know thyself oct nov dec 2009 web

October November December • 2009

ShabdThe Eternal Song

Know

visit our website at www.editionnaam.com SPECIAL FEATURE 2

T a b l e o f C o n T e n T s

The Master’s Words

Theme Section

4 The Master Leads Us to God

8 The Moment You Find Your Self, You Find God

14 Shabd, the Indissoluble Union of the Master and the Disciple

15 Shabd: What It Is

16 The Magic of Mystical Poetry

18 How Sound Meditation Keeps Us Safe

20 Ocean of Life, Land of Bliss

22 Short Prose on Shabd

23 The Master Walks With You Hand in Hand

24 Listen Within

25 The Healing Power of Sound

26 The Soul´s Plea to the Mind

Know Thyself is published four times per year by Edition Naam, the publishing division of Know Thyself as Soul Foundation.

Submissions welcome: [email protected]

Subscription info:[email protected]

Know Thyself Magazine16753 16th StreetLive Oak, Florida 32064 USAPhone: (386) 842-5317Fax: (386) 842-2567

TO SUBSCRIBE:Check or money order:Make payable to “Know Thyself” (Funds in US$ only). Enclose your name, address & phone number. Mail to address at left.

Cost: $15 per year in U.S. $20 Canada & Mexico $25 all other countries

Donations are appreciated.

Natural Living30 Delicious, Nutritious, and Good for the Soul

Edition Naam28 Songs of Love

MasterCard or Visa:Call (386) 842-5317or visit: www.editionnaam.com

Know

Copyright © 2009 Know Thyself as Soul Foundation, International

Special Feature10 The Living Master

The Eternal SongShabd

visit our website at www.editionnaam.com SPECIAL FEATURE 3 3

3

e l c o m eto the October-November-December

2009 edition of Know Thyself magazine. The

theme of this issue is Shabd, the Eternal Song.

Sant Baljit Singh described the steps necessary to achieve success in

meditation and to realize God in oneself. He revealed this information in the

satsang “The Four Steps to God.” This satsang, presented by the Master to the

participants of the Start Afresh Retreat last summer, was recorded and is available on

DVD. The printed version can be found in the January-February-March 2009 issue of

Know Thyself.

The past two issues of Know Thyself featured the first and second steps, seva and simran.

The Master said that one should do seva while engrossed in simran, the holy remembrance

of God. After seva and simran comes the third step: Shabd or Sound. While listening to the

Sound, the soul is being prepared for the last step, surti (surat) or consciousness at the third

eye center.

The benefits and joys of the Inner Sound are experienced when one practices meditating upon

it. Sant Kirpal Singh explained how the Holy Sound impacts upon the soul:

To relieve the mind from the outgoing senses, it must be attuned to the sweet symphonies of

the inner music of the soul, the Word, reverberating in and through all. As this is eternal, so

also will be our attachment to it and we will know no change and no pain. The mind will no

longer wander away to external objects once it gets steeped in the strains of the Eternal

Song. With its help, the world-weary soul rises into the higher spiritual planes.

~Sant Kirpal Singh, The Jap Ji (2002, p. 33)

In the first satsang in this issue, “The Master Leads Us to God,” Sant Baljit Singh

explains that the Master connects us with our spiritual source through the Light

and Sound meditation. To have a strong and complete connection with this

life-giving energy, some things are required of us. This talk describes what

we need to do to nurture our inner connection of Light and Sound, a

supreme gift from God.

In the second satsang, “The Moment You Find Your Self, You

Find God,” the Master provides practical and inspiring

guidance for achieving regular meditation.

W

4 THE MASTER‘S WORDS visit our website at www.editionnaam.com

On the spiritual path we are required to do some-thing; there are no shortcuts. Your intelligence, education, and intuition cannot help you. None of these can show you the way out. This path is for simple people, not for those with complex minds. Those with complex minds question a great deal, which makes it difficult for them to follow the Master.

The Master is not like anything we have ever encoun-tered. He is a living source of spiritual energy, like a live wire or a fireball. He radiates energy all around him, and you can feel it if you are not protecting yourself. If we are insulated by lust, greed, anger, attachment, and ego, we cannot feel the Master’s energy. How can you enjoy the cool, refreshing rain if you wear a raincoat?

In the same way, if you want to feel the energy of the Master, you have to shed these covers of lust, anger, greed, attachment, and ego. One by one, we should get rid of these. When we are fully prepared, we will feel the energy and be attracted.

A magnet has little effect on a rusty piece of iron covered in dirt. Yet the moment you clean away the rust and dirt, the piece of iron instantly snaps to the magnet. They come together at once because the magnet strongly pulls the piece of iron toward it, and nothing is between them to prevent the attraction.

When we are clean inside and out, we cannot remain unattracted and unattached to the Master. The Master is a source of energy, full of energy, nothing else. If you have an electrical conductor and a lamp, and you connect the two, then the lamp will begin to glow. It is that simple. You are like a lamp, and the Master is a powerhouse. The Sound and Light current are the two wires connecting us to the Master’s powerhouse of energy. When we are connected to that powerhouse, we glow and come alive.

Sant Balj it Singh

Leads Us to GodThe Master

Master is an embodiment of God’s spiritual energy.

When we surrender, he serves as a divine link

connecting us through meditation and guiding us on

our journey back to God.

visit our website at www.editionnaam.com THE MASTER‘S WORDS 5

However, if there is even one cover shielding us, we cannot feel the intensity of the Master.

Whenever you sit in meditation you may feel the interfer-ence of the negative power, as you call it. That power has five strong agents called lust, greed, attachment, anger, and ego. Ego does not allow you to respect others, not even your Master. Ego inflates you and makes you think that you are the only one important, and so you disregard the others.

“Strait is the gate and narrow is the way.” What does this mean? That only thin or slender people can go through this narrow gate and others are not allowed? No, it means that you cannot find your way back to God if you are inflated with ego of any kind, whether of money, knowl-edge, or anything else. God is not against material riches or anything else. The problem is that your attitude toward wealth causes you to become inflated in your mind and ego, and this does not allow you to go toward God.

Master is a very precious gift to have with us physically. Yet Master is not the body. You will only come to know the real Master when you go inside and find him there. However, that will take time.

There are a few people who think they are seeing the Master inside when it is actually a form taken by the negative power. These people prefer to remain under the illusion so that they can feel that at least they are seeing something. They do not even try to verify whether it is a real experience or not.

The Master knows who is having true experiences. When Master appears inside, it is Master paying you a visit. He knows whom he is leading and whom he is visiting. Just as you also know very well where you went today and whose house you visited.

So there is no need to inform the physical Master about your inner experiences. People sometimes do this to gain


some special recognition. There is no need because Master already knows.

You have been given a tool to test all inner appear-ances—the power of simran. No shape or form taken by the negative power can stand before the simran and it has to disappear. Only the positive power can remain. Yet, as I said, some people do not want to test their experiences because they enjoy seeing what they are being shown, even if it is from the negative power. They are happy with that, and then they have ego about their inner experiences. Such people need to verify their experiences with the outer Master.

Master knows everything, and he leads you. Even when he is leading you along the way, you will not come to know the whole truth about the Master Power or even the Master. No explanation can be given about the Master.

This physical body is God’s home. Just as you run your own house without your neighbor telling you how, you also need not be concerned with how God uses your physical body. For example, as long as God is using my body, I will go on receiving his instructions and will do my level best to follow them. When I leave my body, I will go wherever he takes me. I need not be concerned about it.

Once you have surrendered to God, the matter finishes there; then it is no longer your responsibility or concern. When two kings fight, one ultimately loses or surrenders to the other. Then whose responsibility is it to take care of the kingdom of the one who surrenders? In the same way, when I have surrendered everything to the wishes of God, why should I be concerned afterwards? God will take care of everything.

So we must bow before the wishes of God and surrender to him. Instead, we make offerings from our pocket, from our hard-earned money, to the churches, temples, or other places of worship. When we make an offering, we are giving a part of whatever belongs to us, but we are not surrendering. Surrendering is giving our whole soul to God.

You cannot be accepted by God in parts, so complete surrender is necessary. Unless you surrender fully, you will never even get a taste of what you are looking for.

We should surrender in front of Father God and let him decide our course of life. Parents wish the best for their children and try to provide it for them. When I surrender to God and accept him as my Father, will he not do the best for me? He will. Moreover, he is the source of every-thing and has no shortage of anything. He can provide for us in all areas of life much better than we can.

You are sitting here today, which is proof that you have not yet come out of the cycle of birth, suffering, and death. You were here before, and still you are here. Had you done the best thing that you could for yourself, you would have merged in the ocean of love with Father God. You would have become one with the One. Everything else you do keeps you bound to the material world. You have been trapped here for birth after birth, undergoing suffering and more suffering, dying again and again. Let us hope this story will end one day. Only you can put a full stop to it—no one else can.

So please do your best. God is waiting for you and looking forward to having you come back to him. That is why he sends you the Masters and saints to tell you about the reality of life and provide you the way back to your true home. You can end your suffering now and also end his wait. It is up to you, and it is in your capacity.

Have firm belief in the Master and follow his instruc-tions. Even a little bit of ego will prevent you from bowing to the Master. You are not able to see God, so where can you bow? You can only begin to feel God and apprehend him in the body of the Master. That is the beginning. You have to love the Master and respect him in order to love and respect God. Tomorrow you may reach the highest level of realization and become equal to the Master, but do not forget that your accomplish-ment will only be because of the Master.

Everything in this world has a system. Most organiza-tions have by-laws, regulations, or constitutions. Even


Copyright © 2009 Know Thyself As Soul Foundation, International(Talk given August 5, 2005, Lighthouse Center Oregon, USA)

to run a small industry, one needs rules and regulations. The universe also exists under its own laws. God has cosmic laws to run his universe and his home. We must follow these.

When you feel attracted to God or want to see him, your first glimpse is only in the form of Master. You need to carefully understand something about this. The Master could be sitting with his eyes closed, not listening or talking, but still he knows everything that is going on. He is called a Master because God has provided him with powers that assist him in his work. Even though you cannot see these powers, they are working for the Master. They keep him aware of all that you are doing and all that is happening.

So the Master tells you the way, connects you back to God through the Light and Sound current, and leads you within. Have full faith in the Master, follow him, and do what he says. Otherwise, you are living an endless story, cycling through births and deaths. You do not know how many times you have been through this cycle of birth and death before now. The body dies, not the soul. The soul is eternal. So follow the Master. Your wish and will is to be his wish and will.

Ultimately, what do you want? If you want to reach the fifth plane, you will need to leave the physical body. The body cannot go there, only the soul can. Ultimately the soul will return there. So why fear death? The soul never dies.

Unfortunately, the immortal soul is trapped in one body after another, and suffers from this situation. The soul wants liberation, but the mind wants the world. The soul wants to go back home, but the mind wants to continue wandering in this world.

We are souls and should go back to our source. We can only go back the same way that we came down. When we descended, we took on a super-causal body, a causal body, an astral body, and a physical body. On our journey back, we have to shed these bodies. We will leave the physical body on the physical plane, the astral body on the astral plane, and so on.

Master tells you the way and leads you there. He awakens you and makes you realize yourself. He does so many things for you. So do as the Master tells you.

Master says, “Meditate!” So let us meditate and connect our self with God.

[After meditation]

We are together for another two days, but when you go back to your homes, I request you all to continue medi-tating. As I have said more than once, meditation is nothing but doing nothing. However, there is something special about this particular form of doing nothing. It needs a certain quality and also perfection.

Perfection will come with practice, so do not worry about that. Today, one may be imperfect, but with practice, one will become perfect. So continue to practice.

Sitting daily for meditation will become a habit after some time. Once a habit is formed, you tend to enjoy it and find it hard to give it up. Whatever you enjoy, you will do a lot. So it is very simple. Continue practicing your meditation, and it will become a habit. When you start enjoying it, you will want to do it for the maximum amount of time.

During this retreat you have been given a foundation. You must build on it when you go back home. Life in the material world is a struggle, but do not let go of the foundation that you have built here. Keep on adding to it daily, even if it is only a small amount. One day it will grow into something very big. So continue with your practices.


Maybe throughout the day you have been waiting for the evening to arrive. If you have been enjoying our evening meditation sessions together, then you will certainly look forward to the evening.

There are other activities scheduled for you during the day, but these are just to prepare you for the meditation. In other words, attending this retreat is like going to a garage or a workshop where you are tuned up or repaired.

When you are at home there is a tendency to be less disci-plined, and gradually you lose your good habits. When you come here for a retreat, in the beginning you may not enjoy it because so much is asked of you: “Be here at this time; go there at that time. Now do this; then do that.” The purpose of all this, however, is to help you to form new habits. It’s about learning. So whatever you do during the day is just to prepare you perfectly for the meditation in the evening.

While you are here you should follow all the retreat guide-lines implicitly, keep the disciplines, and participate in the scheduled activities because these will help you develop good habits for your betterment. You should cooperate with the local organizers and help them in any way you can, as this will enable them to serve you better.

We have gathered here with one goal: to realize God within and be one with him. This goal has been mentioned many times over the ages in different words by different people; but how many have achieved it? Very few; you can count them on your fingertips. Nevertheless there is nothing difficult in what the saints have asked us to achieve.

Everybody says, “I want to find God.” At this retreat, a few excited souls have also told me that they want to find

God. However, we can only find something if it is lost. God has supreme knowledge of everything, and he is certainly wiser than we are. How can God get lost so that we need to find him? In fact we are the ones who are lost. We have become lost in this world.

So just reverse the process: Instead of trying to find God, try to find yourself. The moment you find yourself, you will find God. That’s why the organization that has orga-nized this retreat is called “Know Thyself As Soul.” This means that you don’t know who you really are. First, you need to know yourself as soul. You know yourself as something else, not as a soul. So, you are the lost one, not God. Don’t try to find God, try to find your self. I am telling you what I have personally realized. You will find God the moment you find yourself, because you are a small version of the living God.

To find the kingdom of God within is to find God. He is within, not far away. You don’t have to search for him. You only have to concentrate within. Throughout the ages your attention has only been outside. You never went within.

Father God is always there within, waiting for you to be one with him. He is hoping that you will come back one day and is looking forward to your arrival. Although their methods may be different, all of the saints tell us one thing: to go within. The journey is inside. We frequently go on outer journeys to other countries. This inner journey, however, is the shortest possible. How far do you have to go? You only have to go within. It’s just a tiny distance to go within and you are taking ages for that!

So let us travel a little again today. Make yourselves comfortable.

Sant Balj it Singh

You Find GodThe Moment You Find Your Self,


[After meditation:]

Every day our meditation is different but it is getting better, and that is what we want. There must be steady progress. Rome was not built in a day. So don’t worry; keep putting in effort. There should be steady progress, even if it is slight. One step a day will take you to your destination.

Much can be said about meditation, but one of the most important things about meditation is patience. The body and the mind might refuse to cooperate. Sometimes the heart too refuses to take stress and is not willing to coop-erate. However, the cooperation of the entire body and the mind is essential. As I said in the beginning, it’s only a matter of creating a habit. When you meditate daily, try to sit straight and bring your body and mind in line. Try to make them obey you. When everything falls in line then you will achieve what you are looking for. I’ve reminded you time and again that it’s not really difficult. It’s all about daily disciplined practice. Sometimes you’ll be able

to put in two hours, sometimes more time; but whenever you can find time, sit for meditation.

Do whatever you need to do in your daily life, but keep your priority clear. Make it very clear in your mind that, whatever you do in your daily life, you are only doing it in order to meditate. Your prime goal should be medita-tion, and everything else should be secondary. You need to do things just to maintain your body, and meditation can only be done while you are in the body. So all your worldly activities must be considered as a support for meditation.

Engrave this permanently in your mind: You are doing everything to do meditation. Set your priority, and schedule your daily life accordingly. So whenever you have time for meditation, you must do it!

Maybe until now you have seen nothing inside; however, at any time the curtain can be lifted and you will start seeing something. For example, a room may have been dark for ages, but the moment a lamp is lit, the darkness is gone. Do you think the darkness will say, “I won’t leave; I’ve been here for 250 years”? It has to go.

Believe me, it can happen any day, so don’t get discour-aged. Keep a positive attitude. Don’t discourage yourself by counting the number of years and hours you’ve been meditating. This makes it clear that you are sitting in meditation with expectations. When you have expecta-tions it means that your mind is active, and when your mind is active, you can’t meditate. Do the meditation without thinking about the result. Let it be in the hands of God. We only have to follow his will. We should do what he wishes us to do.

That is all for today. Enjoy your evening in any way you like. Pranaam to you all.

Copyright © 2009 Know Thyself As Soul Foundation, International(Talk given July 27, 2005, Lighthouse Center Oregon, USA)

10 SPECIAL FEATURE visit our website at www.editionnaam.com

Please enjoy this circular from Sant Thakar Singh, originally released on February 15, 2005, which wonderfully

emphasizes the need for a living Master and demonstrates the loving care Sant Thakar Singh took to introduce

our present living Master, Sant Baljit Singh.

“For practical help and guidance on the physical level,and to find the divine radiance which helps our soul,we always need the company of the living pole…”

visit our website at www.editionnaam.com SPECIAL FEATURE 11

Sant Baljit Singh

The Living Master

“For practical help and guidance on the physical level,and to find the divine radiance which helps our soul,we always need the company of the living pole…”

12 Shabd, the Eternal Song visit our website at www.editionnaam.com

rue is the Lord, True His Holy Word;

His love has been described as infinite.

Men pray to Him for gifts, which He grants untiringly.

When all is His:

What can we offer at His feet?

What can we say to win His love?

At the ambrosial hour of the early dawn,

Be you in communion with the Divine Word

And meditate on His Glory.

Our birth is the fruit of our actions;

But salvation comes only from His Grace.

O Nanak, know the True One as immanent in all.

He can neither be established nor created;

The Formless One is limitless, complete in Himself.

Those who worship Him are honored;

Nanak, ever sing of the Treasure-house of all virtues.

Let us sing of Him and hold communion with the Word,

with hearts full of loving devotion;

For then shall all sorrows end and we be led joyously Homeward.

The Master is the Song Eternal, the Word personified.

Guru Nanak, quoted by Sant Kirpal Singh,The Jap Ji (2002), pp. 90-92

T

visit our website at www.editionnaam.com Shabd, the Eternal Song 13

Meditation on Nad or the Sound Principle is the royal road to salvation.

Hansa Naad Upanishad

Sant Kirpal Singh, Naam or Word (1981), p. 40

O God, lead my soul to that blessed place, wherein the symphonies flow.

Maulana Rumi

Sant Kirpal Singh, Naam or Word (1981), p. 135

A true Master brings the message of Shabd and talks of nothing else but Shabd.

Hail as a Master Divine he who can draw down the Celestial Music from above.

Paltu

Sant Kirpal Singh, Science of Spirituality (2007), p. 20

The Eternal Song

Shabd

All Masters are worthy of adoration, each in his own place and in his own way;

But Him alone would I worship, who is embedded in the Sound Current.

Sant Kabir

Sant Kirpal Singh, Science of Spirituality (2007), p. 20

Whenever and wherever your heart yearns for the Lord and feelings of love awaken, then pay obeisance at that

very place. Begin to sing the praises of the Lord that very moment, or attentively focus on the inner Sound Current

and rise above body consciousness by withdrawing your attention upwards.

Sant Baljit Singh

“The Lesson of Love and Devotion”

Nawan Nagar, India.


Shabd, the Indissoluble Union of the Master and the Disciple

o it is the God-in-man who can link us with God. In other words, one who has established a contact with God can show us the way to effect this contact for ourselves. Thus, God in the garb of man is the Guru of all. When Guru Nanak was questioned on this subject, He replied: Verily, it is the holy Word, Shabd, or the Sound that is the Master; and the soul in man permeating through and through the phys-ical body, is the disciple. Now what is meant by Shabd? The absolute God is Ashabd (Wordless); but when He comes into expression, He is known as Shabd (Word). The Gurbani tells us: With one Word, the whole creation came into being. Again Gurbani says: It is from Shabd that the whole creation comes into being and ultimately gets absorbed into it, and it is through Shabd that regeneration takes place.

This manifested Power-of-God which is the substratum of the entire creation is called Shabd. This Shabd then is the Jagat Guru or the Master-power. This very question was put to Kabir: “O Kabir, Who is the Master and where does the disciple reside? How did the two get together in an indissoluble union?” He replied: “My Master is in the Beyond, while the disciple is in the body. Both of them got together by means of Shabd, and now there is no fear of separation between the two.” So the Master of all the world is the Shabd-power or the holy Word. Guru Gobind Singh has put it succinctly: He who is one and the same in the beginning and the end is the manifested Power-of-God, the Shabd, and that is the real Master.

~Sant Kirpal Singh

The Night is a Jungle (2000), pp. 248-250

S


the Indissoluble Union of the Master and the Disciple

The subject of Shabd is such that we cannot do justice to it by discursive reasoning. All that can be said is that “Shabd” implies the Power of God that has created and is sustaining the various grand divisions, divisions and subdivisions of the vast creation of God. It is a current from the Ocean of Consciousness and is characterized by Sound-vibration. In other words, it is a live and active principle which, emanating from God, is enlivening all creation. It is the instrument with which God creates, controls, and sustains His vast universe. It acts as a life-line between the Creator and His creation and serves as a golden bridge between the two. The divine currents, like the ethereal waves of a radio, are spread out in the atmosphere in all the directions of the compass, giving out delec-table strains of music. We, however, cannot catch the ethereal vibrations and listen to the divine melody until we get in tune with the Infinite by adjusting our mental apparatus. Therefore we become etherealized more and more as we come in tune with the heavenly music. Shabd is the connecting link between God and man. In brief, Shabd alone is the true religion—a binding force that rebinds us to our Source. All the powers of Nature depend on and work through this Shabd or the Sound Principle. The Pranas or the vital airs, that are the source of all energy—electrical, mechanical, magnetic or atomic—and are the most active agents in the physical-material plane, are but an outer manifested form of the Shabd. Like the electric waves with which the whole atmosphere is charged, Shabd in its most subtle form pervades everywhere in Its fullness and is thus the Creator.

~Sant Kirpal SinghNaam or Word (1981), pp. 128-129

HOW CAN WE LISTEN TO THE SOUND PRINCIPLE?The next natural question is how the Shabd can be contacted and attuned with. The saints tell us that we can listen to the Sound Principle if we can introvert and stop listening to the outer sounds of the world around us. In other words, we must learn to recede into our own Self by a process of inversion and become a Pure Self by releasing the soul from the prison of the facts of life, before we can qualify the Self for Self-realization, which comes by listening to the Sound Current. A holy communion with and practice of the Sound gradually disenfranchises the soul of all that is of the world and reveals that love, life and light are the basis of all creation. We have, in brief, to stop the energy flowing out through the sense-organs, particularly the eyes, ears, and tongue, and concentrate it at the still-point in the body, the center of the soul, leaving the mind high and dry, before we can listen to the Music of the soul in Its fullness.

Close down the three outlets and attend to the ceaseless Music, O Nanak! in the deep silence of the soul, there is a perpetual light with no sunrise and sunset.

~Sant Kirpal SinghNaam or Word (1981), p. 151

SHABD: ITS BLESSINGSShabd brings in untold blessings. It is the powerhouse of all energy or force in any form, from Pranas down to electricity and magnetism. Every form of life is the manifestation of Shabd. All that is, is of Shabd and nothing is that is not of Shabd—life-current pulsating in and out of space. Those who commune with Shabd and live in and by Shabd are verily the children of the Supreme One, the life of life and the light of light. Shabd is the very Bread of Life which comes down from Heaven for all those who hunger after righteousness and the very Water of Life for those who thirst after Self-knowledge and God-knowledge. True love, wisdom and power are the greatest gifts that one gets by basking in the sunshine of Heaven’s Light.

~Sant Kirpal Singh Naam or Word (1981), p. 175

SHABD: WHAT IT IS


hroughout time, the songs, prose, and poems

that relay the experiences of love and longing and

the soul’s journey home have inspired and intrigued

human beings. What is it about the words of the

world’s renowned saints and mystics that touches us so

deeply? Is it the truth that shines through their words,

the beautiful way they describe the soul’s journey and

purpose on this earth, or the feeling of remembrance

they offer to those who seek a spiritual connection?

Seek the wisdomthat will untie your knot.Seek the paththat demands your whole being.Leave that, which is not,but appears to be.Seek that which is,

but is not apparent.

~Maulana Rumi

(Death Before Dying—The Sufi Poems of Sultan Bahu;

translated by Jamal J. Elias; University of California Press, 1998)

MySTIcAl PoeTryTHe MAgIc of

T


Mystical poetry touches us to the core of our being. We humans are all on a journey to discover the treasure that lies buried within us. These poems remind us about this journey, speak to us about our true and eternal home, and give us hints of how we can find our way. Whether the poems are from Hafiz, Nanak, or Rumi, or from the writings of Sant Kirpal Singh, Sant Thakar Singh, and Sant Baljit Singh, the words ring true to those whose hearts and souls are awakening from a long slumber.

In powerful and expressive words, the mystical saints teach us about love, nonviolence, meditation, service, and humility. They describe the happiness and bliss we can find when we take to heart these teachings. The poems unfold in unique and creative ways, telling us about the inner Sound, the spiritual Master, and the soul’s journey within.

My fingers and my handsNever move through empty space,For there areInvisible golden lute strings all around,Sending Resplendent ChordsThroughout the Universe.I hear the voiceOf every creature and plant,Every world and sun and galaxy—Singing the Beloved’s Name!I have awakened to find violin and cello,Flute, harp and trumpet,Cymbal, bell and drum—All within me!From head to toe, every part of my bodyIs chanting and clapping!

~Hafiz

(I heard God Laughing: Renderings of Hafiz;

translation by Daniel Ladinsky; Paris Printing, 2004)

Each poem is a jewel, revealing another aspect of universal truth presented in the poet’s unique flavor. Each poem appeals to different people in different ways, but the core message remains the same. To know ourselves as souls, to live a good and honest life, to serve and love others, and to meditate and know God are themes found throughout mystical poetry. Readers discover concepts such as the Inner Master and the Sound Current in poems by mystics from many cultures and traditions. This emphasizes that these ideas are open truths for humanity, rather than the exclusive teachings of one group or another. Coming together from different beliefs and backgrounds to appreciate our common spiritual heritage as human beings is at the core of the Master’s teachings.

If we can enjoy what the mystic poets say, we may be inspired to integrate bits and pieces of their wisdom into our daily lives. Their exquisite poetry gives us a taste of the peace and oneness exemplified by the great souls who have walked amongst humanity. The powerful love behind their words calls to our hearts and souls to awaken and find the Source.

Where heart is, love is also.He who dwells in love, dwells in God, God in him.There is only one person for you in this worldand that is God in Master.God is working in him,blessing us in everything.But our cup is not upright,it remains always downward.So knock at the door;it will be opened for you.Whatever you ask, it will be given.

~Sant Thakar Singh

(The Subject of Heart; Edition Naam, 2004)


How Sound Meditation Keeps Us SafeSant Thakar Singh

hen you attune yourself with the Sound, in the beginning you will find that the mind, which is charged negatively, will not be able to accept this Sound. The mind will evade the Sound, will wander here and there and will not attend to the Sound. It will not like it, and you will feel like getting up and ignoring it. That is due to the control of negative impressions upon your mind; they will not like what is coming to you. But keep on sitting, and after some time you will find that the mind is much more receptive to the Sound and some taste is there, sweetness and peace are there. Some love is also available from the Sound.

Then the mind will begin to like it, because the mind’s likes and dislikes are according to its desires. The mind wants respect, sweetness, peace, and love, and when these are available from inside, then it will ignore what is from outside. Outer love and outer peace are tempo-rary and not so strong, but love, peace, and sweetness from the inside are very strong. After some time you will be completely cleaned and charged with the posi-tive power. You will have a stock of goodness that will remain with you. Anything that comes from the nega-tive atmosphere of the outer world can be kept away and nullified by this stock of goodness. This will save you.

W


How Sound Meditation Keeps Us SafeSant Thakar Singh

This method that is given to us is the best, the surest, and the most practical. It is not so difficult. We, the people of this world who are engaged very much in worldly pursuits, have not much time. If we are initiated by a competent Master, then we are connected with this highest and strongest life-giving impulse of Sound and Light. This is the way that we can save ourselves in this age…

This meditation on Sound and Light has the effect of burning away all the impressions of the karmas, even those done in past lives. Those karmas that are still in your stock from past lives, or from what you have done or are still doing in this life, will all be nullified. Then you will not be left with any kind of karmic burden, good or bad, but you will have only blessings from God. You will be able to enjoy these, and these will remain with you. This is a good stock, really workable and practical, and from which you can benefit…

The Sound and Light have the competency to make us clean, and then we are totally free of any kind of adul-teration from the outer world, and we are again right side up. So this is the way that we can live safely in this world.

If you are connected with the holy links of Light and Sound, even if killers, burglars, drunkards, or other negative people come around you, they will be unable to affect you or control you. Instead, your positive power will have an effect upon them.

From Live the Life of Soul (Edition Naam, 2005; pp. 155-156;edited for Know Thyself magazine)


Oceanof Life, Land of Bliss

T What a wonderful lotus it is, that blooms at the heart of the spinning wheel of the universe! Only a few pure souls know of its true delight.

Music is all around it, and there the heart partakes of the joy of the Infinite Sea.

Kabir says: “Dive thou into that Ocean of sweetness: thus let all errors of life and of death flee away.”

Behold how the thirst of the five senses is quenched there! and the three forms of misery are no more!

Kabir says: “It is the sport of the Unattainable One: look within, and behold how the moon-beams of that Hidden One shine in you.”

There falls the rhythmic beat of life and death:Rapture wells forth, and all space is radiant with light.

The whole world does its work and commits its errors: but few are the lovers that know the Beloved.

The devout seeker is he who mingles in his heart the double currents of love and detachment, like the mingling of the streams of Ganges and Jumna;

In his heart the sacred water flows day and night; and thus the round of births and deaths is brought to an end.

Behold what wonderful rest is in the Supreme Spirit! and he enjoys it, who makes himself meet for it.

Held by the cords of love, the swing of the Ocean of Joy sways to and fro; and a mighty sound breaks forth in song.

See what a lotus blooms there without water! and Kabir says“My heart’s bee drinks its nectar.”

he light of the sun, the moon, and the stars shines bright:The melody of love swells forth, and the rhythm of love’s detachment beats the time.

Day and night, the chorus of music fills the heavens; and Kabir says:

“My Beloved One gleams like the lightning flash in the sky.”

Do you know how the moments perform their adoration?

Waving its row of lamps, the universe sings in worship day and night,

There are the hidden banner and the secret canopy:There the sound of the unseen bells is heard.

Kabir says: “There adoration never ceases; there the Lord of the Universe sitteth on His throne.”


OceanThere the Unstruck Music is sounded; it is the music of the love of the three worlds.

There millions of lamps of sun and of moon are burning;There the drum beats, and the lover swings in play.

There love-songs resound, and light rains in showers; and the worshipper is entranced in the taste of the Heavenly nectar.

Look upon life and death; there is no separation between them,The right hand and the left hand are the one and the same.

Kabir says: “There the wise man is speechless; for this truth may never be found in Vedas or in books.”

I have had my Seat on the Self-poised One,I have drunk of the Cup of the Ineffable,I have found the Key of the Mystery,I have reached the Root of Union.

Travelling by no track, I have come to the Sorrowless Land: very easily has the mercy of the great Lord come upon me.

They have sung of Him as infinite and unattainable: but I in my meditations have seen Him without sight.

That is indeed the sorrowless land, and none know the path that leads there:Only he who is on that path has surely transcended all sorrow.

Wonderful is that land of rest, to which no merit can win;It is the wise who has seen it, it is the wise who has sung of it.

This is the Ultimate Word: but can any express its marvelous savour?He who has savoured it once, he knows what joy it can give.

Kabir says: “Knowing it, the ignorant man becomes wise, and the wise man becomes speechless and silent,The worshipper is utterly inebriated,His wisdom and his detachment are made perfect;He drinks from the cup of the inbreathings and the outbreathings of love.”

There the whole sky is filled with sound, and there that music is made without fingers and without strings;There the game of pleasure and pain does not cease.

Kabir says: “If you merge your life in the Ocean of Life, you will find your life in the Supreme Land of Bliss.”

What a frenzy of ecstasy there is in every hour! and the worshipper is pressing out and drinking the essence of the hours: he lives in the life of Brahma.

I speak truth, for I have accepted truth in life; I am now attached to truth, I have swept all tinsel away.Kabir says: “Thus is the worshipper set free from fear; thus have all errors of life and of death left him.”

There the sky is filled with music:There it rains nectar:There the harp-strings jingle, and there the drums beat.

What a secret splendour is there, in the mansion of the sky!

There no mention is made of the rising and the setting of the sun;In the ocean of manifestation, which is the light of love, day and night are felt to be one.

Joy for ever, no sorrow,—no struggle!There have I seen joy filled to the brim, perfection of joy;No place for error is there.

Kabir says: “There have I witnessed the sport of One Bliss!”I have known in my body the sport of the universe: I have escaped from the error of this world.

The inward and the outward are become as one sky, the Infinite and the finite are united: I am drunken with the Sight of this All!

This Light of Thine fulfills the universe: the lamp of love that burns on the salver of knowledge.

Kabir says: “There error cannot enter, and the conflict of life and death is felt no more.”

Sant KabirSongs of Kabir (1995), pp. 60-67


Shabd Short Prose on

E P

F

O Nanak, may we rise up on

the current of the Holy Naam—the

Divine Word—to Thy Presence,

And wish peace unto all the

world, under Thy Will.

Guru NanakSant Kirpal SinghThe Jap Ji (2002), p. 17

ternal wealth is of the Naam alone.

All other riches come and go. Fire cannot

burn this wealth nor can thieves steal it.

This wealth of the Lord pervades the very

souls of all and always goes with the soul.

It is found through the Perfect Master

and never falls to the lot of one

immersed in the life of the senses.

Great indeed is the merchant, O Nanak,

who gains the riches of Naam!

Sant Kirpal Singh The Jap Ji, (2002), p. 79

ilgrimages, austerities, mercy,

charity and alms-giving, cease to be of

any consequence, when one gets an

ingress into the Til—the Inner Eye;

Communion with and practice of the

Holy Word, with heart full of devotion,

procures admittance into the Inner

Spiritual Realms, washing away the dirt

of sins at the Sacred Fount within.

All virtues are Thine, O Lord; I possess

not one, There can be no worship

without practising the Holy Word.

From Thee has emanated the Bani or Holy

Word, which is the path to salvation;

Thou art Truth, enchanting sweet,

and my mind yearns for Thee.

Sant Kirpal Singh

The Jap Ji (2002), p. 105

rom the turret of the Heaven

a call bids thee Home.

But fallen into the snares thou listeneth not.

No one knows where the

Mansion of the Beloved lies,

But sure enough the chiming of

the bells proceeds therefrom.

Khawaja HafizSant Kirpal SinghThe Jap Ji (2002), p. 24


Shabd hen you are in doubt you are not likely to obtain anything. You can get neither this world nor God. The Master takes away your doubts and brings you to the true path. He starts to walk with you hand-in-hand,

and by tomorrow you will be running. This will take some time, of course. Today a child can walk when you hold his hand, but tomorrow the same child can become a gold medalist by winning a race in the Olympics. The duty of the parents is merely to help the child learn to walk while holding its hand. Similarly, the Master leads you by holding your hand. It’s your duty to continue walking, and then you will accom-plish all. While walking on the path, listen to the instructions of the Master, act upon them, and keep on with it. The Master will make you understand that you have a physical body, a mind, and an intellect and that you are also a soul. He will tell you everything and show you the path to final liberation. He will make you aware of the Naam or the Word.

“Insane Mind, remember God.” The mind is mad and always wandering around. The mind makes you dance even when you do not want to do so. You are here today because you no longer want to dance to the tune of your mind. Although you are sitting here now, when you go away your mind will make you dance again. Then it becomes your business again.

I assume that whoever seeks the protection of the Master has seen the world, tasted it, discerned it, and then given it up. The world does not mean your lands, homes, shops, livestock, and marital status. The world, which you have created in your mind, is within you.

The outside world existed before we came here and will remain after we are gone. Even so, you cannot leave this creation. Wherever you go on this earth, the world inside of you will still be present.

The mind always wanders outside and never sits within. The Masters tell you to make the mind understand and to subdue it. Do not listen to the mind, but gradually divert it to the right way. “O insane Mind, remember God.”

Sant Baljit Singh“The Golden Opportunity “

W

The Master WalksWith You Hand in Hand


e who are miserable, the Truth is manifest; We are only half turned. Lust for the worldly aspect, keeps us in unrest.

Listen within; Master holds our hands in the darkness and blesses us anyway.Perfect One!

Master Sant Baljit Singh is pure gold. Thank you God, You have given us a rare ruby;One who loves flowers has a tender heart; Softer than rose petals and sweeter than jasmine blossom.

Listen within; Master holds our hands in the darkness and blesses us anyway.Perfect One!

It’s the gold in Him.We are but a drop.

Isn’t it?

Listen within...

WListen Within


few years ago, I developed a serious infection around my right eye. I had a

fever of 102 degrees, and an unhealthy reddish-purple color was spreading across my forehead. I felt upset and prayed to the Master Power for help. Immediately, I felt a strong urge to go to the doctor.

The doctor told me that two people in our town had recently died from meningitis, an infection of the outer covering of the brain. He said my infec-tion was deep and similar to those. So he was very concerned and prescribed an aggressive treatment of antibiotics. He wished to put me in the hospital, but I explained that we were very poor and had no health insurance. I asked if we could do the treat-ment from home. The doctor reluctantly agreed and strongly admonished me: If the redness were to expand any further, if my fever were to go up any, or if the pain were to increase at all—then I was to go immediately to the hospital. He said this kind of infection could result in a very quick decline and death, and I must take it seriously.

Shaken by what he said, I felt determined to take careful measurements at regular intervals to be sure that I wasn’t getting worse. I was trained in laboratory science and knew how important objec-tive measures are. When I got back home, I put a thermometer, tape measure, and pad of paper and pencil by my bed. I made four columns on the pad: date and time, temperature, red skin area, and pain. I took my temperature and measured the diameter of the red-purple swelling around my eye. I recorded those, along with my level of pain, using a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is extreme pain and 1 is no pain. I decided to take measurements every four hours, and if anything were worse, I would go to the hospital.

I felt tired but not sleepy after all of this, so I decided to sit in Sound meditation for a while. This felt very pleasant, and I enjoyed it tremendously.

A

The HealingPower of Sound

I felt so relaxed, as if I were resting on a gentle, warm ocean, just floating and enjoying the warmth. Four hours went by very quickly. I had never meditated so easily!

After this, I felt very refreshed. I took the measure-ments again. The fever was down one degree, the redness was ¼ inch less, and the pain was one number lower. I felt happy!

Now I was tired, so I lay down and slept a while. I woke up and saw that about four hours had passed. So I took the measurements again. Not much change.

Now I felt like meditating on Sound again. Again I had another very blessed session. The four hours passed quickly, and I felt refreshed. When I took the measurements again, everything was again slightly improved.

Over the next few days, this pattern continued.

Each session of Sound meditation felt sweet and refreshing, and each one brought a new wave of recovery. Sleep continued to have a much smaller impact than Sound meditation. The Masters say that the Sound meditation is a great medicine for illness, and my measurements were showing this. At no time did anything get worse. After three days, I was remarkably better, although it still took another week to recover.

The doctor said he had never seen anyone heal so quickly from such a serious infection. For me, I knew without a doubt that the Sound had been a significant part of the healing. The medicines and doctor were needed too, of course. But I will never forget the big difference between the measure-ments after sleep compared to those after the Sound meditation. This clearly demonstrated for me in a scientific way the healing power of the Sound.

26 NATURAL LIVING visit our website at www.editionnaam.com

The Soul’s Plea to the Mind

This is an appeal from the soul,

asking the mind to listen carefully:

“From the day we were separated

from God and came into creation,

I have been your slave and have

ever danced to whatever tune you

chose. I have always been completely

yours—please listen to me for once. I

did not even obey God’s word or the

Guru’s, but whatever you ordered I

obeyed. I read page upon page of

holy scriptures, but threw them all

away and turned my face from the

Lord—just to obey you. Never once did

I become God’s servant; never once

did I serve the Guru; I served only you.

So today I pray you, listen to me.”~ Sant Kirpal Singh,

The Night Is a Jungle

(2000, pp. 156-157)

y mind has always yearned for a higher state of consciousness. Spurred on by feelings of discontent and a sense of sadness, I pursued “things” and relationships, trying to remedy this impoverished state of being. I always felt this most acutely at parties or in crowds, when one is meant to be having fun. “What is wrong with me?” I used to wonder. “Why am I not happy? What is missing?”

The mind has been compared to an elephant running amok through the jungle, creating havoc in its wake. The Master has been described as a great Mahout (the Indian name for the handler of an elephant). His magic goad, with which he controls the huge beast, is the Sound Current. By listening to the Inner Sound, the elephant (my mind) has stopped its rampaging ways and has acquired some self-discipline and self-restraint. And living under the directions of the Mahout has created many positive changes.

Soon after I began listening to the Sound Current, I discov-ered that this treasure of the Masters has value in both worlds—the spiritual and the physical. I noticed its bene-fits immediately. I had been prone to occasional sudden bursts of irritation that affected my moods. This irritability would come upon me at any time. Through meditation on the Sound Current, this changed. I found that by habitu-ally listening to the Sound, a nourishing balm soothed my nervous system and a sense of detachment cushioned me from outer circumstances. People and situations that once would have perplexed or annoyed me, no longer had the power to disturb my peace.

M

26 Shabd the Eternal Song visit our website at www.editionnaam.com

visit our website at www.editionnaam.com NATURAL LIVING 27

The Soul’s Plea to the Mind

Now listen to your slave, and agree with me:

Rise above body consciousness and

make your home there.

As you were, so again become;

Why suffer unhappiness and happiness here?

Satguru revealed the secret unto me;

Take the mind as companion and return home.

I, the soul, am in your power;

Without your help, I cannot contact the Shabd.

If you do not listen to me,

Then go into the cycle of eighty-four.

Now show mercy unto me.

Hear my plea; search out that Sound.

~Swami Ji, quoted by Sant Kirpal Singh,

The Night Is a Jungle (2000, pp. 167-170)

I have always loved to sleep, and getting out of bed early in the morning to meditate has taken some extra effort. If I slept past my alarm clock, the first sound that often greeted my awareness would be a crow cawing outside my window. The Masters have described the mind, in yet another metaphor, as a crow, while the soul has been compared to a swan. I would then ask myself, “Do I want to remain a crow?” My answer would be invariably “No.” Then I’d jump out of bed to start my morning meditation. I have come to treasure this part of the day, when the “elephant” takes her morning bath. If she lies very still, the Mahout will lovingly scrub away the grime and dirt that have accumulated over time.

I have discovered blessings in the Sound. The Current holds me gently and gives comfort to my heart. Through the loving attention of the divine Mahout and the merit of the goad, the elephant has stopped stampeding. The elephant is still an elephant, but she has given up her circus life and performing for peanuts. Crowds no longer interest her. She is not always happy, but thanks to the gracious Mahout she has tasted bliss, which, the elephant has to agree, is worth pursuing. And what was missing in my life? God, in the form of Light and Sound.


At the end of the year in 1986, about a hundred or so initiates attended a small retreat with Sant Thakar Singh in Santa Barbara, California. Perched on the moun-tainside overlooking the sparkling Pacific Ocean, the small center was the perfect place to enjoy meditation, spiritual fellowship, and the delightful presence of the Master. This two-week retreat spanned Christmas and New Year’s and was a time of sweetness, joy, magic—and music.

Each day was filled with uplifting activity. In the early morning we meditated together, and in the mid-morning the Master gave a satsang. In late afternoon, all gathered with the Master to receive his darshan and prashad. And in the evening, we once again had satsang, followed by meditation.

One day, which those of us there will never forget, we arrived for the morning satsang and saw that Master was seated before a keyboard. Once we were still and quiet, to our tremendous surprise, he began to play the keyboard. Most of us had no idea that the Master was a musician. We were so delighted that we began to laugh and clap. What followed was a delicious treat for the ears and the soul. The music lifted our hearts and spirits and filled us with remembrance of the gift of God.

Each day the Master sang new songs to us, and soon we were humming the melodies and learning the lyrics. A few months later, during the Wappinger Falls, New York retreat (1987), the Master again sang many songs for us.

The songs were played over loudspeakers, and the retreat participants there also fell in love with them.

We were enchanted by both the words and the melodies of these heart-to-heart songs of love.

Remembrance Through Music

Songs of LoveDuring the Master’s 1988 tour, he played and sang during almost every morning and afternoon satsang. Late in 1988, the recordings were collected and released on two audio-tape cassettes, along with a small songbook called Songs of Love. The songbook contains the words of the songs, both written in the Master’s own handwriting, as well as in a typed version. In the years that followed, more audiocas-settes were released. In 2005, the songs were remastered on 10 CDs. *

Sant Thakar Singh played many traditional Indian instru-ments, including tablas, harmonium and the tampura. He also was gifted with a beautiful singing voice. The songs that he sang are his original composition.

Western ears do not always appreciate or enjoy Indian classical music, especially when first hearing it. The two forms of music are different, with different scales and presentations. Yet even those not accustomed to the different sounds of Indian music often begin to appreciate it after listening to it for some time.

Indian classical music was designed to replicate the Sounds from the inner planes. In 1988, the Master said: “Words and songs that come out of a heart that is harmo-nized with love are charged by God. God expressed himself in this great and wonderful singing. The sounds of the different planes are copied in the outer Indian clas-sical music instruments.” (Sant Thakar Singh; May 11, 1988, Costa Rica)

Dr. Rabindranath Tagore, a poet and composer who was Asia’s first Nobel prize winner, was well acquainted with both the Western and Indian systems of music. He wrote:

* The 10 Songs of Love CDs and songbook, Songs of Love, are available from Edition Naam.

visit our website at www.editionnam.com EDITION NAAM 29

O Great GodO great God, O great God, glorious One,

You know your self, else can none.

Created you angels, faithful ones,To serve your children, lovely ones.

You are the Source of fragrance, beauty,Blessed to flowers, you in plenty.

In your image holy, man was made,To glorify you and your kingdom great.

Sun shared Light from the dust of thy feet;If you bless me, will I find peace?

Sant Thakar Singh, Songs of Love

Edition Naam USA has a new home at Lighthouse Center Florida!

Our new contact information:

Edition Naam16753 16th St.Live Oak, FL 32060Phone: 386-842-5317Email: [email protected]

Office hours (Eastern Time): 8:30 a.m. to Noon and 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.Closed Sundays and Wednesdays.

Same great service, same great products! We continue to offer our full services and products. For the latest releases, please visit www.editionnaam.com and click on “New Items.”

Looking forward to serving you!

The world by day is like European music—a flowing concourse of vast harmony, composed of concord and discord and many disconnected fragments. And the night world is our Indian music: one pure, deep, and tender raga. They both stir us, yet the two are contradictory in spirit. But that cannot be helped. At the very root, nature is divided into two, day and night, unity and variety, finite and infinite. We men of India live in the realm of night; we are overpowered by the sense of the One and Infinite. Our music draws the listener away beyond the limits of every day human joys and sorrows and takes us to the lonely region of renunciation which lies at the root of the universe.

The basis of Indian classical music is spirituality, and each song the Master wrote was steeped in spiritual yearning and beauty. In June 6, 1988, after singing “Repose in Father God, Lovely” for an audience in Vermont, the Master said:

This song is a little specimen of how music can raise you up, and you will forget all worries, problems, and sorrows. Your depressed mood will be raised and after that, you will feel a little intoxicated in your own Self. You will not feel anything of the world and will feel perfect, consoled in your own Self. You will not need delicious food or fragrant flowers. You will come out of this world.

He went on to say:

Something much higher, bigger, beautiful, and more wonderful is lying unexplored within us. This Indian classical music has its own beauty. It does not take you to the words but towards its intoxicating mood, which you will enjoy… You will go on dancing in that mood.

30 NATURAL LIVING visit our website at www.editionnaam.com

he lacto-vegetarian diet is one of the foundations of the spiritual path of Sant Mat. All living beings are part of God’s creation, and eating a diet based on plants and milk products is compassionate to the animals of this world. Eating plant foods is also better for the environment than non-vegetarian foods are. So in many ways, eating the vegetarian diet is compassionate to the earth and the life upon it. Even more impor-tantly, the vegetarian diet is a boost for the spiritual life.

What we eat goes to constitute the body and the mind. “Sound mind in a sound body” is a well-known aphorism. We can have neither one nor the other with an unwholesome diet. A strictly vegetarian diet consisting of vegetables and fruits, both fresh and dried, cereals, dairy products like milk, cream, butter, cheese, yogurt, etc., is essential for all aspirants for Truth. We must therefore avoid meat, meat juices, fish, fowl, eggs both fertile and unfertile, or anything containing any of these ingredients in any form or in any degree. Every action has a reaction and flesh eating involves contracting fresh karmas and thus helps to keep the inexorable karmic wheel in motion for we have to reap what we sow. We cannot have roses if we sow thistles.

~Sant Kirpal SinghThe Teachings of Sant Kirpal Singh, Vol. 2 (2000), p. 60

Our attitude and frame of mind as we prepare foods is also important. Sant Kirpal Singh explained that there are three types of foods:

Out of the above, we should always prefer Satvic or pure foods. These do a lot of good… Cook the Satvik food with heart engrossed in sweet remembrance of the Lord. A food cooked like this, with the mind entrenched in the Beloved and the hands engaged in the work, becomes manna from heaven and proves a blessing to those who partake of it.

~Sant Kirpal SinghThe Way of the Saints (1999), pp. 293-294

Delicious, Good for the Soul

Nutritious,

Satvik Rajasic Tamsik

milk, butter, cheese, rice, lentils, beans, grains, vege-

tables, fruits, and nuts

energizing foods: peppers, spices, condiments, sour and bitter things

enervating foods: stale foods, eggs, meat, fish, fowl, and wine, etc.

Tand

visit our website at www.editionnam.com EDITION NAAM 31

Here are a few lacto-vegetarian recipes. If you would like to share your own tried and true recipes with the readers of Know Thyself, please send them to: [email protected]. Enjoy!

Broccoli Salad1 large head fresh broccoli, cut into bite size pieces½ cup raisins1 small red onion, chopped3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar½ cup plain, unsweetened, nonfat yogurt½ cup eggless mayonnaise (or yogurt)Pinch of Himalayan salt1 cup sunflower seeds, pecans, or cashews (raw or roasted, without salt)

In a large bowl, toss together broccoli, raisins, and red onions. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the honey/syrup, vinegar, yogurt, eggless mayonnaise, and Himalayan salt. Pour over broccoli mixture and toss to coat. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Remove from refrigerator an hour before serving. Just before serving, sprinkle with sunflower seeds, pecans, or cashews. Toss and serve.

Khir (Rice Pudding) With Cardamom and Almonds

Simple, delicious, and sweet. This dish was recommended as part of the festive evening meal for Guru Purnima, the special celebration in honor of the Master during the full moon in July.

8 cups (2 L) milk 1 cup (250 ml) uncooked basmati brown rice 1 cup (250 ml) unrefined sugar 1/2 cup (125 ml) finely chopped, unsalted almonds 1/4 tsp (1 ml) ground cardamom 1/4 cup (60 ml) unsalted, sliced almonds, lightly toasted

Bring the milk to a boil over high heat in a 5 to 6 quart (5-6 L) saucepan, stirring constantly to prevent a skin from forming on top. Reduce the heat to moderate. Continue to boil for 30 minutes, stir-ring occasionally. Add the rice and cook for 30 more minutes, stirring frequently, until the rice is soft and well cooked. Add the sugar and finely chopped almonds. Stir for 15 minutes over low heat until the pudding is thick. Remove from the heat. Add the cardamom.

Khichari (Rice and Mung Bean Stew)

Easy to digest, this recipe is said to have wonderful properties for helping the body to rebuild itself. Rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, this dish is also a good source of complete protein.

2 Tablespoons ghee or butter 2 teaspoons ground cumin seed3 bay leaves2 teaspoons ground coriander seed1 teaspoon turmeric powder1 teaspoon sea salt, Himalayan salt, or other nutritious salt1 cup brown basmati rice (washed and drained)1 cup split mung beans (washed and drained); whole mung beans are fine too6 cups water1 teaspoon fresh ginger root, grated3 cups of fresh seasonal vegetables diced into ½ inch cubes; can use squash, carrots, spinach, mushrooms, celery, or any other vegetables that are seasonal and that you find easy to digest

Warm the ghee or butter in a large pot. Lightly brown the cumin, bay, and coriander in the ghee or butter. Stir in turmeric, salt, rice, and mung beans. Add water and ginger. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat, and simmer covered for 15 to 20 minutes. Add the vegetables and stir. Cover and cook on medium low heat until the rice, mung beans, and vegetables are soft and well done, about 30 to 45 minutes.

32 AROUND THE WORLD visit our website at www.editionnaam.com

hy do you wander around in ignorance?

O mind, where are you wandering?

Where are you lost?” This is the way we have to make

the mind understand and bring it to meditation. Meditation is

the true wealth—as I have repeated many times—because your

meditations will go with you. The wealth of meditation will go with you,

but not the wealth of this world. Make a note of it. Everybody in the world is

losing because no one goes after true wealth. What have you earned in this world?

All your palaces, lands, animals, and other physical possessions will be left behind.

Sant Baljit Singh

“The Golden Opportunity”

W“

NONPROFIT ORGUS POSTAGE

PAIDCORVALLIS, ORPERMIT NO 16

know thyself oct nov dec 2009 web

Documents