Light and Sound on The Path (Sant Mat): Communion With God, by Baba Somanath, Also, Podcast Update

 

Light and Sound on The Path (Sant Mat): Communion With God, and the Positive Influence of Satsang — Excerpted from a Spiritual Discourse by Baba Somanath, Also Podcast Update

New Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts uploaded to the Podcast World: 

* Kabir's Spiritual, Mystical Teachings and the Book of Prayers; 

* Inner Sound Meditation Practice - Introduction To Surat Shabd Yoga; 

* A Relaxing Oasis of Spiritual Wisdom, A Sanctuary For the Soul We Call 'Satsang'; 

* The Radhaswami Teachings of Baba Faqir Chand: Spirituality and Meditation;

* Inner Sound Meditation is A Required Course, Not An Elective One, in Sant Mat; 

* Only the LIVING PRESENT is Ours - The Teachings of Sant Kirpal Singh;

* A Radhasoami Spiritual Classic by Shiv Brat Lal: Light on Ananda Yoga; 

* Santmat Mystic Poetry of Maharshi Mehi Paramhans;

* Astronomy and Spirituality Have Much in Common;

* The Philosophy of Liberation! Spiritual Freedom!

* An Introduction to The Spiritual Path of the Masters; 

* Near Death Experiences, Other Dimensions, Other Worlds, Inner Light And Sound Meditation;

* India's Gnostic Gospel: Kabir's Ocean of Love (Anurag Sagar); 

* Making the Case For Following A Living Spiritual Teacher; 

@ The Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcast Website (with links to Apple, Spotify, Google, Radio Public, Amazon, PodBean, YouTube, etc...): 

https://SpiritualAwakeningRadio.libsyn.com/website

Was very impressed upon finding the teachings of Baba Somanath on a website that appeared a couple years back, giving us access here in the West to the treasure of Baba Somanath material in English for the very first time. He was a great disciple and spiritual successor of Hazur Baba Sawan Singh, put in charge of a ashram center in southern India, and the hymns he composed and sang are out of this world, very moving.

Guru Ramdas: "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."

Guru Ramdas:  "The Lord will be your friend in this world and the next."

Baba Somanath: Collect the wealth of Simran and Naam in your heart; then whether you are walking or moving about, whether you are awake or asleep, the Lord is ever ready to come to your aid. That conscious Power will be your protector. This is the wealth of the Lord. And no matter how much wealth the Lord bestows, it never decreases; it always goes on increasing. The thieves cannot take it away; fire cannot burn it up; water cannot drown it. That wealth is not affected by any of these things. Whoever collects this wealth is the most fortunate being.  The Lord showers His grace and unites the devotee’s heart with the Naam.

Guru Ramdas: "In the company of Truth, earn the wealth of the Lord."

Baba Somanath: Therefore, He says, “In order to collect the wealth of the Lord, join the congregation of Satsang.” There is such Power in the company of Truth, that if you spend one moment in the Satsang, if one sentence from the Satsang takes root in your heart, then your wanderings in the cycle of birth and death will come to an end. Guru Ramdas: 

सत्संग उत्थे जाणिये, जित्थे एको नाम बखाणिये

"Understand that place as Satsang, where the One Naam is spoken of."

Satsang is the place where the glory of the One Naam is described.  The letters akār, “A,” ukār, “U,” and makār, “M,” make up the sacred syllable of “AUM” or Onkar. But the One Naam lies beyond Onkar. Satsang is the place where the praise of that One Naam is sung.  In the Satsang, we learn how to discern Truth from untruth in our heart.  Until we come into the Satsang, what can we achieve? We will lack the right understanding. Therefore, Tulsi Das Ji tells us: 

सत्संग समन तीरथ नहीं कोई । राम कृपा बिनु सुलभ न सोई ।।

"There is no place of pilgrimage equal to the Satsang,

But understanding comes only through the Lord’s grace."

Baba Somanath: No place of pilgrimage is equal to the Satsang.  Only the Satsang can remove the dirt of the mind. When the mind is cleansed of all impurities, it ceases to wander. And when the mind becomes motionless, then that inner Power pulls it upward automatically. Therefore, He tells us that it is difficult to understand the Satsang without the Guru’s grace.  The Guru gives the discourse for a couple of hours, and you come and listen. But what do you gain from the Satsang? After the Satsang, you get up and brush away the words of the Satsang when you dust off your clothes. You don’t take anything with you when you leave, and you return home empty-handed.

You should think this over carefully. When you attend the Satsang, you should leave the thoughts of your home behind. You should lose all awareness of your body and mind; they should become quiet and still. But now when you are listening to the Satsang, your mind is already waiting at the bus stand. You remember your home and think, “I need to reach home quickly. The time is up. Satsang should be over by now.” In this way, you remain unchanged; you return home the same as when you left.

Only a few rare ones keep the words of the Satsang in their hearts. Even when they catch the bus for home, their minds do not take on the world’s color. Only a few rare ones remain engaged in the Simran of Naam and go on singing the Lord’s praise. Everyone else attends Satsang with their minds full of the worldly things, and when Satsang is over, they have nothing to show for the time they spent there.

Simran Is The Most Important Step That The Masters Prescribe - Light and Sound on the Path (Sant Mat)

 

Light and Sound on the Path (Sant Mat)

For Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts/Spiritual Awakening Radio, to Listen Online or Download, GO TO: https://SpiritualAwakeningRadio.libsyn.com/website

The Following is Excerpted from, "Simran Is The Most Important Step That The Masters Prescribe", a January, 2022 Satsang Discourse by Baba Ram Singh

In order to cut our mind’s pull outside in this physical world, the Masters require us to use a physical help, and that is in the form of these Holy Names which we repeat. Because it is only by a physical intrusion that we will be able get the mind out of its outward pull in this world.

So, therefore, to get our attention away from everything outside and focused within, it is very important for us to do the repetition of the Holy Names.

That is why the Masters keep repeating again and again and encouraging us to do our Simran. Time and again, They tell us that we have to keep on doing our Simran. Because it is this which is the first step of the ladder to go within. It is only with the help of Simran that we will be able to get the attention of the soul focused again at the Eye Center.

When we do Simran, we focus our attention at the Eye Center and the entire body becomes numb and that is when the Third Eye opens and we are able to go within and realize ourselves. So, by doing this Simran, we are able to withdraw our attention from the nine doors and go to the Tenth Door. It is only by Simran that we will be able to achieve all this. And that is why more importance is given for doing Simran, rather than listening to the Sound Current initially...

Swami Ji Maharaj says, “The whole world is unhappy and they are all outwardly focused. So, He questions the satsangi, “Those people have not had the benefit of Satsang, nor a Master, they have not understood the Path. So, they are going about their routine lives in whatever beliefs they have and they are unhappy as a result. But you are a satsangi. You have listened to Satsang. You have understood the Path. You know what is right, what is wrong, but yet, you are also going on the same path like them and you are also unhappy.” So, He questions the satsangi why he is also unhappy like the worldly person?

So, Masters say, “If you should remain detached in this world, since you are also subject to your karmas, you also have to face the world, you have to go about your worldly duties. But then, unlike getting completely swayed by them, you should be detached. The example is given by Nanak Sahib.

He gives the example of a lotus. So, that lotus grows in a swamp. It is in all filth and dirt that it grows, but it keeps itself afloat and it doesn’t allow the water also to spoil its petals.

And it maintains its independence. Like that, even there are these birds which dive into the water, and they keep diving into the water, coming out, and when they fly back, they fly with dry wings. So, you have to, as a satsangi, also stay in this world like that. You have to have your attention focused within....

So, Swami Ji Maharaj says, “The only person who is happy is one who has moved his attention away from this world and focused his attention on his Master, at the feet of his Master, and who has manifested that Sound Current within. Only he is truly happy.”

The Two Types Of Naam, by Sant Ram Singh, Meditation Talk, August 10th, 2017 - Light and Sound on the Path (Sant Mat, Radhasoami)

 

The Two Types Of Naam, by Sant Ram Singh, Meditation Talk, August 10th, 2017 - Light and Sound on the Path (Sant Mat, Radhasoami)

Baba Ram Singh in the Sant Mat Lineage of Sawan Singh

SWAMI JI MAHARAJ HAS WRITTEN in His Bani, There are two types of Naam. One is Varnatmak * and the other is Dhunatmak **. Varnatmak Naam is that which can be seen, written, or read and spoken. The other Naam is Dhunatmak Naam, which is praised in all the Banis of the Masters.

This Dhunatmak Naam is the Sound Current that is emanating from God Almighty and coming via all the planes down and then it is resonating in all the chakras in the body.

In the Varnatmak Naam, that is the one that can be described or spoken or written, all the Scriptures, all the mantras, all the Vedas, and all the holy books, everything comes within the Varnatmak Naam. But everything that we can see or speak or hear or write, all this is going to be subject to destruction.

However, the Dhunatmak Naam has been created by God Almighty and that is resonating within all the life forms.

Nanak Sahib says, "It is this Sound Current, which has emanated from God Almighty and has come down the planes.” It is that very Sound Current, which has created all these planes. And all the And, Pind, Brahmand ***, everything is created by this Sound Current. And that same Sound Current is now resonating at the Eye Center. It is resonating; It has come from all the planes and is resonating at the Eye Center. And, from there, It is illuminating the body and It is giving energy to the body.

The names that are given during the initiation, these are the names of the holy Lords of the higher planes. These names are also within the Varnatmak Naam and they are also subject to destruction. During initiation, the Masters connect us with the Sound Current within. And when our intellect ceases, and our talking and seeing and all the other faculties of the mind cease, then we are able to manifest that Sound Current and get connected within. That very Sound Current manifests in the Radiant Form of the Master and It shows the Path, and It takes the soul back, plane-by-plane, to God Almighty.

When we go back to Sach Khand, God Almighty does not have any other form. He appears in the form of Light and Sound, and the Masters Who have taken us there, He appears in the form of that Master in Light and Sound.

In the Dwapar Yuga, Kabir Sahib took Indra Mati and Indra Mati went within, and Kabir Sahib took her to Sach Khand. When They reached Sach Khand, He bowed before God Almighty and told Him to accept the soul of Indra Mati. There, the God Almighty, Sat Purush, He appeared from the Lotus and He came in the form of Kabir Sahib only.

So, the Masters are also Sound Current and the Sound Current is connected plane-by-plane to go within back to God Almighty. All the other mantras, tantras, and everything else that we do, all those give us mystic powers also and, to an extent, they give us the pleasure of being in Kailash, Vaikuntha, or heaven, but none of them are able to give us salvation. It is only the Sound Current, which gives us the salvation.

When all these munis who have done their meditation, or they have done their austerities and they have gained a lot of positive karmas, they are given the benefit of that by being given a place in heaven or Kailash or Vaikuntha. Now when that power of austerity or those karmas come to an end, then they’re sent back again to this earth where they again get under the influence of the mind and do karmas and go back into the chaurasi.

We are currently in this human physical body, and because we are in this physical body, to address the mind, we have to take the help of a physical nature. That is why the Simran given to us is in this form. It is in the Varnatmak Naam. And it is with this Simran and the contemplation of the Form of the Master that we are able to go to the Tenth Door ****. And when we get out of this physical body then, within, we are connected to the Sound Current. After that, this Simran and this Varnatmak Naam that has been given to us does not help further. It is only the Sound Current then that takes the soul within.

We are indeed fortunate to have the company of the Masters and Their Teachings, and They have given us initiation. Now, it is necessary for us, therefore, to do as much Simran and meditation as possible and stay connected so that we can go within and get connected to the Sound Current as soon as possible.

So, the atmosphere is very calm and quiet and we should also make the most of it. So, close our eyes and sit for meditation.

_______

* * * * NOTES:

* Varnatmak Naam: Descriptive name; spoken and written names like mantras, the words given for Simran

** Dhunatmak Naam: Shabd; that Name which cannot be spoken or written; Word of God

*** Pind: The physical plane; Pind, And, and Brahmand form the three worlds of Kal's creation

And, Anda: Astral Realm; lit. “Egg”, second subdivision of Brahmand; lies between the Physical Plane (Pind) and the Causal Plane (Brahm); contains the regions of all gods and goddesses

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

**** Shiv Netra: Lit. “Eye of Shiva”; the Third Eye; Eye of Knowledge; Tisra Til; Seat of the soul; located between and behind the two physical eyes