The Divine Light and Sound Stream is the central structure of all creation. It is the structure itself, and it is the Divine Path. One might say that the Spiritual Master and the Divine Light and Sound Stream are one instrument of God and the means to return to God.
This great truth or fact is significantly spoken of in the first chapter of the Gospel of John:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. All things were made by him, and
without him, nothing was made."
Here, it is definitely stated that something called "Word" is identical to God, the Creator. Although not at all understood by the Christian church, this statement is an important announcement of the stupendous fact of the Divine Light and Sound Stream.
The Indian name is simple, Shabd, meaning sound. But that needs to be clarified. There are many sounds. Logos was the Greek term used by the Neoplatonic school, whose masters were familiar with portions of Eastern Wisdom. Logos means the divine Word.
This divine current, wave, or stream flows from God himself and throughout all the universes. It is not only an emanation from God but also God himself.
When any man speaks in this world, he simply sets in motion atmospheric vibrations. But when God speaks, he sets etheric vibrations in motion and moves in and through those vibrations. In truth, it is God himself that vibrates all through infinite space. God is not static, latent: He is superlatively dynamic. When he speaks, everything in existence vibrates, and that is the Sound, the Shabd, and it can be heard by the inner ear, which has been trained to hear it.
It is the divine energy in the process of manifestation, which is the holy Shabd. It is, in fact, the only way in which the Supreme One can be seen and heard—this mighty, luminous, and musical wave, creating and enchanting.
It is the key to their success in unfolding their spiritual powers and controlling their minds. It is the one sign by which a real Master may be known and recognized from all others. No one is or can be a genuine Master unless he teaches and practices the Divine Light and Sound Stream. No one can become a spiritual Master of the highest order unless he consciously utilizes the Life Stream to gain his development.
NAMES OF THE SUPREME LOGOS
It is commonly called Sound Current in India among those who speak English. But the best translation we have discovered is Divine Light and Sound Stream. This carries its deeper meaning and is more comprehensive and inclusive. It is, in fact, a life-giving, creative stream, and it can be heard and seen. This current or wave contains the sum of all teachings emanating from God.
It is his own Word. It includes everything that God has ever said or done. It is God himself in expression. It is God's method of making himself known. It is his language. It is his Word.
This Sound is sometimes called Name; in Sanskrit or Hindi, NAM. But in English, we are not accustomed to putting so much meaning in the word 'name.' It is only correct if we understand that 'name' or Nam stands for all that the Supreme Being is. It is just another way of saying Word, and Word is what God says. It is equally what he does. It is the whole of the divine being in action.
To distinguish God in action from God as divine Essence, we call him Shabd or living Word. The name of anything or anybody is the sound symbol of reality itself. The name conveys to thought everything that belongs to the reality for which it stands. When the Master is said to give "NAM," he gives the Current the Reality for which Nam stands. He literally gives the Divine Light and Sound Stream itself.
This divine NAM, or Sound, or Word, stands for all God has ever said or done. It includes all of his qualities. As stated before, it is the only way the universal Spirit can manifest itself to human consciousness. So when the Supreme Being manifests himself as Sat Nam in Sack Khand, he becomes fully personified and embodied. As Sat Nam, he becomes a personal Creator, Lord, God, and Father. He becomes the Fountain from which the Divine Light and Sound Stream proceeds.
This stream may be perceived and heard by all who participate in it throughout all worlds. It may be seen and heard by attaining an awakened consciousness under the training of a Master. When a man hears it, he hears God. When he feels it, he feels the power of God. This Shabd is, therefore, the Divine Being expressing himself in something that is both audible and visible. This current must not be understood as a river running in one course. It is more like a radio wave flowing from the grand central broadcasting station in every direction. It comes from the Supreme Creative center of the universe of universes.
This wave has two aspects: a centrifugal flow and a centripetal flow. It moves outward from the central dynamo of all creation and flows back toward that dynamo. Moving upon that current, all power and all life appear to flow outward to the uttermost bounds of creation, and again upon it, all life appears to be returning toward its source. It is the latter aspect with which we have to deal mostly.
Upon that wave, we depend on it for our return to our original home. When the Master makes the connection, or as we say in radio, "tunes us in," it is then that we begin our homeward journey, leaving all perishable worlds behind us.
This Word is called Nada (pronounced Nad) in the Vedas. In Vedanta, sound is always considered creative. Sound or anything that sounds is the creative energy. It is referred to as the Nada Brahma, which means the primal word of Brahm. By this Nada Brahma, all creation was brought into existence. The whole of the visible and invisible universe is the manifestation of this primal Nada.
The Nada is the Grand symphony out of which all other symphonies flow. It is the primal music of the universe. Every musical cord of this world is an echo of that primal cord. It is the Vadan of the Sufis and the Shabd of the Hindus. But all Sufis do not distinguish between the primal Word and the manifest word, between the original music and its echo.
They cannot point out the difference between the dhunyatmak sound and the many varnatmak sounds. While we may truly say that all music in the world is a manifestation of the original symphony of the primal Vadan, yet there is a difference between them, a very important difference. The all-creative Nada is the sound out of which all other sounds arise, while at the same time, its heavenly strains linger in all material worlds as echoes of the original melody. It is only these echoes that we hear when we listen to a great orchestra produced by man. Those who love music should remember that they are listening to the distant echoes of the infinite chorus of the universe every time they hear a musical sound upon this plane.
However, we should always distinguish between the echo and the original. The original cannot, however, be heard by the physical organ of hearing. A finer sense must be developed for that.
This Nada is Shabd in Hindi. It is spoken of as the Shabd Dhun, the melodious sound. Again, it is called Akash Bani (Heavenly utterance). Kabir describes it so beautifully as "pure white music."
All Muslim Saints generally refer to it as Sultan-ul-Azkar— King of the ways—or Ism-i-Azam, and Kalma or Kalam-i-Ilahi. It is also called Surat Shabd Toga, Anand Yoga Anahad Shabd, and Anahad Toga.
So, it has been called by many names in many languages. It is "The still small voice" and the "Voice of the Silence." It is the same divine sound wave no matter by what name it may be known. Let no one say it is not a sound because it cannot be heard by the physical ear. The physical ear cannot hear the radio electromagnetic waves until they are converted into atmospheric vibrations by the receiving instrument. Yet, when traveling through space, they are just as truly sounds. The Shabd is, in any case, a Divine Light and Sound Stream because it can be heard by a finer ear and seen by the finer eye attuned to its higher vibrations.
This divine Logos is the real "Lost Word" of the Masonic Order. It is that word for the restoration of which every Master Mason is taught to look forward into the future ages. Those "future ages" have now arrived. That "Lost Word" is now in the mouth of the true Sat Guru or Master. He is the real Master, compared to whom all other masters are only substitutes, just as the word they give is only a substitute for the true Word. The real Master now awaits the opportunity to restore the "lost word" to the fraternity. But it remains to be seen if they will open their ears to it.
If they can receive it now, "on the five points of fellowship," it will mean a new birth to the fraternity. They no longer need to content themselves with the substitute because the original dynamic Word is now available. They have only to indicate their readiness to receive it. That priceless treasure is now ready for them. But their representative must present himself before the Grand Master of Masters like that of every candidate who knocks at your doors.
He also must be prepared in his heart, divested of all rags of self-righteousness; he must come knocking at the door as a poor, blind candidate seeking the light. Do not forget that just as in your lodges, it is only the Master who comes out of the East who can give this Word. But your Master can give only the substitute, while the real Master is prepared to give you the original Word, which was lost to the fraternity in past ages.
Let us repeat that the "future ages" referred to and for which you have been waiting so long are here. Will the brotherhood listen to the challenge of the Master who bids them come and get the Word? In the great drama of the Third Degree, almost every precept of the Path of the Masters is foreshadowed. The ritual makes you a substitute master. But the Great Work of the Real Master makes the candidate a real Master. This occurs when he has absorbed the "Lost Word " into his very being and becomes one with it. The Lost Word is now found again, and it is the Divine Light and Sound Stream so emphasized by all the Saints.
WHAT IS THE DIVINE LIGHT AND SOUND STREAM?
It is difficult to explain exactly what the Divine Light and Sound Stream is. It cannot be defined or explained in words. This is so because it is beyond the capacity of any language. We have never known anyone to put it into words because language is limited. If we could summon all the languages ever spoken by man and extract from them their utmost powers of expression, it was a vain effort even then to undertake to describe and explain this primary fact of Nature.
It is a story that is never told because it cannot be told. It is a language which has never been spoken or written. It is an ever-living melody that cannot be recorded on bars and spaces. Its notes are beyond the strings of any earthly instruments. Its inspiring chorus rings through every chamber of the soul, but there is no way to convey the idea to others who have yet to hear it.
Could you describe a Beethoven symphony to a primitive tribe in Papua New Guinea? Its glorious light cannot be pictured on canvas. One sees its feeble reflections in the morning sky, the setting sun, or the silvery moon. But its colors are quite beyond the comprehension of any mortal artist. At the same time, in its pure state, above the regions of matter, it blends into one infinite perfection that no man can describe except to say, "It is all love." It is the Dhunyatmak Word of those regions where language is useless. It is the smile of the lover that finds its home in the heart that cannot be expressed in words. When it is heard, the enchanted listener is silent and filled with great joy.
Stated in the simplest words we can employ, the Divine Light and Sound Stream is the Supreme Creator himself vibrating through space. It is the wave of spiritual life from the Creator to every living thing in the universe. By that Current, he has created all things, and by it, he sustains them. In it, they'll live and move and have their being, and by that same Current, they will ultimately return to their source of being.
Try now to get a picture of that Luminous Reality, the Grand Orchestra of the universe. Its heavenly strains not only fill all interstellar space, but they are ringing with far more enchanting music through all the higher worlds beyond the utmost bounds of the physical. The higher we go, the more enchanting the music. Music is less mixed with matter in those higher worlds, so it is not dulled. After passing the lower regions of the cosmos, this sublime chorus becomes so overwhelmingly attractive that the soul grows impatient to go on up. The soul is absorbed in it and lives in it day and night. It is life, joy, and spiritual food for the soul.
There is not a cubic millimeter of space in existence that is not filled with this music. Sweeter and sweeter, its heavenly strains vibrate through every living being, great or small, from world to world and from universe to universe. Its life-giving melodies may not be consciously heard by all who are not trained to catch them, but there is no living being in all creation that does not derive its life from this Current. All joy ever thrilled a living soul has come out of this Divine Harmonic. How great is this Luminous Reality!
If you still think much of the word religion, then you may say that this Current is the only real religion. Or better, it is the giver of all genuine religion. It is the one and only thing in the world that actually binds men back to God. That is the meaning of our word religion—something which binds the soul back to God.
Without this Stream, nothing could live for a single moment or even exist. All life and all power come from it. From the crawling ant to the thunderbolt, from the tidal wave to the solar cycle, every manifestation of dynamic energy comes from this Stream. From the burning orbs of the "Milky Way" to the flicker of a candle, all take their light and energy from this grand central power. The pull of gravity, the flash of lightning, the building of thought forms, and the love of the individual soul all come from this Current primordial.
That which physical science calls energy, which the Orientals call Prana, is only a manifestation of this Life Stream "stepped down" to meet material conditions. Like electricity in the air, it is omnipresent. It is also omnipotent. In it lies all energy, either latent or dynamic. It only awaits the proper conditions to express itself as a dynamic force in one form or another. It has many forms of expression, most of which are not yet known to physical science.
Of course, it has to be stepped down, and at each step-down, it takes a different character or quality to which we give names, if we can demonstrate them at all. Science has yet to discover most of them. But every force known, from primal energy called prana down to electricity and magnetism, are all modified forms of the same eternal Current. Its stepping down is necessary to serve the common cosmic and human needs. But at last, it is all one force. It is the Supreme One, manifested and manifesting.
The tremendous heat, energy, and light of our sun, and all suns, are all derived from this Stream. Every ray of light in the universe is a phenomenon of this infinite stream of light. Upon its power hangs every star in its orbit. Not a single rose may bring forth its buds without this power, and no little child smiles without manifesting this power. If we speak of attributes, let us speak cautiously. Who can comprehend it or assign qualities? Who can analyze it? But we know from its manifestations that it has at least three very wonderful attributes:
Love— Wisdom—Power
And the greatest of these is love. It is believed by some to be quite true if we say that this Self-Luminous Reality has but one attribute—LOVE. This coincides perfectly with Jesus's teaching, "God is love." What more can be said? God is love, and love is God. They are the same, and they are identical to this Life Stream. The theme is too deep for words. Language fails us. Thought itself is lost in a blaze of light! And that light is the Divine Light and Sound Stream—the one Self-Luminous Reality!
THE DIVINE LIGHT AND SOUND STREAM CAN BE SEEN AND HEARD
It is a fact of Nature well known to Masters during the most remote ages. The loss of this important knowledge has left most of the world in spiritual darkness. From age to age, the great Masters revive this knowledge after materialism obscures it.
God may be both seen and heard on the inner and higher planes of seeing and hearing. To accomplish this marvelous achievement, we must first seek a living Master and place ourselves under his instructions.
This creative Current, filling all space, may be likened to the electromagnetic waves of the radio. The receiving set is the human body, more accurately, the astral body within the physical. Standing on your table, the receiving set has to be "tuned in" to get the music. Each individual man or woman is a receiving set. As soon as he is tuned in by the Master, he is ready to receive the "pure white music" spoken of by Kabir. It remains only to keep the instrument properly to enjoy this melodious Bani. It takes a little time to develop the inner hearing. The entire body, particularly the mind and astral body, must be cleaned, purified, and attuned to the higher vibrations.
It takes possession of the hearer's soul; it re-creates him, and then he finds himself a citizen of a new world. The attractions of sense disappear. He is exalted. His heart is purified, and his mind is renewed. He lives anew. He has become immortal. How can the shadow of death ever cross his path? He has entered the Stream of Everlasting Life!
When it is time for him to leave the body, he goes as one who throws off an old garment. Upon the divine Wave, he ascends to the bosom of God. No sorrow of earth can ever again submerge him. He rises above all turbulent waves of passion as a man mounts the sky in an airplane while the floods of muddy water roll beneath him. He rises triumphantly above every evil. One can never again be unhappy after participating in this life-giving music. Long after the melody is shut out by attention to things of this world, its joy continues ringing through one's entire being.
THE SUFI IDEA OF THE DIVINE VADAN
The Sufis are divided into two classes—the Ulvis, who know of and often hear the primal music, or at least they did in the early days, and the Siflis, who have lost all knowledge of it or perhaps never had it. The latter class now speaks of the "Heavenly Symphony" in figurative language, like Rabindranath Tagore trying to explain the rhapsodies of Sant Kabir Das.
Having no understanding of the inner symphony, they focus on its outward expressions in the manifest universe. By doing this, many of them become great music lovers, and sometimes they become great musicians. They love the harmonies the physical ear can hear but have lost the greater harmonies of which these lower sounds are no more than a feeble reflection.
At any rate, if they know of them, they do not speak of them publicly. They talk much of the outer music, however. One noted Sufi, Hazrat Inayat Khan, says that the physical universe is all music, that it is all a manifestation of music, and that it was created by music. This is true, although he does not understand the full significance of his statement. He intends his words to be taken figuratively when they should be accepted in the most literal meaning of the words themselves.
The great Shabd, the primal music of all words, literally created the universe. This divine symphony or chorus is everywhere in all men and all things. Indeed, the whole universe is one grand Vadan. He agrees with Vedanta that the Nada Brahma created the universe, which is exactly what all the Masters teach. But Inayat Khan does not realize how much he misses by looking to the manifest universe for his great Vadan instead of looking inside for it. In doing this, he must be contented with the reflection and faint echo of the pure original melody.
But the great Masters make contact with the pure primal current itself and thus enjoy the most perfect satisfaction, absorbed in it. That creative primal music is vibrating through the universe, and many finer types of men and women may sense it to some extent. This is why some of them have become great lovers of music.
The greater a person's refined sensibilities, the nearer he or she is to the primal Current. It permeates everything, as said before, from rosebud to star, and it is the life of everything. But this varnatmak music, so deadened and dulled by contact with matter, is not to be compared with the original. That original is the only genuine Vadan, the Divine Light and Sound Stream.
The following extract by Hazrat Inayat Khan is an extremely interesting Sufi effort to interpret the Shabd. It shows how this central idea of the Great Shabd has taken hold of all mystic thought, even if it is not clearly comprehended.
"Abstract Sound is called Saute Surmadi by the Sufis. All space
is filled with it. It was the Saute Surmadi, the sound of the abstract,
which Mohammed heard in the cave of Gar-e-Hira. Moses
heard this very sound on Mount Sinai. It was heard by
Christ when his Heavenly Father manifested to him in the wilderness.
Shiva heard the same Anahad Nada during his Samadhi in the cave of
Himalayas. The flute of Krishna is symbolic of the same sound.
This sound is the source of all revelation to the Masters. Whoever
has followed the strains of this sound has forgotten all earthly distinctions.
The sound of the abstract is always going on within,
around and about the man. Man does not hear it as a rule because
his consciousness is entirely centered on his material existence.
In comparison to it, the sounds of the earth are like that of a whistle
to a drum. When the abstract sound is audible, all other sounds
become indistinct to the mystic.
The sound of the Abstract is called Anahad in the Vedas,
meaning unlimited sound. The Sufis name is Surmadi, which
suggests the idea of intoxication. The word intoxication is here
used to signify upliftment, exaltation, and freedom of the soul from its
earthly bondage. Those who are able to hear the Saute Surmadi
and meditate on it are relieved from all worries, anxieties, sorrows,
fears and diseases; and the soul is freed from captivity in the senses
and in the physical body. The soul of the listener becomes the
all-pervading consciousness. Some train themselves to hear the
Saute Surmadi in the solitude on the sea shore, on the river-bank,
and in the hills and dales; others accomplish it while sitting in the
caves of the mountains or when constantly wandering through
forests and deserts, keeping themselves in the wilderness apart from
the haunts of men. Yogis and ascetics blow Singhi (a horn) or
Shankha (a shell) which awakens in them this inner tune. Dervishes
play Nai or Algoza (a double^ flute) for the same purpose. The
bells and gongs in the churches and temples are meant to suggest
the same sacred sound and thus lead a man toward the inner life.
This sound develops through ten different aspects because of
its manifestations through ten different tubes of the body. It sounds
like thunder, the roaring of the sea, the jingling of bells, the running
water, the buzzing of bees, the twittering of sparrows, the Vina,
the whistle, or the sound of Shankha until it finally becomes the Hu,
the most sacred of all sounds. This sound Hu is the beginning
and the end of all sounds, be they from man, bird, beast, or thing.
A minute study will prove this fact, which can be realized by listening
to the sound of the steam engine or of a mill; the echo of belk or
gongs gives a typical illustration of the Hu sound.
The Supreme Being has been called by various names in
different languages, but the mystics have known him as Hu (Arabic),
the natural name, not man-made, the only name of the Nameless,
which all nature constantly proclaims. The sound Hu is the most
sacred; the mystics of all ages called it Isme-i-azam, the name of the
most High, for it is the origin and end of every sound as well as the
background of each word. The word Hu is the spirit of all sounds
and of all words and is hidden under them all as the spirit in the
body. It does not belong to any language, but no language can
help belonging to it. This alone is the true Name of God, a Name
that no people and no religion can claim as their own. This word
is not only uttered by human beings but is repeated by animals
and birds. All things and beings exclaim this name of the Lord, for
every activity of life expresses distinctly this very sound. This is
the Word mentioned in the Bible as existing before the light came
into the world: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God."
The mystery of Hu is revealed to the Sufi who journeys through
the Path of Initiation. Truth, the knowledge of God, is termed by
a Sufi Hak. If we divide the word Hak into two parts, it becomes
hu-ak. Hu signifies God, or Truth, and ak in Hindustani means
one, both meanings together expressing one God and one Truth.
Hukikat in Arabic means the essential truth, the final reality. Hakim
means master, and hukim means knower, all of which words express
the essential characteristics of life.
Aluk is the sacred word that the Vairagis, the adepts of India,
exclaim as the chant. In the word Aluk are expressed two words,
Al, meaning from, and huk, truth; both words together express God,
the source of all truth.
The sound Hu becomes limited in the word hum, for the letter
m closes the lips. This word in Hindustani expresses limitation,
hum means I or we, both of which words signify EGO. The word
Humsa is the sacred word of the yogis, which illumines the ego with
the light of reality. The word Huma in the Persian language stands
for a fabulous bird. There is a belief that if the Huma bird sits for
a moment on the head of anybody it is a sign that the person will
become a king. Its true explanation is that when man's thoughts
so evolve that they break all limitations, he becomes as a king. It
is the lack of language that it can only describe the Most High as
something like a king. It is said in the old traditions that Zoroaster
was born of a huma tree. This explains the words in the Bible:
"Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter
the Kingdom of God." In the word huma, hu represents spirit, and
the word mah, in Arabic, means water. In English, the word human
explains two facts that are characteristic of humanity—hu means
God, and man means mind; which word comes from Sanskrit,
manah, mind being the ordinary man. In other words, Hu, God,
is in all things and beings, but it is only man by whom He is known
or who is capable of knowing him. Human, therefore, means the
God-conscious being, God realized, or the God-man. The word
Humd means praise, humid, praiseworthy.
Hur, in Arabic, means the beauties of the heavens Ahura Mazda
is the name of God as known to the Zoroastrians.
In this first word, Ahur suggests Hu, upon which the whole name is built.
All of these examples signify the origin of the idea of God in the
Word Hu, and the life of God in everything that lives. Huva
is the origin of the name of Eve, symbolic of the manifestation of a deity
in womankind. The words found in the Bible—Eloi, Elohim,
and Alleluya, are all corruptions of the original word Allah-Hu.
The more a Sufi listens to the Saute Surmadi, the sound of the
Abstract, the more his consciousness becomes free from all the
limitations of life. The soul then floats above the physical and
mental planes without any special effort on man's part, which shows
its calm and peaceful state. A dreamy look comes into his eyes, and
his countenance becomes radiant. He experiences the unearthly
joy and rapture of Wajad (ecstasy). When ecstasy overwhelms him,
he is neither conscious of the physical existence nor of the mental.
This is the Heavenly Wine, to which all Sufi poets refer, and is
totally unlike the momentary intoxications of this mortal plane. A
heavenly bliss then springs in the heart of a Sufi. His mind is purified
from sin, his body from all impurities, and a pathway is opened for
him toward the worlds unseen; he begins to receive inspirations,
intuitions, impressions, and revelations."
Of course, the Holy Spirit referred to just above is the divine Vadan, the Divine Light and Sound Stream. It is indeed quite refreshing and inspiring when one can enjoy the harmonies of this world and feel in his innermost consciousness the divine melodies that float like the whispered words of God through all space. But the grandest of them all is the Anahad Shabd. The gentle echoes of that sublime music are floating through all lower worlds. They are but the whisperings of the real music, the supreme Vadan.
But we lose much if limited to these echoes, however sweet they may be. We should be able to grasp the primal Current from which all other music is derived. But this primal Shabd can be heard only by going inside, which again requires a Master to lead the way. The vibrations of the outer world may be sensed only, while the finer sense of audition may actually hear the genuine primal Current.
This inner music is so enrapturing and captivating that all who hear it become exceedingly joyful, so much so that they often forget everything else. Then, they are drawn upwards with such force that the whole physical world becomes unreal and uninteresting. By the power of this music, a man is literally pulled upwards towards the highest heavens whence that music has descended. And so this becomes the chief means of deliverance from this world and its sense of bondage.
THE ONLY MEANS OF SPIRITUAL LIBERATION
The Masters all teach that there is no other means of spiritual liberation except the Shabd. Without conscious participation in the Divine Light and Sound Stream, no one can ever escape the net of karma and reincarnation or become free and happy. If anyone feels inclined to deny this statement, ask him if he is free and happy. Or if he knows anyone else who is. Ask him if he knows any other way a man can free himself. Ask him if he is master of his own body or has conquered the last enemy, death.
If he is honest, he must say no. But all this and much more is accomplished through the Divine Wave of spiritual power, which we call the Shabd. Hence, all the Saints place the strongest emphasis on this great Reality. In fact, without this Life Stream, no Saint could ever manifest upon this earth, and hence, the whole world would continue to sit in darkness through endless ages. No soul can escape from this dark material world without conscious participation and a personal relationship with the Current. He should knowingly merge himself in that Life Stream, and he will rise to liberty upon it. It cannot be done in any other way.
By this Stream alone, one can transcend all lower regions and rise to the highest heavens. The Saints have proved this stupendous fact and have demonstrated it times without number—they offer that Path, that Fountain of life, as the only means of spiritual liberation. Saints know that there is no other way. By other means, men may advance some distance toward the light. Without a perfect Guru, and through him attaining conscious union with the Divine Light and Sound Stream, no one may hope to go further than the first region of light, commonly spoken of as the Astral plane, possibly a little beyond that in a few rare instances. Then, they are confronted with such insuperable difficulties, such gigantic obstacles, that they cannot go further. The Guru is then the absolute sine, qua non of further advancement.
This Path is known as the Royal Highway of the Saints, the El Camino Real. It is the only Path that leads to spiritual Light and complete emancipation. This is the gospel of the Life Stream. He who drinks of this Stream can never thirst again, but in him is a well of water springing up into life everlasting. Jesus offered this water of life to the woman at the well of Sychar, and he said if she would drink, she would never thirst again.
Truly, when one begins consciously to participate in this Life Stream, there is in him a well of water ever springing up, sufficient to supply the whole world. There is a Fountain that cleanses him and then gives life to every soul who comes in touch with it. It purges both mind and soul, making them whiter than snow. It is the real nectar of immortality. It flows on forever, a healing Stream for the nations. He who drinks of it will never again go about the world seeking food for his spirit. He will not look elsewhere for the light. A man in the broad sunlight will not go about seeking a candle.
It is the medicine that cures every sickness. It is the one remedy which the great physician, the Master, offers for the relief of all ills. It is the universal elixir, the solace of all. It soothes away pain and gives rest to the tired. This is the true light that lighteth every man who comes into the world. It is God, the Supreme Father. It is Wisdom, Power, and Love. And this is the Divine Light and Sound Stream, known and practiced by all of the great Masters of the East during untold ages of time.
NEW BIRTH THROUGH THE SHABD
It may be of interest to the student who was brought up in the Christian faith to know that Jesus himself very definitely mentions the Sound Stream and teaches that the new birth is to be attained using it. This is exactly what all great Masters insist upon.
Jesus says it can be heard, yet the church has entirely lost its meaning. The first chapter of the Gospel of John is called the Word, through which all creation came into existence. If only the Christian disciples had grasped this fundamental fact and held on to it, it would have meant a very different history for the church. But unhappily, the real meaning that Jesus had in mind was wholly lost.
In the third verse of Chapter III, Jesus speaks of contacting the Current and actually hearing it. Then, he distinctly says the new birth is attained through it. All of this is exactly in line with the teachings of the Masters. However, it is a pity that the churches have never understood this reference of Jesus as the most important experience that can possibly come within the range of human life.
To the church, this new birth is a mysterious operation that is not comprehended in the least. In some way, it is supposed to be performed by the Holy Spirit, but the exact process is quite unknown to them. The Masters alone can explain this statement of Jesus, for the Masters alone know exactly what the new birth consists of.
Then, in the 8th verse, Jesus clearly mentions actually hearing the sound of the Spirit, which gives the new birth. He says:
"The wind bloweth where it listeth and thou hearest the
sound thereof; but canst not tell whence it cometh and
whither it goeth; so is every one that is bom of the Spirit."
(St. John 3:8)
In this manner, Jesus makes it very definite that just as the body of a man is born from a woman, body from the body, so the spirit of man is born, brought to light out of the dark womb of matter and its foul corruptions through the action of the Divine Spirit in the form of the Divine Light and Sound Stream. We know he referred to this Life Stream because it says it can be heard. When that birth takes place, the soul actually hears the Sound just as definitely and distinctly as he can hear the rustle of the wind in the tall pines. But as no one can tell exactly where the wind comes from, so no one can tell where that inner sound comes from, nor where it is going. It would be difficult to make a more definite confirmative statement in support of the Divine Light and Sound Stream than this one of Jesus.
And yet, the theologians have never had the remotest idea of its meaning. If they had ever grasped this one fundamental truth, the whole theology of the church would have been different. There is no new birth without this Holy Shabd, and there is no such thing as contacting the Current until one has first found a real and living Master to "tune him in" with it. So, there is the entire matter in a few words.
The much-discussed "Holy Trinity" of the church is nothing more nor less than the gracious "Trinity" of all the great Masters—the Supreme Father, the Master, and the Shabd. These are literally and exactly the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is much to be regretted that the church itself never knew the real meaning of the Trinity, about which so many of its debates have raged, and books have been written about it since the days of Athanasius to the present.
If rightly understood, there is no difficulty at all in the idea of these three in one. The Supreme Father is the Universal One. The Master is a man who has made himself one with the Supreme Father, and the Shabd is the Supreme Spirit in the manifestation process throughout the universe. The Master is now the Supreme Father's representative and spokesman on this earth plane. He is the real Son of God. All Masters are real Sons of God. All men are, but the Master is a perfected Son. There is not the slightest philosophical difficulty in this concept. It is a sublime reality.
The second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles gives an account of what happened on Pentecost. They heard a sound "as of a mighty rushing wind," and then they saw lights, like "tongues of fire" sitting upon the heads of the apostles, and then they "were all filled with the Holy Ghost" (the Divine Light and Sound Stream), and they began to speak in foreign tongues. Now, this phenomenon may happen and often happens with disciples of any great Master. But it is an experience that comes at the beginning of their development. Often, it is as if one is standing between two buildings, and then a sound comes like a train rushing by, heard for a moment, and then vanishes.
This is something like the "rushing mighty wind" in the Bible. Other sounds are heard occasionally, eight or ten of them. All these sounds are heard before the true Shabd is heard. Again, one of the lights seen by all students of the Master appears much like the "tongue of fire" spoken of in the New Testament. Later, the student sees many more lights and hears much more about the heavenly Bani. As a result of these experiences, the disciple is filled with increased light and power. Among other things, he can understand all languages. He understands them all as if each one was speaking his own language. This is the universal experience of students of the Masters and is encountered on the first region on the Path of the Saints.
Everybody understands the language of all others, no matter what they may be. To become "filled with the Holy Spirit" is simply to hear and participate in the Divine Light and Sound Stream, to become absorbed in it, and to become one with it. In becoming one with it, the student comes into possession of many of the higher powers of that Life Force.
SHAMS-I-TABRIZ ON THE LIFE STREAM
In the writings of all the Saints, the Life Stream is frequently mentioned. Sant Kabir Das sings of it in rapturous strains. In the Granth Sahib, the Holy Book of the Sikhs, it is frequently mentioned. Every Saint who has written anything at all has spoken of the Holy Shabd as the chief thing of importance. We cannot reproduce the writings of the Saints here. They would not mean as much to the Western reader as to the Indian student. But we wish to mention one who speaks so delightfully of the Divine Light and Sound Stream, corroborating the words of Jesus and all other Saints. This is Shams-i-Tabriz, a Persian Saint of the later Middle Ages.
The following was translated from Persian by Judge Munshi Ram and Prof. Jagat Singh (who became the appointed Successor to the Great Master), great care having been taken to preserve its original meaning. It is full of beauty and rapturous appreciation of the heavenly Bant.
"To me came the Sound incomparable, which comes
Neither from within nor from without.
Neither does it come from the left nor from the right.
Nor from the back, nor from the front.
You will ask then, whence does it come?
It comes from the direction you are seeking to go.
You will ask then, which way shall I face?—
The side from which the bride-groom cometh.
That direction whence ripeness comes to fruit;
That direction from which stones become diamonds.
Be silent and listen to the five sounds from Heaven,
The Heaven which is beyond all senses and directions.
Every moment of life this wondrous Sound
Reaches down from the courts of Heaven
Fortunate above all the children of men
Is he who hears its enchanting melodies."
Speaking in the same poetical spirit of that same Sound incomparable, Jesus says it may be heard in the direction whence the wind blows. He says:
"Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again,
he cannot see the Kingdom of God." (St. John 3:3).
This is one of the greatest sayings ever uttered by Jesus or anyone else. In order to see the inner Kingdoms of light, a man must be born or brought to light by that Stream whence all power flows. That Stream is inside of man himself, as the kingdom of light is within man. For this very definite reason, Jesus says, as do all Masters, that this kingdom of heaven is within man. One has to go inside to get at it. That kingdom may be entered and explored only by the light and the power of the divine Bani, which is also within man.
Yet, the whole world is busy seeking it outside of man. Even the very nature of that kingdom is a dark mystery to most people. They have only the haziest notion of it. But that kingdom is no allegorical, imaginary, or metaphorical kingdom. It is real, concrete. It includes vast and numberless worlds of inconceivable splendor and beauty. And all this kingdom, or kingdoms, are consciously entered and enjoyed by the Master and his disciples. To make the momentous discovery of those higher kingdoms, man must go inside and enter a plane of higher consciousness and of a higher dimension. This means that he must withdraw his attention from the sense world and lift his consciousness to a finer world. All of this he does with the aid of the Divine Light and Sound Stream and the Master. Hence, it is of vital importance in the scheme of the Masters. In every age of the world, time and time again, the Saints have repeated those significant words of Jesus:
"Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again!"
(St. John 3:7).
When the soul is connected with the Life Current at the time of his Initiation by the Master—when he is "tuned in"—it is the supreme moment of his "new birth." But the completion of that birth is usually a slow process, a very gradual coming into the light.
The Master often refers to the physical birth of the individual as more like death because it involves going down into darkness. When the soul leaves any of the higher regions and comes down to the physical, it means descent into darkness. But the real birth takes place when one is connected with the great Luminous Reality and, by its regenerating action, is brought into the light. This is the new birth spoken of by Jesus and all other Masters.
SCIENCE OF THE MASTERS IN SIX WORDS
We believe that the entire essence of this science may be summed up in six words. Each word is a gigantic pillar of light. These six words express three great truths, which are subjoined to give expression to the greatest system of truth ever revealed to the consciousness of man. They are like the three great mountains in Trikuti, which grouped together to form one gigantic mountain of light. These three Truths are so vital and so central that if we should forget all else, remembering them only, we would still possess the essence of Santon ki Shiksha.
These three great facts stand out in letters of light at the very entrance to the Royal Highway of the Saints. They constitute the triple beacon of light to guide every soul on his way to freedom. They offer the basic concepts of the teaching of the Masters. They give the vital substance of this book in six words. They should be on the walls of every student's home in blazing letters. They are:
SAT GURU—SHABD DHUN—JIVAN MUKT
I. Sat Guru, the Master, the Saint.
II. Shabd Dhun, the Divine Light and Sound Stream.
III. Jivan Mukti, Spiritual freedom here and now, meaning perfect liberation during this lifetime.
Let us now take careful note of the relationship existing between these three. The three are absolutely inseparable. This is one of the most important points to be kept in mind. You simply cannot have any one of them without the other two. This is a sacred mystery. All of them or none. And there is no possible exception to this rule. There is not only a definite rule that one must have them all or none, but there is a very definite order in which they must come and this fixed order cannot be changed. Their sequence is fixed by an immutable law of Nature. It admits to no variation. It lies not in the power of any man to modify this law and this sequence.
The Sat Guru must come first. The Shabd Dhun comes second and then comes Jivan Mukti. This is the order established by Nature or God. No man can alter it. All men wish for liberation or what theologians call salvation. (Their sort of salvation is, however, a very different article from that of the Master). The salvation of the Masters is liberation from the Wheel of transmigration, from the ills of this life or of any life. And last of all, freedom to live forever in some heaven of unalloyed bliss. This is salvation as it is generally understood by the students of this Path. It must never be confused with the theological salvation of the churches.
Suppose now that people know nothing at all about the Shabd Dhun, and they object to the idea of a Master. Yet, they would like to be spiritually free. Well, they simply cannot get Jivan Mukti, and there is no help for it. They may sit on the fence and weep all the days of their life, but nothing can be done for them. They may call upon all the religious known for help, but they will get nothing. They may pray to all the gods, but they will not hear them.
It remains a stern fact of Nature that no man ever has gained or can gain freedom from the ills of this life and escape the uncertainties of the next life until he has the good fortune to meet a living Master. If he does not have that good fortune, he simply must return again and again to this life until he does meet a Master. That is the sum of it, and that is final. Without the help of a Master, no one can ever gain permanent release from this wheel of birth and death. Their eternal and monotonous life must simply go on
until the time arrives when their good karmas bring them to a Master with a mind prepared to follow him. Why? Because as said before, these three links in the golden chain of salvation are absolutely inseparable.
No one can possibly gain spiritual freedom except by and through the Shabd Dhun and no one can possibly get that Shabd Dhun without first placing his life in the hands of a Sat Guru. On the other hand, if you do get a Sat Guru, you cannot fail to get Jivan Mukti or redemption. And this is because the Sat Guru never fails to connect his disciple with the Shabd Dhun.
And so, having both Sat Guru and Shabd Dhun, one cannot fail to get Spiritual freedom, which is here called Jivan Mukti. Let us repeat the fact here—that these three can never be separated—never under any circumstances. And we must not forget that the Sat Guru comes first. It is a natural and logical conclusion, therefore, that the first duty and most important concern of any mortal in this world is to find a true Sat Guru. If you fail in that one regard, your life is a failure no matter what else you may gain.
Here, then, is the formula: First, find a real Sat Guru who can tune you into the Life Current, the melodious Dhun. Then, take hold of that Current and merge yourself into it. Listen to its enchanting melodies, feel its gracious uplift, experience its cleansing
powers, and float upon it upward and onward to the city of Freedom. After you have once passed the outermost frontiers of the material and the impure worlds, when you have actually entered the regions of pure spirit, have grown godlike and fit for the highest regions, you will never again return to these low lands of birth and death. You have attained Jivan Mukti, life everlasting. Therefore, let these three great truths be engraved upon your waking consciousness and upon your subconsciousness—think always about these three:
Sat Guru, Shabd Dhun and Jivan Mukti
To put the matter a little differently, there are three things of supreme importance to anyone contemplating this Path. They are: The Sat Guru, the Satsang, and the Divine Light and Sound Stream. Of course, the Sat Guru comes first, but when the disciple comes to the Sat Guru, he must attend Satsang. That means he must converse with the Sat Guru, listen to his discourses, and so get full instruction. He may or may not attend public meetings. The point is that he must see enough of the Master to become well-informed as to the great truths of this Path. This prepares the student for entering upon the Path. After that, he is ready for the Initiation, which brings him into vital contact with the Life Stream. It is taken for granted that if he once comes to the Sat Guru, he will sit in Satsang and listen to the instructions of the Guru.
Hence, we say there are three things a man must do: he must find a Guru; he must attend Satsang, that is, inform himself as to the Path, and he must consciously enter the Life Stream. To put it in another way, there are three things a man must have—he must have a Sat Guru, he must have the Life Stream, and he must have spiritual liberation.
Sources:
First chapter of the Gospel of John
Hazrat Inayat Khan
RSSB, Julian Johnson, M.A., B.D., M.D. The Path of the Masters
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