PODCAST: The Yoga of SOUND, Part 5: Sant Mat, the Path of the Masters

PODCAST: The Yoga of SOUND, Part 5: Sant Mat, the Path of the Masters

PODCAST: The Yoga of SOUND, Part 5: Sant Mat, the Path of the Masters -- Spiritual Awakening Radio with James Bean -- Listen @ Youtube:

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Today, Part Five of the Yoga of Sound Series! It's time to learn about the Path of the Masters of the East: Sant Mat, the Way of the Saints, Living Gnosis Now, and the Inner Light and Sound Meditation practice (Surat Shabd Yoga) that lets the soul ascend back to the Pleroma (Fullness), Nirvana, Sach Khand, Sat Lok (the True Eternal Timeless Realm), the Kingdom of the Heavens, Radhaswami Dham. 

There are inner Sounds that one receives instruction from a true Master about at the time of initiation into Surat Shabd Yoga (Inner Sound Meditation, the Yoga of the Audible Life Stream). These Sounds are perceived to come from the right side or center and represent the Ascending Current. Sounds that appear to be coming from the left side are of the descending current flowing downward into the material creation or multiverse. One is instructed to focus on the Sounds of the Ascending Current or Audible Life Stream — certain Sounds. There are of course many other sounds one might hear, but one has to focus on certain Sound Currents. The reason for this is these Sounds, if focused upon during meditation practice, will keep pulling the soul’s attention up to ever higher and higher levels. These are coming from regions Above. Other sounds, though mistaken for the Sound Current, are interesting, miraculous or even mystical, will not help the Surat-soul to ascend or make spiritual progress.

Sometimes in the news there have been reports about people hearing a mysterious sound that seems to be coming from nowhere. One of these has been called “the Taos Hum.” In, Philosophy of Liberation, Maharshi Mehi states that not only are there spiritual sounds associated with the heavenly realms, but there are also many vibrations or semi-subtle sounds associated with the gross-material realm. He says one should not falsely assume they are accessing the real inner Sound Current just by hearing ANY kind of sound that may manifest itself in one’s perception during the silence of meditation:

“There are sounds due to gross vibrations in the material body. To meditate on these gross-material sounds and believe it to be as the full practice of the Yoga of Sound shows a lack of knowledge of Yoga.” There are gross-material sounds one can hear in the silence of meditation that do not lead one Above, do not lead to spiritual growth, transformation or enlightenment. Swami Vyasanand: “This is because only the Central Sound has the power to attract the consciousness to the center and carry the soul to the center of a higher realm. Other illusory material sounds do not have that magnetism to attract the consciousness to the higher realms.”

“Various sorts of Sound Currents reverberate in the human system from which the initiate has to pick up the right one and listen to it, otherwise he will go astray and lose his equipoise. The practical Guru forewarns his disciple and directs which Sound to listen to and which one to discard.” (Shiv Brat Lal)

God is the Ocean of Love and All-Consciousness.

In Divine Light and Sound, Gnosis, Peace, Jai Guru, Jai Sat Naam, Satya Raam, Radhasoami, 

James

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Sound Beyond the Silence that Guides You Back to the Source -- On Inner Sound Meditation Practice

Sound Beyond the Silence that Guides You Back to the Source -- On Inner Sound Meditation Practice

"Meditation on Nad or the Sound Principle is the royal road to salvation [jivamukti]." (Hansa Naad Upanishad)

                                                                            

"In all truth it can be said that the fall of the human being took place when he began to forget himself. That is to say: to forget his Supreme Being, the mysterious Source whence he emerged." (The Law of Attention -- Nada Yoga and the Way of Inner Vigilance, Edward Salim Michael)

"The Sound Current [Audible Life Stream] is the indissoluble link between God and man. Just as a fish can ride a mighty wave, so a spirit can ride the Sound Current and reach the Sea of Sound or Naam." (Kirpal Singh)

"Our mind is ever in a state of oscillation. It is covered with the dust of ages upon ages. All the time our mental faculties are flowing outward into the world, and never for a moment have they known any rest. Until the mind is purified and stilled, one cannot listen to the reverberations of the Sound Current." (Kirpal Singh)

"One can see that the body is more like a radio, more like a conscious entity in the universe that picks up things. Being born as a separate entity in the universe, we are a Point of Light, a conscious being in a separate form. We tend to assume we are a fixed, solid, physical person, but we are something greater than that -- not so limited, heavy, and fixed as our cultural conditioning makes it sound, or as we tend to perceive." (Ajahn Sumedho, The Sound of Silence)

"You can experience the Sound of Silence in the mind. You hear it as a kind of high frequency sound, a ringing sound."  -- Ajahn Sumedho

"I am the Voice whose Sound is manifold

and the Word whose appearance is multiple....

I am the hearing which can be attained by everyone." (Thunder: Perfect Mind, a Gnostic Gospel)

"The aspirant should look upon this Nada [Mystic Sound] as a Divine Grace and rare opportunity, always turning to it with the utmost respect, revering it as the treasured means that can make his deliverance possible." (Edward Salim Michael, "The Law of Attention -- Nada Yoga and the Way of Inner Vigilance")

"The holy Sound Current is the astral form of the Master, and as such should be listened to with rapt attention." (Kirpal Singh, Letters to New York City area initiates)

"Let him close the ears with his thumbs. … This is my most beloved Yoga. From practicing this gradually, the Yogi begins to hear mystic Sounds (nadas). The first Sound is like the hum of the honey-intoxicated bee (matta-bhrnga), next that of a flute (venu), then of a harp (vina); after this, by the gradual practice of Yoga, the destroyer of the darkness of the world, he hears the Sounds of ringing bells (ghanta), then Sounds like roar of thunder (megha)." (The Shiva-Samhita)

"You will have more Sounds than one, but you have to stick to that of a big bell, a conch, a shell, thunder, drum-beat, a violin and the flute, which are the higher types of Sounds and leave all the rest." (Kirpal Singh, Spiritual Elixir)

"As regards the Sound of Bina, it somewhat resembles the sound of the instrument which the snake-charmers use to play to catch the snakes. Its tune resembles that of a flute -- the difference is that the sound of the flute is shrill compared with that of the Bina -- just as the sound of a violin is shrill when compared with that of the flute -- and the Sound grows more in volume and thicker and continuous as the soul traverses higher. It is a continuous Sound resembling that of a bagpipe." (Kirpal Singh, Letters to Vermont initiates)

"It is essential for the aspirant to understand this and clearly see the importance and value for his spiritual search of this Nada [Inner Sound], this mystical Sound that can be mysteriously heard inside the ears and head. For this Nada is an inestimable sacred intermediary between that which is higher and divine in him and his ordinary self. It is his prodigious hope, his ever-present and trustworthy friend, his necessary guide and benign support in his various spiritual exercises and meditations. In it lies the possibility for his redemption and the fulfillment of himself."(Edward Salim Michael, The Law of Attention -- Nada Yoga and the Way of Inner Vigilance)

"The deeper one goes in meditation, and the loftier the spiritual states one touches, the more the motion and feeling of time will alter and take on an entirely different aspect. The greater the merger into one's higher state of consciousness, the slower and less perceptible will time become until, in the still more exalted mystical states, it will feel as if it stops altogether." (Edward Salim Michael, "The Law of Attraction -- Nada Yoga and the Way of Inner Vigilance")

"When using this Mystical Sound as the basic support for his meditation, the seeker should also be very alert and attentive as to where the subtler aspects of this Sound are drawing him within himself. He will thus, little by little, gravitate to ever finer states of consciousness and will start to sense an out-of-the-ordinary inner continuity of being that is beyond description and that it is impossible for him to experience in his habitual state. As his meditation deepens, it will bring with it a most subtle, transparent, and luminous consciousness that he will finally become immersed in and one with. He will no longer sense himself in the same way as he did in the past. He will become mysteriously transformed into an unchanging and enigmatic 'Spectator', plunged in the vast silence of an eternal cosmic 'Nowness.'"

"When meditating with this Nada [Inner Mystic Sound], it is essential that the aspirant always seek and follow the particular aspect of it that is most subtle and 'ultra' in pitch as well as in brilliance. Even when the Sound becomes very shrill and loud in moments of deep concentration, he [or she] must not be tempted to be satisfied with it merely because it is sharp and resonant. He should relentlessly attempt to rise further and further into ever more subtle spheres of its mysterious Invisible Kingdom." (Edward Salim Michael, "The Law of Attention -- Nada Yoga and the Way of Inner Vigilance")

"The Sound heard internally is a Current which has originally emanated from the Supreme Being and is the means not only of concentrating the will but also of raising spirit entity to the Source from which it emanated..... The method for taking back the spirit entity to its Supreme Source is first to concentrate at the eye-focus [Third Eye], and next to commence its journey homewards by attending to the internal Sound, or in other words, by riding the Life or Sound Current which has originally emanated from the Supreme Source." (Huzur Maharaj, Radhasoami Mat Prakash)

To learn more, read the online book, "Yoga of Inner Light and Sound": http://www.Scribd.com/doc/96228547/Yoga-of-Inner-Light-and-Sound

Also: "Who Is Listening? An Inquiry into the Shurangama Meditative Practice": http://www.Scribd.com/doc/120014203/Who-Is-Listening

And: "The Unstruck Sound: A Buddhist Perspective": http://www.Scribd.com/doc/120014628/The-Unstruck-Sound-A-Buddhist-Perspective

Gandhi On the Inner Music - Sant Mat Quote of the Day

Gandhi On the Inner Music - Sant Mat Quote of the Day

"The Divine Music is incessantly ringing within all of us, but the loud senses drown the delicate Music, which is unlike and infinitely superior to anything we can perceive with our senses." (Mahatma Gandhi - forwarded quote posted by Pravesh K. Singh)

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Tagged: gandhi, india, ahimsa, nada, shabd, sound, sound current, sound of silence, yoga of sound, surat shabd yoga, sant mat, meditation, audible life stream, radha soami, radhasoami,

Spiritual Awakening Radio PODcasts: January 2011

Spiritual Awakening Radio PODcasts

  

Exploring the World of Spirituality, Comparative Religion, Mysticism, Meditation, Inner Light and Sound, the Path of the Masters, the Vegetarian Vegan diet for a Sustainable Planet, and Books

"O Soul (Surat)! Who are you and whence have you come? This world is a net spread by the mind. Why do you get entangled in it? You are a ray from the Purush (the Supreme Being) and an inhabitant of the purely Spiritual Region." (Shiv Dayal Singh)

"Consistent with the concept of flow, mystics say that only when the mind is stilled and attention is concentrated firmly at the Wisdom Eye, does the Audible Life Stream have the magnetic effect." (Alistair Conwell)

"Believed to be the most fundamental way that the God-power manifests itself to human consciousness, the Audible Life Stream is considered by mystics to be like a spiritual highway along which all souls will have to travel in order to reach the source of this power.....In a very real sense the Audible Life Stream is a cosmic symphony to which all things, seen and unseen, unknowingly dance. Underpinning all physical and spiritual levels of creation; this symphony is endlessly being performed at the very essence of our being, since we are a microcosm of the entire universe." (Alistair Conwell)

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Upcoming Programs on Buddhist Inner Sound and Light Mysticism

1/18/2011 Buddhist Inner Sound Meditation Part 1: Michele Michael, recounting the life and spiritual quest of Edward Salim Michael (1921-2006), author of a spiritual classic in the Buddhist community called, "The Law of Attention - Nada Yoga and the Way of Inner Vigilance", about encountering the sacred inner Sound. 

"When meditating with this Nada [Inner Mystic Sound], it is essential that the aspirant always seek and follow the particular aspect of it that is most subtle and 'ultra' in pitch as well as in brilliance. Even when the Sound becomes very shrill and loud in moments of deep concentration, he [or she] must not be tempted to be satisfied with it merely because it is sharp and resonant. He should relentlessly attempt to rise further and further into ever more subtle spheres of its mysterious Invisible Kingdom." (Edward Salim Michael, "The Law of Attention - Nada Yoga and the Way of Inner Vigilance", Published by Inner Traditions books of Vermont)

1/25/2011 Buddhist Inner Sound Meditation Part 2: Readings from the Shurangama Sutra (on the Transcendental Hearing of Quan Yin, the Compassionate One), Edward Salim Michael, Ajahn Sumedho, Dzogchen Ponlop, and other sources.

"You can experience the sound of silence in the mind. You hear it as a kind of high frequency sound, a ringing sound."  -- Ajahn Sumedho

"When the aspirant has recognized this Nada [Inner Sound] and familiarized himself well enough with it, he will perceive that, contrary to the ever-changing inner and outer conditions that he was used to up to that moment, this mystical Sound has a strange unearthly continuity about it. In addition to the description of this Sound given in the previous chapter, it can also be compared to the soft whisper of the wind and the continuous hissing noise of the ocean waves, with a shrill "ultra" Sound on top of it, composed of all the harmonics in the Universe. On higher spheres, this sacred Nada will have a strange sort of silvery aspect to it, somewhat similar to the uninterrupted jingling Sound of very little pieces of glass, with other smaller, ever more subtle Sounds superimposed on it, until finally these finer Sounds seem to disappear into infinity." (Edward Salim Michael, "The Law of Attention - Nada Yoga and the Way of Inner Vigilance", Published by Inner Traditions)

All for the love of wisdom and radio,

James Bean

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Mission Statement: 'There's not just one religion -- there are thousands! After years of being concerned that too few voices, too few points of view were getting heard when it comes to spiritual paths and world religions -- that the radio airwaves were not reflecting the diversity that really exists -- I started producing my own programs, exploring the world of spirituality, comparative religion, meditation, mysticism, websites, the vegetarian vegan diet, and books, bringing to the airwaves: the gentle voices of Saints, the Wisdom of Masters or Mystics, world scriptures, sacred texts, the great spiritual traditions and classics of the East & the West.' 

Interests: Exploring the World of Spirituality, Comparative Religion, Meditation, Websites, and Books, Including World Scriptures, Gnostic Texts, Spiritual Classics, Guidance by Living Teachers, and Other Books that Matter -- A Format of Essays and Interviews 

You Can Plug Your Ears And Can Still Hear IT

You Can Plug Your Ears

And You Can Still Hear IT

 

Sant Mat Quote of the Day:

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The following reflection on the experience of the Mystic Sound is from, "The Sound of Silence: The Selected Teachings of Ajahn Sumedho":

The mind is in a very wide, expansive state of awareness: inclusive, open, and receptive rather than closed and controlled. So notice and contemplate this experience, and then just concentrate your attention on the Sound of silence. If you think about it, think of it like a blessing, grace, or a lovely feeling of being open, rather than as a Buzz in the ear, in which case you think that it's tinnitus or some other disease. If you start contemplating it as the Sound of Angels, as a Cosmic or Primordial Sound, blessing every moment as you open to it, you will feel then blessed. Reflecting in this way, in a positive way helps us to take an interest in it and get a good feeling from it.

Listening to the Sound of silence, you can begin to contemplate non-thinking, because when you are just listening to the Cosmic Sound there is no thought. It's like this -- emptiness, not-self. When you're just with the Cosmic Sound alone, there is pure attention, no sense of a person or personality, of "me" and "mine". This points to anatta ["not-self, no-self, non-self"].

Relax into the Sound, don't try to force attention onto it. Just have a sense of relaxing and resting, peacefulness. Try counting to say, ten, to sustain listening to the Sound of silence: "one, two, three.....nine, ten." The mind is not used to resting in that way, it's used to thinking and to restless mental activities. It takes a while to calm, to relax, and to rest in this silence. (Ajahn Sumedho, Buddhist Teacher)

Shah Niaz: "A Sound is vibrating in the whole of creation. When you open your inner ear you will hear a continuous Sound, which will lead you across all limitations of mind and matter. My Beloved is speaking to you all the time. Alas! you do not hear his Voice."

"All religious scriptures mention the Sound Current or the Word, but unfortunately most remain unaware of it.

"When a Master initiates a soul he brings to that soul, at that moment, the ability to become conscious of this Sound Current. During all the millions of years we have been wandering around, lost and blind, we have forgotten our true selves and our Maker; we have lost the way (the Sound Current). Now it will be different. We are to meet our Creator through the Sound Current, which keeps creation in being." ("Encyclopaedia of Saints of India, Volume 19: Radhasoami", By Dr. S.R. Bakshi and Dr. Sangh Mittra)

"The Original Divine Sound, which originated from the Supreme Sovereign, continuously without break reverberates throughout the hearts of the entire macrocosm and microcosm. The Sound will inherently go on for the duration of creation because the evolution of creation depends upon the existence of Sound. Should the Sound cease so would creation." (Maharshi Mehi)

"Through the practice of meditation one can progressively move the consciousness inward within oneself.... through the practice of Surat Shabd Yoga (the Yoga of Sound), the transcending of all the Realms is achieved." (Maharshi Mehi)

"If during meditation Sound appears to come from the left side, the practitioner should try to shift his attention towards his right side, and he should reduce (lessen) the pressure on the left ear or should not press the left ear at all, or should take the thumb out of the (left) ear. Then, he would find that, slowly and slowly the Sound would appear to be coming from the above the centre of the two eyes. Then he should apply, or focus, his attention on that very Sound." (Huzur Maharaj {Rai Saligram}, found in the book, "Santwaani Sateek" {Commentary on Sayings of Sants, Radhasoami Satsang, Agra}, by Maharshi Mehi Paramhans ji Maharaj, here translated into English, by Pravesh K. Singh)

Hazrat Khan's List of Mystic Sounds: "It sounds like Thunder, the roaring of the Sea, the jingling of Bells, running the Water, the Buzzing of bees, the Twittering of sparrows, the Vina, the Whistle, or the Sound of Shankha..." ("The Mysticism of Sound")

"The practitioner may hear sounds like the sound of the Ocean, a Rain Cloud, a Drum, a Kettledrum, a Conch, a Bell, a Horn, a Flute, a Lute, or a bee [Hum]." (Svatmarama Yogindra, the author of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika)

Inner Sounds: "They are similar to the sounds of the Veena (stringed instrument similar to the lyre), the Murali (flute), the Nafeeri (horn instrument), the Mridang (drum), the Mrdal (cymbals), the Singi (a horn), the Sitar (stringed instrument), or the Sarangi (similar to a lute). Other descriptions compare these Sounds to a peal of Thunder and a roar of a Lion." (Maharishi Mehi)

"Sound by its nature has the quality to draw one to its Point of Origin [GOD].........No other means is better than the Sound for transcending the concealments (realms) of creation." (Maharshi Mehi)

Essence of Buddha's Teaching

Essence of Buddha's Teaching

The Buddha emphasized that the middle path is the most desirable path. To have pure conduct one must avoid both of the extreme paths: intense austerities and sensual pleasures. The Buddha condemned violent acts such as animal sacrifices. He also spoke out against needless rituals, self-claimed superiority of the pundits (priest class) and Brahmans, and the inequity of the caste system. He advocated a path that was pure, simple and based on the principles of moral conduct. By treading this path, humans can attain freedom and be rid of the cycle of birth and death.

Buddhism teaches a path based on the four noble truths:

1. In this world there is suffering.
2. This suffering has a cause.
3. There is a way (cure) to become free from suffering.
4. The eightfold path is prescribed to attain freedom.

In order to escape the cycle of death and birth and the suffering of the world a human should follow the eight fold path. This eightfold path is as follows:

1. Right view
2. Right intent
3. Right speech
4. Right conduct
5. Right livelihood
6. Right effort
7. Right vigilance (Mindfulness)
8. Right Samadhi (Concentration)

The essence of Buddha's teaching is as follows:

1. Do not criticize others. Do not speak ill of others.
2. Do not commit any kind of violence.
3. Control yourself by choosing right moral conduct.
4. Eat in moderation.
5. Live in solitude.
6. Yoke the mind to meditation (Yoga).

-- Sant Sevi Ji Maharaj,
The Harmony of All Religions

Inner Sound Meditation in Buddhism

Absence of sound is not the end of hearing,
And sound when present is not its beginning.
The faculty of hearing, beyond creation
And annihilation, truly is permanent.
Even when isolated thoughts in a dream arise,
Though the thinking process stops, hearing does not end,
for the faculty of hearing is beyond
All thought, beyond both mind and body.....

Ananda and all you who listen here
Should inward turn your faculty
Of hearing to hear your own nature
Which alone achieves Supreme Bodhi.
That is how enlightenment is won.
Buddhas as many as the Ganges' sand
Entered this one gateway to Nirvana.
(The Surangama Sutra: Selections from the
Upasaka Lu K'uan Yu Translation,
Published by Rider and Company, London)

How sweetly mysterious is the Transcendental Sound of Avalokiteshvara [Quan Yin]! Is is the subdued murmur of the sea-tide setting inward. Its mysterious Sound brings liberation and peace to all sentient beings who in their distress are calling for aid. (Surangama Sutra, A Buddhist Bible, Dwight Goddard, Beacon Press)

As you calm down, you can experience the Sound of Silence in the mind. You hear it as a kind of high frequency Sound, a ringing Sound that's always there. It is just normally never noticed. Now when you begin to hear that Sound of Silence, it's a sign of emptiness — of silence of the mind. It's something you can always turn to. As you concentrate on it and turn to it, it can make you quite peaceful and blissful. Meditating on that, you have a way of letting the conditions of the mind cease without suppressing them with another condition. Otherwise you just end up putting one condition over another.

This process of putting one condition on top of another is what is meant by making 'kamma'. For example, if you're feeling angry, then you start thinking of something else to get away from the anger. You don't like what is going on over here, so you look over there, you just run away. But if you have a way of turning from conditioned phenomena to the unconditioned, then there is no kind of kamma being made, and the conditioned habits can fade away and cease. It's like a 'safety hatch' in the mind, the way out, so your kammic formations, "sankharas", have an exit, a way of flowing away instead of recreating themselves.

One problem with meditation is that many people find it boring. People get bored with emptiness. They want to fill up emptiness with something. So recognize that even when the mind is quite empty, the desires and habits are still there, and they will come and want to do something interesting. You have to be patient, willing to turn away from boredom and from the desire to do something interesting and be content with the emptiness of the Sound of Silence..................You can turn to the emptiness of the mind-- to the Sound of Silence. This gives the conditions like anger a way out to cessation; you let it go away.

-- The Sound Of Silence -- by Ajahn Sumedho:
https://web.archive.org/web/20110212191054/http://www.4ui.com/eart/188eart1.htm

Surangama Sutra, from Kirpal Singh's book, Naam Or Word:
https://www.ruhanisatsangusa.org/naam/naam_b1_evidence1.htm#Buddhism

QuanYin, Extract from the "Surangama Sutra":
https://web.archive.org/web/20090627070646/http://www.universelle-lehre.de/vierwege.htm

The secret meditation - technique of the "Golden Ears":
https://web.archive.org/web/20050331073418/http://www.universelle-lehre.de/vierwege.htm#enc