SantMat Mystic (James)

The Music Video Above: "Ardas" (a prayer), sung by Singh Kaur, from Crimson Vol. 6
Welcome! Thanks for visiting. I mostly speak, broadcast, write/blog about spirituality, comparative religion, sacred texts, world scriptures, Gnostic gospels or other "lost books" unearthed in the Middle east, also about Inner Light and Sound Meditation -- Sant Mat -- Surat Shabd Yoga, and the God-intoxicated Poetry of the Mystics of the East, the Bhakti Path of the Lover and the Beloved.
Spiritual Awakening Radio (via Healthy Life NET - The Positive Talk Radio Network and other stations) explores the world of spirituality, comparative religion, websites, and books, attempting to bring a new degree of depth to this subject than is usually found in the marketplace of ideas including in the media, also to introduce spiritual seekers to the lesser-known sources of wisdom, and books that might not necessarily be promoted by large corporations or conveniently sitting on local bookstore shelves.
The same is also true in the Sant Mat category of Indian Mysticism. This Mission is dedicated to Remedial Sant Mat 101 for those who seek to come to a deeper understanding of the teachings of Masters and develop their own meditation practice. Here you will find daily spiritual quotes based upon the Teachings the Masters of the East, giving everyone access to rare books from India, some of which are only now appearing in English for the very first time. You'll hear or read satsang talks, which are spiritual discourses representing a Living School of Spirituality known as Sant Mat, a term from India which can be translated as: "The Path of the Masters", "Way of the Saints", or "Way of Sages".
This site is also non-sectarian and inter-faith in tone, inclusive of the wisdom of all the great world religions and schools of mystics. All Are Welcome. As Maharishi Mehi once said, quoted in the book, The Harmony of All Religions: "In different times and different places Saints appear and their followers name their religion according to the Sage or Saint who propounded that tradition. The appearance of differences can be attributed to time, place, and language. This gives rise to various labels for the common views held by all religions. Likewise, due to excessively zealous followers, these seeming differences are often amplified. When all sectarianism and the temporal and linguistic aspects are removed, the basic principles of all the Saints are in accord and the voices of the Saints are in harmony."
Namaste', In the Love, Light, and Sound of the Beloved,
James
SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com
Seven Things I Believe (and Experience)
*1) God is Real.
*2) God is Love, the Ocean of Love and Compassion.
*3) All of the world scriptures teach about the same manifestation of God as inner mystical Light and Sound.
*4) Our true identity is soul, the Self. Soul is part of God and therefore is, like God, pure love.
*5) During this human existence we have an opportunity to experience God.
*6) As we experience communing with God's love during meditation -- Surat Shabd Yoga, we can rise above body-consciousness and explore Inner Space, the "Kingdom of the Heavens" that are within us. "We travel back from the realm of Darkness to the realm of Light, from the Light to divine Sound, and from the realm of Sound to the Soundless state." (Sant Sevi Ji Maharaj) The drop merges back into the Ocean of Love.
*7) As we get initiated into the Mysteries of the Spirit by a Living Teacher (Sant Satguru), the purpose of our life is fulfilled. Reuniting with God is our reason to be here: "It was for the sake of the God-conscious beings that our True Lord created this earth, and began this play of death and birth." (Adi Granth) Kabir says: "For millions of years you have slept. This morning, will you not wake?"
"All beautiful forms and tones of this world are mere reflections of some aspect of that ultimate Love-Music of the Great Creative Word. Within the vast complex of creation, each individual spirit is himself/herself a spark of that Eternal Song of Love."
"There are those who have wandered among the darting comets and the shimmering orbs of sounding fire. The soul-explorer is not alone, for there are those who have traveled the highways of the inner cosmos; far more than one may at first realize."
"...The planes of heaven are about us everywhere. One has only to know this simple truth consciously, and then we will be free." (George Arnsby Jones)
Michio Kaku: "How could it be that we live in a ten dimensional universe? Well the skeptics hardly laugh anymore. Around the world, the nation's leading physicists are scrambling to learn this bizarre theory that may allow us to read the mind of God, called string theory, which says that music resonating through hyperspace may be the mind of God." ("Parallel Worlds -- A Journey Through Creation, Higher Dimensions, And the Future of the Cosmos")
Julian Johnson, in, Path of the Masters: "Try now to get a picture of that luminous reality, the grand orchestra of the universe. Its heavenly strains are not only filling all interstellar space but they are ringing with far more enchanting Music through all the higher worlds beyond the utmost bounds of the physical. The higher we go, the more enchanting the Music. In those higher worlds the Music is less mixed with matter, and so it is not dulled. After passing the Third Region on the Path of the Masters, this sublime chorus becomes so overwhelmingly attractive that the soul grows impatient to go on up. It is absorbed in it. It lives in it day and night. It is its life, its joy, its spiritual food. There is not a cubic millimeter of space in existence which is not filled with this Music. Sweeter and sweeter its heavenly strains vibrate through every living being, great or small, from world to world, and from universe to universe. Its life-giving melodies may not be consciously heard by those who are not trained to catch them, but there is not one living being in all creation which does not derive its life from this Current."
My Most Favorite Spiritual Quote of All-time, from Yogani Mata Ji, On The Power of Love and Meditation Practice
From the chapter on MataJi in the book, Enchanted Land: Mataji exuded a sense of joy and happiness. We talked for more than three hours about a variety of subjects, but I was most intrigued with Mataji's experiences on the inner spiritual planes. I asked her what it was like to leave the body. Mataji responded with a beautiful description of how consciousness can be released from the mortal frame by attaching itself to the stream of celestial music radiating from the top of the head and beyond. To do this, she said, one first must be initiated by a genuine mystic who has gained access to the higher realms. The practice itself, although it may take years to master, sounds relatively simple. The body should be kept perfectly still with one particular posture held for at least three hours. One may choose a cross-legged position (like the yogis in the lotus pose) or a more comfortable, relaxed position in a chair. Keeping the back erect and the mind alert, one continuously repeats God's name as given by his/her guru. This simran, as Mataji termed it, should be done with one's attention centered behind closed eyes.
Coupled with this physical stillness and ceaseless repetition of God's name [simran practice], the next step is to contemplate the Light within. At first, Mataji pointed out, there will be only darkness but eventually Light will appear in the form of either small flashes or small star-like points. In any case, one should focus on the radiance, keeping one's simran intact and allowing the Light to draw the soul inward. The third and most important step, Mataji said, is to listen to the Sound that issues forth from the Light. It is this Internal Music which will numb the body and allow the consciousness to leave its ordinary dwelling. By riding this Current of Light and Sound, like a fish going upstream, the soul will be able to go back to its original home. On the journey within, however, the soul must be guided by a true master so as not to be detained in any of the lower illusory regions. According to Mataji, what near-death patients experience is only the beginning of a vast sojourn into great universes of Light, love and beauty.
Personally I was overcome with the profundity of Mataji's account. Although it seemed plausible, especially given the findings of near-death patients who have been resuscitated, the soul's journey in the beginning stages appeared too difficult. How can one sit so still, repeat only holy names and think of God constantly? “By falling in love,” Mataji answered serenely. “Because when one is truly in love nothing but the Beloved can enter one's mind. So the secret of Surat Shabd Yoga and of mysticism,” she goaded, “is not necessarily practice and more practice, but love. To be so devoted to one's Lord that nothing can stand in the way---this and nothing else is the truth of Sant Mat,” Mataji stressed….
The Music Video Above: "Spirit In The Sky", by Norman Greenbaum
From the Shores of the Cosmic Ocean ("Cosmos") by Carl Sagan