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Thursday, December 29, 2016

PODCAST: The Yoga of SOUND, Part 3: Sufism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Kabir Panth -- Spiritual Awakening Radio


PODCAST: The Yoga of SOUND, Part 3: Sufism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Kabir Panth -- Spiritual Awakening Radio




PODCAST: The Yoga of SOUND, Part 3: Sufism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Kabir Panth -- Spiritual Awakening Radio with James Bean — Listen @ Youtube:


Or Click to Listen and/or Download Here:


Today we explore Inner Sound Meditation according to the teachings of Sufism, Jainism, the Sikh scriptures, the Path of Guru Kabir, along with some valuable insight about Inner Sound Meditation practice by Edward Salim Michael. 

"Close both ears with your hands and listen to the Inner Sounds." (Acharya Mahapragya, "The Method of Using Preksha Dhyana", Jainism)

"In the Divine Sound of God (Bhagawan) all the Mysteries are revealed." (Swami Jnananada, Pandita Puja, Jainism)

"Listen to this Song of Bliss, you blessed ones,
And all your heart's longings shall be fulfilled.
You will reach the Transcendent Lord, and
your sorrows will depart.
All afflictions and sorrows are destroyed
at the Sound of the True Word,
And my friends, the saints were in ecstasy when
the perfect Guru revealed it.
Those who speak and those who listen are pure,
And they see the All-pervading Lord everywhere.
Nanak prays: Attaching to the feet of the Guru,
The mind is filled with the divine Music of the Spheres."
(Guru Amar Das, in, Anand Sahib -- Adi Granth/Shri Guru Granth Sahib)

"Without the knowledge of Sar Shabd, the soul does not escape from the cycle of birth and death...That eternal Sound is in everyone, but dormant. One has to "awaken" it with love, devotion, recitation of the Name and meditation...  Surati [the soul] and shabda [Sound Current] are two things, but when they unite, they become one and lead the soul across this ocean of life to salvation, just as a boat takes a person across the ocean. All the saints say that in this universe, which is endless, the sat shabda (Divine Word -- Melody) is itself the soul and God, and is itself the support of the soul to reach its destination. That Word is like a magnet that attracts the soul. Surati (Soham Surati) which, in reality, is the same as the soul, is reached when the mind is concentrated on ajapa (unuttered Sound or Word)." (Prakash Mani Gita: On Surat Shabd Yoga Sadhana, Dharamdasi Kabir Panth text about Inner Sound Meditation Practice)

"Abstract Sound is called Saut-e Sarmad by the Sufis; all space is filled with it. The vibrations of this Sound are too fine to be either audible or visible to the material eyes or ears, since it is even difficult for the eyes to see the form and color of the ethereal vibrations on the external plane. It was the Saut-e Sarmad, the Sound of the abstract plane, which Muhammad heard in the cave of Ghar-e Hira when he became lost in his divine Ideal. The Qur'an refers to this Sound in the words, 'Be! and all became.' Moses heard this very Sound on Mount Sinai, when in communion with God; and the same Word was audible to Christ when absorbed in his Heavenly Father in the wilderness. Shiva heard the same Anhad Nada during his Samadhi [deep meditation] in the cave of the Himalayas. The flute of Krishna is symbolic of the same Sound. This Sound is the source of all revelation to the Masters, to whom it is revealed from within; it is because of this that they know and teach one and the same truth." (Hazrat Khan, The Sufi Message Series, II, The Mysticism of Sound)

"The person, who is in tune with the universe, becomes like a radio receiver through which the Voice of the universe is transmitted." (Hazrat Khan)

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God is the Ocean of Love and All-Consciousness.

In Divine Light and Sound, Gnosis, Peace, Jai Sat Naam, Radhasoami, Jai Guru, 
James

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Sunday, December 25, 2016

PODCAST: The Spiritual Message of the Gospel of Thomas (the Twin of Christ) and the Syriac Mystics — Spiritual Awakening Radio


PODCAST: The Spiritual Message of the Gospel of Thomas (the Twin of Christ) and the Syriac Mystics — Spiritual Awakening Radio with James Bean — Listen @ Youtube:

Or Click to Listen or Download Here:


A complete program all about the Gospel of Thomas, a collection of the sayings of Jesus (the Wisdom of Jesus about how to find the Inner Light and Kingdom of the Heavens), revealing where this scripture came from, what school of spirituality it represents, even sharing from other ancient texts related to the Syriac-Aramaic Thomas tradition, and exploring the spiritual goals of the Saint Thomas branch of Eastern Christian mysticism, especially the practice of contemplating the Inner Light of the Godhead.

The Gospel of Thomas was missing for almost two millennia until three copies of it were almost miraculously discovered several decades ago: two sections of it written in Greek found at Oxyrhynchus, Egypt, and a more complete edition in the Coptic language found near Nag Hammadi buried under the sands of time in a clay storage jar. This lost book has been found, and now has it’s own home page on the worldwide web. The “second coming” of Thomas has occurred — it's a “resurrected” or “reincarnated” book, if you will. Practically predicting it’s own rediscovery the Book of Thomas says: “Know what is before your face, and what is hidden from you will be revealed to you. For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor anything buried which will not be raised.” (The Greek Gospel of Thomas, Saying Five)

Have always been a fan of this contemplative “wisdom gospel,” with its format of proverbs and parables. It contains absolutely no narrative whatsoever. It’s comprised solely of one hundred and fourteen unvarnished sayings of Jesus, one after the other, and that’s it. There is no commentary, no spin, and no story. No more Roman centurions, scribes, Pharisees, and locusts to block our view. Rather than being presented through the “lens” of others, the reader encounters a more direct, unfiltered historic Jesus. The picture goes from black and white to Hi-Def. The intention by those who compiled and circulated this collection is to encourage readers to deeply ponder each and every saying for themselves, leading them to their own personal insights and revelations, to internalize the words and be transformed by them — lectio divina.

"If your spiritual guides say to you,
'Look, the divine Realm is
in the sky,'
well then the birds
will get there ahead of you.
If they say,
'It is in the sea,'
then the fish will precede you.

"No, divine Reality exists
inside and all around you.
Only when you have come to know your
true Self will you be fully known --
realizing at last that you
are a child of the Living One.
If, however, you never come to know
who you truly are,
you are a poverty-stricken being,
and it is your 'self'
which lies impoverished."

"If you are searching,
you must not stop
until you find.
When you find, however,
you will become troubled.
Your confusion will give way to astonishment.
In wonder you will reign over all things,
and enter into heavenly Rest."

“There is Light within a Person of Light, and it illuminates the entire cosmos.” (Saying Twenty-Four, Gospel of Thomas)

“When the Father, who alone is good, visits the heart, he makes it holy and fills it with Light. And so a person who has such a heart is called blessed, for that person will see God.” (Valentinus of Alexandria) 

“Faith in Christ is living, noetic Light. The Light of Jesus is noetic [spiritual] Light, and blessed is the soul which is accounted worthy to see it!” (Saint Isaac the Syrian)

The Living Master said to his initiates: “What your own eyes cannot see, your human ears do not hear, your physical hands cannot touch, and what is inconceivable to the human mind — that I will give to you!” (Yeshua, Gospel of Thomas)

Summarizing the Spiritual Message of the Gospel of Thomas in the Context of Syriac Mysticism

“If your eye be Single, your whole body will be full of Light.” (Saying preserved in Matthew 6:22) “For this reason I say, if one is whole, one will be filled with Light, but if one is divided, one will be filled with darkness.” (YesHUa, from Saying Sixty-One, Gospel of Thomas) Becoming “a Single One,” a spiritually whole person united with God, was the goal of the Thomas tradition of Syrian mysticism. “When you make the two into one… then you will enter the Kingdom.” (Saying Twenty-Two) The spirit, mind and body of the mystic all become united in God; its new way of being is “Singleness.” The word for “Single One” or “Singleness” in the Syriac-Aramaic language is “Ihidaya,” and is used to describe souls that enter into mystical oneness. (“Ihidayutha, A Study of the Life of Singleness in the Syrian Orient,” ARAM Society for Syro-Mesopotamian Studies) According to this book by Sebastian Brock of Oxford, the hermits of the Syrian tradition eventually were called “the Ihidaya.” However, “Ihidaya” isn’t merely a title, office, or a robe that one puts on, but is a matter of spiritual realization, an interior state of being, an individual experience, a mystical level of awareness that is reached by a contemplative soul.

* Podcast Download Page: A Collection of Current Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts-On-Demand:

God is the Ocean of Love and All-Consciousness.

In Divine Light and Sound, Gnosis, Peace, Jai Sat Naam, Radhasoami, Jai Guru, 
James

* Website:

* There is a Donate Button on this page: 

* Introduction to Sant Mat Spirituality and Meditation: 

* The Sant Mat Radhasoami Blog and Satsang E-Newsletter:


Thursday, December 22, 2016

PODCAST: The Yoga of SOUND, Part 2: Christianity and Gnosticism -- Spiritual Awakening Radio

PODCAST: The Yoga of SOUND, Part 2: Christianity and Gnosticism -- Spiritual Awakening Radio with James Bean — Listen @ Youtube:

Or Click to Listen and/or Download Here:


The Sound of God is within everyone -- this Holy Stream of Sound is within every living thing. This is why those given to exploring the Kingdoms of Inner Space through meditation, be they from the East or the West, have discovered this Reality playing within themselves.

“There are those who have wandered among the darting comets and the shimmering orbs of sounding fire. The soul-explorer is not alone, for there are those who have traveled the highways of the inner cosmos; far more than one may at first realize.” (George Arnsby Jones)

Today I share my research into the inner Sound mysticism of the Judeo-Christian traditions and Gnosticism.  Before the Sufi mystics of Islam, in ancient times there were Gnostics: Jewish, Hermetic, and Christian mystics who described hearing the Sound, and seeing mystic visions of Light and the heavens while in deep states of meditation. Welcome to,  The Yoga of SOUND, Part 2: Christianity and Gnosticism -- Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcast with James Bean.

"What else is Christ but the Sound of God." (Acts of John)

"In the beginning was the Logos (the Word), the Logos was with God and the Logos was God." (John 1: 1)

The Divine Logos... is the helmsman and governor of the universe... The everlasting Logos of the eternal God is the very sure and staunch prop of the Whole... But the shadow of God is his Word [Logos], which he used like an instrument when he was making the world." (Philo of Alexandria)

"Heaven is ever-making Music, producing in accordance with its celestial motions the Perfect Harmony. ... To such strains, it is said, Moses was listening, when, having become disembodied, for forty days and as many nights he touched neither bread nor water at all." (Philo of Alexandria, on, The Music of the Spheres)

"Listen within yourself and look into the infinitude of Space and Time. There can be heard the songs of the Constellations, the voices of the Numbers, and the Harmonies of the Spheres." (Hermes Trismegistus, Corpus Hermeticum of Egypt)

"If you should in this world bring many thousand sorts of musical instruments together, and all should be tuned in the best manner most artificially, and the most skillful masters of music should play on them in concert together, all would be no more than the howlings and barkings of dogs in comparison of the Divine Music, which rises through the Divine Sound and tunes from Eternity to Eternity."  (Jacob Boehme, German Mystic)

"I heard a noise like wind blowing in my ears and knew it for the Sound of the Holy Spirit which became like the voice of a dove. When the Lord spoke to me I lost all sense of time. I did not know if he was with me five or six hours or only one. It was so holy and full of grace that I felt as if I had been in heaven." (Margery Kempe, The Mirror of Love)

* Podcast Download Page: A Collection of Current Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts-On-Demand:

God is the Ocean of Love and All-Consciousness.

In Divine Light and Sound, Gnosis, Peace, Jai Sat Naam, Radhasoami, Jai Guru, 
James

* Website:

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Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Today We Remember Swami Santsevi Ji Maharaj (12–20–1920 — 6–4–2007), the Great Scholar-Sant, on the Occasion of His Jayanti — Birthday Commemoration


We Remember Swami Santsevi Ji Maharaj (12–20–1920 — 6–4–2007), the Great Scholar-Sant, on the Occasion of His Jayanti — Birthday Commemoration




One university student and initiate/satsangi in New Delhi wrote today: "To the most endearing Soul I know...a radiant personality...a sea of wisdom ....to the one who was not awed by the trivial material pleasures of this world and decided to look beyond.. To the one who is the personification of a great disciple....who at every dawn of his life followed the teachings of his Guru like no other did...who devoted himself physically and emotionally at the lotus feet of his Guru, like no other did..I bow to this magnificent drop of the Divine on this day and everyday.....The savior of humanity who directed us towards our supreme Goal...The Earth would have been a much beautiful place when Divine Souls like He would be born here everyday...I bow down to you Oh great drop of the Divine...Your birth is a blessing for us..Your birth is a blessing for humanity...Your birth is a celebration of the Divinity that is present in each one of us but which is in dormant state...We only need to awake to the Divinity ....We only need to awake to the celebration of pristine virtues...Happy Birthday Santsevi Ji."

A Biography of Swami Santsevi Ji Maharaj

Maharishi Santsevi Ji Maharaj is a renowned saint, an exceptional Spiritual Guide, and a unique social reformer of the 21st Century. Shri Santsevi Ji is the fourth Guru in the Santmat lineage of great spiritual masters: Sant Tulsi Sahab, Baba Devi Sahab, and Maharishi Mehi Paramhans Ji Maharaj.

Shri Santsevi Ji was born on December 20, 1920 in a small village of Bihar state, the most impoverished state of India. His family name was Mahavira. From his early childhood Mahavira was greatly interested in religious and spiritual matters. He enjoyed reading the scriptures and the poetry of saints. He was particularly fond of the Ramayana, the Bhagavad-Gita, the Ramacharitmanas, and the Shri Guru Granth Sahib.

After attending middle school he began home schooling. His intellect was keen and his heart tender. He found joy in teaching and tutoring younger students and in nursing the sick. He always felt great compassion for the sick and oppressed. This led him to study homeopathic medicine in order to help the poor and to nurse the ailing. Through his experience with sickness and death, Mahavira witnessed the impermanence and suffering that pervades human life. As a result, the seeds of detachment became firmly rooted in his heart. He became detached from the worldly life. After considerable reflection, he chose a life of renunciation, even though his family members exerted great pressure to persuade him otherwise.

In 1939, Mahavira came in contact with the great sage of the Sant Mat tradition, Maharishi Mehi, who had a hermitage in Bhagalpur, Bihar. Upon seeing Maharishi Mehi, Mahavira felt drawn to him, as though he had known him for many lifetimes. Mahavira was also greatly intrigued by the principles and practices of Santmat. He approached Shri Maharishi Mehi for initiation in Santmat. Maharishi Mehi soon became very impressed by the sincerity and devotion of this young man and agreed to initiate him. Mahavira began his meditation and service of Guru, and also continued his work as a tutor.

In the heart of Mahavira a keen desire arose to remain permanently in the service of his Guru. His desire was fulfilled in 1949 when Maharishi Mehi gave him permission to stay in the Ashram in his service. Mahavira devoted his days and nights to taking care of the needs of his Guru, thereby following the ancient Vedic model of the Guru-disciple relationship. He never cared for his personal comfort when he was serving his Guru's needs: cooking food, doing laundry, keeping track of expenses, editing his writings, and traveling to villages with him to teach the principles of Santmat to the poor, oppressed, and marginalized. Maharishi Mehi, pleased with this selfless service, gave him the name Santsevi, meaning "he who serves saints." From that day Mahavira came to be known as Santsevi.

As Maharishi Mehi advanced in age, he began to transfer his responsibilities to Shri Santsevi Ji. He authorized Shri Santsevi Ji to give initiation to spiritual seekers, to respond to their inquiries, and to guide them through the inner experiences of their spiritual journeys. He came to be seen as the prominent disciple among Maharishi Mehi's chief devotees. Maharishi Mehi often said, "As the English letters Q and U cannot be separated, so too Santsevi and I are connected. Wherever I may live Santsevi will also reside." Shri Santsevi Ji remained in the service of his Guru until Maharishi Mehi's passing at the age of 101 in July of 1986. After the passing of Shri Maharishi Mehi, Shri Santsevi Ji was immediately recognized as the torchbearer of Santmat. (Maharshi Mehi Ashram, Kuppa Ghat (Hindi: कुप्पाघाट), a place located on the banks of the holy river Ganges at Bhagalpur, Bihar, India.)

-- from the book, Sarvadharma Samanvy


The Way of Sages -- Santmat -- encompasses a set of ageless moral values, a belief in a Higher Power, and most importantly a methodology for realization of the Highest and the state of absolute Peace within one’s own self. Incorporated in that methodology is an interior road map, as it were, of the various stages, spiritual landmarks, and relevant advice from a qualified adept for achieving the goal.

Santmat is not confined to the beliefs, rituals, and dogmas of any specific religions. Being universal in nature it embraces the Truths found in most of the world’s sacred texts and religious traditions, but does not advocate any specific religion. Santmat emphasizes the universal thread running through all the various traditions.

The attainment of ultimate spiritual Peace and supreme Joy within oneself is the ultimate goal of Santmat as described by Maharishi Mehi and other great sages. Although this path is not content with meager goals, it is extremely easy to understand and practice. Progress is certain, although, for most, eager and persistent effort is required.

-- TheWayOfSages.com

Web Page Dedicated to the Book, Harmony of All Religions (Sarvadharma Samanvy) -- about Inner Light and Sound Meditation in the Great World Religions and the Sant Mat tradition, by Swami Santsevi Ji Maharaj, Translated Into English by Veena Howard, Published by the Santmat Society of North America:

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

PODCAST: The Yoga of Sound Series, Part One: Buddhism -- Spiritual Awakening Radio


PODCAST: The Yoga of Sound Series, Part One: Buddhism -- Spiritual Awakening Radio


PODCAST: Inner Sound Meditation in Buddhism -- The Yoga of Sound, Part 1 -- Spiritual Awakening Radio with James Bean -- Listen @ Youtube:

Or Click to Listen or Download Here: 
(One can right-click on the link or the audio player and save/download the MP3.)

Today I explore Inner Sound Meditation practice in Buddhism, the Way of Transcendental Hearing or Shurangama Samadhi. This is Part One of the Yoga of Sound Series, all about Sound Mysticism in the great world religions, schools of spirituality, gnostics, mystics, scriptures, spiritual classics, and the Path of the Masters.

"It is easiest to hear this Sound when it is quiet, particularly at night-time. Once you have identified this Sound, then you place your awareness on it without wavering. Resting your mind in the Sound, you continue to listen, going further and further into the Sound itself." ("Mind Beyond Death", Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, Snow Lion Publications)

"As you calm down, you can experience the Sound of Silence in the mind. You hear it as a kind of high frequency Sound, a ringing Sound that’s always there. It is just normally never noticed. Now when you begin to hear that Sound of Silence, it’s a sign of emptiness -- of silence of the mind. It’s something you can always turn to. As you concentrate on it and turn to it, it can make you quite peaceful and blissful. Meditating on that, you have a way of letting the conditions of the mind cease without suppressing them with another condition. Otherwise you just end up putting one condition over another." (Ajahn Sumedho, a bhikkhu of the Theravadan school of Buddhism, from, The Sound of Silence)

"Avalokiteshvara Buddha (Quan Yin), the hearer and answerer of prayer, has visited all the Buddha-lands of the ten quarters of the universe and has acquired transcendental powers of boundless freedom and fearlessness and has vowed to emancipate all sentient beings from their bondage and suffering. ... How sweetly mysterious is the Transcendental Sound of Avalokiteshvara! Is is the subdued murmur of the sea-tide setting inward. Its mysterious Sound brings liberation and peace to all sentient beings who in their distress are calling for aid." (Surangama Sutra, "A Buddhist Bible, Dwight Goddard)

"Listening to the inner Sound brings the heart into a position of acute inner awareness. It is not that the inner Sound has some magical property. Rather, it is that bringing of the alert mind, bringing openness and receptivity to Sound, is symbolic of the presence of Ultimate Truth. The Sound is always there. We don’t have to create it. It is featureless. It is ever present. So it is a good symbol for Ultimate Reality itself." "In the sutra the Buddha praised this method, the meditation on listening, as the best method for enlightenment. Ajahn Sumedho had been teaching the meditation on the Nada Sound for some years so he was tickled by this connection to another Buddhist tradition. He hadn't realized that there had been so much emphasis on this in traditional Buddhist meditation practices." (Ajahn Amaro)

Ajahn Amaro: "When he [Ajahn Sumedho] first taught this method to the Sangha at Chithurst that winter, he referred to it as 'the sound of silence' and the name stuck. Later, as he began to teach the method on retreats for the lay community, he began to hear about its use from people experienced in Hindu and Sikh meditation practices. In these traditions, he found out, this concentration on the inner sound was known as nada yoga, or 'the yoga of inner light and sound.' It also turned out that books had been written on the subject, commentaries in English as well as ancient scriptural treatises, notably, "The Law of Attention: Nada Yoga and the Way of Inner Vigilance", by Edward Salim Michael. In 1991, when Ajahn Sumedho taught the sound of silence as a method on a retreat at a Chinese monastery in the United States, one of the participants was moved to comment, 'I think you have stumbled on the Shurangama Samadhi. There is a meditation on hearing that is described in that sutra, and the practice you have been teaching us seems to match it perfectly.'" ("Who is Listening?", by Rev. Guo Cheen)

* Podcast Download Page: A Collection of Current Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts-On-Demand:

God is the Ocean of Love and All-Consciousness.

In Divine Light and Sound, Gnosis, Peace, Jai Sat Naam, Radhasoami, Jai Guru, 
James

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Friday, December 09, 2016

December Fund Drive: Spiritual Awakening Radio

December Fund Drive
Support by you, the friends of Spiritual Awakening Radio, is what allows this unique program to exist. Making a contribution is easy to do via Paypal. Click on the Paypal *Donate* button @ the Spiritual Awakening Radio website at the address below. With Gratitude, James, Spiritual Awakening Radio: