his own master; how could any body else be his master? Having restrained or controlled himself very well, he attains to the Lord who is difficult of attainment.]
Further,
"Gahakaarak ! ditthosi pun geham na kaahasi.
Sabbaa te faasukaa bhaggaa gahakootam visankhitam.
Visankhaaragatam chitam tanhaanam khayamajjhagaa."
[O Builder of the House! I saw you; now you won't be able to rebuild the house. All your chains or shackles have been broken; crown of the house has collapsed. Chitta has been rid of all the sanskaaras. `Arhattva' (Destruction of desires or cravings) has been accomplished.]
Thus, it is unfair and improper to call them atheists. In fact, the people of their times were prolifically performing animal sacrifices and violent acts in the name of religion; therefore, they did not use directly words like `Ishwara', `Brahma' or `Bhagawaan' or God. The renowned Buddhist monk Bhikshu Jagadeesh Kaashyap had told me this in reply to an identical curiosity.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Quotes from Jalal-ud-Din RUMI -- Sufi Poet, Mystic, Master
Quotes of Jalal–ud–Din Rumi (1207-1273), the Persian Sufi Sufi Mystic
· When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy.
· Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.
· Everyone is so afraid of death, but the real Sufis just laugh: nothing tyrannizes their hearts. What strikes the oyster shell does not damage the pearl.
· Conventional opinion is the ruin of our souls.
· Whatever possessions and objects of its desires the lower self may obtain, it hangs on to them, refusing to let them go out of greed for more, or out of fear of poverty and need.
· If in thirst you drink water from a cup, you see God in it. Those who are not in love with God will see only their own faces in it.
· Reason is powerless in the expression of Love.
· If you are irritated by every rub, how will you be polished?
· Drink from the presence of saints,
not from those other jars.
· The garden of Love
is green without limit
and yields many fruits
other than sorrow and joy.
Love is beyond either condition:
without spring,
without autumn,
it is always fresh.
· Remember God so much that you are forgotten.
Let the caller and the called disappear;
be lost in the Call.
· The wine of this fleeting world
caused your head to ache.
· I used to read the myths of love
Now I have become
the mythical lover.
· They are the chosen ones
who have surrendered.
· We are as the flute, and the music in us is from thee;
we are as the mountain and the echo in us is from thee.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
A Spiritual Satsang Discourse
A Spiritual Satsang Discourse
Sant Mat Fellowship:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SantMatFellowship
{"This mysterious path is described in the holy books,
but it cannot be found simply by the study of sacred texts. It is found by the grace and guidance of an accomplished teacher."}
Couplets of Swami SantSevi Ji
Begin meditation with internally chanting or repeating the Guru-mantra-incantation (the charged words given by the Guru). And then try to visualize the radiant form or image of the Satguru in the still darkness of the inner sky (with eyes closed). Follow that with focusing your attention at the seat of the soul within, i.e. at the Third Eye or the Inner Eye or the Til Dwaar, by making the two streams of consciousness in your two eyes converge in a Point.
When the two currents of consciousness meet in a Point, Divine Light appears within. Then, practice Surat Shabd Yoga (Yoga of Divine Sound) i.e., try to shift your attention to listening to the Divine Sounds or myriads of melodies (Anahad Naad) ringing inside. Listening to the Divine Sound destroys all the perversions, agitations and fickleness of the mind.
Ascending beyond or transcending myriads of sounds, try to identify and tune in to the Quintessential Unstruck Melody, called "Saar Shabd" or "Anaahat Naad" which alone is capable of taking you and merging you into oneness with the Supreme Lord; this is the ultimate deliverance, emancipation, welfare, or liberation.
Below is from an English rendering of a Satsang Discourse by Maharshi Santsewi ji Maharaj delivered on the auspicious occasion of his 82nd Birth Anniversary (20.12.2002) at the Satsang Hall of Maharshi Mehi Ashram, Kuppaghat, Bhagalpur in the State of Bihar, India. Translated by Pravesh K. Singh
Our life is like a coin. We see one face of the coin at a time while the other face is hidden from us. We don't call a coin genuine if its only one face is genuine. We check the other side, too, and only after we find this also to be genuine, we accept it as a legal tender. Similarly, there are two halves of our lives, too. The life with this body is manifest, explicit, and, hence, visible to all. The other life is that which will remain, even when this body of ours will be no more. We make herculean efforts, try to earn happiness for the life with this body; but we must ponder over what we are doing for the sake of the long life that is to follow after this body will be left or shed here? If we are making no efforts for the after-life, then the (coin of) our life is not genuine, it is not complete. How will we remain happy there (in the after-life)? Just as all of us surely do something for this life, do some trade & commerce, jobs etc., exactly in the same manner we must do some meditation & prayers for our next life, too, so that both this worldly and the other worldly lives may be blissful! In the other world, the meditation alone is our companion; but who will teach us (the art or the right way of) this (meditation)? Sant Kabir Sahab has uttered,
"Bin Satguru nar rahat bhulaanaa.
Khojat firat raah nahi jaanaa."
[In the absence of a True Guru, man keeps on wandering aimlessly here & there without knowing or finding the right path (leading us unto the desired destination).]
Without seeking the refuge of the Guru, man keeps on wandering in search of God, gets 'pareshaan' (worried, stressed, annoyed or vexed) in search of true wellbeing, but without any success. Who becomes 'pareshaan' ('pare' + 'shaan')? He who forgets 'pare' (He who is beyond everyone & everything) and remains falsely mesmerized in his own 'shaan' (glory or attainments) remains 'pareshaan'. Where is the true happiness, peace, well-being? Whatever we may get here is temporary, passing happiness, evanescent peace. If we place all our joys and sorrows (experienced by us in our lives) separately on the two pans of a weighing balance, we will find the pan with miseries on it to be the heavier of the two. How can we get happiness after all? You have earned everything in this world – a lot of wealth, a lot of respect, a beautiful spouse – even then your life is ultimately dominated by sorrows or miseries only. Explaining the right way to get the truly blissful peace, our Gurudev (Maharshi Mehi Paramhans) says that when you are in 'jaagrataavasthaa' (physically awakened state), you are with fourteen 'indriyas' or organs (five organs of action, five organs of senses, 'man' (the mind), 'buddhi' (the intellect), 'chit' (that which renders the feeling of consciousness in us) and 'ahankaar' (ego), so that a large variety of anxieties or worries keep on haunting your mind. When you transit from the awakened state to 'swapnaavasthaa' (the state of dream), only four organs (the mind, the intellect, the chit and the ego) are there with you and naturally, therefore, there are significantly less worries in that state. However, when you move further from the 'swapnaavasthaa' to the 'sushuptaavasthaa' (the state of deep dreamless sleep), only one organ ('chit') remains. Going into this state, you forget even your pains & pleasures that existed in the state of dream. You have a sound slumber and on waking up you feel calm & happy and say, "Today I had a good, uninterrupted sleep". That means that we get pleasure, relief and peace on detaching ourselves from our 'indriyas' (organs). Even in the state of deep sleep, there is still one 'indriya' left. However, sants tell us that when you move even beyond these three states (awakened, dream and deep sleep) into the fourth state, 'turiyaavasthaa' (the state of pure consciousness), all the 'indriyas' are left behind or fall apart. Tulsidas ji says,
"Teen awasthaa tajahu bhajahu bhagwant. Man kram vachan agochar, vyaapak vyaapya anant."
[Meditate upon God (who is beyond the reach of mind, worldly actions and faculty of speech, and is infinitely pervading as well as pervaded) by rising beyond the three states.]
God, being all-pervading, is there within you, too, and you yourself are also within you. If you(, for instance,) want to meet someone who is present in this very Satsang (spiritual gathering) Hall, you don't have to go out of this hall to do so. You can meet him while remaining in this hall only. Similarly, the Absolute Lord resides within us (our bodies) and we too live within us (our bodies) only. Then why all this wandering in the outside world to search for Him? Learn the right way or technique from a Sadguru or a true teacher, walk within yourself, and rid yourself of all the worries, all the stresses & strains, all the sorrows by meeting and merging with the Supreme Soul. In accordance with the Mundak Upanishad, we can say,
"Ek vriksha par do pakshee, ati sakhya bhaav se the rahate. Khaate ek falon ko the, aur ek binaa khaaye hansate."
(The meaning of the above couplet is that) two birds, named 'Jeevaatmaa' (individual unliberated soul) and 'Paramaatmaa' (The Supreme Soul or The God), live together in a tree (called 'shareer' or 'kaayaa' or our body). God is like an onlooker who does not eat the fruits (of the tree) himself and keeps smiling at the 'Jeevaatmaa'. The 'jeevaatmaa', on the other hand, eats (reaps) the fruits and suffers from the (alternating) pains & pleasures. If you want to save yourself from this agonizing state of affairs, you will have to purify your mind by keeping it detached or removed from the sensory objects. Maharshi Mehi Paramhans ji says,
"Guru jaap maanas dhyaan maanas, keejiye dridha saadhakar. Inakaa pratham abhyaas kar, shrut shuddha karanaa chaahiye."
[The right way to meditate first consists of purifying our surat (meaning our individual soul here) by rigorously or firmly practicing the 'maanas jap' (mentally reciting or chanting – without using or moving the lips or the tongue – the sacred mantra given by the Guru repeatedly with the fullest attention) and the 'maanas dhyaan' (fixedly gazing at the imagined form of the Guru within us, keeping our eyes closed)]
At another place (Maharshi Mehi says),
"Prathamahi dhaaro Guru ko dhyaan.
Ho shruti nirmal, ho Vindu jnaan."
[Focus your attention, in the first place, on your Guru's image. This purifies the 'surat' and takes us to experience the 'Vindu' (the primeval perfect refulgent point from which all the grossly & subtly visible creation has come to be formed.]
So, firmly practice attentively chanting of the holy name or mantra of the Guru and meditating upon the Guru's form. Thus the 'surat' will be pure and you will get prepared for practicing 'Vindu Dhyaan' (Yoga of Divine Light). Maturing in or becoming adept at 'Vindu Dhyaan', you would move from Darkness into Light, from the Gross (Realm) into the Astral (Realm). There are three layers, namely the Layers of Darkness, Light and Sound, which keep shrouding our soul. Therefore, our Gurudev said further,
"Ghat tam prakash va shabd pat traya, jeev par hain chhaa rahe. Kar drishti aru dhvani yoga saadhan, ye hataanaa chaahiye."
[The 'jiv' (the individual soul) is enveloped by three layers of Darkness, Light and Sound. To remove these shells hiding the soul, we should practice 'Drishti Yoga' (Yoga of Divine Light) and 'Dhvani Yoga or Shabda Yoga or Naad Yoga' (The Yoga of Divine Sound).]
Practice 'Drishti Yoga' (Yoga of Light) and 'Naadaanusandhaan' (Yoga of Sound). This will enable remove the layers of Darkness, Light and Sound (that conceal your Soul from the Supreme Sovereign Soul i.e. God). You will, thus, get to know "Who You Are?" And, when you know yourself, you will also know God. Therefore walk within yourself, not without.
And for this, there is no need to quit your household, family or job. Living in your house with your family members and making an honest, truthful earning, you can attain to Him by meditation. This meditation can be done by all alike – rich or poor, learned or illiterate, male or female, kid or aged. (Maharshi Mehi Paramhans ji says,)
"Jitane manush tan dhaari hain, prabhu bhakti kar sakate sabhee. Antar va baahar bhakti kar, ghat – pat hataanaa chaahiye."
[All the human beings are capable of performing devotion to the God. One should do inner or internal meditation (by practicing the 'Maanas Jap', 'Maanas Dhyaan', 'Drishti Saadhan' and 'Naadaanusandhaan' as discussed before) as well as outer or external meditation (seek the company of sants and reading and/or listening to Sacred Scriptures).]
Believe in One God. Have firm, unwavering, indefatigable faith in that He shall be found within (us). Do some honest earning for meeting your and your family's needs. Donate some portion out of your earnings to some righteous, noble cause. This will do well to this world as well as the other world (of yours). Thus, I explained to you the gist of my Gurudev's teachings. I thank you all and end my talk.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
YouTube Video: Huzur Baba Sawan Singh
Go To:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGt4bXkG4cE
Sardar Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj Sahib was born on the 27th day of July, 1858, in the village of Mehmansing-walla in the district of Ludhiana, the Punjab.
From early childhood he was irresistibly drawn to seek the eternal abode. Born in a Sikh family, Sawan was brought up with the sacred scriptures of his religion, the Guru Granth Sahib (a compilation of mystical poetry written by the Sikh gurus and other Indian and Persian mystics) which spoke at length about an inner music and light that lead a soul back to God.
The turning point in Sawan Singh's life came when he met his spiritual guru, Baba Jaimal Singh, and took initiation under him in the path of surat shabd yoga (union of the soul with the divine inner sound). Such was Sawan's readiness that in just over nine years he became an acknowledged master within the Sant Mat and Radhasoami traditions.
How did Huzur Sawan Singh succeed in reaching Sach Khand, the eternal Realm of Truth according to the Saints, which is beyond time and space?
First, by coming into contact with an authentic master; second, by explicitly following the instructions of his teacher (daily meditation, pure moral life, surrender of the body/mind/soul to the living presence of Shabd, etc.); and third, by realizing experientially that his real Self is neither a body nor a mind but an effulgent wave of Consciousness.
Huzur Sawan Singh died on April 2, 1948. According to his devotees he was not a resident of this planet. Since childhood he had known that his real home was beyond the spatial limitations of the universe.
He was a native of Sach Khand, the Eternal Realm of Truth, a saint who showed humanity that their origin was not of dust but of light-an unquenchable flame that burns in every living being for that alone which is everlasting.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
The LOST Books of the Bible
|