Sant Mat Radhasoami

Path of the Masters: Sant Mat - Santmat, Radhasoami - Radha Soami, Satsang, Inner Light and Sound Meditation: Surat Shabd Yoga, Audible Life Stream, Quan Yin Method, Spiritual Science, Spirituality, Kabir, Maharshi Mehi, Kirpal Singh, Gnosticism, Third Eye, Out Of Body Experiences, Near-Death Experiences, Inner Space, the Kingdom of the Heavens Within, Mystic Poetry, Vegetarian Vegan, Ahimsa, Love, and God. The term "Sant Mat" was coined by Sant Tulsi Sahib of Hathras during the 19th Century.

Sunday, October 31, 2010

A Tulsi Sahibi Satsang

Sant Mat Satsang of the Week:

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Sant Tulsi Sahib: "External practices and formalism are worth nothing. The real sadhana [spiritual or meditation practice] is within one's own self."

Sant Tulsi Sahib: "Cleanse the chamber of your heart, so that the Beloved may enter. Remove all the foreign impressions, so that He can take His seat there."

Sant Tulsi Sahib: "Masters reveal the Path of Inner Light and Sound. They still the mind and raise one's attention to Mystic Skies within. The soul concentrates at the Portal [Third Eye] and is in bliss."

Sant Tulsi Sahib: A rahi dhur se sada tere bulane ke liye:

"The Sound is coming from the Court of the Lord and is calling you."

Sant Tulsi Sahib: "Without realizing the soul and the Sound Current, all this is a vain show. All this is a vain show till the soul rises above and abides in it's Natural State."

Iconoclast Tulsi Speaks Truth-To-Power in the Poetic Spirit of Kabir

"The Mahant (leader of a religious sect) is not ashamed of going about pompously with his camel and cart. Fie upon the religion he professes. He goes from door to door making disciples. In the end, he will come to grief because of his hopes and desires, and the location he is alloted. He is constantly engaged in enjoying sensual pleasures and eating like a glutton. Yama [the god of death] will catch hold of him and break his teeth. A slave of the body, as he is, he frolics and gets puffed up in the company of Maya. He has forgotten the True Lord and the Original Abode. Know ye, and fix your gaze at the holy feet of Sants who have endowed you with human form, and realize, also, that the Guru is the Sun shining within and the disciple is the Ray. Ascend to the Sky and meet the Guru, your True Friend. You will not find the Path in the company of the pseudo guru who whispers mantras and instructions into your ears. At the end, such a guru and his chela, both will be swept away. You did not recognize your Satguru [True Guru]. Therefore, you will descend to the lower categories of existence. Says Tulsi, if the Disciple-Ray meets the Guru-Sun shining in the firmament, that is Trikuti, it will vanquish the demon Kal [lord of time, lord of illusion]."

(Param Sant Tulsi Sahib of Hathras, India, from, The Book of Shabdavali)

The True Guru Does Not Neglect His or Her Students, is a Good Teacher of Wisdom, and Properly Guides Their Followers

"Tulsi Sahib says that people devote themselves to worldly learning but of what use will it be if they do not recognize Sants?

The Jiva's [soul's] inner eye has not opened, and though he has his external sight, he is really blind, that is, cannot see things in their true perspective. Without the Satguru, he will drift in the lower centers and will never be rid of his worldly attachments.

No other Yuga [epoch] can be compared with Kali Yuga in which Sants [Saints, Heavenly Beings, Enlightened Masters] incarnate themselves. If the Jiva adopts the Saran [refuge] of a Sant, he will get across the ocean of material existence."

The Five Jewels of Spirituality

Sant Tulsi Sahib: "There are five real jewels in this world, namely, 1) Association with Sadhs [initiates, satsangis, devotees, the virtuous, sadhus, saints, sages], 2) Saran [protection, refuge] of the Satguru, 3) Love, 4) Humility, and, 5) Compassion."

Mystic Verses of Sant Tulsi Sahib from the Book of Shabdavali

"I sacrifice myself before my Beloved for His love for me. He allowed me to become identified with Him. He accomplished my task and gladdened my heart. I constantly visit my Beloved, that is, I elevate my Surat [attention of the soul] to His Region, and sport with Him. The task of one whose honor is the Beloved's responsibility will be accomplished by Him alone."

"My mind is lost in love and affection for the Beloved. When I fix my gaze on His eyes, I find peace of mind, and on ascending to the Region of Eyes, I enjoy the bliss. My attention is all the time focused in the direction of my Beloved, and the Surat [awareness, attention of the soul] ascends and takes its seat on the mountain peak. Steadying my Surat, I firmly grasp the holy feet of the Guru. As I have his Darshan [vision], I reach Gagan [Mystic Sky]. Says Tulsi, only a seeker will come to know of His whereabouts, and will succeed in penetrating within by catching hold of the Current coming from Adhar (Region from Above which exists without support)."

Esoteric Teachings About the Inward Journey of the Soul Back To God (Anadi Purush)

Sant Tulsi Sahib, from his Esoteric Work "Ghat Ramayana": Shruti bund sindh milaap, aap adhar chadhi chaakhiyaa:

http://www.sadgurumehi.com/book/ghatRamayan/gr01.html

The Surat i.e. consciousness-force has got the glimpse of the Sun-like Master, and it has realized the happiness of meeting with the Supreme Sovereign God within the inner sky (sky or sphere within oneself when eyes are closed). I have always spoken on this matter.

Sant Tulsi Sahib: More from his Spiritual Classic, "Ghat Ramayana": Sat surat samajhi sihaar saadhau, nirakhi nit nainan rahau: http://www.sadgurumehi.com/book/ghatRamayan/gr02.html

The Surat i.e. consciousness-force or individual soul [soul's attention or awareness] is true and she has been extended and entrapped in the untrue realms of Pinda (the microcosm or body, physical plane) and Brahmand (Universe or macrocosm). So, being deprived of the attainment of the self-existence of the Supreme Sovereign God, she is suffering from the pain of falling down (degeneration). To be free from this pain of degeneration, take care of the Surat in such a way that she be liberated from all miseries by concentrating through the untrue realms, being free from untrue spheres, and thus attaining the innate (natural and pure) form of the Supreme Sovereign God.

The practice of holding Surat (consciousness-force) will begin with Maanas Jappa [Simran] (a meditation process in which an alphabetical holy word instructed by Guru is chanted/repeated with eyes closed), and then Maanas Dhyaan (a meditation process in which holy form of Sadguru is concentrated upon with eyes closed), and then Bindu Dhyaan (Drishti Saadhan, the Yoga of Inner Vision), and then finally: Surat Shabda Yoga (the Yoga of Divine Sound). The first shutter within our inner vision is hard and impenetrable darkness. The Surat can cross it by the practice of Dhrishti Sadhana (Yoga of Vision).

When the Surat (consciousness-force) will experience the miracles of Brahma within its own body while crossing the concealment of darkness, then she (the Surat, soul) will be immersed always in the love of Supreme Sovereign God. Then she will move ahead grasping the notes (Sounds) of the Flute by knowing the proper method.

The Surat will recognize the Sar-Shabda (Essential Divine Sound) through catching the 'Gagan-Dori' — (Divine Light or Divine Sound of the Inner Sky).

The Surat being poised onto the Essential Divine Sound (Sar-Shabda) will become tranquil in that Unlimited (Infinite) State where-from, design, appearances, body, mind and Maya (illusion) do not exist; and that is the Inexpressible and the fundamental Original State.

To whom this Ultimate State will be realized, his/her Surat (consciousness-force, individual soul) will be merging into that Ultimate State (the Nameless State, the State beyond Sound) again and again.

Sant Tulsi Sahab says, "Grasp and examine that Current (internal divine Sound) which leads to this Ultimate State, only then mind will be diving in the true thoughts of the above-mentioned inner journey." (Ghat Ramayana, SadguruMehi Website)

Who is the Impure One?

Once a Brahman while bathing in the Ganges was asking a Sudra [member of the untouchable caste] to move off, lest his touch might pollute him. Tulsi Sahib noticed this and said, "Yours, sir, is a very strange sastra [scriptural regulation]! If the Ganges is so pure on account of her origin from Visnu's feet, why should a Sudra who has sprung up from the self-same feet be so impure?"

Friday, October 29, 2010

Seeking is Great But Finding is Even Better - The Stages of the Spiritual Journey - Spiritual Awakening Radio - Online Show Available

Seeking is Great But Finding is Even Better - The Stages of the Spiritual Journey - Spiritual Awakening Radio - LISTEN: http://bit.ly/a5henU

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Egalitarian Spirituality

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Brahman-Pharisee Parallels

The above story about Sant Tulsi Sahib on the theme of ritual verses real spiritual purity reminds me of this delightful account recorded in an unknown gospel discovered in 1905 in Egypt given the name "Oxyrhynchus 840":

Taking the disciples along, Yeshua lead them into the inner sanctuary itself and wandered around in the temple. Then a certain high priest of the Pharisees named Levi came toward them and said to the savior, "Who permitted you to wander in this place of purification and to see these holy vessels, even though you have not bathed and the feet of your disciples have not been washed? And now that you have defiled it, you walk around in this pure area of the temple where only a person who has bathed and changed his clothes can walk, and even such a person does not dare to look upon these holy vessels."

Standing nearby with his disciples, the savior replied, "Since you are here in the temple too, I take it you are clean?"

The Pharisee said to him, "I am clean. For I bathed in the pool of David. I went down into the pool by one set of stairs and came back out by another. Then I put on white clothes and they were clean. And then I came and looked at these holy vessels."

Replying to him, the savior said, "Woe to blind people who do not see! You have washed in the gushing waters that dogs and pigs are thrown into day and night. And when you washed yourself, you scrubbed the outer layer of skin, the layer of skin that prostitutes and flute-girls anoint and wash and scrub when they put on make up to become the desire of the men. But inside they are filled with scorpions and all unrighteousness. But my disciples and I, whom you say have not washed, we have washed in waters of eternal life that come from the God of heaven."

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Spiritual Awakening Radio Update

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.

"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)

With some radio stations out there, spirituality is the one-forbidden-topic. Celebrating free speech and research in the areas of comparative religion and spirituality: Spiritual Awakening Radio.

"Knowing ourselves and being willing to stand for who we are makes life authentic." (June Singer, A Gnostic Book of Hours)

Rumi: "Start a huge, foolish project, like Noah. It makes absolutely no difference what people think of you."

Rumi: "I want to sing like birds sing, not worrying who listens or what they think."

Have updated my radio archive page, with a long list of shows you can listen to anytime. Spiritual Awakening Radio explores the world of spirituality, comparative religion, Inner Light and Sound meditation, mysticism, sacred texts, peace, also ahimsa (non-violence in thought, word and deed). This includes promoting the vegetarian and vegan diets, as well as awareness about climate change.

https://spiritualawakeningradio.com/show-archive

"The divine currents, like the ethereal waves of a radio, are spread out in the atmosphere in all the directions of the compass, giving out delectable strains of music." (Kirpal Singh)

"This creative current, filling all space, may be likened to the electromagnetic waves of the radio." (Julian Johnson)

November On Spiritual Awakening Radio: Rumi and the Sufi Poet-Mystics, Parts One Through Five

Standing in solidarity with our Sufi brothers and sisters, affirming their peace-loving, non-violent, enlightened, life-affirming, inclusive, and positive vision of the future....... There will be a radio series about the Sufis: Rumi, Rabia, Baba Farid, Sultan Bahu, Hafiz, Sarmad, Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, Hazrat Inayat Khan, and others. A new 400-page translation has been published by HarperOne titled, "Rumi: The Big Red Book", by Coleman Barks, which I'm also looking forward to exploring.

Rumi: "Love comes and fills my skin, veins and bones, every particle. Only the letters of my name are left. You are the rest." ("Rumi: The Big Red Book", Coleman Barks)

Rumi: "The core of this wisdom is something like madness. Love and insanity are often mistaken for one another. As suffering deepens in your heart, you become a stranger to yourself a thousand times." (Rumi: The Big Red Book, Coleman Barks)

"We are not alive because we have a body but because we are a soul." (Maharishi Mehi)

Like Galileo discovering new worlds through the lens of his telescope, mystics have been trying to tell humanity for eons of something quite similar. The reason why the contemplative state of being is still hidden from most of us is that, unlike Galileo’s telescope, in order to look through this particular lens, the third eye or inner vision, we mustn’t focus on the outward sensory impressions, but go in the opposite direction: into inner space.

Rumi Says: "Do not be satisfied with the stories that come before you. Unfold your own myth."

All for the love of Wisdom and radio,

James Bean

Spiritual Awakening Radio

Facebook Radio Page:

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Sunday, October 24, 2010

The Name of God is My Sect - Dadu Dayal

The Name of God is my Sect - Dadu Dayal, the Compassionate Mystic

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"I bow before the immaculate, divine Gosvami [Supreme Being]. Through my Guru's favor I have been given all purity. I greet all the Sants: through their devotion I drink the nectar of Ram [God]. There is no end to the number of Sants who appeared in the Yugas [Epochs] of Sat, Treta, Dvapar, and Kali. I sing of the celebrated one I have heard of, and bow my head to all the others." (Jan Gopal, disciple of Dadu Dayal)

Dadu Dayal: "Saints are the true redeemers, they make one see the Creator face to face. Having themselves crossed the ocean of the world, they take others across. They are the saviors of beings."

"The lover is converted into the Beloved. That indeed is called true love. Forgetting his own ego, he remains absorbed in the One." (Dadu Dayal)

"Remembering God, life is successful, if spent in the service of others." (Sant Dadu the Compassionate Mystic quoted in, The Life Story of Dadu Dayal - The Book of Janma Lila, By Jan Gopal)

Dadu: "The Name of God is my sect. My way of living is control of the senses. For my deeds - watch my disciples: their goal is to be immersed in Ram [God]." (The Life Story of Dadu Dayal - The Book of Janma Lila, By Jan Gopal)

Video Exploring the Sant Dadu Dayal Dera (Ashram), Naraina, Rajasthan:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05g7Hk2sCBk

Translated Into English: A Beautiful Collection of the Mystic Poetry and Teachings of Sant Dadu, the Compassionate One:

https://www.vedamsbooks.com/no28758.htm

Dadu: "God is within all beings. He accompanies all and is close by. Musk is in the musk-dear, and yet it goes around in search of musk. The self knows not God, although God is within the self. Being deaf to the holy Sound of the Master, sadly does he wander. He for whom thou searchest in the world, dwells within thyself. ... Search for the Lord within thyself, the Imperceptible One hath the Guru revealed."

"Wherever one's thought dwells, there will that person rest. At his pleasure, he may go to the delusion of unreality or he may merge into the Lord of the self. Where thou keepest thy mind while living, to that abode shalt thou go after death. The soul finds lodging in a place wherein it has hitherto been immersed." (Dadu)

"When one's whole being is engaged in repeating the Name, that, indeed, is called repetition. The self then blossoms forth within, and the Lord reveals Himself, O Dadu."

Dadu: "Do the repetition of God and forget Him not. Fulfill the purpose of thy birth by practicing concentration. Be steadfast in the remembrance of God. Practice meditation with love, and sing the glory of God. The human body is the door to salvation."

"One who, turning the attention inward, brings it within the self, and fixes it on the Radiant Form of the Master, is indeed wise, O Dadu. ... Search for the Beloved close to the place where-from the Sound emerges, and thou shalt find Him, sayeth Dadu. There is solitude there, and there is luster of Light. ... Fix thine attention within, O valiant servant, so does Dadu proclaim."

Sant Dadu Dayal: "The one who is merged in the Word, who is pierced by the arrows of the Master's instructions, who is absorbed with the One alone - only that person is rightly set on the Path."

Dadu Dayal: "Anahad baaje baajiye, amaraapuree niwaas. Joti saroopee jagamagai, koi nirakhai nij daas." (Myriads of Sounds are heard; the one who hears gains access to the Kingdom of Immortality (place beyond the reach of death). A genuine servant gets to see the resplendent form of the Supreme Being.)

"The knowledge of the Sound Current imparted by the Guru merges one easily into Truth. It carries me to the Abode of my Beloved, sayeth Dadu." (Encyclopaedia of Saints of India, Volume 25: Sant Dadu Dayal, Bakshi and Mittra, Criterion Publications, New Delhi)

Urgency of Realization

This fragile and transient human life is speedily coming to its end. It is high time that we seek refuge in the Lord of Love. Only while living as a human being can the work be accomplished, not after death. Dadu:

The mind is a deer, sayeth Dadu.

Looking at the green forest of the world.

This foolish one runs around puffed up

with pleasure.

It is destined to be a victim of Kal [lord of time, lord of death], the

hunter.

The body is like a passer-by,

sayeth Dadu.

No sooner dost thou look at him, that he goes out of sight.

Be dedicated to the Name of God

As long as there is breath in thy body.

Hurry up, O passer-by, the journey hangs over thy head.

Delay no more.

What art thou doing sitting idle? Repeat God's Name.

Evening has set in while the traveller is still in the forest.

He must move briskly.

This is not the time to be slack, warns Dadu.

Go Home quickly.

Gone is the time, and lost is the opportunity.

Where shalt thou find this priceless birth once it slips out of hand?

Catching hold of our hand, the Negative Power [Kal] is drawing us close day by day.

The self does not awaken even now.

Its time is spent asleep.

While watching, 0 Dadu, the hair has grown white from black.

Body, mind, and youth are all gone, and even now thou turnest not to God!

While alive one can transcend bodily qualities.

While alive one can be liberated;

While alive one can shed all Karmas.

That truly is called liberation.

While alive one can cross over what is hard to cross,

While alive can one go to the other shore.

While alive one can find the Master of the world,

And can attain discrimination and wisdom.

If the meeting is not accomplished while alive,

If the contact is not made while alive,

If the Lord of the universe is not found while alive,

The one is simply drowned.

One is freed while alive,

One is not freed after death, sayeth Dadu

If one were to be free after death,

Then all will come under that.

Some say one can secure abode in paradise after death;

They preach liberation after death.

They, indeed, are making the world

insane, O Dadu...............

Japi Gobinda bisari jini jai

Do the repetition of God [God's Name] and forget

Him not.

Fulfil the purpose of thy birth

by practising concentration.

Be steadfast in the remembrance of God.

Practice meditation with love, and sing

the glory of God.

The human body is the door to salvation.

Do the repetitions of God, the Creator

of the universe.

A quote from the 16th century Indian Master Dadu,

who outlined the Sant Mat vision of the spiritual life

to be pursued during our time here on planet Earth:

Recognize the Path to your Beloved, O travelers and

take the route of the anguished lover in separation.

Keep the Master's grace in your thoughts, and reflect

upon his pure teachings. Develop love and devotion

with endearment, and keep the thought of the Creator

always before you. Try to merge yourself into God

like water and water. Fix your mind within by

following the Path of the Sound Current. A yearning

will arise; make then an intense and anguished call.

Repeat the Name of your Beloved, day and night,

again and again. With care in thought, word and deed,

you will cross to the other shore.

Main Obstacles in the Practice of Meditation, By Swami Sant Sevi Ji Maharaj

The main hindrances to success in the practice of meditation are the following: procrastination and laziness, activity of thoughts during meditation (day dreaming, fanciful imagination, planning, the rising of any kinds of thoughts).

In addition, the lulling silence during meditation puts many practitioners to sleep. During meditation we should be vigilant and awake. Whatever is our point of focus, we should diligently keep our mind on that goal and we will not be bothered by sleep.

Unless we overcome the magnanimous challenge of procrastination and curb the ever-rising tide of mental activity during meditation, we cannot reach our Noble (arya) destination (state of unity with God). The non-vigilant practitioners usually become engrossed in thoughts or fall sleep. These formidable passes must be crossed for success.

What is the place to be reached? When we close our eyes and see darkness, this is the realm of ignorance. When the light dawns within you, then you understand that you reside in noble regions. In darkness resides ignorance and in light resides Knowledge. For example, as we are sitting in light right now we are able to see one another. However, if the electric power goes out ensuing total darkness we will not be able to see others. We will not even be aware of other people, coming and going. In this analogy light signifies knowledge and darkness signifies ignorance. In the same manner when we see darkness with our eyes closed, we are in the realm of death and re-birth [we are unaware of our true nature]. When we come out of the realm of darkness and enter into the realm of light, we will at the same time transcend the web of death. It is not possible that we can remain in darkness and be free from the net of birth and death. Having achieved inner light we can be liberated from the cycle of birth and death.

Saint Kabir says: "In each house (heart) the light shines, but we are blind [ignorant of that divine Light of knowledge] so we cannot see it. If we keep looking, we will find the Light and will destroy the shackles of death."

Various forms of Dhyana [Meditation Practices]

Without formless or subtle meditation, attainment of inner light is impossible. You must get yourself out of darkness. How will this happen? Prat-ya-hara - bringing the mind back - is followed by dha-rana, sustaining of focus for small periods. At first this will be for even a small time. Pratyanhara is the repeated practice of bringing the wandering mind to a focus. By repetitive practice of pratyahara we are able to focus for a little while on the object of meditation. This focusing for small periods is known as dharana.

When this Dharana continues for extended periods, then the state of dhyana or complete focus occurs. However, mere focus on a physical form or name is not the only type of dhyana. [Emptiness of mind is also dhyana.]

As it is said in the Jnana Sankalni Tantra: "Dhyana (focus on the physical forms) is not known as dhyana; the empty mind is known (focus in empty mind) as dhyana. By the grace of this [focus] meditation, one attains Moksha."