Spiritual Awakening Radio

Sant Kirpal Singh: "There lived in India Swami Shiv Brat Lal, a disciple of Rai Saligram [successor of Swami Ji Maharaj], who was advanced in spirituality but he gave out all these things about which I am now referring, in story form. He would bring out these very teachings of the Master in some novel like form in the Urdu language, of course, not in English. He did a splendid work, having brought out two, three thousand books, I think. Somewhere he takes the soul as a prince so that he may bring out a story with all these teachings given here. He did a very wonderful work. He has now passed away. He loved me much. I loved him too. He loved Master too [Hazur Baba Sawan Singh]. In all love, you see, he wrote many stories like that. Novels -- very interesting -- in which all these teachings of the Saints were included -- given out. That will draw many people to the Truth." (The Light of Kirpal, Sant Bani Books)   Today, a Sant Mat Satsang Podcast featuring readings from a rare Radhasoami (Radhaswami) spiritual classic, Light on Ananda Yoga - The Yoga of Happiness, by Baba Faqir Chand's spiritual master Shiv Brat Lal (also known as Sant Daata Dayal Ji). Light On Ananda Yoga, was published in English in 1982 by Sant Bani Ashram with some editing guidance from my good friend Steve Morrow. "Ananda" means bliss and happiness and is Shiv Bral Lal's description of Surat Shabd Yoga: the bhakti (love) of inner Light and Sound Meditation, the spiritual practice (sadhana) of Sant Mat (also known as the Radhaswami Faith.)   In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhasoami James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts Sant Mat Radhasoami A Satsang Without Walls Spiritual Awakening Radio Website: https://www.SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com    

"Life is a progression. We progress from childhood to adulthood, from simplicity to complexity, from ignorance to knowledge, from innocence to wisdom and from birth to death. It is the law of life. But there is also a progression from the external life to the internal, from the hustle and bustle of material life to the serenity and silence of internal life. It is in the latter that we experience the beauty of the Self and its connection with Divinity." (Dr. Jagessar Das, Doctor by Chance - Mystic by Choice, also translator of, The Complete Bijak of Guru Kabir, and other translations of Kabir)   In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhasoami James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts Sant Mat Radhasoami A Satsang Without Walls Spiritual Awakening Radio Website: https://www.SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com    

Kabir, the "Rumi" of India, one of the greatest Saints, Poets, and Spiritual Masters in the history of the world! Selections: Says Kabir: "Kal (time, ego, limited mental perception) has entangled people in illusions to such an extent that they have totally forgotten their Real Home." "Meditation will remove all your burdens; meditation upon Ram's [God's] name will become your support." "One after another, many births I took; many paths I followed to escape this relentless cycle. Only when I made my mind still did I obtain the state of lasting repose." "Just as the lotus blooms after getting the light of the sun, in the same way the sufferings of the souls from ages and ages are finished after having darshan [vision] of Sat Purush [True Eternal Being, God]." The Bijak is a key scripture of the Kabir tradition: "Just as a coded document shows the way to a Hidden Treasure, just so this bijak shows the way to realize the soul; it teaches such words to the soul but there is seldom anyone to understand them." "Death enshrouds the whole world, including all the superstitious wise-men. Only those will be freed who find the Path of Love." (Satguru Kabir)   References, Subjects, and Sources Today Include: Songs of Kabir culled by Rabindranath Tagore; Sakhis of Kabir (1008 Kabir Vani); The Bijak; Kabir in the Adi Granth; Kabir Parachai; The Story of Ants in a Burning Log -- The mysterious figure of Kabir made his entry into the life of Dharam Das; The Ethical Foundation of Sant Mat -- Ahimsa Values -- The Five Precepts -- Moral Requirements to Qualify For Initiation; Seven Key Practices of Sant Mat Mysticism; Selections from the mystic poetry of Kabir from several sources; Readings from the Anurag Sagar and Baba Kehar Singh's commentary on the Anurag Sagar (Ocean of Love), a spiritual classic of the Sant tradition of India: God is Just Behind Our Eyes at the Third Eye Center; Initiation Into Inner Light and Sound Meditation (Surat Shabd Yoga) and Protection from Above Following the Path of Sants; A Book of Sant Mat Ethics: "1008 Kabir Vani" -- One of the Most Important Books of Kabir, a review of the book followed by selections: the Guru Verification Process; the Kal Niranjan (Negative Power): "This mind is like an intoxicated elephant;" The Repetition of God's Name; Meditation, Prayers of Guru Kabir; and, closing thoughts. (Kabir's name in Arabic means "Great", "Powerful, "Magnificent".)     In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhasoami James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts Sant Mat Radhasoami A Satsang Without Walls Spiritual Awakening Radio Website: https://www.SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com    

On the web you'll find a lot of talk about spirituality, yet so few rise above body-consciousness and get to experience that Sacred Inner Space for themselves. Reliable information is quite rare. There's so much discussion about "gnostics", "mystics", "sages of philosophy", "masters of the east", or "ancient scriptures" but almost nothing is ever said about the spiritual practices of these gnostics and mystics of the ages. Only with a Living Mystic Path, a Living School of Spirituality is one close to the Inner Circle of Masters and Students where this sort of Divine Path can be made knowable to the genuine spiritual seeker by way of Initiation into the Mysteries. Today, an introduction to meditation for beginners that also provides a glimpse into the world of advanced practice, inner Light and Sound, the path of the masters, East and West, in the various schools of spirituality. "Darkness is no longer dark to me." "There is a Sound emanating from beyond the silence." (Spiritual masters allude to transcendental heavenly senses, eyes and ears of the soul able to see and hear spiritually.)   "Light is always within us. When the mind is settled, we see that Light." (Sant Kirpal Singh, unpublished book on Sant Mat meditation)   “It is impossible to confine love to the temporal and transient levels of life, and it is impossible to confine the grandeur and majesty of God to the dimensions of the mind... I had no fixed starting place in time and space, for I dwelt in a multi-verse that was co-extensive with all the ages. But my inner world was still limited by the boundaries of creation; I needed the guidance of a spiritual adept, within the physical world itself, to give me new birth into the freedom of eternity.” (George Arnsby Jones, disciple of Master Kirpal, author of, An Odyssey of Inner Space)   References, Subjects, and Sources Include: passages about solitude, silence, and meditation from: 1) Thomas Merton, 2) Caroline Stephen, The Lord of Silence (a Quaker publication), 3) Thomas Kelly; 4) Saint Thomas - the Apostle to India; 5) The Gnostic Nag Hammadi Library: Apocryphon of John, Book of Allogenes,  Trimorphic Protennoia, and Thunder: Perfect Mind; 6) The Book of Enoch, 7) Hebrew Bible: Psalm 46: 10 ("Be still and know that I Am God."); 8) The Acts of Peter; 9) The Jesus Sutras of China; 10) The Tao Te Ching of Lao Tzu; 11) Swamiji Maharaj from the Sar Bachan Radhasoami Poetry - also shared here: "Meditate: Sit still and you will reach your destination. Walk fast and you will go nowhere." 12) Introductory Meditation Instructions, a Convenient Method from Huzur Baba Sawan Singh; 13) Introductory Meditation Instructions from Sant Kirpal Singh (finding Jyoti or Inner Light at the Third Eye); 14) Guidance about Meditation Practice from: A Spiritual Seekers Guide (on how Love/Bhakti is the Key); 15) Maharshi Mehi Paramhans and Shri Bhagirath Baba (Seven Stages of Meditation described in, The Philosophy of Liberation, on correct posture, Brahma-Muhurta/The Hour of Elixir, Thrice-Daily Meditation, Meditation and the Dreamstate); 16) Couplets of Swami Sant Sevi Ji Maharaj; 17) Swami Achyutanand Baba (Yoga of Inner Light & Sound); and, 18) Huzur Maharaj Rai Saligram: The Gospel of Sant Mat in a Nutshell: The River of Sound That Connects Souls to the Ocean of Love (God). (Prem Patra Radhaswami)   In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhasoami   James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts Sant Mat Radhasoami A Satsang Without Walls Spiritual Awakening Radio Website: https://www.SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com    

In Sant Mat spirituality meditation is successfully practiced when we keep the proper meditation posture, leave behind all our burdens, thoughts, worries, and worldly distractions behind, and focus all of our undivided attention on going within by way of the third eye center so that we may reach that Sacred Secret Place of the Most High where Divine Grace is flowing. Rising to THE PLACE WHERE GRACE IS FLOWING is a great way of describing the benefit of Surat Shabd Yoga - Inner Light and Sound Meditation - as being a kind of inner baptism or letting the waters of Divine Grace flow over the soul. (There is Light and Sound Within You)   In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhasoami   James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts Sant Mat Radhasoami A Satsang Without Walls Spiritual Awakening Radio Website: https://www.SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com    

The focus of the Sant Satgurus, the Saints of India (Santmat, RadhaSoami, The Path of the Masters) is not upon constructing earthly temples, building organizational structures, or temples of the mind. Rather, they guide their students into entering the Temple of the Spirit. The Portal or Doorway to this Temple is within, at the Third Eye Center. Masters say: "An intense longing to meet the Supreme Lord during one's lifetime is the first and foremost qualification for Initiation. 'Seek, and ye shall find', is the principle'" (Kirpal Singh). Being properly initiated into the secrets of meditation -- the Mysteries of the Kingdom of the Heavens (diksha/deeksha) -- by a living Master is the beginning of the Inward Journey. Then, go and do the meditation. (Radhaswami)    "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 sense organs' gates, enter the divine realms, and finally become established in the soul. We travel back from the Realm of Darkness to the Realm of Light, the Light to the Divine Sound, and the Realm of Sound to the Soundless State. This is called turning back to the Source." (Swami Santsevi Ji Maharaj)   "From time to time, great Saints come with the Grace of the Almighty, and They direct the lost souls and get them connected with the Almighty through the Sound, Surat Shabd, and guide them on the Path back. In India, there are several ways of worship. But the Saints have only three practices for getting back to the Almighty. They are Satsang *, Seva **, and Bhajan Simran ***." (Baba Ram Singh)   Notes:  Satsang: Association With Truth;  Seva: Selfless Service; Bhajan Simran: The Meditation Practices of Sant Mat   In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhasoami   James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts Sant Mat Radhasoami A Satsang Without Walls Spiritual Awakening Radio Website: https://www.SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com      

"Simran helps  in the withdrawal of spirit-currents from the body. In Simran lies the seed that helps in the development of the soul." "Simran is  a weapon against all dangers. It acts as a  password to all  spiritual planes. It gives strength and sustenance to the body and mind during trouble and affliction, and brings the soul near the  Master." "The five holy Words are to be repeated mentally during  meditation." (Sant Kirpal Singh)   "I give you this advice only because if you will do Simran while you are doing any other work, when you sit for meditation you won’t have to sit for a long time repeating the Names to bring your attention to the seat of the soul. As soon as you sit for meditation, within a few minutes you will go up." (Santji - Ajaib Singh Ji)   In Sant Mat, the Path of the Masters, simran is the art of repeating a name or names of God in one's mind (manas jap) for the purpose of Remembering the Divine -- Practicing the Presence of God. It is a way to remain spiritually awake in a world of slumber, a way to remain centered and focused instead of being thrown off-center by the influences of maya (illusion). In this Path of the Saints and Mystics this spiritual exercise of repeating or chanting spiritually charged Names of God is done not only in meditation practice, but as often as possible throughout the day as a way to spiritualize all aspects of life, inner and outer. In Sant Mat, the simran (remembrance) of worldly thoughts is controlled through the Simran (remembrance) of the Charged Names, repeated by a satsangi throughout the day and when sitting for meditation as a means of collecting the thought currents at the Third Eye Center; also used as a password to higher planes and protection from Negative Power influences. (Remembrance, Awakening to the Positive Power)    References, Subjects, and Sources Include: Swami Santsevi Ji Maharaj, Baba Ram Singh Ji, Santji, Sant Kirpal Singh, The Sants of India, Mystics of the East, Path of the Masters, Radhasoami, satsang, Sant Namdev, Zikar in Sufism, Krishna, Bhagavad Gita, bhakti, Prayer of the Name, Jesus Prayer, Hesychasm, Mount Athos, Eastern Orthodoxy, Cloud of Unknowing, Tukaram, Tulsi Das, Dadu Dayal, Kabir (Guru Kabir), the Five Names (Panch Naam), Surat Shabd Yoga (Inner Light and Sound Meditation), third eye (seat of the soul), union with God, Lord of the Soul, Lord of Love, the Ocean of Love   In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhasoami   James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts Sant Mat Radhasoami A Satsang Without Walls Spiritual Awakening Radio Website: https://www.SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com    

Today I explore some key Sufi teachings compatible with the contemporary mystic or gnostic path called Sant Mat. The Sants and Radhaswamis of the living present highly value the mystic poetry and wisdom of Rumi, Hafiz, Rabia, Sarmad, Hazrat Sultan BaHU, Sanai, Baba Farid and so many other Sufi Faqir lovers of the Beloved, viewing them as being Saints of the highest order. Hear verses of Hakim Sanai on meditating the Mysteries of Creation, connecting with the Subtle Realms of dimensions beyond in what can be called Inner Space, the Kingdom of God within. I focus upon the Inner Sound Mysticism of some of the great Sufi Saints of the ages: Rumi, Fakhruddin ‘Iraqi, Shah Niaz, Hazrat Sultan BaHU, Hazrat Inayat Khan, and Dara Shikoh. An exploration of the vegan verses of Rumi is presented. There is an essay on how mystical schools of spirituality are very fragile and short-lived in this world of illusion, this realm of Samsara, the World of Changes, how usually there are typically only a few generations of living masters and then, after the passing of the last master, a mystic path or branch of a school of spirituality fades from the scene, unless of course it gets hijacked and repurposed, turned into another world religion with a very different focus (zombification). When the latter happens, often the earlier teachings and sacred texts undergo serious edits. What had been a shared knowledge about Inner Sound and Light meditation practices, vegetarian ethics and other key principles might even be reclassified as "apocryphal" or "extra canonical". Although there is an oppressive history of lost teachings of the Sound Current (The Lost Chord), that there are no permanent universities of mysticism on planet Earth, no surviving Pythagorean, or Valentinian gnostic schools of wisdom still with us with roots in antiquity, or a church of the Ebionites with copies of Sayings Gospel Q or the Gospel of the Hebrews, a hopeful message is presented that Life Always Begets New Life. As old mystic paths and sangats fade into the oblivion of time (Kal) they are replaced with new living schools of spirituality -- that it's always been this way. Seneca the Stoic: "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end." There are also readings from Dr. Jagessar Das,  the Sar Bachan Radhaswami Prose Book One (Huzur Maharaj Rai Saligram), Sar Bachan Radhaswami Poetry Volume One (Swami Ji Maharaj), Prem Bani Radhasoami Volume One (Hazur Maharaj Rai Saligram), Tukarama, Russell Perkins (The Stranger of Galilee), and Baba Ram Singh. We conclude with the mystic poetry of Baba Farid the Sufi. Many of his mystic poetry verses are to be found in the Sikh Scriptures, also known as the Adi Granth. (Gurbani)    In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhasoami   James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts Sant Mat Radhasoami A Satsang Without Walls Spiritual Awakening Radio Website: https://www.SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com        

"Truth and Love are wings that cannot be separated, for Truth cannot fly without Love, nor can Love soar aloft without Truth." (Saint Ephrem the Syrian)   "Look at God within yourself, how 'God is Light.' For his Nature is a glorious, many-splendored Light. He manifests the Light of his Nature to those who love Him in all the worlds…" (John of Dalyatha, Syriac Mystic)   "To be glorified art Thou, the Father Supreme, born of Thy First-born in the silence and tranquility of meditation." (Syriac Acts of Saint Thomas in India)   "There is a silence of the tongue. There is a silence of the whole body. There is a silence of the soul. There is a silence of the mind, and there is a silence of the spirit." (Abraham of Nathpar)   "Open your ears, and I shall speak to you. Give Me yourself, so that I may also give you Myself." (Odes, 9: 1-2)   "What wonders has your love effected! When someone is still alive he has left this world: though his bodily condition remains with the world's bodily condition, yet his spirit has been raised up towards You, so that for a period of time he is where he knows not, being totally raptured and drawn towards You." (John of Apamea)   Several scholars have made a convincing case that the Syriac mystics were a major influence upon early Sufism. And Sufism, as many know, has been an influence on the Sants of India. There is a demonstrable connection between East & West via several sources (Syriac mystics of the Church of the East in the Saint Thomas tradition, Mazdakism, Manichaeism and other schools of Gnosticism) and the Sant tradition of India.   Sebastian Brock, Scholar of Eastern Christianity and Aramaic-Syriac Saints, has translated many wonderful texts of Eastern Saints such as Isaac of Nineveh, Abdusho (Joseph the Visionary), John of Dalyatha, Abraham of Nathpar, Martyrius, Babai, Philoxenus of Mabbug, Aphrahat, Ephrem, John of Apamea, Jacob of Sarug, and others, in great books such as, The Syriac Fathers on Prayer and the Spiritual Life, The Wisdom of St. Isaac of Nineveh, A Garland of Hymns from the Early Church (including Odes of Solomon), The Luminous Eye, and several others. "The text-book and pulpit notion that all Christendom is divided between Greek East and Latin West overlooks an ancient and still continuing third stream of tradition: Syriac Christianity. "Cut off from the rest of the Christian world by theological controversy in the fifth century, Arab conquest in the seventh and Mongol invasions in the thirteenth, Syrian Christians continues to celebrate the Christian mysteries, to meditate on Scripture and to apply its teachings to their lives. "Some of them, attempting to realise here on earth their baptismal potential to re-enter paradise, chose a life of asceticism and single-minded devotion to Christ. Their reflections created across the centuries a rich literature. Some passed into the byzantine tradition; some remained unknown to other Christians and have never until now been translated into a modern language. "These Syriac fathers offer the modern heirs of both Latin and Greek Christendom new, yet ancient and enduring insights on prayer and the spiritual life." (The Syriac Fathers on Prayer and the Spiritual Life, by Professor Sebastian Brock of Oxford University)   In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters   James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts Sant Mat Radhasoami A Satsang Without Walls Spiritual Awakening Radio Website: https://www.SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com    

Experiencing union with God, the Ocean of Love, via Inner Light and Sound Meditation (Surat Shabd Yoga) is the goal of the Path of the Masters, also known as Sant Mat or Radhasoami. Today, spiritual satsang discourses by Huzur Baba Sawan Singh, Baba Somanath, Sant Kirpal Singh, and Baba Ram Singh Ji, also passages from Christian or Gnostic sources and other mystics of the East. Inner Light and Sound Meditation practice makes it possible to transcend the realm of the five senses and begin to explore the heavenly realms beyond, coming to know our self as a spark of the Divine. (Consciousness)   In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhasoami   James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts Sant Mat Radhasoami A Satsang Without Walls Spiritual Awakening Radio Website: https://www.SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com    

"Listen, open a window to God and begin to delight yourself by gazing upon Him through the opening." (Rumi)   Teachings of Hazur Baba Sawan Singh, Sant Kirpal Singh, Baba Somanath, Baba Ram Singh, and Santji: The Third Eye is the Portal to the Heavens and Simran is the Key   "Recognize the Path to your Beloved, O travelers and take the route of the anguished lover in separation. Keep the Master’s grace in your thoughts, and reflect upon his pure teachings. Develop love and devotion with endearment, and keep the thought of the Creator always before you. Try to merge yourself into God like water and water. Fix your mind within by following the Path of the Sound Current. A yearning will arise; make then an intense and anguished call. Repeat the Name of your Beloved, day and night, again and again and again. With care in thought, word and deed, you will cross to the other shore." (Dadu Dayal, the Compassionate Mystic)   References, Subjects, and Sources Include: Philosophy of the Masters, Spirituality, God, Surat Shabd Yoga, Inner Light and Sound Meditation, Meditation, Soul Travel, Dhyan, Bhajan, Simran, Manas Jap, Zikhr, Prayer of the Name, Third Eye, Gnostic, Gnosticism, Mysticism, Mystics, Consciousness, Near Death Experiences, Out of Body Experiences, Inner Space, Kingdom of God, Kingdom of the Heavens, Religion, Spiritual Podcasts, Satsang, Jesus, Christ, Yeshua, Single Eye, Bread of Heaven, Living Waters, Food For the Soul, Surat, Attention, Seat of the Soul, Sound Current, Audible Life Stream, Shabd, Shabda, Path of the Masters, Sants of India, Way of the Saints, Practicing the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence, Interior Prayer, Mental Prayer, Prayer of the Name, Sacred Name, Sacred Names of God, Lord of Love, Theosis, Divinization, Hazur Baba Sawan Singh, Sant Kirpal Singh, Santji, Ajaib Singh, Baba Somanath, Sant Ram Singh, Sant Bani Ashram, Kabir, Naam, Nam, Bhakti, Love and Devotion, Initiation, Going Within, Contemplative, Union With God   Spiritual Awakening Radio (and Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts) with James Bean, heard on various community, public radio stations and the web, explores the world of spirituality, comparative religion, world scriptures and other books, East and West, God, meditation, out of body or near death experiences (inner space), the vegan diet and other ahimsa ethics. (Education For a More Peaceful Planet)   In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhasoami   James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts Sant Mat Radhasoami A Satsang Without Walls Spiritual Awakening Radio Website: https://www.SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com    

In many branches of Sant Mat we have a five-name (panch naam) mantra (five simran words). These are sacred names of God associated with the first five planes, heavenly realms of creation. From the glossary of Sant Mat we read: "Simran means Remembrance: repetition of names or thoughts; in Sant Mat, the simran of worldly thoughts is controlled through the Simran of the Five Charged Names, repeated by an initiate throughout the day, and when sitting for meditation, as a means of collecting the thought-currents at the Third Eye Center. These Divine names are also used as passwords of sorts to higher planes, and provide protection from Negative Power influences." (Repeat the Name)   Today: all about the Five Names of Sant Mat, their proper use as an essential technique to concentrate at the Third Eye Center and go within according to Hazur Baba Sawan Singh, Sant Garib Das, from the Satsang Discourses of Sant Ram Singh, as well as there is discussion about the origins and history of the Five Names dating back to the Kabir-Sant Dharam Das line of Masters. Also explored: the Five Sufi Names, and about the importance of the Most High name Radhasoami used by Sant Garib Das (Anmol Vachan) and Swami Ji Maharaj (Sar Bachan Radhaswami Poetry). In Sant Mat mysticism there are not five or seven deities but one God, the one Lord of the Soul  manifesting at the various levels of creation. As Guru Nanak has said in his Morning Prayer (Jap Ji): "There is One God, Truth is His Name." (One Love)   Simran is described as a Bhakti practice to be done in a spirit of love and devotion, with passages on this from Sant Tulsi Sahib and Kabir. (God is Love)   Mention is made of a mystical Jewish Gnostic sect of antiquity referred to by scholars as the Sethians who also had a five-name mantra approach, only using five Hebrew names, which are to be found embedded in certain Nag Hammadi and other texts. Recommended are two books that compare contemporary Sant Mat with mystical Judaism including Kabbalah. The program concludes with selections from the mystical poetry of a mysterious figure called "the Master" and "the Teacher of Righteousness", mystic verses found in the Psalm Scroll of the Dead Sea Scrolls mainly about the experience of Divine Light, but one might also notice references to reincarnation, the liberation of the soul, the Third Eye, and spiritually hearing the Divine Word or Spiritual Sound. Note: practices associated with contemporary Sant Mat were also known in earlier times by followers of various cousin mystical movements and schools of spirituality that have existed over the centuries. Even ideas that became associated Christianity and Gnostic movements such as seeking out living masters or living ones (Odes of Solomon, Gospel of Thomas), vegetarian ethics, humane treatment of animals (scriptures attributed to Enoch and Isaiah), initiations, baptism in rivers of living water, a new covenant (Dead Sea Scroll texts), genesis interpretations that include a lesser demiurge figure and a sophia wisdom figure (Septuagint, Apocryphon of John), the view that the soul needs to ascend through a series of heavenly regions (Book of First Enoch, Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice, Ascension of Isaiah, Ginza Rabba) are ideas developed during the Second Temple period of Judaism. Continuations and interpretations of Judaic ideas were adopted by many sects and spiritual movements during the first and later centuries AD. (Education For a More Peaceful Planet!)   At the Feet of the Masters, James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts Sant Mat Radhasoami A Satsang Without Walls https://www.SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com  

It's as-if those who composed the Gospel of John decided to create a hymnbook. This is about the little-known discovery of a collection of early Christian psalms called, The Book of the Odes, written in Syriac-Aramaic, described by scholars as "some of the most beautiful songs of peace and joy that the world possesses." The Odes got mislabeled, misfiled, misunderstood, misplaced somewhere along the way becoming one of those Lost Books of the Bible. Time to explore this would-be book of New Testament psalms and that is finally gaining long overdue recognition and popularity in the 21st Century. This is one of two podcasts I've devoted to this inspiring collection of mystic-poems  and music -- The Odes of Solomon -- once viewed as a sacred text by Jewish Christians, Syriac Eastern Christianity, various Gnostic movements -- it's quoted in Pistis Sophia -- and other early Christian writings.  (Lost Books of the Bible)   References, Subjects, and Sources Include    Hymns, Psalms, Odes of Solomon, New Testament, Book of the Odes, New Testament Psalms, A New New Testament, Extra Canonical, Scriptures, Lost Books of the Bible, Bible, Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, Gnostic Scriptures, Early Christianity, Jesus Movement, Early Church, Christianity, Restoration, Gospel of John, Logos, The Word, Syriac, Aramaic, Greek, Coptic, Antioch, Syria, John Community, Johannite, Lectio Divina, Contemplation, Meditation, Sant Mat Radhasoami, Santmat, Sant Mat, Radhasoami, Radhaswami, Satsang,  Essenes, Ebionites, Gnosticism, Mystics, Religion, Mystic Poetry, Spirituality, Spiritual Podcasts, Spiritual Radio, Spiritual Seekers, Search For God, Cloud of Unknowing, Metaphysical Meditations, Paramahansa Yogananda, Confessions of Jacob Boehme, Saint John of the Cross, Nag Hammadi Library, Pistis Sophia, Egypt;   In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts Sant Mat Radhasoami A Satsang Without Walls Spiritual Awakening Radio Website: https://www.SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com    

Today during this Sant Mat Satsang Podcast readings from Sant Kirpal Singh's, Spiritual Elixir, Baba Garib Das (Anmol Vachan), Swami Sant Sevi Ji, Don Howard, Jesus (Yeshua, Gospel of Thomas), Baba Ram Singh, and Mystic Poetry of Kabir. "Today's karmas become the fate of tomorrow. According to our last life actions, our mental tendencies are formed in this life. Because of our pure actions we will have the desire to seek the association of Sants (Living Masters) and to meditate." (Swami Vyasnanand, The Inward Journey of the Soul)   In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhasoami   James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts Sant Mat Radhasoami A Satsang Without Walls Spiritual Awakening Radio Website: https://www.SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com    

Today begins with a brief exploration of the history, providing background on a key book of the Sant Mat tradition of India: The Anurag Sagar (Kabir's Ocean of Love). Then there are spiritual satsang discourses based upon this book and related texts on the journey of the soul through the heavens back to God and the meditation practice of the Masters (Surat Shabd Yoga: Bhakti of the Inner Light and Sound). Find out, as best as we can research this rare history, who wrote the Anurag Sagar; what group originally published and circulated it for many generations; how it was also inherited, preserved, and valued as an essential scripture by Sat Saheb, Sant Dariya Sahib of Bihar, Sant Tulsi Sahib of Hathras, then more recently in Radhasoami: Swami Ji Maharaj of Agra, Baba Jaimal Singh, Hazur Baba Sawan Singh, and then spiritual Masters up to the living present. (Namaste'!)   As you listen to today's Sant Mat Satsang Podcast, take a look at these Sant Mat Guru Lineage Charts, the Family Tree of the People of the Anurag Sagar, providing at a simple glance some of the names of Masters I refer to during today's program:  https://santmat.medium.com/guru-lineage-charts-the-family-tree-of-sant-mat-spiritual-masters-by-james-bean-a4d4841070db   Recommended Reading. There are free PDF file editions of the Anurag Sagar available for download online at the Sant Bani Ashram website, also via the Anurag Sagar tab of my Spiritual Awakening Radio website (see link below), as well as at the Internet Archive. (Enjoy!)   In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhasoami   James Bean   Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts   Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts   Sant Mat Radhasoami   A Satsang Without Walls   Spiritual Awakening Radio Website:  https://www.SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com    

One of the great prolific writers and spiritual architects of Sant Mat, the Path of the Masters, also known as the Radhasoami tradition, is Huzur Maharaj Rai Saligram of Agra. Such was his stature that his initiating guru Swami Ji Maharaj (Seth Shiv Dayal Singh) of Agra once said, "I do not know whether I am Rai Salig Ram's guru or he is mine." Today's satsang is based on the writings of Huzur Maharaj including: Prem Patra (Love Discourses, volumes one and two) as well as, Radhasoami Mat Prakash (Light on the Teachings of the Lord of the Soul). Radhaswami Mat Prakash is a spiritual classic written in English by Huzur himself. Being the first Sant Mat book to be published in English it was read by many early spiritual seekers in the US and Canada interested in Sant Mat near the beginning of the Twentieth Century. An emissary and spiritual successor of Huzur by the name of Shiv Brat Lal once went on a long journey giving spiritual talks introducing many to the teachings of the Radhasoami Faith, visiting Lahore, Calcutta, Rangoon, traveling to Hong Kong, Singapore, Java, Japan and even San Francisco in the US, where he gave lectures at two locations in 1911!   In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhasoami James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts Sant Mat Radhasoami A Satsang Without Walls https://www.SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com    

The Nag Hammadi Library represents the prose of the Gnostics, but it is the Mandaean scriptures that give us their poetry! Today, meet the Mandaeans. The story of the Mandaeans somewhat resembles the experience of Native American tribes; may they survive; may their ancient wisdom be shared with humanity. John the Baptist is one of the greatest prophets of Mandaean Gnosticism. According to scholars of Mandaean studies like Werner Foerster, indeed the origins of the Mandaeans do go back to the Jewish tradition of the first century AD, the Nasoraean movement, and the region of the Jordan River. The term "Mandaeans" literally means, "possessors of secret spiritual Knowledge or Gnosis." (excerpted from one of my published articles on the Mandaeans)   The role of the Heavenly Messenger is to communicate the mystic experience of Light to souls and eventually guide them back up to the Place of Light, the Mandaean term for the highest heaven where the Great Life (God) resides:    "From the Place of Light I came forth, from you, Bright Habitation. I come to touch hearts, to measure and try all minds, to see in whose heart I dwell. Whoever thinks of me, of him I think; whoever calls my Name, his name I will call. Whosoever prays my prayer from the earth, his prayer I will offer from the Place of Light." (Canonical Prayerbook of the Mandaeans)   In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhasoami James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts Sant Mat Radhasoami A Satsang Without Walls https://www.SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com    

"Although awake from without, you are asleep within, and by greedily envying the goods of others, your Inner Eye has gone deeper and deeper into this slumber... Every human being has a Secret Chamber within himself which is called the 'closet of the body.' [Within the human body is the True Temple of the Spirit.] That is higher than the mind and heart both, and provides mind with understanding to a certain extent, and the heart with feelings of love. This Chamber is the Kingdom of God Within Us. This is the Crest Jewel, The Pearl of Great Price. The Saints, when we come in contact with them, open this Chamber by withdrawing all our attention from outside. The test of a true Master is the fact that in his company, the smallest realm opens up within us, and the Light, Divine Light, the expression of the God-into-Expression Power, is seen... So the God-into-Expression Power is called Word, Naam, Kalma; He is the Creator of all, and has two aspects: Light and Sound. And when Masters come, they contact us with that Power within us, you see? They open our Inner Eye by raising us to some extent above the physical body and outgoing faculties; we begin to see... Guru Amar Das says, 'Everyone does worship but on the sensual plane only; so they get no results which end in salvation. But absorption in the Naam purifies the mind and bears fruit in abundance.' You follow? Words are words; but what those words denote is a different thing; that is the Controlling Power of all creation, permeating all creation, and controlling us in the body too. So, the body is the True Temple of God, in which we dwell, and also that Power which keeps us in the body... You see, unless a man rises above the life of senses, the Inner Way is not open. It is you who have to see. That is why it is said, 'Know Thyself O Man, Know Thyself -- Who You Are, What You Are'... The Master's message is for embodied souls caught in the web of mind and senses, unable to release themselves. Masters make no distinction between religions and sects. Their message is for the whole human race." (Sant Kirpal Singh, excerpted from, The Coming Spiritual Revolution, Sant Bani Books)   In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhasoami James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts Sant Mat Radhasoami A Satsang Without Walls https://www.SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com    

At the beginning of today's satsang podcast, some reflections on how we can be spiritually transformed by associating with the eternal truths and realities, focusing our undivided attention upon these teachings. This association and merger with Truth is called "satsang" by the masters. Different levels of satsang are also defined. On the positive influence of satsang upon our meditation practice, Shahi Swami once said: "It requires air in the form of satsang to ignite the fire of meditation." (Have Satsang, Do Simran and Meditate)   Then we explore the theme of 'We Are Birds of Heaven Journeying Back to Our Beloved' about hansas, birds of heaven, the souls making their journey back to God, featuring readings from the mystic poetry of Sant Dariya Sahib of Bihar, the Sar Bachan Radhaswami Poetry of Swami Ji Maharaj of Agra, a hymn from Prem Bani Radhasoami by Huzur Maharaj Rai Saligram Bahadur, passages from Baba Somanath and Sant Kirpal Singh, then a satsang by Baba Ram Singh. During a recent satsang discourse that took place at a spiritual retreat in India for satsang gatherings, initiations and meditations, Baba Ram Singh described the journey of the soul, how the swan-soul was part of God -- in it's true essence remains part of God -- but as individualized drops from the Divine Ocean, souls have incarnated into various bodies in the diverse planes of creation, eventually reaching the astral realm, and finally incarnating into physical bodies, living various lives in the material plane. He speaks of the soul as having forgotten it's true home, it's true origin, but through the meditation practice it can remember again. One may place their attention within, and make the journey back to God. Swan-souls, hansas long parched for many lifetimes, may once again drink the divine milk, meaning the divine ambrosia, the heavenly nectar or amrit, spiritual sustenance, divine intoxication or bhakti (spiritual love), by going within and communing with God during meditation practice, transitioning away from the illusion of separateness from God, back to the state of Oneness in the Timeless Eternal Realm of Sach Khand, The Ocean of Love, Radhaswami Desh. Then we conclude with a mystic poem of Satguru Kabir: "O Swan-Soul, Where Are You Going?" (Bhakti)   We are all hansas or hansas-to-be as we journey back to the Beloved, the Supreme Being in the Ocean of Love and Oneness. (Prem: Spiritual Love)   In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhasoami James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts Sant Mat Radhasoami A Satsang Without Walls https://www.SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com    

Hear a truly delightful story about Jesus and his unwashed disciples crashing the temple as uninvited guests. It's found in an unknown gospel given by scholars the catchy name "Oxyrhynchus 840". Then more Brahman-Pharisee parallels: Sant Tulsi Sahib comes to the aid of a member of the Untouchable Caste known as the Sudras. Other compassionate, inclusive readings are from Baba Devi Sahab of Moradabad as well as Huzur Maharaj Rai Saligram of Agra. Ritual vs. real spiritual purity today during this Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcast. (Happy New Year)   In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhasoami James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts Sant Mat Radhasoami A Satsang Without Walls https://www.SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com