Sant Mat Quotes of the Week:
{"The affairs of the world will go on forever.
Do not delay the practice of meditation." -- Milarepa}
"Doing the devotion is not like we are doing a favor to anyone. It is, in fact, having mercy on our own self." (Swami Ji Maharaj)
Kabir says: "Put all imaginations away, and stand fast in that which you are."
"The place where people are always talking about the secrets of the path of Surat Shabd Yoga, is true Satsang." (Huzur Maharaj)
Sant Tulsi Sahib: "0 Jiva [captive Soul somewhere in time]! Give up all blind adherences and beliefs, concentrate within and seek the Supreme Being there, adopting Him alone as your goal. Do ponder over what I say and see for yourself with eyes wide open that there is none in this world whom you can call your own. You should adopt the Supreme Being alone as your prop and support."
Kabir: "Keep on reciting God's name, and you will live pleasantly in the world. With true love as your master, your life-map will change."
"The Supreme Father is a vast homogeneous Ocean of Pure Spirit. He is perfect, sufficient in Himself to Himself, in an ecstatic state of love and bliss. Before creation He alone was conscious. There was none but He to see and none but Him to be seen. There was only the Lord immersed in His own rapturous bliss. That Limitless Reservoir of Love which alone was in existence, with none to adore or exchange love with Him was an Ocean of Absolute Bliss (ananda). His primary characteristic is love. .... He is nothing but a Vast Reservoir of Love and Bliss." (Myron Phelps, "Phelps Notes")
"To know the sweetness of the Infinite within us, that is the cause, the reason, the purpose, the only purpose of our being." (Nicholas of Cusa)
"Look for and search for God within yourself, within your own body. God resides inside - look for him there." (Maharishi Mehi)
"Within the innermost recesses, all spirituality is one and it has never undergone any division. Our spirituality or soul (Surat) is an emanation from the Supreme Being. Within the innermost recesses it is one with the Lord." (Discourses of Babuji Maharaj, Volume Three)
The Lord in Shabd form is always with you and is never far. Have patience, and you will get a glimpse of True Light. (Swami Ji Maharaj)
"If my Beloved wishes, He can call me near Him in a moment. By means of Shabd, He can instantly elevate me." (Swami Ji Maharaj)
Sant Tulsi Sahib of Hathras, India: "Blessed with the merciful gaze of Satguru I have been able to get Darshan [Vision] of the Invisible (Supreme) Being. My Isht [goal] is Sat Purush whose abode is Sat Lok. He is all-merciful, and is beyond Triloki. My attention is riveted on His holy feet and I have His Darshan all the time. I have reached the original abode....I have been blessed with Darhsan of the Supreme Being."
"Raise your Surat with Shabd, and you will have darshan of the refulgent form of the Lord. Be saturated with His love and yearning. Keep away from evil tendencies and leanings. Combating with mind and its forces, remain absorbed in Shabd." (Swami Ji Maharaj)
Sant Tulsi Sahib of Hathras: "Great reverberation of Shabd is going on within, and one should fix one's attention on it."
Rumi says: "Bring the sky beneath your feet and listen to Celestial Music everywhere."
"If a person adopts a Master and having faith in him, gets himself initiated, does meditation with devotion then he can become a hans (pure soul). Such an attainment is priceless. His Master will take him step by step to Sahansdal Kamal, Trikuti, Daswan Dwar, Bhawar Gupha, Sach Khand and after a short stay, to Alakh, Agam and Anami Desh which is the highest eternal Region, the Ultimate Abode." (Anurag Sagar, The Ocean of Love)
"Resting in the protection of Radhasoami Dayal [the Merciful Lord of the Soul], one should give up all fears, worries, doubts and reveries. Relying on His mercy, one should become free from care and anxiety. It is only when one becomes care-free in respect of this region, that one will be able to perform Arti [worship, meditation]. This is what the cushion of a care-free state means." (Discourses of Babuji Maharaj)
"Dariya meditates on the One Lord, and thereby resolves all problems (mundane and spiritual)." (Sant Dariya Sahib of Marwar)
Sant Tulsi Sahib: "I have described in detail Sat Mat* with which worldly ways are incompatible. I have tasted the bliss of the Original Abode which alone is true. The world, on the other hand, is only a fleeting show, and only if one ponders over this, one will be able to realize the essence of Sat Mat and then alone will one's boat of life be able to cross the ocean of worldly existence."
Note: *"Sat Mat" means: "True Eternal Teachings". "Sant Mat" means: "The Way or Teachings of the Saints", the "Path of the Masters". The term "Sant Mat" was coined by Param Sant Tulsi Sahib of Hathras, during the 19th Century, but the Sant tradition, with its many guru-lineages or branches, is a spiritual movement that dates back many centuries to ancient India. Sant Tulsi Sahib was of the opinion that the Sant movement goes back to the time of Krishna thousands of years ago, that Krishna knew of Sants during his day, the age of the Bhagavad Gita.
Tulsi Sahib's works consist of Shabdavali, Ratan Sagar, Ghat Ramayan, and a small unfinished book called, Padma Sagar. Writings of Tulsi Sahab are available in various languages including English: 1) "Tulsi Sahib - Saint of Hathras", published by Radha Soami Satsang Beas; 2) "Param Sant Tulsi Saheb", a great anthology of the writings of Tulsi Sahib, in Hindi, and there is also an English edition of this book, edited by S.D. Maheshwari, published by Soami Bagh, Agra. 3) In Hindi only: "Ghat Ramayan", published by Belvedere Press, Prayag, Allahabad (the edition originally published by Baba Devi Sahab during the 19th Century).
What If There Is No Satsang? "Attendance in Satsang and service of the Sant Sat Guru are no doubt essential factors in spiritual progress, but when these are not available the devotee can maintain his usual progress by performing his Abhyas [meditation practices, spiritual exercises] regularly with earnestness and zeal and reading** the sacred books regularly every day." (Biography of Babuji Maharaj)
Note: **Better to attend an actual satsang in person of course, but writings of Masters at least provide a level of satsang. Internet reading, listening, dvd's or videos is closest to the third level of satsang listed below. The three levels of satsang are:
1) Association with God or Radiant Form of the Master: Inner Satsang during Meditation;
2) Association with the Saints: outer satsang at the feet of a Master, or gathering of satsangis; and,
3) Association with teachings/words of the Masters.
"As we continue diligently in this third type of satsang [third level of satsang], we accumulate the meritorious karmas which will lead to the meeting with a true saint. Then we will be able to do the second category of satsang and will have a good fortune of listening to the words of realized beings who presently reside among us. As we continue in association with a great saint, and with the saint's blessings, we will gradually begin to meditate and undertake the prescribed spiritual disciplines. By diligently practicing these disciplines, we will one day, experience the first category of satsang -- the association with the Supreme Being. When we have thus accomplished the highest category of satsang, our life's ultimate purpose will be fulfilled." (Swami Santsevi Ji, The Harmony of All Religions)
The Attraction of Love is Present in Every Particle of the Creation
"THE SUPREME BEING IS ALL-LOVE. REDEMPTION IS ALSO EFFECTED BY THE ATTRACTION OF LOVE. THE SECRET OF THE LORD CANNOT BE KNOWN BY THE KNOWLEDGE AND INTELLECT OF THIS REGION, FOR THE RANGE OF INTELLECT IS LIMITED. THE PATH LEADING TO THE SUPREME BEING LIES WITHIN, AND ACCESS TO HIM CAN BE HAD BY THE GRACE AND MERCY OF THE PERFECT GURU.
"Redemption will be effected by the attraction of love. The Supreme Being is all-love. He is a vast reservoir of love. Love is the attribute of remaining absorbed within one's own Self. The Supreme Being was in a state of un-mun-sun bismadhi (intense absorption in Himself). He still is, and will ever remain in that state. By 'sun' is meant Chaitanya (spirituality, consciousness). Joy, bliss, pleasure, truth and consciousness are all attributes of love. It would be sheer waste of time to get involved in arguments as to whether truth comes first or spirituality, or, what attributes come first and what afterwards. Actually, love is first and foremost. The attraction of love is present in every particle of the creation. Nothing is outside the range of its attraction. The difference is only one of degree or intensity. It is by the attraction of love that the creation is maintained and sustained. All actions are taking place by the force of attraction.
"'Give up the fear and regard for the world. Heed what I say, perform Bhakti [love and devotion]." (Soami Ji Maharaj)
"Surat [the attention of the Soul] is the doer of everything. Perfect Bhakti (devotion) consists in the complete merging of all one's spirituality in the Supreme Being. If any part of the spirituality is left out, Bhakti will be deficient. Things which retard Bhakti and create obstacles will have to be given up.'
-- Babuji Maharaj, "The Discourses of Babuji Maharaj," Volume III, Agra
