The Yoga of Sound – Exploring

Sound Meditation (Surat Shabd

Yoga) in the Sacred Texts of the
Great World Religions, Gnostic
Traditions, and the Path of the
Masters (Sant Mat)
by James Bean
© 2004 – All Rights Reserved
 Introduction
No doubt, many of you saw the movie Contact,
based upon the book with that same title
authored by the late Dr. Carl Sagan. The story
was about SETI -- the search of extraterrestrial
intelligence. In this film scientists intercepted
radio signal emanating from another part of
the galaxy. These broadcasts were being
beamed directly at the earth by an alien
civilization trying to get our attention. After
many years they finally succeeded. Their
message was eventually deciphered; it
contained schematics for constructing a
transportation device which would allow
humans to travel to the distant world where the
signals were coming from.
After viewing this very worthwhile and
philosophical film, I couldn't help comparing
the parallels between this SETI scenario and
one of the world's oldest forms of yoga-
meditation: Surat Shabd Meditation, the Yoga
of the Sound Current. 'Shabda' is based on an
ancient Sanskrit word for divine or cosmic
Sound: heavenly music. For thousands of years,
human beings around the world have been
tuning into a Sound which comes from beyond
the stars. For the practitioners of the Yoga of
Sound, this heavenly music is also a means of
transportation. By becoming one with the Holy
Stream of Sound, souls during their meditation
 practice may find themselves ascending in
spirit toward the place where the Sound
emanates. This Sound connects all souls of the
universe to the Timeless (akal) realm of the
Great Spirit (Haq, Sat, Sach Khand).
Inner and Outer Sound in the World Religions
Being an initiate of Shabd Meditation and very
much interested in comparative mysticism and
religion, I would like to share with you some
quotes from around the world on
clairaudience, the ability to hear the mystic-
Sound, the Song of the Creator, the Voice of the
Great Life that brought all the bubble universes
into existence.
SACRED MUSIC IN THE WORLD RELIGIONS
ATTEMPTING TO IMITATE OR MIMIC THE
MYSTIC-SOUND
The Sound of God's Voice said, "Let there be..."
"In the Beginning was the Word, the Logos, the
Tao, the Shabda, the Nada, the Saut-e
Sarmad………"
Indigenous cultures support the belief that the
universe was brought into existence through
sound. The Australian Aborigines believe in
"Songlines," meaning the "Way of the Law,"
which sang the world, and everything in it, into
existence. Native American traditions speak of
 the "Song of the Creator" that created life and
sustains the universe.
The Book of the Hopi (Native American
spirituality), the first revelation of the Hopi's
historical and religious world-view of life,
contains a beautiful story of creation. In this
"genesis" account, the Song of Creation is the
essential Force that brings to life the first
humans, and the Earth itself is described as a
musical instrument. "All the vibratory centers
along the Earth's axis from pole to pole
resounded His Call; the Earth trembled; the
universe quivered in tune. Thus He made the
whole world an instrument of sound, and an
instrument for carrying messages, resounding
praise to the Creator of all." In this account, it
says that it is our duty, our sacred purpose as
human beings to echo this song of creation
back to the Creator again by "making a joyful
sound throughout the land."
Chant and sacred music of the world religions
can also cause souls to yearn to hear the real
Harmony of All Harmonies, to develop a desire
to meditate upon the INNER Sound of the
Creator that fills the heavens. According to the
Masters of Sant Mat and those who practice
Surat Shabd Yoga, this Current of Sound, Light,
and Love will take us back to God again, will
take us Home, if we become one with it. More
later on this Yoga of the Audible Life Stream.
 Sacred music is IMITATING, MIMICKING
higher spiritual sounds, bringing some aspect
of the Music of Heaven to the physical world.
Tibetan bells and bowls do this very effectively.
The inventor of the Sitar, the most well-known
instrument of Indian classical music, said that
it was his attempt to "capture the music of the
Spirit in terms of the physical world." (The
Pilgrimage of James, George Arnsby Jones,
Peacehaven Press) He considered his attempt
"a failure." As beautiful as the sitar is, the Real
Sound is far more glorious than any sound or
outer music of this world.
Harmonic overtone chanting (the singing of
two or more notes at the same time!) is a vocal
technique used in Mongolia, Tuva, Laos, and
other Asian countries. The human voice is
transformed into a sonic rainbow of tones and
overtones making the voice resemble the Music
of the Spheres. A few years back I learned how
to do this wonderful practice.
In India, many have verbalized the Sound of the
universe as "AAAAAUUUUUMMMMM," the OM
chant. In Tibet, Buddhist monks created an
otherworldly form of chant -- their attempt to
reproduce audibly something of the inner
sounds they heard during their meditations.
The various Christian, Sethian (Jewish),
Hermetic, and other Gnostic schools of Egypt
also devised forms of chant that they perceived
 as verbally mimicking/expressing the Real
Name of God that otherwise is hidden in the
silence of the soul. They chanted various
combinations of vowels and have included
them in their prayers: "I praise You. I call your
Name that is hidden within me: A O EE O EE
OOOOOOOIIIII OOOOOO OOOOOOUUUUUU
UUUUUUUUU UUUUUUUO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO." ("The Gospel of the
Egyptians" in, The Nag Hammadi Library In
English, James M. Robinson,
HarperSanFrancisco)
The Gnostic Gospels are filled with many
examples of chant and Names of God that were
used by Egyptian mystics and monks during
meditation practice to explore the Kingdom of
the Heavens within, the Wonders of Inner
Space. These ancient texts provide many
examples of souls ascending in spirit through
various heavenly realms on their way back to
"The Eighth," the heavenly state or realm of
Ultimate Reality where the Nameless God
resides, beyond all the veils of Light, Sound,
and illusion.
Whether it's drumming, Russian Orthodox or
Coptic chant, or Gregorian plain-chant, an
Indian classical raga or bagpipes, for millennia
humans have been echoing various aspects of
this Song of Creation. "For in the beginning of
the times so did we all share in the Holy Stream
 of Sound that gave birth to all creation."
(Essene Gospel of Peace, authored by Edmond
Bordeaux Szekely, Volume Four)
Across the many centuries and around the
world, mystics, in the scriptures they left
behind, recorded some of their experiences
with inner Sound, the heavenly Music that
comes from beyond the silence. Encountering
the Sound Current might be as subtle as
hearing a faint tone or hum in meditation, or as
blissful as becoming one with a cosmic
symphony on a higher plane of existence -- an
experience beyond what earthly language is
capable of truly conveying.
THE SOUND CURRENT OF ENLIGHTENMENT
IN BUDDHIST MYSTICISM
The Divine Eye According to the Buddha
"With the Divine Eye, which is purified and
surpasses the human, a bhikkhu surveys a
thousand worlds. Just as a man with good sight
when he has ascended to the upper palace
chamber, might survey a thousand wheel-rims,
so too, with the Divine Eye, which is purified
and surpasses the human, a bhikkhu surveys a
thousand worlds."
The Divine Ear According to the Buddha
"I have proclaimed to my disciples the way
whereby with the Divine Ear element, which is
 purified and surpasses the human, they hear
both kinds of sounds, the divine and the
human, those that are far as well as near. Just
as a vigorous trumpeter might make himself
heard without difficulty in the four quarters; so
too, I have proclaimed to my disciples the way
whereby with the Divine Ear element … far as
well as near. And thereby many disciples of
mine abide having reached the consummation
and Perfection of Direct Knowledge." (The
Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha -- A
Translation of the Majjhima Nikaya, Teachings
of the Buddha, translated by Bhakkhu
Nanamoli and Bhikkhu Bodhi, Wisdom
Publications)
"It is easiest to hear this Sound when it is quiet,
particularly at night-time. Once you have
identified this Sound, then you place your
awareness on it without wavering. Resting your
mind in the Sound, you continue to listen,
going further and further into the Sound itself."
("Mind Beyond Death", Dzogchen Ponlop
Rinpoche, Snow Lion Publications)
"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." (Ajahn Sumedho, a
bhikkhu of the Theravadan school of
Buddhism, from, The Sound of Silence)
"Avalokiteshvara Buddha (Quan Yin), the
hearer and answerer of prayer, has visited all
the Buddha-lands of the ten quarters of the
universe and has acquired transcendental
powers of boundless freedom and fearlessness
and has vowed to emancipate all sentient
beings from their bondage and suffering. ...
How sweetly mysterious is the Transcendental
Sound of Avalokiteshvara! 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)
"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.
 All past Tathagathatas
Have achieved this method."
("The Surangama Sutra", Selections from the
Upasaka Lu K'uan Yu Translation,
Published by Rider and Company, London)
"Listening to the inner Sound brings the heart
into a position of acute inner awareness. It is
not that the inner Sound has some magical
property. Rather, it is that bringing of the alert
mind, bringing openness and receptivity to
Sound, is symbolic of the presence of Ultimate
Truth. The Sound is always there. We don’t
have to create it. It is featureless. It is ever
present. So it is a good symbol for Ultimate
Reality itself." "In the sutra the Buddha praised
this method, the meditation on listening, as the
best method for enlightenment. Ajahn
Sumedho had been teaching the meditation on
the Nada Sound for some years so he was
tickled by this connection to another Buddhist
tradition. He hadn't realized that there had
been so much emphasis on this in traditional
Buddhist meditation practices." (Ajahn Amaro)
"O nobly-born, when thy body and mind were
separating, thou must have experienced a
glimpse of the Pure Truth, subtle, sparkling,
bright, dazzling, glorious, and radiantly
awesome, in appearance like a mirage moving
across a landscape in springtime in one
continuous stream of vibrations. Be not
 daunted thereby, nor terrified, nor awed. That
is the radiance of thine own true nature.
Recognize it. From the midst of that radiance,
the natural sound of Reality, reverberating like
a thousand thunders simultaneously sounding,
will come. That is the natural sound of thine
own real self. Be not daunted thereby, nor
terrified, nor awed. O nobly-born, five-colored
radiances ... vibrating and dazzling like colored
threads, flashing, radiant, and transparent,
glorious and awe-inspiring, will ... strike
against thy heart, so bright that the eye cannot
bear to look upon them. ... Be not afraid of that
brilliant radiance of five colors, nor terrified;
but know that Wisdom to be thine own. Within
those radiances, the natural sound of the Truth
will reverberate like a thousand thunders. The
sound will come with a rolling reverberation.
Fear not. Flee not. Be not terrified. Know them
(i.e., these sounds) to be (of) ... thine own inner
light." (Extracts from, "The Tibetan Book of the
Dead" -- Bardo Thodol), edited by Dr. W. Y.
Evans-Wentz)
Ajahn Amaro: "When he [Ajahn Sumedho] first
taught this method to the Sangha at Chithurst
that winter, he referred to it as 'the sound of
silence' and the name stuck. Later, as he began
to teach the method on retreats for the lay
community, he began to hear about its use from
people experienced in Hindu and Sikh
meditation practices. In these traditions, he
 found out, this concentration on the inner
sound was known as nada yoga, or 'the yoga of
inner light and sound.' It also turned out that
books had been written on the subject,
commentaries in English as well as ancient
scriptural treatises, notably, "The Law of
Attention: Nada Yoga and the Way of Inner
Vigilance", by Edward Salim Michael. In 1991,
when Ajahn Sumedho taught the sound of
silence as a method on a retreat at a Chinese
monastery in the United States, one of the
participants was moved to comment, 'I think
you have stumbled on the Shurangama
Samadhi. There is a meditation on hearing that
is described in that sutra, and the practice you
have been teaching us seems to match it
perfectly.'" ("Who is Listening?", by Rev. Guo
Cheen)
Stages of Inner Sound Meditation in the
Shurangama Sutra, a Buddhist Scripture:
"That Buddha taught me to enter samadhi
[deep meditation, union] through a process of
listening. I began with a practice based on the
nature of hearing. (1) First I redirected my
hearing inward in order to enter the current of
the sages. (2) Then external sounds
disappeared. (3) With its direction reversed
and with sounds stilled, both sounds and
silence cease to arise. (4) So it was that, as I
gradually progressed, what I heard and my
 awareness of what I heard came to an end.
Even when that state of mind in which
everything had come to an end disappeared, I
did not rest. (5) My awareness and the objects
of my awareness were emptied, and when that
process of emptying my awareness was wholly
complete, then even that emptying and what
had been emptied vanished. (6) Coming into
being and ceasing to be themselves ceased to
be. Then the Ultimate Stillness was revealed."
(Shrangama Sutra quoted in the white paper,
"Who is Listening?", all about transcendental
hearing, the sound of silence meditation
practice in Theravadan Buddhism, by Rev. Guo
Cheen)
INNER SPIRITUAL HEARING AND SEEING IN
BAHAI TEACHINGS
The following quote, which teaches us about
acquiring 'spiritual eyes' is taken from, The
Revelation of Baha'u'llah, Vol. 2, p.31 by Adib
Taherzadeh:
"Baha'u'llah teaches [quoting from] the
Mathnavi [written by Rumi, the Sufi poet] that:
'man will not be able to receive the Light of God
in this day unless he acquires a new Eye. Eyes
which are fixed on the things of this world can
never see the glory of His Revelation, and ears
which are tuned to the voices of the ungodly
cannot hear the Melodies of the Kingdom.' By
'new eyes' and 'new ears' He means spiritual
eyes and spiritual ears. He states that since the
Eye of the Spirit receives its Light from God it is
shameful to let it turn to a stranger, and re-
affirms that the purpose of God in creating the
inner Eye was that man might behold the
beauty of His Manifestation in this world."

In, 'The Hidden Words', a Bahai text,

Baha'u'llah reveals:
"O Son Of Dust! Blind thine eyes, that thou
mayest behold My beauty; stop thine ears, that
thou mayest hearken unto the sweet Melody of
My Voice; empty thyself of all learning, that
thou mayest partake of My knowledge; and
sanctify thyself from riches, that thou mayest
obtain a lasting share from the ocean of My
eternal wealth. Blind thine eyes, that is, to all
save My beauty; stop thine ears to all save My
Word; empty thyself of all learning save the
knowledge of Me; that with a clear vision, a
pure heart and an attentive Ear thou mayest
enter the court of My holiness."
THE SOUND CURRENT -- THE AUDIBLE LIFE
STREAM IN THE JUDEO-CHRISTIAN
TRADITION
The English Mystic Richard Rolle reflects in
"The Fire of Love:"
"When Christ wishes it ... he receives within
himself the Song sent into him from the
 heavens, and his meditation is changed into
Melody, and his spirit lingers in marvelous
Harmony."
"In the Light of God which is called the
Kingdom of Heaven the Sound is wholly soft,
pleasant, lovely, pure and thin ... God, who is a
Spirit, has by and through his manifestation
introduced himself into distinct spirits, which
are the voices of his eternal pregnant harmony
in the manifested Word of his great kingdom of
joy: they are God's instrument, in which his
Spirit melodizes in his kingdom of joy; they are
angels, the flames of fire and light, in a living,
understanding dominion.
"If you should in this world bring many
thousand sorts of musical instruments
together, and all should be tuned in the best
manner most artificially, and the most skillful
masters of music should play on them in
concert together, all would be no more than the
howlings and barkings of dogs in comparison of
the Divine Music, which rises through the
Divine Sound and tunes from Eternity to
Eternity." (Jacob Boehme, German Mystic)
"In the beginning was the Logos (the Word),
the Logos was with God and the Logos was
God." (John 1:1)
The Divine Logos... is the helmsman and
governor of the universe... The everlasting
 Logos of the eternal God is the very sure and
staunch prop of the Whole... But the shadow of
God is his Word [Logos], which he used like an
instrument when he was making the world.
And this shadow, and, as it were, model, is the
archetype of other things." (Philo of
Alexandria)
"Heaven is ever making Music, producing in
accordance with its celestial motions the
Perfect Harmony. ... To such strains, it is said,
Moses was listening, when, having become
disembodied, for forty days and as many nights
he touched neither bread nor water at all."
(Philo of Alexandria, on, The Music of the
Spheres)
"Behold, my heart was amazed that thus the
Word was revealed to one with ears unattuned,
and that a wayward heart was able to grasp
these things." (The Master of Qumran, The
Dead Sea Scriptures, translated by T.H. Gaster,
Anchor Press)
"What else is Christ but the Sound of God."
(Acts of John)
Experiences with the Sound Current -- people
hearing heavenly Music -- are also recorded in
the Bible and other spiritual writings of the
West. In the Book of Revelation we find this:
"And I heard a Sound from heaven like the roar
of rushing waters, and like a peal of thunder.
 After that, the Sound I heard was like that of
harpists playing their harps." (from Revelation,
14)
The Heavenly Sound of a Trumpet induces the
ascension to the heavens at the beginning of
Revelation, chapter four in the New Testament:
"After this I looked, and there before me was a
door standing open in heaven. And the voice I
had first heard speaking to me like a Trumpet
said, 'Come up here, and I will show you what
must take place after this.' At once I was in the
Spirit, and there before me was a throne in
heaven with someone sitting on it.'"
Enoch raised upon the wings of the Shekina to
the place of the Throne, the Merkaba and the
angelic hosts:
"And I took him, that is, Enoch, the son of
Jared, from among them. And I lifted him up
with Sound of a Trumpet and with a teru'a
(shout) to the high heavens, to be My witness
together with the Chayyoth* [angles] by the
Merkaba* in world to come."
(Third Enoch -- The Hebrew Book of Enoch)
(Enoch Notes: *Merkaba is a Hebrew word and
means 'God's Throne-Chariot' and refers to the
chariot of Ezekiel's vision. The goal of the
merkaba mystic was to enter the throne world,
after passing through Seven Heavenly
Mansions. *Chayyoth or Hayyoth (Hebrew), a
group of mighty angels who reside in the
seventh heaven.)
"Peter and I knelt down, gave thanks, and sent
our hearts up to heaven. We heard with our
ears and saw with our eyes the sound of battles
and a Trumpet's blast and utter turmoil. And
when we passed beyond that place, we sent our
minds up further. We saw with our eyes and
heard with our ears hymns and angelic praises
and angelic rejoicing. Heavenly majesties were
singing hymns, and we ourselves were
rejoicing." (Secret Book of James, Nag
Hammadi Library)
"Open your ears, and I shall speak to you. Give
Me yourself, so that I may also give you Myself."
(Syriac Book of the Odes, 9: 1-2)
"God so wishes us to return to Him that He
keeps calling to us again and again to approach
Him. It is due to His sweet holy Voice that our
soul is lost in ecstasy and surrenders totally to
His will". (Saint Teresa of Avila, Spain)
"I heard a noise like wind blowing in my ears
and knew it for the Sound of the Holy Spirit
which became like the voice of a dove. When
the Lord spoke to me I lost all sense of time. I
did not know if he was with me five or six hours
or only one. It was so holy and full of grace that
 I felt as if I had been in heaven." (Margery
Kempe, The Mirror of Love)
Hildegard of Bingen, the German Mystic,
wrote: "To the Trinity be praise! God is Music,
God is Life that nurtures every creature in its
kind." She also said:
"The soul is kissed by God in its innermost
regions.
With interior yearning, grace and blessing are
bestowed.
It is a yearning to take on God's gentle yoke,
It is a yearning to give one's self to God's way."
"The marvels of God are not brought forth from
one's self.
Rather, it is more like a Chord, a Sound that is
played.
The tone does not come out of the chord itself,
but rather,
through the touch of the Musician.
I am, of course, the lyre and harp of God's
kindness!"
"I think that no soul may truly feel the angel's
song or heavenly Sound, unless it is in perfect
love, though not all that are in perfect love have
felt it, but only the soul that is so purified in the
fire of love that all earthly savor is burned out
of it, and all obstacles between the soul and the
cleanness of angels are broken and put away
from it. Then truly may he sing a new song, and
 truly may he hear a blessed heavenly Sound,
and angel's song, without deceit or feigning.
Our Lord knows the soul that, for abundance of
burning love, is worthy to hear angel's song."
(Walter Hilton, The Song of Angels)

The great Masters teach that the Sound of God

is within everyone -- this Holy Stream of Sound
is within every living thing. This is why those
given to exploring inner space through
meditation, be they from the East or the West,
have discovered this Reality playing within
themselves.
HEARING THE SOUND CURRENT
ACCORDING TO THE GNOSTIC GOSPELS
"Listen within yourself and look into the
infinitude of Space and Time. There can be
heard the songs of the Constellations, the
voices of the Numbers, and the Harmonies of
the Spheres." (Hermes Trismegistus, Corpus
Hermeticum of Egypt)
Before the Sufi mystics of Islam, in ancient
times there were Gnostics: Jewish, Hermetic,
and Christian mystics who also described
hearing the Sound, and seeing mystic visions of
Light and the heavens while in deep states of
meditation. The following is from, The Gnostic
Mystery, by Andrea Grace Diem. In her book
about Sant Mat and Gnosticism she frequently
quotes from the Nag Hammadi Library, a new
testament-like collection of sacred texts written
in the Coptic language of Egypt (Gnostic
Gospels no doubt copied from earlier Greek
manuscripts):
"Man's soul shall become, when it leaveth the
body, a great flood of Light, so as to traverse all
the regions until it cometh into the Kingdom of
Mystery."
"I turned to myself and saw Light that
surrounded me and the Good that was in me; I
became divine." (Allogenes, which literally
means "the Stranger" or "Foreigner")

In Trimorphic Protennoia the gnostic writer (in

the voice of God) describes how this
transformation takes place:
"I cast a Sound into the ears of those who know
me. And I am inviting you into the exalted,
perfect Light. Moreover as for this Light, when
you enter it you will be glorified ... you will
become gloriously glorious, the way you first
were when you were Light. And I hid myself in
everyone and revealed myself within them, and
every mind seeking me longed for me, for it is I
who gave shape to the All when it had no form.
And I transformed their forms into other forms
until the time when a form will be given to the
All. It is through me that the Voice originated ...
And it is a Word, by virtue of a Sound; it was
sent to illumine those who dwell in darkness...I
 am a Light that illuminates the All. I am the
Light that rejoices in my brethren, for I came
down to the world of mortals..."

"When describing the philosophical nature of

the cosmos, Gnostic writers emphasize this
Sound Current, variously referred to as Word,
Voice, Logos, Speech, or simply Sound. Also,
throughout Gnostic texts reference is made to
the manifestation of a mystical Light, known as
Treasury of Light, Immeasurable Light, etc. In
the Trimorphic Protennoia it is described in the
following way" (Andrea Grace Diem):
"I am the Word who dwells in the ineffable
Silence. I dwell in undefiled Light and a
Thought revealed itself perceptibly through the
great Sound ... And it the Sound exists from the
beginning in the foundations of the All
[multiverse or cosmos]. But there is a Light
that swells hidden in Silence and it was the first
to come forth...I alone am the Word, ineffable,
incorruptible, immeasurable, inconceivable. It
(the Word?) is a hidden Light ... being
unreproducible, an immeasurable Light, the
source of All...It is foundation that supports
every movement of the Aeons that belong to the
mighty glory. It is the founding of every
foundation. It is the breath of the powers. It is
the eye of the three permanence's, which exist
as a Voice by virtue of a Thought. And it is a
Word by virtue of the Sound ... I (the Word)
became a foundation for the All..." (Trimorphic
Protennoina, Nag Hammadi Library)
More selections from Gnostic texts:
"I am a Voice speaking softly.
I exist from the first.
I dwell within the silence..."
(Trimorphic Protennoia)
"I am the silence that is incomprehensible.
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, Nag Hammadi
Library)
"He is the First Father of the All (universe).
He is the First Being.
He is the First Source.
He it is whose Voice has penetrated
everywhere.
He is the First Sound
whereby the All perceived and understood."
(Hymn in the Untitled Text of the Bruce Codex)
"It is I who am hidden within Radiant Waters.
I am the one who gradually put forth
(manifested, emanated) the All...
It is I who am laden with the Voice. It is
through me that Gnosis comes forth.
 I am perception (enlightenment) and
knowledge, uttering a Voice...
I am the real Voice.
I cry out in everyone,
and they recognize it (the Voice),
since a seed (of me) dwells in (each of) them."
(Trimorphic Protennoia, Nag Hammadi
Library)
"It is He to whom the universe has come; they
were silent before Him and have not told of
Him, for He is beyond speech, beyond thought.
So This is the First Fountain; it is He whose
Voice has penetrated in every place -- this is the
First Sound vibrating until the universe feels
and understands." (Bruce Codex of Egypt)
The Five Hebrew-Sounding Names (Panch
Naam Mantras) of the Jewish Sethian Gnostics
Throughout Gnostic literature names of
specific lights of the different realms are
described:
Armozel of the First region,
Oroiael of the Second,
Daveithe of the Third, and
Elethe of the Fourth.
The Fifth Aeon, the Divine, is the all-
encompassing Light.
(Andrea Grace Diem, The Gnostic Mystery)
Name One: Armoz-el of the first region,
 Name Two: Oroia-el of the second,
Name Three: Daveithe of the third,
Name Fourth: El-ethe of the fourth.
The Fifth Aeon and Fifth Name not revealed:
the Divine, Self-Begotten One.

These sacred names, which correspond to five

heavenly regions or planes, are words of
power. By repeating various names of God
while concentrating in the darkness, the
energies of the soul that normally are scattered
and dissipated into the world of the five senses
are gathered together at the Single Eye. With
this Singleness of Vision - concentration at the
Third Eye Center, Light will appear. One will
begin to rise above body-consciousness and
begin the interior voyage of spiritual ascension
(soul travel) accompanied by the Radiant Form
of the Master. Trimorphic Protennoia:
"He who possesses the Five Seals of these
particular names has stripped off the garments
of ignorance [the material body and subtle
bodies: astral, causal, etc...] and put on a
shining Light. And nothing will appear to him
that belongs to the Powers of the Archons
[rulers of the lower regions]. Within those of
this sort, darkness will dissolve and ignorance
will die. And the thought of the creature, which
is scattered, will present a single appearance
and dark Chaos will dissolve and ... until I
reveal myself to all my fellow brethren, and
 until I gather together all my fellow brethren
within my eternal Kingdom. And I proclaimed
to them the ineffable Five Seals in order that I
might abide in them and they also might abide
in me."
HEARING THE MUSIC OF THE SPHERES
(SOUND CURRENT) IN SUFI MYSTICISM
"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, Sufi Saint)
"The whole world is reverberating with Sound.
To listen to It thou must unseal thine inner
ears, then shalt thou hear an Unending Music,
and that shall lead thee beyond the confines of
death." (Shah Niaz)
The Mysticism of Sound by Hazrat Inayat Khan
is an amazing book presenting the Sufi
teachings on inner Sound. Hazrat Khan on
hearing the Mystic-Sound:
"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 eyes or ears, since it is
even difficult for the eyes to see the form and
color of the 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 Qur'an 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 Anhad Nada during his
Samadhi [deep meditation] 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 Sufi Message Series, II)
"The person, who is in tune with the universe,
becomes like a radio receiver through which
the Voice of the universe is transmitted."
(Hazrat Khan)
"This creative current, filling all space, may be
likened to the electromagnetic waves of the
radio." (Julian P. Johnson)
"...The Great Creative Current flows outwards
and downwards to create, govern and sustain
all regions. It passes out from this region
somewhat like the radio emanations going
forth from a great broadcasting station. It is the
Audible Life Stream, the most important factor
 in the system of the Masters. This Stream
permeates the entire system of universes. A
thing of great importance to us is that the music
of this ever-flowing current, the stream of life,
can be heard by a real Master and also by his
students who have advanced even a little on the
Path." (Julian P. Johnson, Path of the Masters)
"The subject of Shabd (Inner Sound, The Music
of the Creator) is such that we cannot do justice
to it by discursive reasoning. All that can be
said is that 'Shabd' implies the Power of God
that has created and is sustaining the various
grand divisions, divisions and sub-divisions of
the vast creation of God. It is a current from the
Ocean of Consciousness and is characterized by
Sound-vibration, or in other words, It is a live
and active principle which, emanating from
God, is enlivening all creation. It is the
instrument with which God creates, controls
and sustains His vast universe. It acts as a life-
line between the Creator and His creation and
serves as a golden bridge between the two. The
divine currents, like the ethereal waves of a
radio, are spread out in the atmosphere in all
the directions of the compass, giving out
delectable strains of music. We, however,
cannot catch the ethereal vibrations and listen
to the divine melody until we get in tune with
the Infinite by adjusting our mental apparatus.
Therefore we become etherealized more and
more as we come in tune with the heavenly
 music. Shabd is the connecting link between
God and man." (Sant Kirpal Singh, Ruhani
Satsang USA website)

"The vibrations of this Sound are too fine to be

either audible or visible to the material eyes or
ears..." (Hazrat Khan) Yet, as Masters and
mystics often point out, there is another kind of
hearing and another kind of seeing. The eyes
and ears of the soul -- the spiritual senses -- can
be developed. There is Light coming from
beyond the darkness, and there is Music
coming from beyond the silence, for those who
have ears to hear -- those who desire to
meditate and discover the wonders of inner
space for themselves.
"My Master has taught me a lesson:
It repeats itself-without me repeating it.
When I plug my ears with my fingers,
Without learning, I hear its melodies.
My eyes are longing for a glimpse of him:
Without seeing, I see his radiant face.
In every heart abides the Beloved, O Bahu,
In countless forms he reveals himself to me."
(Hazrat Sultan BaHU, Sufi poetry website)
"Rise above thy mental horizon, 0 brave soul,
and listen to the call of Music coming from
above." (Rumi)
"Bring the sky beneath your feet and listen to
Celestial Music everywhere." (Rumi)
 INNER SOUND MEDITATION (NADA YOGA)
IN JAINISM, SIKHISM, HINDUISM, AND THE
SURAT SHABD YOGA TRADITIONS OF INDIA
JAINISM, LORD MAHAVIRA, AND INNER
SOUND MEDITATION
"O Ascetic! Meditate on the Cosmic Sound of
OM because it is like rain for extinguishing the
fire of suffering. And it is also like a lamp which
illuminates the subtle essence of the sacred
teachings. It is the governance of good deeds."
(Jnanarnva, sarga: 38, Jainism)
"Close both ears with your hands and listen to
the Inner Sounds." (Acharya Mahapragya, "The
Method of Using Preksha Dhyana", Jainism)
"In the Divine Sound of God (Bhagawan) all the
mysteries are revealed." (Swami Jnananada,
Pandita Puja, Jainism)
"What does one hear with these ears? It is a
sweet Sound. ... Closing my eyes, as if I were
united with God, I was away from this world.
Only my Peace incarnate and dispassionate
Lord (Mahavira) and I existed [ego and worldly
concerns had vanished in the state of complete
tranquility]." (Shri Jinendravarni, Jainism)
THE UNSTRUCK MELODY OF THE SOUND
CURRENT (ANHAD SHABD) IN THE SIKH
SCRIPTURES
1. (Within me) rings the unstruck Melody of the
Lord’s flute, yea, He in whose presence one’s
mind is attuned to the sound (of the inner
music). (Sri Rag, Kabir)
2. Seated in my higher mind, I live in
communion with God and within me rings ever
the unstruck Music (of Bliss). (Sri Rag Var,
Shloka M. 3)
3. He, the Lord, is immersed in the unstruck
Melody of the Word. (Asa, M. 1)
4. He, our God, is the King of the whole
Universe, and there (in His Presence) rings the
unstruck Melody (of Bliss). (Sorath M. 5,
Chaupadas)
5. The Lord’s Name has no form, no sigh, and it
becomes manifest through the Immaculate
Lord as the unstruck Melody. (Asa M. 1)
6. In the cave of equipoise do I now have my
seat, and the luminous Self of God has burst
into me as the unstruck Melody. (Asa M. 5)
7. At the (tenth) door rings the unstruck
Melody. The Lord echoes thus in every heart.
(Vadhans M. 5)
8. Now I've closed all the nine Doors [of the
senses], and (at the Tenth) now rings the
unstruck Melody. (Sorath, Kabir)
 9. The Mind is Filled with the Divine Music of
the Spheres
"The Lord placed the soul in the body's cave,
And the breath held the Music of Life.
He made each body with nine gates*,
With the Tenth Gate**; remaining well hid.
And the Tenth Door was opened to him
Who truly loved the Guru's wisdom.
And there lives the Lord in His myriad forms,
as well as the nine treasures of the Name.
His limit cannot be found.
"Says Nanak, the Lord placed the soul in the
body's cave and the breath held the Music of
Life.
"Listen to this Song of Bliss, you blessed ones,
And all your heart's longings shall be fulfilled.
You will reach the Transcendent Lord, and
your sorrows will depart.
All afflictions and sorrows are destroyed
at the Sound of the True Word,
And my friends, the saints were in ecstasy when
the perfect Guru revealed it.
Those who speak and those who listen are pure,
And they see the All-pervading Lord
everywhere.
Nanak prays: Attaching to the feet of the Guru,
The mind is filled with the divine Music of the
Spheres."
(Guru Amar Das, in, Anand Sahib -- Adi
Granth/Shri Guru Granth Sahib)
 (Notes: *"nine gates": The nine visible orifices
of the body. ** "The Tenth Gate": The Tenth, or
Hidden, Gate of the body: The Third Eye, in
essence, is the Portal to inner realms. The
Upanishads describe a human being as a city
with ten gates. Nine gates (eyes, nostrils, ears,
mouth, urethra, anus) lead to the outside
world. The Tenth Gate, the Third Eye, opens
onto inner worlds: the whole spectrum of levels
of consciousness.)
HINDUISM, A RELIGION OF DIVINE LIGHT
AND SOUND
Hinduism is very much a religion of divine
Light and Sound; many Indian scriptures and
spiritual traditions teach about the universe
being created through the Sound of AUM, the
ecstasy of hearing the cosmic flute of Krishna,
or hearing the unstruck Melody (Anhad
Shabad) of God that reverberates throughout
the universe. Yogis of Nada Yoga and Masters
of Shabd Yoga Meditation impart to their
students knowledge about developing their
inner spiritual sense of transcendental hearing.
"Our physical and astral bodies, our Indriyas
and the mind, all have Sound as their basis. As
we penetrate deep into them they only lead us
to Sound. As we analyze our individual
existence, it takes us to Sound before we reach
the transcendent Self." (Sri Swami Sivananda)
"By one who is desirous of attaining perfection
in Yoga, Nada alone has got to be closely heard
(meditated upon), having abandoned all
thoughts and with a calm mind."
(Sankaracharya, "Yoga-taravali," quoted in
Nada Yoga by Sri Swami Sivananda, The Divine
Life Society)
"The yogi should sit the Sidh Asana [posture],
and while practicing the Vaisnavi Mudra,
should hear the sound through his right ear. By
communion with the Word, he will become
deaf to the external sounds, and will attain the
Turya Pad or a state of equipoise within a
fortnight. First the murmuring sounds
resembling those of the waves of the ocean, the
fall of rain and the running rivulets and the
Bheri will be heard intermingled with the
sounds of bell and conch..." (Nada Bind
Upanishad)

The following is from the Nada Bindu

Upanishad, on the practice of Nada Yoga (Inner
Sound) meditation. It's from Thirty Minor
Upanishads -- Including the Yoga Upanishads,
K. Narayanasvami Aiyar, Santarasa
Publications. ("Minor" as opposed to the twelve
"major" Upanishads, which are most widely
translated: Mandukya, Isa, Katha, Chandogya,
etc. There are 108 Upanishads in all.)
 "The Upanishads represent for the Hindu
approximately what the New Testament
represents for the Christian. The earliest of
these spiritual treatises, which vary greatly in
length, were put down in Sanskrit between 800
and 400 B.C." (The Upanishads, Penguin
Classics)
Nada Bindu Upanishad: "The yogin being in the
siddhasana (posture) and practicing the
vaishnavi-mudra, should always hear the
internal sound through the right ear.
"The sound which he thus practices makes him
deaf to all external sounds. Having overcome
all obstacles, he enters the turya state within
fifteen days.
"In the beginning of his practice, he hears many
loud sounds. They gradually increase in pitch
and are heard more and more subtly. At first,
the sounds are like those proceeding from the
ocean, clouds, kettle-drum, and cataracts: in
the middle (stage) those proceeding from
mardala (a musical instrument), bell, and
horn.
"At the last stage, those proceeding from
tinkling bells, flute, vina (a musical
instrument), and bees. Thus he hears many
such sounds more and more subtle.
 "When he comes to that stage when the sound
of the great kettle-drum is being heard, he
should try to distinguish only sounds more and
more subtle.
"He may change his concentration from the
gross sound to the subtle, or from the subtle to
the gross, but he should not allow his mind to
be diverted from them towards others.
"The mind having at first concentrated itself on
anyone sound fixes firmly to that and is
absorbed in it.
"It (the mind) becoming insensible to the
external impressions, becomes one with the
sound as milk with water, and then becomes
rapidly absorbed in chidakas (the akas where
Chit prevails).
"Being indifferent towards all objects, the yogi
having controlled his passions, should by
continual practice concentrate his attention
upon the sound which destroys the mind.
"Having abandoned all thoughts and being
freed from all actions, he should always
concentrate his attention on the sound, and
(then) his chitta becomes absorbed in it.
"Just as the bee drinking the honey (alone)
does not care for the odor, so the chitta, which
is always absorbed in the sound, does not long
for sensual objects, as it is bound by the sweet
 smell of nada and has abandoned its flitting
nature.
"The serpent chitta through listening the nada
is entirely absorbed in it, and becoming
unconscious of everything concentrates itself
on the sound.
"The sound serves the purpose of a sharp goad
to control the maddened elephant -- chitta,
which roves in the pleasure-garden of the
sensual objects.
"It serves the purpose of a snare for binding the
deer-chitta. It also serves the purpose of a
shore to the ocean waves of chitta. The sound
proceeding from Pranava which is Brahman is
of the nature of effulgence; the mind becomes
absorbed in it; that is the supreme seat of
Vishnu.
"The sound exists till there is the akasic
conception (akasa-sankalpa). Beyond this, is
the ashabda soundless Para-brahman which is
Paramatma."
A good example of Nada (Sound) Meditation
practice is found in, The Shambhala Guide To
Yoga, George Feuerstein, Shambala Books:
"First, the practitioner should block his or her
ears with the fingers and focus inwardly,
listening for the arising of the inner Sound. To
begin with, a variety of sounds may be heard -
 the practitioner may hears sounds like: the
sound of the ocean, a rain cloud, a drum, a
kettledrum, a conch, a bell [ringing sound], a
horn, a flute, a lute, or a bee [humming
sound]."

The Nada Bindu Upanishad also mentions the

possibility of hearing a sound that resembles
the Vina, a somewhat sitar-like instrument
used in Indian classical music.
These mystic or heavenly inner sounds are
always resounding in the soul, thus when one
attains a certain level of stillness and
concentration, spiritual Sound becomes
audible. In truth, the inner Sound is always
there, it is our attention which comes and goes.
We gain awareness of the Sound, and this
creates the illusion that the Sound has
"arrived." When we get distracted or leave off
our meditation practice it seems to us that the
Sound has "stopped." However, this
otherworldly Sound continues, like radio waves
flowing through the atmosphere, available to be
"tuned in" anytime we want to listen (do
bhajan: listen to the inner Sound in
meditation).
SANT MAT -- LIVING GNOSIS NOW
Ancient Schools of Spirituality including: Sant
Mat, Kabbalah, Mandaean Gnosis, Sufism, and
others, see themselves as preserving a kind of
"Perennial Philosophy of the Ages". Some see a
line of Masters and Mystics, the keepers of
spiritual Knowledge, as existing throughout all
of recorded history. Some of these great souls
include: Seth, Enoch, Abraham, Moses, Isaiah,
the Essene Teacher of Righteousness, John the
Baptist, Yeshua, Valentinus, Saint Isaac the
Syrian, Rabia of Basra, Rumi, Hafiz, Namdev,
Kabir, Guru Nanak, Tukarama, Mirabai, Dadu,
Dariya Sahib, Tulsi Sahib, Swami Ji Maharaj,
Maharshi Mehi, and others right up to the
present time. If there were true Masters in the
past, there's no reason why there wouldn't
continue to be genuine Masters in the world
today.
The Sant Mat tradition, also known as the Path
of the Masters, very much sees itself as a
modern-day continuation of the Teachings of
the Saints of old, with living lineages or
apostolic successions of Masters right up to the
present time. The author Julian P. Johnson in,
With a Great Master in India, says: "The
Teaching of the Saints [which is what the term
'Sant Mat' means] has been one and the same
system since the first Saint ever set foot upon
this planet. ... It is a science [method] based
upon natural law and personal experience. The
Creator Himself is its author and founder."
According to the Masters of the East the
'electricity' or 'energy' of the Godhead that
 flows through all creation, and that's present
within every living thing, is called 'the Shabd.'
Shabd or Shabda is a term for the Inner Light
and Sound of God, sometimes referred to as
'the Audible Life Stream.' This Current can be
seen as well as heard. This is the Sound of God
if we did but know it, and is the Light of
Eternity if we could only recognize it within
ourselves. Surat Shabd Yoga, the spiritual
practice of Sant Mat, literally means: "the
attention-faculty of the soul (Surat) becoming
one (yoked/yoga, or in union) with the Inner
Light and Sound Current (Shabda) of God." The
inner Light-Sound Stream can be encountered
during the silence of contemplative meditation
when we directly open ourselves up to IT.
Here's a list of other mystic-terms for this same
imminent Power of the Godhead used in
various world religions and languages: the
Sound Current, Holy Stream of Light, Ein Sof,
Vadan, Holy Stream of Sound, Holy Spirit,
Word, Logos, Christ (as in, "In the beginning
was the Word..." Gospel of John, and, "Who
else is Christ but the Sound of God." Acts of
John), Saunt-e Sarmad, Tao, Music of the
Spheres, Nada, Ek Ong Kaar, Hoooooooo, Ism-
i-Azam, the Voice of the Silence, the Lost
Chord, Davar, Memra, Anhad Shabd, Song of
the Creator, Naam, Bani, Kalam-i-llahi,
Shechinah, Kalma, Dhun, Sultan-ul-Azkar.
 The author Peter Fripp in, The Mystic
Philosophy of Sant Mat, describes listening to
the inner Sound during meditation practice:
"The Music of the Shabd is distant and
unsteady when first heard, but as it deepens, it
lifts the listeners into a hitherto unknown
peace. ... The Sound of the Shabd is like a
constant theme with variations on all levels
[planes or heavens]. These variations are
described as the rushing of a mighty wind, the
sound of a lute, the deep resonance of a bell or
conch, or the tinkling of glass in the wind.
There are also wonderful lights and radiance to
accompany the sounds...The sounds and lights
progress in a definite order, corresponding to
each stage of the journey inwards, and they
clearly indicate the disciple's progress."
Four Kinds of Drshti (Vision)
"Jagrat-Drshti (vision of waking state),
Svapana-Drshti (the vision of dreaming state),
Manas-Drshti (mental vision) and Divya-Drshti
(Divine Vision). When the first three types of
vision are concentrated, the mind becomes
focused and the divine vision dawns. If one-
pointedness is held in the divine vision, mind
will move notably higher and grasp subtler and
subtler sounds eventually merging with the
Sound.
"Upon merging the mind with the Sound, there
remains only the consciousness, free of the
association with the mind. The consciousness
free of the mind will be drawn to the flow of
sounds, ultimately merging in Soundlessness
or the Supreme Sovereign God. The internal
practice of meditation ends here: the Supreme
God is realized and the work is completed."
(Maharshi Mehi, Philosophy of Liberation)

Some have even described this form of

meditation as "a conscious near-death
experience," that is to say, the Holy Stream of
Sound can transport souls to higher states of
being that may for some resemble NDE's or
OOBE's (out of body experiences, soul travel).
This is not a 'do-it-yourself spirituality' in the
sense that one needs the guidance of a
competent living Master in order to practice the
meditation correctly in a healthy and balanced
way. One should never attempt to climb the
Himalayas without a Sherpa guide; in the same
way one should not attempt meditation to this
degree without the sound wisdom and spiritual
direction of a living Guide. In the Shabd Yoga
tradition of India the methods of practice are
communicated at the time of Initiation by a
Master. This is freely given -- no money is
involved. A Living Teacher, being fully
acquainted with the 'landscape' of inner space,
is able to impart to initiates valuable guidance
on how to safely make the journey of ascension
to the spiritual worlds during meditation
practice inside. The complete details of Shabd
meditation practice are not found in books and
aren't for sale, but are given to seekers by a
living Master at the time of Initiation.
A Mystic by the name of Yogani Mataji said of
Shabd Meditation:
"...Consciousness can be released from the
mortal frame by attaching itself to the Stream
of Celestial Music radiating from the top of the
head and beyond. To do this..., one first must
be initiated by a genuine mystic who has gained
access to the higher realms. ... Keeping the back
erect and the mind alert, one continuously
repeats God's name as given by his/her guru.
This simran [mental repetition of a Name of
God], as Mataji termed it, should be done with
one's attention centered behind closed eyes.
Coupled with this physical stillness and
ceaseless repetition of God's Name [step one in
meditation], the next step is to contemplate the
Light within. At first, Mataji pointed out, there
will be only darkness but eventually Light will
appear in the form of either small flashes or
small star-like points. In any case, one should
focus on the radiance, keeping one's simran
[repeating God's Name or Names in
meditation] intact and allowing the Light to
draw the soul inward. The third and most
 important step, Mataji said, is to listen to the
Sound that issues forth from the Light. It is this
Internal Music which will numb the body and
allow the consciousness to leave its ordinary
dwelling. By riding this Current of Light and
Sound, like a fish going upstream,the soul will
be able to go back to its original Home. On the
journey within, however, the soul must be
guided by a True Master so as not to be
detained in any of the lower illusory regions.
According to Mataji, what near-death patients
experience is only the beginning of a vast
sojourn into great universes of Light, Love and
Beauty." (Enchanted Land, edited by David
Lane, MSAC Philosophy Group)
COUPLETS ON INNER SOUND AND LIGHT
MEDITATION BY SWAMI SANT SEVI JI
MAHARAJ, SANT MAT TRADITION
"Begin meditation with internally chanting or
repeating the Guru-mantra (the charged words
given by the Master).
"And then try to visualize the radiant form or
image of the Satguru in the still darkness of the
inner sky (with eyes closed).
"Follow that with focusing your attention at the
seat of the soul within, i.e. at the Third Eye or
the Inner Eye or the Til Dwaar, by making the
two streams of consciousness in your two eyes
converge in a Point.
"When the two currents of consciousness meet
in a Point, Divine Light appears within.
"Then, practice Surat Shabd Yoga (Yoga of
Divine Sound) i.e., try to shift your attention to
listening to the Divine Sounds or myriads of
melodies (Anahad Naad) ringing inside.
Listening to the Divine Sound destroys all the
perversions, agitations and fickleness of the
mind.
"Ascending beyond or transcending myriads of
sounds, try to identify and tune in to the
Quintessential Unstruck Melody, called "Saar
Shabd" or "Anaahat Naad" which alone is
capable of taking you and merging you into
oneness with the Supreme Lord; this is the
ultimate deliverance or liberation."
"The tenth gate [third eye/third ear] is the
gathering point of consciousness. Therein lies
the path for our return. The tenth gate is also
known as the sixth chakra, the third eye, bindu,
the center located between the two eyebrows.
This is the gateway through which we leave the
gates of the sense organs and enter in the
divine realms and finally become established in
the soul. We travel back from the Realm of
Darkness to the Realm of Light, from the Light
to the Divine Sound, and from the Realm of
Sound to the Soundless State. This is called
turning back to the Source. This is what
dharma or religion really intends to teach us.
This is the essence of dharma.” (Swami Sant
Sevi Ji Maharaj, Harmony Of All
Religions) ////////