Origin Of Radhasomi Faith Text

Surat

Shabd

Yoga

Biography HIS LIFE AND WORK HIS THOUGHT AND PHILOSOPHY THE TWO ESSENTIALS RELIGIOUS PRACTICES SOCIAL PROBLEMS OF THE DAY APPRAISAL

HIS LIFE AND WORK Shri Shiv Dayal Singhji who was later named Soamiji Maharaj was born on 25th August 1818, in a Khatri family residing in Panni Gali, Agra. His father, Dilwali Singh, a banker by profession was a highly religious person. Indeed, all members of the family were devout bhaktas and frequently visited Tulsi Saheb - a great saint who lived at Hathras (U.P.). Thus Soamiji grew up in an atmosphere charged with religious devotion and conductive to the formulation of his religious ideas. Deep religiosity became evident in Shiv Dayalji from early childhood and he started regular spiritual practice at the age of six. Tulsi Saheb of Hathras had earlier prophesied about the child spiritual status and as such he began receiving reverential treatment from his parents. He spent most of his time in spiritual pursuits, often shutting himself up in a small room for days. It is said that he would not even attend to the calls of nature. At the age of five, he was sent to school where he learnt Hindi, Urdu, Persian and Gurumukhi. Later he acquired proficiency in Persian and wrote a book in that language. He also acquired a working knowledge of Arabic and Sanskrit. As a student he was generous and affectionate towards his fellow students and respectful to his teachers. He was married at an early age to Naraini Devi, daughter of Izzat Rai of Faridabad. She was of generous disposition and was very devoted to her husband. Shiv Dayalji was selected direct from school to act as a Persian expert to a government officer in Banda. As the job did not suit him, he gave it up and took another job as a teacher of Persian with a talukdar of Ballabhgarh estate. His spiritual cravings, however, were so intense that worldly attainments no longer attracted him and he gave up even this lucrative job. He returned home for devoting his entire time to religious pursuits. Soamiji did not approve of the family's money-lending business and soon after his father's death and his his younger brother's employment in the postal department, he wound up the business. One day, he called the debtors and asked them to return the money forthwith, if they could, and destroyed all the documents in their presence to relieve them of their obligation to repay.

Soamiji's reputation as a great spiritualist and saint spread far and wide. Even when he was a boy, he delivered discourses on metaphysical topics. High philosophical ideas and spiritual sermons delivered by an adolescent amazed the people who listened spellbound. Soon a large number of sadhus, faqirs and seekers after truth flocked around him. He met many challenges from prominent ecclesiastics of the day with remarkable success. Not only was he able to convince them about the superiority of the spiritual truth revealed to him but he also succeeded in bringing home to them the efficacy of his new religious teachings. His gracious and serene personality left a deep imprint upon many a learned man who became his ardent followers. On the request of his beloved disciple, Rai Saligram, he laid the foundation of the Radhasoami Satsang on Basant-Panchami day in January 1861. The Satsang grew rapidly and the number of devotees in his life-time rose to three thousand, which included men and women from all the major communities of India. For full seventeen years he presided over the Satsang meetings at his residence, Panni Gali, Agra. Over-absorption in spiritual work and neglect of nourishment and rest adversely affected Soamiji's health and he left for his heavenly abode on Saturday, 15 June 1878. His samadhi is situated in Radhasoami Bagh, about three miles from Agra city. Some miracles are associated with Soamiji Maharaj and his satsang. It is said that he could bring rain when there was drought and famine. Barren lands could be converted into fertile ones. People in the satsang were so spellbound that for hours they would remain in a state of trance and forget all about their worldly duties. Satsang at his place was a sober and serene affair. There was no pomp and show. It was just a gathering of ardent seekers after truth around a mystic saint. It cannot, therefore, be associated with the gorgeous delicacies of the Vaishnavite traditions. J. N. Farquahar's contention that Soamiji and his spouse played the roles of Krishna and Radha seems to be unfounded. HIS THOUGHT AND PHILOSOPHY (A) Concept of Supreme Being Soamiji's Supreme Being is formless, indescribable, unfathomable, endless and nameless. He is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. His attributes are grace, mercy, love, light, bliss and peace. He is all pure and all spiritual and as such far beyond the reach of mind and matter. When manifested, He is known as Sat Purush Radhasomi and this name, according to Soamiji, has been by the Supreme Being Himself who is the ultimate and highest reality. In his writings, Soamiji has often elicited the relation of a devotee with the Supreme Being with the help of such similes as were used by medieval saints and mystics. He did not challenge the existence of the Brahman and His Avatars of Hinduism or the God of

Christianity or the Allah of Islam. He only contends that the region of their origin are lower than that of Sat Purush Radhasoami and are not absolutely free from maya; hence it would be wrong to conceive any one of them as Supreme Being. According to him, Radhasoami is the highest authority and the Lord of them all. No one except the sants could conceive Him. The sants alone have the knowledge of the purely spiritual region beyond the limit of maya. (B) Concept of Creation According to Soamiji, before the creation, the Supreme Being was ina state of sunn samadhi- ellipsoid. Through His mauj (divine will ) or inner vibrations, a spiritual current with a resonant sound emanated from Him and created a spiritual grand division or the Nirmal- Chaitanya Desh or the Fourth region. Beginning from Radhasoami pad, it created first the Agam Lok, then the Alakh Lok and finally the Sat Lok. He describes these regions as refulgent having pure spirituality, bliss, love and peace. Radhasomi Pad- the highest of these regions- is so infinite and fathomless, that it can not be styled as a "Place". Soamiji considers the Fourth Region as indissoluble because of its allprevading spiritual attributes. Below Sat Lok, Soamiji in coformity with the Hindu concept, believes in the three regions of creation. One of the emanation of Sat Purush known as Kal, who possessed mind and matter, was provided with spiritual energy (adya ) which he required for creation through the grace of Sat Purush. Kal with adya (prominent spiritual energy) and with akshar purush (latent spiritual enegy) created Brahmand, the second grand division. Its important regions are Sunna, Trikuti and Sahasdal Kanwal. Spiritual components dominated the Brahmand but pure matter (maya) was descernible there. Brahmand is seat of Universal Mind and the five tattvas and the three gunas emanated from there. Kal and adya, then, assumed the forms of Niranjan and jyoti to ceate the third grand division known as And Desh or the three sub-regions of Brama, Vishnu and Mahesh. In the end Pind Desh was created which consisted of of sixth ganglia and nine apertures pertaining to the physical body. Soamiji propounds that the spirit entity is encased in the Pind (material world and physical body) and has thus fallen a prey to Kal's oppression and expoitations (C) Concept of Surat or Spirit Entity The spirit Entity has been described as surat by Soamiji. It is an infinitely small unit of the Supreme Being; naturally it has the same characterstic as those of the Supreme Being. Surat is therefore a descendent of the highest region of creation. After traversing through the different regions it has come down to the teesra til just below the Sahasdal Kanval in the physical body. Here surat gets enmeshed in five tattvas, three gunas, mind and matter, and the indriyas. It also gets chained in several bondages such as that of property honour, position, fame family and kinfolk. The surat in such a state is called jiva- which has to undergo the cycle of birth, death and rebirth and assume various forms (chaurasi laksh) in accordance with its insatiable desires and the load of karma.

The surat is thus rendered helpless in extricating itself from these bondages. The feelings of pleasure, pain and suffering increase so much that it forgets all about its return to its original home and loses all consciousness about the reality of its nature. (D) Concept of Salvation According to Soamiji, surat can return to its original abode after it has extricated itself from worldly bonds. This home-coming, he holds, is true salvation. The surat would then be freed of the pangs of worldly pleasures and pains and the cycle of chaurasi laksh. It would, therefore, easily cross the jurisdiction of Kal and enjoy eternal bliss and peace. Salvation is the ultimate goal of surat and it can advance towards it only through its affinity with and attraction for shabd. Shabd alone can guide the surat on its way back to higher regions of creation and finally in reaching its eternal abode (E) Concept of Shabd According to Soamiji, shabd (eternal sound-current) is the first manifestation of the Supreme Being. It is the supreme energy and the prime source of all creation. The resonance of the sound-current is known as nam (holy name) which resounds in the innerself of all jivas. Shabd and surat both have the same attributes; rather surat has an inherent attraction for shabd. Soamiji holds that by following the prescribed inner practice (surat shabd yoga) Surat can get attached to Shabd and after passing through several higher regions, it can one day reach its final abode. The Santsatguru of the time alone possesses the key to the secret of the shabd. (F) Concept of Sant Satguru While maintaining that Santsatguru is the manifestation of the Supreme Being on earth. Soamiji confirms to the earlier sant traditions and revives the ancient beliefs of Hinduism. He holds that although the Santsatguru has assumed human form,yet he should not be identified with a human being. In fact,he is the spiritual current personified and has come to this world with a mission to grant redemption to suffering humanity. In his grace,the Santsatguru grants spiritual progress and eternal peace and bliss to all those jivas who are real seekers after truth and are keen on throwing away the shackles of Kal and maya. THE TWO ESSENTIALS A perusal of Soamiji's religious thought shows that the two essentials emphasized by him are guru-bhakti (devotion to the master), and surat-shabd-yoga (inner spiritual practice). (A) Guru-Bhakti

According to Soamiji, the spiritual current emanating from the Supreme Being has appeared in human form on this earth and it would ever remain here until all jivas have been redeemed . The continuous process of the manifestation of the spiritual current in the human form necessitates the extraordinary status and value of the guru of the time. Soamiji , therefore,exhorts jivas to search for the living adept and when he found , to serve him in all sincerity with body , mind and soul . He further asserts that those who desire redemption , should have singular devotion to and love for the holy feet of the Santsatguru. He alone can reveal unto the inner self of the jivas the holy name in order to set them free from the cycle of chaurasi . Soamiji's writings are full of directions which the jivas should earnestly follow in order to find a living adept . He has also described the mode of performing ideal guru-bhakti in the satsang . According to him satsang would generate love and devotion and would purify his mind . He defines satsang as the company of Santsatguru or the Sadhguru at a place where people assemble to pray to the Supreme Being and to listen to discourses of the Santsatguru. It is only through satsang that jivas would ultimately come to recognize the difficulties and doubts removed , and receive instructions to improve their difficulties and doubts removed , and receive instructions to improve their conduct in the world . Regular participation in satsang would enable devotes to perform spiritual practice successfully . (B) Shabd-Bhakti or Surat-Shabd-Yoga Surat-Shabd-Yoga is the inner spiritual practice preached by Soamiji. It literally means the union of surat (spirit entity) with shabd (the holy resonance of the sound current). According to him, guru-bhakti would facilitate the shabd-bhakti. Soamiji revealed to the world the resonant sounds of the different higher regions and described thoroughly the dhun (sound), dham (region) and dhani (master) of all the higher divisions of creation. He asserts that one who is initiated into Radhasoami faith and performs ideal gurubhakti, can practise surat-shabd-yoga easily and perfectly. This spiritual exercise can be practised by one and all, and without denouncing their worldly duties. He further asserts that Surat Shabd-Yoga is the easiest and best spiritual practice. HIS VIEWS ON RELIGIOUS PRACTICES (A) On Atheism and Religious Malpractices Soamiji expressed his disappointment at the indifference of people towards spiritual pursuits and warned them about the transitory nature of the world and its objects. He is critical of persons who deny the existence of supreme power and refuse to see the all pervading truth. He deplores the people who profess to be followers of Hinduism or Islam but in reality do not correctly follow the precepts of religion. The prevailing malpractices in Hinduism

attracted his attention and he criticized the worship of man-made idols, rivers, trees, and plants. He also put forward arguments against various rituals declaring that no one could attain salvation by their practice. (B) On Idol-Worship Turning to idol worship, Soamiji argued that the worship of illusory inanimate objects can never bring spiritual progress. According to him, the human form with all its supreme physical, mental and spiritual capabilities is much superior to inanimate objects carved in stone or bronze and in pictures drawn by men themselves. He deplored the colossal ignorance shown by devotees in wasting their spiritual energies in the worshiping of such dieties. In this respect, Soamiji may be compared to Swami Dayanand, another stalwart of Indian renaissance and the founder of Arya Samaj. Swami Dayanand called idol worship a pakhand which was not upheald by the Vedas. According to him, it isdegrading to limit and confine the Infinite Almighty and the firmless God within thecarvings in stones, metal wood and other inert objects. Soamiji's approach is different from that of Swami Dayananda. According to him, the fault does not lie with the images as means of inner contemplation. The human mind is ever restless in the manifold business of the world and psychologically it is sound to provide some attraction to divert the attention from matter to spirit. He holds that in the early days, idol worship was taken in this context, and hence was a means for achieving the desired goal. As the time rolled on, the purpose came to be neglected and idol worship became an end in itself and led people to darkness. Taking a realistic view of human nature, Soamiji replaces the worship of lifeless symbols with that of a living being - the guru of the time - who is adept at the science and technique of shabd and its abhyas. (C) On Pilgrimage and Fasts Soamiji also criticized pilgrimages and fasts which according to Bhagwat dharma had become part and parcel of Hindu way of life. He considered pilgrimages as useless externalia. The places hallowed by great saints, he held, once served as centres of spiritual pursuit, but after their departure form this world the sanctity and the impact of spiritual life completely disappeared. Instead, these places have been converted into centres of mela and colourful festivities by priests for their own material gains. Discarding fasts he asserted that originally its object was the purification of mind and control of senses but in course of time the purpose became infructuous, and fasting degenerated into festivals celebrated with plenty of dainty dishes. (D) On Vedas Unlike the exponents of the Brahmo Samaj, Soamiji did not deny the existence of the

Vedas as storehouses of divine knowledge. But, according to him, they did not contain absolute knowledge. The origin of the Vedas can be traced only to the third grand region of creation. The fourth region - Nirmal Chaitanya Desh - could not be conceived by its authors. As the Vedas express limited knowledge, they cannot be regarded as infalliable.Their limitations have been explored by sants alone. Soamiji further contended that the secret of true Supreme Being is not disclosed in the Vedas, he asserted, cannot be attained without the help of a living adept - a fact that has been forgotten by the exponents. (E) On Sant Traditions Soamiji did not spare the followers of earlier sant traditions who had given up spiritual practice and raised a faith that they could attain salvation by worshipping Granth or the forms of the past gurus. He warned them repetedly to give up all such useless externalia. Soamiji reminded them of the definite instructions given in the Granths for seeking the perfect living guru in order to attain salvation under his guidance. He also enjoined them to practise such ideals as were originally preached and propagated by earlier sants. (F) On Other Religious Sects Soamiji pointed out the inherent defects, which he thought were present in Islam, Jainism and Christianity. For example, he was critical of the multifarious extant observances such as roza, namaz and the like, prevalent in Islam. He did not find any sense in too much of self-denial practised by the Jains. He admitted the principle of equality and love of God as practised by Christians, but refused to recognize Christianity as a perfect religion because it originated from the region of kal and maya. In fact Soamiji did not favour any religious sect which did not affirm the necessity of a living adept. He emphasised the fact that real redemption could not be attained until the spirit entity reached its real source (region of Satpurush Radhasoami). According to him, these religions entangled the surat in kal and maya and thus failed to provide real salvation. (G) On Bachak Gyan (Sophistry) He is most trenchant in his writings about the sophists. He exposes their inherent weakness in posing to know too much when in fact they know very little or not at all, about the true religion. According to him they are merely bachak gyanis who memorize texts of religious books and recite them in order to befool the ignorant

masses. Religion for them is only a means to achieve their own selfish ends. As they themselves fail to achieve spiritual height, Soamiji holds, they can never show the path of salvation to the jivas; they would rather entagle them in the cycle of chaurasi. Beside, the prevalent knowledge, according to him, did not conform to the Vedanta or Upanishads.

HIS VIEWS ON SOCIAL PROBLEMS OF THE DAY In the social sphere, Soamiji touched upon to inter-related evil - the rigid caste system and the supremacy of the priests. His writings clearly mention that all the four castes had forgotten their duties especially Brahamans and the kshatriyas who claim superiority over other sections of society and that they were more concerned about their status than their virtues and even stooped to any low means to attain selfish ends. He held the priestly class responsible for all the anomalies prevalent in Hinduism. He criticised the school of renunciation and held that people renounced the world because of their inability to overcome their passion and desires. APPRAISAL Soamiji delivered to the suffering humanity the message of spiritual solace at a most appropriate time. The ignorant and illiterate masses, socially held in low esteem by the priestly classes, had to take shelter under other religion. Not one religious them could save them from conversion and infuse in them the spirit of self confidence. It was at such a period of crisis that Soamiji came to their rescue. He revived the tradition of guru-bhakti. The guru of the time (living adept) was the pivot round whom religious teachings revolved. He put forward convincing arguments against ritualism in the prevailing religious beliefs.He delivered the message of true salvation for the mortals and empahasized a synthesis of karma, gyana and bhakti. He revealed a Supreme Being who is all - pure and all - spiritual, and His region - the fourth grand division of creation - as free from kal and maya and the real abode of surat. Soamiji's most important contribution to religion is the practice of surat-shabd-yoga. He first explained the Supreme Energy, the sound - current, the all - spiritual nature both of the ultimate reality and the spirit entity and the holy name so resonant in the creation. Then he prescribed a set spiritual exercises by which, the spirit entity could transfered through various higher regions of creation and finally reach its original abode and enjoy everlasting bliss peace. His surat-shabd-yoga is easier than pranayam and hath

yoga. The devotee practising this exercise does not have to abandom his normal wordly duties. According to Soamiji the only pre-requisite to his yoga is true and sincere devotion to the santsatguru. Soamiji's books clearly reveal the might of his pen and force of his arguement. His verse composition is known as Sar Bachan Chhandband. His poems are replete with emotional appeal - a successful blending of popular poetic expressions from different languages of north India such as, Khari-Boli, Awadhi, Brijbhasha, Rajasthani and Gurumukhi. Many words from Urdu, Persian, Bengali and Sanskrit add to the cultural synthesis already discernible in Hindi literature ever since the Bhakti period. His Hindi prose book Sar Bachan Bartik is a valuable contribution to the development of the

Hindi prose just before the advent of Bharatendu Harishchandra. Brevity, staight forward expressions and emphasis on beliefs are some of the rare qualities of his prose. For a devotee, His books are the edicts of the Supreme Being. Among the nineteenth century religious leaders, Soamiji occupies an important place. He preached the gospel of love and devotion even earlier than Ramakrishna. However, one has to admit that his teachings are confined to spiritualism alone. He has not touched natrional problems anywhere in his writings and is indiffernt to other social problems except the caste system and dominance of priests. A few women who participated in the daily satsang at his residence discarded purdah and learnt some Hindi to recite from holy bools. Yet nowhere has Soamiji pleaded for women's emancipation. It seems as if he was only an advocate of the emancipation of the inner self - the Soul - and as such he did not think it necessary to divert his attention to socio-political problems. He was a param sant, ever absorbed in the mysteries of spiritual life. source: Radhasoami Faith by: Prof. A.P. Mathur