The Yoga of Love Part 1: Introduction to the Devotional Aspect of Spirituality
Release Date: 01/17/2023
Spiritual Awakening Radio
There's a spiritual saying, an axiom of wisdom, that's been meaningful to millions of people spanning many centuries, scriptures, spiritual classics, languages, nations, and several world religions from West to East, East to West. This saying was quoted by the Apostle Paul in the New Testament but it's been a mystery as to what exactly the source was for his quote. Today, we find out the origin of this saying, and get to hear various versions of this saying as it appears again and again in so many ancient texts, traveling far and wide, passing through Jewish, Rabbinical... also many Christian...
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Today we explore: A History of Simran Practice in the Sant Tradition (Path of the Masters, Panch Naam, Also the Five Names of the Sethian Gnostics), The Many Names of the One Nameless God (Anami Purush); SIMRAN: Why Sant Mat Masters Teach That Repeating Simran Words (Mantras, Manas Jap) Is Best Done Mentally -- A Mental Chant Done "With the Tongue of Thought", by Swami Vyasanand Baba; Readings from the Mystic Poetry of Guru Kabir, Sant Dadu Dayal, and Sant Namdev; The True Spirit of Simran Practice is Love (Bhakti); Readings from, The Light of Ajaib: Why Don't You...
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"Whenever feeling downcast, each person should vitally remember, 'For my sake, the entire world was created.'" (Baal Shem Tov) The Baal Shem Tov is sort of the "Rumi" or "Kabir" of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism), an example of a towering figure and great mystic of one of the schools of spirituality. The ending part, "For my sake, the entire world was created", is a variation of an ancient axiom of wisdom about how a certain number of saints being present keeps the world alive, tilts the balance toward the Light. A version of it even turns up in saying twelve of the Gospel of THOMAS: "The...
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The world presents us with infinite distractions to always keep us off-center, diverting our attention from our spiritual goals, seemingly never able to reach an oasis of peace and tranquility. And within as well, there are many obstacles intended to prevent the soul from making much spiritual progress during this life. This according to the Gnostics and the Masters is the great cosmic conspiracy of the ages to keep souls down, circling round and round on the wheel of transmigration with no apparent means of escape, no end in sight. And changing belief-systems, rituals and theologies,...
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Baba Jaimal Singh, and other disciples of Soamiji Maharaj, were initiated in Soamiji's meditation room at his home in Panni Gali, Agra. "Swami Ji then began to instruct him [Baba Jaimal Singh] into the theory and practice of Surat Shabd Yoga, and when the instructions were over, asking the youth of seventeen to sit down for meditation, he left the room. "As soon as Jaimal Singh sat down for meditation, he got lost in samadhi. The night came and passed away, the day broke, but he continued motionless, lost in the inner bliss he had discovered. Another day saw itself...
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Kabir says: "Put all imaginations away, and stand fast in that which you are." Some find themselves on a rare spiritual path, and without much positive feedback or support from friends and family. And Sant Mat advocates an intoxicant free, tea-totaling, straightedge, vegetarian or vegan low-karma lifestyle also at odds with the mainstream. We are attempting to navigate our way through society while following the path, and doing the meditation practice, remaining faithful to it, living a spiritual way of life. The Masters say, "Be free of fear. Be free of anxiety. Follow the path no matter...
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Sant Kirpal Singh: "As there are landmarks on earth, so there are landmarks in Time. The past and future are like sealed books to us: the one is in the limbo of oblivion, while the other is in the womb of uncertainty. It is only the LIVING PRESENT that is ours, and we must make the best use of it, ere it slips away through the fingers and is lost forever. Human birth is a great privilege and offers us a golden opportunity. It is for us to make or mar the same, for it is given to each individual to forge his or her own destiny as best he may." (Standing at the Crossroads of Time) For the...
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"There can be no happiness for the soul, and no rest to the mind, so long as one does not meditate on God... If you wish to have light, both inside and outside, place the luminous gem of God's Name on the threshold of the inner door with your inner tongue, says Tulsidas." (Goswami Tulsi Das) Sant Kirpal Singh once said that "Simran is the first step (or rung) of the spiritual ladder." Indeed, simran, the remembrance and repetition of Names of God, is the foundation for living a spiritual life according to this Living Path of the Masters. Reciting the name of God is meant to "actualize...
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Letters from Masters to their disciples, though originally written to specific individuals in the past, often have a universal quality about them, dealing with real-life struggles along the spiritual journey and so sometimes feel quite personal, as if they are addressed to us as well. Today's program features readings from the letters of Kirpal Singh, Sawan Singh, Baba Jaimal Singh, Soamiji Maharaj, Huzur Maharaj Rai Saligram, and Maharaj Saheb (Brahm Shankar Misra). "You need not be afraid of discussing esoteric teachings of the Masters with others. Spiritually illumined do owe much to...
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Selected Quotes from Many Different Spiritual Masters, Mystics, Gnostic Gospels, Scriptures and Spiritual Classics -- A Sant Mat Satsang Podcast -- Spiritual Awakening Radio In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhaswami, James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts
info_outlineBhakti is a Sanskrit word for love and devotion, and love is the quintessential truth of all religion, spirituality and mysticism. In the New Testament Saint Paul said that "love is the most excellent way." The Bhagavad Gita and the other world scriptures say the same thing. The mystic-lovers of history have taught that "God is an infinite Ocean of Love and each soul is a drop from that Ocean." By approaching simran (mantra, a spiritual exercise of repeating God's Name or Names), prayer, the singing of hymns, or meditation with an attitude of love and devotion (prem and bhakti), we elevate our consciousness. The practice of love brings us into harmony with the Supreme Being, our own true nature, and with all souls in creation.
Bhakti is the Path of Love; it is heart-centered, focused on the cultivation of love between the soul and the Oversoul, between lover and the Beloved. India's Nirguna Bhakti Sants (Saints) are madly in love with the Supreme Being, the Ocean of Love. Their relationship with the Supreme Being is that of Divine romance.
This is a translation of a hymn (shabd) by the 19th century mystic Sant Tulsi Sahib:
"Whose soul is attached to the Word, revels
ever in cosmic flight;
Revels ever in cosmic flight, and realizing the
Lord, plays with Him.
The mystery of the Inaccessible and the secret
of the scriptures he unravels:
He reaches his Home within and its Essence
he comes to know;
In the lotus feet of the Beloved he sees
his true destination.
The happily married woman rejoices with her
Spouse every moment, O Tulsi,
For her soul is attached to the Word, and
revels ever in cosmic flight."
The compositions of Sant Tulsi Sahib are bhakti (devotional) in tone, and at the same time allude to the mystical experiences of the soul achieving cosmic flight by becoming attached to the Word -- hearing the Celestial Music of the Spheres during meditation. Through the Divine Word the mystery of the Inaccessible Plane (called by mystics "Agam Lok") is made accessible. Shri Tulsi described his experience of the Beloved Lord as a marriage consummated in mystical union. This merger of lover and Beloved is the final destination of lovers. Sant Dadu, a Master in the Guru Kabir lineage said of this oneness:
"The lover is converted into the Beloved.
That indeed is called true love.
Forgetting his own ego, he remains
absorbed in the One."
In their spiritual hymns of love and devotion (prem and bhakti) mystic-devotees sing of the power that the Spirit of Love has to transport souls back to the original Home of all souls -- the Ocean of Love and Compassion (Anurag Sagar). By approaching spiritual practice with love, we will be elevated in spirit to places beyond our wildest dreams! And for those who are skeptical of their own ability to experience the Way of the Saints, Swami Ji Maharaj said in one of his hymns:
"It does not matter if your bhakti is imperfect.
Perform bhakti! Radhasoami [the Lord of the Soul]
graciously declares that you should perform bhakti
in whichever way you can. Fear not. He will grant
you the Treasure of Love. You will be a recipient
of the Gift of Love."
(Sar Bachan Radhasoami Poetry, Vol. II, Agra)
In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters,
James Bean
Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts
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