Surat Shabd Yoga Meditation Practice: Bhakti of the Inner Light and Sound of God

"Blessed are the souls who in today's materialistic world have an inclination
towards spirituality." (Swami Sant Sevi Ji Maharaj)

If you have questions, comments, are seeking information, perhaps searching for a
book, trying to locate a satsang meetup in your area, seeking initiation, etc...,
contact James at this address: SantMat_Mystic["at"]Yahoo["dot"]com

Ingredients of a Living Spiritual Path -- Seven Gnostic-Sant Mat Parallels

In the Corpus Hermeticum and Nag Hammadi scriptures are/were described all of the
ingredients of a living, viable mystical path:

1) living masters/teachers with students (past masters, scrolls, cuneiform tablets

or old scriptures are not enough; a living guide is required);

2) a cosmology of several heavens/inner regions/planes/spheres;

3) an understanding that souls can access these realms here and now during this
present life (a present-tense Kingdom of Heaven available to souls right now, not a
spirituality postponed till some magical date on a calendar or hypothesized future
age);

4) an initiation into the mysteries of the heavens, imparting to spiritual seekers

the meditation techniques and sacred names;

5) visionary and auditory mysticism (inner Light and Sound, spiritual seeing and
hearing) -- descriptions of souls traveling within through various inner regions;

6) they have an ethical code, and this ethical foundation includes a vegetarian
diet, then and now;

7) The Goal of the teachings and meditation practice is experiencing direct union
with God.

"Seek To See God Now -- Liberation During This Life" -- Mystic-Poem of Sant Tulsi
Sahib

In this life the concept of salvation all describe;

To meet the Lord by dying while living, none discloses.

They all speak of the goal of salvation after death;

How to attain it while living, no one says. Were they to reveal the method of
attaining release while living,

Then alone would Tulsi be convinced of their words.

Who speak, after seeing with their own eyes, and teach the method of salvation
during life,
Are of the stage and stature of Saints, for they reveal the quintessence of the
soul.

"Within This Body" -- Mystic-Poem of Sant Tulsi Sahib of Hathras

Within this body breathes the secret essence. Within this body beats the heart of
the Vedas.

Within this body shines the entire Universe, so the saints say.

Hermits, ascetics, celibates all are lost seeking Him in endless guises.

Seers and sages perfectly parrot the scriptures and holy books, blinded by
knowledge.

Their pilgrimage, and fasting, and striving but delude

Despite their perfect practice, they discover no destination.

Only the Saints who know the body's heart have attained the Ultimate, O Tulsi.

Realize this, and you've found your freedom (while teachers trapped in tradition
know only the mirage in the mirror).

Seven Teachings of Sant Mat

1. God is Real.

2. God is Love, the Ocean of Love and Compassion.

3. All of the world scriptures teach about the same manifestation of God as inner
mystical Light and Sound.

4. Our true identity is soul, the Self. Soul is part of God and therefore is, like
God, pure love.

5. During this human existence we have an opportunity to experience God.

6. As we experience communing with God's love during meditation -- Surat Shabd Yoga
-- we can rise above body-consciousness and explore Inner Space, the "Kingdom of
the Heavens" that are within us. "We travel back from the realm of Darkness to the
realm of Light, from the Light to divine Sound, and from the realm of Sound to the
Soundless State [Anami, Radhaswami, Anadi Purush, Ram]." (Swami Santsevi Ji
Maharaj) The drop merges back into the Ocean of Love.

7. As we get initiated into the Mysteries of the Spirit by a Living Teacher

(Master, Sant Satguru), the purpose of our life is fulfilled. Reuniting with God is
our reason to be here: "It was for the sake of the God-conscious beings that our
True Lord created this earth, and began this play of death and birth". ("Adi
Granth") Guru Kabir says: "For millions of years you have slept. This morning, will
you not wake?".
The Goal of Sant Mat Spirituality and Meditation: Our Path Back to the Source --
The Inward Journey Back to God

"Sant Mat (the path and teachings as taught and practiced by Saints [Sant
Satgurus]) delineates the path of union of soul with God. The teachings of the
saints explain the re-uniting as follows:

"The individual soul has descended from the higher worlds [the Realm of the Divine]
to this city of illusion, bodily existence. It has descended from the Soundless
State to the essence of Sound, from that Sound to Light, and finally from the realm
of Light to the realm of Darkness. The qualities (dharmas, natural tendencies) of
the sense organs draw us downward and away from our true nature.

"The nature of the soul (atman) draws us upwards and inwards and establishes us in
our own true nature. Returning to our origins involves turning inward: withdrawal
of consciousness from the senses and the sense objects in order to go upward from
the darkness to the realms of Light and Sound. [We experience this phenomenon of
withdrawal as we pass from waking consciousness to deep sleep.] Another way to
express this is to go inward from the external sense organs to the depth of the
inner self. (Both of these expressions are the metaphors that signify the same
movement). The natural tendencies of the soul (atman) are to move from outward to
inward. The current of consciousness which is dispersed in the nine gates of the
body and the senses, must be collected at the tenth gate.

"The tenth gate 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 Santsevi Ji Maharaj, "Harmony Of All Religions").

The Soul's Return to the Ocean of Love

How could the love between Thee and me sever?

As the leaf of the lotus abides on the water,

so thou art my Lord, and I am Thy servant.

As the night-bird Chakor gazes all night at the moon,

so Thou art my Lord and I am Thy servant.

From the beginning until the ending of time there is love

between Thee and me;

and how shall such love be extinguished?

Kabir says: "As the river enters into the Ocean,

so my heart touches Thee." (Guru Kabir)

On the Usage of the Term "Sant Mat" -- The Path of the Masters -- Mystics of the
East

In India it's common knowledge that the term "Sant Mat" was coined or adapted by
Param Sant Tulsi Sahib of Hathras during the 19th Century. "Sant Mat" was adopted
and popularized by Tulsi Sahib as a new name for this spiritual path or genre of
mysticism, but the Nirguna Bhakti Sant Tradition of India (devotees of the Formless
Supreme Being, the Ocean of Love), with its many guru-lineages or branches, is a
spiritual movement that dates back many centuries to ancient India. Tulsi Sahib was
of the opinion that the Sant movement goes back to the time of Krishna thousands of
years ago, that Krishna knew of Sants or Rishis during his day, the age of the
Bhagavad Gita.

"While the title of Sant Mat (translated as 'Teachings of the Sants') was not
coined until the late 19th century by Tulsi Sahib, the philosophical mindset was
indeed prevalent for many centuries." (Andrea Grace Diem, Ph.D., "Lions in the
Punjab: An Introduction to the Sikh Religion", from Chapter One, The Sikh-Sant
Connection)

For more on the usage of the term "Sant Mat", see the Sant Mat Information Page: