Wednesday 25 September 2013

An Introduction to the Radhasoami Form of Mysticism








The teachings of Radhasoami Faith are similar to those of the Religion of Saints or Sant Mat, as taught by Guru Nanak, Kabir Sahab and Saints like Jagjivan Sahab, Paltu Sahab, Tulsi Sahab of Hathras and the Sufi Saints.
            The tenets of the Faith are based on a living belief in -
(a)    the existence of God,
(b)   Oneness of the essence of God and the spirit entity in human being, and
(c)    Continuity of life after death.
Those who believe in the teachings of the Faith hold that there is one True Supreme Being who is the Fountain-Head of all spirituality and the Creator of the universe and the spirit or soul of man (Atman or Surat) is an emanation from the same Supreme Being.
According to teachings of the Faith, there are three elements in the human body: the coarse matter of which the physical body is made; the subtle matter of which the human mind (mana) is made and the third, the spirit which is the life and soul of the human body and brings about the evolution and development of man's body and mind. The human body and mind both are perishable or mortal, while the spirit is immortal. Corresponding to these, there are three Grand Divisions in the Creation, namely, the pure spiritual region, called Nirmal Chetan Desh; the Brahmanda or Region of Universal Mind in which the mind dominates over spirit; and the Pind Desh or Physical Universe in which matter is pre-dominant. A spirit can attain salvation or freedom from the cycles of birth and death, only if it enters the purely spiritual region.
According to the Radhasoami Faith, the Supreme Being has blessed the human body with certain latent faculties, by awakening which, the spirit entity can establish contact with different regions of the Creation (macrocosm). Man should make it the aim of his life to develop these faculties. The Supreme Being has also been pleased to ordain the advent on earth from time to time of holy and awakened Souls from the highest region for the salvation of jivas. They are emanations of pure spirituality and known in the language of the religion of saints as Param Sants. In Radhasoami Faith they are described as Sant Satgurus who are in communion with the Supreme Being and are His representatives upon the earth. Now their advent is a line of perpetual succession. The Faith lays down that in order to awaken the spiritual faculties one has to become the disciple of competent and an accomplished teacher. In Radhasoami Faith Sant Satguru is such a teacher. They go through the process as other human beings of formal initiation into the Faith and of participating in Satsang and practicing meditation but in fact coming as they do from the highest region they are already fully awakened. The Founder of the Religion was Param Purush Puran Dhani Soamiji Maharaj. He was born in Agra in 1818 and lived and preached there. He was the Supreme Being incarnate Himself and therefore did not have to have a Sant Satguru to initiate Him. These faculties were already awakened in Him from the time of birth and manifested at a time of His choosing.
Any person who wishes to tread the path of spiritual progress, has to renounce the worldly desires. He has to live a simple life of minimum wants and meet his worldly needs out of his own honest earnings. Certain discipline is to be observed by such a seeker in the matter of food. He has to abstain from animal food and all intoxicating substances. It is not necessary for a follower of the Faith to renounce the world and live in seclusion. He can make spiritual progress while leading the life of a family man (grihastha). The ideal is "better worldliness" and not un-worldliness and as a community the followers subscribe to the ideal of Fatherhood of God and Brotherhood of Man.
Dayalbagh is the headquarters of the Radhasoami community.
 
 
More information can be found on the following link http://www.dayalbagh.org.in/radhasoami-faith/surat-sabda-yog.htm
 
 
 
 

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