Swami Ji Maharaj, Sant Mat, Surat Shabd Yoga Meditation - Biographies of Masters Page 1 of 10

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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

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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

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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

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be styled as a "Place". Soamiji considers the Fourth Region as

indissoluble because of its all- prevading 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

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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

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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 guru-
bhakti, 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

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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.

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(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

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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-

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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 Chhand-
band. 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

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