By Sant Kirpal Singh

Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj with H.H the Dalai Lama at the Seventh World Religious Conference

The term yoga is derived from the Sanskrit root yuj which means meeting, union, communion, consummation, abstraction, realization, absorption or metaphysical philosophizing of the highest type, that promises to bring close proximity between the soul and the Oversoul ( jiva-atma and Parmatama or Brahman ). Patanjali, the reputed father of the yoga system, after the fashion of his progenitor Gaudapada, defines yoga as elimination of the vritis or modulations that always keep surging in the mind-stuff or chit in the form of ripples. He calls it chit vriti nirodha or the suppression of the vritis, i.e., clearing the mind of the mental oscillations.

"Sant Mat or the Path of the Masters... in some measure, agrees to the aims and ends thereof, but... it does not rest there, however, but goes beyond and tells us of the "Way Out" of the mighty maze of the universe and the "Way In" to the Heavenly Home of the Father, the spiritual journey that the spirit has to undertake from death to life immortal (Fana to Baqa) by rising above body-consciousness by means of a regular system of self-analysis and withdrawal of the spirit currents from the body and concentrating them at the seat of the soul (Tisra Til ), and then gradually passing through the intermediary centers beyond... until it reaches the final stage of consummation and attains at-one-ment with its Source...

"The inner man, the soul in man, has to rise above body-consciousness before it can travel into higher consciousness or the consciousness of the cosmos and of the beyond. All this and more becomes possible through the Surat Shabd Yoga or the union of "self" in man (Surat or consciousness) with the Shabd or Sound Principle, through the grace of some Master-soul.

"Those who are anxious to escape from the world and all that is worldly and seek bliss for its own sake have the path of Anand Yoga or the yoga of True Happiness, called the Sehaj Yoga.

"In the Sehaj Yoga, the aspirant does not have to undergo any of the rigorous disciplines characteristic of the other yogas. He must have a sincere and ceaseless yearning for the end of all ends, the goal of all goals, not content with a mere mastery of his physical and mental powers. And when there is such a longing, sooner or later he would find, as Ramakrishna found Totapuri, an adept to put him in touch with the vital life current within, and the current by its own force and attraction will draw him up without any excessive struggle or effort on his part. It is this that makes it in a sense the easiest of all yogas and thus it is often called Sehaj Yoga (the effortless yoga). It can be practiced with equal ease by a child as well by an old man; by a woman as well as a man; by the intellectually gifted and ingenious as well as the simple hearted; by the sanyasin as well as the householder. It consists in attuning the soul to the spiritual current ever vibrating within, hence it is known as the Surat Shabd Yoga, or the Yoga of the Sound Current." [Excerpted from The Crown of Life: A Study in Yoga by Kirpal Singh, Sawan Kirpal Publications, originally published in 1961, excerpts taken from Fourth edition, second printing, 1985, pp. 3-5, 18-19, 135.]

Sant Rajinder Singh is the current spiritual head of Science of Spirituality, also called Sawan Kirpal Ruhani Mission. This non-profit, multi-faith organization is dedicated to spirituality, peace, service to humanity and to teaching a simple and natural method of meditation leading to peace that begins with an individual and spreads to the global level. The meditation practice for initiates has been referred to as Surat Shabd Yoga, meditation on the inner Celestial Light and Sound.

Sant Rajinder emphasizes that this kind of meditation is a purely spiritual practice, so the position of the body is immaterial. Practicing this type of meditation helps us discover who we are as soul, find our way back to God, and to lead a life of love, unity and peace. Along with the study of meditation, practitioners learn how to develop noble human values that will transform and enrich their lives, enabling them to make positive contributions to the world. [Adapted from the booklet Frequently Asked Questions about Science of Spirituality?, SK publications, 2002.]

Sant Rajinder Singh, SOS’s current living adept, and grandson of Sant Kirpal Singh, will be coming to Vancouver this Labour Day weekend 2003. To learn more about meditation or the world-wide organization Science of Spirituality, visit our website www.sos.org or contact Philip in Vancouver at 604. 879. 5881.




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