Humabooks

13/09/2021

14/11/2018

30/08/2016

Signs of a True Disciple

83. So long as a person does not perform karmas in accordance with the commandments of the Saints, his mind cannot become cleansed or uncontaminated. And so long as he does not contemplate on Satguru and shabd, his attention (chitt) shall not become unflinching (nishchal). When he has attained to these two grades (i.e. purification of mind and perfect concentration on Satguru and shabd) then alone he will become entitled to receive (true) jnan (Knowledge). As this pure Knowledge dawns, all screens (veiling reality) will be lifted.

(Soamiji Maharaj, Sar Bachan Prose, Part Two, Sayings of Soamiji, M.G. Gupta translation)

Signs of a True Master

40. The hallmark (a mark or sign of authenticity and excellence; outstanding distinguishing feature) of a Saint is ninefold:

(1) a Saint always internally strengthens the faith and belief (isht and aqeeda) in the true Absolute Lord (Radhasoami Dayal);

(2) he will never allow any seeker to struggle and wander about idols, tirthas and scriptures and "The Book";

(3) he will never involve anyone in the worship of gods, incarnations and prophets;

(4) he will ever prescribe the practice of Easy Yoga of Surat-Shabd except for which there is no other path to the Absolute Lord;

(5) he will ever instruct the seekers to devote themselves to the service and love for the perfect Satguru of the time;

(6) he will diminish daily the attachment and craving (asakti) of the seekers for wife, children, wealth and name and fame and self-glorification (maan-badaayee), and instead, will augment and enhance the love and liking (prem and preet) of the earnest seekers and lovers (khoji and anuragi) for the Supreme Being;

(7) the true Saints always remain engrossed in meditation and contemplation (bhajan and dhyan) and they always engage their disciples in the same (processes);

(8) they always drive out the dharmas and karmas (duties and actions) pertaining to past ages, doubts and delusions and they will cut out (delete or remove) belief in anyone save in the true Absolute Lord; and

(9) gradually they will strike at (i.e. will deal a blow to) the roots of all bonds and fetters (bandhan) both inner and outer, and in this life itself will elevate their spirits to the Holy Feet of the Absolute Lord. But there are three pre-conditions to it:

(a) the jiva [soul] should not run away (leave or depart) from their satsang and service;

(b) day by day, he should go on intensifying his love and trust in their feet; and

(c) should continue his spiritual practices according to their directions and instructions.

(An Abstract of the teachings of Soamiji Maharaj by Huzur Maharaj, Sar Bachan Prose, Part One, M.G. Gupta translation, Agra)

19/06/2016

Moon Verses -- Mystic Verses Mentioning the Moon and Moons of Inner Space -- Sar Bachan Radhasoami Poetry

Those who have developed such a love for the guru (as that of chakor-bird for the moon) are the gurumukhs [disciples, devotes], and they are accepted by the guru as his own.

Radhasoami has steered my boat across the ocean of bhau (manas and Maya, mind and matter); I am now deeply in love with my guru, Radhasoami. I am like the chakor-bird enamoured of the moon, while Radhasoami is the moon par excellence. If I am the lotus, Radhasoami is the sun (whose rays make the petals of lotus open out which close up again when the sun sets.)

Radhasoami Himself is ever present (omnipresent), whether it is day or night (i.e. He looks after His disciples every moment whether he is in distress or in delight); Radhasoami is there to redeem him every instant and in all parts of day and night. Radhasoami is the sunshine; He is the shade. Radhasoami is the sun and He is the moon (i.e. He is the headspring and He is the spring also).

Radhasoami is japa and He is the silence. He is the vision of the eye; He is the feeling of the heart. Radhasoami is inside of the jiva; He is also outside him. He is in the evanescent; He is in the evident (paroksh and pratyaksh). Radhasoami is in the firmament; He is in the terra firma.

O Lord! If I am body, you are the life-breath; without you there is just no hope of living. If you are the cloud, I am like a peacock which screams at the mere sight of cloud. If I am a bulbul, you are a bed of roses; if I am a qumri, you are a cypress tree of unsurpassed beauty. You are like a moon while I am like a dark night; it is from you that I have sheen and shine. When from the Ocean of Love (i.e. you) a wave surges, it washes away myriads of delusions and illusions. The habitat of lust and wrath has been desolated and ruined; all hopes, mental inclinations and urges (mansha) depart from the body and mind.

Those who fail to gain access to the Satguru keep to delusion and remain ensnared in the trap of this phenomenal realm (bhau-jaar). As for me, I have found the Satguru (of the time) and I sacrifice myself to him. I keep my gaze fastened upon him as the red-legged partridge enamoured of the moon, keeps on gazing at the moon fixedly, in wonder and admiration.

If I am like food, Radhasoami is like the salt (without which the food is tasteless and good for nothing); if I am a seedling (ankur), Radhasoami is like the breeze (that refreshes and nourishes the seedling). If I am like a star, Radhasoami is the sky (where the star shines and twinkles). If I am like water lily or asphodel or daffodil (kumodini), Radhasoami is like the moon (which enables it to bloom and blossom with white or yellow flowers). It is by the grace of Radhasoami that I started moving upward from my being (ghat); I obstinately cling fast to the feet of Radhasoami.

I never divulge the secret of Radhasoami to anyone; I know that without Radhasoami, I will be carried away by torrential waters into the midstream of the tumultuous ocean of this world. Radhasoami has taught me to cling to shabd as an adornment; Radhasoami is the moon that knows no eclipse. In the company of Radhasoami, one doesn’t suffer any pain or affliction, or grief or gloom, but in His company one always feels happy, gleeful and cheerful.

I am the hot favourite of my darling Lord Radhasoami, so that now my surat reached the midstream of Gagan (Arsh-i-Bareen, Trikuti or Pranava). Inside of me, a vast stretch of moonlight opened up and became resplendent. My surat thus keeps on soaring higher and higher, time and again so that I opened ajar the stone-like shutters of Sunn. Reaching there I feel lightened of the heavy burden (heavy covers of mind and matter) which were spirited away (carried off mysteriously and secretly).

Radhasoami Himself (in the form of Sant Satguru) has deepened our understanding of Radhasoami Name and faith; Radhasoami Himself has given us the right comprehension (the act and the capacity to perceive and understand) of Radhasoami mystery. Radhasoami Himself is the (ultimate) sun and Radhasoami Himself is the ray (i.e. the entire creation that emanates from that sun); Radhasoami is the ocean (of love and spiritual zest, i.e. anshi); Radhasoami is also the drop (i.e. the ansh or the jiva surat). Radhasoami is the moon; Radhasoami Himself is the moon-kala (moon-beam, the moonlight and moonshine and all its phases of waning and waxing, rotation and revolution). Radhasoami is the akash (gagan) and He Himself is the akashvaani.

Radhasoami is the earth; He is the water. Radhasoami is the fire; He is the air. Radhasoami is the three (gunas); He is the four (ingredients of antehkaran – mind, attention, intellect and ego). Radhasoami is the One (Satt Purush Radhasoami Anami); Radhasoami is the two (blue current of Brahman and yellow current of Adya or Maya).

Radhasoami Himself is the seven (seven spheres viz. Sahasdal Kanwal, Trikuti, Sunn, Bhanwar Gupha, Sattlok, Alakh and Agam; or the seven apertures – two of the ears, two of the eyes, two of the nose, and one of the mouth); Radhasoami is the twenty (i.e. the five sensory and five motor organs and their ten presiding deities).

Radhasoami is the One Thousand (Sahasdal Kanwal) and the Tenth (Dwar, i.e. Sunn). Radhasoami Himself pervades the bluish corner or the third til (sixth ganglion); He Himself is in the white plain of Sunn (between the third til and Sahasdal Kanwal). He is in Sahasdal Kanwal; He is the Aumkara (in Trikuti) and Rarang (in Sunn). He is Sohang (Anahoo) in Bhanwar Gupha; He is the Satt (Haq) in Sattlok (Hoot). Radhasoami is Alakh (Invisible), Agam (Inaccessible), and Radhasoami (in the form of Sant Satguru) is Himself Radhasoami, the Supreme Lord.

Radhasoami Himself (as Sant Satguru) reveals the majesty and magnificence of Radhasoami (Anami); Radhasoami (as Sant Satguru) adulates and adores Radhasoami (the Supreme Lord). Radhasoami Himself puts across (lakhayen) the essence (sar) of Radhasoami; Radhasoami Himself (as the perfect guru) makes us love Radhasoami.

Develop and activate that love and longing for the Satguru as the fish has for the current of water and as the red-legged partridge (chakor) has for the moon, at which it looks fixedly; develop that trust in him which would illuminate and light up your inner self. But then none of this can be attained without the required luck without which one remains helpless; and yet this luck can be possible only with the grace of the guru. In short, Radhasoami has spelt out the sum and substance of this spiritual technique; as it is, develop love for his feet.

I listened to the sounds of bell and conch-shell and witnessed the moon, the sun and the stars. Then I opened ajar the gate of the Crooked Tunnel, and ascending to Trikuti I heard the unstruck sound revealed by the guru, namely AUM. Here I saw the sphere (mandal) of the sun and the fountainhead from which sprang the Vedas; I discerned part of the syllable OM which is the root of this creation as launched by the Trinity of Vishnu (A), Shiva (U), and Brahma (M).

Then I mounted to the top of Sunn (Sphere of Spirit) where the stirring sound of Rarang is resonant; this rendered Maya (matter) and Kaal (mind) somnolent (inert, drowsy and lethargic). There the white full moon blooms like a flower and there I drank the ambrosia of the mental lake (Mansarovar, the focus or reservoir of spirituality which is directly below the seat of Akshar Purush himself).

I developed intimacy (milaap) with the hamsas (purified spirits) and witnessed the éclat of tumult and uproar caused by the sounds of fiddle and sarangi (a stringed instrument of India played with a bow). Thereafter I experienced the secret sounds of Maha-sunn and managed to have the Mahakaal (overgrown negativity) deprived of his force and strength. In the Rotating Cave I witnessed the ambrosial showers and experienced the scintillating and animated sound of flute and Sohang.

The surat then soared to Sattlok where its deity, Satt Purush, summoned me in a loud voice; I repaired to Sachch Khand where I occupied my throne, laid out there for me. By His grace, the Satt Purush arranged to bestow upon me a telescope, and made me perceive (parkhaya) the sheen and splendour of the form of the Alakh (the Invisible Sphere).

After this, the deity of the Inaccessible Sphere, Agam Purush, percolated the drops of ambrosia and unfolded and unwrapped the mystery of Radhasoami. Then was affirmed as the abode of bhakti or devotion; here I performed the aarti of Radhasoami and ingratiated myself with Radhasoami, with the result that my immense pain and affliction was driven out far away and by sipping the beverage of Sound I was so charmed that I became one with it (rasaya).

-- Soamiji Maharaj, Quintessential Discourse Radhasoami: Sar Bachan Radhasoami Poetry, Volume I; Translations into Contemporary English, Commentary and Footnotes, by M.G. Gupta: http://www.spiritualawakeningradio.com/brsarbachan.html

30/04/2016

"There is a spiritual longing in the heart of man, indistinct and undefined, but steady like a flame tapering upwards to the Divine Goal. There is nothing higher than the culture of this love. Hearing and singing the praises of God stimulates its growth ... until it ascends higher and higher, eventually reaching God." -- M.G. Gupta, Indian Mysticism: Rig Veda to Present Day, M.G. Publishers

15/10/2015

"There is a spiritual longing in the heart of man, indistinct and undefined, but steady like a flame tapering upwards to the Divine Goal. There is nothing higher than the culture of this love. Hearing and singing the praises of God stimulates its growth .... until it ascends higher and higher, eventually reaching God." -- M.G. Gupta, Indian Mysticism: Rig Veda to Present Day, Huma Books

30/09/2015

RADHASOAMI BOOKS -- Online E Books Relating to the Radhasoami Faith, Including the Sar Bachan Poetry Volumes and Prose: https://medium.com/sant-mat-radhasoami-books/radhasoami-books-4662623d5ca3

Online E Books Relating to the Radhasoami Faith

22/08/2015

"So long as a person does not perform karmas [actions] in accordance with the guidance of the Saints, his mind cannot become cleansed or uncontaminated. And so long as he does not contemplate on Satguru and Shabd, his attention (chitt) shall not become unflinching (nishchal). When he has attained to these two grades (i.e. purification of mind and perfect concentration on Satguru and Shabd) then alone he will become entitled to receive (true) jnan (knowledge [gnosis, direct experience]). As this pure knowledge dawns, all screens (veiling reality) will be lifted." -- Studies in the Sar Bachan Prose, from Book Two, Sayings of Soami Ji Maharaj (the M.G. Gupta translation of Sar Bachan Prose: “The Quintessential Discourse Radhasoami, Sar Bachan Prose”, M.G. Publishers, Agra)

14/07/2015

This Phenomenal World is Perishable -- One is Wise to Consecrate This Human Form by Being Devoted to Bhajan and Simran (listening to inner sounds and repetition of the Holy Name of the Supreme Being)

Opening Verses of Sar Bachan Radhasoami Prose in Two Translations

Translation One

This world is perishable and so also is all that pertains to it. A wise man is he, who, having closely examined the nature of existence here, has realized that it is all transitory and illusory, and consecrated his human form by devoting himself to Bhajan and Simran (listening to inner sounds and repetition of the Holy Name of the Supreme Being) and who, taking the fullest advantage of the various faculties which the Supreme Father has graciously endowed him with, has translated the invaluable jewel within him, which is Surat (spirit [see note below]) or the essence of his being, to its original abode.

1. The soul or spirit is known as Surat or Ruh. It has descended from the highest region, that is, the regions of Sat Naam and Radhasoami, and has taken location in this body. It has got enmeshed here in the mind, the three Gunas (attributes), five Tattwas (original conditions of matter), ten Indriyas (senses and organs) etc. and so tight are the bondages of the body and things connected therewith that it has become difficult for it to extricate itself. Freedom from these bondages is called Moksha (liberation). Inner bondages are the mind, indriyas, tattwas, etc., and the external bondages comprise property, family and kinsfolk. The soul, that is, spirit, is so much entangled in these two kinds of bondages that it has even lost consciousness of its original abode. So remote is the destination that it is now difficult for it to return to its original abode without the Mehar (grace) of a perfect guide. Now, all that a man has got to do is to take his Surat (spirit) back to its reservoir and place of origin, that is, Sat Naam and Radhasoami. Until this is attained, there can be no escape from joys and sorrows and pleasures and pains of this world. (Radhasoami Satsang, Agra)

Translation Two

This jagat (phenomenal world) is perishable (nashman) and all its causes and effects are also perishable; that the wise and shrewd man is he who having carefully examined the burden of its activities (karobar) and having discovered that this is a fantasy world (kalpit) and mythical (mithya), has fruitfully and gainfully employed this human body (and its related instruments and material) in the remembrance (sumiran) and contemplation (bhajan) of the Absolute Lord; that having benefited from things with which the Supreme Doer (the Absolute Lord) has equipped this human frame, he has restored his invaluable core (jauhar-i-be-bahaa, i.e. the quintessence of his being or tattva vastu which is the surat or jivatma) into its real, original abode -- the Radhasoami Sphere whence it descended.

1. Jagat (the embodied spirit), i.e. surat*** is called as ruh (literally, breath or perfume). And having descended from the highest sphere, i.e. the sphere of Satt Naam and Radhasoami, it has come to abide in this body. And it has got tied up with three gunas (sattva, rajasa and tamas corresponding to oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen respectively) and five elements (ether, air, fire, water and earth), and ten indriyas (five instruments or senses of knowledge and five of action or karma indriyas) and mind, etc.

Such bonds (bandhan) have come about between it (i.e. Surat) and the body (sharir) and its related objects of pleasure (padara-thas) that release from them has become quite difficult. This release is called moksh (emancipation). The internal bonds refer to cords that bind the surat with senses, elements and the mind. The external bonds imply the strings which tie up the surat with object of pleasure, family and clan (qabila).

In both these bonds, the jivatma has become so entangled that it has lost all remembrance and consciousness (denoting or relating to a part of the human mind that is aware of a person's self, origin and history, environment, and mental activity) of its real abode. Its destination (original abode) has become so distant that its return to its original abode has become extremely difficult without the grace of the perfect murshid or Satguru. All that man has to accomplish is to take back his surat or ruh to its head spring and source, i.e., the spheres of Satt Naam and Radhasoami. Until and unless this task is accomplished, there can be no release from the worldly gaiety and grief (khushi and rani) and all the pains and pleasures pertaining to this (phenomenal world). (The Quintessential Discourse Radhasoami, M.G. Gupta)
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***NOTE: "Surat": The surat is a drop from that Ocean -- The Supreme Radhasoami. Anami, beyond space and time, void of vikalp, of boundary, of lineament (roop-rekha), of motion, of modification, of within and without, the Formless, even Soundless and Nameless, in a State of perfect bliss -- "So Am I". When surat assumes body and form, it becomes known as jiva (entity) or jivatma. (M.G. Gupta)

IMAGE: Sant Radhasoami Sahib -- Shiv Dayal Singh