Spiritual Awakening Radio
Spiritual Awakening Radio with James Bean explores the world of spirituality, The Path of the Masters (Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts), Gnostic Gospels, mystics, world scriptures, God, meditation, mystical experiences, the vegan diet, and other ahimsa ethics -- education for a more peaceful planet.
info_outline
Spirituality of the Sikh Scriptures of India
10/03/2023
Spirituality of the Sikh Scriptures of India
Essential Key Teachings According to the Satgurus in the Sikh Scriptures, the Guru Granth ONE - Living Masters Having Living Disciples - The Need For The Living Satguru and For Initiation Into the Meditation Practice "There can be no jnana (true knowledge) without meeting a Master-soul, nor meditation without a first-hand experience." (Guru Arjan Dev, Bhairon M5) “Meet a Satguru and take his initiation. Surrender thine all and peep within.” (Guru Nanak, Gauri M1) "Prays Nanak, But for Society of the Saints, the whole world is false." (Gopal Singh translation) "In the Guru-given Gnosis is contained the wealth of the Lord’s Name, and the Lord’s Name, the Guru imprints in the man’s mind." (Manmohan Singh translation) “In utter darkness, the Master’s Word (Guru-Mantra) shines forth into Light. In the company of the Master, all are rescued and saved.” (Guru Arjan Dev, Gond M5) “The Master has given me the perfect Word or Mantra.” (Guru Arjan Dev, Bhairon M5) TWO - Surat Shabd Yoga, in Meditation Hearing the Unstruck Melody of the Sound Current (Anhad Shabd, Naam, Nada According to the Sikh Scriptures) Living Masters have always initiated their disciples into meditation practice (Naam Dhan), and this includes the practice of hearing the Anhad Shabd (Unstruck Celestial Melody) within one’s self during meditation practice. "The Unstruck Melody that one seeks to hear, hear it thou in the instruction of the Guru's." (Sri Rag M. 1) "Within me rings the Unstruck Melody of the Lord’s flute, yea, He in whose presence one's mind is attuned to the Sound of the Inner Music." (Sri Rag, Kabir) "At the (tenth) door rings the Unstruck Melody. The Lord echoes thus in every heart." (Vadhans M. 5) THREE - Non-Violence (Ahimsa) in Thought, Word, and Deeds Including Following a Non-violent Vegetarian Diet in the Adi Granth and Other Texts Shri Guru Nanak Dev abstained from animal food and enjoined against cruelty to animals: "Having prohibited his disciples to drink wine and eat pork, he (Nanak) himself abstained from eating flesh and ordered not to hurt any living being." (Mohsin Fani, Persian Scholar of Comparative Religion, Author of the, DABISTAN-E-MAZAHIB) "Kabeer says, the dinner of beans and rice is excellent when flavored with salt. Who would cut throats to have meat with his bread?" (Guru Granth Sahib Ji, 1374) "One who does not steal, commit adultery, slander anyone, gamble, eat meat or drink wine will be liberated in this very life (i.e. Jeewan Mukt)". (Guru Gobind Singh, 10th Sikh Guru, Sudharam Marag Granth) "Living by neglect and greed, the world eats dead carcasses. Like a goblin or a beast, they kill and eat the forbidden carcasses of meat. Control your urges, or else you will be thrown into the tortures of hell." (Guru Arjan Dev, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, 723). Bhai Gurdaas Ji said: "They eat meat by cutting throats, what will their own condition be?" (Vaar 24, Pauree 17) “To take what rightfully belongs to another, is like a Muslim eating pork, or a Hindu eating beef. Our Guru, our Spiritual Guide, stands by us if we do not eat those carcasses. By mere talk, people do not earn Liberation. Salvation only comes from the practice of truth." (Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, 141) 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
/episode/index/show/spiritualawakeningradio/id/28205885
info_outline
Spiritual Guidance from the Great Master Hazur Baba Sawan Singh
09/28/2023
Spiritual Guidance from the Great Master Hazur Baba Sawan Singh
"The goal is to catch and rise up on the Sound Current to our Eternal Home. The Saints have only one message to give and that they give in the manner that suits the times. Their message is: "Soul! Thou has forgotten thy Source. That Source is Sach Khand. The Sound Current within you is the way to it, and we guide you to That." (Hazur Baba Sawan Singh Ji) Today, the wisdom of the Great Master Hazur Baba Sawan Singh covering several major subjects central to the spiritual journey of the soul back to God: prayer to, and faith in, the Supreme Being Radhaswami (The Lord of the Soul, also spelled Radhasoami); Each Soul is a Drop from the Ocean of God, a Soul-Drop from the Ocean of Love; A Discourse on the Spheres of Kal, the Demiurge, Ruler of the Lower Planes of Time, Samsara, Impermanence and Illusion, and the Means of Salvation, of the Liberation of the Soul Through the Word, also Known as the Logos, the Shabda, The Sound Current; Why Does Sant Mat Follow Vegetarian Ethics? The Fleshless Diet of Those Whose Goal is God-Consciousness, to... in Spirit... Rise above the Flesh, to Rise Above Body-Consciousness and Make Heavenly Ascents Upwards via the Third Eye Center; The Way of the Sound Current: Our Duty to Follow the Sound Current Back to Sach Khand During Meditation Practice (Surat Shabd Yoga); Hazur Baba Sawan Singh on Our Spiritual Mission During This Life to Find the Pearl of the Soul and the Soul's Natural Habitat: Sach Khand, the Sphere of the Soul, and Ascend Back to that Heavenly Spiritual Realm Again Through The Hymn of the Pearl, The Audible Life Stream, The Holy Stream of Sound, also called The Sound Current, the True Name or Naam of God. (राधास्वामी) Other texts quoted during today's satsang podcast include: the Gnostic Parable known as the apocryphal Hymn of the Pearl, The Hymn of the Soul, embedded in The Acts of Saint Thomas in India, the 2023 edition of the Sant Mat Glossary, Rumi, Kirpal Singh, Baba Devi Sahab of Hathras and Moradabad, and a saying of Jesus from an unknown Coptic language gospel fragment discovered in Egypt: "Now therefore have faith in the love of My Father." (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
/episode/index/show/spiritualawakeningradio/id/28163309
info_outline
A History of Vegetarianism and Veganism in the World Religions
09/26/2023
A History of Vegetarianism and Veganism in the World Religions
A rarely discussed amazing history of vegetarianism and even veganism in the great world religions and philosophies: Akhenaten the "Heretic" Egyptian Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty, who ruled for 17 years Hebrew Bible, First Book of Moses: Genesis Yoga Shastra, a sutra or scripture of Jainism Bhagavad Gita of Krishna Srimad Bhagavatam The Laws of Manu, a kind of "Hindu Torah" or Book of Laws Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans Porphyry, a 3rd century AD Neo-Platonist philosopher The Vegetarian Prayer of Thanksgiving in the Epilogue of Asclepius of the Corpus Hermeticum, and the same prayer again, as it also turns up in the Nag Hammadi Library of Egypt, the Gnostic Gospels Early Church “Heresy Hunters” that used to require meat-eating on Sundays as a way to discover who the veg Gnostics were in their midst Philo of Alexandria's description of veg meals at a Jewish Therapeutae monastic community in Alexandria perhaps related to the Essenes The Bahai Faith: Baha’u’llah, ‘Abdu’l-Baha, and Shoghi Effendi -- prophecies of a vegan future of humanity Vegetarianism in Islam: The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), Rabia of Basra, Bawa Muhaiyaddeen and the Sufis John the Baptist, who ate locust bean (carob) flour, not locusts -- BEANS NOT BUGS And blessed are the textual variants: the Mystery of the Missing Veg Saying of Jesus found in Luke 21: 34 of the Evangelion Da-Mepharreshe -- the Old Syriac-Aramaic manuscript of the New Testament Gospels but is no longer present in Greek manuscripts. (Peace Be Upon 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 (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.
/episode/index/show/spiritualawakeningradio/id/28138721
info_outline
Baba Somanath's Spiritual Commentary on the Mystic Sar Bachan Radhaswami Poetry of Swami Ji Maharaj
09/19/2023
Baba Somanath's Spiritual Commentary on the Mystic Sar Bachan Radhaswami Poetry of Swami Ji Maharaj
"O Guru Sawan, work Your alchemy on Your disciple Somanath. Touching this iron with the philosopher’s stone, transform it through and through into purest gold. Going beyond the astral and causal realms, I have become absorbed in Your holy lotus feet." -- Hymn (Bhajan) of Baba Somanath Hazur Baba Sawan Singhji was very pleased with Somanathji's seva and behavior and initiated him into the path of Surat Shabd Yoga in January 1928. He stayed at Beas for three and a half years, practicing Surat Shabd Yoga and achieved his cherished goal. In 1932, He sought the gracious permission of his Satguru to return to Mumbai. Sawan Singhji blessed him and commanded him to propagate the principles of Sant Mat in South India, where it was almost unknown. When Hazur Sawan Singh instructed Baba Somanath to leave the Dera and return to South India to propagate the teaching of Sant Mat, He said: "Somanath, the body in which your soul dwells is highly suitable for spreading the teaching of Sant Mat in South India for you have both the understanding of the ways of the people of the South and with the Grace of the Masters have perfected the meditation after passing through every lower stage of the journey. Go and commence the work of Satsang." Christopher McMahon: "I would like to mention here that it is entirely possible that there have been souls of the highest spiritual order in the Sant Mat tradition living in South India in the past, but they were simply not well-known and could even have come from a different lineage." (The Life of Baba Somanath Ji, Sant and Sage of South India) "During the time of Swami Ji, the British were in control of the outer life of the Indian subcontinent. They avoided religious persecution and kept communal tensions at bay, and so the Sant Mat teachings could be presented in an open way, unlike in earlier times when Saints often cloaked their teachings in an esoteric language for the sake of avoiding confrontation with religious zealots of all persuasions. It is said,'Those who see God face to face shall all tell the same thing.' The differences come in only because of the means of approach in each case, the language of the time employed, the mode of expression then prevailing, and the intellectual level of the age. Again, these differences are not in essentials but only in non-essential details." (Kirpal Singh) "O Protector of the lowly ones, most merciful Lord, Self-Existent, Bestower of Light, Somanath has contemplated upon Your lotus feet. Unceasingly, he will sing Your praises. You free all the jivas [captive souls] from the desires and afflictions of this world." -- Hymn (Bhajan) of Baba Somanath In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhasoami, James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts Santmat Radhasoami A Satsang Without Walls 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.
/episode/index/show/spiritualawakeningradio/id/28071969
info_outline
There is Divine Light and Sound Within You, Within Everyone
09/14/2023
There is Divine Light and Sound Within You, Within Everyone
The great Masters teach that the Sound of God is within everyone -- this Holy Stream of Sound is within every living thing. This is why those given to exploring Inner Space through a contemplative meditation practice, be they from the East or the West, have discovered this Reality playing within themselves. (Go Within) This Sant Mat Satsang Podcast is a spiritual gathering, a satsang without walls, dedicated to exploring this ancient school of spirituality, the Path of the Masters, Mystics, Gnostics, and Saints, today focused upon the spiritual practices of inner seeing and hearing, finding the inner Light and Sound of God present within the soul. The form of meditation making it possible to access the mystic Light and Sound is freely taught and communicated via the guidance of a competent Living One, a Living Master who is fluent in the spiritual experience of not only transcendental seeing and hearing, but also of traversing Inner Space, the Kingdom of the Heavens within, the inner regions, heavens, realms of consciousness beyond the physical-material confines that hold captive the attention of most people. The Sufi mystic and philosopher Ibn Arabi once wrote in his Bezels of Wisdom: "He [the Supreme Being] brought the Cosmos into being as constituting an Unseen Realm and a Sensory Realm, so that we might perceive the Inner though our Unseen [facility] and the Outer through our sensory aspect." We are children of both worlds. We human beings are a Tree of Life with roots in the earth and branches rising into a Mystic Sky! "The planes of heaven are about us everywhere. One has only to know this simple truth consciously, and then we will be free." (George Arnsby Jones, disciple of Kirpal Singh) As with the Gnostic Universe, the cosmos and multiverse of the Surat Shabd Yoga Tradition of Inner Light and Sound Meditation has the lowest or outermost plane being the realm of matter and dark matter, followed by progressively more subtle and luminous astral and akashic or causal regions, also a Universal Mind or Demiurgical (pronounced "Demi-urge-ah-KAL") plane. Above these lower and middle regions of mind and matter are levels of pure spirit, eternal, above time and space, and these are considered to be the True Home or Paradise of the soul, where we prodigal souls came from before the beginning and, full-circle, where we will return to again, as we awaken from the soul-slumber of the ages. "We have come from the Light and will return there again." (Gospel of Thomas and Mandaean Ginza Rabba paraphrase) As Kabir once said, "For millions of years you have slept. This morning, will you not wake?" (Peace Be To You) Today, readings from the mystic divine love poetry of Bhai Nand Lal Ji, disciple of Guru Gobind Singh, The Acts of John (New Testament apocryphal writing), the Sikh scriptures (Adi Granth, Gurbani), Naam Or Word authored by Kirpal Singh, Baba Ram Singh from a January, 2023 collection of satsang discourses on Naam: Sant Mat Meditation of the Inner Light and the Sound Current, the Sufi poets Rumi and Shah Niaz, Ajahn Sumedho on "The Sound of Silence" (from the Buddhist world), also from Anmol Vachan, a rare book of Q and A by Sant Garib Das of the Radhasoami Faith (another spiritual successor of Swamiji Maharaj), Shiv Brat Lal's Radhaswami spiritual classic Light on Ananda Yoga, Kirpal Singh's Spiritual Elixir, and... the mystic poetry of Edmond Bordeaux Szekely. (Namaste') 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
/episode/index/show/spiritualawakeningradio/id/28027344
info_outline
Seven Steps to Heaven, The Way of the Mystics
09/12/2023
Seven Steps to Heaven, The Way of the Mystics
"Blessed are the souls who in today's materialistic world have an inclination towards spirituality." (Swami SantSevi Ji Maharaj) Today, A Spiritual Talk (Satsang Discourse) by Swami SantSevi Ji Maharaj at Maharshi Mehi Ashram, Kuppaghat, Bhagalpur, Bihar, India The Seven Stages of Ascension to Heaven According to Swami SantSevi Ji and a Living Spiritual Path Called Sant Mat 1. Praise or Bhakti (singing praises: banis, bhajans, kirtans, odes, psalms, hymns) 2. Prayer (Communion With God -- Conversations With God) 3. Manas Jap (Simran, "Praying Without Ceasing", Mentally Repeating/Chanting the Name or Names of God -- Mantra -- the First Stage of Meditation) 4. Manas Dhyana (Visualizing the Form of the Master * -- the Second Stage of Meditation) 5. Dristi Sadhana (Seeing Inner Light at the Third Eye Center -- the Third Stage of Meditation) 6. Nada Sadhana (Hearing the Inner Sounds -- Surat Shabd Yoga -- the Fourth Stage of Meditation) 7. Reaching Kaivalya: Oneness with Soundlessness, the Nameless One (ANAMI), the Formless Supreme Being, Supreme State, the Ocean of Love (beyond all forms, lights and sounds) -- the Fifth Stage of Meditation -- the Isht or Goal *NOTE: Visualizing the Form of the Master: “In Kali Yuga no other spiritual activity will succeed. It is only the contemplation of the Satguru’s Form, repetition of the Name of the Supreme Being, and concentration on Shabda [Spiritual Sound] that will be successful and beneficial”. (Soamiji Maharaj) 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
/episode/index/show/spiritualawakeningradio/id/28001943
info_outline
Finding Light in the Darkness, Rising Above the Darkness Into the Light
09/07/2023
Finding Light in the Darkness, Rising Above the Darkness Into the Light
After expressing some thoughts about war and peace, selected readings from many masters, mystics, and spiritual classics or scriptures of the East & West 1) one of the most mystical passages from the Psalm-scroll of the Dead Sea Scrolls composed by the unknown master or right-teacher, who was the founder of the original Essene Community 2) back to eden, return to paradise: a plant-based passage from the Hebrew Book of Genesis on the vegetarian ideal at the beginning 3) readings about Kabbalah -- Jewish mysticism, and meditation in the Hebrew scriptures: "Be still and know that I am God", Psalm 46: 10 "The first century Rabbi Akiva ascended through the seven heavens and the seven palaces in the highest heaven by means of passwords uttered to the angelic gatekeepers. His meetings with God were characterized by luminosity." (Joan Borysenko, "Seven Paths to God: The Ways of the Mystic") 4) The Five Sacred Mantra Names of the Sethians, a Jewish Gnostic sect of antiquity and their meaning 5) "I am merely a guest born in this world, to know the secrets that lie beyond it." (Rumi) 6) George Arnsby Jones, The Pilgrimage of James, An Odyssey of Inner Space 7) "No mission is of greater importance to a person than the awareness of his own consciousness, the profound significance and purpose of his existence on earth and to find out the path for ultimate bliss, eternal happiness and cheerfulness i.e. the quest for truth." (quote from the Shabd Pratap Ashram website) 8) "Be regular and lovingly devoted to your holy meditations, as that is the central pivot around which the whole sacred teaching revolves and therein an all around development of the soul is granted." (Kirpal Singh) 9) a reading from, Radhasoami Mat Updesh, by Huzur Maharaj Rai Saligram Bahadur 10) A Spiritual Seekers Guide, Dayal Sahab, Dayalpuri Radhasoami publication 11) The Saakhi Granth of Kabir, "1008 Kabir Vani" and another passage of Guru Kabir; also, "The Anurag Sagar"/Ocean of Love of the Sant Dharam Das/Kabir Panth 12) Huzur Baba Sawan Singh's parable of, A Man Trapped in a Well Arguing with the Person Above (the Master) Holding a Rope 13) readings from the Surangama Sutra, a Buddhist scripture: "I will appear as a Buddha to teach them the Dharma to liberate them..." and 14) about being rescued by the Light, a passage from, The Book of Faith-Wisdom -- Pistis Sophia, a Gnostic Gospel from Egypt In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhaswami James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts Sant Mat Radhasoami A Satsang Without Walls
/episode/index/show/spiritualawakeningradio/id/27963174
info_outline
Introduction to The Path of The Masters, Mystics of the East
08/29/2023
Introduction to The Path of The Masters, Mystics of the East
Return to the Source, The Path of the Masters, Julian P. Johnson: "The message of the Masters fills the world with hope, and at the same time it offers a rational foundation for such hope. It not only tells people what they should do, but it offers them a definite method of doing it... (Johnson) "In the march of the ages, cycle after cycle, in every planet where human beings reside, the great Masters are the Light-bearers of that world. Until the end of the ages, they will remain the friends and saviors of those who struggle toward the Light... (Johnson) "The world has never been without a living Master. Beneath all other impelling forces in the creation, spirituality is the primary cause. That, and that alone, is the driving force that always leaps up to join its source. In every living being, from tiny plant up to man, the spiritual flame of life is struggling upward and onward toward its source of being, and this process and this struggle must go on until the last speck of dust returns to the central fires of Infinite Being... (Johnson) "...The Divine Spark in each one, always struggling for freedom, striving hard against adverse currents, reaches out a feeble hand toward the Master. In great kindness the Master takes that hand, unclean though it may be. After that, it may require years of patient hard work to build up the character, to strengthen the will and throw off the evil passions." (Johnson) "The Audible Life Stream is the cardinal, central fact in the science of the Masters. It is the keystone of the arch. It is the cornerstone of the structure. It is the structure itself. And it IS the Path of the Masters. One might say that the Master and the Life Stream constitute the Path of the Masters... (Johnson) Authored by Julian Johnson in the 1930's, Path of the Masters became a spiritual classic of Sant Mat and remains popular to this day. It's a kind of "theosophical" presentation of Sant Mat and Radhasoami, if you will, and has been a very influential book. Over the decades many have been introduced to this living mystic and gnostic path as a result of encountering Johnson's amazing book, The Path of the Masters. (RADHASOAMI) In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhaswami James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts Sant Mat Radhasoami A Satsang Without Walls
/episode/index/show/spiritualawakeningradio/id/27875019
info_outline
The Opposite of "Not One Of Us" is "We Are All One"
08/22/2023
The Opposite of "Not One Of Us" is "We Are All One"
Before the main segment, The Opposite of "Not One Of Us" is "We Are All One”, I begin the program by sharing spiritual readings covering various topics from several sources: The Hidden Words of Baha'u'llah; a Saying of Jesus from, The Book of the Gnosis of the Invisible God, An Unrecognized Dialogues Gospel Embedded in the Bruce Codex Placed at the Beginning of the First Book of IEOU; also, readings from: The Ghat Ramayan of Sant Tulsi Sahib; Sar Bachan Radhasoami Prose of Soami Ji Maharaj; 1008 Kabir Vani (Saakhis of Guru Kabir); Baba Ram Singh on meditation practice; Saint Isaac of Nineveh; and mystic poetry * of Sant Charandas. (* Bhajans, Hymns) One of the most mysterious passages recorded in the New Testament is: "'Teacher', said John, 'we saw a man driving out demons in your Name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us *.' "'Do not stop him,' Jesus said. 'No one who does a miracle in my Name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us.'" (Mark 9: 38+39) One may wonder who this mystery person was and what unknown sect or faction of the Jesus Movement he belonged to, since the disciples had apparently never encountered him before. (* The Not-One-Of-Us Treatment.) The main segment is titled: The Opposite of "Not One Of Us" is "We Are All One”, an essay documenting how Sant Mat historically has never been limited to only "one" living master (Sant Satguru) at a time but there have always been multiple lineages of masters alive in the world contemporary with one another. As Hazur Baba Sawan Singh once said: "It is not necessary that there should be only one * Master in the whole world or even in a single country. There have been different Masters in different countries at the same time, and even in the same country. Thus Guru Nanak and Kabir were contemporaries, and so also Dadu and Guru Arjan. But their teaching is the same at all times and in every country." (* The Path is One.) In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhaswami James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts Sant Mat Radhasoami A Satsang Without Walls
/episode/index/show/spiritualawakeningradio/id/27814092
info_outline
The Vegetarian Christians of Early Christianity
08/15/2023
The Vegetarian Christians of Early Christianity
One thing that might be rather surprising to most people that can be learned by doing a study of the gospels, acts and other literature of the Hebrew Christians -- the Ebionites -- the Christianity that Existed Before Paul -- is that, rather than some imagined Sunday school notion of a fish market in the village of Galilee being operated by the disciples of Jesus, there is significant evidence that the Original Jesus Movement and well-known apostles became vegetarians. And furthermore, this vegetarianism of the disciples and Jesus Movement is fairly widely known and mentioned by the early church fathers. It's not that this information is coming from recently discovered writings dug up in the Middle East. Rather, these are old texts that have been with us since the early days of Christianity but didn't seem all that meaningful and significant to a pro-meat carnistic population. Vegetarians however would indeed be most interested finding this out! (Peace be to you) "Jacobus [James], the brother of Jesus, lived of seeds and vegetables and did not accept meat or wine." (Saint Augustine) "The consumption of animal flesh was unknown up until the great flood. But since the great flood, we have had animal flesh stuffed into our mouths. Jesus, the Christ, who appeared when the time was fulfilled, again joined the end to the beginning, so that we are now no longer allowed to eat animal flesh." (pro-vegetarian early church father Hieronymus [St. Jerome] who apparently read the Gospel of the Hebrews and was influenced by Ebionite views) "Sacrifices were invented by men to be a pretext for eating flesh." (Clement of Alexandria) "The steam of meat meals darkens the spirit. One can hardly have virtue if one enjoys meat meals and feasts. In the earthly paradise [Eden], no one sacrificed animals, and no one ate meat." (Saint Basil the Great) In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhaswami James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts Sant Mat Radhasoami A Satsang Without Walls
/episode/index/show/spiritualawakeningradio/id/27756405
info_outline
Finding God - The Hidden Power - Within You Through the Spiritual Practices of Sant Mat
08/10/2023
Finding God - The Hidden Power - Within You Through the Spiritual Practices of Sant Mat
What a delight it is this week to be sharing with everyone in our satsang community and gathering of spiritual seekers readings about Baba Ram Singh's spiritual search when he was young, his prayers to the Hidden Power, a wonderful name for the Supreme Being, and how he found the Radhasoami Satsang presided over by Baba Somanath, making use of, In the Lap of the Supreme Father, The Biography of Sant Baba Ram Singh. By the way, Hidden Power is a very Gnostic type term for the Supreme Being so I also share from the Nag Hammadi Library of Egypt, and from another ancient Gnostic library further to the East, the Ginza Rabba (Great Treasure) of the Mandaean Nasoraeans, with references to God as the Hidden Great Power, and about the role of the Living One, the Living Master, as being a co-worker of the Divine Plan in the lower planes and material realm to guide souls back to their True Spiritual Home Above, sharing the secrets of spiritual practice and Divine Names with those souls seeking true spiritual freedom. Also today, mystic bhajans and prayers of Baba Somanath, wisdom and guidance from the Radhasoami publications: A Spiritual Seekers Guide, Anmol Vachan of Sant Garib Das, Sar Bachan Radhasoami Prose on the Teachings of Soami Ji Maharaj, Prem Patra Radhasoami and Prem Bani Radhasoami of Hazur Maharaj Rai Saligram Bahadur, as well as excerpts from a January 6th, 2023 Meditation Talk by Baba Ram Singh Ji titled, When We Sit For Meditation In The Frame Of Mind Of Love And Affection, Then It Helps Us To Sit, on how love, devotion or bhakti helps develop high-quality concentration during meditation and is the proper approach to successful Inner Light and Sound Meditation Practice (Surat Shabd Yoga). Being a Lover of the Beloved as well as spending enough time in meditation, according to the Masters (Sant Satgurus), are absolutely essential for getting to have inner experiences and truly exploring the Inner Regions (Inner Space, the Kingdom of the Heavens Within You). (Namaste', Jai Guru, HU, Satya Raam, Sat Naam Sahib, Radhaswami) In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhaswami James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts Sant Mat Radhasoami A Satsang Without Walls
/episode/index/show/spiritualawakeningradio/id/27710160
info_outline
The Mystery of Swami Ji's Well, Surviving and LOST Letters of Swami Ji Maharaj
08/08/2023
The Mystery of Swami Ji's Well, Surviving and LOST Letters of Swami Ji Maharaj
"One thing which Chachaji did and which will be always remembered was that one day, heaven knows what brainwave he had, he tied up into a bundle many letters of Soamiji Maharaj in His own handwriting, His other papers, as well as many articles of His use, and dropped the bundle into the well at Soami Bagh sanctified by Soamiji Maharaj. He then went to Lala Tote Ram and told him what he had done. Hearing him, Lala Tota Ram gave out a shriek and said, 'O Chachaji Saheb, what have you done?' Chachaji Saheb replied, 'Brother, I know the value of these things. There is no knowing in whose hands these precious things will fall and whether they will be preserved with due care. That is why I thought that I should rather drop them in the well sanctified by Soamiji Maharaj Himself '." (Bhaktmal of the Radhasoami Faith, by S.D. Maheshwari, pages 25 and 26 -- NOTE: "Bhaktmal" means: biographical accounts of Bhaktas or devotees) Today represents two programs in one. The first part pertains to some Radhasoami history. I explore the mystery of Soami Ji's well, the LOST letters and other documents... what some of them might have been, and the politics behind the destruction of those sacred writings. The second part is a satsang consisting of spiritual readings from the surviving letters of Soami Ji Maharaj, which are very wonderful, spiritually uplifting, containing much authentic wisdom for spiritual seekers and devotees on the Path. (Namaste') In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhaswami, James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts Sant Mat Radhasoami A Satsang Without Walls
/episode/index/show/spiritualawakeningradio/id/27686757
info_outline
Seven Teachings of Sant Mat and Requirements For Initiation
08/01/2023
Seven Teachings of Sant Mat and Requirements For Initiation
Today we explore: The Goal of Sant Mat Spirituality and Meditation: Our Path Back to the Source; The Six Stages of Inner Sound Meditation; The Traveler of the Inner Subtle Path; The Five Precepts or Moral Requirements for Initiation Cultivating Stillness and a Spiritual Way of Life; Also a Word About Vegetarianism, Veganism, and Sant Mat. "Blessed are the souls who in today's materialistic world have an inclination towards spirituality." (Swami Santsevi Ji Maharaj) "Sant Mat is not the Path of information; this is the Path of Transformation." (Swami Santsevi Ji Maharaj) "We are children of both worlds. We human beings are a Tree of Life with roots in the earth and branches rising into a mystic sky. Meditation is the portal to the realm within and allows us to know ourselves, our original nature." (Agochar) "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) "In meditation, the true condition of the soul is exposed, and God can reveal our failings in order to heal and bless us... If we spend more time in meditation, we can recognize the relationship between the visible and invisible world ever more distinctly and clearly." (Wisdom of the Sadhu, The Teachings of Sundar Singh) "Saints come into this world and They enlighten us. They remind us of our True Home of God Almighty -- our True Father. They encourage us to go back. And They motivate us to go back. So, we are indeed fortunate to get this human body and get this life. And it is with the Grace of God Almighty that we have the company of the Masters. Now, we should make the most of that and follow the Teachings of the Masters and make the efforts to go back to our True Home... It is, therefore, incumbent on a disciple, once he has been initiated, to prioritize his meditation. He should always keep that to the forefront and do his meditation first, and then all of the other activities should follow that... Morning time is ideal for meditation. But anytime is good if we are sitting for meditation." (Baba Ram Singh) In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhaswami, James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts Sant Mat Radhasoami A Satsang Without Walls
/episode/index/show/spiritualawakeningradio/id/27620367
info_outline
The Path of Inner Light and Sound is Within and Was Created by the Supreme Being
07/27/2023
The Path of Inner Light and Sound is Within and Was Created by the Supreme Being
This Path of the Masters Has Been Created By God Almighty. It Has Not Been Created By Any Mahatma or Saint or Sect. "When our soul came from God Almighty into this world, it came via the Sound Current and, at each plane, it came by the connecting Sound Current into this world. And when the soul has to go back to God Almighty, it will also ascend on this same Sound Current and, plane by plane, it will go back to God Almighty. This Path has been created by God Almighty. It has not been created by any Mahatma or Saint. And God has set this Path for the soul to come into this world and also to go back to God Almighty." (Baba Ram Singh) "According to Sant Mat, having crossed these realms or levels, we achieve the final goal called Mukti (i.e. salvation). To attain liberation/salvation, Sant Mat does not follow numerous complicated practices, but two essential methods: 1) Drishti Marg (i.e. the Path of Inner Light/Vision) and, 2) Shabd Marg (i.e. the Way of Inner Sound/Transcendental Hearing). "Unlike other worship methods popular in religions and sects with different names, these two methods are not man-made. God himself is the founder and operator of these methods. Since the beginning God has kept these two methods inside human beings with full qualifications. The way of redemption of jivas (i.e. bounded souls) is available within all human beings." (Baba Devi Sahab of Moradabad) Today, readings from Sant Brahmananda of Rajasthan, Baba Devi Sahab of Moradabad, from the Satsang Discourses of Baba Ram Singh, Kabir, Swami Ji Maharaj, Baal Shem Tov (Jewish Mystic), The Gospel of Thomas, Martin Buber, Moses Luzzatto (Kabbalah), Adi Granth (Sikh Scriptures), Mystic Poetry of Sant Janardan Swami of Maharashtra and the Padavali of Maharshi Mehi Paramhans. Baba Ram Singh: "God Almighty sends these Saints for the salvation of the souls who He had sent into this world and to whom He had said, 'Whenever you call out to Me, I will come to fetch you.'" In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhaswami, James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts Sant Mat Radhasoami A Satsang Without Walls
/episode/index/show/spiritualawakeningradio/id/27579960
info_outline
Spiritual Wisdom From Rural India: Sant Mat Teachings
07/25/2023
Spiritual Wisdom From Rural India: Sant Mat Teachings
Unaffected by the West, in rural India spiritual paths such as traditional Sant Mat continue to preserve and communicate the wisdom of the Masters about living a spiritual way of life. At the heart of their spirituality is the meditation practice known as Inner Light and Sound Meditation (Surat Shabd Yoga). There are references to this form of meditation dating back to the time of the Upanishads and other ancient scriptures, also more recently with the various Sant movements populated by bhakti poet-mystics and spiritual masters such as Sant Namdev, Guru Kabir, Guru Nanak, Sant Ravidas, Sant Dharam Das, Sant Tukaram, Sant Dadu Dayal, Sant Dariya Sahib of Bihar, Goswami Tulsi Das, Sant Tulsi Sahib, Sant Radhaswani Sahib up to the living present. Today we explore the teachings of Santji, Baba Devi Sahab, and Maharshi Mehi Paramhans about successful meditation practice and the journey of the soul back to God. In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhaswami, James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts Sant Mat Radhasoami A Satsang Without Walls
/episode/index/show/spiritualawakeningradio/id/27557676
info_outline
Spiritual Gems (Letters) of Hazur Baba Sawan Singh
07/18/2023
Spiritual Gems (Letters) of Hazur Baba Sawan Singh
The Importance of Spiritual Gems, Letters from Hazur Baba Sawan Singh Ji: Here we have letters from a successor of a successor of Sant Radhasoami (Radhaswami) Sahib, looking to the West and communicating with some of the very first initiates (satsangis) in the US and Canada. Spiritual Gems: "The Great Master wrote these letters in response to the questions and queries of his American and European disciples and seekers, so nearly all the questions and doubts that crop up in the minds of seekers after Truth and Reality have been amply dealt with in this volume, which makes it extremely valuable." "I assure you that I do not mean to neglect any of our American Satsangis. I think I answered your last letter. It may have gone astray. But in any case, you should write to me every few months and give full account of your progress and ask any questions you may wish to ask. I shall be glad to hear of your inner progress on the Path. No doubt you are making some headway and I am anxious to see you go inside, truly, and find the Great Light and Joy which awaits you there." (Hazur Baba Sawan Singh) "We are expecting much from America. The average person in America is much nearer to this Teaching than in any portion of Europe. The day will come when your people will turn to Sant Mat... Some day the Great Work there will assume much larger proportions. You may look confidently for it, in your own time. Be ready for it." (Hazur Baba Sawan Singh) Other Key Points Made Sant Mat in America is not a path only for the affluent that can afford to frequently travel long distances. Avenues for learning, satsang, and pathways for initiation for those who qualify must always be available. Nobody left behind. The language barrier issue: There must always be new satsang material being translated and published in English. There are not two Sant Mat paths: a Sant Mat "lite" for new age Americans or westerners, and the traditional full Sant Mat for Indians, but the complete Sant Mat for all. This includes adhering to the vegetarian diet: "I never gave permission to anyone to eat meat in my life. A mother does not administer poison to her own children. In R.S. Faith animal food cannot be allowed under any conditions. It hardens the heart, and makes the soul dull and heavy." (Spiritual Gems, Sawan Singh) In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhaswami, James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts Sant Mat Radhasoami A Satsang Without Walls
/episode/index/show/spiritualawakeningradio/id/27494004
info_outline
Being a Spiritual Survivor in This Land of Illusion
07/13/2023
Being a Spiritual Survivor in This Land of Illusion
Spiritual seekers are faced with many possible choices and detours along the way. If the genuine seeker finds spiritual sustenance in the luminous wisdom of the saints and mystics, they will reach the first level of satsang (association with eternal truth) and make serious spiritual progress during this life. With such a developing reverence for the higher wisdom of great souls of the ages, one may eventually encounter a living mystic path in the world of today, discover a living gnosis now, a school of spirituality lead by a living one, a living master (Sant Satguru). Today's satsang podcast features reflections about what is playing out in the vast world of spiritual paths and world religions based on the spiritual classic known as the Anurag Sagar (Ocean of Love), how the various planes of creation, states of consciousness and temperaments are all being represented by avatars and archons affiliated with a multitude of paths and practices in the marketplace of ideas, seeking to draw souls to material, astral, causal, or mental regions. Countless are the idols made of wood and stone. Countless are the ceremonies, holidays, and rituals. Countless, the doctrines, the prophecies, sectarian politics and struggles, tethering souls to realms of mind and matter, but what of you, the soul, and the God that is All-Spirit residing beyond these worlds of form and time? Says Rumi, "Don't be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth." "Who speaks, after seeing with their own eyes, and teach the method of salvation during life, They are of the stage and stature of Saints, for they reveal the quintessence of the soul." (Sant Tulsi Sahib of Hathras) "Seeing that Kal is deluding all the jivas and entangling them in this world and seeing the jivas suffer in this world of Kal, God Almighty sends the Saints into this world to enlighten and awaken the jivas and bring them Home." (Baba Ram Singh) "Seek to behold the Living One while you are alive, lest you die and seek to see him and be unable to do so." (Gospel of Thomas, saying 59) "Whoever joins the Immortal becomes Immortal. Whoever delights in the Living One becomes Living." (Odes of Solomon, ode 3) Today there are readings from: the Gospel of Thomas (both Greek and Coptic manuscripts), the Odes of Solomon, Kabir (1008 Vani, the Ethical Teachings of Kabir), Soamiji Maharaj (Sar Bachan Radhasoami Poetry), Maharshi Mehi Paramhans (the Padavali), Baba Somanath (a bhajan, mystic poem/hymn), and a satsang discourse by Baba Ram Singh (excerpted from. Seeing The Jivas And Entangled And Suffering In This World Of Kal, God Almighty Sends The Saints To Awaken The Jivas And Bring Them Home, shared during the afternoon of January 20th, 2023). Says Kabir: "Love is like a deep ocean. Only that lover of God who will dive into it fearlessly shall be able to get the pearl of ultimate happiness. And one who will not be able to muster up enough courage to dive into it, shall remain sitting at the beach. He will remain without love in this world or the next. How will he get the pearls of ultimate happiness then?" In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhaswami, James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts A Satsang Without Walls Sant Mat Radhasoami
/episode/index/show/spiritualawakeningradio/id/27452124
info_outline
Mystic Poetry of Sant Jayadeva from the Adi Granth and Gita Govinda
07/11/2023
Mystic Poetry of Sant Jayadeva from the Adi Granth and Gita Govinda
Says Jayadeva: "In the very beginning was the Primal Lord, unrivaled, the Lover of Truth and other virtues. He is absolutely wonderful, transcending creation; remembering Him, all are emancipated. Within my mind, I chant the Name of the Primal Lord God, the Source of virtue. My vision, that You are I are separate, has melted away." Sant Jayadeva is one of the earliest Sants known to history. Jayadeva was born during 1170. He's known to the Sikh tradition as Bhagat Jaidev. He was a Sanskrit "loner-poet" who lived during the 12th century and is celebrated for his poetic genius in eastern India. He is the author/composer of the epic poem known as Gita Govinda (The Hymn to the Custodian of Light). Sant Jayadeva is the earliest dated author of hymns that are included the Adi Granth! Today during this Sant Mat Satsang Podcast you'll hear readings from, Unveiling the Garden of Love -- Mystical Symbolism in Layla Majnun and Gita Govinda (Sufi Mysticism and the Teachings of Sant Jayadeva in the Gita Govinda). And then, I share readings from the Mystic Verses of Sant Jayadeva: Gurbani by Bhagat Jaidev in the Adi Granth, one of the earliest known Sants: Hymn # One on Page 526 of the Adi Granth with commentary, followed by the reading of Hymn # Two on page 1106 with commentary. In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhaswami, James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts A Satsang Without Walls Sant Mat Radhasoami
/episode/index/show/spiritualawakeningradio/id/27421722
info_outline
Divine Grace Busts Into Worlds of Time and Space to Rescue Souls, The Wisdom of Baba Somanath
07/04/2023
Divine Grace Busts Into Worlds of Time and Space to Rescue Souls, The Wisdom of Baba Somanath
There is a message coming from beyond the stars, a communication emanating from the Timeless Realm to those lost somewhere in time, a gospel calling out to us from outside the multiverse and lower planes of creation. Kabir says, "Where else have you heard a Sound like this?" The quest of the true spiritual seeker is to remain focused in a realm of endless distractions, to become spiritually awake in a culture of slumber or negligence, to always remember God and our spiritual practice in this temporal region of forgetfulness (maya, illusion, samsara, world of changes). We all have the potential to be successful at reaching our spiritual goals and not talked out of our hopes, dreams and ideals by negative external influences. We are free to find our genuine life purpose following the spiritual path, discovering the wonders of inner Light and Sound Meditation practice, experience the lifting of the heavy burden of karma, and reach the oasis of spiritual rest and repose in the God-worlds of Inner Space, which we all have access to... if we did but know it! "Baba Ji [Baba Somanath] was a Gurumukh Disciple of Hazur Baba Sawan Singh Ji who, after a long search for Truth, during which He performed many austerities, fasts and difficult Nathpanth yogic practices in the tradition of Gorakhnath, was drawn to the Path of Sant Mat -- the Path of the Celestial Sound Current and Radiant Light. Under the orders of Hazur, He spread the Sant Mat Teachings in the states of Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh from 1933 until 1976 when He left the mortal coil." (BabaSomanathJi org English Language Website Making His Teachings Widely Available to the West) Baba Somanath was one of the spiritual successors of Hazur Baba Sawan Singh, the Great Master of Beas. Today we explore his teachings including satsang commentary on verses of the Sar Bachan Radhasoami Poetry, a key Sant Mat spiritual classic. This particular discourse of Baba Somanath is quite informative about the role of the mind or ego acting as an extension of universal mind called "the Kal Niranjan" and also known as "the Demiurge", the negative power, lord of illusion, great deceiver. Somanath Prays... "You are the Lord and Friend of the lowly ones." "Shower Your grace upon me. I have taken refuge in Your shelter, and now to preserve Your honor, Please take me out of the cycle of births and deaths." "I have fallen at your door -- O, Gatekeeper of the Inner Realms." "Keep me steadfastly absorbed in contemplation on You. Rivet my attention at the still point between the eyes, And show me the Light of Spiritual knowledge." "Giving me the support of the Dhun, the True Shabd, Transport my soul into the Great Void. Drawing me upwards on the stream of Sohang Shabd; reveal the vision of the True Realm, Sat Lok, Where divine strains of the veena fill the air." "Transport me to Alakh and Agam -- the invisible and inaccessible regions. Whoever reaches there, has come to the end of the journey. Regarding me as your helpless child, Merge me into the primal Anami Lok [Nameless Plane, Radhasoami]." -- Baba Somanath, excerpted from the bhajan, Dina bandhu dina naatha In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhaswami, James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts A Satsang Without Walls Sant Mat Radhasoami
/episode/index/show/spiritualawakeningradio/id/27363021
info_outline
Hinduism, Christianity, Religion, Spirituality, Jesus-Krishna Parallels, Spiritual Paths, and Sant Mat Mysticism
06/27/2023
Hinduism, Christianity, Religion, Spirituality, Jesus-Krishna Parallels, Spiritual Paths, and Sant Mat Mysticism
Today's Program Has Several Segments -- Table of Contents -- Program Outline: Quotes from the Upanishads; Bhagavad Gita/Gospel of Thomas Jesus-Krishna Parallels; Fending For One's Self vs. Following and Getting to Know a Living Spiritual Path; In a Book I Once Read it Says Books Are Not the Answer -- "You can’t read your way to enlightenment." In Sant Mat the Centers of Power, the Location or Real Estate Never Remains the Same Forever; What About Those Who Get Re-Initiated? Have Been Initiated by More Than One Guru? Sants of Antiquity Long Before the Time of Kabir; Living Teachers Reveal the Methods of Meditation and Mysticism; The Definition Of Sant Mat by Maharshi Mehi Paramhans; In Hinduism and Other Eastern Religions the Main Operating System is The Eight Limbs of Yoga -- Stages of Spiritual Development... and The Five Ethical Precepts; Initiation Into Surat Shabd Yoga -- Inner Light and Sound Meditation by a Living Master (Sant Satguru); A Paraphrase or Summary of the Teachings of Maharshi Mehi on the Sant Mat Way of Life; Seven Key Practices of Sant Mat Mysticism; The 5 Jewels of Sant Mat; Sarguna or God-with Form vs. Nirguna, the Way of the Formless God in the Bhagavad Gita of Krishna -- A Transition from Form to Formlessness; How A Formless God Communicates With Souls Living in Worlds of Form; The Radiant Form is the Key to Exploring Inner Space; The Inner Satguru: God Has Made the Reflection of His Form Available in All Worlds; The Formless One Assumes Forms In Order to Communicate With Souls in All Realms and Escorts Them Back to the Original Abode of the Beloved; The Outer Master Guides Souls to the Inner Master. The Inner Master (Satguru) Guides Souls Back to the Formless God; From Light to Sound, From Form to Formlessness -- Stages of Meditation on the Path of the Masters; Krishna -- Gita: The Power Between the Eyebrows -- the Third Eye -- The Seat of the Soul; Recommended Reading: The Hinduism (Vedic) Chapter of, The Harmony Of All Religions, by Swami Sant Sevi Ji Maharaj; In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhaswami, James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts A Satsang Without Walls Sant Mat Radhasoami
/episode/index/show/spiritualawakeningradio/id/27283164
info_outline
The Spiritual Message of Radhasoami (RadhaSwami), a Gospel of Love
06/20/2023
The Spiritual Message of Radhasoami (RadhaSwami), a Gospel of Love
"In a nutshell, the Radhasoami Faith is a gospel of love. Love towards the holy feet of Radhasoami Dayal [Merciful Lord of the Soul], love towards the Guru of the time and love with all the human beings is its cardinal message." (Prof. Agam Prasad Mathur, "Petals of Love") "The practice of Surat Shabd Yoga is dependent on the love generated in the devotee's heart for the Supreme Being Radhasoami Dayal [Merciful Lord of the Soul]. The Radhasoami Faith [Sant Mat] therefore advocates the blending of Yoga with Bhakti [devotion]." (Prof. Agam Prasad Mathur, "Petals of Love") The Four "SATS", Key Essential Eternal Truths or Realities of Sant Mat: (1) Sat-Guru [True Master]; (2) Sat-Shabd [True Name and True Sound]; (3) Sat-Anurag [True Love/Bhakti]; and, (4) Sat-Sang [True Inner and Outer Association With Eternal Truth]; In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhaswami, James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts A Satsang Without Walls Sant Mat Radhasoami
/episode/index/show/spiritualawakeningradio/id/27200346
info_outline
Ascension of the Soul Through the Higher Planes, Heavens, Realms, Inner Regions, Levels, Spheres
06/15/2023
Ascension of the Soul Through the Higher Planes, Heavens, Realms, Inner Regions, Levels, Spheres
"You must be ready to accept the possibility that there is a limitless range of awareness for which we now have no words; that awareness can expand beyond range of your ego, your self, your familiar identity, beyond everything you have learned, beyond your notions of space and time, beyond the differences which usually separate people from each other and from the world around them." (Tibetan Book of The Dead) The Way Out Is Within according to the Masters... a kind of ascension of the soul, not outwardly in the physical realm up in the sky, but an upper ascent that takes place spiritually within the temple of the human body with eyes closed, gazing into the field of darkness lying in front of us. As Master Kirpal Singh once said, "That which sees the darkness without the aid of the physical eyes IS the third eye." What may eventually open up for us within are tunnels of Light and Sound that pass through many inner regions of consciousness. This is the interior voyage of the soul back to the Kingdom of the Heaven. "How can one sit so still, repeat only holy names and think of God constantly? 'By falling in love,' answered serenely. 'Because when one is truly in love nothing but the Beloved can enter one's mind. So the secret of Surat Shabd Yoga and of mysticism,' she goaded, 'is not necessarily practice and more practice, but love. To be so devoted to one's Lord that nothing can stand in the way -- this and nothing else is the truth of Sant Mat,' Mataji stressed.'" "So we should consider ourselves indeed fortunate if we have the pangs of separation of God Almighty and of our Master within, and we follow that Path and we do our meditation with love and affection. That way, if we do our meditation daily with love and affection, our mind also becomes purer, the burden of karmas also is lessened, and the mind, which is scattered all over the place, also gets focused within, and the attention gets focused within." (Baba Ram Singh) "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... 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 Sant Sevi Ji Maharaj). "From one step to another the soul beholds strange things which cannot be described in human language. Every region and everything is utterly beyond words. What beauty and glory! How can I describe them? There is nothing here to convey the idea. I am helpless... Love plays the supreme part. It is all love. So says RADHASOAMI." (Soami Ji Maharaj, Sar Bachan Radhasoami Poetry) In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhaswami, James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts A Satsang Without Walls Sant Mat Radhasoami
/episode/index/show/spiritualawakeningradio/id/27156807
info_outline
We Can Receive Guidance and Insight In the Silence of Meditation
06/13/2023
We Can Receive Guidance and Insight In the Silence of Meditation
Through silence meditation we can "step outside the box." Silence speaks volumes. The practice of receiving inner guidance or hearing the Voice or Life Impulse of God in the silence of contemplation is a universal teaching of all great saints and mystics. "Learn to sit still and be mentally still, and the silence thus generated with be more vocal than words spoken and written; and you will have an instantaneous solution not only to your own personal problems but to the problems of others as well." (Sant Kirpal Singh) "To be pure and still means to be open to purity and stillness -- as a result you can intuit the truth." (The Jesus Sutras) "If somehow this mind can become quiet by itself, attainment of true knowledge -- like diamond will become easily possible [everyone in this world is sad and restless because of lack of true knowledge. This true knowledge can be attained only when the mind becomes quiet]." (Kabir) In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhaswami, James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts A Satsang Without Walls Sant Mat Radhasoami
/episode/index/show/spiritualawakeningradio/id/27128643
info_outline
The Disciple is Genuine Even If the Guru is Not! Baba Faqir Chand's Radhasoami Teachings
06/06/2023
The Disciple is Genuine Even If the Guru is Not! Baba Faqir Chand's Radhasoami Teachings
Says Rumi: "Sometimes, though rarely, the disciple (of a false guru) because of the sincerity of his quest for God may derive spiritual benefit even from that false guru (literally, ‘the falsehood of the impostor may turn out to be profitable to the seeker.’). Due to his own honest intention he ascends to a higher spiritual region (not because of but despite the pretender whom he imagined to be the ‘soul’ but who turned out to be only ‘flesh’.) Such a sincere seeker may even have spiritual experiences which his worthless guru may not have had in ages." (Mathnawi of Rumi) Today on this satsang edition of Spiritual Awakening Radio we explore the Radhaswami teachings of Baba Faqir Chand, his commentary on the Sar Bachan Radhasoami Poetry of Soamiji Maharaj and other writings on the journey of the soul from the realms of illusion to the Abode of the Beloved Most High in the Highest of Heavens, also readings from Huzur Maharaj Rai Saligram, a poem of Rumi, and from a White Paper on the Religion of Sants and Radhasoami Faith published in Agra, which has an entry about the life and spiritual teachings of Baba Faqir Chand. Baba Faqir Chand: "Many Gurus are concerned with accumulating wealth and fame and their disciples are equally motivated by worldly desires. So instead of being enlightened and liberated, seekers are more and more involved in material things and thus subjected to the cycle of birth and death. When a Guru who is the true practitioner of the Yoga of Light and Sound is found by a disciple who is truly desirous of being freed from the spatio-temporal world, then and only then the relationship of the disciple and the master has some significance." Huzur Maharaj Rai Saligram: Nothing Without Love: "All Sants, and Radhasoami Dayal in particular, have, in their bani [hymns, mystic poetry], laid great emphasis upon engendering love. The idea is that the task can be accomplished quickly and easily with the help of love. Mere renunciation cannot afford so much advantage, nor can mere comprehension of the Faith confer such a benefit. All activities in the world are going on because of love and desire. If one does not have any feeling of love or he has no interest in the matter, he can do nothing. For the real spiritual benefit of their Jiva [soul], it, therefore, behooves all Jivas [souls] to develop true love for the true Supreme Being." In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhaswami, James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts A Satsang Without Walls Sant Mat Radhasoami
/episode/index/show/spiritualawakeningradio/id/27042060
info_outline
God's Name is the Foundation for a Spiritual Way of Life: Simran Practice
06/01/2023
God's Name is the Foundation for a Spiritual Way of Life: Simran Practice
Kirpal Singh: "Simran is the first step of the spiritual ladder." "By Simran of Holy Names, we get rid of the thoughts of the world. One feels the presence of God." "Simran bestows happiness, peace and bliss, and leads us to a state of super-consciousness." "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." "Remembrance of God is the main thing before us to find the way to Him." "Simran gives pleasure and removes pain. By doing the Simran of the Lord, one merges in Him." Baba Ram Singh: "It is Simran only which helps us to focus our attention from this world outside and come to the Tenth Door and go within. So, we should do as much of Simran as possible. When we are eating, or when we are walking, or doing other mundane activities, we should continuously keep our mind focused on Simran. And that will help us to more expeditiously move on this Path." "Simran" is a term which means "Remembrance", the spiritual practice of remembering or being mindful of God by repeating his Name or Names. Devotees sing or chant various names for God. Higher spiritually, and more "within" is the practice of "manas jap", the mental repetition of God’s name or names "with the tongue of thought" -- in other words, chanting names of God within one’s mind. The Sants have always placed much greater emphasis upon mental Simran over vocal chant, as it takes one further within via the Third Eye Center. Definitions of Simran: "Repetition of names or thoughts; in Sant Mat, the simran [or remembrance] of worldly thoughts is controlled through the Simran [remembrance] 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; Simran is also used as a password of sorts to higher planes and protection from Negative Power influences." (Glossary, Satsang Discourses of Baba Ram Singh) These sacred names that are to be repeated are revealed to the spiritual seeker by a living master (Sant Satguru) at the time of their initiation into Surat Shabd Yoga, the Path of Meditating Upon the Inner Light and Sound of God. What is the practice of the Name (Simran)? It is a form of interior prayer by which a person learns to keep his or her attention always in God, in every circumstance and situation, at all moments, through day and night. It is a form of inner remembrance that leads to a heightened awareness beyond the limitations of the physical world and the portals of death. Through meditation on the Name (Naam Bhakti) one learns to draw one’s attention away from the outer world. There is however, more to Simran than the repeating of sacred names. Simran must be approached with the right attitude, the right spirit, for one’s intent determines how successful the practice will be, and what effect it will have upon one’s consciousness. Simran has never been intended to be a dry or lifeless mantra practice. The path of the Sants is a Bhakti path, a path of love and devotion for the Supreme Being. Thus, the true Masters have always instructed their students to repeat God’s Name with love and devotion, as a lover calling out to one’s Beloved, the Lord of Love. In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhaswami, James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts A Satsang Without Walls Sant Mat Radhasoami
/episode/index/show/spiritualawakeningradio/id/27005541
info_outline
A Cosmic Conspiracy in the Matrix of the Demiurge (Kal Niranjan)
05/30/2023
A Cosmic Conspiracy in the Matrix of the Demiurge (Kal Niranjan)
Also, Being A Spiritual Warrior In A World Of Illusion, Studies in the Anurag Sagar (India's Most Gnostic Scripture) In a sacred text from India known as Kabir's Ocean of Love (Anurag Sagar) Kal Niranjan, the Gnostic Demiurge, the Negative Power or God of Illusion once said to Guru Kabir: "I will do something there so that nobody will believe in Your Shabda [Word]. There I will create such karmas and illusions that nobody will find the way out. In every single home I will create the ghost of illusion, and deceiving the souls, I will make them forget. All humans will eat flesh and drink wine, and all kinds of flesh will be their favorites. 0 brother, Your Devotion is difficult -- Nobody will believe it, I'm telling You! That is why I say: 'Don't go into the world now!'" Says Kabir: "At that time I told Kal, 'I know your deceptions and tricks. Making the souls firm in the true Shabda, I will enable them to remove your illusions. I will make them recognize all your tricks, and by the strength of Naam I will liberate the souls. Those who remember me in thought, word and deed, focusing their attention on the Elementless, such souls will go to the Immortal World, putting their feet on your head. Any brave and wise soul will finish your ego. And very happily that soul will be convinced of the true Shabda [True Word].' "Hearing this Kal felt defeated and started to think of deceptions." (Anurag Sagar) On today's Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcast, The Cosmic Conspiracy according to the Anurag Sagar, and the way to spiritual freedom and liberation according to The Path of the Masters, The Way of the Saints. In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhaswami, James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts A Satsang Without Walls Sant Mat Radhasoami
/episode/index/show/spiritualawakeningradio/id/26974194
info_outline
How To Associate With God and Truth: The 3 Levels of Satsang
05/23/2023
How To Associate With God and Truth: The 3 Levels of Satsang
THE THREE LEVELS OF SATSANG (Association with the Eternal Truth or God): * The Third Level of Satsang (Association with the Writings of Sages and Saints); * The Second Level of Satsang (Association with the Saints/Masters); * The First Level of Satsang (Association with God); "Without a Master all scriptures are like the whispering of ghosts." (Sant Tukarama) Guru Nanak says the True Master (Satguru) unites us with God, gives us a Godward Focus: “That preceptor is worthy who unites the aspirant with God.” "'Satsang' comprises two words, 'Sat' and 'Sang.' What is 'Sat'? 'Sat' is that which can never be destroyed, and it is the essential element that is indestructible and beyond the limitations of time. And it is the Truth. 'Sang' means association or contact, and this association or coming in contact with Sat or Truth is Satsang. In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna says: 'Whatever is Truth always exists and is never non-existent. That which is non-Truth has no existence whatsoever.' By association with a pure soul the mind becomes pure and the darkness of attachment is dispelled. In attending to these quotes from different saints it becomes clear that satsang is vital and very necessary for any serious spiritual seeker." (Swami SantSevi Ji Maharaj) Jai Guru, James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts A Satsang Without Walls Sant Mat Radhasoami
/episode/index/show/spiritualawakeningradio/id/26907255
info_outline
The Mystery Guru of Sant Mat History: Maharaj Girdhari Sahib
05/16/2023
The Mystery Guru of Sant Mat History: Maharaj Girdhari Sahib
On the Origins of Modern-day Sant Mat: In the beginning there was one Sant Mat Path founded by Sant Tulsi Sahib of Hathras with Satsang centers in Hathras, Agra, and Lucknow. Sant Tulsi Sahib sent Girdhari Sahib to the city of Lucknow a few years prior to his passing in 1843. During the period of time between the passing of Sant Tulsi Sahib in 1843 and the passing of Maharaj Girdhari Sahib of Lucknow in August of 1860 -- that seventeen year period -- in addition to doing much meditation, Soamiji Maharaj also was affiliated with, attended and supported the Satsang of Sant Girdhari Sahib in the city of Lucknow. Girdhari earlier had spent some time in Agra and gave Satsang talks at Soamiji's home. According to Seth Pratap's Biography of Soamiji Maharaj, after the passing of Tulsi Sahib, Soamiji Maharaj had Girdhari move into his (Swamiji's) other house, located in the city of Lucknow. This became a new base of operations, a headquarters for the Lucknow Satsang, very much like the family home at Panni Gali, Agra had served as the place of Satsang for the Tulsi Sahib Sangat there since Soamiji was a small child and even earlier. Another reason for Swami Ji to have a house in Lucknow was that sometimes Swami Ji traveled to Lucknow to attend the Satsangs of Girdhari Sahib. Soamiji Maharaj, Sar Bachan Radhasoami Poetry, Hidayat Namah section: "For a long time the spirit of this faqir (i.e. Soamiji Maharaj Himself) sauntered and stayed there [Maha-Sunn, Great Dark Void] and then under instructions from the Teachers and Guides, moved ahead." Sant Garib Das commenting on the above verse: "Soamiji in his Discourses has said that his surat descended into the dark regions of Maha-Sunn but could neither locate the bottom or the end of it nor did it feel it worthwhile to go down any further. Thereafter, his surat adhering to the signs as revealed to him by his Gurus ascended upwards. Here Soamiji says that it was the inner Mercy of his Satguru Tulsi Saheb and that of Maharaj Girdhari Das Ji whose Satsang he attended for a very long period of time." (Anmol Vachan) Soamiji viewed Girdhari Sahib as Tulsi Sahib's successor, supported him, and attended his Satsang. Soami Ji Maharaj treated Girdhari Das as his Guru, as well as donated and "gave substantial material support" to his spiritual mission for "a number of years" according to, The Biography of Soamiji Maharaj, and according to Daniel Gold in, The Lord As Guru: Hindi Sants in the North Indian Tradition. Professor Mark Juergensmeyer in, Radhasoami Reality observed: "Girdhari Das is described as being the 'chief disciple' of Tulsi Sahib, a term that would usually imply he was understood as his designated successor (Pratap Singh Seth, Biography of Soami Ji Maharaj, p. 108). After Tulsi Sahib’s death, Swami Shiv Dayal brought Girdhari Das into his house, treated him with love, and accorded him respect due to a pious Mahatma.'" (Pratap Singh Seth, Biography of Soami Ji Maharaj, p. 37). RUMI's Ode to the Unknown Mursheeds, Sages and Guides "In every age, God’s mercy and pleasure graces their (Saints') pure spirit and breath. The names of lakhs of (cloistered, secluded, hidden) majestic spiritual personages (Saints) whose heads are adorned and distinguished by His grace have remained unknown and unsung because they were the cynosure of God who (must have) felt envious of their spiritual grandeur (and chose to keep them obscure and unhonoured as obscure heroes are unsung)." (Jalaluddin Rumi, The Mathnawi) Radhasoami, James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts A Satsang Without Walls Sant Mat Radhasoami
/episode/index/show/spiritualawakeningradio/id/26849697
info_outline
Caught Up to the Heavens: Tulsi Sahib and the Gnostic Saints of India
05/11/2023
Caught Up to the Heavens: Tulsi Sahib and the Gnostic Saints of India
Like Galileo discovering new worlds through the lens of his telescope, mystics of the East and West (Jewish mystics, Christian Gnostics, Sufis, and in modern times, the Sants and Radhaswamis of India: Path of Sant Mat) have been trying to tell humanity for eons of something quite similar... about another kind of space... Inner Space. The reason why the contemplative state of being is still hidden from most of us is that, unlike Galileo’s telescope, in order to look through this particular lens, we mustn’t focus on the outward sensory impressions, but go in the opposite direction: into Inner Space. Look through the lens of the third eye to access the world of within. But one has to be willing to take the cap off the lens and have a look, to actually do the meditation. If we do follow the methods of meditation practice revealed by the Masters, with the third eye we will behold the Inner Light, Inner Visions, hear the Sound of Silence, the Holy Stream of Sound -- Music of the Spheres, traverse the heavens for ourselves, and return home to the Beloved Lord of Love, the Lord of the Soul. Today during this Satsang Without Walls some rare passages from the world of esoteric Santism translated from Hindi, the writings of Sant Tulsi Sahib of Hathras, India and a few of his spiritual successors on this Path of the Masters, Inner Light and Sound Meditation, the Way of the Soul Merging into the Heart of the Beloved, the Ocean of Love in the Nameless Plane (the Anurag Sagar of Sat Purush Anami Radhasoami). "Only by breaking the bonds of mind, illusion and time is one free from the cycle of transmigration." (Sant Prakash Das) "Complete Mahatmas, Genuine Saints came to the world in their respective times and kept on emancipating the living beings who were connected with them. On completion of their time, they left the body as per the will of the Lord and went to the Lord and left their work [their spiritual mission] to the other saints when departing." (Sant Prakash Das) "The true master practices the spiritual Sound and Light that comes from beyond. By these methods of meditation, the soul becomes introverted through regular practice and hears the melodious Sound within, and the soul reaches where the Sound is emanating from. This is the goal of the practice of Surat-Shabd-Yoga." (Sant Prakash Das) Within This Body - Mystic Poem of Sant Tulsi Sahib of Hathras "Within this body breathes the secret essence. Within this body beats the heart of the Vedas. Within this body shines the entire Universe, so the saints reveal. Hermits, ascetics, celibates all are lost, seeking Him in endless guises. Seers and sages perfectly parrot the scriptures and holy books, blinded by knowledge. Their pilgrimage, and fasting, and striving but delude. Despite their perfect practice, they discover no Destination. Only the Saints who know the body's heart have attained the Ultimate, O Tulsi. Realize this, and you've found your freedom (while teachers trapped in tradition know only the mirage in the mirror)." In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhaswami, James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts A Satsang Without Walls Sant Mat Radhasoami
/episode/index/show/spiritualawakeningradio/id/26793726
info_outline
The Unknown Guru of Radhasoami History: Maharaj Girdhari Sahib, Part ONE
05/09/2023
The Unknown Guru of Radhasoami History: Maharaj Girdhari Sahib, Part ONE
For many years some scholars and others curious about Sant Mat history have been puzzled by references in Radhasoami literature to a living master that Soami Ji Maharaj associated with and apparently was very devoted to. His name was Girdhari Sahib. However, little was known about this particular Guru, or his actual status in either Tulsi Sahib or the earliest Radhasoami communities... UNTIL NOW. During Part One of this two-part series we'll explore the evidence about Maharaj Girdhari Sahib of the Sant Tulsi Sahib Satsang and his association with Soamiji Maharaj (Seth Shiv Dayal Singh, Sant Radhasoami Saheb). In Divine Love (Bhakti), Light, and Sound, At the Feet of the Masters, Radhaswami, James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio Podcasts Sant Mat Satsang Podcasts A Satsang Without Walls Sant Mat Radhasoami
/episode/index/show/spiritualawakeningradio/id/26782758