NAAM or SHADB are words that people use without really understanding. What is NAAM? What is SHADB?
Prepare to have your concepts turned upside down!
First of all - there are TWO types of NAAM: Varanatmik and Dhunatmik. Right?
(1) Varnatmik means it is SPOKEN, WRITTEN, and is in language. It hints at the real Naam which is the Dhunatmik one.
(2) Dhunatmik Naam means that it is not a word. It is not in language. It is the TRUE NAAM.
When you are initiated you aer given Varnatmik Naam, and your purpose is to get to the Dhunatmik one.
When you get Dhunatmik Naam - you become Enlightened.
So what does all this really mean?
Here's a new interpretation that might begin to unravel the mystery for you.
The REAL meaning is Varanatmik Naam is the SPOKEN WORD of the GURU. Whatever the Guru SAYS, it is all Varnatmik Naam. When I say Guru - I mean an Enlightened Master.
When the Guru talks about God, Enlightenment, he is using varnatmik Naam. He is hinting at the truth.
When you REALISE the truth for yourself - that is called Dhunatmik Naam
Naame means REALISATION of truth. When you HEAR the truth - that is Varnatmik - it is outer - it will not have any effect - it is just a concept.
When it becomes REAL for you - you REALISE it - now it has an effect. This is Dhunatmic Naam.
That is why it says - that the Dhunatmik Naam liberates you - it is the REAL Naam - meaning that you become REALISED.
The Varnatmik Naam is the MEANS - you do SIMRAN of it. What does SIMRAN mean? It means to go into DEEPLY - to CONTEMPLATE - to think deeply about.
DHYAN is meant to be not OF THE MASTER but of what he is REALLY SAYING. If the Master is Enlightened - then his words will show you the way to truth. DHYAN means to think about deeply. It is similar to SIMRAN - but it means to focus on something to the exclusuon of all else.
So when you listen carefully to the words of an Enlightened Master and if you are OPEN and receptive - and you allow his words in - something will begin to SHIFT for you. This is why the GURU is of paramount importance. His words will affect you. That is why they say spirituality is caught not taught. There are no teachings as such - because there is no method - nothing to learn.
Something happens to you in the presence of the Master - you become infected by his presence. The truth he speaks about cannot be expressed in words - you will find many apparent contraditions because what he speaks about is beyond the mind - and you are trying too grasp it with the mind. So your efforts are doomed to fail. However, in the process of failing to grasp - if you are receptive - you will have an EURIKA moment when it will suddenly make sense. It will be as if you have just come out of a dream or out of a lifelong trance. Suddenly it will become clear that you had trapped yourself by your own concepts - by the mind.
When you REALIZE the truth - it means that the Dhunatmik Naam is manifest within you - the shabd is menifest within you and you no longer need do to simran
Like Kabir Says: Mera Pritam Mujh ko Bhaji, Mein Karun Bisraam.
My Lord now recites my name and I just enjoy my life.
TrueSantMat
Saturday 12 September 2009
What is the REAL PURPOSE of the SATGURU?
Satguru means one who has realised the ONE.
Metaphorically speaking it means he resides in Sach Khand.
But what is Sach Khand? Sach means TRUTH.
TRUTH means that which is FOREVER - never ENDS - never DIES.
This is what Guru Nanak is trying to explain in the first verse of Jap Ji Sahib.
Sach Khand simply means that he has realised the ONE.
Paltu Sahib says "There IS only ONE - there is NO OTHER."
One who has REALIZED the ONE is called SATGURU in sant mat terminology.
Can he help you to realise the ONE?
Of course he CAN - but it requires a LEAP of FAITH on your part.
If requires you to SURRENDER your WAY OF THINKING and to see through new eyes.
What does that mean? It means that you must DROP your MIND. Drop all the KNOWLEDGE that you have accumulated. Realise that you KNOW NOTHING.
Become EMPTY and OPEN. Then LISTEN carefully to the WORDS of the SATGURU.
DO NOT try to make sense of them - do not try to FIT THEM to your existing ideas (which is the process of trying to make sense of something). Just drop your existing ideas. Realise that you have ZERO understanding of truth.
We normally listen like this: An inner dialogue is constantly going on. "Hmmm - that is correct - I agree with this part. This part is a bit DODGY. Not sure at all about what he just said there. Hmm... now this I cannot accept at all. This is total nonsense - I totally disagree with this part."
This inner dialogue means you are not listening. It means you are the judge and you believe you know better. You are holding on to your esisting viewpoint - and as long as you do that - you will not understand truth. The best you can do is understand it as a concept and add it to your existing collection of concepts.
In order for you to benefit from the Satguru you need the following:
(1) The Satguru must be TRUE - that means he must have realised the ONE. If he has not - he will simply be giving out DUALITY teachings and nothing will happen, except that you will go further away from truth by collecting EVEN MORE concepts.
(2) Once you have such a Satguru - then drop your mind and be open to everything.
(3) It is ESSENTIAL that you grasp the following: You WILL NOT AGREE with what he says. It will NOT MAKE SENSE to you. You will NOT UNDERSTAND what he is saying.
If you DO understand - then run away - because you are not with a true Satguru. If you understand then is means he is giving you DUALITY teachings and is WITHIN the mind.
scriptures that back this up:
Kabir: Siwak Swami Ekk Mat - jo mat mein mat mil jai.
chatrai rechain nahi - rechain man ki bhai
The Disicple and the master nust become ONE in their thinking.
By cleverness you will not reach. You will reach only when you mind finally 'gets it'
Satsant is NOT a place where THEORY is given out. Hence satsang CANNOT be conducted by the disciples. Only the one who has REALISED the truth can conduct satsang. Satsang is not a FORMALITY. There are no TEACHINGS to give out.
If satsang becomes a THEORY - know for sure that the truth has long departed. Then disciples will conduct satsang. It will become a FORMAL gathering - just like going to church on Sundays. There will be RULES and REGULATIONS and it will be nothing more than ramblings of the mind and quoting from scriptures - advocating that you put in EFFORT and MEDITATE.
This is not true satsang and will not be of any benefit. True satsang can only be conducted by a True Satguru - PERSONALLY. It cannot be done by proxy because there is nothing to TEACH.
True Satsang is not a TEACHING. It is the PRESENCE of the Satguru. He can DO or SAY anything. Your job is to be receptive then perhaps the SHIFT will happen to you.
Bulleh Shah says: Hor sab galariah, ik Allah alaah di gal
Kush raulla paya almaan kush kagzah paya chal
The rest is all small talk - the real talk is of the ONE Allah.
Theoretial people talk nonsense and the scriptures have confused people.
A pundit came to Kabir and wanted to have a dialogue / discussion.
Kabir said: I speak what I have seen with my own eyes (REALIZED)
You speak what you have heard in scriptures.
TRUTH is not TAUGHT it is CAUGHT.What this means is that a SHIFT occurs within you
and it becomes absolutely CLEAR to you. Truth is not a theory to understand.
It is something that happens to you.
Metaphorically speaking it means he resides in Sach Khand.
But what is Sach Khand? Sach means TRUTH.
TRUTH means that which is FOREVER - never ENDS - never DIES.
This is what Guru Nanak is trying to explain in the first verse of Jap Ji Sahib.
Sach Khand simply means that he has realised the ONE.
Paltu Sahib says "There IS only ONE - there is NO OTHER."
One who has REALIZED the ONE is called SATGURU in sant mat terminology.
Can he help you to realise the ONE?
Of course he CAN - but it requires a LEAP of FAITH on your part.
If requires you to SURRENDER your WAY OF THINKING and to see through new eyes.
What does that mean? It means that you must DROP your MIND. Drop all the KNOWLEDGE that you have accumulated. Realise that you KNOW NOTHING.
Become EMPTY and OPEN. Then LISTEN carefully to the WORDS of the SATGURU.
DO NOT try to make sense of them - do not try to FIT THEM to your existing ideas (which is the process of trying to make sense of something). Just drop your existing ideas. Realise that you have ZERO understanding of truth.
We normally listen like this: An inner dialogue is constantly going on. "Hmmm - that is correct - I agree with this part. This part is a bit DODGY. Not sure at all about what he just said there. Hmm... now this I cannot accept at all. This is total nonsense - I totally disagree with this part."
This inner dialogue means you are not listening. It means you are the judge and you believe you know better. You are holding on to your esisting viewpoint - and as long as you do that - you will not understand truth. The best you can do is understand it as a concept and add it to your existing collection of concepts.
In order for you to benefit from the Satguru you need the following:
(1) The Satguru must be TRUE - that means he must have realised the ONE. If he has not - he will simply be giving out DUALITY teachings and nothing will happen, except that you will go further away from truth by collecting EVEN MORE concepts.
(2) Once you have such a Satguru - then drop your mind and be open to everything.
(3) It is ESSENTIAL that you grasp the following: You WILL NOT AGREE with what he says. It will NOT MAKE SENSE to you. You will NOT UNDERSTAND what he is saying.
If you DO understand - then run away - because you are not with a true Satguru. If you understand then is means he is giving you DUALITY teachings and is WITHIN the mind.
scriptures that back this up:
Kabir: Siwak Swami Ekk Mat - jo mat mein mat mil jai.
chatrai rechain nahi - rechain man ki bhai
The Disicple and the master nust become ONE in their thinking.
By cleverness you will not reach. You will reach only when you mind finally 'gets it'
SATSANG
The method of communion with the Satguru is called SATSANG.Satsant is NOT a place where THEORY is given out. Hence satsang CANNOT be conducted by the disciples. Only the one who has REALISED the truth can conduct satsang. Satsang is not a FORMALITY. There are no TEACHINGS to give out.
If satsang becomes a THEORY - know for sure that the truth has long departed. Then disciples will conduct satsang. It will become a FORMAL gathering - just like going to church on Sundays. There will be RULES and REGULATIONS and it will be nothing more than ramblings of the mind and quoting from scriptures - advocating that you put in EFFORT and MEDITATE.
This is not true satsang and will not be of any benefit. True satsang can only be conducted by a True Satguru - PERSONALLY. It cannot be done by proxy because there is nothing to TEACH.
True Satsang is not a TEACHING. It is the PRESENCE of the Satguru. He can DO or SAY anything. Your job is to be receptive then perhaps the SHIFT will happen to you.
Bulleh Shah says: Hor sab galariah, ik Allah alaah di gal
Kush raulla paya almaan kush kagzah paya chal
The rest is all small talk - the real talk is of the ONE Allah.
Theoretial people talk nonsense and the scriptures have confused people.
A pundit came to Kabir and wanted to have a dialogue / discussion.
Kabir said: I speak what I have seen with my own eyes (REALIZED)
You speak what you have heard in scriptures.
TRUTH is not TAUGHT it is CAUGHT.What this means is that a SHIFT occurs within you
and it becomes absolutely CLEAR to you. Truth is not a theory to understand.
It is something that happens to you.
Friday 11 September 2009
What is Sant Mat Really all about?
What is Sant Mat REALLY all about?
BACKGROUND INFO
Sant mat is also known as Radha Soami Mat, Ruhani Satsang (kirpal Singh's offshoot), and Radha Swami Mat as well as various other names. Origin was Agra 1818 with the birth of Swami Ji Maharaj (real name Shiv Dayal). He was apparently initiated by Tulsi Sahib of Hatharas. After Swami Ji, there were at least 4 successors, one of whom was Jaimal Singh who came to the Punjab and settled in Beas (the current headquasters of Radha Soami Satsang Beas - RSSB). Jaimal is not mentioned in the final words of Swami Ji as an official successor. Kirpal started his own mission in Delhi in 1949 and claimed to be the true successor of Sawan Singh. He changed the sant mat teachings by stating that the master must give Light and Sound at the time of initiation - otherwise he is not a true master. Kirpal and his subsequent 5+ successors all claimed o give an experience of light and sound at the time of initiation. Among the successors of Kirpal were Thakar Singh, Darshan Singh, Swami Divyanand, Ajaib Singh, and Dr Harbhajan Singh. There is also the Taran Taran sucessorship line. Also one in Saidpur headed by Sant Ralisa Ram (whose predecessor was Baba Teja).
TEACHINGS
The traditional teachings of sant mat are as follows:
We are all souls that have come from our true home in Sach Khand, where Sat Purush resides. Sat Purush sent the souls because Kal (the negative power) performed meditation standing on one leg for many ages. Sat purush now comes himself in the guise of SATGURU to take those ouls back to Sach Khand. The method is SATSANG and MEDITATION on the HOLY words which are given at the time of initiation. The disciple agrees to meditate for 2.5 hours a day although it is general knowledge that very few initiates actually do this. He also agrees to abstain from consuming eggs, animal fats, meats, fish, alcohol. The disciple eventually catches hold of the SHABD which is the connection to the creator. This shabd takes the soul out of the body and the soul reaches the RADIANT FORM of the Master (the Astral Form). The Master then takes the soul through each of the five spiritual regions and finally the soul arrives in Sach Khand. End of spiritual journey. Here the soul lives happily ever after.
Very few if any disciples manage to get to Sach Khand. I will explain why a little later. So the backup plan is as follows. If you can't manage to meditate and leave the body then there is a backup plan. Perform SEVA (service) with BODY and MIND and WEALTH. The Guru in his grace may come at the time of your death and take the soul with him to the inner regions.
Disciples generally believe that their master will come at the time of death and take care of them. Some disciples claim to have seen the master just before death and tell their loved ones that the master has come and will take care of them. This gives consolation to the family members that the master will take care of the dying person.
THE REAL TRUTH
So what it the truth about sant mat?
The truth is that it is all fiction. There is no Sach Khand, or a Sat Purush who resides in Sach Khand. This is all very obvious. The whole of the teachings are a METAPHOR which have mistakenly been taken literally. God has NO FORM so cannot live in a particular place.
Why?
Because only if you have a FORM do you exist in TIME and SPACE. God does not exist within
TIME or SPACE. Therefore He does not LIVE ANYWHERE. He also does not MOVE, THINK,
ACT, JUDGE, GIVE COMMANDMENTS, LOVE or HATE anyone, or HEAR YOUR PRAYERS.
GOD does not have a MIND, otherwise he would be within time and space. Therefore he is not like anything you can think of. In fact you cannot say anything about God because all you have is a concept of God and God is not encompassed in a concept.
In the hindu shastras it describes God as NETI NETI - meaning neither THIS nor THAT.
Okay - so we have established that God has NO FORM.
Next question - does your SOUL have a form? It is said that the soul is a particle of God and shares the same attributes. This means the soul also has no form.
Again remember that all this is a METAPHOR and not literal. There are no literal particles of God.
You have a soul that occupies your body and is the REAL YOU. This soul also have NO FORM.
Hmmm.... interesting.
God has NO FORM. The soul also has NO FORM.
So what does that mean? can there be two formless entities that co-exist?
FORMLESS means that there is no BOUNDARY - no SHAPE - no FORM. It means that the
formless thing is INFINITE - it occupies ALL SPACE - it is EVERYWHERE.
Can there be TWO infinities? Of course not - because then neither is INFINITE.
If there were TWO or more - then they are all FINITE. They have a boundary.
So there cannot be TWO. There can only be ONE.
It is impossible for TWO or MORE to exist. There is only space enough for GOD.
The soul cannot co-exist with God. So there is NO SOUL. There cannot be. If you
believe there is a SOUL then you have mis-understood the nature of NO FORM.
The ONLY WAY you have have the soul is to say that it DOES have a form. In which case
it is FINITE and LIMITED. It cannot then be of the same essence as God.
In which case the soul is FINITE, LIMITED and DIES. All things that are IN FORM
are FINITE, LIMITED and they will all DIE.
However, everyone who believes in a SOUL also says the soul is ETERNAL and never dies.
DUALITY
Duality means more than one. You live in duality. Everything in duality has an opposite.
Duality exists in TIME and SPACE. Everything here is dual.
Hot - Cold; Up - Down; Big - Small; Here - There; Good - Bad; Right - Wrong;
True - False; High - Low; Success - Failure; God - Devil; Sat Purush - Kal;
Life - Death;
As long as you live in duality - you are in illusion. You are living in MAYA. Now here is
the interesting thing. Sant Mat teachings are DUALITY TEACHINGS. What that means is
that they encourage you to think in duality.
What do I mean? Well - first of all - you are MEDITATING and TRYING to GET to Sach Khand. Well that is duality. In your mind you create a CONCEPT of Sach Khand. You believe Sach Khand is a PLACE somewhere. Maybe you're not sure where - but if it is a place then of course it must be somewhere!
Sat Purush LIVES in that place and is the ruler of Sach Khand. The goal of every sant mat disciple is to get a personal audience with Sat Purush. And once you get there - you live there forever. The method is MEDITATION.
Now the truth is YOU WILL NEVER GET THERE. Why? because it is impossible. There is no such place - except in your mind. Of course you CAN get there IN YOUR MIND - just as you create dreams every night. The dreams APPEAR to be REAL. So Sach Khand or the inner flight of the soul will APPEAR to be real.
Sant mat gives you a CODE OF ETHICS - which is trying to make you into a GOOD PERSON. Well - that too is duality. GOOD is a duality concept. In reality there is no GOOD and no BAD. Good and bad only exist within DUALITY.
Good it that which BENEFITS you or others. BAD is that which HARMS you or others.
Krishna in the Gita appears to be BAD because he encouraged Arjuna to fight and kill. However, you need to understand duality before you will understand krishna.
If your car is stolen is that GOOD or BAD?
If a certain person (call him FRED) DIES - is that GOOD or BAD?
If you get MARRIED is that GOOD or BAD?
If you get DIVORCED is that GOOD or BAD?
Now let's answer:
If you car is stolen - it could be either. Perhaps it was insured and you got paid out more than it was really worth and you wanted a new car anyway.
Maybe FRED was a BAD person and had killed many people - so him dying would be good.
Maybe you are marrying someone who is going to make your whole life a misery.
Maybe getting divorced is the best thing because you were so miserable in the marriage.
My point is this:
GOOD and BAD requires a PERSONAL VIEWPOINT. If there is no personal viewpoint then there is no good and bad. Then life is simply life and what happens is simply what happens.
If something BENEFITS you - you consider it GOOD. If it HARMS you - you consider it BAD.
If there is no personal perspective - there GOOD and BAD disappears.
GOD has no personal perspective - so there is no GOOD or BAD for him.
So when you PRAY - you are talking nonsense because you are asking for something GOOD
to happen - or to avoid something BAD. Both of which are meaningless in NON-DUALITY.
To God they are meaningless - because in GOD's WORLD - there IS NO MEANING.
MEANING only exists in DUALITY. No Duality = No Meaning.
Meaning is created by the MIND. God has NO MIND.
Sant Mat is a DUALITY teaching. You are putting in EFFORT to get salvation (get to Sach Khand). You are assuming that it will happen ONE DAY in the future.
You are trying to be a GOOD person.
You believe that Master is Sat Purush In human form and if you obey his commandments - you will get to Sach Khand.
This is all ILLUSION. Let me explain why.
ONENESS
There is a state one ONENESS. It is the opposite of duality.Everything that duality has - does not exist in ONENESS.
Good, Bad, Right, Wrong, Up, Down, High, Low, Hot, Cold, Big, Small, Here, There, past, future,
present, God, Devil, Enlightenment, Ignorance etc etc etc.
All this is within DUALITY. In ONENESS it does not exist.
In ONENESS - only ONE thing EXISTS :- NO-THING or NOTHING - or the ABSENCE of ALL THINGS. ONESS is a VOID in which only the VOID exists. That VOID is YOU - it is also GOD. The two are ONE and the SAME. YOU and GOD are not TWO. Why? because there is ONLY ONE.
The ONE is ALL THERE IS. You can also call it the NOTHINGNESS. Because there is nothing there. It is not even a place - it does not exist within TIME and SPACE. It is the ABSOLUTE NOTHINGNESS - there is not even any EMPTY SPACE there. There is also NO TIME there.
You cannot ARRIVE there because (1) it is not a PLACE and (2) there is NO TIME and (3) there is NO YOU to arrive.
As long as you think in terms of YOU and GOD - you are in DUALITY.
I will go further into Sant mat and the real teachings behind it in my next post.
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