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Sunday, November 17, 2013

Guru Nanak Jayanti -- Light and Sound on the Path


Guru Nanak Jayanti -- Light and Sound on the Path








Happy Birthday Guru Nanak! Sunday, November 17th, 2013

"Guru Nanak Jayanti is the birthday of the first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak, and one of the most sacred festivals in Sikhism. Guru Nanak Dev Ji was born on 15 April 1469 in Rai-Bhoi-di Talwandi in the present Shekhupura District of Pakistan, now Nankana Sahib.

"Guru Nanak Gurpurab also known as Guru Nanak's Prakash Utsav, celebrates the birth of the first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak. The Nanak panthi Hindus and other followers of Guru Nanak's philosophy also celebrate this festival.

"The birthday of Guru Nanak Sahib falls on Kartik Poornima, i.e., the day of the full moon in the month of Kartik. In the Gregorian Calendar, the birthday of Guru Nanak usually falls in the month of November, but its date varies from year to year, based on the traditional dates of the Indian calendar.

"Guru Nanak Jayanti ranks among the popular festivals in India. It is celebrated with great zeal in the state of Punjab.

"Guru Nanak Jayanti Festival is usually a three day festival. Two days prior to the birthday, Akhand Path is held in the Gurudwaras. It is the practice of forty-eight-hour non-stop reading of the Guru Granth Sahib, the religious book of the Sikh religion.

"On the day of the Guru Nanak Jayanti, people get up early in the morning and sing Asa-di-Var or the morning hymns from the Sikh scriptures. Priests recite poems in praise of the Guru in the Gurudwaras. In the afternoon, Langar or special community lunch is prepared and people eat these together with family members and friends. The main objective of this lunch is to offer food as a form of seva (service) and bhakti (devotion)."

-- Above:
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By Remembering God (Simran) We Walk on a Clear Path and Find the Door to Liberation -- Guru Nanak
 

No words can speak of remembrance,
Attempts to explain are later regretted.
No paper, pen or scribe can describe,
Nor any philosophizing help to realize,
So wondrous is the immaculate Name,
IT is known only by those who hold IT in their mind.

Remembering, our mind and intellect awaken,
Remembering, we learn of all the worlds;
Remembering, we are safe from blows and pain;
Remembering, we part company with death.
So wondrous is the Immaculate Name,
IT is known only by those who hold IT in their mind.

Remembering, we walk on a clear path,
Remembering, we advance in honour and glory,
Remembering, we do not stray down lanes and byways,
Remembering, we keep to righteousness.
So wondrous is the immaculate Name,
IT is known only by those who hold IT in their mind.

Remembering, we find the door to liberation,
Remembering, our family is liberated too,
Remembering, we swim and lead our companions
to the shore.
Remembering, says Nanak, we need not beg
in circles for freedom.
So wondrous is the Immaculate Name,
IT is known only by those who hold IT in their mind.

-- Guru Nanak, Jap Ji (Morning Prayer),
"The Name of My Beloved, Verses of the Sikh Gurus" -- Nikky Singh Translation


"Make the transaction for which you came into this world, through the Guru, deposit the Divine in your mind. So easily will you find the joy that dwells within your own Self, and no more will you enter the circle of living and dying." (from the, Adi Granth, Kirtan Sohila, Evening Prayers, translated by Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh, "The Name of My Beloved, Verses of the Sikh Gurus")





Definitions of Simran
by James Bean

"Simran" is a term which means "Remembrance", the spiritual practice of remembering or being mindful of God by repeating his Name. In the Sant tradition, the name (or names) of God that one repeats are taught or revealed by a living Master at the time of your initiation into the meditation practices of Sant Mat. Devotees sometimes sing or chant various names for God. Higher spiritually, and more "within you" is the practice of "Manas Jap", the mental Simran-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 any kind of vocal chant.

This is a spiritual exercise -- Simran -- Mantra -- Zikhr - that is practiced on the 'inner,' when we go within during meditation practice. Sant Namdev and other Masters have taught how important it is to develop the spiritual practice of repeating God's name. This can be done during meditation as a way to: relax, get centered, still the thoughts of the mind, and Above All, to invoke the Positive Power to transform one's meditation through Divine Grace into the experience of God. The answer to this prayer of God's name is God Himself-Herself-ITself.

"When doing spiritual practices, you should sit in one unflinching posture and do mental Simran only, with your inner gaze fixed. Think of nothing else except Simran. Sit in a position most comfortable to you, one in which you can sit the longest without moving; that while sitting in this position, you are to remain wide awake with your attention directed at the seat of the soul behind and between the two eyebrows; that you are to look sweetly and serenely into the middle of the darkness in front of you, repeating the Simran of five charged names slowly and at intervals. At the time of hearing the Sound Current, listen to the Sound only and do not do Simran while hearing the Sound." (Kirpal Singh)

(1) Simran or Manas Jap refers to the remembrance of God by the repetition of a name of God or combination of names.

(2) Becoming One with the Name Being Repeated: "When Simran (the repetition of a sacred name or charged words) is merged in the mind, and mind be merged in Simran, such fusion of mind and the name (mantra) is called Manas Jap (mental repetition)." ('Aranya Kand', Maanas Peeyush)

(3) Do Simran with Love. The True Spirit of Simran Practice is Bhakti: "If the person repeats the name with love, distress is destroyed and one lives in happiness." (Sant Tulsi Das) "The practitioner who does Jap [Simran] sitting in a secluded place with the right method and immense love [Bhakti], becomes the excellent devotee." (Swami Bhagirath Baba): http://www.Scribd.com/doc/118372093/Shri-Swami-Bhagirath-Baba-A-Spiritual-Discourse

There is however, more to Simran than the repeating of sacred words. 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.




Radiant Form of the Master

"My mind pines for a vision of the Guru,
It wails like the chatrik bird.
My thirst is unquenched, and I find no peace
without sight of the Beloved Saint.

May I offer myself again and again,
for a vision of the Beloved and Holy Guru.

Your face is beautiful, and the Music of Your sweet Word
brings peace within.
It has been so long since I caught a glimpse of You,
I yearn for You as a soaring bird for water.
Blessed is the land where You dwell,
my good and Beloved Friend.

May I offer myself again and again,
my Guru, my good and Beloved Friend.

A moment without sight of You passes painfully
as a long dark age.
When shall I see you now, my blessed Beloved?
My nights are a torment, I cannot sleep a wink
without a glimpse.

May I offer myself again and again,
to the True One's court.

By good fortune I have met the Holy Guru,
And I have found the Immortal in my own house.
May I always serve You,
never parting for a minute
or moment, Nanak is Your humble slave.

May I offer myself again and again,
Nanak is Your humble slave."

(From Shabad Hazare, in, "The Name of My Beloved, Verses of the Sikh Gurus", an anthology of the Adi Granth/Guru Granth/Sikh Scriptures translated by Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh)


Prayers

"They who reflect, who reflect upon You,
they live peacefully in this world.
They are freed, they are freed who remember the Divine,
their snare of death is cut.
They who remember the Fearless One, the Fearless One,
all of their fears are dispelled.
They who serve, who serve my Beloved,
they merge with the Divine Form.
Blessed, blessed are they who remember the Divine."


"I do not understand Your wonders,
nor the way You made me capable.
I am base, without virtue,
but You had compassion for me,
Compassion that showered me with boundless mercy,
and I found a friend in the Sat Guru [True Guru].
Says Nanak, I live to hear the Name
that quickens body and mind with radiant joy"

("The Name of My Beloved, Verses of the Sikh Gurus", translated by Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh)





Vegetarianism in the Sikh Scriptures -- The Teachings of Guru Nanak and Guru Granth

Some have suggested that the Sikh Scriptures are not very clear on vegetarianism, the need to strictly adhere to a vegetarian diet for spiritual and ethical reasons. Not so. Let's have a look. There are numerous vegetarian passages preserved in the Sikh Scriptures (Adi Granth, Shri Guru Granth Sahib) and related Sikh texts -- quotes from Guru Nanak, Kabir, Guru Arjan Dev, Guru Gobind Singh and others. I've also included quotes below from Bhai Gurdaas Ji and a Persian historian who wrote about Guru Nanak and the early Sikhs -- how the original disciples were all vegetarians.

Nanak abstained from animal food and enjoined against cruelty to animals: "Having prohibited his disciples to drink wine and eat pork, he (Nanak) himself abstained from eating flesh and ordered not to hurt any living being." (Mohsin Fani, DABISTAN-E-MAZAHIB)

"Countless are the cutthroats who trade in violence. Countless are sinners who keep on sinning. Countless are liars, wandering lost in their lies. Countless are the impious who live on unwholesome food." (Guru Nanak, Jap Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, 4)

"You kill living beings, and call it a righteous action. Tell me, brother, what would you call an unrighteous action? You call yourself the excellent sage; then whom would you call a butcher?" (Guru Granth Sahib Ji, 1103).

"Kabeer says, the dinner of beans and rice is excellent when flavored with salt. Who would cut throats to have meat with his bread?" (Guru Granth Sahib Ji, 1374)

"Kabeer: for those who consume marijuana, fish and wine, no matter what pilgrimages, fasts and rituals they follow, they will all be consigned to hell". (Guru Granth Sahib Ji, 1377).

"One who does not steal, commit adultery, slander anyone, gamble, eat meat or drink wine will be liberated in this very life (i.e. Jeewan Mukt)". (Guru Gobind Singh, 10th Sikh Guru, Sudharam Marag Granth)

"Living by neglect and greed, the world eats dead carcasses. Like a goblin or a beast, they kill and eat the forbidden carcasses of meat. Control your urges, or else you will be thrown into the tortures of hell." (Guru Arjan Dev, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, 723).

Bhai Gurdaas Ji said: "They eat meat by cutting throats, what will their own condition be?" (Vaar 24, Pauree 17)

"To take what rightfully belongs to another, is like a Muslim eating pork, or a Hindu eating beef. Our Guru, our Spiritual Guide, stands by us if we do not eat those carcasses. By mere talk, people do not earn Liberation. Salvation only comes from the practice of truth. By adding spices to forbidden foods, they are not made acceptable. O Nanak, from false talk, only falsehood is obtained". (Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, 141)

"You kill living beings, and call it a righteous action. Tell me, brother, what would you call an unrighteous action? You call yourself the excellent sage; then whom would you call a butcher?" (Guru Granth Sahib Ji, 1103).

"You keep your fasts to please Allah, while you murder other beings for pleasure. You look after your own interests, and so not see the interests of others. What good is your word? O Qazi, the One Lord is within you, but you do not think or contemplation on Him. You do not care for others, you are mad about religion, this is why your life is wasting away." (Kabir, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, 483)


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"James was a vegetarian...." (Robert Eisenman, James the Brother of Jesus)

"James, the brother of the Lord, lived on seeds and plants and touched neither meat nor wine." (Epistulae ad Faustum XXII, 3)

"John never ate meat." (Church historian Hegesipp according to Eusebius, History of the Church II 2:3)

"The Apostle Matthew partook of seeds, and nuts, hard-shelled fruits, and vegetables, without flesh." (Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 2, Chapter 1)

Peter said, "I live on olives and bread, to which I rarely only add vegetables." (Clementine Homilies 12,6; also see, Recognitions 7,6)

"Now beware in yourselves that your hearts do not become heavy with the eating of flesh and with the intoxication of wine and with the anxiety of the world, and that day come up upon you suddenly; for as a snare it will come upon all them that dwell on the surface of the earth." (Jesus, Luke 21:34, from a Syriac-Aramaic manuscript of the New Testament)


"Your beliefs become your thoughts,
Your thoughts become your words,
Your words become your actions,
Your actions become your habits,
Your habits become your values,
Your values become your destiny."
-- Mahatma Gandhi


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Friday, November 01, 2013

Happy Diwali, and World Vegan Day! Light and Sound on the Path -- Sant Mat


Happy Diwali, and World Vegan Day! Light and Sound on the Path -- Sant Mat


This Sant Mat Radhasoami E-Newsletter explores the poetry, prose, spiritual discourses, books, scriptures, letters, prayers, ahimsa ethics, podcasts, videos, philosophy, cosmology, and history of the Masters from a traditional Indian perspective, and might also include quotes from various world religions in harmony with the Way of the Saints, the Path of the Masters and Mystics.

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"The greatest mistake of a soul is non-recognition of its real Self, and it can only be rectified by recognizing itself. Know thyself; recognize thyself; be immersed in thyself -- you will attain Godhood." (Lord Mahavira of Jainism)

"O Surat [Soul] (faithful consort of Radhasoami Dayal)! Extricate yourself from the current of this phenomenal world; don't drift in it or else you will have to suffer infinite pain (afflictions of chaurasi [reincarnations, transmigrations]). May your Surat [Attention-faculty of the Soul] follow the Satguru; put in both Surat and mind into the melting pot of Shabd (Word). Ever remain engaged in the practice of Surat Shabd Yoga [Inner Light and Sound Meditation] day and night; sapping the ambrosial sap of Shabd, remain cautious, vigilant and watchful (of the tricks of Kaal and Maya). Stick to the door of Gagan (Trikuti) and during this lifetime develop love for the companionship of Shabd. Radhasoami is giving you a clarion call: 'Remain careful, alert and watchful in your ascent to Trikuti' (lest Kaal and Maya should beguile you on the Way)." (Soami Ji Maharaj, Sar Bachan Poetry, "Tyag chal sajni jag ki dhaar", M.G. Gupta translation, MGPublishers@Gmail.com, Agra)





"Never lose hope, my heart, miracles dwell in the Invisible, (the Unseen)." -- Rumi

"Love is the expression of the harmony of Naam. It is our attunement to Naam that opens us to Love. And it is Simran that opens us to attunement." -- Nina Gitana

"When Beauty shows itself, all the essences of life converge in it as a center, and it therefore has as a tributary the entire universe." (Nina Gitana)

"God and love (bhakti) are otherwise one and the same thing". (Baba Devi Sahab)

"When the mind becomes calm then the truth is revealed." (Kabir)

"The individual soul (jiva), bound by illusion (maya), remains in the cycle of death and birth. This is the cause of one's suffering. In order to escape from this cycle of death and rebirth we must experience realization of the Supreme Being." (Maharshi Mehi)

"I am inviting you into the exalted, perfect Light. Moreover as for this Light, when you enter it you will be glorified ... you will become gloriously glorious, the way you first were when you were Light." (Trimorphic Protennoia, Gnostic Gospel of Egypt)





Happy World Vegan Day!

"World Vegan Day is an annual event celebrated on the 1st of November, by vegans around the world." (Wikipedia)

To Learn More, GO TO: The Indian Vegan Website:


Spiritual Awakening Radio -- Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts

PODCAST: Vegetarianism in Christianity and Buddhism;
PODCAST: Supreme Master Ching Hai, Part One;
PODCAST: Supreme Master Ching Hai, Part Two;
PODCAST: Not Being Prisoners Of Our Own Habitual Thinking;
PODCAST: Reducing Karma Through Meditation;
PODCAST: Sawan Singh, the Great Spiritual Master of Beas;
PODCAST: Sant Mat Satsang Podcast: The Brahm Nirupan of Kabir;
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Merged Into the Ocean of Oneness

The Bhakta devotee Sant Tukarama saw God everywhere and within everyone. The viewer and the image, the lover and the object of worship, the drop and the ocean have become one:

"All of humanity has become God;
My virtues and defects have both been removed.
Sublime beyond words, it is indeed a blessing;
In this great triumph, my heart is at peace.
The reflection in the mirror appears a separate being,
But the viewer and his image are one and the same.
When it merges into the Ocean, O Tuka,
The streamlet becomes the Ocean itself."

-- Sant Tukarama, Gatha 3132





"The Art of true living in which the mind and the body reflect the soul more and more deeply is a high and elegant art. The words of Leonardo da Vinci to an aspiring young artist hold true equally for the art of living and the art and science of spirituality.

"'If thou wouldst be an artist, leave off all sadness and care save for thy art. Let thy soul be as a mirror, reflecting all objects, all colors and movements, itself remaining unmoved and clear.'

"Leonardo's advice is the essence of interior solitude and seclusion, and also of meditation and true living (meditation in action). It points to a synthesis, bringing stillness and action together in an appropriate way.

"We are leaving the Age of Separation and entering the Age of Synthesis." (excerpt from a letter written by Nina Gitana to a Satsangi)





Happy Diwali (Divali, Deepavali, The "Festival of Lights")! May You Experience the Inner Light

Holidays this time of the year in different world religions have the theme of Light: the return of Light, celebration of Light, or various miracles associated with the victory, renewal, rebirth or incarnation of the Light here in the physical plane. For those following the Path of the Masters, it is experiencing the Inner Light in meditation that is the greatest Light and miracle of all. Much Light to all. Happy Divali!

True Divali is Inner Light: "Within thine own self, behold the splendor of thy Beloved." (Sant Tulsi Sahib of Hathras)

"Look within yourself with the inner eye. The whole expanse inside is replete with the refulgence of the Divine Light." (Sant Dadu Dayal)


Spiritual Significance of Divali

"While Diwali is popularly known as the "Festival of Lights", the most significant spiritual meaning behind it is "the awareness of the Inner Light". Central to Hindu philosophy (primarily the Yoga, Vedanta, and Samkhya schools of Hindu philosophy) is the belief that there is something beyond the physical body and mind which is pure, infinite, and eternal, called the Atman. The celebration of Diwali as the "victory of good over evil", refers to the light of higher knowledge dispelling all ignorance, the ignorance that masks one's true nature, not as the body, but as the unchanging, infinite, immanent and transcendent reality. With this awakening comes compassion and the awareness of the oneness of all things (higher knowledge). This brings ananda (joy or peace). Just as we celebrate the birth of our physical being, Diwali is the celebration of this Inner Light.

"While the story behind Diwali and the manner of celebration varies from region to region (festive fireworks, worship, lights, sharing of sweets), the essence is the same -- to rejoice in the Inner Light (Atman) or the underlying Reality of all things, God." (Wikipedia)





Finding the Portal to the Divine in a Realm of Illusion (Hermetic Gnostic Wisdom)

"People, where are you rushing, so intoxicated and having so fully drunk the strong wine of reasoning unaccompanied by acquaintance [Gnosis, Spiritual Knowledge, Mystical Experience]? Look up with the eyes of your soul -- and if you cannot all do so, at least those of you who can! For the imperfection that comes from unacquaintance is flooding the entire earth, corrupting the soul along with the body that encloses it and preventing it from putting in at the Havens of Safety. Do not be swept away by the main current! Rather, you who can must avail yourselves of a counter-current, take to the Haven of Safety, put in there, and look for a leader to show you the way to the Doors of Acquaintance [Gnosis], where there is Bright Light, pure from darkness, where no one is intoxicated, but all are sober, fixing their eyes on that Being who wills to be seen -- with the heart, for that Being cannot be heard or told of or seen by the outer eyes, only by inner spiritual vision." (Corpus Hermeticum, Tractate Seven: The Greatest Human Evil is Unacquaintance With God, "The Gnostic Scriptures", translated by Bentley Layton)

(I find this passage above from the Corpus Hermeticum to be one of the most eloquent descriptions of the awakened soul, trapped somewhere in time, seeking to begin its search for a competent and qualified teacher, spiritual path and initiation into the spiritual life.)


The Infinitesimal Point: Opening To Realms of Inner Light

"This calls for a motionless, still gazing ahead right in front of the center of the two eyes in the inner dark void that is seen upon closing our eyes gently. The art of gazing in the inner dark vastness that the currents of consciousness present in the two eyes, meet at a Point, so the gaze gets fixed in a Point, has to be learnt from an accomplished Guru and practiced regularly with utmost faith and sincerity. It must be noted here that Sants warn strictly against any kind of imagining of the presence of a Point within. Whenever the two currents meet, a bright Point is automatically seen -- it does not have to be imagined or visualized. Whenever this happens, breathing adjusts automatically. Awareness of own body and surroundings is lost even as the meditator is fully alert and conscious internally. Ascension or transcendence is a direct corollary of concentration, collection of attention. As a result, thus, of awareness shrinking completely into an absolute Point, the 'jiva' or 'Surat' (non-liberated individual soul that is combined with the mind, etc...) pierces through or transcends the gross sphere, and ascends into the astral sphere where countless varieties of Sounds called Anahad ('ana' meaning 'no', and 'had' meaning limit or boundary) Nada (Sounds) are heard. Brilliant lights, innumerable worlds, stars, moon, sun, advanced souls, etc..., etc... are seen by the practitioner, who has become completely oblivious of, or has left behind the gross universe (that his physical body exists in) behind. The soul keeps flying in the inner sky like a bird, sighting all the magnificent scenes. Hence Bindu Dhyan or the Yoga of Light is also known as the 'vihangam marg' (vihangam means 'bird', and marg means 'path'). The perceiver becomes indescribably enthralled, ecstatic by the mesmerizing sights. But he has to move on, resisting these temptations, and rise still further to accomplish his ultimate Goal, which is Self-Realization or God-Realization."

-- From the Preamble of, "Yoga of Inner Light and Sound", by Swami Achyutanand Baba, translated by Pravesh K. Singh





"Within This Body" -- Mystic Poem of Sant Tulsi Sahib of Hathras

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 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).





Four Nirgunas and the Four Rams (Gods)

The Four Nirgunas

"Let the wise one understand
the true meaning of nirguna.
The first nirguna is the Self
which speaks from within.
The second one is the wind,
which blows inaccessibly,
And which is beyond anyone's reach.
The third nirguna is the formless Kal**
Who is worshipped by the whole world.
The fourth Nirguna*, O brother, is the immutable Lord
Where the eternal light burns ...
the Immortal Abode."

-- Sant Dariya Sahib

The Four Rams

"Consider the four meanings of 'Ram'. The first Ram is our inner Self. Parashu-ram*** is said to be the second one. The third one lived in Dasharath's**** home. The fourth Ram is the Primeval Sat Purush [God]*****.

"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."

-- Sant Dariya Sahib

"One Ram dwelt in Dasharath's home,
One Ram resides within every being.
One Ram has expanded this entire creation,
And one Ram is beyond all of them."

-- Guru Kabir

______
NOTES:

* Nirguna: Without Qualities; the Supreme Reality without form, the Formless Eternal All-pervading and Omnipresent Divine Consciousness;

** Kal: Gnostic Demiurge; False god; "According to Hazur, Kal or Brahman is the universal mind -- the master and presiding deity of the spiritual-material region of creation... Kal or Brahman was instrumental in the creation of the lower divisions of creation known as Brahmand, and desh, and pind desh [material universe]. He thus not only acted as creator and the sustainer, but also as the destroyer of these regions. The functions of Kal or Brahman differ from that of Dayal or the true Supreme Being in the sense that Dayal creates through his own spiritual agency and never destroys the creation; He and His region are beyond all change, decay and dissolution. But Kal who conducts creation through the agency of spirit energy derived from Dayal, destroys the regions at his own will; he then acts as the personification of the destructive principles or the god of death. He and his regions are all subject to change, decay and dissolution." (A.P. Mathur, "Radhasoami Faith, A Historical Study")

*** Parashu-ram: the son of Sage Jamadagni, is regarded as the sixth incarnation of lord vishnu;

**** Dasharath: Ancient king of Ayodhya, the father of ram;

***** Sat Purush: The Eternal True Original Being, Spirit, Supreme Soul, God;


"Those who sing of the Lord without feeling and emotion of love [prem, bhakti], they did not find anything substantial from the spiritual point of view. They are even farther away and more remote than those who did not sing at all. But those who sang lovingly and with trust, faith and conviction, before them God is always present."(The Essential Kabir, by M.G. Gupta, MGPublishers@Gmail.com, Agra)

Gaayaa jin paayaa naheen, ungaaye tein door
jin gaayaa bisvaas gahi, taa ke sadaa hujoor


"It is in the kingdom of truth, contentment and purity,
that this battle is raging; and the sword that rings forth most loudly is the sword of His Name.
Kabir says: When a brave knight takes the field, a host of cowards is put to flight.
It is a hard fight and a weary one, this fight of the truth-seeker: for the vow of the truth-seeker is more hard than that of the warrior, or of the widowed wife who would follow her husband.
For the warrior fights for a few hours, and the widow's struggle with death is soon ended:
But the truth-seeker's battle goes on day and night, as long as life lasts it never ceases.". (Songs of Kabir, Rabindranath Tagore)


The Secrets of Meditation Practice, Inner Space, Divine Light and Sound: "We should go to that place where the way to remove these veils is taught. In the terminology of Sants and noble people, such a place is called 'satsang' where methods are taught to inculcate bhakti [love and devotion] and remove the veils that keep it under-cover". (Baba Devi Sahab)


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Don and Veena Howard recently visiting Swami Vyasanand Ji Maharaj at his ashram in Dehradun, INDIA.