Part II: Chapter I / II – (iii)

Sadhna

And now we come to the third cornerstone of the spiritual edifice, that of spiritual sadhna or discipline. The one recurrent theme of a puran guru or perfect teacher, is that the good life, though highly desirable and indispensable, is not an end in itself. The goal of life is something inner and different. It is an ascension from the plane of relativity and physical existence into one of Absolute Being. He who recognizes this will mould his life accordingly, first, being free from ego and attachment, expresses itself in virtuous and creative action, and second, because without that cultivating such a state of mind and of life one cannot attain the poise and concentration required for inner ascension.

So the basic stress of the enlightened teacher is laid always upon the transcendental goal. He teaches that the pranic and vigyanic energies are not of the essence of Atman, but take their birth in planes lower than those of pure spirit. He who would use them as a ladder may transcend bodily consciousness, may reach the planes whence they originate, but he can not reach beyond. The spirit being similar in all, the means to spiritual enlightenment should likewise be accessible to all. But, as has been seen already, such forms of yoga as are based on the pranas or on jnana make special demands which all cannot fulfil. The pranic systems are beyond the reach of the old or those of tender years, and also of those who suffer from any respiratory or diggestive disorders. The path of jnana presumes mental and intellectual capacities that Nature bestows only on few. If these approaches were indeed the natural ones open to us, then the logical conclusion would be that Nature is very partial in her blessings, discriminating between man and man. Why, if the sun shines for all, and the wind blows for all, should the inner treasures be available only to a chosen few? They are also for the learned and the unlearned.

Yogas that are so discriminating in selecting their practitioners, and so exacting in their practice, cannot be wholly natural. The method taught by the Masters of the Surat Shabd Yoga is different. As mentioned earlier, the nature of creation and the way back to life’s initial source is explained to the seeker. At the time of initiation, he is given a first-hand inner experience which he is taught to develop. The seat of the soul is between and behind the eyebrows. This at least is accepted by all yogas. It is to this point that mystics refer when they speak of shiv netra, divya chakshu, tisra til, Brahmrendra, triambka, trilochana, nukta-i-sweda, koh-i-toor, Third Eye, Single Eye, figuratively called the still point, the mount of transfiguration, etc. It is at this point that the sadhak having closed his eyes must focus his attention, but the effort at concentration must be an effortless one and there must be no question of any physical or mental strain.

To assist this effort the teacher gives the disciple a mantra, or charged verbal formula, which is symbolic of the journey ahead. This formula, when repeated slowly and lovingly with the tongue of thought, helps the disciple to collect his scattered thoughts gradually at a single point. What gives this mantra its potency is not any magic inherent in the words per se, but the fact that it is given by one who, by his own spiritual practice and mastery, has charged it with inner power. When the aspirant, by his inner concentration and by the mental repetition of the charged words, has brought his inward gaze to a sharp and steady focus, he will find that the darkness within that he at first confronted, gets gradually illuminated by shifting points of light. As his powers of concentration increase, the lights cease flickering and develop into a single radiating point.

This process of concentration, or the collection of surat, automatically draws the spirit-currents, normally dissipated all over the body, toward the spiritual centre.

This withdrawal is greatly assisted by simran or repetition of the charged mantra; and the perception of the inner light, leading to dhyan or one-pointed concentration, quickens the process still further. In turn, dhyan when fully developed, leads to bhajan or inner hearing. The inner Light begins to become resonant.

Within thee is Light and within the Light the Sound, and the same shall keep thee attached to the True One.

Gurbani

The practitioner, when he shuts his physical ears, gets rapidly absorbed into the music. It is a common experience that though light can catch the eye, it cannot hold it for very long and has no very magnetic quality about it. But with music it is different. He who hears it in silence and stillness, is drawn irresistibly, as it were, into anther world, a different realm of experience. And so the process of withdrawal that begins with simran, is stimulated by dhyan, and is rapidly extended by bhajan. The spiritual currents, already moving slowly, are carried upward, collecting finally at the third eye – the seat of the soul. The spiritual transcending of physical consciousness, or death in life, is thus achieved with the minimum of effort and travail.

When students of the other forms of yoga reach the state of full physical transcendence after a long and exacting mastery of the lower chakras, they generally assume that they have reached their journey’s end. The inner plane at which they find themselves – the realm of Sahasrar or Sahasdal Kamal, often symbolized by the sun-wheel, the lotus or the multi-foliate rose – is indeed incomparibly more beautiful than anything on earth, and in comparison appears timeless. But when the student of the Surat Shabd Yoga succeeds in rising above physical consciousness, he finds the Radiant Form of his Master waiting unsought to receive him. Indeed, it is at this point that real Guru-shishya or teacher-student relationship is established. Up to this stage, the Guru had been little more than a human teacher, but now he is seen as the divine guide or Gurudev, who shows the inner way :

The feet of my Master have been manifested in my forehead, and all my wanderings and tribulations have ended.

Guru Arjan, Gauri M5

With the appearance of the Radiant Form of the Master within, no secret remains hidden in the womb of time.

Christ also speaks in the same strain:

There is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed, and hid, that shall not be known.

St Luke 12:2

Under the guidance of this Celestial Guide the soul learns to overcome the first shock of joy, and realizes that its goal lies still far ahead. Accompanied by the Radiant Form and drawn by the Audible Life Current, it traverses from region to region, from plane to plane, dropping off kosha after kosha, until at last it stands wholly divested of all that is not of its nature. Thus disentangled and purified it can at last enter the realm where it sees that it is of the same essence as the Supreme Being, that the Master in His Radiant Form and the soul are not separate but One, and that there is naught but the Great Ocean of Consciousness, of Love, of Bliss ineffable.

Who shall describe the splendour of this realm?

Only heart to heart can speak of the bliss of mystic knowers: No messenger can tell it and no missive bear it.

Hafiz

When the pen set to picturing this station. It broke in pieces and the page was torn.

Persian Mystic

Having reached the journey‘s end, the seeker too merges with the Word and enters the company of the Free Ones. He may continue to live like other men in this world of human beings, but his spirit knows no limitations and is as infinite as God Himself. The wheel of transmigration can no longer affect him, and his consciousness knows no restrictions. Like his Master before him, he has become a Conscious Co-worker on the Divine Plan. He does nothing for himself but works in God‘s name. If there be indeed any Neh-Karmi (one free from the bonds of action), it is he, for there is no more potent means to freedom than the Power of the Word.

He alone is action-free who communes with the Word.

Gurbani

Freedom for him is not something that comes after death (videh mukti); it is something achieved in life itself. He is a jivan-mukta (free-in-life); a flower shedding fragrance, he spreads the message of freedom wherever he goes.

[...] Those Who have communed with the Word, Their toils shall end. And Their faces shall flame with Glory. Not only shall They have salvation, oh Nanak, but many more shall find freedom with Them.

Jap Ji, Finale

In actual practice of the spiritual discipline, stress is laid on Simran, Dhyan and Bhajan, each of which plays a specific role in unfoldment of the Self. The Master gives Simran or mental repetition of the charged words, which help in gathering together the wandering wits of the practitioner to the still point of the soul between and behind the two eyebrows, to which place the sensory currents now pervading from top to toe are withdrawn, and one becomes lost to the consciousness of the flesh. The successful completion of this process of itself leads to dhyan or concentration. Dhyan is derived from the Sanskrit root 'dhi,' meaning to bind and to hold on. With the inner eye opened, the aspirant now sees shimmering streaks of heaven’s light within him and this keeps his attention anchored. Gradually, the light grows steady in his sadhna, for it works as a sheet-anchor for the soul. Dhyan or concentration when perfected, leads one to Bhajan or attuning to the music which emerges from within the centre of the Holy Light. This enchanting holy melody has a magnetic pull which is irresistible, and the soul cannot but follow it to the spiritual source from whence the music emerges. The soul is helped by this triple process to slide out of the shackles of the body and becomes anchored in the heavenly radiance of its Self (atman), and is led on to the heavenly home of the Father.

The entire process is nurtured by Sat Naam, Satguru and Satsang, which in fact are synonymous for the Master Power at work. Sat Naam is the Power of the Absolute stirred into compassion and when It puts on the flesh, It assumes the form of the Guru (Word made flesh), and works through him by means of Satsang, both outer and inner, which helps the Jivas ripe for regeneration. This Power works on all the planes simultaneously, according to the needs of each individual; by word of mouth as a Guru in human form, sharing in all joys and sorrows of the human beings; by inner guidance as Gurudeva in his astral, luminous or radiant form, and finally as Satguru – a veritable Master of Truth.

There are two ways within: jyoti marg and sruti marg (the way of light and the way of sound), respectively. The holy Light keeps the soul anchored and absorbed and to a certain extent leads the soul as well, but the holy Word pulls it upward and carries it across from plane to plane in spite of various hurdles on the Way, like blinding or bewildering lights, densely pitch darkness, etc., until the soul reaches its destination.