The Mystic Journey of the Soul - from the Shri Muhammad Bodh Section of the Kabir Sagar

 

The Mystic Journey of the Soul - from the Shri Muhammad Bodh Section of the Kabir Sagar * 

Verse 1

The soul-bird [hansa] abandoned the worldly attachments, And the swan (soul) made the True Guru [Satguru] its essence. Just as the bee extracts honey from the flower, the soul flew off, carrying the essence within. Leaving the realms of perishable creation, it reached where even Vishnu’s domain was glimpsed. Indra, Kubera, and divine beings were left behind — the soul transcended even the third divine region.

Verse 2

Leaving the abode of Vaikunth, the swan flew ahead, shining Light blazed in the void beyond. In that radiant illumination, essence was revealed, fear vanished as the soul became fearless. The Formless One, whom the Vedas praise, is the root of all gods, beyond their reach. That Lord appears in luminous white form, fortune itself belongs to those graced by Him.

Verse 3

Beyond the four realms lie sixteen spiritual divisions, leaving the egg-like world, the soul soared above. There it beheld the place of worship, revered and pure, as it entered the tenth gate. In the twelfth region, at the soul’s gathering, ecstasy resounded like a mighty drum. How shall I describe the glory of that face? The body radiates with transcendent Light.

Verse 4

In the realm beyond, the swan-soul soars, resplendent in thirty-six divine Melodies.

The land of the Supreme Lord radiates bliss, where joy and devotion dance in harmony.

With waves of ecstasy, the soul merges into the divine assembly of love, united with the Lord.

Verse 5

When the Lord traverses the six chakras, piercing through the seventh, His gaze turns inward.

In the beauty of divine union, the soul’s desire merges with the eternal Lord’s vision.

No simile can capture His radiance, not even the moon’s glow!

Through the soul’s focus, the divine Sound resonates, revealing the splendor of the Lord’s eternal realm.

Verse 6

In the pure void, the flawless throne of the Lord resides, where the eternal abode shines.

When the swan-soul reaches this ninth plane, it hesitates not even for a moment, fearless.

Like a kite soaring on the thread of the Creator, the soul ascends to the divine realm.

Immersed in bliss, all doubts dissolve, and the soul arrives at the heart’s true home.

Verse 7

The divine swan-souls sing and play instruments, adorned with celestial beauty.

Through eons, they gather in devotion, embracing the Lord with love’s eternal flame.

When the swan beholds the divine vision, all karma of countless births is erased.

In that moment of union, the mind awakens sixteen divine emotions, blossoming within.

Verse 8

In the isle of divine nectar, the swan-soul partakes of the ambrosial feast, its form made of Sound.

The swan and its divine consort dwell in eternal truth, consciousness, and bliss, crowned with divine Light.

Lightning flashes, and the thunder of divine Sound roars, consuming all illusion.

As the clouds of divine resonance pour forth, the Melody of the cosmic Sound enchants.

Verse 9

Listen, O soul, in that divine union, all become one—radiant with a single divine hue.

The spirit revels in devotion, and all actions and delusions flee far away.

No color or ornament can touch that realm, where the soul dives into waves of divine madness.

Lust, anger, greed, pride, and hypocrisy dissolve, as the soul embraces the true divine Sound 

[the soul merges into the supreme Word (Sar Shabd)].

How can one describe the glory of the Supreme Being’s divine countenance?

In this world, even the highest metaphors fall short.

The moon and the sun — symbols of Light — cannot compare to even a spark of that divine radiance.

Those who have tasted the essence of divine love,

They alone reach that state, beyond the grasp of worldly men.

Kabir says: In this way, one finds it — the path of truth, so have I sung it.

The body is perishable, the voice is temporary,

And the soul — the messenger of life — cannot be fully described.

The Formless One is called Lahoot in Arabic —

That is the dwelling place of the divine jewel (the Absolute).

Beyond that is Haahoot, Laahoot, Dahaahoot, and Baahoot,

And Jahoot — known only to the One who is the true Lord, Khuda.

That One is "Soham" (I am That), the Lord God —

There is no other refuge in the world; this is the final truth.

* NOTE: The Kabir Sagar is a huge granth or scripture over two-thousand pages in length. The first volume is the most well-known: the Anurag Sagar (Ocean of Love), but there are many more books in this collection. The Shri Muhammad Bodh volume explores the teachings of Muhammad in light of Sufi mysticism as viewed from the vantagepoint of the Sant Dharam Das line of masters in the tradition of Guru Kabir. 

Some Thoughts About the Hermetic Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth Heavens in the Nag Hammadi Library, by James Bean

 

Some Thoughts About the Hermetic Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth Heavens in the Nag Hammadi Library, by James Bean

Turned the new translation of The Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth into an audio book using the Read Aloud extension, something I often do with various texts. The new translation of this Discourse is to be found online here: https://othergospels.com/89

Was fun hearing my Read Aloud extension chant the two triangle-shaped collections of vowels, the vowel chant present in the book:

ZŌXATHAZŌ

A

ŌŌ EE

ŌŌŌ ĒĒĒ

ŌŌŌŌ ĒĒ

ŌŌŌŌŌŌ OOOOO

ŌŌŌŌŌŌ UUUUUU

ŌŌŌŌŌŌŌŌŌŌŌŌŌŌŌ

ZŌZAZŌTH

A

Ō EE Ō ĒĒĒ

ŌŌŌ III

ŌŌŌŌ OOOOO

ŌŌŌŌŌ UUUUUU

ŌŌŌŌŌŌ ŌŌŌŌŌ

ŌŌŌŌŌŌŌ ŌŌŌŌ

According to Dr. Samuel Zinner's footnote at the bottom of the page this is an esoteric divine name, various vowels arranged into the shape of triangles being chanted.

Vowel chant is present in several collections of Gnostic texts, a kind of "AUM" or "OM" of the West, even as Egypt once-upon-a-time was a kind of Tibet of the West with otherworldly monastic traditions. 

There are different ways one can sing or chant these names. In esoteric traditions of the east and west mental chant is considered to be higher, more "within" than the verbal chanting of alphabetical sacred names. Esoteric paths have mantras including sacred words that are to be repeated within one's mind, such as the mental prayer approach of doing the Jesus Prayer in Hesychasm; in Sethian Gnosticism there are the Five Names or Seals which are passwords that correspond to various higher planes; Kabbalah has various Hebrew names corresponding to higher heavenly regions, and mental zikhr is practiced at the higher stages of Sufism. In the Sant tradition this practice is called manas jap (mental chant) and is also known as simran, the remembrance and repetition of various Names of God repeated in one's mind while concentrating during meditation. 

I notice some references to mental singing and chanting in the Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth: 

"O my son, return to praising, and sing while remaining silent. Silently petition for what you desire. 

Also: ”I sing a hymn inside myself." 

“I remain silent, O my father. I desire to sing a hymn to you while I remain silent.”

And: "It would be beneficial from now on to maintain silence with a reverential posture."

There are mystical visionary and auditory states recorded in the Discourse of the Eighth and Ninth. With these the-chant-chants-itself. In other words, a higher form of Name that repeats itself beyond language reverberates in the heavens, sometimes described in these old mystical texts as the Hymns of Angels:

"Language is incapable of revealing this, because, O my son, the entire Eighth and the souls that dwell inside it, as well as the angels, silently sing a hymn, and I, Mind, understand."

"When he had finished praising, he cried out: 'Father Trismegistus! What am I to say? We have obtained this Light, and I behold for myself this very same vision inside of you, and I behold the Eighth, and the souls dwelling inside of it, and the angels singing a hymn to the Ninth and to its powers, and I behold him who possesses all of their power, who creates those who dwell inside the Spirit.'"

The Hermetic Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth Heavens illustrates so well that, in the Gnostic and Hermetic Nag Hammadi texts there is at the heart of these ancient schools of spirituality, the master-student relationship -- the living teacher with their inner circle of living students -- with an initiation into the mysteries being offered, the sharing of spiritual practices to be kept secret. These pertain to sacred names and meditation methods for gaining revelations of the various heavenly regions including the Eighth and Ninth heavens as described in this Hermetic discourse. 

The State of Isaiah's Body During His Soul Travel Experience of Ascension Through the Seven Heavens, by James Bean

 

The State of Isaiah's Body During His Soul Travel Experience of Ascension Through the Seven Heavens, by James Bean

People often bring a physical plane folktales sort of bias to stories of ascension found in old scriptures, imagining a Jesus, Paul, or Muhammad (and his horse) ascending through the stratosphere bound for space without pressurized space suits or oxygen to breathe. The reality is of course much different from the perspective of mystics, with these being solely spiritual experiences "caught up in spirit". 

Below is excerpted from the Ascension of Isaiah. The text describes Isaiah's visions of the Seven Heavens, but here I focus on the state of Isaiah's body at the beginning and at the end of his soul travel experience. Rather than flying through the sky, the nature of it was a spiritual experience Isaiah was having while sitting on a couch. The text describes Isaiah during this experience as "his eyes were open although his lips were silent, and the spirit of his body was taken up from him. And only his breath remained in him, for he was in a vision... and he was left looking like a corpse." At the end of the vision, very much reminding me of near-death experiences (NDE's) when the soul is told it still has more to do in the world and gets sent back into it's body, it says: "And this angel said to me, Isaiah, son of Amoz, I set you free; for you have seen what no mortal man has ever seen before. Yet you must return to your garments of the flesh until your days are completed."

"The Vision which Isaiah, the son of Amoz, saw. VI (6). In the twentieth year of the reign of Hezekiah, king of Judah, Isaiah the son of Amoz, and Josab, Isaiah’s son, came from Gilgal to Hezekiah in Jerusalem. And Isaiah sat down on the king’s couch; and they brought him a seat, but he would not sit on it... 

"And they gave praise to him who had thus given to a man a door into an unknown world. And while he was speaking in the Holy Spirit in the hearing of all, he suddenly became silent, and his spirit was caught up into heaven, and he no longer saw the men who were standing in front of him. But his eyes were open although his lips were silent, and the spirit of his body was taken up from him. And only his breath remained in him, for he was in a vision. And the angel that was sent to explain things to him in the vision was not of this world, nor was he one of the angels of glory of this world, but had come from the seventh heaven. And, apart from the circle of the prophets, the people who were there did (not) believe that the holy Isaiah had been caught up into heaven. For the vision that the holy Isaiah saw was not a vision of this world, but of the world that is hidden from man. After Isaiah had seen this vision he gave an account of it to Hezekiah and to his son Josab and to the other prophets who had come. But the magistrates and eunuchs and the people did not hear it, but only Samnas the scribe, and Joachim, and Asaph the secretary of state; for they were men who did what is right and were approved of by the Spirit. And the people did not hear it either, for Micah and his son Josab had sent them away when the wisdom of this world had been taken from him, and he was left looking like a corpse....

"And I saw also the angel of the Holy Spirit sitting on the left hand. And this angel said to me, Isaiah, son of Amoz, I set you free; for you have seen what no mortal man has ever seen before. Yet you must return to your garments of the flesh until your days are completed. Then will you come up here. These things Isaiah saw and told them to all who were in attendance, and they sang praises."

-- Ascension of Isaiah, H.F.D. Sparks translation, The Apocryphal Old Testament  (selected from pages 794-812, a nicer translation of the books of Enoch, Odes of Solomon, and many other key writings, published in 1984)

IMAGES: 1) Swami Ji Maharaj of Agra used to meditate in a quiet, dimly lit cave-like "room-within-a-room" on the basement floor of his home sitting on a meditation cushion resting on this chair; 2) a rather intense-looking Swami Ji Maharaj (a.k.a. Seth Shiv Dayal Singh) in an old colorized photograph;

Gnostic Tips For the Spiritual Seeker, the Explorer of Inner Space, by James Bean -- Light and Sound on The Path

Gnostic Tips For the Spiritual Seeker, the Explorer of Inner Space, by James Bean -- Light and Sound on The Path

"And there shall be others of those who are outside our number who name themselves bishop and also deacons, as if they have received their authority from God. They bend themselves under the judgment of the leaders. Those people are dry canals." (from the aptly named book, The Apocalypse of Peter, from Codex Seven of the Nag Hammadi Library of Egypt) 

"Nag Hammadi is Where They Found the Gnostic Gospels". Oddly enough, that's also the title of an episode of the television series, Gilmore Girls (Season 4, Episode 13). And absolutely nothing gnostic was said. I kid you not! 

It's important to know what Gnosticism IS as well as what it IS NOT. On the web is much, what I call, 'gnostic nonsense' (gnonsense?). People call all sorts of paranormal subjects "gnostic", lower astral something-or-another's that go bump (or beep) in the night as somehow being "gnostic". There are those who re-label countless unrelated offtopic paths as "gnostic", generic new agey this or that, or maybe crashed UAP's with "biologics". Some even desperately seek gnosticism in certain American fundamentalist denominations. Maybe gnostic wisdom can even be discovered in a bargain bin at the dollar store. 

Apparently everything's gnostic except actual Gnosticism. THAT, most don't have time for. THAT, remains the forbidden topic, the mystery always concealed as souls prefer the shiny things of distraction. The spiritual seeker soon gets weary of slog after slog searching in vain in all the wrong places, but is this not the whole point of this psyops cosmic conspiracy game of telephone in the first place, to wear you down before you can even begin? To run out the clock of...  time? I believe YES. Bishop Irenaeus the gnostic heresy hunter zealously agrees. Gnosticism remains tragically, woefully unexplored, unknown, existing in the far country, a mythic realm, Gnosticland, revealed by sages who remain unnamed, discussed in expensive unattainable books published by E.J. Brill!

"The watchmaker works all day, and long into the night

He pieces things together despite his failing sight

Though all the cogs connect with such poetic grace

Time has left its curse upon this place

Each hour becomes another empty space to fill

Wasted with the care and virtues of his skill"

(lyrics from, The Watchmaker, by Steven Wilson)

Divination tools, the roll of the dice designed to only provide a limited number of predictable outcomes, minerals, the elements, astrology, the planets -- rocks in space made of matter with varying degrees of gravity -- or at least those planets that the Babylonians knew about during the Bronze Age, also are not gnostic. The soul is beyond their influence, is above the stars. Classic Gnosticism -- people who actually were gnostics part of real gnostic schools of spirituality in antiquity -- did believe there were powers behind some of those random fate powered or providence generating divination portals, but demiurgical powers, archons (negative rulers), Yaldabaoth's Bag of Tricks, the Cruel Hand of Fate dualistically doling out ups and downs, fair weather and foul, good days and bad upon one's lower subtle-body coverings, but in the end it's all just Mercury Retrograde my friend!

There are a few Euro-colonialist esotericists who, long ago, appropriated, exploited and exported gnostic resources from Egypt setting up their edited spiritual paths in the West. And who knows, maybe their redacted esoterica combined with whatever else for cultic brewhaha craziness could represent a step forward for the seeker. There's a handful of neo-gnostic paths out there that, like spiders, build their nests near the Light!

No doubt one can find somebody willing to invite you to go down the stairs into their dark cobweby basement where they will eagerly baptize you into their version of gnosis. If there really is a baptismal tank down there and you get to live to tell of the experience, you perhaps might believe you've made some progress. After all, religions of all strains and variants provide, at least as perceived by the seeker, some benefit. But the question remains, Is this a true manifestation of Gnosticism according to actual Gnostics of the classic gnostic variety as is represented by collections of surviving gnostic scriptures such as the Nag Hammadi Library, Pistis Sophia or the Ginza Rabba? Or, in the words of Shri Frank Zappa: "Is that a real poncho . . . I mean Is that a Mexican poncho or is that a Sears poncho? Hmmm . . . no foolin' . . ." (song lyrics from Camarillo Brillo, Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention)

“Gnostic” is Such an Abused Word — Let the Gnostics Define Their Own Beliefs and Practices

My take is simply to let the gnostics be gnostic, treating them equally like any other world religion and understand just what exactly the original spiritual movements labeled “Gnostic” actually taught based on what they themselves have to say about that, and not what other esoteric groups coming into being many centuries or millennia later assume they taught cooking in their own particular theological and cultural cauldron of biases in Europe or the US.

So, as I view the saga of the gnostics, the treatment of the true classic gnostics of antiquity, the only solution is to let the gnostics be gnostic, truly hear their voice embedded in the surviving texts that come directly from them, and allow them to speak for themselves, define their own beliefs, diet, and spiritual practices. Then others may truly benefit from their wisdom, and in that sense Gnosticism as a spiritual path can potentially reincarnate into the world again, or far more likely and best of all, help some to recognize those who already seem to be following something equivalent to a Living Gnosis Now in the modern age.

The Soul Passes By Many Spiritual Paths and Passes Through Many Semi-Heavenly Regions on It's Journey Towards Truth

"The servants of the first guardian came to meet me.

They said, 'Let us take this man with us as our captive.

He might serve as a companion to us.'

"They asked me, 'Hail, companion;

Where did you come from? Where do you go?'

"I came from the earth, I am going to Hayyi [Mandaean name for the Supreme Being in the Eighth Heaven],

and my path is to the Place of Life.

"They said, 'This is the Place of Life;

here it is, so where are you going now?'

"I said to myself, 'I am not one of them.

If I stayed with them, I would endure every torment.

This is not what my soul desires and wants.

The soul within me yearns for Hayyi.

The soul within me demands Hayyi.

My goal is to reach the Place of Life.'" (Mandaean Ginza Rabba, The Gnostic Book of the Great Treasure)

Meanwhile, The Hidden Realm of Gnosticland, "the Seed of True Humanity", is Only to be Found Within You Via the Third Eye In Another Kind of Sky

Though even with some wrye humor the above-picture does sound truly bleak for our beleaguered gnostic spiritual seeker shopping for books at the dollar store. But after all, this is just another bad dream that we can awaken from!  

"Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens." (Carl Jung) 

"Happy is the one who comes to himself and awakens." (Valentinus, Gospel of Truth, Nag Hammadi Library) 

"Awakened Souls always draw our attention to the fact that we are being deceived. If at all there is anything true or eternal, it is the soul or the Oversoul." (Kirpal Singh) 

"If your eye becomes single, your whole body shall be full of Light." (YesHUa)

The Seat of the Soul in This Temple of the Human Body is the Third Eye Center: "The soul is currently situated at the back of the Eye Center. And, therefore, Saints say that you start from there. You start focusing there and focus your attention where the soul and the Master stay. That is at the back of the Eye Center." (Baba Ram Singh) 

“Thus as a result of recollecting all these things the impulses of the mind are extended from the sphere of material things towards those impulses which are without limit, that is to say, wonder at the New World, and the faculty of vision which belongs to contemplation [of God]. For when the vision of the mind is mingled with the Light..., all its impulses become infinite. For none of the Visionaries or ‘Gnostics’ is able to distinguish the identity of the mind as a result of the vision of that glorious Light that is seen .... for all the innermost chambers of the heart are filled by that blessed Light...”. (Joseph the Visionary, Syriac Mystic on singleness of vision quoted in, The Syriac Fathers on Prayer and the Spiritual Life, translated from the Aramaic by Sebastian Brock)

"Do not cease seeking day or night and do not let yourselves relax until you find the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Light, which will purify you and make you into pure Light and lead you into the Kingdom of Light." (Book of Pistis Sophia/Faith Wisdom)

"Meditate on the True Name, and rise within just like ascending a staircase. Listen to the Music of the Heavens... Ascend on the lifeline of the Sound Current as a spider climbs up the thread." (Baba Somanath)

"Become passers-by." (Saying 42, Coptic Gospel of Thomas) 

Some have wondered what this saying really means. Another translation renders it: "Come into being as you pass away." (The Gospel of Thomas, Wisdom of the Twin, by Lynn Bowman) In other words, by meditation practice get established in the heavenly realms during this life, finding a permanent home there instead of remaining attached to samsara, the world of changes. And there’s another version this saying found in India: "The world is a bridge. Pass over it, but do not build your dwelling there." (Arabic inscription at the site of a mosque at Fatehpur Sikri, India attributed to Isa or YesHUa)

Yes, Yes, Nag Hammadi is where they found the Gnostic Gospels but within you is where you will find the gnosis. 

Often spiritual teachers describe souls who reach a breakthrough in consciousness. After the soul reaches a point in it’s mystic travels where it becomes free of all it’s coverings of mind and matter, it reaches the realization of it’s true nature as spirit and exclaims, “I am that! I am that! I am that! I am that!” The medieval mystic Kabir once said, “The Light of one soul is equal to that of sixteen suns!” But to sleeping humanity this reality remains completely hidden from view. We are gods clothed in rags.

Meditation is a kind of temporary “death” to the outer world of the five senses as well as outer images and thoughts. When one fasts from the world and enters into this kind of sabbath-rest, it becomes possible for the soul to begin to perceive something of the Other World that it inhabits. The soul’s spiritual senses begin to perceive in the heavenly realms. One becomes progressively more and more receptive to the heavenly Sound and Light with the eyes and ears of the soul.

Zekli Le's Gnostic Chart of the Heavens

The gnostic system of heavens maps out the journey of meditation through the inner regions. Who are the Living Ones who are explorers of Inner Space, the Kingdom of the Heavens within, those who practice this form of meditation and make this journey? You know, most of the living spiritual teachers who embody this kind of spirituality don't even call themselves "gnostics", even though they are the most authentic examples of living gnostic teachers on the planet. They just happen to have been part of the unbroken chain of spiritual masters that have been around for countless generations, millennia. The names of their spiritual movements keep changing as the centuries quickly go flying past but they continue to preserve and practice this kind of Living Mystic Path, The Path of the Masters.  

Everyone has their own third eye whether they realize it or not. Through the Divine Path of Initiation one will learn of the spiritual practices that make it possible to access the third eye center, the seat of the soul, within the temple of the human body. We will discover for ourselves the Mysteries of the Spirit. The Kingdom of the Heavens will open up before us on this inward journey of the soul as we travel through vast realms of Light, Sound and Love on our way back to God.

The goal of this Path is not simply going TO the various inner planes or heavens of creation but to pass THROUGH them on our way back to the Most High Supreme Being, The Nameless One given many names.

"Whoever joins the Immortal becomes Immortal.

Whoever delights in the Living One is living."

(Ode 3, Book of The Odes)  

"Look upon the Living One so long as you live, that you may not die and seek to see him, and be unable to see him." (Saying 59, Coptic Gospel of Saint Thomas)

"Saints come into this world and They enlighten us. They remind us of our True Home of God Almighty -- our True Father. They encourage us to go back. And They motivate us to go back. So, we are indeed fortunate to get this human body and get this life. And it is with the Grace of God Almighty that we have the company of the Masters. Now, we should make the most of that and follow the Teachings of the Masters and make the efforts to go back to our True Home." (Baba Ram Singh)

The Third Eye in Meditation: “Close your eyes as in sleep, and look sweetly, lovingly, intently into the middle of the darkness lying in front of you. You will see a dark veil. That which sees the dark veil within, without the help of your physical eyes, IS the inner eye.” (Kirpal Singh)

"It is in the darkness that one finds the Light." (Meister Eckhart)

"The eye through which I see God is the same eye through which God sees me; my eye and God's eye are one eye, one seeing, one knowing, one love." -- Meister Eckhart

“I wander about

searching after my soul,

which is worth ages and worlds to me.

I went and found my soul —

what are

all the worlds

to me?”

-- The Qolasta — Gnostic Canonical Prayer Book of the Mandaeans

"Within this earthen vessel are bowers and groves, and within it is the Creator:

Within this vessel are the seven oceans and the unnumbered stars.

The touchstone and the jewel-appraiser are within;

And within this vessel the Eternal soundeth, and the spring wells up.

Kabir says: 'Listen to me, my Friend! My Beloved Lord is within.'" (Kabir)

  

 

  

The Ascension of the Soul in Mandaean Gnosticism: The Soul Within Me Yearns For Hayyi (The Great Life, Supreme Being)

 

The Ascension of the Soul in Mandaean Gnosticism: The Soul Within Me Yearns For Hayyi (The Great Life, Supreme Being)

 

 

“From the day when I came to love the Life [God], from the day when my heart came to love the Truth, I no longer have trust in anything in the world… After my soul alone I go searching about, which to me is worth generations and worlds. I went and found my soul — What are to me all the worlds? I went and found Truth, as she stands at the outer rim of the worlds.” (Ginza Rabba, Mandaean Gnostic Scriptures)

The Gnostic soul has little trust in the religious systems not only of this realm but also of the astral, causal and mental planes. The Gnostic soul has little desire for fellowshipping with those attached to these various material and lower realms either. In Gnostic mysticism, the cosmology of inner regions, beyond the seventh heaven is the realm of The Nameless One or Supreme Being, below referred to as The Great Life (Hayyi Rabbi).

The Soul Within Me Yearns For Hayyi (The Great Life, Supreme Being)

’Bshumayhon ‘d Hayyi rabbi
In the name of the Great Hayyi

The soul within me yearns for Hayyi.
The soul within me demands Hayyi.
My goal is to reach the Place of Life.
I am flying, advancing until I reach the first guardian.
The servants of the first guardian came to meet me.
They said, “Let us take this man with us as our captive.
He might serve as a companion to us.”

They asked me, “Hail, companion;
Where did you come from? Where do you go?”

I came from the earth, I am going to Hayyi,
and my path is to the Place of Life.

They said, “This is the Place of Life;
here it is, so where are you going now?”

I said to myself, “I am not one of them.
If I stayed with them, I would endure every torment.
This is not what my soul desires and wants.
The soul within me yearns for Hayyi.
The soul within me demands Hayyi.
My goal is to reach the Place of Life.”

I am flying, advancing until I reach the second guardian.
The servants of the second guardian came to meet me.
They said, “Let us take this man with us as our captive.
He might serve as a companion to us.”
They asked him, “Hail, companion;
Where did you come from? Where do you go?”

I came from the earth, I am going to Hayyi,
and my path is to the Place of Life.

They said, “This is the Place of Life;
here it is, so where are you going now?”

I said to myself, “I am not one of them.
If I stayed with them, I would endure every torment.
This is not what my soul desires and wants.
The soul within me yearns for Hayyi.
The soul within me demands Hayyi.
My goal is to reach the Place of Life.”

I am flying, advancing until I reach the third guardian.
The servants of the third guardian came to meet me.
They said, “Let us take this man with us as our captive.
He might serve as a companion to us.”
They asked him, “Hail, companion;
Where did you come from? Where do you go?”

I came from the earth, I am going to Hayyi,
and my path is to the Place of Life.

They said, “This is the Place of Life;
here it is, so where are you going now?”

I said to myself, “I am not one of them.
If I stayed with them, I would endure every torment.
This is not what my soul desires and wants.
The soul within me yearns for Hayyi.
The soul within me demands Hayyi.
My goal is to reach the Place of Life.”

I am flying, advancing until I reach the fourth guardian.
The servants of the fourth guardian came to meet me.
They said, “Let us take this man with us as our captive.
He might serve as a companion to us.”
They asked him, “Hail, companion;
Where did you come from? Where do you go?”

I came from the earth, I am going to Hayyi,
and my path is to the Place of Life.

They said, “This is the Place of Life;
here it is, so where are you going now?”

I said to myself, “I am not one of them.
If I stayed with them, I would endure every torment.
This is not what my soul desires and wants.
The soul within me yearns for Hayyi.
The soul within me demands Hayyi.
My goal is to reach the Place of Life.”

I am flying, advancing until I reach the fifth guardian.
The servants of the fifth guardian came to meet me.
They said, “Let us take this man with us as our captive.
He might serve as a companion to us.”
They asked him, “Hail, companion;
Where did you come from? Where do you go?”

I came from the earth, I am going to Hayyi,
and my path is to the Place of Life.

They said, “This is the Place of Life;
here it is, so where are you going now?”

I said to myself, “I am not one of them.
If I stayed with them, I would endure every torment.
This is not what my soul desires and wants.
The soul within me yearns for Hayyi.
The soul within me demands Hayyi.
My goal is to reach the Place of Life.”

I am flying, advancing until I reach the sixth guardian.
The servants of the sixth guardian came to meet me.
They said, “Let us take this man with us as our captive.
He might serve as a companion to us.”
They asked him, “Hail, companion;
Where did you come from? Where do you go?”

I came from the earth, I am going to Hayyi,
and my path is to the Place of Life.

They said, “This is the Place of Life;
here it is, so where are you going now?”

I said to myself, “I am not one of them.
If I stayed with them, I would endure every torment.
This is not what my soul desires and wants.
The soul within me yearns for Hayyi.
The soul within me demands Hayyi.
My goal is to reach the Place of Life.”

I am flying, advancing until I reach the seventh guardian.
The servants of the seventh guardian came to meet me.
They said, “Let us take this man with us as our captive.
He might serve as a companion to us.”
They asked him, “Hail, companion;
Where did you come from? Where do you go?”

I came from the earth, I am going to Hayyi,
and my path is to the Place of Life.

They said, “This is the Place of Life;
here it is, so where are you going now?”

I said to myself, “I am not one of them.
If I stayed with them, I would endure every torment.
This is not what my soul desires and wants.
The soul within me yearns for Hayyi.
The soul within me demands Hayyi.
My goal is to reach the Place of Life.”

I am flying, advancing until I reach the House of Life.
The righteous came forward to meet me.
In thanks, I bow down and praise Hayyi.
They clothed me in radiance, covered me with light,
and numbered me among the righteous.

Soul, you must raise your lamps
to shine among the lamps of light.
The word of truth has come to you.
It came to the faithful and the righteous.

’u Hayyi zaken

— from the Left Volume of the Ginza Rabba (Mandaean Gnostic Scriptures, Codex Nasaraeus)

The Earth-realm and Then Comes the Seven Inner Realms or Heavens, and Yet None Represent the True Highest Heaven so the Soul Continues the Journey of Ascension Until It Reaches The Eighth, the Goal, the Ultimate Reality, the Real Home of The Great Life, Hayyi Rabbi.

“In the Name of the Great Life

Sublime Light be Praised”