The "metaphysical" author and "ambitious teacher" I mentioned earlier, in his writings plagiarized
much of The Path of the Masters by Julian Johnson. One thing that
really struck me about these examples of plagiarism is the treatment of God. In Julian Johnson's
book God is referred to as "He" or "Him," but in the plagiarized versions God almost always is
transformed into an "IT." I also have a new version of the Jap Ji published by
another Light & Sound group. This version is "based upon" a translation made by Master Kirpal.
In this new version God is also transformed from a "He" into an "IT," to force the Jap
Ji into conforming with "Westernized" new age sant mat.
These quotes are from Prologue and from Stanza I of the Jap Ji, and will
illustrate the pronoun changes that were made to Kirpal Singh's original translation. "He is
Naam (Conscious Spirit...)" (original Kirpal translation) "It is Naam..." (new version) "Through
the favor of His true Servant, the Guru, He may be realized. He was when there was nothing; He
was before all ages began; He existeth now O Nanak, and shall exist forevermore." (original
Kirpal translation) "Through the favor of Its true Servant, the Guru, It may be realized. It was
when there was nothing; It was before all ages began; It existeth now, O Nanak, and shall exist
forevermore." (new version) "One cannot comprehend Him through reason..." (original Kirpal
translation) "One cannot comprehend It through reason..." (new version)
And these quotes are taken from Stanza II of both editions. "By His Will is matter quickened into
life; By His Will is greatness obtained; By His Will some are born high and others low. By His
Will are men's joys and sorrows ordained; By His Will (the pious) obtain Salvation; by His Will
(the impious) wander in endless transmigration. All exist under His Will." (original Kirpal
translation) "By Its Will is matter quickened into life; By Its Will is greatness obtained; by Its Will
some are born high and others low. By Its Will are men's joys and sorrows ordained; By Its Will
(the pious) obtain Salvation; by Its Will (the impious) wander in endless transmigration. All exist
under Its Will." (new version)
The new "IT-god" approach comes across as cold. For many, it just doesn't invoke warm
feelings of love and devotion. Traditionally, the Sants of India seek to cultivate in their
disciples love for God. He becomes their Beloved.
The Saints and Mystics have, in their travels, discovered that there are many different levels
(emanations, manifestations) of the True God (Anami-Radhasoami). At the level of Sat Lok (the
Fifth Plane, the first true eternal spiritual region of Sach Khand), God (Sat Purusha, Haq, or
Truth) is described as the "True Being," -- a personal God-with-form. Sometaimes Saints
describe God as masculine, sometimes feminine, sometimes both -- androgynous. Often in the
Furbani (Sikh Scriptures) Masters pray, "Thou art my Father, Thou art my Mother." Tukarama, a
medieval Sant from Maharastra, said "O God, thou art a Sea of Compassion; Mother, Father,
and Brother to me."
At the level of Alakh Lok (the Sixth Plane, the second spiritual region of Sach Khand, the
"Invisible Realm") God is described as the "Inaccessible Being." At the level of Anami Lok (the
Eighth Plane, fourth region of Sach Khand, the "Nameless Realm"), the Supreme Being is
described as the "Anami," or "Nameless One." He is also called "Radhasoami" -- "the Lord of all
Souls." The Most High Supreme Being, the Lord of Love Who lives in the Infinite Ocean of Love
(Anurag Sagar), has been described by Sants as "Nirguna" and "Nirankar." Both terms mean
"Formless." The Most High God is "Formless," "Nameless," "Merciful," and the "Reservoir of
Love." Here All is One, or as Kabir says, "As the river enters into the ocean, so my heart
touches Thee." This is Ultimate Reality.
"The Lord is the True Beloved and is the Fountainhead of Love." (Discourses of Babuj
Maharaj)
According to the great Saints and Mystics of Sant Mat our relationship to the Supreme Being
can be that of love (bhakti), and that the spiritual journey at its finest is a journey into
love "God is love, our soul is a drop from the Ocean of love, and the Way back to God is
also through love." (Sant Kirpal Singh) In new age and pseudo sant mat circles God has
become an "It-god," or as Shirley MacLaine has said, "...god, or whatever you want to call It."
Generally, in the psychic-level religions (from the vantage point of the astral plane)
god is a far,
far away cosmic force called the "universal intelligence." This cold, frosty, distant metaphysical
approach stabs at the very heart of mysticism, especially that of Sant Mat mysticism. God is
most assuredly not merely a cosmic "thing" whose sole purpose of existence is to be magically
manipulated by human beings trying to gratify all their earthly desires.
The following quote comes from the book Streams of Nectar by Master Darshan Singh,
and will give you an idea of the ways that lovers of the Beloved Lord have expressed devotion,
worship, and love to their Creator. "In trying to convey this soul/Oversoul relationship to us the
Saints and Mystics have had to resort to various analogies. Jesus spoke of it in terms of 'father
and son." Shri Ramakrishna spoke of it in terms of 'mother and child.' Mira Bai spoke of it in
terms of 'husband and wife.' Like Saint Teresa of Avila and Mystics throughout the world, Saint
John of the Cross depicts the relationship of the soul and God as that of lover and Beloved, of
bride and Bridegroom. As the relationship develops, the lover awakens to his or her lover and is
changed into love itself. This is the transformative power through which the human becomes
divine."
Sant Rajinder Singh says, "When we look inward, we look into the eyes of unconditional love.
God is love, and the soul, being of God's essence, is love. The two merge into one, and the
result is eternal bliss. This is the most sublime of unions, the most divine of marriages. Nuptial
bliss of this earth is but a small taste of the wondrous bliss from the union with the Lord. Tulsi
Sahib has said:
I have found everlasting fulfillment
For I am wedded to the Immortal Lord.
This is a union that transcends time and space. It has no beginning; it has no end; but flows
ceaselessly. At such a state, we are bathed in this unconditional love within us at all times."
(Empowering Your Soul Through Meditation, Element Books, July 1999)
I believe that it's no coincidence that the greatest lovers of God also happen to be the greatest
Mystics in all of human history, the ones who report: having the most rapturous meditations,
seeing the most Light, hearing the most glorious Sound/Music of the Heavens, soaring in spirit
through the highest of spiritual/heavenly realms, and making the most rapid progress along the
Path of the Masters, ultimately merging with God -- the One True Being, the Ek Ong Kaar Sat
Purusha -- the Beloved Lord of All Souls -- the Being Who loves His children/souls.
"Contemplate thou that Lord who dispels all thy sins instantaneously. For, if one forsakes God
and leans on another, one is never fulfilled. O my mind, dwell on thy bliss-giving Master."
(Adi Granth)
The "ambitious teacher" and author who turned out to be the founding father of "Western" Light
& Sound spin-off groups, wrote of himself flying through heavenly worlds and higher planes. He
was also a science fiction writer! After a number of years I came to the conclusion that his
accounts of fantastic voyages, traversing higher regions of inner space, and the numerous
dialogues with a "Tibetan Master" (who mostly used non-Tibetan terminology borrowed from the
Sant tradition!? that "appeared to him in his radiant body," were also works of complete fiction.
He, in other words, pioneered a genre one might call "mystical fiction," which, very much like
science fiction, represents the telling of amazing stories of super men exploring wondrous,
magical worlds of the imagination. In these works of mystical fiction, our hero is a perfect
disciple of a five hundred year old Tibetan sage. Unlike you or I, this perfect disciple gets an "A-
plus" every time; he always gives a brilliant answer at just the right moment; he always grasps
the profound discourses of his cosmic mentor and guide. Eventually our star puil is appointed to
become the next supreme master of the universes of time and space. For those who embrace
these works, not as fiction but as representing real events, we witness the making of a new
spiritual movement.
Perhaps in the next century seekers will be less gullible -- more discerning. May we celebrate
the day when finally we are rid of the untried, untrue metaphysics of the new age, and the toxic
philosophies/paradigms that hve so plagued the souls of this century, attempting to strip them of
their common sense, their souls, and their Creator. We have been very, very fortunate indeed to
have even survived this century, given the procession of the merchants of death and the false
prophets who, having observed the splitting of the atom, were emboldened to attempt to unravel
the very fabric of the universe itself. Let's be grateful that, through the grace of the Supreme Lord
and His Saints, we've survived this century. May we no longer be dissuaded by the voices in this
culture who prefer us deaf and blind, unable to have faith in any real Masters, since we've been
conditioned to no longer trust anyone anymore. May seekers find an honest teacher and humbly
sit at his/her feet. May we make use of this precious opportunity of life to enjoy being lovers
of the Beloved -- this is a beautiful legacy.
Saint Symeon once said, "When men search for God with their bodily eyes they can find him
nowhere, for He is invisible. But to those who contemplate in the Spirit, He is present
everywhere. He is in all, yet is beyond all. In this, His salvation is near to those who revere Him,
but far away from sinful men."
From the Hindi Padavali of Sant Namdev:
There is no room
for guile.
Govind Gopal (God)
is the sea
of virtue.
You have no feeling
for God
in your heart,
fellow,
yet you preach it
to others.the road
to heaven
as you travel
down the path
to hell.
You are taking poison
from a
blind man
and you know it.
You are humping into a pit
with a
blind man
your eyes wide open.
You are blind to charity
and compassion,
to good deeds, dharma,
humility and
devotion to God.
Sing of the Lord
and His devotees,
fellow.
Never put your faith
in anything
else.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RECOMMENDED READING:
- Inner and Outer Peace through Meditation, Rajinder Singh, Element Books;
- Empowering Your Soul Through Meditation
, Rajinder Singh, Element Books, July 1999;- Streams of Nectar
, Darshan Singh, SK Publications;- Songs of Kabir
, Rabindranath Tagore, Samuel Weiser Books;- The Name of My Beloved -- Verses of the Sikh Gurus
(anthology of the Adi Granth), Nikky Singh, Alta Mira Press;- Tukaram
, Ranade, SUNY Press;- The Spiritual Path
(anthology of the writings of Master Kirpal Singh), SK Publications;- The Making of a Spiritual Movement
, David Lane, Del Mar Press;- The Path of the Masters
, Julian Johnson, Radha Soami (RS) Books.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Those interested in the further research along the lines of this article will enjoy the following links:
The Spiritual Awakening Forum -- be sure to check out the "links" section!!!
David Lane's "The Making of a Spiritual Movement" and other Eckankar-related links
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