Prominent Learnings during 1750-1950 CE-XI-- Sant Mat (1)

Happiness can not be traveled to, owned, earned or worn or consumed. It is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude-----------.  ( Maharshi Mehi) 

Sant Mat is a universal spiritual path comprising of the philosophy and teachings as taught and practiced by Saints, prominent on Indian sub continent from about 13th century CE. It delineates on the path of union of soul with the Divine. It shares a lineage with Sikhism,  Hinduism on Karma & Incarnation as well as Sufism. It incorporates a practical Yoga system, known as सूरत शब्द योग .

 Another commonly accepted definition of Sant Mat is found in " Man know thyself " by one of the prominent Masters of this path, Sant Kirpal Singh. To quote," Man is constantly changing or introducing new names & terminologies to describe this science. The Masters were called Saints and the nature of knowledge Mat, thus giving us the term Sant Mat.Other terms, such as शब्द योग, सूरत शब्द योग, सहज योग  are also closely associated with the same path."

" Everything lies inside us and that God is within." The outside world is only an image of the inner reality. It is one of the basic teaching of Sant Mat as described by its Masters. Moreover, Sant Mat movement assert that the Master is provided by God, as the channel for human interaction through which God manifests in the world. The key tenets of Sant Mat  are;

• Initiation by a living Master orसतगुरु .
• Role of connecting one's soul or attention, called सूरत with the inner current of light and sound of God called शबद .
• Emphasis on Ethical life style and Self less service. While Ethical life style requires a person to write a daily self introspecting diary from self improvement point of view besides internalizing other required actions in one's way of living, Self less service or Seva is devoting oneself to mental. physical or financial service to the Gurus and devotees.
• Internalizing values of अहिंसा ( non violence), Truthfulness, Chastity, Love for all, Humility and a strict vegetarian diet.

The Principles and Teachings of Sant Mat, evolved over a period of time, have been influenced by several Saints and Philosophers, all of whom preached pure and untarnished spirituality. Let me quote a few of these prominent ones;

• No caste or creed, the Lord requires; the love alone that He desires. Devotion deep and love sincere; these do the soul to Him endear ( Kabir Sahib).

• सतगुरु is the only one who can get us released from काल (death) ; believe this as true. सतगुरु defeats काल  and takes the soul to the motionless plane, where सतपुरुष ( God)  is, leading to infinite happiness and freedom from coming back to this world. ( अनुराग सागर, a Kabir Pa-nth literature).

• Concentrate your mind and remember the Supreme Being without saying anything. Close the outside doors ie quieten your sensory organs and detach yourself from  everything. Open the inside doors and concentrate on meditating and remembering God. ( Kabir 1008 Bani).

• One can not become a true lover of God so long as he has fear of death in his mind. The abode of love is too far; it is not easy to reach there.One may be blessed with love only after he overcomes the fear of death ( Kabir 1008 Bani).

• Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself, that you have built against it ( Rumi, the Persian Sufi mystic).

• The Garden of Love is green without limit and yields many fruits other than sorrow and joy. Love is beyond either condition; without spring, without autumn; and it is always fresh ( Rumi, the Persian Sufi mystic).

• What shall avail external purity, if inward pollution there be? Without a Master, true hath been, all thy oblation, O, Bulleh, in vain ( Bulleh Shah).

• He, who conquers the mind, is Lord of all mankind ( Guru Nanak).

• With over-indulgence, we purchase pain; Lust , anger & greed do never cease; and bring sorrow again and again; In chains of pain and pleasure bound; we come and go in anguished round ( Guru Nanak).

• We are not alive because we have a body, but because we are a soul ( Maharshi Mehi).

• Through the practice of meditation, we can progressively move the consciousness inward within ourselves ( Maharshi Mehi).

• The ultimate realm is fully contained within the inner mirror and is the source of true नाम ( Sant Sat Sahib).

• Right गहनी  ( understanding), Right रहनी  ( living) and सिमरण ( mindfulness, remembrance and meditation) are core teachings of Sant Dari-ya Sahib.

• सत्पुरुष सोई सतगुरु गाया , जीव अंस सब वहाँ से आया ; तीन लोक तिरगुन का घाटा , उन सब रोकि जीव की बाटा। ( Tulsi Sahib in Ratan Sagar).

• दिल का हुजरा साफ़ कर , जाना के आने के लिए ; ध्यान गैरों का हटा , उसको बिठाने के लिए। ( Tulsi Sahib in Ratan Sagar).

• The Lord in शबद form is always with you and is never far; have patience and you will get a glimpse of true light ( Swami ji Maharaj).

• Love and eagerness for परमार्थ ( spirituality) are necessary for a devotee of Radhasoami faith. It is necessary for a true spiritual devotee (परमार्थी ) of this faith to attend सत्संग ( spiritual gathering) and perform spiritual practices in the attitude of love (Soami ji Maharaj ).

• सतगुरु raises the सूरत ( the soul) of जीव  ( the person) to गगन ( the sky) and make शबद audible to him within himself. When the सूरत reaches ब्रह्माण्ड , it begins to perceive शबद. While in सहस - दल - कमल ( the thousand petaled lotus), it has some inkling of शबद.  सूरत ( the soul) ascends to the crooked tunnel (बाँकनाल ), rushes to the"causal plane" ( त्रिकुटि) & gets access to दसवाँ द्वार ( the tenth gate)( सारबचन  of Soami ji Maharaj).

• If you desire to maintain yourself at higher level of awareness, you must abjure lust. Lust blinds the inner eye, screens from our sight the refulgence of heavens & plugs our ears against the inner music ( Rumi, the Persian Sufi mystic).

Let me now sum up a few key principles of this path that have emerged over time and are the guiding force for its Masters as well as followers all over the globe.

• Ultimate Reality is beyond any beginning or end, infinite, beyond birth and beyond the senses. Its nature is imperishable, beyond time and space, beyond sound & beyond form as well as beyond the scope of mind .It's not manifested in physical form, beyond the illusion of माया ( illusion). Knowing or Merging this Divine Reality is the goal of all spirituality.
• Individual soul is an inseparable part of the Supreme Being. Bound by illusion (माया ). the individual soul remains within the cycle of birth and death. To escape from this cycle, one must experience realization of this Supreme Being. But how?
• By practicing devotion through--- (a) सिमरण ( reciting and remembering the name       of Supreme Being given by the Masters; (b) मानस ध्यान ( meditation on Divine Form); (c) दृष्टि साधना ( Yoga of inner light & inner seeing); (d) सूरत शबद योग ( concentration on inner divine sounds); the practitioner transcends the realms of darkness and reaches higher planes of Divine Reality. Only in a human body, individual soul can achieve unity with Divine.
• Abstinence from the vices of Lying, Stealing, Intake of intoxicating substances, Adultery and Violence is a must for all Sant Mat aspirants. Eating any form of meat is considered a form of violence in this path. A few other requirements for devotees of this path are-- (a) Trust and belief in God (b) Commitment to seek divine within (c) Devotion and service to a living Spiritual Master or सतगुरु (d) Attending to सत्संग and performing practices in the attitude of love. 

The path has been enriched and strengthened further by several of its Leaders and Masters over a period of time. It is considered as one of the prominent spiritual path practiced today by its followers across the globe. Some of the great Masters of this path include Soami Ji Maharaj, Baba Jaimal Singh ji or Baba Ji Maharaj, Baba Sawan Singh ji, Master Kirpal Singh ji Maharaj, Master Darshan Singh ji Maharaj, Master Rajinder Singh ji Maharaj and a few more. It has led to emergence of many sects within contemporary Sant Mat movement and include Radha Soami Sat-sang Beas, Radha Swami Sat-sang, Sawan Kirpal Ruhani Mission, Divine Light Mission etc.

 Without going into specific teachings of each of its leaders, we shall share some more key principles & practices evolved and firmed up by these leaders and Masters in the next blog. Let me end this blog by another quote from Sh Kabir Sahib.

Forsake lust, anger, vanity and avarice,

Imbibe continence, contentment, truth & tolerance.