The August Sant Mat Spiritual Retreat! Also, Selections from the Bodh Sagar (of the Kabir Sagar Corpus, Where the Anurag Sagar Comes From)

The August Sant Mat Spiritual Retreat! Also, Selections from the Bodh Sagar (of the Kabir Sagar Corpus, Where the Anurag Sagar Comes From)

As Baba Ram Singh said during the previous spiritual retreat in January of 2026:

"We should listen to Satsang every day. We should do our Bhajan Simran [meditation] every day and develop that love and affection [bhakti]. It is important for us to create that vessel to receive the Grace of the Master. The Master is sitting within you, and when He sees you are making your efforts, He sees your love and affection, then His hand of Grace is showered upon you. And He helps you, not only in this world in worldly matters, but also, in spirituality and within.

"The life that has been given to us is very uncertain and short. And we don’t know that the breath we are taking, whether we are going to be able to leave that breath, or we will cease to exist. Therefore, we should always remember the purpose for which we have come into this world and that we have been given this human life. And we should work towards that." 

There's a new collection of Satsang videos available via Youtube. These have English translations provided. You can locate them here: 

https://www.youtube.com/@Babaramsinghjiguddelaashram/streams

The same videos, with slightly different editing, microphones and camera angles, are also to be found here:

https://www.youtube.com/@som-ajaib-kripaashramoffic4233/streams

Note. The very last satsang video of the recent retreat however is only found at one of the channels: August 10th 2026 Bhandara Satsang Hindi To English Translation, 9:30am:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8SyxlEzLo0&t=95s

How rare in this world to find such in-depth Sant Mat teachings preserved in a living Sant Mat community still faithful to traditional unedited Sant Mat as we find it in the pages of the Sar Bachan Poetry (Bhajans) of Swami Ji Maharaj, the Anurag Sagar, and in the letters of Hazur Baba Sawan Singh!

"The inner Light does not come or go. It is always there within. It appears only when we are attuned and concentrated and disappears as soon as there is the slightest dispersion. The Light will not vanish if you just keep your inner gaze constantly fixed." (Kirpal Singh)

"Another common misconception is that prophets, saints and mystics search for 'new' truth. Rather, what they do is to simply remove the layers of dirt -- of accumulated misinterpretations -- that have corrupted the truth. Then the Living Teacher will bring forth the very same truth in a new light. The original truth must repeatedly be presented to suit the current age." (Swami Sant Sevi Ji Maharaj)

Selections from the Bodh Sagar (of the Kabir Sagar Collection, the Same Manuscript Containing the Anurag Sagar That Santji Recommended)

Dharmadas (Sant Dharam Das), live in the world like a lotus flower in water—

rooted in the mud below, yet untouched, blooming purely above the surface.

Perform your worldly duties with honesty and detachment,

but keep the inner altar of your heart dedicated solely to the Shabd.

Let your speech be gentle, truthful, and free from malice.

Treat all living beings with compassion, for the same divine spark resides within all.

Do not harbor hatred, pride, or greed, for these are the strongholds of Kal.

Meditate daily upon the True Name imparted by the Satguru;

turn your attention inward whenever the body is at rest.

He who lives in this manner breaks all karmic ties while still alive—

and at the time of departure, the Satguru Himself comes to guide that soul home. (Bodh Sagar of Kabir)

KABIR SAHIB SPEAKS (DOHA)

He who searches outside wanders in a desert of illusions;

he who searches within finds the Lord seated upon the throne of the heart.

Section 4: The Inner Stages and Subtle Realms

Kabir Sahib Speaks (Chaupai):

Listen, O Dharmani [Sant Dharam Das], as I describe the inner journey of the soul:

Beyond the realm of gross matter lie the subtle inner spheres.

As the attention gathers at the inner center, the first lights appear,

and the soul begins to hear the distant music of the Unstruck Sound.

First, the soul enters the realm of Sahasdal Kamal (the Thousand-Petaled Lotus),

where the ruler of the physical and astral worlds holds sway.

Here, dazzling lights and miraculous powers tempt the seeker;

many yogis and ascetics stop at this station, mistaking it for the Ultimate.

Passing beyond, the soul ascends through Trikuti (the Causal Realm),

the source of the mind and the origin of the three gunas (sattva, rajas, tamas).

Here, the subtle seeds of past karma reside.

To cross this region, the soul must cast off its mental sheath,

becoming free from the dictates of the mind and ego.

Kabir Sahib Speaks (Chaupai):

Listen, Dharmani, as I reveal the glory of Sat Lok:

It is the self-luminous domain of Sat Purush, where suffering and change cannot enter.

There, millions of suns and moons pale before the brilliance of a single soul,

yet that light is cool, soothing, and infinite in peace.

In that abode, no physical elements exist—neither earth, water, fire, air, nor sky.

Time (Kal) has no dominion there, nor do death, disease, or aging exist.

The souls reside in eternal youth and joy, drinking the pure nectar of immortality,

forever immersed in the blissful presence of the Supreme Father.

Upon reaching Sat Lok, the soul merges into Sat Purush like a drop returning to the ocean.

Yet, in that merging, it experiences total awareness, total love, and ultimate liberation.

It realizes: "What I sought across countless ages was never separate from me."

Two and a Half Hours of Daily Meditation the Invention of Sawan Singh? By James Bean

 

Two and a Half Hours of Daily Meditation the Invention of Sawan Singh? By James Bean 

Hazur Maharaj Rai Saligram of Agra

Have read some posts at a blog site proclaiming that the practice of long hours of meditation is solely the invention of Sawan Singh. This is not true. "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence". It's a bad idea to develop broad sweeping conclusions about a spiritual tradition based on one's limited reading if historic accuracy is the goal.

I can say as someone directly, personally acquainted with the meditation practices of the Tulsi Sahib group, that long periods of daily meditation practice are recommended and that this approach of a praxis of long hours of meditation predates the establishment of the Radhasoami Satsang by many decades. This is not written down in English somewhere, just something which is communicated at the time of one's initiation (deeksha).

Of course, anyone familiar with Surat Shabd Yoga already knows, it may take time to reach the meditative states described by various masters and in the literature such as the Sar Bachan of Soami Ji Maharaj and other mystics of the east (Tulsi Sahib, Sant Dariya Sahib, Dharam Das, Kabir, Nanak, etc...).

At the same time, it is also true that much of the earlier Sant Mat literature remains only in Hindi, untranslated into English, thus someone can say that they personally haven't happened to have read anything about long hours of meditation practice (or countless other topics) prior to Sawan Singh literature, since with the advent of Sawan Singh and the modern period of the 20th Century is when we get in the English language a vast amount of writings with much greater detail about Sant Mat practices and teachings.

It would be accurate to say that during the time of Hazur Baba Sawan Singh and since then an effort has been made to communicate the teachings of the Radhasoami Faith to westerners by sometimes making use of Biblical language and references. To characterize long hours of daily meditation practice as "tithing one's time" was indeed a new development, but that's quite a different matter than proclaiming that Sawan Singh was the inventor of Surat Shabd Yoga meditation practice in the current form, as Sawan was passing along to the next generation the same meditation practices as articulated by his guru Baba Jaimal Singh.  

Spiritual Letters of Baba Jaimal Singh (third edition, 1967)

"Listen to the Dhun [the Sound Current] lovingly for two hours every day. Use this remedy every day. Then, with the Grace of Huzur Radha Swami, the mind will begin to enjoy Shabd Dhun." (page 73)

"I am very gratified to learn that you hold Satsang on Sundays and also sit on your feet for two or three hours in Bhajan." (page 66)

"The mind and the surat have been impure since this material creation began. Never, since then, has the surat been fixed in the Shabd Dhun with concentrated attention for two 'pahars' or three 'pahars' at a time, over a period often or twenty years. (A 'pahar' equals three hours.)" (page 55)

"It is now desirable that whenever you are free from your official work, you take at least two hours daily out of your worldly activities for Bhajan [inner Sound meditation practice], so that undesirable thoughts and actions which come as hindrances in Bhajan may start fading out." (page 142 of Spiritual Letters, an edition which also includes "extracts from the letters from Seth Partap Singh, Swami Ji's younger brother addressed to Babu Sawan Singh Ji")

The Book of Anmol Vachan

"Question: Swami Ji [Sant Garib Das], what is the best time for Bhajan Simran (meditation and remembrance)? Answer: The best time for Bhajan Simran is from 2 AM to 8 AM in the morning, and the second best time is from 7 PM to 11 PM at night. During these times, the inner experience and essence are more profoundly felt, as these are times dominated by Sattva Guna (quality of goodness and purity)." (Sant Garib Das, one of the successors of Swami Ji Maharaj, Anmol Vachan)

Some Passages In Writing, in English, from Huzur Maharaj Rai Saligram of the Radhasoami Faith, Another Successor of Swami Ji Maharaj

"Then, how can success in this important affair of Parmarth [spirituality], to which hardly two, three or four hours a day are devoted with difficulty, and the rest of the time is spent on the affairs of the world, and in association with worldly people, be achieved all at once? It should be considered a great mercy on the part of Radhasoami Dayal [the Merciful Lord of the Soul] that, in spite of so little an effort on the part of the devotee, He shows His Grace and renders internal help to him so early." (Saligram, Jugat Prakash, verse 33)

"A devotee, who receives joy and bliss during Bhajan and Dhyan in proportion to his desire, and in an increasing degree from day to day, should before commencing his devotional practices, make up his mind that he would then perform his Abhyas [meditation practices] for one, two or three hours, as the case may be, and would thereafter do such and such work. In this way his mind and spirit would, of themselves, come lower down at the appointed time, and the devotional practice would also be completed."  (Saligram, Jugat Prakash, verse 91)

"'Rasa-swada' means to feel happy and satiated on getting some bliss and consequently to have no more inclination for further devotional practices or to become a little listless.

"Whenever such a state comes upon a devotee, the remedy for removing this obstacle is that he should suspend Bhajan for about five minutes and should sit with stretched arms and legs or should get up and walk ten or twenty paces. If he does so, the obstacle will gradually be removed. And if, on account of excessive bliss, he becomes too enraptured and inebriated to perform Abhyas [the meditation practices] for three or four hours or more, he should apply himself to the recitation from the holy books." (Saligram, Jugat Prakash, verse 87)

We Are Souls From Above

 

We Are Souls From Above

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We Are Souls From Above

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

"Wherever you worship the Lord, there He becomes

your friend and helper.

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

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

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

"Wherever I look, I see the Merciful Lord

who is compassionate on the poor ones."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

______

NOTES

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

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

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

Exploring the Anurag Sagar's Cosmic Conspiracy of Kal, Plus the Origin of the Anurag Sagar (Ocean of Love)

 

Exploring the Anurag Sagar's Cosmic Conspiracy of Kal, And Further Below, the Origin of the Anurag Sagar (Ocean of Love), India's Most Gnostic Scripture

The Cosmic Conspiracy of Kal Niranjan, the Gnostic Demiurge, the Negative Power

The Kal said to Kabir:

I will do something there so that nobody will believe in Your

Shabda [Word].

There I will create such karmas and illusions that nobody will find

the way out.

In every single home I will create the ghost of illusion, and deceiving

the souls, I will make them forget.

All humans will eat flesh and drink wine, and all kinds of flesh will

be the favorites.

0 brother, Your Devotion is difficult — Nobody will believe it, I’m

telling You!

That is why I say: ‘Don’t go into the world now!’”

Kabir said:

At that time I told Kal, “I know your deceptions and tricks.

HYMN

Making the souls firm in the true Shabda, I will enable them to

remove your illusions.

I will make them recognize all your tricks, and by the strength of

Naam I will liberate the souls.

Those who remember me in thought, word and deed, focusing their

attention on the Elementless,

Such souls will go to the Immortal World, putting their feet on your

head.

COUPLET

Any brave and wise soul will finish your ego.

And very happily that soul will be convinced of the true Shabda.”

Hearing this Kal felt defeated and started to think of deceptions.

The Anurag Sagar Granth (Scripture) from the Closing Chapter

By speaking the Anurag Sagar Granth, I have explained to you the Secret of the Inaccessible. I have described the Drama of Sat Purush, and the deception of Kal. Only the connoisseurs will understand the ways of living and the Word of Discrimination. One who will accept the Word after testing it, will know the Path to the Inaccessible…

The Union of Surat and Shabda - when one gets Shabda, he reaches the realm of the Saints. It is the play of the drop and the ocean. What else can one say?

After meeting the Satguru, one understands the play of Shabda and Surat. It is the union of the drop and the ocean. What else can one say?

Giving up the qualities of mind, one should follow the Path of the Master. Such a soul goes to Sat Lok and derives Happiness from the Ocean of Happiness.

Understand the jiva as the drop, and the Naam of the Satguru as the ocean, Says Kabir with proof: Dharam Das, understand this!

— Book of Anurag Sagar, the Ocean of Love:

https://archive.org/details/AnuragSagarOfKabir

Center For Anurag Sagar Studies:

https://www.SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com/anurag.sagar

ABOUT THE ANURAG SAGAR TRANSLATION - The Origin of the Anurag Sagar (Ocean of Love)

Sant Bani books published an English translation of the Anurag Sagar in 1982 based on the Swami Yugalananda edition. From the introduction to this translation Russell Perkins writes: "Our text is from the edition published in Bombay in 1914 by Swami Yugalananda, who says in his Hindi preface that he used forty-six different versions of Anurag Sagar, thirteen of them hand-written, in preparing his edition, and that he carefully and painstakingly collated all the versions and compared all variant readings in order to arrive at the present book. This edition was specially recommended by Sant Ajaib Singh as the basis for the English translation, as it is the only text available based on this kind of careful scholarship."

The Anurag Sagar is volume two in a vast granth or collection of scriptures known as the Kabir Sagar (Ocean of Kabir). All eleven volumes of the complete Kabir Sagar were compiled, translated and published back in 1914 by Swami Yugalananda.

Background Information on Swami Yugalananda, The Great Scholar of Dharam Das Kabir Writings

Yugalananda was also known as "Shri Yugalanand Bihari", "Kabir Panthi Yugalanand Bihari" or "Bharat Pathik".  Swami Yugalananda was born into a Kabir panth family, eventually became a collector of books, did much traveling around India and neighboring countries assiduously attempting to create critical editions of various Kabir publications by gathering together as many diverse copies of various Kabir related texts as he could, and was very much interested in reforming the Kabir panth. By Kabir panth (the Path of Kabir) here I'm specifically referring to the Dharamdasis (the Sant Dharam Das line of Masters), as only they recognize the Anurag Sagar and the other Kabir Sagar books as scripture. The other Kabir panth sects don't use those.

Yugalananda claimed that over time, unqualified leaders (“mahants”) had altered or distorted many original manuscripts. He aimed to revise and purify the scripture to restore authenticity, sourcing from the best available copies, especially one from Shri Ugranam Sahib. He worked to safeguard doctrinal integrity through textual criticism and editorial reform. His effort shaped how Kabir Sagar and related Sagar books are presented and studied within devotional contexts. He has become the authoritative, honest go-to-source for Kabir texts. His redaction approach influenced the Kabir Panthi community’s standardized edition of the Kabir Sagar volumes widely used today.

He is well-known for his translation and compilation of Kabir Sagar, Anurag Sagar, and other key Kabir Panthi texts. He was a prolific author who is credited with writing forty-two books, including Kabir ki Sakhi (1898) and Anurag Sagar (1914), published in Bombay by Shri Venkateshwar Press.

At the time of the publication of the Kabir Sagar volumes in 1914, Yugalananda, also known as Swami Yugalanand Bihari, for a time apparently served as the Acharya (spiritual head, guru) of a Kabir Ashram: Kabirdham (Kabir Dharma Nagar) located at Damakheda, a major center of the Kabir Panth in Chhattisgarh. In some of his other Kabir-related publications however, I've noticed that the signatures included in his introductions mention him being located at a Kabir Ashram in Bombay: "Kabir Ashram, Khagsiya Station, Yours sincerely, Bilaspur, C.P.Shri Yugalanand Bihari, Kuchar Bhawan, Rashtriyashala Road..., Vile Parle, Bombay... (Acharya Kabir Ashram)."

A list of all forty of the books included in the eleven volume set called, The Kabir Sagar, the Swami Yugalananda edition published in 1914:

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

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 Blessings of a Living Master: Sant Mat, Radhasoami Satsang

 

The Blessings of a Living Master: a new satsang spiritual retreat is underway in India at Radhaswami Ashram, Channasandra with Baba Ram Singh, faithfully continuing the path of Sant Mat in the world today. For many satsangs with English translation provided, see more videos at this channel: https://youtu.be/PY0u0ropSsg?t=953

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)