Powered By Blogger

Saturday, January 12, 2019

Guru Lineage Charts of Radhasoami, Sant Mat, Surat Shabd Yoga -- Sant Mat Radhasoami Books, The E Library: Guru Lineage Charts Section


Link BACK to the MAIN PAGE of the E-Library: https://SantMatRadhasoami.Blogspot.com/2019/01/sant-mat-radhasoami-books-main-page-e.html

Guru Lineage Charts of Sant Mat, Radhasoami, Surat Shabd Yoga (Inner Light and Sound Meditation), Guru Kabir, the Dharamdasis of Kabir Panth, Dadu Panth, Dariya Sahib, the Ten Sikh Gurus, Param Sant Tulsi Sahib of Hathras, Radhasoami Faith, the House of Kirpal, and Maharshi Mehi

Sant Mat Radhasoami Books, The E Library: Guru Lineage Charts Section

About the charts below -- after noticing a couple of highly inaccurate web pages claiming to present Sant Mat guru lineage information made by those apparently not very acquainted with this tradition (the Path of the Masters), it was clear there needed to be something more genuine, scholarly, well-researched and comprehensive available on the web for those interested in Sant Mat and Radhasoami history.

These charts  below do not illustrate ALL lineages that exist in Sant Mat, Surat Shabd Yoga, Radhasoami, and Kabir Panth, since in India there are at least several hundred gurus in these categories, perhaps even more.

The guru lineage charts below present information in a non-sectarian, inter-faith way, and are not intended to be an endorsement of every single name or group across the centuries that might be listed. Rather, it presents at-a-glance a "big picture" view of the most well-known paths, the relationships between one lineage and another in some cases, as well as the origins -- connections to past Sant Satgurus dating all the way back to the time of Guru Kabir.

The "Influence of Kabir" charts are courtesy of Dr. Jagessar Das of the Kabir Association, an eccumenical Kabir Panth organization. The two charts illustrating Agra and Beas "Branches of the Radhasoami Family Tree", including those relating to Huzur Baba Sawan Singh and Kirpal Singh, were compiled by Professor David C. Lane and published in Professor Mark Juergensmeyer's book, "Radhasoami Reality: The Logic of a Modern Faith," Princeton University Press, first edition, and are shared here with the permission of both authors. The Sikh Gurus are included as they are highly revered in Sant Mat as spiritual Masters and Saints of the highest order. The charts illustrating various branches of Sant Mat, especially Sant Tulsi Sahib and Maharshi Mehi guru lineages, are based upon my own research and direct communications with those groups.

Note: Kabir was not the first Sant. There were many Sants before him, including some of the contributors to the Upanishads, Gorakh Nath, Jayadeva, Visoba Khechar (Sant Namdev's Master), and Sant Namdev, to name a few of the ones known to history. 

The term "Sant Mat" means: "The Way of the Saints" or can be translated as "Path of the Masters".  It's common knowledge in India that the term "Sant Mat" was coined by Param Sant Tulsi Sahib of Hathras, but the Sant tradition, with it's many guru-lineages or branches, is a spiritual movement that dates back many centuries to ancient India. Tulsi Sahib was of the opinion that the Sant movement (Santmat) goes back to the time of Krishna thousands of years ago, that Krishna knew of Sants or Rishis during his day, the age of the Bhagavad Gita. 

-- James Bean


Satguru Kabir


The Influence of Kabir





The Influence of Satguru Kabir





Image Above: A Big-picture View of Succession from Sant Kabir to Contemporary Sant Mat With Some Key Figures In Between. The Charts Below Expand Upon This Connection Between Kabir, Sant Dharam Das, Sat Saheb, Sant Dariya Sahib of Bihar, Sant Tulsi Sahib, and Contemporary Movements Associated With The Tulsi Sabhis (Including Maharshi Mehi Paramhans), Radhasoami, and Satsangs Associated With Kirpal Singh Ji.









Kabir to Sant Dharam Das, Churamani Nami (the son of Sant Dharam Das) and the Dharamdasi Branch of Kabir Panth






Sant Dadu Dayal and the Dadu Panth Lineage of Gurus









The Ten Sikh Gurus




Sant Dariya Sahib of Bihar, along with smaller icon images of Sant Tulsi Sahib and Guru Kabir



Param Sant Tulsi Sahib of Hathras, India (Older)




My view is the Guru of Sant Tulsi Sahib was Sant Dariya Sahib of Bihar (or one of Dariya's spiritual successor gurus), as Sant Dariya is the one-and-only contemporary master named by Sant Tulsi Sahib in his writings and hymns (shabds). The chart above shows the various lineages associated with Tulsi Sahib including Radhasoami.



Soamiji Maharaj (Seth Shiv Dayal Singh of Agra, Sant Radhasoami Saheb)



Agra Radhasoami Lineages







Sant Gareeb Das was another major disciple of Soamiji Maharaj. Above is his lineage chart. In the column to the right, one can see the connection to the Jai Guru Dev group.






There are updated charts below about some of these above-displayed Radhasoami lineages. See the “House of Kirpal” chart, also more recent updates regarding Dayal Bagh, the Baba Faqir Chand group, Dinod, and Tarn Taran.






Expanded View of the Sant Bani/Ajaib Singh Lineage














Surswami, a Successor of Tulsi Sahib at the Ashram in Hathras




Succession After Sant Tulsi Sahib of Hathras



Baba Devi Sahab of Moradabad, Devotee of Sant Tulsi Sahib from the Hathras Sangat



Maharshi Mehi Paramhans, Successor of Baba Devi Sahab



Maharshi Mehi Paramhans, Kupphaghat, Bhagalpur, Bihar (Center). To the left, icon of Baba Devi Sahab. To the right, Swami Sant Sevi Ji Maharaj.



There may be over five hundred guru successors (babas) associated with Maharshi Mehi, connected with various ashrams in India and Nepal.


Swami Santsevi Ji Maharaj, Maharshi Mehi Branch



Shri Bhagirath Baba on the grounds of the Maharshi Mehi Ashram



Shri Bhagirath Baba



Shri Bhagirath Baba



Swami Achyutanand Baba, Maharshi Mehi Branch



Swami Vyasanand Ji Maharaj, Maharshi Mehi Branch of Santmat



Swami Harinandan Baba meeting with Swami Vyasanand Baba