Truth -- Light and Sound on the Path -- Sant Mat Satsang
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"Only the connoisseur, who will test the Shabda
And listen to the teachings with full attention
And within whom these teachings will dwell, only he will under-
stand this. He within whom the Sun of Knowledge will manifest and remove the darkness of attachment -- only he will understand this.
I am telling you this Anurag Sagar (Ocean of Love) -- only rare
saints will understand." (Anurag Sagar/Ocean of Love, Sant Dharam Das)
Rumi: I Belong to the Soul of the Beloved
What can be done, O believers, as I don't recognize myself?
I'm neither a Christian nor Jew, Magian nor Moslem.
I'm not of the East or West, neither land nor sea;
I’m not of Nature’s mine, nor the stars in Heaven.
I'm not of earth, water, air or fire;
I’m not of Heaven, nor the dust on this carpet.
I'm not of India, China, Bulgaria nor Saqsin;
I’m not of the kingdom of Iraq, nor Khorasan.
I'm not of this world, nor the next, Paradise nor Hell;
I'm not of Adam, nor Eve, Eden nor Rizwan.
My place is in the Placeless, my trace in the Traceless;
I'm neither body nor soul, as I belong to the soul of the Beloved.
I have dispensed with duality, and seen the two worlds as One;
One I seek, One I know, One I see, One I call.
He is the first, last, the outward and the inward,
I know none other than He, and He Who Is.
("Rumi's Divan of Shems of Tabriz, A New Interpretation", By James Cowan, Element Books)
Rumi: I Belong to the Soul of the Beloved:
Rumi -- The Cry of the Reed:
(Farsi with English translation.)
God is not a matter of assumption but a subject of actual perception and realization. He can be seen with the Divine Eye.
"My true disciple is one who has seen the Divine Light within during meditation". (Guru Gobind Singh)
"The path leading to God is within your heart. Enter into the ajna-chakra [Third Eye Center] and you will find your Beloved." (Swami Sant Sevi Ji Maharaj)
The Infinitesimal Point -- Opening To Realms of Inner Light
"This calls for a motionless, still gazing ahead right in front of the center of the two eyes in the inner dark void that is seen upon closing our eyes gently. The art of gazing in the inner dark vastness that the currents of consciousness present in the two eyes, meet at a Point, so the gaze gets fixed in a Point, has to be learnt from an accomplished Guru and practiced regularly with utmost faith and sincerity. It must be noted here that Sants warn strictly against any kind of imagining of the presence of a Point within. Whenever the two currents meet, a bright Point is automatically seen -- it does not have to be imagined or visualized. Whenever this happens, breathing adjusts automatically. Awareness of own body and surroundings is lost even as the meditator is fully alert and conscious internally. Ascension or transcendence is a direct corollary of concentration, collection of attention. As a result, thus, of awareness shrinking completely into an absolute Point, the 'jiva' or 'Surat' (non-liberated individual soul that is combined with the mind, etc...) pierces through or transcends the gross sphere, and ascends into the astral sphere where countless varieties of Sounds called Anahad ('ana' meaning 'no', and 'had' meaning limit or boundary) Nada (Sounds) are heard. Brilliant lights, innumerable worlds, stars, moon, sun, advanced souls, etc...., etc.... are seen by the practitioner, who has become completely oblivious of, or has left behind the gross universe (that his physical body exists in). The soul keeps flying in the inner sky like a bird, sighting all the magnificent scenes. Hence Bindu Dhyan or the Yoga of Light is also known as the 'vihangam marg' (vihangam means 'bird', and marg means 'path'). The perceiver becomes indescribably enthralled, ecstatic by the mesmerizing sights. But he has to move on, resisting these temptations, and rise still further to accomplish his ultimate Goal, which is Self-Realization or God-Realization."
-- From the Preamble of, Yoga of Inner Light and Sound, by Swami Achyutanand, translated by Pravesh K. Singh
"This world is an illusion -- practice meditation." (from the Last Words of Baba Devi Sahab)
"There is nothing more important than meditation. Increase this practice from day to day; never decrease it." (Baba Jaimal Singh)
Sant Mat is not the Path of information but this is the Path of Transformation.
The Four Essentials of Sant Mat, The Path of the Masters: True Guru (Sat-Guru), True Name (Sat-Naam), True Association (Sat-sang) and True Love (Sat-Anurag).
"No matter how sweetly one talks, how elaborately one explains, how expertly one gives interpretation of the Vedas [scriptures], if that truth is unknown, salvation is not possible. The Vedas speak of the inner world which can not be perceived by mind, intellect and sense organs." (Adi Shankaracharya)
No amount of telling beads of a rosary, recitation of hymns in ambrosial hours, acts of charity, rites and rituals, etc.... can help us see God. Only the shelter of a perfect spiritual Master can make it possible for us to see God.
"Saints and sages have unveiled all the Mysteries of the spiritual journey and of self-realization in their discourses. All the techniques have been documented in books. But without an Accomplished Teacher, we will not be able to understand the correct technique of true knowledge just by reading." (Swami Sant Sevi Ji Maharaj, Harmony of All Religions)
"I bow to the primal Guru.
I bow to the Guru of all ages.
I bow to the True Guru.
I bow to the great, invisible Guru."
-- Guru Arjun (Sukhmani Sahib)
Guru Nanak: "The love of Maya is sweet to the world, but in the end, this delusion is dispelled. So perform devotional worship, link your consciousness to the Lord, and dispel anxiety from your mind. Nanak speaks the Truth; focus your consciousness on the Lord, O my stranger soul. Rivers and streams which separate may re-united sometime.
"That rare person who centers his consciousness on the True Guru, knows intuitively and realizes the Lord.
"Nanak speaks the Truth; through the True Word of the Shabad, those long separated from the Lord, are united once again." (Shabad of Guru Nanak in Raag Aasaa on Ang 438 of Adi Granth)
"Kabir said, Recognise me and manifest the Guru in the form of the Sound Current behind the eyes [at the Third Eye Center]. Then you will have no doubts left. If you want to be free from anxiety, then catch the Sound Current. When ever you are in trouble, sit down for doing simran. When you reach the state of concentration, then you are surrounded by a protective aura automatically." (Anurag Sagar)
"Meditation will remove all your burdens; meditation upon Ram's [God's] name will become your support." -- Guru Kabir
"To the one who meditates on Him
there comes perfect peace,
and all pain and sorrows depart.
Meditate on Him,
Who contains this universe,
Whose Holy Name is the whisper on the lips
of the entire creation."
-- Guru Arjun (Sukhmani Sahib)
All sadness and woe turns to happiness and deep eloquence in the company of the Beloved.
"The more loving the heart, the more sensitive it becomes to God, and one learns to recognize the Divine in every person. One becomes careful of every person with whom one comes into contact in one's thought, speech and action. For there is no person devoid of His presence (sab ghat mera saivan)." (Mahant Purushottam Das)
"Love is the motivating power of all the high transports of the spirit, and the praises of love have been sung since the beginning of creation." (George Arnsby Jones)
"I shall sing the praise of the marvelous Radhasoami Dham (Abode of Radhasoami) and shall constantly utter the wonderful Name RADHASOAMI." (Huzur Maharaj, Prem Bani Radhaswami, Volume One, Agra, India)
"Through practicing Surat Shabd Yoga* with love and bhakti one is able to attain true salvation**. One does not have to forego one's worldly duties for this practice, which can be performed by anyone, whether young or old, male or female. The key ingredients of this faith are love and devotion." (A. P. Mathur, Petals of Love)
*Surat Shabd Yoga: The Union (Yoga) of the attention faculty of the soul (Surat) with the inner Light and Sound (Shabd) of GOD during meditation practice. See the article, "The Yoga of Sound -- Listening to the Music of the Universe", Part Five: http://members.cox.net/ahimsa/
**Salvation: Jiva Mukti: the liberation, emancipation deliverance of the soul from further transmigration; the re-absorption of the spirit into the Supreme Soul. (Glossary of the Radhasoami Faith, Agra, India)
"You should listen attentively to the reverberating divine Sound. The Celestial Sound is coming to take you back to the Source." (Swami Sant Sevi Ji)
"Abstract Sound is called Saut-i Sarmad; all space is filled with it. The vibrations of this Sound are too fine to be either audible or visible to the material ears or eyes, since it is even difficult for the eyes to see the form and color of he ethereal vibrations on the external plane. It was the Saut-i Sarmad, the Sound of the abstract plane, which Muhammad heard in the cave of Ghar-i Hira when he became lost in his divine ideal. The Quran 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 Anahad Nada during his Samadhi 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 Inayat Khan, The Mysticism of Sound
The soul has now to concentrate on the sounds that are heard ricocheting within, by practising Nada Dhyan/Surat Shabd Yoga/Nadanusandhana (Yoga of Inner Divine Sound). Countless varieties of sounds including the ocean's roar, thunder of clouds, melodies resembling those of musical instruments like drums, sitar, lute, flute, etc. are heard. These sounds are so captivating and pleasing that the soul forgets everything else. These sounds become more and more melodious as one moves into higher and higher realms. By learning the right tact from a true Guru one can grasp the five central sounds, as described above, one after another and go on rising further and further. All these words or sounds are flowing from higher realms and clasping on to them it is very much possible for the perceiving soul to keep ascending, just as a fish can swim against the stream or current.
Tiny fish especially are skilled enough to swim upstream even against very strong turbulent currents. The ascension of soul in the reverse direction of flow of streams of sounds can thus be compared to the swimming of fish. Hence the yoga of sound has also been referred to as "mana marg" (mana meaning fish and marg meaning path). Thus, climbing further and further, leaving all the five spheres behind one after another, the soul finally transcends even the domain of the quintessential unstruck sound and merges into the 'Anama' (Nameless/Soundless) or 'Kaivalyatata' (beyond Kaivalya) State to be one with the Supreme Godhead, to be God Himself. Thus yoga, union or bhakti (devotion) gets completed.
-- From the Preamble of, Yoga of Inner Light and Sound, by Swami Achyutanand, translated by Pravesh K. Singh
"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
Music without words
means leaving behind the mind.
And leaving behind the mind
is meditation.
Meditation returns you
to the Source.
And the Source
of all
is Sound.
-- Kabir
"In all the higher regions, Heaven's Music is the spiritual food." (The Way Out Is IN, by Swami Ram Bihari Lal)
"If a person, after getting initiated into the secrets and methods of devotional practices, directs his spirit current towards the Daswan Dwar (tenth gate), he can secure greater energy and bliss of great purity. Instead of dissipating his energy, he would enhance it by elevating the spirit-current." (Huzur Maharaj, Prem Patra, Volume IV, Agra, India)
The Buddha: "If a man is struck by an arrow and is in excruciating pain, will he not remove the arrow and place medications on the wound? Or will that person first search for the cause of the arrow being shot at him? Will he first seek to know the intention of the person who shot the arrow?"
The inquirer answered, that, the person will first remove the arrow and treat the wound. The Buddha then said:
"Dear friend, you have been struck by the arrow of death, the cycle of death and rebirth (Kala), and therefore you should first rid yourself of the suffering, just as the man struck by an arrow first removed the arrow. Then you may consider questions about who created this world, and why, and by what means."
This example shows that getting rid of the arrow of suffering is a way to understand nirvana, which is ridding ourselves of the cycle of birth and death. It is not an exaggeration to say that one who conquers death through Sadhana (meditation) attains nirvana.
...It can be seen that the state of liberation that both the Buddha and the sages of the Upanishads referred to as nirvana is the same as the state of liberation that the Indian Sants call mukti. The Buddhist and Vedic texts, as well as the Sant Mat texts, are in complete agreement with respect to these concepts of nirvana and mukti.
-- Swami Sant Sevi Ji Maharaj, in the Buddhism Chapter of, Harmony Of All Religions: https://
"I said to the wanting-creature inside me:
What is this river you want to cross?
There are no travelers on the river-road, and no road.
Do you see anyone moving about on that bank, or nesting?
There is no river at all, and no boat, and no boatman.
There is no tow rope either, and no one to pull it.
There is no ground, no sky, no time, no bank, no ford!
And there is no body, and no mind!
Do you believe there is some place that will make the
soul less thirsty?
In that great absence you will find nothing.
Be strong then, and enter into your own body;
there you have a solid place for your feet.
Think about it carefully!
Don't go off somewhere else!
Kabir says this: just throw away all thoughts of
imaginary things,
and stand firm in that which you are."
-- Kabir
