Name, Form, Light, Sound, and the Final Stage: Merging with the Soundless Formless God (Anadi Purush) in the Ocean of Love
{"Do not live even a single day without inner meditation." -- Baba Devi Sahab}
"Come, that I may teach you about secrets no person has ever seen. For there exists a Great and Boundless Realm, whose extent no generation of angels has seen, in which there is a Great Invisible Spirit,which no eye of an angel has ever seen, no thought of the heart has ever comprehended, and it was never called by any name."(Yeshua, quoted in, The Gospel of Judas, a Second Century Gnostic Gospel written in Coptic, found in Egypt)
Higher Planes/Inner Regions: https://www.spiritualawakeningradio.com/chart.pdf
The Unexplored Rooms in the "Interior Castle" of the Human Body
Guru Kabir, one of India's greatest spiritual Masters and poet-mystics, put it this way:
"Within this earthen vessel are bowers and groves, and within it is the Creator: Within this vessel are the seven oceans and the unnumbered stars.......Kabir says: 'Listen to me my friend! My Beloved Lord is within.'"
Sant Sevi Ji Maharaj in his new book, The Harmony of All Religions, recently translated from Hindi into English (soon to be published), states that the early stages of meditation are a preparation for the more advanced levels. From the chapter on the Light and Sound mysticism present within Jainism he writes: "Many of the Saints discuss the need for mantra japa (simran: the recitation or repetition of God's Name) and Bindu Dhyan (visualizing a holy form). These disciplines, the recitation of a holy name and the focus on holy forms, enable the practitioner to have success with the subtler forms of meditation." And, from the Introduction to this book: "The Saints, Prophets, Sages, all Radiant and all Benevolent Beings are myriad physical manifestations of the Divine Power on earth. Fixing their image in the mind (Manas Dhyan; focusing on a divine form) facilitates concentration of the mind and prepares it to enter in to the inner subtle realms."
Where We Came From -- Where We Are Going
Sant Sevi Ji: "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 (Seat of the Soul, the sixth chakra, also known as the Third Eye, bindu, center 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 Nameless One,Ultimate Reality]".
Here Are The Stages of Meditation As Taught in Traditional Sant Mat
All of the following spiritual exercises represent a transition from outer to inner, from lower to higher, from physical to mental to spiritual, a shift in one's awareness through several different layers or regions, on the way back to Ultimate Reality or Non-duality beyond all these veils of illusion. As Sant Sevi Ji writes: "The natural tendencies of the Soul are to move from outward to inward. The Current of Consciousness which is dispersed in the nine gates of the body and the nine senses must be collected at the Third Eye. Therein lies the path for our return."
The following is by Sant Sevi Ji's Satguru: Maharishi Mehi, from the book, Philosophy of Liberation (Moksa Darsan), also recently translated from Hindi and published in English.
"The practice involves a specific meditation taught by a qualified Teacher. Meditation has four levels of practice each building on the preceding practice:
Four Stages of Sadhana (Spiritual Practice)
"The first stage is manas japa (mental repetition of sacred name meditation [simran, zikhr, mentally repeating, chanting God's Name "with the tongue of thought"]). 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 restless "monkey-mind" and preparing for the following stages of meditation. [Note: In most lineages of Masters like this, it is the living Teacher that gives you the sacred words to repeat and complete details and proper guidance how to use them and other techniques within.]
"The second stage is the manas dhyana -- practice of focusing on a specific image [Note: In Mehi's tradition, mentally contemplating or visualizing the form of one's Teacher/Satguru is called dhyan or manas dhyana. For more on Dhyan Meditation, see Chapter Seven of the book, The Philosophy of the Masters, Volume Two, by Huzur Baba Sawan Singh.]
"The third stage is known as drishti yoga -- uninterrupted concentration of an infinitesimal point [gazing upon inner Light or the Radiant Form at the Third Eye Center or Single Eye -- the Yoga of Light].
"The fourth stage Surat Shabad Yoga (the art of inner hearing -- the meditation of Divine Sound) is focus on celestial inarticulate sounds within, which ultimately leads to the final goal [merging with the Soundless, Nameless One]."
"The Sounds are somewhat similar to the sounds of: the veena (stringed instrument similar to the lyre), the mridang (drum or thunder), the mrdal (cymbals), the singi (a horn), the sitar(stringed instrument), or the sarangi (similar to a lute). (Also see, the Nad Bind Upanishad, for a list of inner Sounds.)
On the power of the inner Sound, Shiv Brat Lal writes: "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. We hear external instrumental music like the sitar, sarangi, violin, harmonium, fiddle, flute and veena. We become attracted by them and almost acquire a semi-rapturous condition. One can well imagine how charming the Internal Music emanating from both subtle and causal regions can be. It is a thousand times more enchanting and absorbing! All one needs is to get the know-how of this simple method of the Saints."
Sant Sevi Ji Maharaj, in another new book published in January of this year called, Quintessence of Yoga: Secrets of Success, writes: "Devotee Jaydayal Goyandka taught clearly about the Yoga of Vision or Light and the Yoga of inner divine Sound. To consolidate vision and meditation with closed eyes causes:
1) steadiness of mind, 2) purity of character, 3) inner peace, and, 4) removal of ill-will.
"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 Sant Sevi Ji, who states that closing the ears is primarily an internal reality that occurs after one's awareness has gone within: "When you focus your gaze within ajna chakra then automatically your physical ears will close and the inner ears will open."
Here is the whole paragraph containing that sentence: "The path to find God is within your heart. Enter into ajna chakra (Third Eye Center, Seat of the Soul) and you will find it. It is found not in a man-made Ka'ba (Muslim pilgrimage place), but in God made Ka'ba (holy place), which means within your own heart or self. You should listen attentively to the reverberating divine Sound. The celestial Sound is coming to take you back to the Source. Listen to it attentively. Remember you cannot hear this with the physical ears.When you focus your gaze within the ajna chakra then automatically your physical ears will close and the inner ears will open. By that power you can hear the celestial Sounds. The original Sound of the creation comes from the abode of God and it will take you to God."
Maharishi Mehi: "Each stage of meditation has specific hallmarks to indicate progress. Although the above techniques may sound complex, this path is extremely simple to practice as is evidenced by the great numbers of people who have been practicing this meditation since ancient times."
To see the "specific hallmarks" or visionary and auditory markers along the way alluded to here (moons, suns, stars, crooked tunnels, dark voids, bright Light, etc....), see Chart, PDF File: https://www.spiritualawakeningradio.com/chart.pdf
Charts of the Heavens -- Inner Regions -- Planes -- Levels - Various Illustrations of the Spheres of Creation According to Sant Mat -- NOTE: At the bottom of the page are two Gnostic Charts of the Heavens (created by Zeke Li) as well as, The Threefold Nature of Man Chart (Christian Mysticism) -- Sant Mat Radhasoami Books, The E Library: Charts of the Heavens Section: https://SantMatRadhasoami.Blogspot.com/2019/01/charts-of-heavens-sant-mat-and-gnostic.html
NDE's (Near-Death Experiences) and OOBE's (Out-of-body or soul travel) via Meditation
This is a paragraph from the book, Enchanted Land -- A Journey With the Saints of India, published by the MSAC Philosophy Group, going over the same inner steps and stages to this inner mystical landscape, from the chapter dedicated to the teachings of a female Radhaswami Guru by the name of Yogani Mata Ji:
"How consciousness can be released from the mortal frame by attaching itself to the Stream of Celestial Music radiating from the top of the head and beyond......
"Coupled with this physical stillness and ceaseless repetition of God's name, the next step is to contemplate the Light within. At first, Mata Ji 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 [name repetition] intact and allowing the Light to draw the soul inward. The third and most important step, Mata Ji 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, thesoul will be able to go back to its Original Home.......
"According to Mata Ji, what near-death patients experience is only the beginning of a vast sojourn into great universes of light, love and beauty." (ISBN: 1-56543-053-0)
Maharishi Mehi from, The Philosophy of Liberation, reveals the finalgoal of Sant Mat Meditation -- The Fifth Stage that few talk about: merging with the Soundless, Nameless One: "Upon merging the mind with the Sound, there remains only the consciousness, free of the association with the mind. The consciousness free of the mind will be drawn to the flow of sounds, ultimately merging in Soundlessness or the Supreme Sovereign God. The internal practice of meditation ends here: the Supreme God is realized and the work is completed."
