Surat Shabd Yoga or the Yoga of the Sound Current

The word Surat means attention, consciousness, meditation, or the soul. The word Shabd means the Dhun Atmak or melody-based Name or Power of the Lord. Yoga means the uniting of the Surat with the Shabd and becoming one with it. Hearing the melody, the soul is irresistibly drawn to it. This melody is resounding everywhere, but unless we are attentive we cannot hear it. This melody is the Shruti (that which is heard) of the sages. It is also called Udgit, or the music from above. It is not an external or worldly music. It is the music of the soul. Sufis call It Sama. It can be heard by the soul. Muslim holy men call it Sultan-ul-Azkar or King of Melodies, Sot-e-Sarmadi or Divine Voice and Sot-e-Nasiri or the Voice of Victory.

In Punjabi, the word Surat means consciousness. It refers to the conscious being of man, namely, the soul. It is for this reason that it came to mean the soul. The Shabd or Celestial Music has already been discussed in several sections. Yoga means union or connection. The method by which the soul may become absorbed in the Shabd and become united with it so that it will never separate from it again is called Surat-Shabd-Yoga, or the union of the soul with the Divine Music of the Lord.

Surat Shabd Yoga is very ancient and has existed from the very beginning. It is natural. One cannot add to or subtract anything from it. The Shabd was in the beginning. It created this universe. The soul has a natural affinity for the Heavenly Music of Naam.

Yogas are of different kinds. The object of the lower yogas is to awaken the Serpent Power, Kundalini. These yogas are concerned with the chakras, centre of the body. The Saints have not accepted them. Good health can be obtained by means of Hatha Yoga. Through Prana Yoga, the yoga of breathing in certain ways, control of the breath can be achieved, and health and long life can be attained. Through the yoga of the mind¹, one can control the mind. The yoga of knowledge² sharpens the intellect and enables one to understand the oneness of the soul and God.

The six chakras or centres of Brahmand, the second spiritual region, are reflected in the regions below it. The reflection of the six centres of And, the astral region, is seen in Pind, the physical universe.

The Saints disregard the six lower centres of the body and enjoin the practice of listening to the Celestial Music at the eye-centre, which is above the six lower centres. They consider Surat Shabd Yoga, the Yoga of uniting the soul with the Divine Sound, to be the highest of all the yogas. Its object is to connect the soul with the Shabd and by this means to merge the soul in the Supreme Silence, Ashabd, the Akeh, Unutterable and the Nirala, Wonderful, from which it originally emanated. Without the soul there can be no yoga or worldly activity.

Guru Nanak Sahib says:

As is the soul, so is the way.

Sri Rag M1, 24-19

When one heeds with reverence the Guru's Word, his soul is awakened and he is honoured in the court of the Lord.

Sri Rag M1, 18-3

Kabir Sahib and all the Saints and the ten Gurus of the line of Guru Nanak have taught the practice of Surat Shabd Yoga. What is Surat Shabd Yoga? It is another name for the practice of the Name of the Lord.

Nanak knew the immaculate Name, and gave it devotion with love. Guru Angad had it as part of him, He showered the Heavenly Music continuously.

Sawayye M4, 1406-3

This is the means of meeting the Lord.

Beyond is the Friend, the unique Beloved. The Word of the Master takes the soul across.

Tukhari M1, 1113-11

Surat Shabd Yoga is easy to practise. One does not have to undergo suffering while practising it, as in other yogas. It is accordingly called Sehaj Yoga, or the Easy Path. One does not have to make any effort except that of listening to the melody of the Shabd with close attention. A child, youth, or an old person belonging to any sex, caste, creed and country can practise this Yoga. One does not have to undergo hardships as in Hatha Yoga. One can practise it while living at home and carrying on one's worldly duties. It is not necessary to change one's religion in order to practise it. Anyone belonging to any race, community, religion or faith can practise it.

_______________

Footnote:

1) Raja Yoga

[…] Man, according to Raja Yoga, is a 'layered entity' and is clothed in so many folds, one within the other, e.g., body, bodily habits, mode of life, inherited and acquired, senses and addictions, vital airs, restless mind with innumerable mental vibrations, ever active will and egocentricity, etc., all of which form koshas or veils covering the atman. Within these lies the crest jewel of Being itself, the ever abiding Self underneath the phenomenal personality. Thus complete liberation (mukti), consists in complete release from the countless finitizing processes enveloping the Infinite Ocean of the Creative Life Principle, so as to have all Power, all life, all wisdom, all joy, all bliss and everything else in its fullness. In other words, it means depersonalization of the soul by literally tearing down the personality or the mask, which an actor dons when he comes on to the stage to play his role. […]

The job of a Raja yogin then, is to unmask the reality within him by removing the numberless masks or false identifications, and thereby to separate the great Self from the enshrouding sheaths by which it is encumbered.*

The Crown of Life – by Kirpal Singh, 1894-1974,
Part I: Chapter III / IV
Raja Yoga

* Raja Yoga, like all man-made yoga paths, however, does not lead beyond Trikuti - the top of the causal plane. The real, complete liberation of the soul can only be achieved by means of a valid initiation into the path prescribed by the Almighty - Surat Shabd Yoga and the accompanying living contact with Shabd or Naam. For further explanation see ‘The Crown of Life’ by Kirpal Singh.

2) Jnana Yoga

The path of Jnana is for those who are gifted with strong intellect or mental grasp and have a keen insight, capable of penetrating into the why and whereof of things, so as to reach the core of reality. It means right discrimination and knowledge, the first essential in the eightfold path of righteousness as enunciated by Buddha. It is from right understanding of the true values of life that everything else proceeds in the right direction, for without right and correct knowledge of Truth, all endeavors, with the best of intentions, are likely to go awry and land us sooner or later into difficulties. […]

The path of Jnana is a short-cut to yoga but it is frightfully steep, and very few can take to it. It requires a rare combination of razor-sharp intellect and intense spiritual longing, which only a few like Buddha and Shankara possess.

The Crown of Life – by Kirpal Singh, 1894-1974,
Part I: Chapter III / V
Jnana Yoga or the Yoga of Knowledge – Right Discrimination