The Gospel of Thomas, A Spiritual Message From Egypt and Syria

The Gospel of Thomas, A Spiritual Message From Egypt and Syria
By James Bean
http://profiles.yahoo.com/santmat_mystic"> SantMat_Mystic_(James)
Copyright April 2007 -- All Rights Reserved

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Some Background For You Before I Get to the Spiritual Message of the Book of Thomas

The ancient land of Syria, just north of Israel, has witnessed the emergence of numerous religious movements over the millennia. It is said that two thousand years ago Saint Paul encountered the light of the resurrected Christ as he was traveling on the road to Damascus, Syria. The Damascus Document, found amongst the Dead Sea Scrolls, reveals that many Essenes, who were Jewish mystics, lived there at one time. Syrian Christians believe that the apostle Thomas and other Hebrew-Christians brought Christianity there sometime during the First Century AD. Their traditions say that Saint Thomas traveled from Israel to Syria, then continued his missionary journey to the East, eventually ending up in India. The life, travels, and teachings of Mar Thomas are recorded in the Acts of Saint Thomas, a book written in Syriac, a dialect of the Aramaic language. Many Thomas churches eventually adopted Orthodox Christianity sometime during the Fourth Century AD and are now associated with the Syrian Orthodox Church, one of the oldest churches in the world. The Syrian Church has a very old manuscript of the New Testament called the Peshitta, written in Aramaic, the language of the first followers of Yeshua. Being adjacent to Israel, Syria, during the pre-orthodox period, the early days (First through the Third Centuries AD), enjoyed an intimate direct knowledge of the Yeshua tradition. During those early centuries, many other writings were available or being composed at the time, books not included in the Orthodox New Testament or European "canon" of scripture, like for instance: the Gospel of Thomas, also a beautiful collection of Rumi-like psalms called the Odes of Solomon, the Gospel of Philip, the Book of Thomas the Spiritual Athlete, the Repose of Saint John the Evangelist, the Gospel of the Hebrews, Gospel of the Ebionites (used by Hebrew Christians who were vegetarians), Gospel of Mary Magdalene, and other fascinating documents that preserve important information about Christianity during its formative years. Though not recognised as scripture these days or included in the Roman Bible of the Fourth Century, books such as the Gospel of Thomas and Odes of Solomon were used for several centuries as sacred scripture by various indigenous expressions of Christianity in places like Egypt, Turkey, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Persia to the East.

A few decades ago, some Egyptian farmers near the village of Nag Hammadi in Upper Egypt were digging near a large bolder and unearthed a clay storage jar containing fifty ancient texts, including the Gospel of Thomas. Those books had been hidden there for one thousand seven hundred years, buried by monks sometime during the Fourth Century. They were raised during the month of December, 1945 and are now known as the Nag Hammadi Library. "There is nothing hidden that won't be revealed, and nothing buried that will not be raised." (Yeshua, Gospel of Thomas, from Saying 5)

Out of all these early Coptic and Syrian-Syriac-Aramaic books, the Gospel of Thomas has generated the most excitement in recent years. The Gospel of Mary Magdalene is getting some major attention as well. A few pages of Thomas written in Greek, were unearthed in Egypt at Oxyrinchus along with many other old writings. Some of these apocryphal "lost books", including a complete edition of Thomas, were eventually found near a site where, during the Fourth Century, there once was a monastery operated by Pachomian monks near the village of Nag Hammadi in Egypt. The Nag Hammadi gospels were written in Coptic, the language of Egyptian Christianity, and likely were copied into Coptic from earlier Greek manuscripts. Those "Gnostic Gospels" were discovered in the dry climate of Egypt, and in some people's minds are associated with Egypt, but it is very likely many of those sacred texts have their origin in Syria, composed in Greek or even Aramaic, especially the Gospel of Thomas.

There's a growing consensus in the world of theological scholarship that Thomas, which is a collection of 114 proverbs and parables of Jesus, is a "must-read" for anyone who seriously wants to study the teachings of the historic Christ. Biblical scholar Ron Cameron says analysis reveals that many of these sayings of Jesus recorded in the Gospel of Thomas are "more primitive", are in a purer, earlier form, than their New Testament counterparts. ("The Other Gospels", Westminster Press)

Collections of the sayings of Jesus, like the Q Gospel (a term used by scholars for the collection of sayings that both Matthew and Luke quoted from in their gospels), as well as the collection eventually given the name "Gospel of Thomas" in Syria, were compiled before gospels such as Mark, Matthew, Luke and John. Many early contemplative mystics and "Wisdom Christians" used the Gospel of Thomas, greatly valuing it as a spiritual manual, a book of the wisdom of Jesus about how to experience the Kingdom of God, the spiritual dimension, during this present life. I also find the Book of Thomas to be a very spiritual document, not emphasising history of the past or prophecy speculation about the future, but a present-tense spiritual Kingdom of God available to human beings right now in this present moment, for those who learn from a living Master (one who already experiences this and works with others) the Methods of inner seeing and hearing so that souls may discover how to enter the Kingdom of the Light.

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

Humanity is caught up in empty pursuits, and has become so intoxicated by, and addicted to, these attachments that it no longer sees the spiritual world. By abstaining from these intoxicating activities and notions, we can become sober enough to appreciate the teachings of spiritual masters that can help us to both see and hear spiritually. Once freed from various inferior forms of intoxication, we then thirst for a higher reality. We begin to change our ways. (Gospel of Thomas, Saying 28) The teachings of the master are intended to undo the inherited false beliefs of his/her students.

"The Kingdom of the Father is spread out upon the earth, but alas, people do not see it." (from Saying 113) He told them to give up naive hand-me-down religious notions about where God is and "when the Kingdom will come." These old beliefs only serve to deny souls access to the presence of God in the present moment. (Saying 39) The spiritual realm of God is not up there in the sky with clouds and birds. He told them it was in their hearts, in their very souls within. He instructed that if they would learn to contemplate, they would make an astonishing discovery! They would truly start to know themselves to be the sons and daughters of the Living Father, their real identity as souls. (Saying 3) Most do not believe it is possible for them to see the heavenly realms or dimensions, right here, right now. This condition of limited vision is described as spiritual poverty. (Saying 3) Yeshua the Living One didn't want his students to conceive of the spiritual Kingdom of the Heavens as some external event arriving physically on earth in "the future". The unhealthy approach of waiting for "prophecies" to be "fulfilled" promotes a running-out-the-clock mentality. Instead of pondering how best we can live our lives and live them well, we are encouraged, by the powers that be, to remain caught up in the illusion and wait for the next "big date" on the calendar to arrive. Then as now, there is always some new theory about when this will be. After one prophecy falls flat, then a new prophecy comes along to take its place. A new date is selected, is marketed to the masses. The "goal-post" is moved from 100 AD to 1000 AD, 1855 to 1856, from 1982 to 1999 or 2000, and now to 2012, and so it goes, "same as it ever was" (Talking Heads). The notion of a future-tense Kingdom of God or Golden Age coming down from the sky, also makes it completely unattainable by us human beings, as we live our lives here in the present-tense. All this endless prophecy info-tainment and idle speculation amounts to is to distract us from seeking the real spiritual dimensions that are available to us right now during this life.

There is also another factor and this is called "level confusion". This is when other dimensions are conceived of as being squeezed into the dimensions we human beings are more acquainted with: the outer world of the five senses, the material world of space and time. With level confusion comets in the sky can be interpreted as being be great "signs and wonders" proclaiming the end of the current age. Or perhaps a certain political party or events upon the world stage are viewed as somehow effecting the heavens. Perhaps realities more likely to take place on the astral level are thought of as eventually happening on earth. With level confusion, heaven may be thought of as being "up", as in being up in the sky or up with the stars of this particular Milky Way galaxy. I remember once noticing a book that proclaimed that the planet Saturn is the true location of heaven, that it is the "seventh planet" -- seven is a nice number, and so on. And with level confusion, demarcations between dimensions have also been projected out into the material world, and even the world of politics, by dispensational thinking. That is to say, a belief that as of a certain date on the calendar, such as 70 AD, 1000 AD, 1843, 1999, the year 2000, 2012, or at the arrival of some date-certain on the calendar (usually the Gregorian calendar as opposed to the Islamic, Jewish or Chinese!), the laws of physics will change, world peace will automatically happen to us without even our own involvement in the process to make it so, and a different age will commence as if by magic -- POOF! Jesus, the aliens, and angels will pick up after us, will clean up after humanity, creating for us a world that we ourselves are seemingly unwilling or unable to create, and this would be solely due to some calendar rolling over, taking humanity into a different epoch.

"His disciples said to him, 'Twenty-four prophets have spoken in Israel, and they all spoke of you.' He said to them, 'You have disregarded the Living One who is in your presence, and have spoken of the dead.'" (Saying 52) "His disciples said to him, 'When will the resurrection of the dead take place, and when will the new world arrive?' He said to them, 'What you are looking forward to has arrived already, but you don't know it.'" (Saying 51) "If those who teach you say to you, 'Look, the Father's Kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will get there before you do. If they say to you, 'It is under the sea,' then the fish will arrive there first. Rather, the Father's Kingdom is within you and it is outside you." (Saying 3) "You examine the face of heaven and earth, but you have not come to know the one who is in your presence, and you do not know how to examine this present moment." (Saying 91) Yeshua instructed his students to discover "the new world" (the spiritual realm) for themselves right now, during this present time here on earth via mystic contemplation, not by looking up at the sky or hoping the latest speculation about prophecy will lead somewhere. "Look to the living one as long as you live, otherwise you might die and then seek to see the Living One, and you will be unable to see." (Saying 59) The poet Rumi says, "My friend, the Sufi is the child of the present moment: to say "tomorrow" is not our way.....Some persons, relying on the promise of "tomorrow", have wandered for years around that door, but "tomorrow" never comes." (Rumi Daylight", translated by Camille and Shaikh Kabir Helminski)

The Gospel of Thomas contains no prophecies about "end-times", and so far, all of it's "prophecies" have come true. While some choose to wait, putting the spiritual journey off till some future life, the mystics have their own second coming today, their own resurrection from the dead during the present moment, awaken from the slumber of the ages and sail across the Ocean of Illusion, guided by inner Light and the Music of the Spheres. The date on their calendar is Timelessness in the "NOW", and it has come to pass in their own experience. Out of the darkness, the Light appears. Meditation becomes a Tunnel of Light, a Portal to the Beyond.

Receptivity to All-That-Is in the Present Moment via Inner Seeing and Hearing

The Living Master said to his initiates: "I will give you what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, what no hand has felt, and what has never occurred to the human mind." (Saying 17) "Whoever drinks from my mouth will become like me; I myself shall become that person, and the Hidden Things will be revealed." (Saying 108) The Master taught his disciples that in order to see the spiritual realm, they must "fast from the world" and enter into heavenly repose (sabbath rest) -- rise above body-consciousness, mental impressions, memories, worries, and agitations. They must set aside some time to rest spiritually, to temporarily close their physical eyes (and ears) to the outside world in order to "see the Father", the Supreme Being, with the eye of the soul. (Saying 27) Quite frequently mystics describe the inner vision as something that spontaneously appears when they reach a certain level of interior awareness called "pure prayer", a term used for what we might call "meditation". The Egyptian mystic Evagrius wrote: "The offspring of pure prayer is swallowed up by the Spirit. From this point on, the mind is beyond prayer, and prayer has ceased from it now that it has found something even more excellent. No Longer does the mind actually pray, but there is a gaze of wonder at the Inaccessible Things which do not belong to the world of mortal beings." ("The Syriac Fathers on Prayer and the Spiritual Life") "We have come from the Light". (from Gospel of Thomas, Saying 51) "For you have come from it, and you will return there again." (from Saying 49)

Becoming a Child of the Light

Many of these spiritual movements of Essenes, Gnostics, Friends of God, Ebionites, Manichaeans, etc.... have described themselves as "the children of the Light". It was not an old scripture dating back many centuries, but a living teacher by the name of Yeshua who once taught his living students at the time that they would be able to experience "entering the Kingdom", the other dimensions of Inner Space in the present-tense by seeing Divine Light. Note: the usage of the word "Light" here is not as a metaphor for intellectually understanding teachings, but refers to a real Divine Light that is mystically seen during contemplative meditation with the eye of the soul. "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 61, 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 22) 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, or a robe that one puts on, but is a matter of spiritual realisation, a state of being, an individual experience, a mystical level of awareness that is reached by a contemplative soul.

"There is Light within a Person of Light, and it illuminates the entire cosmos." (Saying 24, Gospel of Thomas)

Kabir said, "The Light of one soul is equal to that of sixteen suns."

"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 sun of consciousness within my heart keeps on shining and shining, all the time. Neither does it set nor does it rise." (Maitrey-Upanishad)

"Man's soul shall become, when it leaveth the body, a great flood of Light, so as to traverse all the regions until it cometh into the Kingdom of Mystery...... Seek, all of you, after the Light, so that the power of your soul that is in you may find Life. Do not cease seeking day or night until you find the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Light, which will purify you, transform you into pure Light, and guide you into the Kingdom of the Light. (Gospel of Faith-Wisdom -- Pistis Sophia)

"A hymn of Rig Veda says, 'Flashes of lightning are seen in the inner sky.' Then, the powerful sound of rain can be heard; this sound is capable of washing or purifying the sins of the listener. During meditation, the saadhak (practitioner) sees a number of scintillations, flashes, sparkles, and electric-like sparks, and hears thunderous rumbles........When a spiritual seeker sits in meditation, he/she makes an ascending journey, rising from the Aajnaa Chakra (variously termed as the Divine Gate, Third Eye, Divya Chakshu, Teesraa Til, Dasham Dwaar, Shiv Netra, Trinetra, etc. etc.) into the region of the Thousand-petalled Lotus, or the Sahasraar. Ascending further, when entry is made into the Trikutee, the inner Sun becomes visible, by seeing which the seeker acquires the super-natural or divine vision so as to be able to see all the three worlds." (Sant Sevi Ji Maharaj, Maharshi Mehi Ashram, Kuppaghat, Bhagalpur, Bihar, India)

"Beneath all other impelling forces in the creation, spirituality is the primary cause. That, and that alone, is the driving force that always leaps up to join its Source. In every living being, from tiny plant up to man, the spiritual Flame of life is struggling upward and onward toward its Source of Being, and this process and this struggle must go on until the last speck of dust returns to the Central Fires of Infinite Being.

"The message of the Masters fills the world with hope, and at the same time it offers a rational foundation for such hope. It not only tells people what they should do, but it offers them a definite Method of doing it. In the march of the ages, cycle after cycle, in every planet where human beings reside, the great Masters are the light bearers of that world. Until the end of the ages, they will remain the friends and saviors of those who struggle toward the Light." (Julian Johnson, "Path of the Masters")

Remembrance of the Beloved -- Love For God -- Huzur Baba Sawan Singh

Remembrance of the Beloved -- Love For God -- Huzur Baba Sawan Singh

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Huzur Baba Sawan Singh on Love for God: One who desires to achieve communion with the Almighty Father should first of all wash the dirt from his mind with the water of love. The bandage of ego should be removed from our eyes, because then alone is it possible for us to see the Lord. And this bandage can be removed only by emptying ourselves of everything except the remembrance of the Beloved. No thought of any kind should be allowed to enter between the devotee and the object of his devotion.

People say that love is blind and mad, because a lover does not listen to anyone. But the lover of God is not blind. He has eyes that see the Truth. He sees only that One whom he wishes to see. He accepts only that One and believes in Him. He is not mad. He gives his heart to One alone, and is free from duality. "Love is the Divine Law. It will triumph where reason fails."

God is love. Just as it is impossible to praise Him adequately, it is similarly not possible to define love. Those who have drunk deeply out of the cup of love have become intoxicated by it, and in their ecstasy have sung songs of praise for Him. Below are given a few quotations by way of example:

"Love is God. It is the religion and faith of man."

"Love is a pilgrimage. It is a magnetic power which attracts hearts and everything good and beautiful in them."

"A heart full of love is contented and sweet."

"Love is the comforter and sustainer of hearts. It is the hope, the longing for union, and surging emotion in the heart."

"It is a Power. When we love, we learn the lesson of courage and fearlessness."

"It is the shield against which no weapon can be effective."

"It is Truth and Reality. It is faith and sacrifice."

"It is a divine flower, which imparts its perfume to the entire universe. It is a fragrant flower through which man's life is beautified."

"It is a light by which the universe is illuminated."

"It is a silent emotion full of sweetness, in which man forgets himself completely."

"It is a heavenly gift and food for the soul."

"It is the permanent union. Both, the lover and the beloved, are imperishable. It is an indescribable state of their hearts."

"The key to heaven is love, and not intellect."

"Love is not blind. It increases vision."

"Love is stable, imperishable and infinite. In the end all one's ties and connections with the world are broken, but it is impossible for the relationship of love to be destroyed. It is stronger than chains of steel and unbreakable even by death, because it is a part of the soul."

Ancient Near-Death Experiences in Mandaean Scriptures

 

Ancient Near-Death Experiences in Mandaean Scriptures
Copyright January 1997
By James Bean

 

Photo of a Mandaean Scroll written in Mandaic, a dialect of Aramaic

The following is found in the Mandaean Gnostic scriptures of Iraq. They sound somewhat like ancient NDEs or near-death experiences. When crossing over, the soul meets "a discharge of Radiance." This inner guide brought the ascending soul a garment made of Light, often a theme in Mandaean and in Mesopotamian traditions (Books of Adam and Eve, Hymn of the Pearl in the Acts of Thomas). The soul was escorted by this heavenly guide to "the Place of Light" where God, called "the Great Life," resides. The soul is then 'embraced by the Light.'

EMBRACED BY THE LIGHT

The mystical encounters recorded in the scriptures of the Mandaeans may seem at times like ancient near-death experiences (NDE's), the visions of souls who were embraced the Light long ago:

"When I arrived at the water-brooks, a discharge of Radiance met me. It took me by the palm of my right hand and brought me over the streams of death. Radiance was brought and I was clothed in it. Light was brought and I was wrapped in it...

"[Prayer] Son of the Good Ones, show me the way of the divine beings (spirits, angels) and the ascent upon which your father rose up to the Place of Light.

"He [the discharge of Radiance] rose and took me with him and did not leave me in the perishable dwelling." (Canonical Prayerbook)
 

This is my interpretation. In the above account, after this soul crossed over to the other side, it was met by a "discharge of Radiance," (according to another translation) a deliverer or guide who not only escorted the soul into the beyond, but also gave the soul its heavenly robe of Radiance -- a garment made of Light. It's unclear to me if the soul literally was given a robe to put on, or if perhaps this is another way of describing the process of leaving the body at death, taking OFF the robe of the physical body, which caused the soul to see itself as a being of Light. In any event, the soul then prays for its helper and guide to be escorted upward to the Place of Light. In another version of this account it says:

"I lifted mine eyes to heaven and my soul waited on the House of Life. And the Life (God) who heard my cry sent toward me a deliverer."

This version also describes the encounter with the heavenly being (discharge of Radiance) who escorted the soul over the waters of death, and accompanied it during the ascension up to the Light-world. The hymn concludes with these words:

"Life supported life, Life found its own. Its own self did Life find, and my soul found that for which it had looked. Renowned is Life and victorious." (Canonical Prayerbook)

VISIONS OF THE GREAT LIFE IN THE PLACE OF THE LIGHT

Souls in the Place of the Light are described as luminous beings living in a world of infinite Light with a Supreme Being of Light. The heavens of hyperspace are traversed by spiritual streams of "Living Waters," tributaries of the Heavenly Jordan river of Light. And souls are described as radiant beings that shine upon each other like stars do in the center of our galaxy:

"They are a thousand thousand miles distant from one another and yet one is illumined by the other's Radiance."

The primary name for the highest God in the Mandaean tradition is "The Great Life." Many of the hymns in the Canonical Prayerbook begin with this invocation:

"In the Name of the Great Life, Sublime Light be Praised."

More Visions of the Beyond in the Mandaean Gnostic Scriptures of Iraq

"The jordan's of the worlds of Light are full of white waters, whiter than milk, cool and tasty, and their aroma is stronger than the great aromatic vines...

"Those beings of Light are made up of many kinds and fall into earths, skinas [abodes], jordans, trees, uthras [good beings of Light], and angels, as well as radiance, Light, and brightness which rest upon them.

"Their form is luminous and bright and the look of their faces is clear and bright like pure beryl. Every day strength and voice, utterance and victory are planted by the King of all the worlds of Light and sent to them...

"They are clothed in garments of Radiance and are arrayed in a covering of Light. They sit and dwell together, without offending one another and without sinning against one another. They are honored in their firmament and match as the eyelash the eye. Their thoughts are open to one another, and they know the First and the Last. They are a thousand thousand miles distant from one another and yet one is illumined by the other's radiance, one is fragrant through another's fragrance..."

-- "Gnosis II," Werner Forester, Oxford University Press, out of print

 

 

 

Creating the Golden Age, Why Wait for the World to Catch Up?

Creating the Golden Age, Why Wait for the World to Catch Up?

There have always been a few enlightened enclaves in the world, here and there over the centuries, a few ashrams of Pythagoreans, Essenes, Gnostics, and Sants living ahead of their time. I like the idea of personally stepping into the Sat Yuga or Golden Age as an individual choice. Rather than waiting for the world to catch up -- a mighty long wait indeed, we can live more and more from our spiritual Ideals, of meditation, vegan or vegetarian diet, spiritual community, enlightened activities, rising up to a higher octave, here and now. Calendars will be always be calendars, but we can create the Golden Age today for ourselves, can step into Sat Yuga in this present moment. -- James

Sant Kirpal Singh: "You have just heard how yoga is working in present times, and how in the midst of this darkness there is hope for light. The golden or higher age of Sat Yug will be born from Kali Yug - it will not fall from Heaven all at once. The change has started: those who have eyes may see, those who have ears may hear. It is always darker before the dawn, but the more darkness there is, so the more light there is before us. The awakening is already there, and twinklings of light can be observed. Again I would say, those with eyes may see, those with ears may hear." (The Perfection of Man, English portion of a Satsang at Sawan Ashram, August 29, 1971)

Instructions on Inner Sound and Light Meditation from Sant Sevi Ji Maharaj

 

Instructions on Inner Sound and Light Meditation from Sant Sevi Ji Maharaj

 

 

 

Begin Bhajan [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 Sadguru 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,
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. 

 

 

 

 

 

Music of the Spheres and Gulliver's Travels

Music of the Spheres and Gulliver's Travels

Gulliver observes the Laputans. Their clothes, which do not fit, are decorated with astrological symbols and musical figures. They spend their time listening to the music of the spheres. He said that, the people of their island had their ears adapted to hear “the music of the spheres".

I Know a Thousand Rumis, Poet-Mystics of the East

I Know a Thousand Rumis, Poet-Mystics of the East

I know a thousand Rumis
the world needs to hear,
to be soothed by
the Voice of the Soul
that speaks through them all.

Hafiz, Shams, Sarmad, Kabir, MiraBai, Rabia, Tukaram, Hazrat Sultan Bahu, Baba Farid, Nanak, Tulsi Sahib, Surdas, Dariya Sahib, Dharam Das, Namdev, Ravidas, Paltu ….. countless are lovers of the Beloved.

– James

The Seed of Child Humanity Within You -- Gospel of Mary Magdalene

 

The Seed of Child Humanity Within You -- Gospel of Mary Magdalene 

 

"Be on your guard so that no one deceives you by saying, 'Look over here!' or 'Look over there!' For the child of true Humanity exists within you. Follow it! Those who search for it will find it."

-- Yeshua, quoted in, The Gospel of Mary Magdalene

The Gospel of Mary Magdalene Online:
https://web.archive.org/web/20210302161710/http://www.maryofmagdala.com/GMary_Text/gmary_text.html

"Christ existed before Jesus and exists even now. Christ is the God Power; it continues working at different human poles for the guidance of the child Humanity. They called It Christ power -- they called it Master Power; they called it Guru Power."

-- Kirpal Singh

If there were no living Masters there would be no Students

If there were no living Masters there would be no Students
By James Bean

SantMat_Mystic_(James)
Copyright April 2007

Books falling from the sky did not create the world religions. Before there was "The Book", there was the author or authors of "The Book." Without living teachers in history there would be no Torah, no Buddhism, no Christianity, no Sermon on the Mount, no Golden Rule or Gospel of Thomas, no Suras of the Quran, no ahimsa message of Lord Maharvira in Jainism, no sages to compose the Upanishads, no Krishna and the Bhagavad Gita, no Jap Ji of Guru Nanak, no Tao Te Ching of Lau Tzu, no Golden Verses of Pythagoras. If there was no Master by the name of Shams of Tabriz, there would have been no disciple by the name of Rumi -- no Rumi poetry. If there was no Swami Ji Maharaj, no Tukaram, no Tulsi Sahib, no Dadu, no Ravidas, no Mirabai, no Maharishi Mehi, no Sawan Singh, no Guru Kabir, no Sant Dariya Sahib, no living Masters, there would be no Sant Mat Fellowship on the worldwide web, no students, no initiates, no satsangs to attend, no clear and organized system of inner Light and Sound Meditation called surat shabd yoga to be initiated into, nobody to give the initiation, and no one expanding their awareness due to the sweet influence of the Saints.

On the Path of the Masters, being influenced by a competent living teacher who has spent many successful years in meditation, and who has been honestly approved (accredited) by his teacher, is the goal. The essential reason for having a spiritual teacher is not to worship the personality of the teacher, but to learn from them the Methods of spiritual practice. The living teacher preserves the Methods of meditation and passes that Knowledge and Experience on to the next generation. A good spiritual master also motivates his or her students to practice meditation and lead an ethical life in the context of a spiritual community or group of people (satsang). Books alone isolated from a community of others would not be enough to sustain spiritual practice, especially inner mystical experiences. Satsang inspires, teaches, motivates, and group meditation helps to accelerate one's own inner experience. "Where two or three are gathered in My Name, I Am in their midst."

"Rumi says, 'If you seek to know God, sit at the feet of the Saints'".

A great description of what living Masters do for their students is found in the Gospel of Thomas unearthed in Egypt. Variations of this saying have also turned up in the Hebrew Bible, Greek New Testament, other apocryphal gospels, the Quran, Gnostic texts, Mandaean scriptures of Iraq, Buddhist sutras, the sacred texts of the Mandaeans of Iran, in the bhajans of Kabir, Nanak, and other Sants of the East:

The Master said,
"I will give you
what no eye has seen,
what no ear has heard,
what no hand has touched,
and what has never occurred
to the human mind."
(Egypt: Coptic Gospel of Thomas, 17)

There is an axiom of wisdom found in many world scriptures about exploring Inner Space, the Kingdom of God, spiritually or mystically with new eyes, and hearing spiritually with new ears. This saying about ........

"seeing what no physical eye has seen and
what no material ear has heard"

appears in many ancient scriptures of the West and East. Visionary mysticism, inner seeing and hearing are universal experiences of contemplative souls in the various world religions.

In the Ethiopian Bible is preserved a Jewish apocryphal text that reminds me of an NDE (Near Death Experience): And this angel said to me, Isaiah, son of Amoz, I set you free; for you have seen what no mortal man has ever seen before. Yet you must return to your garments of flesh until your days are completed. Then will you come up here again. (Ascension of Isaiah 11: 34)

Jesus-Yeshua: How privileged are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. I swear to you, many prophets and righteous ones have longed to see what you see and didn't see it, and to hear what you hear and didn't hear. (Matthew 13: 16-17 = Q/Luke 10: 23 - 24 -- New Testament and Sayings Gospel Q)

His power will be given to them,
which no eye has seen nor ear heard.
And they will rejoice in My Kingdom.
(Jesus, apocryphal "Testament of the Lord in Galilee")

A Manichaean scripture from Central Asia:
....that I may redeem you from death and annihilation, I will give you what you have not seen with the eye nor heard with the ears nor grasped with the hand. (Turfan fragments, translated in "Gnosis On The Silk Road,")

The tenth century Persian Sufi Master Abd al-Qadir al-Jalani quotes an interesting passage from the Quran: I have prepared for My righteous servants that which no eye has ever seen, of which no ear has ever heard,
and of which has never occurred to the heart of man. ("Concerning the Affirmation of Divine Oneness", Al-Baz Publishing)

From a prayer found in the Mandaean scriptures of Iraq:
Thou hast showed us that which the eye has not seen, and caused us to hear that which the human ear has not heard. Thou has freed us from death and united us with Life, released us from darkness, and united us with Light....... Thou hast shown us that which the eye has not seen, and caused us to hear that which the human ear has not heard.
("Canonical Prayer Book of the Mandaeans", E.S. Drower)

The Divine Eye According to the Buddha:
With the Divine Eye, which is purified and surpasses the human, a bhikkhu surveys a thousand worlds. Just as a man with good sight when he has ascended to the upper palace chamber, might survey a thousand wheel-rims, so too, with the Divine Eye, which is purified and surpasses the human, a bhikkhu surveys a thousand worlds.

The Divine Ear According to the Buddha:
I have proclaimed to my disciples the way whereby with the Divine Ear element, which is purified and surpasses the human, they hear both kinds of sounds, the divine and the human, those that are far as well as near. Just as a vigorous trumpeter might make himself heard without difficulty in the four quarters; so too, I have proclaimed to my disciples the way whereby with the Divine Ear element....far as well as near. And thereby many disciples of mine abide having reached the consummation and Perfection of Direct Knowledge. ("The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha -- A Translation of the Majjhima Nikaya," Teachings of the Buddha, translated by Bhakkhu Nanamoli and Bhikkhu Bodhi, Wisdom Publications)

From India, Guru Nanak:
We speak without tongue,
we see without eyes,
we hear without ears,
we walk without feet, and
we work without hands.

Sant Kabir:
May I see You with my eyes,
hear Your Sound
with my own ears.
Speak Your Name
in my own words, O Lord;
rest Your flower-like feet
on my heart.
("Songs of Kabir From the Adi Granth",
translated by Nirmal Dass, SUNY Press, NY)

He is Not Confined to One Religion or Place

He is Not Confined to One Religion or Place

In Every Atom He Manifests -- He Dwells in Every Breath

0 friend, in every stone His Light is hidden;
He is not confined only to Mount Sinai;
He is concealed within the veil of thy personality, 0 Prince,
In search of Him thou dost not need to travel far and wide.

 

All is but a materialization of His Light,
Apart from Him nothing exists;
In every atom He manifests Himself,
And beside Him there is none here and none there;
He pervades the fourteen regions;
All the learned say He is Truth,
And there is no 'if' or 'but' in Him.

 

He is Christianity among the Christians,
In Islam He appears as Islam.
But He has no banner, and does not bear the shield
Of any particular religion.
Among the Hindus He appears as a Hindu,
But in fact He has no special creed.

 

He dwells in every object,
But He is a stranger to any partiality;
His nature is One -- without a participant,
And there is none like Him nor different from Him.

 

He is a river of knowledge
That has no banks, no source and no mouth!
He is Light, pure Light, in the hearts of humanity.
He is not a star; He is not the East;
Ask about His Way of the Word,
for except Truth there is no guide.

0 Nirbhaya, He dwells in every breath.

-- Nirbhayananda Ji,

 

A well-known monk and metaphysical poet of the 19th Century who lived in Aligarh, Northern India, in his early life. He devoted fifty years to teaching the Vedanta as a wandering sadhu. In spiritual matters what he wrote was out of his own experience.

 

-- "Indian Mystic Verse",
translated by Hari Prasad Shastri,
Shanti Sadan Books, London

 

 

 

 

The Path of Inner Light and Sound According to J.L. Chaudhari

The Path of Inner Light and Sound According to J.L. Chaudhari


SantMat_Mystic_(James)
http://profiles.yahoo.com/santmat_mystic

Meditation Sangat:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MeditationSangat
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MeditationSangat
{"Do not live even a single day without inner
meditation." -- Baba Devi Sahab}

For information on the Teachings of Yogani MataJi, see this beautiful chapter of the book, Enchanted Land:
http://vclass.mtsac.edu:930/phil/mother.htm

An email I received a few years back from J.L. Chaudhari, an assistant and spiritual successor of Yogani MataJi, sums up the Path of the Masters quite well:

"The real message of man's life is "Be Man". The question is how to follow this principle and what should we do to adopt this principle and formula for finding a way to God which is nothing but salvation.

"The only way is to surrender oneself in the Lotus feet of Spiritual Master. After this surrender the disciple and Master become one because a true surrender makes a man free from the bondage of senses, dilution, affection, etc, etc. So far we are under the control of worldly desires the surrender is not possible. So the first step is to be free from worldly desires. But that does not mean that the needs for worldly living should not be fulfilled. In fact needs should be fulfilled and not the desires. If we have taken birth as a human being some food (energy) is necessary for the body to work, but it is not necessary that we always aspire for multi cause meals, it is necessary to put on some cloths to cover the body but not necessary that silk linen is put on, it is necessary that there is a small shelter for living but not necessary that a marble fitted house is with us.

"As a human being we have to survive in this world without caring for ourselves much, without looking to the ills of others rather looking towards ills of ourselves purifying ourselves first and then do something for the purification of others. This is the living of a "lotus" in a pond and that is why the Goddess Saraswati the Goddess for knowledge, wisdom and intellect sits on the Lotus. The Lotus flower blossoms in muddy pond, but any one looking at the flower exclaims wow! How beautiful the flower is? The whole world is a muddy pond and we have to survive in the midst of mud like a lotus flower which does not care for mud but it blossoms for the pleasure and happiness of others. Every morning with sunrise the lotus blossoms. This is what we should also follow. The divine power and light emanated by the Spiritual Master makes us to blossom like the lotus flower provided we have full trust and faith in our spiritual master.

"Sant Mat does not look at the race, the cast, the sect or any other identification for a person rather it looks into the true sense of service, sacrifice surrender, devotion, determination, trust, belief of person towards the Master and those who have these characteristics they may be belonging to any cast, race, country, direction or of any identification can join this Yoga, but for that a true spiritual Master is a must. I don't know whether you have adopted some spiritual Master or your are under the shelter of someone as a spiritual Master. If so, please do surrender yourself to him or her for all what you desire to attain and achieve. The spiritual Master is not the body rather it is the Divine Light the Divine Sound and your own wisdom your own conscious and your own perception which is selfless and without any expectation from any one on this earth."

Yours in Him,

-- J.L. Chaudhari

For information on the Teachings of Yogani MataJi, see this beautiful chapter of the book, Enchanted Land:
http://vclass.mtsac.edu:930/phil/mother.htm

More On Jainist Ahimsa Teachings -- More Sayings of Mahavira

More On Jainist Ahimsa Teachings -- More Sayings of Mahavira

More On Jainist Ahimsa Teachings -- More Sayings of Mahavira


SantMat_Mystic_(James)
http://profiles.yahoo.com/santmat_mystic

The being that you want to kill is a living being like your own self, the one whom you wish to hurt or cause pain, is a living being like your own self. The one you want to rule over, make submissive or obedient to you, is a living being like your own self. The wise who realising this truth, live their life, neither kill nor instigate others to kill. He who commits violence has to bear its consequences. Hence, never think of hurting or causing injury to others.


There is no Dharma like kindness, no charity better than feeding the hungry, no fame better than to be known truthful, and no ornament better than good character.


Be ever ready to help those who are helpless, or are in need of help, protection or support.


One should promptly, willingly and carefully nurse and treat those who are ailing, so that they may be cured and recover health.


He who tries to make others happy, himself gets happiness.


It is the selfless service of others that enables the soul to attain perfection and become a Tirthankara.


Be friendly to all living beings. Do not insult, rebuke or abuse anybody.

Anger kills love, conceit destroys respectfulness, deceit is the enemy of friendship and greed brings about the ruin of every other virtue.

Kabir - Meditation: The Tenth Door Above the Thousand-petalled Lotus Within

Spiritual Awakening Radio Website: 

https://www.SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com





From the Brahm Nirupan of Guru Kabir and Sant Dharam Dass:

The tenth door is above the thousand-petalled lotus and reaching there the
devotee hears the unstruck melody in meditation.

A devotee who controls the mind and practices hearing the divine melody, reaches the difficult to obtain state of union of the right and left nerve currents in the central channel in meditation. These three meet at the third eye. In deep silence the devotee sees the intense eternal light of reality.

Above the trikuti (third eye) there are three states of silences -- the beginning, middle and end. These three states of silence merge or dissolve into the eternal light. He who does not know the secret of these cannot be said to be a Vaishanava.

When consciousness in meditation reaches the thousand-petalled lotus, it then rises to the eighth lotus of above. This is called unmani chakra. In this state the devotee sees the divine light without there being a lamp and hears the divine melody without
musical instruments.

Sat Guru Kabir said that the yogi who practices meditation will rise above all of these (the chakras) and going above the eighth chakra, reaches a region where the lotus has countless petals. The yogi then sees the light of millions of moons and suns, and becomes silent.

When the yogi reaches this state of realization, he becomes aware that the Self is free of the support of the body, space, heaven and earth. His consciousness rises above the physical and astral forms, and then even death becomes his servant. This state of consciousness is one of unity with God.

The eternal abode is Truth. Truth is the only religion. Truth is the name of God. Truth is the true guru. Truth is Enlightenment.

When one, through realization, reaches the eternal abode, he hears beautiful music that is played without hands, and sees elegant dancing performed without feet. This is a transcendental state in which bliss is experienced.

In this transcendental state one hears heavenly speech and heavenly singing without the use of ears and mouth. The divine melody is always resounding when one becomes attuned to it through diligent practice.

In that state one sees countless, beautiful, divine forms but without the use of eyes. And there one sees and feels soothing waves rising constantly when there is no water.

In that state one sees countless pure and resplendent gems. Their glittering light is infinite and eternal. This is an inner state of Enlightenment.

About the Text

Some of the Brahm Nirupan was translated into English by Dr. Jagessar Das of the Kabir Association of Canada, and is based on, the Brahm Nirupan, published by Mahant Shri Ramsaroop Dasji of Kabir Ashram, Jamnagar, Gujarat, India in 1955.

Jainism: Treat all living beings as your own self

Jainism: Treat all living beings as your own self

Jainism: Treat all living beings as your own self

Some Sayings of Mahavira (from a Jainist publication)


SantMat_Mystic_(James)
http://profiles.yahoo.com/santmat_mystic

1. Dharma* is the essence of existence.

2. The differentia of Dharma is Ahimsa [non-violence in thought, word, and deed], and compassion ennobles it.

3. Respect for others -- absence of pride and ego -- is the root of Dharma.

4. The ten-fold Dharma (piety) is made of forgiveness, humility, honesty, greedlessness, truthfulness, self-control, curb on one's desires, renunciation, detachment and possessionlessness.

5. Right conduct consists in one's abstaining from hurting others, from speaking untruth, appropriating others' property, from wanton indulgence in sex and from unduly holding to possessions -- this, in short, is the five-fold 'good conduct'.
 
6. Mere reading holy books is of no avail unless knowledge derived from them is translated into practice and used in shaping one's conduct in life.
 
7. If pain is distasteful to you, know well that it is similarly distasteful to other living beings.
 
8. Treat all living beings as your own self.
_____
*Note:

"Dharma": "Dharma (Sanskrit) or Dhamma (Pali) is the underlying order in nature and human life and behaviour considered to be in accord with that order. Ethically, it means 'right way of living' or 'proper conduct,' especially in a religious sense. With respect to spirituality, dharma might be considered the Way of the Higher Truths. Dharma is a central concept in religions and philosophies originating in India. These religions and philosophies are called Dharmic religions. The principal ones are Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, all of which emphasize Dharma (the correct understanding of Nature) in their teachings. In these traditions, beings that live in accordance with Dharma proceed more quickly toward Dharma Yukam, Moksha or Nirvana (personal liberation). Dharma also refers to the teachings and doctrines of the founders of these traditions, such as those of Gautama Buddha and Mahavira. In traditional Hindu society with its caste structure, Dharma constituted the religious and moral doctrine of the rights and duties of each individual."
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharma

jainism, Mahavira, dharma, ahimsa, comparative religion, ethics, spiritual principals,

Egyptian Coptic Gospel of Thomas and Coptic Chant

 

Egyptian Coptic Gospel of Thomas and Coptic Chant

SantMat_Mystic_(James)
http://profiles.yahoo.com/santmat_mystic

These are the secret sayings that the living Jesus spoke and Didymos Judas Thomas recorded.

1 And he said, "Whoever discovers the interpretation of these sayings will not taste death."

2 Jesus said, "Those who seek should not stop seeking until they find. When they find, they will be disturbed. When they are disturbed, they will marvel, and will reign over all. [And after they have reigned they will rest.]"

3 Jesus said, "If your leaders say to you, 'Look, the (Father's) kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you. Rather, the kingdom is within you and it is outside you.

When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will understand that you are children of the living Father. But if you do not know yourselves, then you live in poverty, and you are the poverty."

4 Jesus said, "The person old in days won't hesitate to ask a little child seven days old about the place of life, and that person will live.

For many of the first will be last, and will become a single one."

5 Jesus said, "Know what is in front of your face, and what is hidden from you will be disclosed to you.

For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed. [And there is nothing buried that will not be raised."]

(There are 114 sayings in all. See the link to Gospel of Thomas online below.)

Book Review: The Gospel of Thomas - The Gnostic Wisdom of Jesus

by James Bean
Copyright June 2005

The Gospel of Thomas - The Gnostic Wisdom of Jesus
By Jean-Yves Leloup, Forward by Jacob Needleman
https://spiritualawakeningradio.com

 
Genres: Gnosticism, Gnostic Christianity, Meditation, Sacred Texts, Lost Scriptures, Mysticism, Metaphysics, Philosophy

I'm very impressed with this new book on the Gospel of Thomas, and even the Forward offers much insight and depth. In his Forward, Jacob Needleman suggests that the proper work of the mind is to function at two levels: the level of silence and the level of expression, with the former being superior to the latter, and that the wisdom borne out of the depths of contemplative silence is what's dangerously lacking in the world today, what he calls "the tragedy of our modern era." "What our modern world has suffered from most of all is runaway ideology, the agitated attachment to ideas that thereby become the playthings of infrahuman energies. This is the great danger of all ideologies, whether political, religious, or academic." He observes that the energy that must guide us can only come from another, higher level within the human psyche, "a level that is experienced as silence."

The Format: The first section of Jean-Yves Leloup's latest book presents the text of the Gospel of Thomas in the Coptic language on the left-hand pages, and the English translations on the pages to the right. Even if you have other versions of Thomas, it would be quite useful to also have this one, as there are some important differences. The rest of the book consists of the commentary on each of the one hundred fourteen proverbs and parables of "Yeshua the Living One", many of which seem as terse and enigmatic as Zen koans, the mystic-wisdom of an Eastern Sage. The collection begins with this mysterious statement: "Whoever lives the interpretation of these words will no longer taste death."

At last! someone who is a contemplative soul has published some valuable reflections on this Gnostic Gospel found at Nag Hammadi in Egypt. In The Gospel of Thomas, Jean-Yves Leloup presents not so much a commentary on these ancient sayings of Yeshua, but a meditation "that arises from the tilled earth of our silence." He says that "it is from this ground of inner silence, rather than from mental agitation, that these words of Yeshua can bear their fruit of Light." He writes, "Pope Gregory I said that only a prophet could understand the prophets. And it is said that only a poet can understand a poet. Who, then, must we be in order to understand Yeshua?" Perhaps only a lover of Gnosis can truly appreciate the wisdom of a Gnostic Gospel. Leloup is the founder of the Institute of Other Civilization Studies and the International College of Therapists. His other books include the bestselling The Gospel of Mary Magdalene and The Gospel of Philip - Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and the Gnosis of Sacred Union. He lives in France.

ISBN: 159477046-8
Publisher: Inner Traditions
Website: https://www.innertraditions.com

READ THE "Scholars Version" of the GOSPEL OF THOMAS ONLINE:
https://home.epix.net/~miser17/Thomas.html
https://home.epix.net/~miser17/Thomas.html

For more information on Gnostic gospels, see the Gnostic section of my online library at my Spiritual Awakening Radio website:
https://spiritualawakeningradio.com/library
https://spiritualawakeningradio.com/library

https://spiritualawakeningradio.com/CopticChant.mp3