Salarios

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