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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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. 

Sant Kirpal Singh on, Who is Competent to Initiate? Light and Sound on The Path

Sant Kirpal Singh on, Who is Competent to Initiate? Light and Sound on The Path

Naam Or Word is one of Sant Kirpal Singh's greatest books, on the study of the Sound Current (Word, Logos, Saut-e Sarmad) in the world scriptures especially the Sikh scriptures. Below is excerpted from Part Eight, on Deeksha - Initiation.

Who is competent to initiate?

The initiation into the esoteric science of the soul can successfully and rightly be granted by some perfect Saint or Master--an adept in the art and science of Para Vidya or the Knowledge of the Beyond. One who has not him-self extricated and freed his spirit from body bondage and transcended into higher spiritual regions and who has not seen Reality face to face and who has not, by spiritual practice, become established in Truth, cannot possibly do anything in this behalf. A Saint of the highest order alone is competent to reveal the Path and lead Godward, regardless of what we call him: Sant Satguru, Murshid-i-Kamil, Prophet, Messiah or Master-soul. As light comes from light, so does life from life. The scriptural lore, by itself, is unable to impart this life-impulse.

The instruction in the esoteric teachings consists of the exposition of Simran, Dhyan and Bhajan, that is to say, repetition (mental with tongue of thought only) of the words which are charged with the power of the Master; concentration or meditation (fixing consciousness or gaze) at the center of the two eyebrows; and linking the spirit with the saving lifeline within, ever reverberating in the form of the perennial Sound Current, the very life-breath of the Universe, of which the Master himself is the living embodiment. As soon as a devotee is able to transcend the physical body, the Radiant Form of the Master (Guru Dev) appears in the subtle plane and becomes a guiding force to the spirit on the journey into higher spiritual realms, bringing him back to the True Home of his Father. Henceforth the Master-spirit never leaves the soul, but continuously helps and directs, visibly and invisibly, directly and indirectly, in this life and the life hereafter, as the occasion may demand.

No man, however learned he may be, however high his morals be pitched, can by his own unaided efforts rise above body-consciousness. The experience of the spirit withdrawal while living can be vouchsafed only by a Master Saint and by no one else, and without this transcendence one cannot peep into the world beyond and take hold of the Sound Principle the Divine Chord in man, the link between the Creator and His creation.

Initiation from a Master-soul is of paramount importance, for herein lies the secret of all esoteric teachings and esoteric experience. It means a new birth and a new life, entirely in a new setting. This spiritual birth or birth in the Master is called a second birth, and enables a person to turn over a new leaf, to say goodbye to the past and march forward to this original Home, the long-forgotten paradise New Jerusalem, the Holy City, Muqam-i-Haq or Sach Khand.

-- excerpted from, Naam Or Word, by Sant Kirpal Singh: 

https://www.ruhanisatsangusa.org/naam/naam-deeksha.htm#Who%20is%20competent

The Three Kinds of People There Are in the World According to the Valentinian Gnostics, by James Bean

 

The Three Kinds of People There Are in the World According to the Valentinian Gnostics, by James Bean

The three kinds of people in the world: "The Valentinian threefold designation of people as hylics, psychics, and pneumatics (people of fleshly body, soul, and spirit)." (Marvin Meyer, The Nag Hammadi Scriptures)

Have always thought of this tripart view of humanity as being rather accurate. We have 1) the hylics ("matter", materialists), 2) the psychics (of soul), and, 3) the pneumatics ("spiritual", from Greek πνεῦμα, "spirit").

Psychics (of the soul) are sort of the in between, between the spiritual and material realms with some belief in supernatural possibilities, and this category also includes people following one religion or another. Mystics in the world are few but followers of religions are many. Pneumatics are in the mystics category, those who are knowers (Gnostics), experiencers, in addition to whatever their intellectual beliefs might be about God, heavens, universes, souls and whatnot.

My only concern with what might be said in old Gnostic texts is over the question of WHO has a soul. If some of those folks were espousing the view that not everyone has a soul or the same kind of soul, I would strongly disagree, believing that everyone has a soul, IS a soul incarnate. If they are saying that many people are stuck at the level of the five senses and the outer material world, believe only what they happen to see (the hylics) or are attached to various theological ideas but don't experience the things they believe (God, heavens) and so it's all just abstract theory to them (psychics), then I do agree with that. Gnostics weren't anti intellectual and had lots of ideas, but their goal was to experience, to know. One begins with faith but then moves on to gnosis, to be spiritual, pneumatic, through an initiation into The Mysteries gain access to one's spiritual senses which can have perception of the beyond, spiritual seeing, spiritual hearing. One becomes an explorer of heavenly realms. Gnostic texts are filled with descriptions of visionary and auditory experiences, and the ascension of the soul through the various heavenly realms.

I believe animals also have souls, which is one of the reasons why I'm vegan. Being heavily influenced by Neo Platonism and Pythagoreanism the gnostics were veg or vegan also. See the last verses of the Nag Hammadi book, The Prayer of Thanksgiving: https://medium.com/sant-mat-meditation-and-spirituality/two-vegetarian-prayers-of-thanksgiving-one-is-gnostic-the-other-from-jainism-f34f8e11a7cf

Book of Kabir Panth Prayers, by James Bean - A Critique of Ascender's Comment

 

A Critique of  Ascender's Comment and My Own Comments Regarding This Wonderful Book of Kabir Panth Prayers, by James Bean

Reviewer: ascender - August 15, 2024

Subject: Need for a Living Master

"Sant Kabir was the Guru of His time. Only those to whom he personally gave initiation while in His human form can return to Sat Lok in His Name. The vast expanse of darkness of Mahasunya or Maha Sunn is said to be 80 billion miles, it cannot be crossed without a living Satguru to take the soul across to the purely spiritual realms above the region of Sunn. The worship of dead saints cannot liberate the Jiva. Only a living Master can do so. The search for God in the human form; Shabd incarnate, "The word made flesh and dwelling amongst us" is the greatest imperative for the devotee wishing to reach back to the Absolute Lord. However, the sacred bani of the sants, of Kabir Sahib and others, is a guide and inspiration to assist us in our understanding, and increase our longing for our True Home."

My critique of the review left by the person with the username Ascender made on August 15, 2024 at the Internet Archive titled, Need for a Living Master, as well as a brief exploration of the book being commented upon, Kabir Panth Book Of Prayers -- Sandhya Path -- The Path of Spiritual Realization. And this also serves now as a kind of Forward for this rare book in the Sant Dharam Das Kabir tradition of the Anurag Sagar.

Not as Ascender suggested, but as the contents of the book and the title of the book clearly state, this is NOT a collection of verses all attributed to Guru Kabir but actually represents a compilation of compositions made by many over the centuries in the Satsang Community of Kabir. These are used as prayers, psalms (hymns)  and sayings of wisdom by those satsangi disciples part of the living sangat related to Kabir. Indeed, the modern-day lineage of Sant Satgurus of Sant Mat connects directly back to the Sant Dharam Das line of gurus of this Kabir community in fact. There are many such collections of writings from the Sant Dharam Das line of Masters, and some of those other texts such as the Anurag Sagar (The Ocean of Love), Kabir Sagar (Ocean of Kabir), and others have also been uploaded to the web as wonderful ebooks, done with the motivation of edification and education of those curious about the spiritual path. "You can not just brush the surface of a culture and pretend that you’ve found an answer. We must turn inward to the deepest of our own roots to find the very best of who we are." (Ravi Shankar)

So, yes Kabir taught the need for a living Master as have his many spiritual successors all the way up to the living present time. It would be a fallacy for anyone to suggest being curious about the earlier writings of the Sant tradition of India somehow would mean that one would not be interested in being initiated by a living Master. Rather, it's the opposite of that. It is not an "either or" proposition. The interests of the faithful devotee of Sant Mat encompassess both. Those who are initiated by contemporary Masters, those who are followers of the spiritual practices of Sant Mat, are precisely the ones who are most-of-all fans of the literary treasures, the spiritual classics, scriptures, the poetry and prose, the banis and bhajans of the earlier generations of these Saints and Mystics. Studying the teachings of the Masters is also a way to break free from being stuck in one's mind -- our habitual thinking patterns, and practice Remembrance of the spiritual path (satsang).

And if one actually takes the time and reads this, Kabir Panth Book Of Prayers, they will soon discover that it does advocate sitting at the feet of a Living Teacher of one's own time: "By devotion, all the sufferings of Dharam Dass vanished. It is by the good deeds of millions of births that he met Satguru Kabir." "Who is greater than Ram and Krishna? Even they accepted a guru. They were masters of the three worlds, but were humble before the guru." "As many saints, mahants and sadhus there were, they all served at the lotus feet of the guru." "Do not go through life without a guru. Keep this firm principle in mind!" "Without a guru, who else can remove doubts? In what way can the heart possess discriminative spiritual knowledge? Without a guru ignorance cannot be removed, and the soul does not realize it's true form." There are whole sections of this book extolling the need for a living master of the time! 

The traditional format of a satsang is for someone to recite or sing from some earlier collection of Sant verses such as from the Bijak of Kabir, the Adi Granth, Anurag Sagar, Paltu Sahib, Namdev, Tukaram, Tulsi Sahib, Soamiji Maharaj, etc... and then a Master or whoever is giving the satsang discourse comments upon those verses. Traditional Sant Mat from India, as it has always been, focuses upon the teachings of the living Master, the earlier Masters of the lineage as well as the great collection of banis, bhajans, granths, all this vast Sant literature that has accumulated over the centuries out of the utmost respect for all of these great Masters, Saints and Sages that have blessed the world over the millennia, the various yugas, great epochs of time. One is counseled constantly about the need to have satsang every single day, to hear from one's teacher (Sant Satguru), to spend some time studying the instruction and wisdom of the Saints, to do simran and to meditate each and every day. "You should do your Bhajan and Simran every day." (Baba Jaimal Singh) "Do not live even a single day without inner meditation." (Baba Devi Sahib of Moradabad)

This Kabir Panth Book of Prayers is one such valuable collection, I dare say, is one of the more colorful assemblages of verses intended to inspire the satsangi to do the spiritual practices of the Sants: Simran: the Remembrance of names of God, Dhyan: inner visions of Divinity, radiant forms of Light, and Bhajan: the Unstruck Melody of the Sound Current or Audible Life Stream. And beyond these, one is encouraged to become a bhakta, a devotee approaching the Supreme Being with a spirit of love and devotion at every step. One is the "drop" of the soul merging into the Divine Ocean of Love. So the place we wish to ascend to is not to just any astral occult realm of esoterica but the Most High heavens of the Eternal Truth and Love, "the Far Country" that is the Goal of this Path of the Masters. 

"The tenth gate is the gathering point of consciousness. Therein lies the path for our return. The tenth gate is also known as the sixth chakra, the third eye, Bindu, the center located between the two eyebrows. This is the gateway through which we leave the sense organs' gates, enter the divine realms, and finally become established in the soul. We travel back from the Realm of Darkness to the Realm of Light, the Light to the Divine Sound, and the Realm of Sound to the Soundless State. This is called turning back to the Source." (Swami Santsevi Ji Maharaj, Book of Sarvadharma Samanvy)

How could the love between Thee and me sever?

As the leaf of the lotus abides on the water, 

so thou art my Lord, and I am Thy servant.

As the night-bird Chakor gazes all night at the moon, 

so Thou art my Lord, and I am Thy servant.

From the beginning until the ending of time, 

there is love between Thee and me;

And how shall such love be extinguished?

Kabir says: "As the river enters into the Ocean, so my heart touches Thee." 

(Guru Kabir, Songs of Kabir)

Free Online Book at the Internet Archive E Library: Kabir Panth Book Of Prayers -- Sandhya Path -- The Path of Spiritual Realization: 

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

Archive of All Past Posts With Search Engine: 

https://SantMatRadhasoami.blogspot.com

Free Sant Mat Radhasoami E-Library Online:  

https://santmatradhasoami.blogspot.com/2019/01/sant-mat-radhasoami-books-main-page-e.htm

Finding Your Third Eye, Seeing What You Can See - Initiation Into the Mysteries - Sant Mat Satsang Podcast

 

 

Finding Your Third Eye, Seeing What You Can See - Initiation Into the Mysteries - Sant Mat Satsang Podcast

Kirpal Singh on the Third Eye During 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."

Finding Your Third Eye, Seeing What You Can See - Initiation Into the Mysteries - Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcast @ YouTube:

https://youtu.be/YmEJWdH2kII

YouTube Channel: Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts - Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts:

https://www.youtube.com/@SpiritualAwakeningRadio

Finding Your Third Eye, Seeing What You Can See - Initiation Into the Mysteries - Spiritual Awakening Radio - Play or Download MP3 @

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

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

https://SpiritualAwakeningRadio.libsyn.com/finding-your-third-eye-seeing-what-you-can-see-initiation-into-the-mysteries

@ Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finding-your-third-eye-seeing-what-you-can-see-initiation/id1477577384?i=1000656477933

Collection of Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts @ Apple:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spiritual-awakening-radio/id1477577384

@ Spotify Podcasts:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/54nw1bo4cy0x0ekLxFngaO

@ Amazon Music and Podcasts:

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/ca7918b0-4005-4724-a2e5-b27f51ecdba6/spiritual-awakening-radio

& @ Wherever You Subscribe and Follow Podcasts - At Your Favorite Podcast APP Just Do a Search for "Spiritual Awakening Radio" -  (YouTube, YouTube Music and Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, Audible, PodBean, Pandora, Overcast, Jio Saavan, iHeart Radio, CastBox, etc...):    https://linktr.ee/SpiritualAwakeningRadio

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. Today we explore Initiation, East and West, at first making use of Marcion's Reconstructed New Testament Apostolicon featuring an amazing, rather old and Gnostic sounding, translation of Saint Paul's First Corinthians chapter two, verses 6 through nine complete with archons and aeons. This manuscript from antiquity actually uses the word "Initiation". The goal of this Initiation is seeing in a new way with another kind of inner spiritual vision, the eye of the soul, and inner hearing with the ear of the soul. This is where we leave the outer world of the five senses behind. This is where we progress from theory, religion or philosophy to the world of practice, of inner experience. This is where the spiritual path truly begins.

Also explored: The Gospel of Thomas on what "Eye Has Not Seen, Nor Ear Heard"; the mystic poetry of Sant Tulsi Sahib of Hathras on the ascension of the soul; The Inner Journey Of The Soul Back To Its Origin, by George Arnsby Jones, an initiate of Kirpal Singh; words of encouragement and satsang discourses from Sant Kirpal Singh on Initiation and Surat Shabd Yoga, Inner Light and Sound Meditation practice (sadhana of simran, dhyan and bhajan); recent satsang discourses by Baba Ram Singh also exploring this inward journey of the soul that takes place during meditation, the interior voyage back Home. 

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 given many names such as The Ocean of Love (Anurag Sagar), The Nameless One (Anami Purush, Sat Purush), and The Lord of the Soul (Radhasoami). (RadhaSwami)

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

James Bean

Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts

Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts

Sant Mat Radhasoami

A Satsang Without Walls

Spiritual Awakening Radio Website:

https://www.SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com

Join me this Thursday, premiering 5-23, 9 AM US Eastern Time - Podcast

Join me this Thursday (premiering 5-23, 9 AM US Eastern Time), for my next satsang podcast: "Finding Your Third Eye, Seeing What You Can See - Initiation Into the Mysteries" - Spiritual Awakening Radio @ https://youtu.be/YmEJWdH2kII

Looking forward to sharing!

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)

IMAGE: a sketch of Sant Kirpal Singh

Requirements For Initiation Into Inner Light and Sound Meditation (Sant Mat, Surat Shabd Yoga) - Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcast

 

 

Requirements For Initiation Into Inner Light and Sound Meditation (Sant Mat, Surat Shabd Yoga) - Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcast

"The tenth gate is the gathering point of consciousness. Therein lies the path for our return. The tenth gate is also known as the sixth chakra, the third eye, Bindu, the center located between the two eyebrows. This is the gateway through which we leave the sense organs' gates, enter the divine realms, and finally become established in the soul. We travel back from the Realm of Darkness to the Realm of Light, the Light to the Divine Sound, and the Realm of Sound to the Soundless State. This is called turning back to the Source." (Swami Santsevi Ji Maharaj)

"From time to time, great Saints come with the Grace of the Almighty, and They direct the lost souls and get them connected with the Almighty through the Sound, Surat Shabd, and guide them on the Path back. In India, there are several ways of worship. But the Saints have only three practices for getting back to the Almighty. They are Satsang *, Seva **, and Bhajan Simran ***." (Baba Ram Singh)

Notes: * Satsang: Association With Truth; ** Seva: Selfless Service; *** Bhajan Simran: The Meditation Practices of Sant Mat;

Requirements For Initiation Into Inner Light and Sound Meditation (Sant Mat, Surat Shabd Yoga) - Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcast @ YouTube:

https://youtu.be/AxLIDO6Gkc4

YouTube Channel: Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts - Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts:

https://www.youtube.com/@SpiritualAwakeningRadio

Requirements For Initiation Into Inner Light and Sound Meditation (Sant Mat, Surat Shabd Yoga) - Listen or Download MP3 @

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

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

https://SpiritualAwakeningRadio.libsyn.com/requirements-for-initiation-into-inner-light-and-sound-meditation-sant-mat-surat-shabd-yoga

@ Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/requirements-for-initiation-into-inner-light-and/id1477577384?i=1000648320675

Collection of Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts @ Apple:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spiritual-awakening-radio/id1477577384

@ Spotify Podcasts:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1TdfIVUKxg882b4ph0KYeW

@ Amazon Music and Podcasts:

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/ca7918b0-4005-4724-a2e5-b27f51ecdba6/spiritual-awakening-radio

& @ Wherever You Subscribe and Follow Podcasts - At Your Favorite Podcast APP Just Do a Search for "Spiritual Awakening Radio" -  (YouTube, YouTube Music, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon, Audible, PodBean, Podcast APP, Overcast, Jio Saavan, iHeart Radio, CastBox, etc...):

https://linktr.ee/SpiritualAwakeningRadio

The focus of the Sant Satgurus, the Saints of India (Santmat, RadhaSoami, The Path of the Masters) is not upon constructing earthly temples, building organizational structures, or temples of the mind. Rather, they guide their students into entering the Temple of the Spirit. The Portal or Doorway to this Temple is within, at the Third Eye Center. Masters say: "An intense longing to meet the Supreme Lord during one's lifetime is the first and foremost qualification for Initiation. 'Seek, and ye shall find', is the principle'" (Kirpal Singh). Being properly initiated into the secrets of meditation -- the Mysteries of the Kingdom of the Heavens (diksha/deeksha) -- by a living Master is the beginning of the Inward Journey. Then, go and do the meditation.

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

James Bean

Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts

Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts

Sant Mat Radhasoami

A Satsang Without Walls

Spiritual Awakening Radio Website:

https://www.SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com

Initiation Into the Mysteries is Done by a Living Master (Sant Satguru) - Light and Sound on The Path

 

Initiation Into the Mysteries is Done by a Living Master (Sant Satguru)

From a book I'm currently working on having published, the Anmol Vachan of Sant Garib Das:

Question 6: Swamiji, why doesn't the Satguru initiate new souls after he leaves his physical body?

Answer: A Satguru who has left his physical body doesn't initiate new souls beyond the mortal world. His ship doesn't sail over the ocean of worldly existence anymore, as he has already crossed it. The threads of the initiated souls are with him beyond the ocean. When the time comes, he pulls those souls to him, like a kite.

Question: Swamiji, Guru Govind Singh advised to consider the scripture as the Guru. What is the significance of this in the Guru Granth Sahib, and what teachings are present in it?

Answer: When Guru Gobind Singh advised considering the scripture as the Guru, he meant that the Guru Granth Sahib holds the wisdom and teachings of the Gurus and saints. In the Guru Granth Sahib, there is guidance to seek direct realization and guidance from the living Guru rather than being confused by written teachings alone. The Guru Granth Sahib emphasizes the importance of devotion, selfless service, humility, and realization of the Divine. It teaches that the true Guru is the one who guides the seeker towards transcending the ocean of existence and attaining liberation.

Sant Mat Radhasoami Blog Archive: 

https://SantMatRadhasoami.blogspot.com

Blog Archive RSS Feed: 

https://SantMatRadhasoami.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

What About Those Who Get Re-Initiated? - Light and Sound on The Path: Sant Mat Radhasoami

 

What About Those Who Get Re-Initiated? - Light and Sound on The Path: Sant Mat Radhasoami, by James Bean

At a group I belong to someone was asking who their spiritual master is if they have been initiated more than once, which can happen in this Path of the Masters. My reply: 

Who is your true Master, your Sant Satguru? The one you say it is… the one you have the most love (bhakti) and respect for… the one you are the closest to above all others in this world and in the worlds beyond. He’s the one you’re working with, and he is it who is working with you, mentoring you… the one that came to you in your hour of darkness offering light (light-giver, the one who takes the darkness away). He’s your Beloved, your Gurudev, the one who will come to you in all Radiance. Some have been initiated more than once. Being re-initiated is not necessarily disrespect for the previous guru. Being re-initiated happens sometimes in Sant Mat. Soamiji Maharaj said to consider one’s previous guru as being “in” or part of your current satsang affiliation*. And if one has a Christian background and you have much respect for Jesus, bring Jesus with you. Or, in other words, continue to have respect for the teachings of Christ, as Sant Mat does, and other past masters. All true masters have been co-workers for the One God. The Path is One.

* NOTES: 

 See Sar Bachan Prose, Book Two, Sayings of Swami Ji Maharaj Given in Satsang, Sayings 250, 251 and 252 for various principles regarding past guru affiliations.

RSSB Translation:  

https://archive.org/details/SarBachanRadhasoamiProseSwamiJiMaharajRSSB/page/n159/mode/2up?q=in

Dayalbagh Translation: 

 https://archive.org/details/SarBachanRadhasoamiProseDayalBaghTranslation/page/n169/mode/2up

Also see: Baba Kehar Singh’s book, Question and Answers, Part One, Pages 48 and 49 on Guru Bhakti (the spiritual teacher you are most devoted to):

sant mat, radhasoami, initiation, reinitiated, satsang, path of the masters, living master, spiritual teacher, sants, satgurus,

Sant Mat Radhasoami Blog Archive: 

https://SantMatRadhasoami.blogspot.com

Blog Archive RSS Feed: 

https://SantMatRadhasoami.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Seven Teachings of Sant Mat and Requirements For Initiation - Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts - SantMat Satsang Podcasts - A Satsang Without Walls

 

Seven Teachings of Sant Mat and Requirements For Initiation - Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts - SantMat Satsang Podcasts - A Satsang Without Walls

Today we explore: The Goal of Sant Mat Spirituality and Meditation: Our Path Back to the Source; The Six Stages of Inner Sound Meditation; The Traveler of the Inner Subtle Path; The Five Precepts or Moral Requirements for Initiation Cultivating Stillness and a Spiritual Way of Life; Also a Word About Vegetarianism, Veganism, and Sant Mat.

"Blessed are the souls who in today's materialistic world have an inclination towards spirituality." (Swami Santsevi Ji Maharaj)

"Sant Mat is not the Path of information; this is the Path of Transformation." (Swami Santsevi Ji Maharaj)

"We are children of both worlds. We human beings are a Tree of Life with roots in the earth and branches rising into a mystic sky. Meditation is the portal to the realm within and allows us to know ourselves, our original nature." (Agochar)

Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcast - Seven Teachings of Sant Mat and Requirements For Initiation - Listen - Download:

@ Podcast Website:

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

@ Libsyn Directory:

https://SpiritualAwakeningRadio.libsyn.com/seven-teachings-of-sant-mat-and-requirements-for-initiation

@ Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/seven-teachings-of-sant-mat-and-requirements/id1477577384?i=1000623022555

@ Spotify:

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

& @ Wherever You Subscribe and Follow Podcasts (Apple, Spotify, Youtube Music, Amazon, Audible, PodBean, Overcast, Jio Saavan, iHeart Radio, Podcast Addict, Gaana, CastBox, etc...): 

https://linktr.ee/SpiritualAwakeningRadio

"Look at God within yourself, how 'God is Light.' For his Nature is a glorious, many-splendored Light. He manifests the Light of his Nature to those who love Him in all the worlds." (John of Dalyatha, Syriac Mystic)

"In meditation, the true condition of the soul is exposed, and God can reveal our failings in order to heal and bless us... If we spend more time in meditation, we can recognize the relationship between the visible and invisible world ever more distinctly and clearly." (Wisdom of the Sadhu, The Teachings of Sundar Singh)

"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... It is, therefore, incumbent on a disciple, once he has been initiated, to prioritize his meditation. He should always keep that to the forefront and do his meditation first, and then all of the other activities should follow that... Morning time is ideal for meditation. But anytime is good if we are sitting for meditation." (Baba Ram Singh)

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

James Bean

Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts

Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts

Sant Mat Radhasoami

A Satsang Without Walls

https://www.SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com

#Spirituality #Meditation #God #Heaven #SantMat #Sant_Mat #Radhasoami #Radhasoami #Radha_Soami #Satsang #Initiation #Deeksha #Diksha #PathOfTheMasters #Vegetarian #Vegan #Satgurus #Ethics #Stillness #SantMatSatsangPodcasts #SpiritualAwakeningRadio #SuratShabdYoga #GodsLove #GodIsLove #Contemplation #StillnessWithin #LookWithin #GoWithin #GoWithinOrGoWithout #SpiritualAwakening

May Captive Souls Be Set Free, Go Within and Ascend - Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcast

 

May Captive Souls Be Set Free, Go Within and Ascend

"If you wish to unite with the Beloved, associate your Mind with your Soul. Unless the Mind is obedient to Soul, the wounded heart will not find the remedy… This detailed and more comprehensive account of the Kingdom of God is true. It is for the exclusive use and guidance of the good and sincere Souls who wish to improve their spiritual vision and explore the Light of the Kingdom of God. It is for those who are not satisfied with the blind captivity of their Souls in this perishable cage, that these few hints are given to enable them to realize the spiritual Path that is hidden from their physical eyes." (Swami Ram Bihari Lal, The Way Out…….Is IN)

Today's satsang podcast has the theme of "May Captive Souls Be Set Free, Go Within and Ascend", exploring the spiritual practices of Sant Mat that allow extroverted souls who have lost their true identity somewhere in time to go within, find their soul again at the seat of the soul, and begin exploring the Kingdom of the Heavens (Higher Planes of Consciousness).

Podcast @ YouTube:

https://youtu.be/UPD3FNejw1U

Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcast: May Captive Souls Be Set Free, Go Within and Ascend - Listen, Download, Subscribe @ the Podcast Website:

https://SpiritualAwakeningRadio.libsyn.com

Direct Download URL: 

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

@ Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spiritual-awakening-radio/id1477577384

@ Spotify:

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

& @ Wherever You Subscribe and Follow Podcasts (Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon, Audible, Stitcher, PodBean, Overcast, i Heart Radio, Podcast Addict, Gaana, CastBox, etc...):

https://linktr.ee/SpiritualAwakeningRadio

Today, readings (along with commentary) from:

the Radhasoami spiritual classic, The Way Out Is... IN, by Swami Ram Bihari Lal, successor of Sant Garib Das of the Radhaswami Faith;

The Essence of the Teachings of Mastana Ji, 1891-1960, another great disciple, successor and devotee of Hazur Baba Sawan Singh;

a mystic poem of Sant Sahajo Bai: "Sahajo says: know the true Self, which time cannot destroy";

timeless verses of Meister Eckhart the great German mystic;

The Book of Mirdad: "Let Time Revolve About You; But You Revolve Not With Time";

Saint Isaac of Nineveh the Syriac mystic on meditation and accessing the expanse above;

satsang readings from the teachings of Hazur Baba Sawan Singh on the Methods of Withdrawing Within Oneself in Contemplative Meditation (Simran, Dhyan, Bhajan); also from Sawan Singh Ji on the importance and need for Initiation into the Mysteries of the Heavens by a Living One, a Living Master (Sant Satguru), which is when one fully learns and experiences the secrets of meditation practice, and receives the proper spiritual guidance about the ascension of the soul through the Inner Regions.

Also, I share from the Gospel of Thomas on Finding a Living One: "Seek to see the Living One while you are alive, lest you die and then try to behold that one -- and you will be unable to see." (Yeshua, Saying 52) Rather than attempting to figure out the methods of meditation by randomly perusing through the old writings and scriptures of those who have left-the-body decades or centuries ago speculating on what their meditation techniques might have been, in Sant Mat, the Path of the Masters, the methods of sadhana (spiritual practice) are directly communicated from one generation to the next via the Living Masters of the time.

Also during today's Sant Mat Satsang Podcast are readings from the satsang discourses of Baba Ram Singh Ji on being vigilant in tending to our meditations. "And when we sit for meditation, we should not consider it a burden because this is the true work for which we have come into this life and we should make the most of this opportunity." (Baba Ram Singh)

I conclude with some mystic poetry from: Songs of Kabir in the Adi Granth (Sikh scriptures); Guru Nanak Dev; John of Apamea -- another Syriac mystic; an otherworldly reading from the Canonical Prayer-Book of the Mandaean Gnostics; and finally from the Psalm-scroll of the Dead Sea Scrolls containing some mystic verses from the founder of the Qumran community known as "The Teacher of Righteousness". He's also sometimes referred to as "the Master".

"Over mere dust

hast Thou wafted Thy Holy Spirit,

and hast so molded that clay

that it can have converse with angels

and be in communion

with beings celestial.

Mere flesh hast Thou lit

with a Light everlasting...

My heart was amazed that thus

the Word was revealed to one

with ears unattuned,

and that a wayward heart

was able to grasp these things."

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

James Bean

Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts

Spiritual Awakening Radio

https://www.SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com

#SpiritualAwakeningRadio #SantMatSatsangPodcasts #JamesBean #Satsang #Podcasts #SpiritualPodcasts #Religion #Spirituality #Mystics #Mysticism #Gnostic #Gnosticism #GospelofThomas #Santmat #Sant_Mat #Radha_Soami #Radhaswami #Radhasoamiji #Radhasoami #SuratShabdYoga #PathoftheMasters #Initiation #InnerLightandSound #Bhakti #SpiritualLove #Devotion #Meditation #ScienceofSpirituality #ScienceoftheSoul #SpiritualQuotes