S U R A T Shabd Yoga

Surat Shabd Yoga Biography

• • • • • • •

LIFE AND MIRACLES PREPARATION AND WORK PHILANTHROPIC ACTIVITIES LITERARY WORKS SOCIAL PROBLEMS RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND CULTS APPRAISAL

LIFE & MIRACLES Rai Saligram Bahadur, popularly known as Huzur Maharaj, was born in a kayastha family of Peepal Mandi, Agra, on 14 march 1829. His father, Bahadur Singh, a lawyer of repute, was a highly religious and generous man. He died early leaving behind his widow, two sons and a daughter. At that time, Rai Saligram was only four years old. His mother, a talented lady, had therefore to struggle hard against heavy odds to provide her sons with the best possible education. Throughout his academic career, Rai Saligram was a brilliant student. After completing his primary education in a maktab [Urdu school], he went to Agra College for higher studies. He passed the Senior Cambridge examination from this college in 1847 with distinction in Theology, English, Mathematics and Urdu. Subsequently he devoted himself to higher studies in Persian and Arabic. He also studied advanced books on religion, philosophy and astrology. He took great interest in learning Hindi and Sanskrit and within a short time acquired high proficiency in these languages. His ever-increasing thirst for knowledge knew no bounds. He really desired to reveal unto himself the secrets of absolute Truth. Driven by an inner urge to seek a perfect guru, he visited many holy places in the country where he met many religious teachers and saints. He came to the conclusion that many reputed religious leaders

were themselves labouring under delusion, and that they were deluding their disciples. Nevertheless, on the insistence of his mother, he agreed to receive initiation from the family priest on the clear understanding that he would discard the priest and his teachings as soon as he had found a true and perfect guru. His first marriage was shortlived and his wife died after giving birth to a female child. He married again in 1852. His second wife was a talented lady and devoted to her husband. She gave birth to two daughters and three sons out of whom only one survived. He was appointed as a second clerk in the office of Postmaster General, North Western Provinces soon after he had finished his studies. since he proved to be an honest and efficient in the department, he got rapid promotions. First he was promoted to the office of inspector of post offices, and then head assistant and later personal assistant to the Postmaster General. In 1871, he was appointed chief inspector of post offices in India, and in 1881 as the Postmaster General of the North Western Provinces with headquarters at Allahabad. He was the first Indian to hold this coveted post. Being an administrator of outstanding ability, Rai Saligram introduced a number of new practices in the postal department, namely, land revenue money order scheme, insurance of parcels, value payable parcel [VPP], procedures regarding bearing letters, understamped articles and telegrams and the total amalgamation of the district postal arrangements for official letters with general postal department. He toned up the services in the department during the difficult period of its growth and development. By his extraordinary grasp of departmental working, he successfully dealt with complicated pending cases. He removed confusion and redtapism prevalent in the department. These schemes proved very useful and convenient for departmental work and immensely benefited the people. He also recommended the issue of one-pice post-card for the benefit of poor people. Further, he himself translated the rules and regulations of the postal department in the North Western Provinces and Punjab, into vernacular to acquaint the educated few with them.

The government honoured him with the award of the title of Rai Bahadur in 1871, in appreciation of his meritorious services. For enforcing honesty and efficiency in the rank and file of the department, he strictly dealt with persons found guilty of embezzlement. He had become so indispensable to the postal department that no scheme would go on paper without his prior consultation. The British authorities felt so much beholden to him for his outstanding contributions that they did not want him to retire early when he expressed such a desire in 1884. The Director-General personally requested him in a letter not to press for his retirement. However, when he insisted he was relieved of his duties in 1887. In a personal letter, the Director-General paid glowing tributes to him for his efficient work. Worldly achievements, howsoever great, had no significance for Huzur Maharaj. What really mattered to him was the guidance of a true preceptor who would satisfy his spiritual thirst. His long cherished ambition was realised when he met Soamiji Maharaj in 1858; in whom he could discern a real guide in flesh and blood. For twenty long years (1858-1878), he served the guru in manner unparalleled in the annals of bhakti. When in 1878, Soamiji departed for his heavenly abode, Rai Saligram Bahadur succeeded him as the guru and inaugurated an era of consolidation in the history of Radhasoami Satsang. After his retirement from official duties, he finally settled at Agra and devoted his entire time to religious duties. For twenty years (1878-1898) he served humanity at large and spread the divine light of love which he had received from his master. He took very little food and slept less than four hours a day. Excessive work weakened him physically. He left for his heavenly abode on 6 December 1898 after a brief illness. Thousands of his followers rushed to Agra for his last darshan and paid homage to their benevolent guru. His samadhi was built by his son Rai Ajudhya Prasad at the very place where satsang was held. Paying a tribute to him, the Indian Mirror observed : " The death of Rai Saligram Saheb Bahadur of Agra will be sincerely regretted by

the people of the North-west Provinces. The deceased gentleman occupied a high position in the Postal Department and enjoyed the confidence and respect of both the Government and the public. But we notice Rai Saligram death not so much because of his official position as because of the hold he had over the hearts of his countrymen. Indian official, who are in anyway in the service are apt to become some time denationalised. Rai Saligram, on the contrary, was a Hindu of Hindus, and the leader of a recognized Hindu association. He was a very charitable man, and his death is a distinct loss to the community." Miracles beyond the reach of human reason have been generally associated with mystic saints of India and Saligram was no exception to it. Many stories about his occult are current at different centres of Radhasoami Satsang. A few miracles are mentioned below to illustrate the tremendous faith his followers had in him. It is said that when he was about to be born, the gestation period of his mother extended eighteen instead of the normal nine month and his mother experienced no trouble on that account and the delivery was normal. When he was only a few month old, a cobra would come to his bed-room every night and to his mother's horror the child would catch hold of the cobra by the neck and with it. The poisonous creature did not harm to him. Another story relate to an accident in which the boy Saligram fell down in the flooded Jamuna. Just when he was about to drown, some unseen hand caught hold of him and put him back into the boat. Many of his followers experienced his miraculous power when he became the Santsatguru. Max Mueller, his contemporary, writes "the people are convinced that he can miracles, but he himself regards such thing as unbecoming and below his dignity." It is said that he granted vision and initiation in dreams to persons who were keen on initiation into the Radhasoami faith by Huzur himself but could not personally approach him. Many proof are available about his capacity to cure patients merely by his personal touch or a glance. Dr. Mukund

Lall, the then assistant surgeon to the viceroy, often sent patients of chronic hysteria to Huzur Maharaj and all of them were fully cured. It is said that many a foreigner came to his satsang after knowing his supernatural talents. A German theosophist and an American lady felt an inner call impelling them to seek spiritual guidance from Huzur Maharaj after having seen him in their dreams. The sanctity and spiritual impact of his residence are revealed by the belief that anyone who walked under the lamp-post in his lane, was sure to be attracted to the Radhasoami faith. People also thought that there was some magic in his eyes; even his casual glance would draw them towards him. Devotees who came to attend his satsang at Agra got so absorbed in the spiritual ecstasy of the saint's company that they would forget to attend to their official duties at the prescribed hour. To their surprise, they would find on reaching their office that the work allotted to them had been duly completed and they were marked present in the attendance register. Many of his followers recorded their experiences acknowledging Huzur Maharaj's grace and mercy in every walk of life. He granted them strength against evil forces. A compilation of these records would be sufficient material for an interesting book on mystic revelations.

AS A RELIGIOUS TEACHER & WORK AS SANTSATGURU Huzur Maharaj studied the Hindu scriptures and probed deep into the six systems of Indian philosophy. He studied the Bible, the Quran and the holy books of Jainism and Buddhism. As already stated, he had travelled far and wide in search of a perfect guru. He met many sadhus, sufis and Christian missionaries and held discussions with them on a variety of religious topics, but did not get the desired light. He was ever restless to meet the true guru and to know from him the secrets of spiritual realization and solace. The horrors and aftermath of the freedom movement in 1857 left a sad mark on his impressionable mind, and increased his desire for meeting of a true

guide. While on an official tour of Meerut, Huzur Maharaj met Pratap Singh Seth, who was then the camp clerk to the Postmaster General. In his leisure Seth used to recite hymns from guru banis which so much appealed to Huzur Maharaj that he asked him to explain their significance and meaning. Pratap Singh expressed his inability to interpret the hymns and advised Huzur Maharaj to meet his elder brother, Soamiji Maharaj, who alone could bring out spiritual secrets latent in those devotional hymns. Pratap Singh arranged their meeting in November 1858. The interview lasted for nearly seven hours. Soamiji's replies to Huzur Maharaj's searching questions were convincing and introduced him to a well-defined method for the attainment of the highest reality through the practice of surat-shabdyoga. He exhorted him to practise it and arrive at the consequential results himself. The Huzur left the small room in which Soamiji was seated, entirely contented and enamoured. In profound gratitude he exclaimed ''I have found the one [Guru] I was seeking.'' Since then Huzur Maharaj kept himself in constant touch with Soamiji Maharaj whom he accepted as his guru and his love and devotion for him increased day by day. Soamiji preached the gospel of bhakti to Huzur Maharaj, and he started its practice in all earnestness and sincerity. He served the Master with body, mind, wealth and soul. He rubbed the furniture, swept the floor and cleaned the bathroom and the drains. He brought ration and other necessities of life for Soamiji's house; cooked his food; brought water from a well; helped him in taking bath, combed his hair and dressed him with robes of his choice. Sometimes he would carry his guru on his shoulders to nearby places outside the city. He obeyed the commands of the Master ungrudgingly and presented an ideal to the world. On two occasions, he refused promotions to higher posts in postal department, because they meant his transfer from Agra and hence separation from the guru. Huzur Maharaj used to offer his entire monthly salary to him; his household expenses were met from the money which Soamiji gave him for the purpose. He never lagged behind in spending on the celebration of a religious function of the

satsang; if he had no money at the moment, he never hesitated to borrow. Huzur's total surrender to the Master reached its climax when he remained ever-absorbed inwardly in the contemplation of the form of his guru. In a society in which caste-prejudices were dominant, Huzur Maharaj had to face bitter criticism from his fellow caste men for services to a Khatri guru. The Kayasthas tried hard to excommunicate him, but their attempts failed. Huzur Maharaj remained firm as a rock and made no deviation in his service to his guru. A high civil officer though he was, he would run barefooted on the dusty streets of Agra with a pitcher of water for the guru on his head. The singular devotion of the disciple overwhelmed the Master who, it looks, was anxiously awaiting his predestined arrival to the satsang. Soamiji recognised in Huzur Maharaj his own spiritual counterpart and in all eternal radiance, bestowed upon him the most precious and sacred gift - the revelation of the name "Radhasoami". The object of Huzur's life had been achieved, and he felt contented as never before. As the pillar of Soamiji's satsang and the gurumukh - (chief disciple), he shouldered his responsibilities in a splendid manner and proved his worth. Many true seekers realised the spiritual powers of the Master through the Huzur. Soamiji found in him his worthy successor who would take up his unfinished task and spread his teachings far and wide. In 1878 when the Master departed from the physical world, Huzur Maharaj succeeded to the Gaddi to work for the expansion of Radhasoami Satsang. In the beginning, Huzur Maharaj held the satsang at Panni Gali, Agra - the residence of his guru. When in 1881, he was posted at Allahabad, he held regular satsang meetings there in spite of his heavy engagements in official duties as Postmaster General. He used to deliver interesting discourses on spiritual topics and initiated men and women into the faith. His vivid exposition of the tenets of the faith attracted attention of a large number of intelligentsia and many of them joined the faith. some of his European colleagues also attended his satsang and held discussions with him on religion. By his

sound knowledge and rational arguments, Huzur Maharaj convinced them of the truth of the teachings of his faith. One of the European officers once got so struck by his magnetic personality that he burst forth "I feel as if the Supreme Being is present right here and is talking to me." From 1887 onwards, when Huzur Maharaj finally settled at Agra, the satsang made rapid progress. Thousands of people from different parts of the country started to pour in. He held four regular meetings of satsang daily at his residence, Huzuri Bhawan in Peepal Mandi. On special occasions, he conducted satsang at Panni gali and Soamibagh also. Huzur's satsang presented a magnificent spectacle. He delivered discourses, composed hymns and looked after the spiritual progress of his followers. He provided easy solutions to difficult problems arising in the practice of yoga. He dictated notes on different aspects of Radhasoami faith which were regularly published in his fortnightly journal Prem Patra. Sometimes leaders of other religious orders came to discuss with him the basic principles of the faith. Some of them felt so satisfied with his clear expositions that they ultimately offered themselves to be his followers. Love, devotion and faith were the chief characteristics of his satsang. He in his grace showered all love and mercy upon the devotees. They in turn worshipped him with added fervour and found themselves knitted together in a bond of mutual love and universal brotherhood. People of different castes, colours, languages and provinces gathered round Huzur's refulgent personality to derive solace and relief from the worldly sorrow, sin and suffering. During his regime, the Faith assumed the form of a fully developed organization and it emerged as one of the important religious movements of modern India.

PHILANTHROPIC ACTIVITIES Benevolence and charity were prominent characteristics of Huzur's life; he readily helped the poor and needy. Daily alms were distributed at his house to faqirs and beggars. He offered financial

assistance to a number of deserving orphans and widows. He provided poor students with shelter, books, food and money He was generous in giving financial help to poor parents for the marriages of their daughters. He never made a show of his charity to others; rather he quietly donated large sums of money to orphanages and leprosy centres. Many educated and uneducated people who were unemployed could secure jobs with his help. In short, he was a friend of the needy, and the patron of the poor. Huzur Maharaj was equally interested in the promotion of higher learning in the country. He encouraged and patronised many schools in Agra. Mufid-i-Am School received his special care and attention since his very inception. Huzur's services to Agra College, his alma mater, were unique. When the college faced a crisis and was almost at the point of extinction, he alongwith some other prominent citizens of Agra left no stone unturned to place it on sound footing. On account of his merit as an able administrator, his opinion on any matter whatsoever was given due consideration by the Government. Therefore when he made a fervent appeal to the Government not to close Agra College, his words carried weight and the college was handed over to a Board of trustees consisting of some prominent citizens of Agra. He presented a scheme for the management of the college and collected large funds, himself paying a handsome amount, for its maintenance. When the administration of the college was transferred to a board of trustees, he readily agreed to serve on the Board in spite of his many preoccupations with official and religious duties.

LITERARY WORKS The literature produced by Rai Salig Ram Bahadur deals essentially with the fundamental tenets of the Radhasoami faith. He wrote many books in Hindi, Urdu and English. His prose includes six volumes of Prem Patra Radhasoami. His style in Hindi is easy and intelligible. Persian and Urdu words are so aptly interwoven with Sanskrit and Hindi that the whole thing presents a picture of unique linguistic

entity. His language is a model for those who are looking for a solution of the language problem. His writings directly appeals to the reader's heart. Prem Patra is the original source of information about the philosophy and tenets of Radhasoami faith. These volumes are indispensable both for devotees and critics. Highly philosophical and abstruse topics - theory of creation, emancipation of soul, meaning of the name "Radhasoami" and effective practice of surat-shabd-yoga, importance of love and devotion for the Supreme Being and the Santsatguru - have been dealt with succinctly in these volumes. The meaningless rituals and abhorrent social practices of the time have been logically evaluated and a comparative study of prevalent religious practices and cults has been clearly presented. Also expounded is a code of moral conduct for the followers which also prescribes remedies for overcoming various types of interference in their daily spiritual practice. Huzur's book of poetry presented in four volumes is entitled as Prem Bani Radhasoami. Alongwith some philosophical elucidations, Prem Bani is a dynamic force of love. The hymns create a soothing effect and generate divine love in the minds of true devotees. Lyrical as the compositions are, they leave a deep spiritual impact of Huzur's mighty personality upon the reader. They are fascinating as well as thought provoking. His other publications in Hindi are Sar-Upadesh, Nij-Upadesh, Guru-Upadesh, Radhasoami Mat-Upadesh, Radhasoami MatSandesh and Jugat Prakash. Huzur's only work in English is Radhasoami Mat Prakash. In lucid and captivating style, he has eloquently explained the tough concepts of Radhasoami faith and given essential information to a casual reader about the significance of the faith. His language is simple but forceful. He is careful in his choice of words and logical in his approach to religious topics. Even Farquhar, a critic of all critics, is full of appreciation and praise for this book.

SOCIAL PROBLEMS OF THE DAY In denouncing the evils prevalent in Indian society, Huzur Maharaj's approach is that of a cautious reformer who believes in gradual but steady progressive change. Holding the caste prejudices as unbecoming he brings out that the caste system not only provides rights and privileges to people but also enjoins upon them certain duties, responsibilities and obligations for humanity in general. Quoting a Sanskrit couplet in this connection, he asserts that one cannot be called a Brahmin by virtue of his birth alone. He who goes through the four stages of knowledge prescribed to attain Brahman, can alone claim to be a Brahmin. He further writes that in matters of religious devotion the distinction of caste is a sin. He refers to the various avatars and bhaktas of Hinduism who belonged to lower castes, but were held in esteem in the past and are held in veneration even today According to him, the gradations in satsang can only be determined by the extent of love and devotion a satsangi has for the supreme being. One who is nearest to the Almighty is superior to all others. Huzur Maharaj admitted people from all castes to the Radhasoami faith and treated them on equal footing. The Huzur is quite eloquent in his criticism of the treatment meted out to women in Indian society. He raises objection to purdah system on spiritual grounds. He upholds the equality of woman with man, since the spirit entity is equally present in both. He categorically asserts that high status in learning or devotion to religion cannot be attained by living in purdah. On the contrary, he says, such women become so backward and dull that they fail to give proper training to their children. He permitted women to join the satsang, take initiation into the practice of surat-shabd-yoga, and perform guru-bhakti. He challenges the traditional belief that the husband is the virtual guru of his wife and says that a husband, ignorant of his own spiritual wellbeing, can never direct the wife to the right path. As such, a woman has as much claim to search and adopt a true guru as a man. Defending women's participation in satsang, he emphasizes that women attending satsang were better than those who visited temples,

attended fairs and observed other uninspiring rituals and exposed themselves to all sorts of risks in the crowd Huzur holds that Indian women are crippled on account of their illiteracy. He pleads for their education as he feels that women are as eligible as men to receive it. He is pained to see that women are so heavily loaded with household work that they do not get enough time for study. He feels that they should receive sufficient education to correspond with their relatives, to maintain domestic accounts and to real the holy scriptures. He thus presents a compromise between the orthodox sections of society and the radical reformers inspired by the west.

RELIGIOUS PRACTICES & CULTS As Huzur Maharaj was primarily a religious teacher, he was far more alive to the prevalent malpractices in religion than to social evils. He deals at length with outward practices and inherent defects in Hinduism. He is very pungent in his remarks on idol-worship, fasts, pilgrimage and mechanical recital of holy books. He declares that these activities alone cannot generate true love and devotion for the Supreme Being. The idol-worshippers, according to him, waste their time, energy and money in superficial adorations. He holds that the service offered to the ideal with body, mind and wealth cannot take a devotee very far on the road to true salvation; he may either gain some material benefits in this life or some temporary happenings in the next. As regards fasts and pilgrimages, he regrets to find that the original purpose - purification of body and mind and elevation of the spirit - has been completely forgotten and those have degenerated into days of merriment, feasting and fairs. According to him, people who recite holy books but do not practise meditation, will reap no spiritual gains and will ever remain ignorant of the path to true redemption. Huzur Maharaj has criticized the various forms of yoga prevalent in the country since the days of yore . He discards hathyoga as a purely

external exercise which, instead of generating love for the Supreme Being, gives rise to pride and conceit. It is devoid of any spiritual benefit. Discussing the practice of pranayam, he says that it is difficult to perform it in the modern age. Its ancillary observances are so hazardous that a slight lapse or neglect may result in serious illness or even death. Huzur Maharaj holds that even ascetics find themselves incapable of practising pranayam. For persons leading a family life, it is impossible to achieve any success. He further asserts that even if it is correctly and successfully performed, it will not lead to true salvation, because its gains are limited to the region of Brahmand. A few yogeshwar gyanis who mastered this practice in the past reached only the second grand division [spiritual-material region] of Brahmand and were lost in the ecstasy and bliss of Brahman. Huzur Maharaj has also described the various forms of mudra practices and has proved their futility for the attainment of real redemption. He asserts that the scope of this practice too is very limited. One who successfully performs mudra can only attain the stage of samadhi; and the bliss of samadhi, according to him, is shortlived. Besides, the practitioner can never reach the region beyond pind. A study of Huzur's criticism of the cult of gyan shows that he possessed excellent knowledge of Vedanta. He holds that the propagators of advait believe in the existence of a non-dual reality but they fail to account for the emergence of maya from Brahman and jiva from maya, and in their ignorance call it anirvachaniya or mystery. Huzur Maharaj asserts that when they realize the Brahman through spiritual practice and declare him all-pervading, they are not incorrect because what they see and enjoy from that region is all Brahman. Lost in the ecstasy and bliss of Brahman far beyond the mayak creation, they feel as if they have attained the shuddha Brahman like a person who climbs a high mountain and fails to see what actually exists below, or like a person who dips down in the sea and cannot see anything except water. Huzur Maharaj further points out that the followers of advait could not notice the presence of maya (pure matter) latent in the form of seed in the region of Brahman. With regard to the theory of mayavad, he says that to consider the world as vikshep function of maya or illusion and at the same time regard it as vyavharik sat or real is a strange contradiction. Those

who believe in mayavada , themselves perform all activities, he says that to consider the world as vikshep function of maya or illusion and at the same time regard it as vyavharik sat or real is a strange contradiction. those who believe in mayavada, themselves perform all activities, on material and physical plane, yet in theory they call the world a ''cosmic illusion. ''Huzur Maharaj points out that the secondary place assigned to bhakti is another glaring defect in advaitvada. He affirms that it is basically wrong to limit bhakti or upasana to rupwan rachna [creation having form] because in actual practice bhakti is performed from the beginning to the end. The individuality of the spirit entity is also ignored in advaitvada. According to him, when they find the vachya swarup of Brahman and his region subject to change and decay, they have no other alternative and means of escape than to advocate a complete merger of spirit entity in the laksh-swarup [formless] of Brahman. They, Huzur Maharaj holds, are wrong when they uphold that without getting access to gyan pad and merging with Brahman [Laya] one cannot attain salvation. He further finds no truth in the contention of the exponents of advait that "to know Brahman is to become Brahman.'' He agrees with them that through spiritual practice and inner contemplation, one can realize Brahman and reach the Brahman-pad but contradicts them when they say that he himself becomes Brahman. This concept is equivalent to that of an athiest. Finally, Huzur Maharaj points out that sadhana [spiritual practice] performed for the attainment Brahman will lead devotees only to the second grand division of creation, which does not mean true salvation on account of the presence of matter, though in the purest form. Huzur Maharaj is extremely critical of those who after reading a few books on vedanta style themselves as true gyanis and even Brahman. According to him, they do not deserve the right to handle even the holy scriptures, because they have not gone through the four prescribed stages- vairagya, vivek, khatsampati and mumokshita which should be essentially completed prior to the undertaking of the study of the scriptures. Huzur Maharaj calls them as mere sophists who would never attain true salvation. He believes that such men have indiscriminately distorted and ignored the original injunctions of

the propagators of the cult of knowledge. They do not conduct any spiritual practice nor have they any control over their body and mind. Their knowledge is theoretical and superficial, and they suffer from self-deception . They are so egoistical that they do not pay attention to the teachings of an abhyasi guru [one who practices yoga] .They demand adoration for themselves, but discard the cult of bhakti. They pay visits to fairs and pilgirmages and lead the innocent people astray. Huzur Maharaj does not look with favour upon the cult of atheism also. He says that the creator is clearly discernible in each and every form of life and so is the purpose and function of creation. He also warns those who regard pleasure as the end of life and believe that the spirit entity is annihilated after death. Huzur Maharaj asserts that the existence of the spirit entity in every living being can-not be denied because it is not subject to change or decay. According to him, human life is meant for some higher purpose; it has been bestowed with finer faculties to attain spiritual heights and elevation. Huzur Maharaj has expressed his satisfaction with the reformative activities of the contemporary religious societies in condemning static external ritualism, but he does not approve their method of working. These societies, he hold, do not lay emphasis upon the necessity of a spiritual adept and internal practices and hence do not give a correct clue to the approach to the true Supreme Being. He further feels that the people join these societies only to get prominence in social life. Huzur Maharaj is astonished to find that the original teachings of the Vedas and Upanishads have been forgotten by those who claim to revive ancient religious traditions. He affirms that the Vedas exhort the jivas to attain Om shabd through internal practices, but the champions of ''go back to the Vedas" do not actually conform to the Vedic spirit. Neither do they enquire about the secrets of the shabd which should be practised internally, nor do they understand the imperatives about a brahmneshthi guru who being conversant with the secrets of shabd-Brahman fully knows the technique of the internal path.

Huzur Maharaj considers all such religious practices as superficial and holds that they cannot lead to true salvation. According to him "those who follow rituals, ceremonies, external observances, moral principles and such other things but do not understand the secret of real truth or the truth of truths, are in fact following a religion based on scanty information furnished by revelation of a lower order emanating from the presiding spirit or genius of the second or third grand division, where untruth and comparative less truth hold sway". True religion or faith according to Huzur Maharaj is that, "which leads a sincere seeker to the region of real truth...the most sublime mansion where nothing but the truth of truths dwells and manifests its unrivalled glory in splendid refulgence." His truth of truths is "unchangeable, immortal, full of everlasting and unbounded bliss and felicity unalloyed with any form of matter". To sum up the attainment of this truth of truths is, according to him, true and perfect salvation. He asserts that the Radhasoami faith alone reveals to jivas the true path leading to the final redemption from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth - the ultimate goal of a true seeker.

APPRAISAL A perusal of his life and his views on socio-religious practices reflects Huzur's rational approach towards the glaring problems of the day. He can be definitely styled as anti-ritualistic and antitraditionalist. He neither favoured asceticism nor recommended the cult of pseudo-sanyas. He asserted boldly that the real detachment from the world and worldly objects would not be secured by leading the ascetic way of life; it would be possible only by living the life of a householder wherein one meets a variety of ordeals and afflictions everyday. In religion as well as society, Huzur Maharaj advocated the policy of golden mean and struck a balance between extremist and conservatives. Presenting a frank evaluation of prevalent religious practices, he advanced his argument in a scientific and philosophical manner. His religion can be defined as the "eternal quest after truth" which rested upon the mighty pivot of love and on his spiritual

socialism. He pleaded for the education of women and discarding of purdah system on spiritual grounds. His programmes for the amelioration of the lot of Indian women might appear today too moderate and scanty, but looking at the state of affairs during his time, his recommendations to improve their lot seem to be adequate to win for him the title of an "emancipator of Indian women". His approach to caste prejudices prevalent in his age appears to be realistic when he discarded man-made social distinctions, again on spiritual grounds. He refused to examine the utility of prevalent religious practices and cults and felt that they did not provide any means for the real progress and elevation of the spirit entity. Thus it is beyond any doubt, that he laid much more emphasis on the spiritual than material aspects of life. The glamour and achievements of the world had no significance for Huzur Maharaj. He found real contentment in the perfect ideal of spirit elevation. He can, therefore, be called a spiritualist who imparted spiritual fervour to every walk of life. Though he did not touch political problems, it would not be an exaggeration to say that he was a great moral force in the nineteenth century.