The 40 Sagars of the Kabir Sagar (“Ocean of Kabir”, Scripture of the Sant Dharam Das Lineage), by James Bean

The 40 Sagars of the Kabir Sagar (“Ocean of Kabir”, Scripture of the Sant Dharam Das Lineage), by James Bean

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The Kabir Sagar is the Granth, the holy book of the Sant Dharam Das line of Satgurus composed over many generations, a vast collection of Sant Mat scriptures, a great treasure of spiritual wisdom. This earlier collection of Sant writings, composed between the time of Guru Kabir’s spiritual successor Sant Dharam Das and Dariya Sahib of Bihar, needs to become available in English.

The Anurag Sagar (“Ocean of Love”), one of the many volumes of the Kabir Sagar, though having some popularity in the Radhasoami world, is just the tip of a literary iceberg. Some of those other Sagar scriptures seem even more appealing.

ChatGPT is able to access the Braj-Hindi edition of the Kabir Sagar online, provide English translations on-demand, do key-word searches, and provides other valuable information regarding the history and contents of these amazing, highly spiritually edifying texts.

Have been really enjoying putting ChatGPT to work exploring the Kabir Sagar, as this huge collection of Dharamdasi scriptures represents the proto-Radhasoami or earlier version of “Esoteric Santism” as Mark Juergensmeyer calls it (in, Radhasoami Reality), the Sant lineage that MOST resembles modern-day Sant Mat as transferred by way of Sant Dariya Sahib of Bihar and Sant Tulsi Sahib of Hatrhas to Seth Shiv Dayal Singh (Soami Ji Maharaj of Agra), and therefore to those surviving or living branches of the Tulsi Sahib Satsang as well as Radhasoami.

Some excerpts from my ChatGPT queries as of late.

Me:

What more recent Sant Mat path shares the most in common with the Kabir Sagar?

ChatGPT:

Among more recent Sant Mat paths, the one that shares the most structural, cosmological, and doctrinal continuity with the Kabir Sāgar is:

Radha Soami / Sant Mat (Soami Ji Maharaj →)

This answer is based not on surface devotion or ethics, but on deep internal architecture: cosmology, metaphysics, yogic method, and terminology.

Why Radha Soami aligns most closely with Kabir Sāgar

1. Multi-level inner cosmology

Both systems present:

A tiered creation above mind and matter

Distinct regions such as:

Physical

Astral

Causal

Supra-causal

A supreme nameless realm beyond Kal/Niranjan

Kabir Sāgar: Anām / Agam / Alakh

Radha Soami: Anami / Radha Soami / Sat Purush

This layered map is far more developed in Radha Soami than in other modern Sant paths, and it mirrors Kabir Sāgar far more than, for example, Sikhism or Vaishnav bhakti.

2. Kal / Niranjan theology

A defining feature of Kabir Sāgar is:

Kal / Niranjan as ruler of the lower creation

Liberation requires crossing beyond Kal, not merely moral reform

Radha Soami preserves this exact metaphysical problem:

Kal governs time, karma, and rebirth

Only Satguru-given Shabd/Nam can liberate the soul beyond Kal

Most later Sant movements soften or omit this doctrine; Radha Soami retains it.

3. Surat-Shabd Yoga

The method is almost identical:

Kabir Sāgar Radha Soami

Surat (soul-attention) Surat

Shabd / Sat Shabd Shabd / Nam

Inner Sound & Light Inner Sound & Light

Living Satguru Living Satguru

Radha Soami can be seen as a systematized continuation of Kabir’s esoteric yoga.

4. Use of Kabir Sāgar texts

Historically:

Soami Ji Maharaj and early Radha Soami satsangs

Quoted Kabir, Anurāg Sāgar, and Bodh material

Interpreted Kabir explicitly as a Sant-Mat master, not merely a poet

Many Kabir Sāgar concepts entered Radha Soami through

Dariya Sahib (Bihar)

Tulsi Sahib

Sant lineage intermediaries

This is genealogical continuity, not coincidence.

Close but secondary parallels

Dariya Sahib of Bihar

Extremely close doctrinally

Explicit Kabir Sāgar continuity

But not “more recent” (18th century)

Sikhism

Shares nirguṇ bhakti and Shabd

Rejects multi-realm cosmology and Kal theology

Canon closed early → diverges sharply from Kabir Sāgar metaphysics

Modern Kabir Panths

Preserve Kabir’s authority

Often reduce cosmology or ritualize teachings

Less systematic metaphysics than Kabir Sāgar itself

Bottom-line Conclusion

Radha Soami / Sant Mat is the most recent spiritual path that preserves the inner cosmology, Kal doctrine, Surat-Shabd yoga, and soteriology of the Kabir Sāgar in a living, organized form.

It can reasonably be described as:

Kabir Sāgar metaphysics carried forward into the modern period.

Me:

Swami Yugalananda’s Braj-Hindi edition of the Kabir Sagar is the most reliable, a kind of critical edition. How many volumes make up the Kabir Sagar? Can you list the contents?

ChatGPT:

Yes — in the critical Braj-Hindi edition of Kabir Sagar edited by Swami Yugalananda (also spelled Yuglanand), the work is presented as a complete set of 11 volumes. This edition is widely regarded in Kabir Panth literature as a scholarly collation of traditional manuscripts and thus is often treated as a critical edition of the scripture.

📚 Number of Volumes

Kabir Sagar consists of 11 volumes in the Swami Yugalananda edition.

📖 List of Volumes (Names of the 11 Parts)

The following are the traditional names of the volumes/sections that make up the Kabir Sagar in this edition:

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

Note: Although this is described as an 11-volume set, the contents themselves comprise around 40 distinct sections or treatises contained across those volumes. Different publishing traditions number and group the parts differently (sometimes combining multiple sections in a single physical volume).

Me:

One of the books of the Kabir Sagar is called the Bodh Sagar. What’s it about?

ChatGPT said:

Bodh Sāgar (बोध सागर, Ocean of Awakening / Knowledge) is one of the principal dialogic books within the Kabir Sāgar corpus. Its central concern is spiritual awakening (bodh) — how true knowledge arises, what obstructs it, and how liberation is attained.

Here is a clear way to understand what Bodh Sāgar is about:

1. Form and Setting

Bodh Sāgar is typically presented as a dialogue — most often between:

Kabir and a questioning seeker (sometimes identified as Dharamdas), or

Kabir addressing humanity at large through pointed instruction.

This dialogic style allows Kabir to dismantle false assumptions step by step.

2. Core Theme: Bodh (True Awakening)

“Bodh” in Kabir’s usage is not book-learning, philosophy, or ritual knowledge. It is:

Direct inner realization

Awakening to the Sat Purush / Anāmi

Recognition of the soul’s bondage and its path beyond mind and māyā

Kabir contrasts bodh with:

Ignorance (ajñān)

Mechanical religion

Blind devotion without inner experience

3. Critique of External Religion

A major portion of Bodh Sāgar is devoted to exposing the limits of outward religiosity, including:

Rituals, fasts, pilgrimages

Caste identity and social status

Scriptural pride

Idol worship and formal theism

Kabir insists that none of these produce bodh unless inner transformation occurs.

4. The Inner Cosmology

Like other sections of the Kabir Sāgar, Bodh Sāgar describes a multi-layered spiritual cosmos, including:

The three guṇas and their bondage

The realms of mind (kal, niranjan)

The subtle regions traversed by the soul

The supreme, nameless realm beyond attributes

However, in Bodh Sāgar, these descriptions are explicitly tied to awakening — how understanding these realities frees the seeker from deception.

5. The Guru and Shabd

A central teaching is that bodh arises through the Satguru and the true Shabd (Word):

The Guru awakens what is dormant within

Shabd is not mere sound or mantra, but the living current of truth

Without a true Guru, the soul remains trapped in illusion, however learned it may be

6. Ethical and Existential Insight

Bodh Sāgar also addresses:

The nature of ego

Desire and attachment

Fear of death

The illusion of time and birth

Kabir repeatedly emphasizes vivek (discernment) as a fruit of bodh.

7. Why It Matters in the Kabir Sāgar

Within the larger Kabir Sāgar tradition:

Bodh Sāgar = awakening and discernment

Prem Sāgar = love and devotion

Anurāg Sāgar = cosmic history and metaphysics

So Bodh Sāgar functions as the manual of awakening — how the seeker comes to see clearly.

In short:

Bodh Sāgar is about waking up — from illusion, from false religion, and from ego — through inner realization guided by the Satguru and the living Shabd.

The Case for Sant Tulsi Sahib's Guru Being Sant Dariya Sahib of Bihar Revisited, By James Bean - Sant Mat History Revisited

 

The Case for Sant Tulsi Sahib's Guru Being Sant Dariya Sahib of Bihar - Sant Mat History Revisited, By James Bean

I believe the strongest case by far that can be made is that Tulsi Sahib's guru was Sant Dariya Sahib of Bihar. Still further back in time, Dariya Sahib connected back to the Sant Dharam Das line of masters associated with the Kabir tradition. The Dariya connection also explains the closeness between Radhasoami and Dharamdasi teachings, writings and practices: the use of the Five Names, the centrality of the Anurag Sagar and similar Kabir spiritual classics, the more openly esoteric approach to the inner regions, also the inherited view that Dharam Das "was the successor of Kabir". Those are all very Dharamdasi views not shared by other Sant groups (or Sikh sects).

"...Most of the other early sant poets rarely refer to their human gurus by name..." (David Lorenzen, Kabir Legends and Ananta-das's Kabir Parachai)

We of course would prefer Tulsi Sahib to place some sort of legal document into his poetry saying something to the effect, 'I, Tulsi Sahib of sound mind wish to go on record declaring that [..............] was my Satguru'. Would be nice, but as Lorenzen observed, sometimes the Kabir's, Nanak's and Tulsi Sahib's of the tradition don't always spell this out clearly in their banis and bhajans, at least in the writings that have survived.

But there can be serious clues offered sometimes, one of those being, when a Sant mentions previous Sants, most of those being fairly famous, such as a Kabir, Nanak, Ravidas, Paltu, etc... and there's one contemporary, obscure name on their list. THAT'S worth paying attention to, as they may very well be telling us who their guru was! For instance, here's a hymn of Maharshi Mehi naming many past saints and mystics, and on his list happens to be one obscure contemporary mystery figure by the name of Satguru Devi:   

“Great praise to all the Saints!

In which manner will one pray to them?

My mind is so very dirty and inexperienced,

Saints being destroyers of sorrows do away with the worldly traps,

They are the treasure-troves of knowledge and meditation,

Highly proficient in the techniques of single-minded concentration

and the Yoga of Sound,

They propagate the same in plain language all over the world;

Great are the Sages and Saints like Buddha, Shankar and Ramanand

for eliminating sins,

Sacrifice to the magnificent Saints like Kabir, Nanak,

Goswami Tulsidas and Tulsi Sahib,

Dadu, Sundar Das, Sur Das, Swapach, Ravi Das, Jagjivan, Paltu, etc…,

They are all great benefactors, delivering human beings

from the fears of the world,

Satguru Devi and other Saints are also highly adorable,

Maharshi Mehi sings their magnificence and lies prostrate

at their sacred feet with faith and love.”

(Maharshi Mehi Paramhans, Book of Padavali, Hymn #2: Hail to the Sants)

Satguru Devi was indeed the guru of Maharshi Mehi: Baba Devi Sahab of Moradabad.

"Swami Shiv Dayal lists his predecessors as ‘‘Kabir Sahab, Tulsi Sahab, Jagjiwan Sahab, Garib Das ji, Paltu Sahab, Guru Nanak, Daduji, Tulsi Das ji, Nabha ji, Swami Hari Das ji, Sur Das ji, and Raidas ji; and among Mohammedans, Shams-i-Tabrez, Maulana Rumi, Hafiz, Sarmad and Mujaddid Alifsani”’ (Sar Bachan: Prose [Dayalbagh version], verse 39, pp. 29-30)." (Mark Juergensmeyer, Radhasoami Reality)

"The family originally emigrated from the Punjab, where Shiv Dayal’s grandfather, Seth Malik Chand, was an official in the court of a princely state.’ His father, Seth Dilwali, settled in Agra and became a moneylender, a common occupation for a member of his caste. The family had been followers of Guru Nanak; this might suggest that they were Sikhs or Nanakpanthis, a term that refers to people who venerate the first Sikh master, Guru Nanak, to the exclusion of the other nine. Whatever was the case, the family turned in a different direction during Swami Shiv Dayal’s childhood—towards the spiritual tutelage of a local holy man named Tulsi Sahib." (Mark Juergensmeyer, Radhasoami Reality)

In the Radhasoami literature Sant Tulsi Sahib is named, a contemporary master not famous all over India such as Dadu, Surdas Ravidas, etc..., and he turned out to be the guru of Swami Ji, the family guru of Swami Ji's family and the family guru of Radhaji.

Honoring Tulsi Sahib's Own Words

Tulsi Sahib mentioned dozens of times Sant Dariya Sahib of Bihar in his various books: "I have seen the Form which, indeed, is formless and beyond all description. It is boundless, having neither beginning nor end. Dariya Saheb says that when his mind became humble and meek, he was able to cross the ocean of existence." (Param Sant Tulsi Sahib, S.D. Maheshwari, page 125)

“Listen, O Phool Das, I have given out the same true secrets which Sants like Kabir Saheb, Dadu Saheb, Rai Das Ji, Dariya Sahib, Guru Nanak, Soor Das Ji, Nabha Ji and Mira Bai have spoken of. They, too, have composed similar hymns describing the bliss of the highest spiritual region, whose glory I also have sung, blessed by the grace and the dust of the holy feet of Sants.” (Ghat Ramayan section, Param Sant Tulsi Sahib, translated by Sant Das Maheshwari, page 148)

Again, the same situation there with Tulsi Sahib naming many famous past Sants along with one obscure contemporary master, as T.R. Shangari Ji also observes:

"Among the saints whom Tulsi Sahib himself singles out in Ghat Ramayan as Satgurus (true masters) are Bu-Ali Qalandar, Jalaluddin Rumi, Kabir Sahib, Dadu Dayal, Rai Das Ji, Dariya Sahib (who may have been Tulsi Sahib's own Guru), Guru Nanak, Surdas Ji, Nabha Das Ji, Mansur, Mirabai, Sarmad and Shams-e Tabrizi." (Tulsi Sahib - Saint of Hathras, new expanded 2017 edition, Puri, Sethi, along with a new editor by the name of Dr. T.R. Shangari, page xiii:  https://scienceofthesoul.org/books-EN-031-0.html   )

Nice to see this reference to Dariya from the Beas satsang. Many of those in India can read all of the writings of Tulsi Sahib in the original Hindi. Those having access to the total number of references to Sant Dariya by Tulsi in all his writings just might find the mentions and quotations from Sant Dariya of Bihar to be convincing.

From my paper on the origins of Sant Mat, The Sant Mat We Know Can Be Traced Back to Sant Dariya Sahib

Tulsi was born in 1763 and passed on in 1843. He would have been in his teens when Dariya Sahib of Bihar was still alive — old enough to have perhaps received initiation from Dariya Sahib of Bihar or one of his representatives, in other words. Dariya was a towering figure occupying some of that space in history between the time of Kabir and that of Sant Tulsi Sahib of Hathras. Dariya passed on when Tulsi was around seventeen years of age. Dariya Sahib appointed several Saints to be his spiritual successors: Fakkar Das, Basti Das, Sant Tika Das, and, Sant Guna Das, also contemporaries with Tulsi Sahib, who likely spent some time in Bihar. Bihar was, and remains, home-base of the Satsang of Sant Dariya Sahib.

“He [Tulsi Sahib] has freely used words of Braj, Avadhi, Rajasthani (Marwari), Gujrati, Punjabi and Maithili, which leads one to conclude that, like many other Saints, he must have traveled widely in V.P., Rajasthan, Gujrat, Punjab and Bihar.” (J.R. Puri, and V.K. Sethi, “Tulsi Sahib, Saint of Hathras”, 1981, RSSBeas Books, page 19)

If Tulsi hadn’t received initiation directly from Dariya by the age of seventeen, the references to Dariya Sahib in Tulsi’s writings still make sense if he received initiation from one of Dariya’s successors, which is another possibility. Anyone initiated by those successors would likely have much reverence for Dariya Sahib, the “great master” of Sant Mat during those days. The Origins of Sant Mat: 

https://archive.org/details/TheOriginsOfSantMatSachKhandPDF#:~:text=The%20Path%20of%20the%20Masters,precise%20history%20of%20the%20Path. 

While it's rather clear that Sant Dharam Das and his successors have had a demonstrable influence on the Sant Mat/Radhasoami lineage of recent history, it's a bit more difficult to document the historic connection from Dharam Das back to Kabir, and Kabir to Ramananda. There are differing schools of thought regarding their actual associations. The other day I noticed that David Lorenzen named another guru, an intermediate guru between Kabir and Kabir Panth gurus. I did find out some information about that person and will post it soon.

Long ago Mark Juergensmeyer mentioned the resemblance of the teachings of the Dharam Das Kabir gurus to those of Radhasoami:   

"I am grateful to the translator of the Beas book, K. N. Upadhyaya, a professor of philosophy at the University of Hawaii, for bringing the Dariya connection to my attention." (Mark Juergensmeyer, Radhasoami Reality)

"Dariya Sahib adds another link to the chain that connects the Radhasoami and Dharamdasi traditions..." (Mark Juergensmeyer, Radhasoami Reality)

"This connection between Dharamdasis and Radhasoamis, to which the Anurag Sagar has led us, is confirmed by another set of writings venerated by Radhasoami leaders but little known outside of Radhasoami and Dharamdasi circles: the poetry of Dariya Sahib. Dariya Sahib was an eighteenth-century poet who lived in a Dharamdasi region of Bihar and referred to both Kabir and Dharam Das as his predecessors." (Mark Juergensmeyer, Radhasoami Reality)