The Gnostics -- Where Are They Now? by James Bean

 

The Gnostics -- Where Are They Now? by James Bean

At the Gnostic Gospels Discord forum someone asked this question: "In this very day and age, are there new Gnostic gospels/scriptures/writing active produced? I think that gnosticism, like all religions, should evolve and there should be constantly new texts to express the gnostic experience."

My Replies: Yes, this is correct. An exciting and hopeful topic really. Gnosticism never went away, it traveled east, beyond the oppressive reach of the Roman Empire. New texts kept on being produced by living schools of spirituality, and this remains true right up to the living present.

Note. And by this I don't mean the gnostic hijackers out there abusing the term gnosticism, repurposing the term to mean new things unrelated to classic gnosticism but that are related to magic, other forms of spiritual materialism, incompatible systems of esoterica, manipulation, cults, conspirituality and so on. The Matrix metaphors are another example of an unfortunate reappropriation, where "taking the red pill" nowadays means being sold some new con-spiracy theory or new agey thing falsely rebranded as gnostic, so I've mostly given up on Matrix references in connection with gnosticism due to this hijacking.

The repurposing of the word gnostic is a modern-day plague of the blogosphere and Youtube world. But I agree with M. David Litwa that we should not give up on the word "gnostic" but reclaim it from the abusers, and reclaim it from church father propaganda as well.

But...back to your important question. The key is recognizing gnostic mystical systems that came later under other names such as Manichaeanism, Cathars, Kabbalah, certain Sufi Orders, and other living schools associated with Mystics of the East (Sant Mat, Radhasoami). There are indeed cousin schools of mysticism embodying the same basic "operating system", if you will, as those Gnostics of Alexandria. Some of these great grandchildren of Gnosticism even have published books quoting early Gnostic texts happy to acknowledge the universality of their teachings and spiritual practices... initiation into meditation and inner experience (gnosis).

Gnosticism, including a rich spiritual heritage of gnostic compatible literature did continue -- never ceased. As I've sometimes joked with people, the last gnostic text was published last Tuesday.

“Theologians may quarrel, but the mystics of the world speak the same language.” ― Meister Eckhart

"The lamps are different, but the Light is the same: it comes from Beyond. If thou keep looking at the lamp, thou art lost: for thence arises the appearance of numbers and plurality. Fix thy gaze upon the Light, and thou art delivered from the dualism inherent in the finite body." (Rumi, Masnavi, Book III)

"I am neither Christian, nor Jew, nor Muslim, nor Hindu, Buddhist, sufi, or zen. I belong to no religion or cultural system. I am not from the East or the West, not out of the ocean or up from the ground, not natural or ethereal, not composed of elements at all... I belong to The Beloved, have seen the two worlds as one and that one call to and know, first, last, outer, inner, only that breath breathing human being." (Rumi, Only Breath)

"He received the gnosis of the mysteries... that had been entrusted to the righteous before him." (on Mani, Cologne Mani Codex)

"Previously the religion was announced in many places and in many languages through Buddhas, through Jesus, and through other messengers." (Mani, Shabuhragan, a Middle Persian Manichaean scripture)

"Wisdom and the deeds of the Buddha, and the righteousness of Jesus the Splendour, and the mysteries and the images of the Light, and the true knowledge (gnosis) were revealed through the Apostle." (Kephalaia, Manichaean scripture)

"From age to age the apostles of God have brought the truth. At one time they came through the Buddha in India; at another through Zarathustra in Persia; at another through Jesus in the West. Finally this revelation came through me, Mani, the Apostle of the True God." (Kephalaia)

"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)

They raved in the passion of anger;

they lacked sense or coherent thought

and you assembled their thoughts,

and so they understood their origin

in the Realm of Light.

Those living beings in the five states of existence

you freed from ignorance

and gave them wisdom,

leading them to pari-nirvana....

Unendingly submerged in the dust

of forgetting rebirths

and in a state of poisonous savage animals,

they were always mad.

When the passion of greed poisoned them

and they were dying,

you prepared a medicine for them

from the herb of meditation.

-- The Great Song to Mani, Gnosis on the Silk Road

"By considering the Self one becomes a Gnostic; realising the self (to be) God (SOHAM), he comes to be satisfied in the Mystery through the Word... When a disciple realises the Self, what else is he to do or have done (for him)? He who has obtained the Treasure through love fixes (his) mind on God's feet. Night and day become pleasant (once) egoism is dispelled; I got rid of the heart's infatuation when I pleased Him; (now, Lord), graciously come into (my) house!

"Happiness is not for those who make many friends in the world; it is those who keep the mind on the One who ever enjoy happiness."  (Sikh scriptures, Gospel of the Guru-Granth Sahib: https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.1918/page/146/mode/2up?q=gnostic )

Without Satsang, Maya (Illusion) Does Not Release

Without Satsang, Maya (Illusion) Does Not Release

In the world of spiritual paths we have many examples of moral talks or people cobbling together some sort of spiritual presentation of religious information. In Sant Mat however, a genuine spiritual master cuts through the illusion and has the goal of presenting satsang discourses. These solely address the eternal divine truths and realities. The goal is always to motivate the initiates, the disciple satsangis to follow the meditation practice and make spiritual progress during this life. These discourses always have much depth, are mindful of the long tradition of Sants in India, and test positive for Sant Mat content.

"If we listen to Satsang, Satsang bears its colors. There is great power in Satsang. If we listen to Satsang with love and affection, then many of our sins are cut. Our load becomes light. Our sins fall away. Satsang is a very lofty thing. But after listening to Satsang, act on it, meditate on it first. Think about it. And keep it within. Then see how much change comes within you. Your conduct, thoughts, behavior, all will change. One will become a human-divine being. One will become a human Mahatma. They say, brother, that Satsang is no small thing that the Sants speak of. They are telling the matter of their own experience. They say, in our heart, when there is samskara, then in the hearts of such devotees Satsang strikes. And he will act on it. And his being is transformed." (Baba Ram Singh)

The satsang discourses of Baba Ram Singh are always wonderful and test positive for the depths of Sant Mat spirituality. Below is excerpted from a recently translated satsang from Scott Gaul's very fine seva project to make available in English more of Baba Ram Singh's satsang discourses via his Radhaswami Talks blog, which I highly recommend. See the link to the entire satsang below.

An excerpt from a recent satsang titled, Without Satsang, Maya Does Not Release

What can be read and spoken, that is called akshar (letters). But the Sants say, the Naam which the Sants and Mahatmas give is not contained in these letters. It is not within the fifty-two letters of the alphabet, not within the seven crore mantras. So a doubt can arise in us: when it is not letters at all, then how do the Sants give it? Because on the day of Naamdaan, they say, first the Simran of the five names is given, and that too is made of letters. That too can be written, read, spoken; that too is perishable. But when the Guru seats us in Dhyan, going within, between the two eyes, here is the seat of our soul and mind. And that very Shabd is also there, the Shabd which has come from Satlok Sachkhand and rests here. They say, the Guru, going within, joins our soul to the Shabd. And that is what Naamdaan is.

They say, on the day the Guru joins us to the Shabd, He comes to sit within us in the form of Shabd. And from that day the Guru is always with us. Between the two eyes, in the tenth door. That is why, they say, the Sants say: brother, by doing Simran and Bhajan, leave the nine doors and come to the tenth. When your third eye opens, that Naam will manifest, that is, the Shabd will manifest. The Shabd to which the Guru has joined you, which is called Anhad Shabd. There are many kinds of Shabd. There are also Shabds of the lower six chakras, which are called Das Vidh Naad (the ten kinds of sound). These are of twenty kinds. And above the eyes, that is called Anhad Naad.

They say, on attaining which, the mind becomes a little contented. The mind gets a respite to become still. That, they say, is the Anhad Shabd. And after that comes the Sar Shabd. They say, the Sar Shabd, in Parbrahm is the Sar Shabd. And in Satlok Sachkhand is the Sat Shabd. So the Shabd of every region is different. So on the day of Naamdaan, the Guru joins our soul to the Sar Shabd. But at first, when our soul goes within, it is the Anhad Shabd that manifests. That is why Kabir Sahib too has said:

"Jaap dies, ajapa dies, even Anhad dies away.

Without recognizing the Sar Shabd, one wanders again and again."

They say, until that Sar Shabd manifests by the Guru’s grace, the coming and going does not end.

That is why they say, brother, that Naam is a very lofty thing, about which Guru Nanak too has said:

"By Shabd the earth, by Shabd the heavens;

Through Shabd the Shabd blazed into light.

All creation follows in the wake of Shabd;

Nanak, the Shabd abides in every heart."

They say, that very Shabd which has created the whole world, that very Shabd is resounding in our tenth door. And the Guru joins us to that very Shabd. It has come from Satlok Sachkhand and rests here. They say, that very Shabd is what the Sants call Naam. So that Naam is something else, and these mantras and tantras are something else. That is why they say, without Satsang, our delusion does not go away. Because in Satsang the Mahatmas do not speak about the Vedas, Shastras, Puranas, and other scriptures. They explain to us about our own soul. The glory of the Guru, the glory of Naam, the glory of Satsang. They speak about the Lord; that is what is told in all Satsangs.

The purpose of this human body, how precious this human body is, why we have received it, what we were supposed to do with it, what we are doing: all this information is given in Satsang. When we come to know that this human body is very precious, that the Lord has given it for crossing the ocean of birth and death, when we have this knowledge, then we go to the Guru. If we have no knowledge, where would we go? That is why Satsang comes first. It is Satsang in which the knowledge of truth and untruth comes. In which all the information about Naam, about the Guru, about Satsang is received. And about the soul and the Lord too.

https://substack.com/inbox/post/195580478

The Gift of the Human Form

 The Gift of the Human Form

Masters tell us that first, God Almighty gave us this human body in which we live. How ungrateful we are that we forget him who created it and is making it function. We think that we are our body, and we think that no one is superior to us. Thus, who can be our creator? No, dear ones, this is a misunderstanding on our part. There is someone who created us and who is sustaining us. We are not our body; we are our soul and only our soul gives power to our body. Because of our soul, our body walks and moves.

— Sant Ji, from the newly published book (2026), Make Your Life Successful, commentary on the Sarang Ki Var of the Adi Granth, Sant Bani Ashram

The Ascension of the Soul Back to God (the Ocean of Love) - Guru Nanak's Message - Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcast

The Ascension of the Soul Back to God (the Ocean of Love) - Guru Nanak's Message - Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcast

On today's satsang podcast we explore the soul's journey of separation from the One, incarnating into various bodies and lives of existence, it's eventual search for meaning, sacredness, finding spiritual awakening, and -- full circle -- returning back to the One. You'll hear many readings from the Sikh scriptures including the Morning Prayer (Jap Ji) of Guru Nanak and from other Saints of the East. As Guru Gobind Singh said in his mystic poetry and hymns: "Just as millions of sparks fly from fire; They arise separately but again unite in fire... From God’s form, incorporeal and corporeal beings are manifested and spring from Him shall all be united in Him again." (Dasam Granth)

@ Apple Podcasts: 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ascension-of-the-soul-back-to-god-the-ocean/id1477577384?i=1000741497311

@ Spotify: 

https://open.spotify.com/show/5kqOaSDrj630h5ou65JSjE

@ Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcast - Play or Direct Download MP3: 

https://traffic.libsyn.com/spiritualawakeningradio/The_Ascension_of_the_Soul_Back_to_God.mp3

@ the Podcast Website - Permalink URL - With Buttons That Take You To the Popular Podcast APPS - Wherever You Follow Podcasts: 

https://spiritualawakeningradio.libsyn.com/the-ascension-of-the-soul-back-to-god-the-ocean-of-love-guru-nanaks-message

& @ Wherever You Follow Podcasts - At Your Favorite Podcast APP Just Do a Search for "Spiritual Awakening Radio" (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, I Heart Radio, Audible & Amazon Music and Podcasts, Pocketcasts, Overcast, PodBean, Internet Archive, Substack, Jio Saavan, etc...). 

In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhasoami (Radhaswami), 

James Bean

A Satsang Without Walls

Light and Sound on The Path

Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts

Santmat Satsang Podcasts

Sant Mat Radhasoami

Spiritual Awakening Radio Website: 

https://www.SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com

sikh, jap ji, morning prayer, guru nanak, sant mat, radhasoami, satsang, gnostic, gnosticism, james bean, spiritual awakening radio, sant mat satsang podcasts, spirituality, meditation, religion, podcasts, adi granth, guru granth, gurbani, sach khand, heavens, ascension of the soul, God, enlightenment,

A Stream of Light Moving Through Ages - This is What I Mean by Sant Mat, the Path of the Masters

 

A Stream of Light Moving Through Ages - This is What I Mean by Sant Mat, the Path of the Masters

There are moments in human history when certain souls appear not as isolated figures, but as expressions of a single continuous Power — a river of awakening flowing through time. Saints have long said: the path of realization is not created anew with each Teacher, but is carried by the Masters, generation after generation, like a flame passed from lamp to lamp so it never goes out.

This is the Great Tradition.

It has no beginning and no ending. It rises wherever the human heart cries out for truth.

It steps into the world whenever the world has forgotten the inner path.

It lives through many bodies, many names, many voices.

It is one Power, one Light, one Sound — expressed through countless Masters across the ages.

The Masters do not come to found religions. They come to awaken souls.

But human beings, longing for certainty, often turn mystic schools into religions — fossilized echoes of once-living truth. The Masters do not condemn this; they simply continue their work through new forms, new bodies, new eras, so that the living connection to the inner Power does not fade from the earth.

There were nights in Hathras when the hut seemed no larger than a lantern, but the light within it reached far beyond its walls. On such nights, when the air was still and the small clay lamp flickered against the mud plaster, Tulsi Sahib would speak not in prose, but in song — a stream of inner seeing shaped into verse.

-- from the very latest Sant Mat publication, Tulsi Sahib: The Hidden Flame of Hathras, December 4th, 2025: 

 https://archive.org/details/tulsi-sahib-the-hidden-flame-of-hathras/mode/2up

The Supreme Being as the Ocean of Love (“Premsagar”)

“Premsagar soi satguru, jiva tihi lahe mai.”

“When the soul is merged into that Ocean, all sorrow disappears.”

Ocean of Love-Light

“Ram-sagar jyoti-svarupa, anant prem ko dham.”

“The Lord is an ocean of light and an abode of infinite love.”

— Sant Tulsi Sahib of Hathras

We Are Souls From Above

 

We Are Souls From Above

Photo: Baba Ram Singh. In the background is a black and white photo of Baba Somanath. The guru lineage of Baba Ram Singh: Soami Ji Maharaj to Baba Jaimal Singh to Hazur Baba Sawan Singh to Baba Somanath to Baba Ram Singh. Also, Baba Ram Singh was closely associated with Santji (Ajaib Singh), a successor of Kirpal Singh Ji, also one of the successors of Hazur Baba Sawan Singh.

Ram Singh Ji: "Saint; known as “Babaji” currently in residence at Guddella Ashram in Andhra Pradesh; Gurumukh disciple of Somanath Baba Ji Maharaj and Ajaib Singh Ji Maharaj." (Sant Mat Glossary, 2023)

SomAjaib: "Term coined by Baba Ram Singh Ji to acknowledge the Supreme Grace of the two great Sant Mat Masters — Somanath Baba Ji Maharaj and Ajaib Singh Ji Maharaj — Who formed and shaped His life on the Path of Surat Shabd Yoga and to Whom He gives all credit for the success of His mission and ongoing Seva." (Sant Mat Glossary, 2023)

Ajaib Singh Ji: "Param Sant Satguru; (1926-1997); known informally as “Sant Ji”; successor to Kirpal Singh Ji Maharaj; provided meditation retreats to thousands of initiates who came from abroad to His Ashrams in Rajasthan; and beginning in 1978, after the passing of Baba Ram Singh Ji’s Guru, Baba Somanath Ji Maharaj, He came every year to Bombay for the benefit of the disciples of Baba Somanath in South India; Baba Ram Singh Ji brought about one thousand souls to get initiated by Ajaib Singh Ji Who gave him so much Grace that Ram Singh considers Him his second Guru; the term “SomAjaib”, which Baba Ram Singh uses routinely to acknowledge His love, gratitude and devotion to two Great Saints of Sant Mat is a combination of the names “Som” and “Ajaib” and provides the name for His ashram in Guddella India, “Som Ajaib Ashram”. (Sant Mat Glossary 2023)

Kirpal Singh Ji: "Param Sant Satguru; (1894-1974); founded Ruhani Satsang; President of the World Fellowship of Religions from 1957-1971; one of Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj’s successors." (Sant Mat Glossary, 2023)

Sawan Singh Ji: "Param Sant Satguru; (1858-1948); successor to Jaimal Singh Ji Maharaj; Guru of Kirpal Singh Ji Maharaj, Somanath Baba Ji Maharaj, and Mastana Ji."  (Sant Mat Glossary, 2023)

Somanath Baba Ji: "Param Sant Satguru; (1885-1976); one of Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj's successors; from childhood, he was a brahmcharya (celibate) and at a young age he took a vow of sannyasa and became a Nath Panth yogi; he performed rigorous austerities and mastered Kundalini Yoga practices through pranayamas, attaining many supernatural powers, but he did not find peace of mind; finally, he came to the feet of Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj and obtained initiation into Surat Shabd Yoga; with the Grace of his Master, he became a perfect Gurumukh disciple and was entrusted with spreading the Teachings of Sant Mat in the south of India; in 1974, as a Satguru, He gave the Naam Daan initiation to BabaRam Singh Ji." (Sant Mat Glossary, 2023)

We Are Souls From Above

Excerpted from, The Lord Becomes Your Friend and Helper, by Baba Somanath

"Wherever you worship the Lord, there He becomes

your friend and helper.

By Guru’s Grace, the Lord comes to dwell in your

mind; He cannot be obtained in any other way."

This is the bani of Guru Ram Das, the fourth Guru of the Sikhs. He says that the Lord’s help and grace flow to us according to the purpose, the concentration, and the love with which we offer our worship. What does Guru Ram Das tell us further? If anyone does the devotion with some ulterior motive, they will gain nothing. Once we are put on the True Path by the Guru, and when we worship the Lord with full faith and love, then:

"Wherever I look, I see the Merciful Lord

who is compassionate on the poor ones."

The Lord dwells within your heart, and wherever you may choose to sit in His remembrance, He will shower His grace upon you. You do not need to go to the jungles or other secluded places to find the Lord; He is the very support of this body. He is the Power that supports the entire creation.

So where should you look for Him? As long as you have the idea that you must go in search of Him, as long as you think He is something other than yourself, you will go on seeking Him and will remain separate from Him. As long as the feeling of duality is present, there can be no meeting between you and the Almighty Lord. The Guru unites you with Oneness. When He connects you with the one Sat Naam, He tells you how to do the contemplation; He explains all the practices to you. When you adopt this method, then you unite with the Shabd and become the form of Shabd. When you perform the meditation with faith, according to the Guru’s instruction, then, wherever you look, you will see only the Lord. (Your Name is Nectar, Volume One, Satsangs of Baba Somanath Ji)

The following is from Baba Ram Singh, excerpted from a January 9th, 2025 satsang discourse:

Up through Brahm *, we are all bound by our forms, by our bodies. Up through Brahm, there are bodies. We are not free till we are out of these bodies [the physical body and subtle body coverings]. And that can happen only if we go to Par Brahm **.

Here we have the physical form of five elements. In the astral, they have the astral body, and above that is the causal body.

The soul, when it came down from Sach Khand [*** True Eternal Timeless Spiritual Realm], was very pure. And when it came from Par Brahm inside, there was one covering cast upon it — one body— which is the causal body. Then when it came further down to the astral, the astral covering came upon it. Finally, from there, when it came in this world, the physical body covering came upon it. If we see a thousand-watt bulb, it has a very high degree of luminance. But then if we cover it with one sheet, that brightness reduces. Then we cover it with another sheet, the brightness will further reduce. After we cover it with a third sheet, finally it will become dark outside.

That is how the soul, when it came down through all of these planes, has reduced in its luminance, and it has now become dark. It is in this darkness. But as it progresses further up, as it ascends to go back to God Almighty, gradually the light starts emanating from it and it becomes brighter and brighter.

When the soul ascends up, it leaves the physical and goes into the astral. One body which was covering it is out — the physical. So, it starts its luminance. Then further, when it goes to Brahm, the astral body is also cast off. And above Brahm, when it goes to the Par Brahm, finally all these three bodies are cast off and it comes in its essence. It has the luminance of twelve suns. And there, when it goes to the Par Brahm, it is no longer a male and no longer a female. All the bodies, all the coverings it has, are shed off and it comes in its own true form.

So, only for the sake of karmas, the soul adorns these bodies as it comes into this world. Otherwise, it has no physical body or form.

The true form of the soul is that of Light and Sound. Likewise, the true form of the Satguru is also Light and Sound. And the true form of Sat Purush is also Light and Sound.

The soul is like a drop of water; and the Masters, are like the waves; and God Almighty is like the sea.

All these jivas are droplets of water from that ocean in Sach Khand. All have come from there.

The Masters say, "It is only out of that essence of God Almighty that all the souls have come in this world and have adorned this world." (Discourses of a Living Master, Volume 21)

______

NOTES

* Brahm, Brahmand: The Causal plane between And and Par Brahm; Lit. “Egg of Brahm” because of its egg-like shape;

** Par Brahm: First spiritual region above the three lower worlds of the Negative Power where the soul gets cleansed of all karmas and impressions by bathing in the Mansarovar, the Pool of Nectar; plane of true Self-Realization, recognizing the relationship of the soul with the Creator; the soul's light here equals twelve suns;

*** Sach Khand: Lit. “True and Imperishable Region”; the spiritual region above Bhanwar Gupha and below Alakh Lok, home of the Saints; also Sat Lok;

The Shape of the Soul - Light and Sound on The Path

 

The Shape of the Soul

Excerpted from a Satsang of Baba Ji [a spiritual discourse by Baba Ram Singh] "in which He spoke of the soul. He described it as spherical in shape, gesturing with His hands to show a sphere. He said of the color of the soul... Our soul is spherical in shape and pure white in color and has the light of twelve luminous suns. Through simran when we withdraw our focus from the body to the third eye we can experience the true power of the soul."

Long Version:

I had been emailing back and forth with Christopher before he went to India about a Satsang of Baba Ji in which He spoke of the soul. He described it as spherical in shape, gesturing with His hands to show a sphere. He then described the color of the soul. I thought He said blue. Christopher didn’t remember Baba Ji mentioning any color. I asked Christopher if he could ask Baba Ji about this when he went to see Him. He said I should tell Bernard my question about the color of the soul. He said he would give my question to Revati who would then ask Baba Ji.

Revati messaged Baba Ji’s answer to me. Her message isn’t in perfect English, but Baba Ji’s answer comes through clearly. This is what Revati wrote:

Dear David B.

I am Revati here. You have asked about the color of the soul to Bernard.

Our soul is spherical in shape and pure white in color and has the light of twelve luminous suns. Through simran when we withdraw our focus from the body to the third eye we can experience the true power of the soul. The soul's luminosity is reflected much like the moon's light in the outer world. By connecting with our soul we can help it into it's immense power.

Let me expand on this.

The Soul's Nature: Spherical Shape

The innocence and light completeness and infinity in the spiritual context.

Pure white color. White is often associated with purity and innocence and light. This could signify the souls' inherent purity and goodness, luminosity. Twelve suns might represent the soul's immense inner light power or spiritual energy.

Now I hope you might have been convinced about the color of the soul.

Radhaswamy with kind regards and love.

Seeing Beyond the Material Realm Reuniting With the Supreme Being

Seeing Beyond the Material Realm Reuniting With the Supreme Being

"If we look at human life we shall have to admit that man has a limited scope of existence, limited power of thinking, limited bodily strength and intellect. With limited life, body and every thing limited it is difficult for him to know the Ultimate. Every individual knows his limitations and finds himself surrounded by forces which limit his activities. Such a helpless man is unable to know the Supreme Father. Looking at his limited resources, the Supreme father comes down on this planet and awakens the unlimited potentialities inherent in man. Man possesses the atom of spirit which has unlimited powers. Unfortunately there are too heavy coverings over it. Man is unaware of this potential power. The Supreme Father sends Saints and Seers for those who pine for awakening this power. The moment such an individual comes in to contact with messengers of God, his spirit power is ignited. With little effort from his side and with the help of the Master of the Time, he is able to cast aside the coverings over his soul. As the coverings go off, he feels lightness and develops power of penetration into the past and the future. When all the coverings are thrown off, he becomes one with Supreme Father. There is no difference between him and the Supreme Father. Attainment of this state is real salvation. Salvation is not attained in a dream or just before or after death. It is a process which takes place gradually.

"As the lids and coverings over the spirit are removed, the devotee is able to sense spiritual light within and enjoys spiritual bliss and happiness. Such experiences are constant and vivid. They generate in the devotee a firm faith in the Grace of the Supreme Father and about his spiritual development. This knowledge makes him fearless. He knows that the Supreme Father is watching him all the time as his Saviour and Guide. His attitude towards life changes. He does not while away his time. He cannot run after things material. Whatever he does, is in accordance with the will of the Supreme Father. Lives of Saints and Seers and Messengers of God bear testimony to this fact. Whatever they did was charged with spirituality. The result was elevation of the soul of the devotees, the recasting of their minds in the spiritual mould. Thus those who admit their helplessness are blessed. They have realised the truth about their existence. They will pray for help from the deepest corners of their hearts. Their sincere call, will never go unheard." 

-- Dayal Sahab, Dayalpuri Radhasoami Satsang, A Spiritual Seekers Guide (Recommended Reading For An Introduction to Sant Mat): https://archive.org/details/ASpiritualSeekersGuide/page/n1/mode/2up

सतगुरु दया करि पार लगाइहैं"

This translates to:

"With the mercy of the Satguru, one is ferried across."

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

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