Sar Bachan Poetry, Bhajans of Swami Ji Maharaj, from Two Translations

Sar Bachan Poetry, Bhajans of Swami Ji Maharaj, from Two Translations

Radhasoami Reality:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Radhasoami-Reality
{Radhaswami Dayal ki Daya Radhaswami Sahai:
"Grant Merciful Radhasoami Thy Grace and Protection"}

Daya kar sant gohraaven,
zara naheen chit men laaven.
paanch dhun bhed batlaaven,
surat ki raah dikhlaaven.
dhunon ke naam darsaaven.....

The God-realized Saints, out of their mercy,
come to advise people,
but they pay no heed at all.
The Saints offer the secret of the five melodies
and of the path the soul must follow to reach God.
The Saints reveal the names
of the melodies of Shabd,
of the forms and regions within.
The Saints teach the yoga of Surat Shabd
but nobody listens to them.
The Saints help their devotees
raise their souls to the heavens
and show them the sublime essence within the body.

-- Swami Ji Maharaj,
Saar Bachan Radhaswami Nazam yaani Chhand Band
"Sar Bachan Poetry -- Selections", RS Book Department


Shabd ki karo kamaayee...

0 Seeker! Every moment remain engrossed in the practice of Surat-Shabd-Yoga [union of the attention-faculty of the soul with Divine Light and Sound within during meditation] for there is no other comrade like the Word. Close your outer ears and then listen to the reverberations of the Word inside. The Word will drive "I-ness" (arrogance, self-centeredness, ego) out of you. Gain access to the Word and then you'll attain to steadiness and control of mind. After that you'll perceive the glowing and brilliant light of the flame and remain rapturous in the resonance of the Word every moment. You will then feel sick, disgusted and satiated with the objects of pleasures and forsake all of them for you would have soared high and heard the sonorous and resonant sound of the Word that is rich, deep and impressively loud.

The guru directs that you must remain contented and engrossed in that Sound; and then you will hear the diapason and crescendo of the sound (glorious and harmonious burst of musical sound and gradual increase in its volume). Then the surat [soul] rises from there rapidly, as if walking with heavy or noisy footsteps, impressively, and arrives at Sunn (Spirit-Sphere) hearing the euphonious tinkling sound.

Thereafter, you will hear the sound produced by overtones rather than volume and pitch -- that of timbrel and tambourine; what shall I say about the majesty of the Sound which is infinite and unlimited. Whatever I may talk about it, it will be found wanting. This is a matter which is enigmatic and mysterious; how can I unravel its mystery. The surat [soul] now gains access to the depths and dimensions of the Spaceless and Timeless (Adhar).

It now sits with her beloved Lord enjoying his perennial blissful company. All the darkness and dirt of the inner recess of the heart is now eradicated; showers of Sound are falling like murmuring rain. Inside you, as the light spreads, drops of ambrosia fall as the drops of dew. The mind has become fed up (annoyed and bored) with all other modes and methods (except Surat-Shabd-Yoga); the surat is now constantly applying to its wounds the healing and soothing balm of the Word (Sound). I now surrender my body and mind and all to the guru; Radhasoami [Lord of the Soul] speaks in this wise, time and again, with every breath.

-- Swami Ji Maharaj
Sar Bachan Radhasoami Poetry, Volume One
"The Quintessential Discourse Radhasoami"
Translated by M.G. Gupta
M.G. Publishers, Agra

The Sound Current, the Word, and, A List of Inner Mystic-Sounds

The Sound Current, the Word, and, A List of Inner Mystic-Sounds

From, "Encyclopaedia of Saints of India, Volume 19: Radhasoami",
By Dr. S.R. Bakshi and Dr. Sangh Mittra,
Criterion Publications, New Delhi, 2002, 268 pages,
a great book on the teachings and history of the Radhasoami Faith


The Sound Current, the Word

All religious scriptures mention the sound current or the Word, but unfortunately their followers are unaware of it. Hindus call it the celestial voice (aakaash vaanee), 'that which can be heard' (shruti), unstruck divine melody (anahad shabd). The Chhandogya and Mandok Upanishad name it the celestial song (udgeeth). In the Adi Granth, it has been expressed as name (naam), word (baanee), melody (dhun), truth (sach), ceaseless eternal sound (anahad shabad), Guru's word (gar baanee), sound (shabd), etc. Muslims call it word (kalmaa), voice of God (kalaam-e-ilaahee), heavenly sound (nidaa-e-aasmaanee), great name (ism-e-a'zam) or king of repetitions (sultaan-ul-azkaar). Ancient Greek mystics referred to it as word (logos). Socrates spoke of an inner sound that transported him to realms transcendent and divine. Zoroaster spoke of it as sarosha. Theosophists enumerate some of the sounds that are heard within and call them the voice of the silence. It has been termed the pure white music.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." -- John 1: 1

The Word is the Holy Spirit; and without consciously coming in contact with it there is no possibility of real spiritual progress.

"The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the Word of our God shall stand for ever." -- Isaiah 40:8

The Word is the fundamental principle of all the religions. The difference lies in the extent to which their adepts ascended up the sound current or the Word.

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.

"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."
-- Shah Niaz

When we first hear this wonderful sound it is very soft, but gradually it amplifies in volume, tone and character. In reality, our finer senses develop and we thereby appreciate it better. So long as the mind remains attached to the body and its desires, it cannot grasp the Word.


A List of Inner Mystic-Sounds

Maharishi Mehi: The literature of various saints describes the sounds of the different realms..........[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 Paramahansa Ji Maharaj, "Philosophy of Liberation")

Hazrat Khan: 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")

Svatmarama Yogindra, the author of the Hatha-Yoga-Pradipika, outlines the stages of Nada (inner Sound) practice as follows: First, the practitioner should block his or her ears with the fingers and focus inwardly, listening for the arising of the inner Sound (Nada). To begin with, a variety of sounds may be heard, becoming increasingly subtle. Thus 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]. He or she should continue to focus on whatever Sound is attractive until the mind achieves perfect steadiness. ("The Shambhala Guide to Yoga", Shambhala Publications)

Acts of John, apocryphal scripture of the West: "Who else is Christ but the Sound of God?"

Hazrat Khan: Abstract sound is called Saut-e Sarmad by the Sufis; all space is filled with it. The vibrations of this sound are too fine to be either audible or visible to the material ears or eyes, since it is even difficult for the eyes to see the form and color of he ethereal vibrations on the external plane. It was the Saut-e Sarmad, the sound of the abstract plane, which Muhammad heard in the cave of Ghar-e Hira when he became lost in his divine ideal. The Quran refers to this sound in the words, 'Be! and all became.' Moses heard this very sound on Mount Sinai, when in communion with God; and the same word was audible to Christ when absorbed in his Heavenly Father in the wilderness. Shiva heard the same Anahad Nada during his Samadhi in the cave of the Himalayas.

The flute of Krishna is symbolic of the same sound. This sound is the source of all revelation to the Masters, to whom it is revealed from within; it is because of this that they know and teach one and the same truth. ("The Mysticism of Sound")