Unknown Beas Radhasoami Lineage

PRESS HERE TO ENTER THE MAIN WEBSITE NOW

-- Dr. David Lane on Kirpal's First Hand Experience--

For a large number of seekers, Kirpal Singh's promising offer was tantalizing proof of his competency. However, for a small number of followers, it prompted some confusion, since Kirpal's master Sawan Singh did not make the same claims during his tenure. As one Ruhani Satsang initiate explained to Kirpal Singh: "I know two initiates who in the beginning read Spiritual Gems and they found contradictions in it with Your teachings--very minor ones, but it created a lot of problems in their mind." [*NOTE: Heart to Heart Talks, Volume II , op. cit., page 157. *] Later on in the conversation the (presumably) same disciple expressed his surprise when learning that Sawan Singh's followers rarely received inner experiences at the time of initiation: "I was reading With the [sic] Great Master in India by Julian Johnson. And I was amazed in one section it says that the Master [Sawan Singh] gave initiation to over seven hundred people and out of that only two saw Light--only two saw Light!" [*NOTE: Ibid. *]

The disciple's amazement was well founded, since Kirpal Singh had basically forged new ground, breaking precedent even with his own guru. Sawan Singh, for instance, actually argued against the need for giving firsthand experiences at the time of initiation. Argues Sawan Singh: The view that one must see something at the time of Initiation or he would never be able to see anything later is wrong [my emphasis]. Experience also does not support it. Everyone is running his own course of life, which is different from all others. No two persons are alike in habit, form and thought. All are at different stages of development. At Initiation, they cannot be expected to behave alike. Only few [my emphasis] see anything then. The majority [my emphasis] take time, some weeks, some months and some years. All are not equally keen. [*NOTE: Sawan Singh, Spiritual Gems (Beas: Radha Soami Satsang Beas, 1974), page 87. *]

Malik Radha Krishna Khanna, an initiate of Sawan Singh and a close associate of Kirpal Singh, attests to the differences between both gurus' approaches to initiation: I sat in at many initiations, and sometimes he [Sawan Singh] would ask me to drill the new initiates while they were learning the five charged Names. He would go away and leave me there. At the end, he never [my emphasis] asked who had seen this or heard that. That is something Maharaj Kirpal Singh Ji had started [my emphasis]. [*NOTE: "Reminiscences: At the Feet of the Great Hazur," Sat Sandesh (April 1978), page 30. *]

Kirpal Singh then describes the event that he would later declare was integral to the succession process: the transmission of "the life impulse" from the eyes of the Living Guru to his successor. In his 1949 account Kirpal Singh writes: "Hazur steadily kept gazing for three or four minutes into my eyes, and my eyes, in silent wonderment, experienced an indescribable delight which infused intoxication down to the remotest core of my entire body - such as was never before experienced in my whole life." [Brief Life Sketch of Hazur Baba Sawan Singh. Ibid.]

In 1955 he wrote, "The authority of giving initiation into the beyond and contacting with the Word, which he vouchsafed to me verbally on October 12, 1947, was thus completely transferred while going. The intoxication of that glance is still the life of my soul." [Message on the death anniversary of Hazur Baba Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj. April 2, 1955] (Probably c. Ruhani)

------ Darshan lies about women gurus, benefiting himself-----

From The Radhasoami Tradition by David Lane, Chapter 4

http://vm.mtsac.edu/~dlane/rs4.html

In two letters written in September of 1974, just a month after his father's demise, Darshan Singh explained the circumstances behind his appointment. The first letter, dated September 26, 1974, was sent to Tricholan Singh Khanna, Kirpal Singh's first and foremost representative in the United States.

My nomination as My Beloved Father's Spiritual Successor derives circumstantial support from the fact that a woman could not be so nominated according to Sant Mat tradition. Such a thing never happened throughout the ages. My Beloved Father had taken care that I imbibe the qualities which would be helpful in carrying on the Satsang work. I have, under the circumstances, no hesitation in declaring myself as the Spiritual Successor of His Holiness Maharaj Kirpal Singh Ji in conformity with His wishes and shall carry on the Satsang work to the best of my ability. . . I am sorry to find that Mr. Sirrine concluded from his talk with Tai Ji (Bibi Hardevi) and her supporters that the Master had not nominated anyone as His Spiritual Successor. [*NOTE: There is an interesting sidelight here to Darshan Singh's letter. He claims that "a woman could not be so nominated according to Sant Mat tradition." The problem with this statement, though, is that it directly contradicts the historical evidence that Shiv Dayal Singh's wife, Radhaji, was appointed to serve as a guru, and did, in fact, conduct initiations. Furthermore, in the lineage of Soami Bagh gurus, Maheshwari Devi (Buaji Saheb), a female, was the fourth recognized master at Agra. It is also known that the late Baba Faqir Chand nominated several women to serve as initiating gurus. T.S. Khanna also makes the same theological and historical claims concerning women when he wrote, "In the whole history of Sant Mat (Path of the Masters) in India, no woman has ever attained the position of a spiritual leader or guide. This did not happen in the case of the ten Sikh Gurus, nor at Dyal Bagh [sic] or Swamibagh Agra [sic], not at Dera Baba Jaimal Singh at Beas." See Truth Uncovered: Re--Successor To Great Master Kirpal Singh Ji (privately circulated booklet, November 1974). Although Khanna is historically wrong in his allegations (as we already mentioned, Soami Bagh's fourth guru was a woman), it appears that his view on women is based upon Kirpal Singh's testimony. For instance, in Spiritual Elixir, Volume II (Delhi: Ruhani Satsang, 1972), when Kirpal Singh was asked, "Why do the Great Masters on earth always take the form of man?" He responded: " The Masters claim that there is only one Male gender amongst the souls,and He generally manifests on the chosen human Pole of the Living Master. It is a Divine Law which cannot be questioned by mortals. " [Page 33.] Kirpal Singh, Darshan Singh, and T.S. Khanna's claim raises several interesting historical, sociological, and theological issues which are beyond the scope of our study. *]

Although Darshan Singh does not mention her by name, it is obvious from the previous excerpt that he is denouncing Madam Hardevi's claim for the gaddi at Sawan Ashram, since, as he claims, "a woman could not be so nominated according to Sant Mat tradition." Darshan Singh is also disappointed that Reno Sirrine has sided with her and concluded that Kirpal Singh did not leave a spiritual successor.

Charan Singh says about Kirpal Singh:

I do not like to say anything about the activities of Sardar Kirpal Singh's group, called Ruhani Satsang. . . . Since you have inquired, you are entitled to an answer, so I will simply add that the Great Master [Sawan Singh] never did appoint him as His Successor. He appointed Sardar Bahadur Maharaj Jagat Singh Ji, in a witnessed and recorded Will, to carry on all His Spiritual Work. If anybody else is bold enough to assert himself as the Great Master's Successor, then I can simply leave it to the sagacity of the seekers to judge his claim. The Great Master's Representatives in the foreign countries also have photostatic copies of the documents proving Successorship, and the one nearest you will be glad to show them to you on request.

As regards S. Kirpal Singh, let him say or do anything he likes. Sooner or later he will have to render account for his actions. You have been given the key at the time of Initiation and can satisfy yourself as to whether or not he is a true Master. It would not be in good taste for me to go into detail, but I will say this much, that the Great Master, Maharaj Sawan Singh Ji, never gave him permission to initiate anyone, and duly appointed Sardar Bahadur Maharaj Jagat Singh Ji as His Successor by a legally executed Will, in writing and duly witnessed, so as to leave no doubt about this matter. If you care to have more information, you may contact your Representative, who has a photostatic copy of the documents concerned and can explain the whole situation to you. If you like, you may also contact Dr. Pierre Schmidt in Geneva, Switzerland, as he was one of the witnesses to the Will along with me and others, and was daily with the Great Master during the last four months of His life on this earth.

What Kirpal said about Charan

To better clarify his nomination as Satguru, Kirpal Singh published a booklet on his guru's life and teachings in English in 1949 which explained in detail how he was appointed. But in so doing, Kirpal Singh was calling into serious question the succession at Dera. For instance, in A Brief Life-Sketch of Hazur Baba Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj , Kirpal Singh clearly implies in four different places [*NOTE: See pages 11, 12, 15, and 18. *] that he alone was appointed to carry on his master's mission. On page 15 of the booklet, Kirpal Singh quotes his master as saying, "The mission of spirituality can only be carried on successfully by one [my italics] adept in spirituality." Moreover, Kirpal Singh implies that some of Sawan Singh's relatives and close disciples were spiritually blind. Indeed, Kirpal Singh cites at least five different episodes where Sawan Singh's family and/or close associates misunderstood their guru's wishes. Kirpal Singh argues throughout the text that he alone was capable of understanding the sublime and mystical ways of his master. Below are a few examples of Kirpal Singh's slightly veiled criticisms of Sawan Singh's inner circle: [Page 12] In those very days, one night Hazur mentioning His inner esoteric experiences remarked: "The sun has risen high. Can the people of Jullundur also see this sun?" The relatives and friends sitting nearby were ignorant of this secret expression . [My italics.]

The opinion of [the] doctor in charge was also, like others beside Him, that Hazur's brain does not work properly on account of His illness. A little later at night when I went to Him, Hazur repeated the same question addressing me: "Kirpal Singh! The sun has risen high. Can the people of Jullundur see this sun?" I replied, "Yes Hazur, the sun has risen high--and not only the people of Jullundur but also those living in England or America who will traverse to inner planes can see this sun." Thereupon Hazur said: "Thou hast correctly answered my question." [*NOTE: Page 12. Dr. Pierre Schimdt, who attended Sawan Singh during his last four months, has a different interpretation than Kirpal Singh of this same event. In April of 1948, Schimdt wrote: "I feel I must relate two instances that revealed Him [Sawan Singh] as a Master even during this period of grave distress: 1. Some weeks before His death the Master asked to be brought some water from Jullundur, about 40 kilometers from the Dera, and when it was brought He asked why they had gone to collect it. Another evening He said to us, "Look at the light which shines in Jullundur" although there was only a slight glow over the city. I thought these were indications of delirium such as is met with in uraemia. Another day He said "Look at this house in which I now live, it is disintegrating and falling in ruins. We must leave the Dera and go to Jullundur. Quickly, buy a new house"! This seemed to be symptomatic of a state of weakness and mental obnubilation which comes paroxsmically in such conditions. But later we realized what He meant, for it was His Way of indicating His successor, who came from Jullundur: It was to tell us that henceforth the light would come from there and that He had finished His task, for Sardar Bahadur Jagat Singh was born at Jullundur. [My italics.] See Radha Soami Satsang Bulletin Number X for further information. *] [Pages 12-13]

Similarly Hazur made a mention of several hidden secrets but those around Him were hardly able to grasp what Hazur was hinting at--this being a subject familiar to those only who are practical in-lookers and spiritually skilled. What, therefore, could other poor fellows know about them. [Page 15] (Spirituality) cannot be entrusted to a blind person. Whoever has a desire to find me out can reach me within through one who is linked with me. You will not find me in the company of those who are after the possessions of the world. Be not deceived by such people. . . . I do not dwell in the midst of mayaic insects. Go to some selfless being who is after me and lives for me and is not after possession of Deras. . . . [Page 18] Throughout the period of His illness Hazur said many times: "If a person proficient in Bhajan and Simran sits by me, I feel comforted and relieved. Therefore those who come to me or sit near me should do Simran." Accordingly, at the time of appearance of this symptom of "fluttering of the body" Hazur again spoke several times in these words: "If the person who has to do the work of spirituality after I depart, comes and sits by me, my trouble will be gone." To comply with this--evidently the last wish of the Master--the near relatives of Hazur came and sat in Bhajan and Simran one by one, by the side of bed of Hazur, but there was no relief whatever in the fluttering symptom of Hazur's body. On the morning of 1st April, 1948, it was extremely benevolent of Hazur to afford a chance to this humble servant--of course through the assistance of a lady in nursing service of Hazur--to be by the side of the Master, in seclusion, for about ten or fifteen minutes. . . . After the prayer [Kirpal Singh prayed for his guru's health] when I opened my eyes, Hazur's body was in a state of perfect repose.

On several occasions, Kirpal Singh implied that the successors at the Dera--Jagat Singh and Charan Singh--only had the "seat," not the power. An incident retold in the book, Heart to Heart Talks, Volume II , reveals Kirpal Singh's position with regard to the Dera and its successors: It so happened here in India that a man was suffering greatly on account of cancer. He could not sleep, even for a moment. He was fortunately, or unfortunately, related to me, Gurdial Singh. So Baba Charan Singh went over there. The sick man asked, "Will you kindly help me?" Charan Singh answered, "Well, I can't do anything." As Gurdial Singh was related to me--my brother's daughter was married to his son--she dragged me there. They wanted me to put my hand on him. He said, "Will you help me?" I told him, "Baba Charan Singh has been with you. Why did you not request him?" I did request him but he said, "I can't do anything." So I was forced to put my hand on him, you see, and all trouble was relieved. [*NOTE: Heart to Heart Talks, Volume II (Delhi: Ruhani Satsang, 1976), page 80. *]

Further on in the same book, Kirpal Singh explains the difference between his mission and the Beas successors after Sawan Singh: The other day I gave initiation to six hundred and fifty three people. All saw Light--about two hundred saw the Master's Form. The teachings at Beas are the same, but the words given at initiation are not charged [his emphasis]. That is the difference [my emphasis]. [*NOTE: Ibid., pages 157-158. *]

The previous excerpt is very telling since Kirpal Singh says that the difference between him and Charan Singh is that he has the spiritual charging and the Beas leader does not. In other words, Kirpal Singh is claiming that he alone is genuine, and that he is genuine by virtue of inner, spiritual power.

In the following excerpt from Hearts-to-Heart Talk number 5 given on Sept. 11, 1970, c. Ruhani, Kirpal Singh agrees with Paul Twitchell's claim that Kirpal dictated The Tiger's Fang to him "inside" when Kirpal was in India and Twitchell in Washington, DC:

Question: Too much fakery and too much commercialism?

Master: Yes, yes. Too much propaganda. I tell you one American was initiated by me - I’ve got the initiation report in his own handwriting. Then he wrote to me, "The Master’s Form appears to me inside." That Form used to speak to him, dictate to him, inside. And all that dictation was put into a book and the manuscript was sent to me in 1963. Then later on he started a new movement.

Question: Yes, I’ve heard about him.

Master: Later he sent me another letter, "Return my book, The Tiger’s Fang." That is what such-like people will do. They had some little thing, and got stuck fast there. Now he’s carrying on propaganda. He says he was never initiated by me. He was initiated in 1955. Some people get stuck fast on the way. This little ego is very difficult to get rid of unless there’s some kind of protection. This is a living example. He has written other books. I need not mention his name.

Question: I don’t think he mentions Your name either.

Master: I don’t think he would. Why say things about anyone? If any man does well, all right. I returned his book. That was dictated by me on inner planes, and that’s all right. He changed that book before printing; where he mentioned my name, he changed it to another guru’s name. So that is the fate of these people. People are fed up with these Masters, gurus, and sadhus. Why? Only for this reason.

Swami Ji's Turban Gift to Jaimal ????

Conflicting statements of Kirpal and Beas.

Kirpal Version of Turban

Kirpal has Radhaji, wife of Swami Ji, giving Swami Ji's turban to Jaimal, long after Swami Ji died. Jaimal, A Great Saint, page 59, Kirpal Singh, 1973 edition.

Beas Version of Turban

From "Last Commandments Of Swami Ji Maharaj" (1818-1878), an excerpt from "Spiritual Letters," published by Radha Soami Satsang Beas, paragraph 19, Swami Ji Maharaj is telling Baba Jaimal Singh Ji:

"This is our last meeting. Now I shall go away to Param Dham (Eternal Home), after completing my life's pilgrimage. I have made you my beloved and my own RUP (self or form). " Bhai Chanda Singh then requested that Satsang be started in the Punjab. Swami Ji Maharaj replied: "This request has been accepted by Akal Purush, and this task has been allotted to Baba Jaimal Singh." Then Swami Ji Maharaj gave His own turban to Baba Ji as Prashad and ordered Him to go and preach Nam in the Punjab.

The Times of India

DERAS EMERGING AS PARALLEL AUTHORITY

KS Dhaliwal, Times News Network

Jalandahar: The dera culture is spreading like poision in the whole of the state, more so in Doaba.

The deras are also virtual vote banks and are patronised by politicians.

The deras in turn patronise intellectuals and get them to write books in their favour. These intellectuals are connected with prominent universities and are never short of money as the deras influence extends into newer and newer spheres.

Political observers feel the deras may soon come to dominate various state institutions to emerge as a parallel authority.

The dera of Baba Piara Singh Bhaniara which shot into the news because of its links with prominent political leaders was only the tip of the iceburg. Almost all the famous Dalit deras, according to sources, have links with politcal parties of all hues.

CONGRESS CHIEF SONIA GANDHI'S VISIT TO THE BEAS DERA A FEW WEEKS BACK SEEMS TO ENDORSE THIS VIEW. The visit was kept a closely guarded secret and not even prominent Congress leaders were allow to go near the dera on that Sunday morning, sources reveal.

Chiranjilal Nar, author of Sangramiya lithas, a history of revolutionaries from the times of the Sikh Gururs till 1947, says "THE DERAS ARE BECOMING BUSINESS CENTRES. Recently a prominent dera near Jalandhar was sold to a Sant from the Majha region. Who knows where he got the money from, but he paid over Rs 50 lakh to buy the dera. It must be a profitable cnetre, otherwise why should he buy it."

Dalit thinkers and leaders are worried by the spread of Dalit deras. LR Balley, author of several books of Dalit conscousness says: 'The socalled Sants running these deras in Doaba are the greatest impediment to the Dalit cause. Moreover they are becoming an obstacle in the way of scientific and rational thought.'

Dalit short story writer, Bhagwant S. Rasoolpuri, says, 'These deras have taken the wind out of the sails of the Dalit movement. In the name of ad-dharamk, a movement started by famous Gaddarite Mangoo Ran Mogowalia, way back in 1925, they are misleading the people into believing in miracles."

Bharpur Singh, member SGPC says: "The dera culture is eroding the Sikh rehad maryada (code of conduct). There was a uniformity in this code that kept the entire community together". Dal Khalsa spokesman Kanwarpal Singh, said" "We condemn the dera culture as it is against the basic Siokh rehat maryada. Most of the deras have come up on public land anre are encroachments. But the government has no influence on them as they want votes"

The website is TimesofIndia.Indiatimes.com/articleshow.asp?.art_id=829898541

Mastana Ji

In November of 2002, The Times of India reported the person in charge of Mastana Ji's ashram killed the editor of a newspaper for reporting on the activites there. Mastana ji was an unathorized successor of Sawan Singh in 1948.

http://www.expressindia.com/ie/daily/19980718/19951284.html

bottom half of the page

From the article:

...Sonia offers her prayers at a dera in Beas

DHARMENDRA RATAUL

AMRITSAR, NOVEMBER 5: In what is being touted as a major political move prior to the state assembly elections, the All India Congress Committee president, Sonia Gandhi, today visited the Radha Soami headquarters based at Beas, about 30 kms from here.

The dera has always attracted the attention of the political parties at the time of elections. This time around, in a bid to do well in the elections, the Congress took the lead by arranging a visit of the party's national president.

Although political observers confirmed the visit, insiders in the party claim that the visit was an entirely 'private affair'. The observers further say that the visit will have far-reacing political ramifications, especially when a close fight is being predicted.

Sonia Gandhi, accompanied by Moti Lal Vora, in-charge Punjab affairs and party's senior leader, Natwar Singh, landed at the dera's private helipad at 11.30 am, amid high security and flew back to New Delhi at 2.30 pm.

The whole exercise was attempted to be kept a secret and no mediaperson, even the local leaders, leaving aside party MP R.L. Bhatia and state president Capt Amarinder Singh were allowed to meet her. ''This was done at the request of the functionaries of the dera, who did not want to make it a political affair, and wanted to keep it low key,'' state a senior party leader, while talking to The Indian Express.

Highly placed sources in the party revealed that the visit had been arranged by Capt Amarinder Singh after a frenetic three-month long effort, after he had received reports that senior BJP and Shiromani Akali Dal leaders were also trying to make a similar move.

''The party leaders had earlier also sought the blessings of the dera. Indira Gandhi, Narasimha Rao, Pranab Mukherjee and the late Rajesh Pilot had been regular visitors here,'' stated a senior Congress leader.

Observers, however, disagree and say that the visit had been planned by the Captain, who is considered close to the present head of the dera Baba Gurinder Singh Dhillon, keeping in mind the coming elections.

''The dera has quite a recognisable following and had always been the attraction for political parties. There could be no denying political overtones of the visit,'' said Jagroop Singh Sekhon, a Reader in the Department of Political Science, Guru Nanak Dev University, here.

Sekhon, who has extensively studied the deras and their political affliations, also confirmed that the dera funtionaries had been supporting candidates in the elections time and again. He said they sit atop a highly composite vote bank.

Sonia, who took a round of the dera, expressed satisfaction over the visit and fully appreciated the discipline and the dedication of the devotees at the dera, said Amarinder. She also inaugurated an annual eye camp, he added.

Internet posted on Satsangis

Does it (RS) manifest better life choices, strenghten healthy relationships, wisdom, kindness, clarity of mind....a host of healthy attributes actualized in ones life ?

Absolutely not from my exposure to hundreds of individuals who have ardently practiced various forms of chasing after inner phenomenon.

posted by CTD

I know satsangis who are terrible...who lie, cheat, steal, who beat their wives, have incestual relationships with their daughters, go to jail for drunk driving, etc, etc. They were all initiated.

posted by Bertha

Jaimal leaves no mention at all Sawan Singh is supposed to become his successor. In fact, in early editions of Beas Spiritual Letters it is written, " He ( Jaimal )also said if there is anything to be asked or explained, then Chachaji Ji (Pratap Singh, Swami Ji's brother), should be resorted to ", as he lay dying. Then Jaimal said, "the secret Shabd Currents in the neighborhood of Sach Kand will be revealed by Chachaji." Beas has now deleted this from their books. It ties them directly to the Council and its president, Chachaji. But, Chachaji had excommunicated Jaimal just three days before his death and had chastised Jaimal for pretending to be a Guru.

In Jaimal's last letters to Sawan, we find Sawan appearing a neophyte in sadhana. In With the Three Masters, Beas, 1974, page 200, Sawan, after Jaimal's death, notes his conversation with Chachaji " ..after 28 days argument I persisted in my refusal (to initiate), I was unfit for this duty and some sadhu should be sent from here to initiate. I submitted that I did not possess sufficient power... Therefore, when Baba Jaimal departed from this mortal world, for one year after that I did not initiate anyone.", and also qouted in The Radhasoami Tradition, Dr. David Lane 1992, page 106. RS Tradition book notes once 700 people were initiated by Sawan and only 2 people saw light. First hand experience at time of initiation by Sawan was called rare. So, again, we see no proof Jaimal left Sawan as a successor, but possibly just the opposite. If Jaimal was not a sant as he admitted, how could he leave a successor ? And we will further see Jaimal's relationship with Swami Ji's family and most or all of Swami Ji's highest disciples, was a nightmare. He appears overwhelmingly rejected.

Off the Subject a Moment

xxxxxxxxxx Notes xxxxxxxxxxx

Faqir Chand informed Sawan he was radically changing Radhasoami teachings to be more truthful with disciples. Sawan gave Faqir his blessing and endorsement in person. Faqir Chand stated in 'The Unknowing Sage'(linked off this site), that modern day Radhasoami masters had no power. He stated Radhasoami masters do not project their radiant forms, nor do they come for the disciple at death. He stated this was deception on the part of masters telling their disciples this to gain a following. Chand stated he did not know where he would even go upon death, nor were the inner planes experienced in a particular order as generally understood. He asked these key questions to Charan, Kirpal, Sawan and his own Guru, whom had asked him to change the teachings. Chand meditated 80 years before he died and considered himself much advanced from these noted. He never met Salig Ram, or Swami Ji, as they came before him. We don't know if what he said can be applied to them.

Chand stated he had asked several Radhasoami masters and they all concured his observations were true. Chand stated a disciple could have a fake master and achieve the goal. Chand even inferred masters could be criminals and it was the disciples own belief that projected the so called radiant form. This is no surprise, being that Sawan was quoted as saying he could not be totally truthful, as he had too large a group. Note: The five names were common long before Swami Ji's day and were used by Tulsi Sahib and Kabir, also. Modern day Radhasoami groups use the classic squatting position covering their ears and eyes and listening to the sound current and viewing light. This classic position was taught from ancient times by kundalini masters. But, kundalini masters use the opposite ear to listen to the sound initially . When it hits center, Radhasoami and classic kundalini match almost exactly beyond that point. The inner planes often match, but sometimes they are called by slightly different names. For instance, Maharaji’s (ex kid guru) group, his father was a Sawan initiate, also use the tongue in the roof of the mouth technique to taste nectar.

Yogananda’s group uses same technique as Radhasoami, except as noted above. They also start by moving kundalini up and down the spine to get it going, before listening to sound and seeing light. Some of Yogananda’s successors gave all 7 initiations. Yogananda's group uses an Om stick to brace the arms for light and sound viewing, RS calls the brace a paragon stick. Also, kundalini masters give all important transmutation of sexual energy techniques. Even Kirpal said not to bother meditating without chastity. Hence, Radhasoami followers lack the all important methods of having sex, without losing energy . This may be why women in RS seem to move faster then men in sadhana. The problem with Radhasoami initiation, seems the incomplete nature of the first initiation, given without transmutation advice of a physical nature.. And, sexual energy is key. Another problem, is that the last 6 initiations by kundalini masters of Paramahansa state are not available to Radhasoami people via their gurus. To make matters worse, kundalini has been associated with satanism and dangers such as mental illness. And, in modern days, some Beas associated groups, try to tell people that there is an energy down flow from a higher source and kundalini is raised only after clearing of the nadis. But, concentrating on Tirsa Til is classic kundalini practice for taking energy up and there is absolutely no question Radhasoami in very modern days is kundalini yoga. Viewing the so called radiant form of the master is also classic kundalini of Paramahansa masters. It is absolutely clear that the two major groups of RS now in existence have masters with little to no kundalini ability. They may have absolutely no power at all, not spiritual, nor kundalini. The fact may be, they couldn’t sock their way out of a wet paper bag. They simply were not properly trained to be able to admit their yoga is kundalini, because then people would ask the tough questions. Note : This writer has no affiliation with any kundalini people, or groups, and does not recommend.

From Gopi Krishna's book Higher Consciousness (no page references available). Note the references to inner light and sound:

"But it is important to remember that all these visionary experiences with shape, form, place, or time are but the figments of one's own imagination, rendered vivid and realistic by the radiant stream of kundalini. The gods and goddesses, angels and devils, heavens and hells, superhuman and subhuman beings, strange unearthly creatures, astral and mental planes, conditioned by earthly time, space, name, form, or figure, have no real significance, but are merely the creations of the subjects themselves through their active and glowing imagination.

"The higher state of consciousness, despite its enrapturing radiancy and the alluring sounds in the ears, is as void of visions and hallucinatory figments as the consciousness of a healthy, wise, and clear-thinking human being, who calls a spade a spade, and who views everything he comes across in sane perspective and proportion, always ready to distinguish reality from a dream or a hallucination."

Faqir Chand (Sawan endorsed RS Master)says

"So what I have understood about Nam is that it is the true knowledge of the feelings, visions, and images that are seen within. This knowledge is that all the creations of the waking, dreaming and deep sleep modes of consciousness are nothing but samskaras (impressions which are in truth unreal) that are produced by the mind. What to speak about others, even I am not aware of my own Self (in dreams). Who knows what may happen to me at the time of death? I may enter the state of unconsciousness, enter the state of dreams and see railway trains. . . How can I make a claim about my attainment of the Ultimate? The truth is that I know nothing."

"O man, your real helper is your own Self and your own Faith, but you are badly mistaken and believe that somebody from without comes to help you. No Hazrat Mohammed, no Lord Rama, Lord Krishna or any God or goddess or Guru comes from without. This entire game is that of your impressions and suggestions which are ingrained upon your mind through your eyes and ears and of your Faith and Belief." ( From 'The Unknowing Sage' linked off this site )

Back to the history. We know there are no records of Swami Ji, or his wife Radhaji, nor Salig Ram, his successor, ever meeting Jaimal face to face. Beas has to come up with some validation of their lineage to make it credible. So, they choose the two people we do know met both Jaimal and Sawan. Swami Ji’s brother, Chachaji, and his youngest son Sudarshan were picked, because they were the most influential. Beas calls both Saints in print. Sudarshan was highly respected during his time and Chachaji was Council president. Beas infers Chachaji and Sudarshan endorsed a separate Beas lineage and that they both accepted Jaimal and Sawan as masters. Beas doesn't directly say this, but this is the impression one gets reading Beas and Kirpal material. The events you are about to read are documented factual history that both Beas and Kirpal were fully aware of when they published history books during the last 50 years. S.D. Maheswari was the greatest RS historian of all time, by light years. Both gurus and historians alike have learned most of what is known of RS history from him. He is universally quoted and all documentation and original historical records are at Agra for viewing to this day. He wrote over 100 RS books during his life, which were initially only published in sets of 1000, so very few people have had access. These events are also confirmed by the best living historian at this time, Professor Dr. Agam Mathur, whom wrote a comprehensive history on Radhasoami Faith and is ranked a world class historian. He was formerly Vice Chancellor at Agra College. Every historian is keenly aware of the events shown on the next page. Other pages follow with court deposition testimony from Sudarshan.

Quote, Ram Chandra ( deceased guru, not RS ), Complete Works, Vol.1 ,p.362.

"Generally people select anyone (guru) for the purpose without regard to his capabilities or worth. They are induced to do so mostly by persuasion or miracles displayed by those so called gurus to attract the ignorant masses. Disciple hunters are not wanting. They are as numerous as leaves on a tree.. For most of them, gurudom is a very profitable job which can secure enormous income which they cannot otherwise earn.

Besides they command the highest personal service from their disciples. The ignorant masses thus fall a ready prey to these self seeking professionals. A petty miracle or ordinary display of something charming is enough to attract hundreds of these silly sheep to their fold of gurudom. A simpple threat of a curse upon one who happens to displease them, may bring thousands to abject submission. Not only this, but in order to ensure monopoly of their profession they declare that none but one belonging to the priveleged class has the right of being a guru. Sannyasins too, you will find these days in multitudes, posing as as mahatmas and professing to be jagat gurus - world teachers.

Is it not a pity to find such professional imposters, who are a shame to the nation and religion, roaming about with complete impunity to cheat and defraud ignorant people, in order to serve their own selfish ends ? It is high time for the masses to open their eyes and see what havoc has been wrought by such persons. The popularly believed principle that a disciple can never break off the sacred conection with his guru under any circumstances, is also a cunning device adopted by those false gurus to make their position safe and secure, and is nothing but fraud. Their only function is to breathe a few mystical words into the ears of the disciple at the time of initiation ... and give them his darshan once a year for realizing annual toll and tribute to him."

Correspomdence With American's, Vol 2, page 276, #5, 1962, Maheswari

Extracts from the Deposition of Lala Adjodhia Prashad (Salig Ram's son and leader of Pipal Mandi group, after Salig Ram's death, now age 60), recorded on the 13th June 1926, and onwards, in the suit against Dayal Bagh, which ultimately went to Privy Councl, in England, where the case was decided in favor of Soami Bagh. Recorded under oath Adjodhia states, " I am the President of Central Administrative Council, which has its head-office in Allahabad. I have been the president since the death of Rai Pratap Singh Seth (Chachaji), that is probably since 1910. Before that I was Vice President. The Councl was formed in 1902 (page 249 Privy Council Paper Book).

The 28 names selected for being mentioned in the notice issued for formation of the Council included the name of Jaimal Singh. The name Jaimal Singh was included because HE HAD AGREED THAT HE WOULD GIVE UP ACTING AS GURU and abode by the order of the Council that would be formed and also because Chachaji Sahib (Pratap) had recommended him. He gave that undertaking before the notice had been issued. For this reason he was given general power of initiation in the very first meeting of the Council. BUT, HE DID NOT STICK TO HIS UNDERTAKING AND THE SAID GENERAL POWER OF INITIATION WAS CANCELLED.

Kirpal in Sawan's 1947 will

Complete will shown below

Sawan thought Kirpal would stay at Beas !!!

S. Kirpal Singh - In charge of the accommodation of Satsangi pilgrims to the Dera. Jointly responsible for holding Satsangs (sermons & preachings) and for spiritual literature. S. Jagat Sirigh, Jat of Varaich - In sub charge of all agricultural matters under the direction and control of S. B. Jagat Singh. S. Gopal Singh Latha - In sub charge of the accommodation and comfort of Satsangi pilgrims under the direction and control of S. Kirpal Singh

PRESS HERE TO GO TO PAGE 2 NOW !!!

PRESS HERE TO GO TO PAGE 2 NOW !!!

Tinnitus, or Sound Current ???

Physical causes, or spiritual ?

Low level, broad band sound is used to facilitate tinnitus habituation. It was mentioned previously that 94% of the people placed in a very quiet environment develop temporary tinnitus. Silence actually enhances tinnitus and hyperacusis. Patients are advised to avoid silence and immerse themselves in a low level, emotionally neutral sound environment.

The noises most often associated with Type 1 Tinnitus are a humming or a buzzing sound. The noises most often associated with Type 2 Tinnitus are typically buzzing, hissing, reverberating, echoing or humming in nature.

Tinnitus noises that result from type 3 include clucking or cracking, gurgling or whirring sounds. These noises are often aggravated or relieved by swallowing or blowing the nose since there is often a negative pressure in the ear. From time to time, many people often experience a ringing tone in the affected ear which comes and goes periodically, lasting a few seconds at a time.

The Tinnitus caused by cochlear damage are many and varied and can include sounds of ringing bells, chirping sounds, sounds like cicadas, roaring, hissing and fluttering sounds.

The Tinnitus caused by auditory nerve damage includes high pitched ringing bells, whistling, roaring and buzzing.

The sounds associated with type 6 are usually drumming, pulsating, or a fluttering which is synchronous with the heart.

Type 7. The predominant sounds are ringing, whistling, whizzing, and rushing (as of a waterfall.)

Note: Even rats hear sound current !!! Jastreboff, P.J., Brennan, J.F., Sasaki, C.T. Phantom auditory sensation in rats: An animal model for tinnitus. Behavioral. Neuroscience, 102:811-822, 1988. The main paper describing the principle and the results of our behavioral paradigm for inducing and detecting tinnitus in rats.

A look into the Beas Dera culture posted by waking_now 1/23/02 10:35 am 10052

Charan Singh liked to collect woman's jewelry.

A satsangi woman told me that once Charan Singh pressured her to accompany him on a satsang trip to a city in Rajasthan. When they reached there, he prepared to go to give satsang but told her to go and look for antique jewelry for him. She went looking and found some good deals from villagers who brought jewelry for sale in the market .

When Charan Singh and his party returned from the satsang, a Dera official told her that he had seen her come with Maharaj Ji but had not seen her at the satsang. She said she had some work to do, but did not disclose what the assignment from Maharaj Ji was. That secrecy of not disclosing any personal interaction with Maharaj Ji was part of the Dera culture to which adherence was necessary for all inner circle people.

In a family if some members had an engagement with Maharaj Ji, they were expected not to disclose this even to their satsangi family members. This was a loyalty test used by Maharaj Ji to select the privileged ones. I myself have been a guest in a relative's home who told me they had an evening engagement and later at night talked of their Royal visit during which I had figured in some conversation.

Did the Dera Plant Articles ?

Posted on internet by CTD

I believe it was in the 80's Charan had a newspaper article planted and the author described themselves as a traveler who happened across Dera and described it in glowing terms as an oasis and so on run by a benevelant so and so....I still have it somewhere. The writer was really the daughter of a Dera appointee who grew up there.....'Waking Now' knew the family also.

Charan Singh, complete from site below.

Smuggling of wrist watches by a verified major rep

http://oasis-are.20m.com/weetabix.html

David Lane asked for more specific information regarding the shuttling of personal items from England to Maharaj Charan Singh in the 1970's. During those days I was Secretary of the Cambridge England RSSB Sangat. I was active in developing Satsang Activities and especially in organizing Satsang between Indian Satsangis and our Cambridge Group. Together with Kulwant Rai , I negotiated the renting of the Wembly Indoor Stadium, for example, for Maharaji's Darshan to the combined English and Indian Sangats.

The European and Indian Satsangis were kept apart at meetings, partly owing to language differences and partly owing to cultural reasons. There was a limited degree of crossing over between the two sangats by a few "permitted" Satsangis. I, myself, was very active in the Indian bhandaras I was studying hindi and punjabi and wanted to adsorb as much understanding of the culture of my "Master" as I could.

When my wife and I held Satsang in a our home in village near Cambridge, we would listen to tapes of the Master with seated Satsangis spilling out of our living room into the grass of an apple orchard. These were "bhakti-drenched" occasions and had a blissful, dream-like quality about them as they were happening.

I felt myself the luckiest of people, and my greatest good luck, of course, was that I had somehow managed to "find" Sant Mat, which vouchsafed me life beyond the grave and gave assurance that one day I would eventually get answers to all my deepest questions about existence.

I established a business manufacturing and selling scientific instruments in Cambridge. My work took me often to London, where I would meet with and often stay overnight with Mr. Mohinda who was an Indian man, about the same age as Charan, who had attended College with the Master and kept a close friendship with the Master. It was Mohinda, by the way who was the father of the girl, written about in another post here, who had obtained a full scholarship to Medical School in London, but was not allowed to take it up. Instead she was forced to marry a son of Professor Janak Puri, whom she had never met and move to Bombay. The boy was picked out for her by Charan, who was the guest of honor at her wedding.

During this time Mohinda was my very good friend. He was a close friend of the Master and he knew thousands of wonderful stories and was a very warm person to people he liked. He supported himself with an Indian Handicrafts importing business in London.

Whenever Maharaj Ji came to England, he would always stay with Mohinda in London. Before these visits, "selected" Satsangis would be invited to come to Mohinda's house to do Seva. We would strip all the old wallpaper off, sand down the moldings, paint the wood work (one coat of primer, Jay and two coats of enamel), then we would re-hang the paper in the room. Sometimes we installed new windows and doors and improved the overall facilities of the house. Those of us who were chosen by Mohinda for this work felt lucky and were willing to work until late, then sleep on makeshift pallets on the floor and continue our seva the next day. We were entertained by tapes of Satsang or the singing before Satsang, and enjoyed great meals. We were happy knowing that "Our Master" would be using these very rooms, would see our wallpaper, and enjoy all the fresh improvements we had made.

And so it happened that once after an extended tour that had taken Maharaj Ji through Greece, Paris, Frankfurt, Rome, maybe Holland and some Scandinavian countries as well, Charan came to London and stayed with Mohinda. He gave Darshan several times, held Satsang for the Westerners and for the Indians, and then "retired" for a week with Mohinda. The two of them toured England together on an incognito basis, going to the Lake District and to the West Country. At the end of this time Maharaj Ji gave Darshan again and took off for America for a long tour there.

Several months later, I was staying overnight at Mohindas, and was also preparing for a trip to the Dera. Mohinda took me up to "Maharaj Ji's room" -- that is what we called it, since no one ever stayed in that room when he was not there--unlocked the door and showed me an amazing amount of boxes and bags of shopping. All of these things looked like what tourist often buy from Harrods and department stores when they travel in Europe. Mohinda said that it was so large because the Master and his party (Maybe Prof. Puri, wives, cousins, nieces, etc.) had been to so many European cities before he arrived in England. They had decided to drop off all the stuff at Mohinda's house. It would be very cumbersome to take it all with them to America on their tour there. Mohinda and his relatives would bring it load by load into India every time they traveled there, and Maharaj Ji had said that Mohinda could send some it with any "good" Satsangis who were traveling to the Dera.

By "good", I understood this to mean, reliable, upright people who would appreciate "getting" this personal seva for the Master. I was therefore overjoyed to be in a position where Mohinda would let me join in with his family members to carry the stuff back to India for Maharaj Ji.

At that time I was such a "believer" that the question of the legality or propriety of carrying someone else's gift items through Customs in India never entered my head.

It actually "astonishes" me at this moment to realize how infatuated I was that my mind did not even work at this ordinary level. I was being offered a privilege. Mohinda put it like this, "If you have some extra space in your luggage, you can take some things with you when you go to the Dera." There was no question of Declaring anything on Customs forms. It never arose. We were taking personal things that belonged to the Master. This had nothing to do with Customs.

Indian Customs was a disgrace. A typical "Import Duty" ranged from 50% of the value of the item to 240% of its value. If I brought a new $300 tape deck into India and declared it, I would be assessed with paying a Duty of $720 to legally bring it in. In practice, the total duty was use to determine the amount of the concealed payment to the Customs officer. If you brought a tape deck with you, you would deliberately dirty it up a little, and pack it with your underwear. If it was found you would say it was a cheap one, you had had it for years, etc. When the bill of $720 was presented to you, you would haggle it down to maybe $25 dollars (US cash) under the table. This was the reality.

With regard to the watches, Mohinda told me that Charan liked to give watches as presents to family members as well as wear them himself. My impression they were not Rolex or Tag Hauer, but dress watches in the sort of range of price of $50 to $300 each.

So I understood what to do with the Customs "shake down artists" just as well as anyone else. I would not let them try to "shake down" my Guru.

I must have been exactly the kind of "good" Satsangi Mohinda and Charan were looking for. It was only much later when the glitter fell out of my eyes, when I became an "ex-RSSB Premie" that the nausea set in. Only then did I realize that I had been seriously breaking the law and I could have got into big trouble. This man whom I had loved so much had placed me in danger and had shamelessly taken advantage of my and other satsangi's willingness to do anything for their Master.

I hope this will place the actions in the contexts in which they occurred. I agree that it shows remarkably bad judgment on Charan's part. If it helps remove the veil from some people's eyes with will have a beneficial anti-cult result.

Bob , (ex Beas rep)

P.S. Mohinda is still around. He is the person to interview to get the whole story -- the big picture. I wonder what his take on Sant Mat is now.

I have just read the young student's post. He presents a totally accurate picture. The only thing he did not elaborate on concerning the "gora" (white, non-indian) entering India is this. First, the Customs people were given instructions not to hassle "respectable" looking goras. And not to overly hassle the hippies -- check them for drugs, maybe. But all Indian nationals are a different story. Thoroughly go through all their belonging. They know the "rules" so the size of the bribe can be quickly calculated.

Maharaj Ji's room in Mohinda's house was almost 25% filled with shopping. That represents many many trips to get it delivered inside India. As your student indicated, no Indian would even blink for a second about the propriety of doing this.

My problem is this. I was led to believe that Charan was a God-man, a Perfect Living Master. If there were such a thing as a PLM on earth, then there is no way He can do wrong, by definition. If a PLM steps on an ant, the ant gets human birth in his next life. Doing any activity that the PLM wishes is the highest SEVA.

If the Guru is a wonderful human being, a noble human being, a scrupulous honest human being, and he asks (either directly or by way of his friend) that you carry some of his things in your luggage, then you can use your discrimination, and decide whether you want to do so or not. If he is a PLM, you do not question anything. You want to be the kind of Satsangi that believes in his Master when all else have left. You are rebuilding your platform as many times as you are asked to do so.

So, the perfect Gurumukh will schlepp exactly as much Weetabix and gold watches, for his Guru as his Guru might require.

Here is Charan Singh's diary entry regarding his discovery that he is the new guide in human form. This is from Treasure Beyond Measure, pages 14 and 15.

While driving, suddenly my heart began sinking & I felt that Beloved Master [Jagat Singh] had left us. I could hardly drive & so requested father 2 take my place.

On reaching Dera at about 1-30 P.M. next day, seeing so many Buses & Tongas people moving about in disordered manner, my doubts were confirmed & this sad news were delivered to me by Aman ji (Mrs. Kunda Singh) We at once left for the River Bank where His last rites were being performed. That place was about 4 miles from Dera & it was a terrible trial for father to walk all this distance. On the way, many people crossed me & some showed unusual respect, which of course irritated me. On reaching the spot, L. Dharam Chand from Amritsar matha tekya [bowed with folded hands]. I understood what all that meant. I was shocked & surprised to find S. Bahadurji’s order for me. People surrounded me & one after another every body had his way. I hardly knew what to do. I never felt so bad & so ashamed as I felt then. I was feeling as if I had committed some henious crime of my life & I had been punished with the sentence of death & people have just surrounded me to see my execution. It was terrible for me to spend three hours there. Destiny could hardly play a worse joke than this. I knew I was not what I was taken to be & yet I could not find any way out of this.

Sciences reproduces spiritual experience

The Neurology of the Spiritual Experience

An essay in hypertext by Scott Bidstrup

Hearing the Voice, Seeing the Vision

The experience of the 'infinite sublimity' as Einstein described it, is an old one. Rock paintings in Australia, Africa, Europe and the Americas show clearly that the shamanic experience of the mystical goes back to the earliest times in human history. And the experience of the mystical is a common one. Millions of Americans can describe 'out-of-body' experiences, many more can describe 'near death' experiences. Many more can talk about how, in a blinding flash of an all-consuming experience, they have felt, even seen the presence of Jesus, the Virgin Mary or of any other particular religious personality. They talk about how, in minutes, or hours, or even days, they had experiences that convinced them that God is real, Jesus or whoever else is real, and that there is no question but what there is a guiding presence in their lives.

With all that testimony, the testimony of millions, how could science doubt the reality of the experience?

For many scientists, the whole question of the "god experience" was a matter they didn't want to undertake - not because they feared the outcome, but because they feared the difficulty of undertaking the research. With a reductionist view, trying to explain an experience that was not reproducible in the laboratory made the whole investigation of the spiritual experience to be one that was far too difficult to research, and one that was unlikely to be reproducible to the extent that research could be published and verified.

All that has changed.

Viola! Instant God Experience!

Using an ordinary striped yellow motorcycle helmet, which he has modified with electromagnetic coils, he can place the helmet on your head, connect the wires to a device he has constructed that generates the proper signals, and when the magnetic fields produced by the coils penetrate the skull and into the temporal lobes of the brain, the result is the stimulation of those lobes and a religious experience results.

In common with the Hindu view that a confrontation with God is a confrontation with the self, the nine-hundred plus people who have undertaken the experience produced by Dr. Persinger's helmet have had some very profound experiences. Four out of five say that they've had experiences so profound they would be life-changing had they not understood the mechanistic underpinnings of what they had experienced.

How does Dr. Persinger's helmet work? It works by inducing very small electrical signals with tiny magnetically induced mechanical vibrations in the brain cells of the temporal lobes of the brain, located in the skull just above and forward of the ears. These lobes are the portions of the brain that produce the "Forty Hertz Component" of the brainwaves detected in electroencephalograms. These mysterious "forty hertz components" are present whenever you are awake or when you are in REM sleep. They are absent during deep, dreamless sleep. What the "forty hertz component" does is not well understood, but we know that it is always present during the experience of "self." We cannot have a "me" experience without the forty hertz component being present.

What this means is that the forty hertz component is essential to our experience of self. We cannot experience our sense of individuality without it. It stands to reason, then, that if the forty hertz component could somehow be suppressed, the sense of individuality would be suppressed with it, and indeed, this is what Dr. Persinger's helmet does. It turns off the forty hertz component and with it the sense of individuality which your brain uses to define "self" as opposed to "rest of the world."

When the brain is deprived of the self stimulation and sensory input that is required for it to define itself as being distinct from the rest of the world, the brain 'defaults' to a sense of infinity. The sense of self expands to fill whatever the brain can sense, and what it senses is the world, so the experience of the self simply expands to fill the perception of the world itself. One experiences becoming "one with the universe."

But What About the God Experience?

There are two temporal lobes in the brain, one on each side. The one on the left, in most people, is the dominant one, responsible for language, which becomes dominant when we first learn language as children. The one on the right, non-dominant, contributes to the sense of self with constant communication with its opposite colleague. But being on the far side of the brain, sometimes the communications get out of whack, often as a result of stress or disease, and the forty hertz component falls out of sync. When this happens, the result is that the normally silent right-hand sense of self becomes experienced as a separate presence by the left-hand sense of self.

This is the experience of the God presence. There is an overwhelming sense of presence, an inescapable feeling that someone is there. But when the forty hertz component is deeply attenuated or entirely absent from, say, the left side, and there's no "self" experience occurring, the feeling of unity with infinity is occuring with a sense of an overwhelming presence resulting from the continued operation of the right hand side, there is no way to describe it other than feeling that one has experienced the "infinite presence." Hence the God experience.

All of this has been verified not only experimentally with Dr. Persinger's helmet, but by use of high-tech brain scanning machines similar to the CAT and MRI scanners that many of us have experienced.

And The Sense of Timelessness in Prayer and Meditation? Many deeply experienced meditators feel, when deep in meditation, an experience of transcendance of the here and now. They feel a sense of being outside of time and space. How is this experience produced? We now know from the results of investigations using a brain-scanning technique called SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography), how these experiences arise. Researchers have produced images of the brains of Tibetan Buddhists who undergo deep, profound meditative experiences as the result of years of practice. They have done the same with a Catholic nun, who, after 45 minutes of deep prayer, had her brain scanned to determine what centers were active and what centers were not.

The results show that in both cases, the pre-frontal cortex, which controls attention, is highly stimulated. The subjects are clearly deeply attentive to their task. But the superior parietal lobe, the center that processes information about space, time and the orientation of the body in space, is suppressed, and is almost totally quiet. The result is that there is no sense of time, space or being in the world. And not feeling "in the world" leads to an "other-worldly" experience. So it is not surprising that those who have this experience describe it as being in the "spiritual realm."

What About The Near-Death Experience?

The sense of orientation is lost when the superior parietal lobe shuts down. The 'self' no longer feels anchored to the body, because the sense of self being in the body is lost, and one seems to be rising to 'heaven.' We now know that the vision of the tunnel is produced by the visual cortex being disconnected from sensory input, and beginning to shut down. Same with the light at the end of the tunnel, which is an artifact of the brain 'looking' for sensory input it cannot 'see.' The visions of a beautiful summer garden or lovely mountain landscapes are the result of the memory centers acting on the centers of the brain that organize visual input into things we recognize, which is operating in the near-total absense of sensory input. All of these brain activities together produce the familiar being of light at the end of a tunnel, and the entrance into the beautiful summer garden.

These experiences have a deep feeling of reality to them. This is simply because the centers of the brain that are producing the experience are cut completely off from sensory that would dilute the 'realness' of the experience. Hence, the subjects who report these experiences describe them as being so real they were not at all like a dream. Indeed, they weren't. They were dreams undiluted from sensory reality.

What Does All This Mean?

It is clear that the meaning of the understanding of these phenomena are easily explained in detail through well-understood neurological processes in the brain. What are widely regarded as evidence for the existence of a spiritual realm can easily be explained by the material, the mundane. So in the light of that reality, what does the religionist have to say?

Those who have communicated their interpretations to me say that they remain unconvinced that this means any new. I disagree. For most who write to me regarding my essays about the reality of a metaphysical universe, I have but one thing to say: your most powerful, persuasive evidence, namely your own powerful, personal experience, can now be easily and rationally explained, in all its features. No metaphysical explanation is necessary. Because no metaphysical explanation is necessary, your evidence is no longer evidence of anything metaphysical.

So now, religionist, how do you prove your case?

Books I recommend (which, if you wish, you can buy from Amazon.com by pursuing the links here): Why God Won't Go Away: Brain Science and the Biology of Belief, by Andrew Newberg M.D., Eugene G. D'Aquili Ph.D., Vince Rause. This book is a great explanation of the biology in this essay. Frequently cited by both religionists and atheists alike, this book explains the physical basis of the 'god' experience, without being a polemic against religion. At the same time, it also undermines the position that the experience of God is a purely spiritual phenomenon, without a physical basis. While some of the book is wasted in philosophical musings, the explanation for the biology of religious experience is there, and is reasonably complete.

The Mystical Mind: Probing the Biology of Religious ExperienceEugene G. D'Aquili and Andrew B. Newberg. This book is one of the more comprehensive books on the subject. A complete and thorough explanation, it does not get lost in the arcanities of neurophysiology. If you can read Scientific American, you'll be able to comprehend this book. It's one of the best around.

Above Source URL: http://www.bidstrup.com/mystic.htm

Persistent patterns of reported experience would be due to electrical coherence (Brazier, 1972) through which structures, typically not coordinated, display brief interaction. Systematic access to (1) infantile memories of parental images (perhaps even perinatal representations proprioception), and (2) images from before four to five years of age and memories for which there are no retrieval formats, could occur. Both would be attributed to extrinsic ("ego-alien") sources (Mahl, Rothenberg, Delgado, & Hamfin, 1964), and be incorporated within experiences that share similar neuroelectrical patterns. The former would be a universal source of God (parent surrogate) images while the latter would foster conclusions of "previous lives" or "other memories." Complex sequences are influenced simply by the numbers of structures incorporated into the TLTs. Since they are primarily positive experiences, the responsible neuronal aggregates should be near fields of reward neurons. To some extent, all of these experiences have been evoked, in a fragmented manner, by crude surgical stimulation (Gloor, 1972; Horowitz & Adams, 1970). They include out-of-body experiences (mental diplopia), vestibular sensations (spinning through time-space), auditory experiences (rushing sounds, the voice of god or a spirit creature giving instructions), perceptual alterations (looking down a tunnel; bright lights), and peacefulness. Like direct cranial stimulation, the experiences may be perceived in a dream atmosphere. Since neuronal ensembles associated with the "sense of self" are also recruited, TLTs have great personal significance whose privacy is protected. The hypothesis predicts that there exists a temporal lobe syndrome containing experiential aggregates that reflect its function (Ervin, 1975). Repeated, intense hallucinogenic TLTs should be followed by and reciprocal to delusions (Weinstein, 1970). Extreme and bizarre symptoms, such as circumstantiality, a sense of the personal (egocentric references; divine guidance), viscosity (perseveration), hypergraphia (diary writing), altered affect, and, of course, a dominating religiosity occupy one of the continuum. They would be evident as interictal behaviors in populations with various stages of temporal lobe epilepsy (Geschwind, 1983) or temporal lobe psychosis (Bear & Fedio, 1977). Less severe displays, which are woven within the dynamics of borderline or "soft" temporal lobe signs and do not involve disorders in thought processes, constitute the central region of the scale. Typical symptoms would include: early morning highs (0200 to 0400 hr.), déja-vu experiences, vibration sensations before sleeping, "waves of energy permeating the body," recurrent vivid dreams, intense meaningfulness after reading material about unusual or unexpected situations, feelings of unreality (depersonalization), peaceful at quiescent episodes of diffuse concentration, memory blanks, experiencing the presence of other beings, the special personal significance of chance events and the distortions in serial order of events (telepathic/precognitive experiences). They are normal responses; only their frequency or duration of occurrence and the degree to which they dominate the person's behavior predict the potential pathology.

http://www.trancenet.org/research/index.shtml

Here are some highlights of their findings:

* 63% experience serious physical complaints

* 70% recorded a worsening ability to concentrate

* Researchers found a startling drop in honesty among long-term meditators

* Plus a detailed examination of the history, culture, and secret teachings of the TM movement. Summary of Effects of TM Meditation (kumndalini yoga): Effects of the TM Program

Dr. David Lane, editor of Faqir Chand Unknowing Sage says

However, while I agree that the disciple is really a chump to PROJECT all sorts of psychic junk upon a guru figure........ there is no getting around the REAL crux of the problem:

The Beas Lineage has de facto nurtured a concept that the gurus are PERFECT MASTERS (God incarnate) and, as such, have the power to do anything.

This is the real problem.

.And Sawan, Charan, Jagat, and Gurinder are directly to blame for perpetuating this fraud.

Everything else is merely a footnote.

That is why Faqir Chand argued that these gurus were robbers and thieves.

What did they steal?

The disciple's innocence, naiveness, projections, desires, love, good will, and hope.

This is a much greater sin than stealing their property.

Note : Julian Johnson (author Path of the Masters)

The Serpent Power, Aurthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe) "The hearing of the nadi sounds is included under Pratyahara, and under Dharana the rousing of kundalini." Page 223, The Serpent Power, Aurthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe), Madras, 1964, 7th edition

But, whereas the Jnana-Yogi attains Svarupa-Jnana by his mental efforts WITHOUT ROUSING KUNDALINI, the hatha yogi gets this Jnana through kundalini Herself. Buddhi itself becomes Laya and the Yogi attains the true unmodified state of the Atma, in which the Jivawho is then pure Buddhi is merged in Prakrti and the Brahman, as salt in the waters of ocean and as camphor in the flame.

Kundalini as Mahamatrka-sundari has 51 coils, which are the Matrkas, or subtle forms of the gross letters or Varna, which is the Vaikhari form of the Sabda at the centers. Kundalini when with one coil is Bindu; with two, Prakrti-Purusa; with three Saktis .... In the body, unmanifested Para-shabda is in Kundalini-Sakti. That which first issues from it is in the lowest chakra, which extends upward through the rest as Pasyanti, Madhyama and Vaikhari-Sabda.

Yoga therefore is the method whereby mental intellection and feeling and Prana are first controlled and then stayed. When the Citta, Vrtti, and Prana are stilled, then Cit, or Paramatma stands revealed. It supervenes without further effort on the absorption of matter and mind into the primordial Power (Sakti), whence they sprang, of whom they are manifested forms, and who is Herself as Siva one with Him who is Siva or Consciousness.

The arising of such a state is called Samadhi... the experience is achieved after the absorption (Laya) of Prana and Manas and the cessation of all ideation (Samkalpa). Until then there is that fluctuation and modification which is the mark of conditioned consciousness, with its self-diremption of "I" and "Thou".

KUNDALINI SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

by El Collie

This letter is typical of the hundreds we receive from people struggling with strange symptoms and Kundalini illnesses:

Muscle twitches, cramps or spasms.

Energy rushes or immense electricity circulating the body

Itching, vibrating, prickling, tingling, stinging or crawling sensations

Intense heat or cold

Involuntary bodily movements (occur more often during meditation, rest or sleep): jerking, tremors, shaking; feeling an inner force pushing one into postures or moving one's body in unusual ways. (May be misdiagnosed as epilepsy, restless legs syndrome (RLS), or PLMD.)

Alterations in eating and sleeping patterns

Episodes of extreme hyperactivity or, conversely, overwhelming fatigue (some CFS victims are experiencing Kundalini awakening)

Intensified or diminished sexual desires

Headaches, pressures within the skull

Racing heartbeat, pains in the chest

Digestive system problems

Numbness or pain in the limbs (particularly the left foot and leg)

Pains and blockages anywhere; often in the back and neck (Many cases of FMS are Kundalini-related.)

Emotional outbursts; rapid mood shifts; seemingly unprovoked or excessive episodes of grief, fear, rage, depression

Spontaneous vocalizations (including laughing and weeping) -- are as unintentional and uncontrollable as hiccoughs

Hearing an inner sound or sounds, classically described as a flute, drum, waterfall, birds singing, bees buzzing but which may also sound like roaring, whooshing, or thunderous noises or like ringing in the ears.

Written by a Kirpal historian (his views)

I have read this line of David Lane many times and I am always surprised by this. Treasure Beyond Measure clearly indicates that Charan Singh made vigorous early efforts to evade his fate (becoming the Guru) , finally concluding that he had no choice but to accept the guruship. Given his total social circumstance, family relations, etc., he may have felt he had no choice, that he was trapped, with not way out, however painful and difficult it was for him.

In a private letter allegedly written by Kirpal Singh in late 1951, a definite attempt by Charan Singh to arrange his early abdication is described. This letter was circulated back to Beas and a law suit was threatened and an apology demanded, likely regarded as a face saving action on the part of the Beas administration.

(In a strange twist of fate, the circulation back to Beas of Kirpal Singh's alleged letter may have indirectly brought the scheme to an end.)

--- Salig Ram, by eyewitness ---

The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett

Theosophical University Press Edition

Letter No. 40 Received about February, 1882.

Suby Ram (Salig Ram)-- a truly good man -- yet a devotee of another error. Not his guru's voice -- his own. The voice of a pure, unselfish, earnest soul, absorbed in misguided, misdirected mysticism. Add to it a chronic disorder in that portion of the brain which responds to clear vision and the secret is soon told: that disorder was developed by forced visions; by hatha yog and prolonged asceticism. S. Ram is the chief medium and at same time the principal magnetic factor, who spreads his disease by infection -- unconsciously to himself; who innoculates with his vision all the other disciples. There is one general law of vision (physical and mental or spiritual) but there is a qualifying special law proving that all vision must be determined by the quality or grade of man's spirit and soul, and also by the ability to translate divers qualities of waves of astral light into consciousness. There is but one general law of life, but innumerable laws qualify and determine the myriads of forms perceived and of sounds heard. There are those who are willingly and others who are unwillingly -- blind. Mediums belong to the former, sensitives to the latter. Unless regularly initiated and trained -- concerning the spiritual insight of things and the supposed revelations made unto man in all ages from Socrates down to Swedenborg and "Fern" -- no self-tutored seer or clairaudient ever saw or heard quite correctly.

(Signed) M. (Theosophical Master Morya)

The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett Theosophical University Press Edition

http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/mahatma/ml-40.htm

Below refs., R.S. Correspondence with Americans, S. D. Maheswari,Vol.1,1960,p.253-256, and Vol. 2, p. 278, 1962

Quote

1.He ( Jaimal ) offered Bhet for building a house in Soami Bagh,

3. EVEN ON BEING TURNED OUT, HE AGAIN APPEARED IN THE SATSANG of MAHARAJ SAHEB ( MISRA). ....When reprimanded for doing unbecoming acts, he would even beg pardon and PROMISE NOT TO POSE AS A GURU..."

Extracts from the Council Dec. 25, 1902, 3:00 P.M.

( regarding Jaimal ) Resolution #16

(3 people including Jaimal Singh listed.) Signed Chachaji and Baleshwar Prasad.

Extracts from the Council June 12, 1903 6:00 P.M. :

(Resolution shows complaints against Jaimal for posing as a guru)

(direct entry of Council )

signed by secretary also.

Now the remarkable entry by Council just three days before Jaimal died !!!

direct entry Council log

UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED, signed , PRATAP SINGH SETH ( Chachaji ) PRESIDENT .

These original Council documents exist to this day, no one disputes them . Dr. Agam Mathur also confirms excommunication proceedings of Jaimal in his book Radhasoami Faith. Court depositions during Dayal Bagh case show Adjohia (Salig Ram's son) and Sudarshan confirmed excommunication proceedings.

From letter #99, from "Spiritual Letters," published by Radha Soami Satsang Beas:

1 ---The 'updesh', namely the system and method of Initiation and Bahajan, should be the same as was practised and taught by Swami Ji Maharaj, and not as Misra.

3 --- Offerings will not be solicitied form our Satsangis, because they are all poor and we do not wish to take anything from them. Here we give 'updesh' (initiation) only for Bhajan and Simran.

End of Excerpt from letter #99.

From Spiritual Letters #97, published by RSSB:

End of Excerpt from letter #97.

Above all copyright Radhasoami Satsang Beas c.

All quotes used are for intellectual discussion This site is not connected with any Radhasoami group and is non profit, no money involved whatsoever.

That Salig Ram founded the Radhasoami Faith is a historical fact, not conjecture for speculation. Agra claims Swami Ji was aware of Radaswami region, but when Salig Ram reached it internally, he named it to the satisfaction of Swami Ji, whom was very pleased. Radhaswami region is at least two planes higher than the old sant mat gurus taugh as Sat Nam . When Swami Ji was asked about Salig Ram he stated ' I do not know if I am his guru, or he is mine.'(Biog. Hazur Maharaj,Agra). The satsang of Salig Ram exploded with disciples from all over India, including a Viceroy.

The five names as stated were not made up by Beas...

Notes on Beas Printed Letters

2. This complete paragraph is left off the same letter #5 ; "Instructions have been issued to Lala Tara Chand for sending you Prem Patra 1,2, and 3 per railway parcel. So you will get the books." The books Sawan was studying were written by Rai Salig Ram . The word Radhaswami was edited out of Jaimal's letters several times according to Maheswari and he gives several examples. There appear to be many distortions in Beas printed letters according to Agra which shows no records of some letters being written at all. Beas admits they have many more unprinted letters.

Again same club Feb. 3 2000

Re: Sawan Singh on Miracles neuralsurfer, David Lane, 2/3/00 1:30 pm