The Gnostic Gospels Community at Discord

 

The Gnostic Gospels Community at Discord

There is a Gnostic Gospels community, a forum at Discord with much content about Gnostic spirituality with access to all the key Gnostic texts and the world of apocryphal writings.

Invite Link to Join the Gnostic Gospels Server at Discord:

https://othergospels.com/discord

Gnostic Gospels is dedicated to the study and practice of books missing from the Bible. Join our community of heretics, mystics, and other spiritual wayfarers in our discussion of ancient texts!

Explore lost Gospels like Thomas, Nag Hammadi, the Apocrypha, and more!

Our focus centers squarely on scripture and the spiritual insights offered by extra-canonical sources. Become a "heretic" today!

The Lost Religion of Jesus, A Collection of Resources

 

The Lost Religion of Jesus, A Collection of Resources 

Christians have inherited a rather anachronistic interpretation of Christianity based on viewing the tradition solely through the "lens" of Paul. It is said or believed by some that Paul became a convert maybe between 34 and 36 A.D., roughly 4 to 7 years after the crucifixion of Jesus. The full canonical corpus of Paul's letters seems to burst upon the scene sometime well into the Second Century A.D., but certain letters are assigned by some dates of composition in the mid 50's and 60's of the First Century. It should be obvious that the Jesus movement doesn't begin with Paul. Paul arrives after the time of Jesus and the establishment of his spiritual successors, the first apostles, and that Jesus along with his disciples never had a "Pauline theology". This begs the question, what is salvation, the spiritual practice, and ethical code to be followed according to Jesus and his actual disciples? This original Jesus movement, sometimes called the Hebrew Christians, Ebionites, Nazoraeans, and by other terms, is the 'Christianity Before Paul'. Have always been quite curious about this Jesus Movement so marginalized in the canonical New Testament and seemingly edited out of the timeline.

Reconstructing an Ebionite or Nazorean Collection of Scriptures; Also What We Can Learn About Their History

Reconstructed Q Gospel found in, The Complete Gospels, by Robert J. Miller: 

https://archive.org/details/complete-gospels-ed.-robert-j.-miller/page/253/mode/2up

The Q Thomas Reader - The best and most readable one-volume introduction available to the Sayings Gospel Q and the Gospel of Thomas-the very earliest collections of the sayings and parables of Jesus: 

https://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Reader-English-Coptic/dp/0944344119

https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780944344118

Gospel of the Ebionites: https://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/gospelebionites-panarion.html

Gospel of the Hebrews:  

        https://othergospels.com/hebrews

Gospel of the Hebrews: https://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/gospelhebrews-throck.html

Gospel of the Hebrews: https://www.earlychristianwritings.com/gospelhebrews.html

The Gospel of the Nazoreans: https://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/nazoreans-ogg.html

The Gospel of the Nazoreans: https://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/gospelnazoreans.html

Surviving Quotes from the Jewish-Christian Gospels: Gospel of the Ebionites, Gospel of the Hebrews, and Gospel of the Nazoraeans: https://web.archive.org/web/20210223222109/http://www.textexcavation.com/jewishgospels.html

Hebrew Gospel of Matthew (Shem Tov’s Hebrew Matthew), George Howard: 

https://archive.org/details/Hebrew.Gospel.of.MatthewEvenBohanIbn.ShaprutHoward.1987/mode/1up

Another Copy:

https://archive.org/details/gospelofmatthewa0000unse/page/n5/mode/2up

Early Christian Psalms: The Book of the Odes (a.k.a. The Odes of "Solomon"): 

https://othergospels.com/odes

https://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/odes.html

The Didache [earliest sections: 1, 2, and 3]: 

https://othergospels.com/didache

Letter of James: 

https://othergospels.com/bible/james

Letter of Jude: 

https://othergospels.com/bible/jude

Acts and Teachings of the Ebionites: The Vast Treasure-Trove of the Clementine Literature

Epistle (Letter) of Peter to James:

https://compassionatespirit.com/Books/Homilies/Epistle-Peter-to-James.htm

Epistle (Letter) of Clement to James:

https://compassionatespirit.com/Books/Homilies/Epistle-Clement-to-James.htm

Also See: 

https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/080800.htm

Kerygmata Petrou (Preachings of Peter Reconstructed):

https://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/kerygmatapetrou.html

The Ascents of James: History and Theology of a Jewish-Christian Community, by Robert E. Van Voorst:  

https://archive.org/details/ascentsofjameshi0000vanv/mode/2up

The Clementine Homilies and The Clementine Recognitions (Ebionite Book of Acts)

Acts and Teachings of the Ebionites: The Recognitions of Clement, from the Greek and Latin Manuscripts: 

https://compassionatespirit.com/Books/Recognitions/Recognitions-TOC.htm

Acts and Teachings of the Ebionites: The Clementine Homilies, from the Greek and Latin Manuscripts:

https://compassionatespirit.com/Books/Homilies/Homilies-TOC.htm

The Clementine Homilies (English translation) Ante-Nicene Christian Library, Vol. XVII, T & T Clark, 1852: 

https://archive.org/details/clementinehomil00donagoog/page/n8/mode/2up?view=theater

History

I do agree with the scholar Robert Eisenman that finding the historic James the Just (brother and spiritual successor of Jesus) is the most logical way to locate a historic Jesus. 

The Research of Robert Eisenman

Robert Eisenman @ Amazon: “James the Brother of Jesus: The Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls”; also, “Dead Sea Scrolls & The First Christians”; and, “James the Just in the Habakkuk Pesher”: 

https://www.amazon.com/Robert-Eisenman/e/B000APV2U2

James The Brother Of Jesus And The Dead Sea Scrolls, by Robert Eisenman: 

https://archive.org/details/JamesTheBrotherOfJesusAndTheDeadSeaScrollsI/page/n14/mode/1up

The Research of Keith Akers

I highly recommend two books by Keith Akers on the original Jesus Movement (Christianity-Before-Paul), the Ebionites: "Disciples": 

https://www.amazon.com/Disciples-Jewish-Christianity-Shaped-Shattered-ebook/dp/B00J48GAJE/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=keith+akers&qid=1586786123&sr=8-1

And by Keith Akers..."The Lost Religion of Jesus": 

https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Religion-Jesus-Christianity-Non-Violence-ebook/dp/B003KTNBMM/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&qid=1586786168&refinements=p_27%3AKeith+Akers&s=digital-text&sr=1-1&text=Keith+Akers

Read for free online, The Lost Religion of Jesus: Simple Living and Nonviolence in Early Christianity, by Keith Akers: 

https://archive.org/details/lostreligionofje0000aker/mode/2up

The Research of James Tabor

Forgotten Christians: Who Were The Ebionites?

https://youtu.be/dBSuapNMQXU?si=6UnXILusW8w2rM6K

How James [Yaaqov] Beloved Brother of Jesus Was Written out of Early Christianity: 

https://youtu.be/2n5Qg_ekQ_E?si=AQz_H68TWVYpj7N8

The Jesus Dynasty: The Hidden History of Jesus, His Royal Family, and the Birth of Christianity, by James D. Tabor: 

https://archive.org/details/the-jesus-dynasty-james-d.-tabor_202301/mode/2up

The Fading of the Jesus Family--Phase One: 

https://youtu.be/FquOk6wpPr8?si=Cci8eP2bMMlUPbDj

Reclaiming Primitive Christianity Part 2: Exploring the Historical Jesus with Dr. James Tabor:  

https://youtu.be/WJNACLcWuLE?si=v3zURHTnrm7Dbfii

Were the Ebionites Heretics? Or Our Best Witness to the Jesus Movement? 

https://youtu.be/HLQ97erL1gc?si=eDWHzX0gQjIVVjKf

The Research of John Davidson 

The Gospel of Jesus: In Search of His Original Teachings, by John Davidson: 

https://archive.org/details/gospelofjesusins0000davi/mode/2up

The Research of Gerard P. Luttikhuizen

The Revelation of Elchasai, a scholarly book by Gerard P. Luttikhuizen, exploring the Elkesaites, a Jewish-Christian sect originating in the Transjordan, their connections to the Ebionites, Nazarenes, Gnosticism (Sethians, Mandaeans, Manichaeans and the Prophet Mani);

Evidence That Jesus and The Original Aramaic Christians Were Vegetarians, By James Bean (Veg Passages, Expanded, Updated): 

@ Medium: 

https://medium.com/sant-mat-meditation-and-spirituality/evidence-that-jesus-and-the-original-aramaic-christians-were-vegetarians-b8784ac42506

@ Blog: 

https://santmatradhasoami.blogspot.com/2019/04/evidence-that-jesus-and-original.html

Selections from the Sar Bachan Radhasoami Poetry of Soami Ji Maharaj

 

Selections from the Sar Bachan Radhasoami Poetry of Soami Ji Maharaj

"You will not find any trace or sign of the Master in pilgrimages, fasts, rituals, or temples. The poet Rumi says: 'The mosques and temples are within the saints. That is where God resides.'"

"Seek the Beloved within yourself. If you are anxious to meet your Beloved, do not stray in the world."

"When your eye turns inward in the brain and you see the firmament within, and your spirit leaves the body and rises upward, you will see the Akash in which is located Sahas-dal-kanwal, the thousand petals of which perform the various functions pertaining to the three worlds. Its effulgence will exhilarate your spirit."

"Realize your real form within, and then proceed further with your Surat.*"  (* attention-faculty of the soul)

"My dear, listen to what I say. Turn within yourself and behold light."

"Behold the marvellous Jyoti (flame) within yourself. Radhasoami* has opened the spring of Bhakti."

"Shabd* is ringing within you. Hear it with rapt attention."   (* sound current)

"Listen to Anhad Shabd within, says Radhasoami."

"Slowly and gradually you will gain stability. There is no other remedy but to perform Bhakti*.  (* bhakti, love and devotion) 

One day your imperfect Bhakti will become perfect. Give up hypocrisy and engage in Bhakti.

Insincere Bhakti will not do. Perform true and sincere Bhakti, no matter if it is imperfect.

Radhasoami graciously declares that you should perform Bhakti in whatever manner you can."

"Therefore, perform Bhakti and make your life fruitful."

*Radhasoami (Radhaswami), The Lord of the Soul

Exploring the Anurag Sagar's Cosmic Conspiracy of Kal, Plus the Origin of the Anurag Sagar (Ocean of Love)

 

Exploring the Anurag Sagar's Cosmic Conspiracy of Kal, And Further Below, the Origin of the Anurag Sagar (Ocean of Love), India's Most Gnostic Scripture

The Cosmic Conspiracy of Kal Niranjan, the Gnostic Demiurge, the Negative Power

The Kal said to Kabir:

I will do something there so that nobody will believe in Your

Shabda [Word].

There I will create such karmas and illusions that nobody will find

the way out.

In every single home I will create the ghost of illusion, and deceiving

the souls, I will make them forget.

All humans will eat flesh and drink wine, and all kinds of flesh will

be the favorites.

0 brother, Your Devotion is difficult — Nobody will believe it, I’m

telling You!

That is why I say: ‘Don’t go into the world now!’”

Kabir said:

At that time I told Kal, “I know your deceptions and tricks.

HYMN

Making the souls firm in the true Shabda, I will enable them to

remove your illusions.

I will make them recognize all your tricks, and by the strength of

Naam I will liberate the souls.

Those who remember me in thought, word and deed, focusing their

attention on the Elementless,

Such souls will go to the Immortal World, putting their feet on your

head.

COUPLET

Any brave and wise soul will finish your ego.

And very happily that soul will be convinced of the true Shabda.”

Hearing this Kal felt defeated and started to think of deceptions.

The Anurag Sagar Granth (Scripture) from the Closing Chapter

By speaking the Anurag Sagar Granth, I have explained to you the Secret of the Inaccessible. I have described the Drama of Sat Purush, and the deception of Kal. Only the connoisseurs will understand the ways of living and the Word of Discrimination. One who will accept the Word after testing it, will know the Path to the Inaccessible…

The Union of Surat and Shabda - when one gets Shabda, he reaches the realm of the Saints. It is the play of the drop and the ocean. What else can one say?

After meeting the Satguru, one understands the play of Shabda and Surat. It is the union of the drop and the ocean. What else can one say?

Giving up the qualities of mind, one should follow the Path of the Master. Such a soul goes to Sat Lok and derives Happiness from the Ocean of Happiness.

Understand the jiva as the drop, and the Naam of the Satguru as the ocean, Says Kabir with proof: Dharam Das, understand this!

— Book of Anurag Sagar, the Ocean of Love:

https://archive.org/details/AnuragSagarOfKabir

Center For Anurag Sagar Studies:

https://www.SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com/anurag.sagar

ABOUT THE ANURAG SAGAR TRANSLATION - The Origin of the Anurag Sagar (Ocean of Love)

Sant Bani books published an English translation of the Anurag Sagar in 1982 based on the Swami Yugalananda edition. From the introduction to this translation Russell Perkins writes: "Our text is from the edition published in Bombay in 1914 by Swami Yugalananda, who says in his Hindi preface that he used forty-six different versions of Anurag Sagar, thirteen of them hand-written, in preparing his edition, and that he carefully and painstakingly collated all the versions and compared all variant readings in order to arrive at the present book. This edition was specially recommended by Sant Ajaib Singh as the basis for the English translation, as it is the only text available based on this kind of careful scholarship."

The Anurag Sagar is volume two in a vast granth or collection of scriptures known as the Kabir Sagar (Ocean of Kabir). All eleven volumes of the complete Kabir Sagar were compiled, translated and published back in 1914 by Swami Yugalananda.

Background Information on Swami Yugalananda, The Great Scholar of Dharam Das Kabir Writings

Yugalananda was also known as "Shri Yugalanand Bihari", "Kabir Panthi Yugalanand Bihari" or "Bharat Pathik".  Swami Yugalananda was born into a Kabir panth family, eventually became a collector of books, did much traveling around India and neighboring countries assiduously attempting to create critical editions of various Kabir publications by gathering together as many diverse copies of various Kabir related texts as he could, and was very much interested in reforming the Kabir panth. By Kabir panth (the Path of Kabir) here I'm specifically referring to the Dharamdasis (the Sant Dharam Das line of Masters), as only they recognize the Anurag Sagar and the other Kabir Sagar books as scripture. The other Kabir panth sects don't use those.

Yugalananda claimed that over time, unqualified leaders (“mahants”) had altered or distorted many original manuscripts. He aimed to revise and purify the scripture to restore authenticity, sourcing from the best available copies, especially one from Shri Ugranam Sahib. He worked to safeguard doctrinal integrity through textual criticism and editorial reform. His effort shaped how Kabir Sagar and related Sagar books are presented and studied within devotional contexts. He has become the authoritative, honest go-to-source for Kabir texts. His redaction approach influenced the Kabir Panthi community’s standardized edition of the Kabir Sagar volumes widely used today.

He is well-known for his translation and compilation of Kabir Sagar, Anurag Sagar, and other key Kabir Panthi texts. He was a prolific author who is credited with writing forty-two books, including Kabir ki Sakhi (1898) and Anurag Sagar (1914), published in Bombay by Shri Venkateshwar Press.

At the time of the publication of the Kabir Sagar volumes in 1914, Yugalananda, also known as Swami Yugalanand Bihari, for a time apparently served as the Acharya (spiritual head, guru) of a Kabir Ashram: Kabirdham (Kabir Dharma Nagar) located at Damakheda, a major center of the Kabir Panth in Chhattisgarh. In some of his other Kabir-related publications however, I've noticed that the signatures included in his introductions mention him being located at a Kabir Ashram in Bombay: "Kabir Ashram, Khagsiya Station, Yours sincerely, Bilaspur, C.P.Shri Yugalanand Bihari, Kuchar Bhawan, Rashtriyashala Road..., Vile Parle, Bombay... (Acharya Kabir Ashram)."

A list of all forty of the books included in the eleven volume set called, The Kabir Sagar, the Swami Yugalananda edition published in 1914:

Gyan Sagar

Anurag Sagar

Ambu Sagar

Vivek Sagar

Sarvagya Sagar

Gyan Prakash

Amar Singh Bodh

Bir Singh Bodh

Bhopal Bodh

Jagjeevan Bodh

Garud Bodh

Hanuman Bodh

Lakshman Bodh

Muhammad Bodh

Kafir Bodh

Sultan Bodh

Niranjan Bodh

Gyan Bodh

Bhavtaran Bodh

Mukti Bodh

Chauka Bodh

Kabir Bani

Karma Bodh

Amar Mool

Ugra Geeta

Gyan Sthiti Bodh

Santosh Bodh

Kaya Panji

Panch Mudra

Atma Bodh

Jain Dharm Bodh

Swasamved Bodh

Dharm Bodh

Kamal Bodh

Shwaans Gunjar

Agam Nigam Bodh

Sumiran Bodh

Kabir Charitra Bodh

Guru Mahatmya

Jeev Dharm Bodh

Dadu Dayal’s Vision For Living A Spiritual Life

Dadu Dayal’s Vision For Living A Spiritual Life

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.

IMAGE: Sant Dadu Dayal of Rajasthan (1544–1603)

Helpful Guidance For Satsangis Struggling With Meditation Practice, by Huzur Maharaj Rai Saligram Bahadur of the Radhasoami Satsang

 

Helpful Guidance For Satsangis Struggling With Meditation Practice, by Huzur Maharaj Rai Saligram Bahadur of the Radhasoami Satsang

Patience is necessary for making the mind and spirit ascend and the practices should be performed properly, i.e. without any obstruction.

1. It is desirable for the followers of the Radhasoami Faith that they should perform the practices regularly every day with birah [intense yearning] 1 and eagerness. They should concentrate the mind and the spirit and their attention for the first four or five minutes at the Third Til [Third Eye Center] 2 and then, directing their attention to the first or the second region of Brahmanda and concentrating it there, should listen to Shabda [Sound Current] and, at the time of Dhyan [meditation upon the form of the master, also inner Light], should concentrate their mind as well as their attention at the same place and meditate on the Form, whenever it may be visible. They should not exert much pressure in order to make the spirit ascend from lower planes upwards and should only pull their mind, thoughts and attention upwards easily and conveniently and fix them at the region with the help of Shabda or the Holy Form and should be careful that no worldly thoughts of any kind enter their mind and no impulses, whether pertaining to the world or paramartha [spirituality], enter their mind. If they do so, they would certainly get at least some joy of Shabda and the Holy Form.

2. If they do not have any feelings of birah and eagerness at the time of practices, it is desirable that they should carefully read two Shabdas [hymns] 3 containing admonition and feelings of detachment from the world, two Shabdas [hymns] containing feelings of love for the Lord and then sit for the practices and, reviewing their faults and defects, humbly pray in the Holy Feet of Merciful Radhasoami for His Grace and then begin to perform Bhajan or Dhyan.

3. If they are not able even then to bring the mind under control and useless thoughts and impulses continue to arise, they should take up the practice of Dhyan also simultaneously if they are then engaged in Bhajan, i.e. they should begin contemplating on the Holy Form while sitting in the posture for Bhajan [listening to the Sound Current], and at the same time keep their mind directed towards Shabda also. If even then thoughts and impulses do not stop, he should engage in the repetition of the Holy Name also. In this way, the mind would become still to some extent and would engage in the practices,

4. If even then thoughts and impulses continue to trouble and the mind does not properly engage in Bhajan, they should sing within themselves very slowly or inaudibly, at the time of Bhajan or Dhyan, a few verses of some Shabda [hymn] containing feelings of love. It is believed that by doing so impulses would stop and the devotee would get some joy from Bhajan and Dhyan.

5. If the mind remains indifferent and careless even after doing so and continues to indulge in useless thoughts, the devotee should give up Bhajan and Dhyan and continue the repetition of the Holy Name somewhat loudly. He would, in this way, get some purification and he should thereafter engage in Bhajan or Dhyan for some time or should engage in both the practices at the same time. He would then get some benefit.

6. If at any time the mind does not at all engage in these activities and remains indifferent and careless,one should read, with care and with his attention fixed on the meaning thereof, five Shabdas [hymns] giving the secret of the path as well as the details of the ascent upwards, slowly or inaudibly, and should try to concentrate the mind and attention consciously at all the stages mentioned therein and should repeat every verse of the Shabda four or five times or even more and should try to concentrate the mind all the time at the region mentioned in the verse. This kind of path (path) would give benefit more or less equal to that from Bhajan and Dhyan and one should be careful that no thought, whether worldly or paramarthi [spiritual], should be allowed to enter the mind.

7. If none of the above things can be done correctly, it should be understood that the mind is too much given to performing karmas and is dirty and the method of purifying it is that one should attend Satsang carefully for some time and engage himself in some service or the other of the lovers of the Lord and Sadhs and should also listen attentively to their discourses and the discourses of the Satsang and reflect on them. It is only then, that the mind would be purified in some time and love for paramartha would also be engendered. It is then that the practices referred to above would be performed properly.

8. And if one is unable to find an opportunity to live in the Satsang for some time and engage in seva and practices, he should close his eyes, wherever he may be sitting or whatever work he may be doing with his hands or even if he may be lying on the cot, for 6 to 7 minutes after every hour or two, and concentrate his mind and spirit and attention on the first stage and engage in Simran and Dhyan. The mind would not become fickle in such a short time, i.e. 6 or 7 minutes, nor would it engage in any thought and impulses. In this manner, if this practice is successfully performed even ten to twelve times during day and night, one would be able to spend about an hour or so in this undisturbed practice and the devotee would, after some days, certainly experience some joy and he would feel its effect all the time. And even at the time of Bhajan and Dhyan done ordinarily, the mind would become quiet for 6 to 7 minutes each time and get some joy and gradually even this ordinary practice would also be successfully performed. Besides, this practice for a few minutes each time should also be continued at other times so that purification of the mind and the senses may be achieved quickly and more and more joy may also be available.

9. If at any time during the practices of Bhajan and Dhyan one becomes forgetful of the world and is alert within, it is an indication that the practices are being done correctly, but if one finds himself in a condition resembling sleep, and he loses consciousness, both internally and externally, it is desirable that when this condition of forgetfulness begins to appear, he should give up the practice for a few minutes and open his eyes and if drowsiness continues, he should get up and walk a few paces and then sit again for practices and if again he feels sleepy, he should repeat the above-mentioned process and if he feels sleepy even then, he should give up the practice at that time.

10. One should engage in the practices at one time for at least half an hour or twenty minutes and he should remain engaged longer in the practice (be it Bhajan or Dhyan) in which his mind concentrates easily and give less time to the other but the two practices should be performed without fail twice daily and, as far as possible, one should not miss them.

11. Ordinarily, it is desirable to engage in the practices in the mornings and evenings and there are no restrictions, regarding bathing, washing etc. and regarding the place where one should do his Abhyasa [spiritual practice]. One may sit for the practices as one likes and may sit comfortably on a soft floor and if one feels the need to attend to a call of nature, he should first relieve himself. And as regards the place, he should take care that there should be no noise or disturbance where: he performs the practices and no stranger should be present there and nobody should disturb the devotee at the time of the practices. If there is any necessity, one may call the devotee from a distance.

12. A keen devotee may sit for his practices at any place and at anytime either before taking his food or two to three hours after taking his food and may perform the practices for any length of time from 10 minutes to an hour or an hour and a quarter or even for an hour and a half as long as his mind feels inclined at one time. And when, with the Lord’s Grace, his spirit and the mind concentrate and begin to ascend upwards, he should take care in the beginning that they are not pulled upwards too much or too high and should gradually make them ascend upwards, as he may be able to tolerate, and when, on account of the ascent to higher regions, the heart may begin to feel uneasy, he should continue the practice only to the extent it can be tolerated and when he cannot put up with this condition of the heart, he should give up the practice at that time or if the withdrawal is considerable and spontaneous and one cannot put up with it or feels some trouble or fear, even then he should give up the practice and get up and again engage in the practice after some time, so that gradually he may be able to endure that condition and he should also engage in some work after the practices so that his body and mind may not become inactive and lethargic.

13. If any part of the body of the devotee becomes benumbed, languid or useless at the time of Dhyan or Bhajan, he should understand that the practice has been correctly performed. He should not have, on observing this condition, any fear or misgivings. He should slowly get up after the practices and walk for a few minutes. Weariness and languor of the body would then disappear.

NOTES:

1. The idea in ‘birah’ is that the devotee feels an intense yearning to have the Darshan [vision] of the Lord or the Satguru or to meet Him and this yearning is accompanied by anguish and agony at its not being fulfilled or at delay in its being fulfilled. The hearts of true devotees are often filled with such feelings for the Satguru or the Supreme Being.

2. i.e. the Ajia Chakra or the 6th Chakra which is the seat of the spirit in the human body. P. P. III—22

3. The word ‘Shabda’ here means poem. The poems of Saints have been called ‘Shabdas’.

Above is from, Prem Patra Radhasoami, Part 3, by Huzur Maharaj, Discourse Nine: 1-13:

https://archive.org/details/prem-patra-dayalbagh-part-3/page/169/mode/2up

Lost Secrets of the Sethian Gnostics and Other Mystic Paths, by James Bean

 

Lost Secrets of the Sethian Gnostics and Other Mystic Paths, by James Bean

At one of the forums I belong to someone asked me about why mystic paths like the Sethian Gnostics kept the techniques of the spiritual practice a secret, for initiates only, between master and student. My reply is below.

Have attempted to find out what the Sethians used the names for according to a few scholarly texts on Sethianism: The Five Seals: Baptismal Rites in Sethian Gnosticism, by By J. Pedro Feliciano, Apocalypse of the Alien God, Dylan M. Burns, also, Sethian Gnosticism and The Platonic Tradition, by John Turner.

The five Sethian names (Harmoz-el, Oroia-el, Daveithai, El-eleth, and Autogenes, the “Self-Begotten One”) likely were used at an initiate’s baptism, five immersions in a river (living water). Since these names also correspond to five heavenly realms, one wonders if these names, these passwords of power, were also used in their spiritual practice as part of the ascension of the soul. Names corresponding to heavenly regions are used that way in other schools of spirituality (Kabbalah, Sufism, and Sant Mat). Also, even the baptism itself might have been about more than a water ritual bath and could have had a meditative component, a mystical experience. Some of the texts suggest this.

On secrecy. The downside of secrecy is that these sorts of mystic traditions do quickly get lost, are quite fragile. Usually mystic paths die off or dry up after a few generations. Without a master there are no more students and the secrets disappear. There are many reasons why esoteric paths keep their practices secret. If their methods were in the public domain such far-out talk of visions and experiencing the heavens would invite persecution from various hylic brethren committed to other religious ideologies that have no room for mysticism or a present-tense kingdom of God. The hylics seem to be really good a wielding the sword.

Another reason for the secrecy is to preserve their ways from being corrupted by those who would plagiarize and set up their own neo Sethian paths. Inner experience is something not only taught, but also caught. Students meditating with a genuine master are given a jump-start. The heavens open more easily in the presence of such saints.

So the purity of the path rests upon it being lead by a competent spiritual teacher who himself or herself experiences the heavens and mysteries being discussed. Thus the secrecy factor is an attempt at accreditation, to preserve the integrity of a line of masters, successors, with them and only them initiating people.

This never is a complete success however. There are opportunists in every generation giving rise to fake or deceptive gnostic teachers, fake sants, fake sufis, pseudo kabbalists, and so on. But there is at least some hope many will reach a good teacher who was legitimately appointed by their teacher and faithfully lives the path they represent.

My friend Don Howard has written about this: Evaluating Spiritual Teachers — In Search of a Worthy, Genuine, Competent, Qualified Spiritual Teacher: https://spiritualawakeningradio.com/QualifyingASpiritualTeacherByDonHoward.pdf

One of my blogs: Recognizing Genuine, Advanced Spiritual Masters of Inner Light and Sound — Helpful Points: https://medium.com/sant-mat-meditation-and-spirituality/recognizing-genuine-advanced-spiritual-masters-of-inner-light-and-sound-helpful-points-976f3f2c730d

A Sant Mat Ahimsa Prayer of Peace

 

A Sant Mat Ahimsa Prayer of Peace

It’s not always easy to live up to these principles in a world where few know of them. This is such a beautiful, eloquent prayer. It’s something that one could ponder and recite each and every day for life. It’s called the “Prarthana-panchak se” by Ramesvarananda Saheb, a guru or sadhu in a lineage associated with Guru Kabir and Sant Dharam Das. It’s translated in David Lorenzen’s book, “Praises to a Formless God”, SUNY Press, NY.

O Gurudev, give me peace,

Give worthy feelings, worthy intelligence.

Give mutual cooperation.

Give purity to my heart.

Let there be pure feelings in my mind.

Let there be pure conduct by my body.

May my speech be free of falsity and slander.

May the sentiment of devotion increase.

May my thoughts not be agitated

by the ripening of innate karma.

May my body and mind be healthy,

May my worship be free of obstacles.

May I remain in the presence of Saints

and be filled with the sentiment of devotion.

May I swim across the ocean of samsara, the ocean

filled with passion, hate, change and fear.

Let there be neglect for wicked persons

and compassion for the destitute,

Happiness among those of good conduct

and friendship with good people.

May buffoonery cease and may we delight

in the words that lead across samsara [this world of changes].

May we be happy in the study of wisdom;

May we keep our minds under control.

May we have hope of refuge with the Satguru,

May we have no fear of lust and other vices.

May we ever yearn for self-awakening

and have faith in the words of revelation.

May the darkness of ignorance be destroyed;

May the lamp of knowledge be lit.

May the law of death be forgotten,

and immortality be expanded.

May there be no harm done to living beings

through my words or my actions.

May I never feel the least attachment

to the objects of my senses.

May there always be happiness

and the absence of desire.

May there be an end to the power of samsara,

and a beginning to the knowledge of God.