Yoga Of Inner Light And Sound

Author(s): Achyutanand Swami, Praveshkumar Singh
Publisher: Santmat Sangh Samiti Chandrapur

Page 18

Among all the planes or spheres, the realm of "sāra shabd" or the Quintessential Unstruck Sound occupies the highest echelon. Arriving (rising) into this sphere by practising the surat shabd yoga (Yoga of Inner Sound), the Soul can see the God clearly, although a very thin veil still, says Maharshi Mehi, separates the two one from the other. And it is only after even this sphere of Kaivalya, or the Realm of Primordial Unstruck Conscious Sound is also transcended that the Soul unites or becomes one with the God, becomes the God. Yoga or Union thus becomes complete.
Therefore there is a crying need to shed light on the various aspects of Bindu Dhyān and Nāda Dhyān for gaining true insight into the precepts of Santmat. Such a task could be authentically executed by only such a person who has had the experience of these inner realms. That way the book "Bindu-Nada Dhyān" is an invaluable gift from Swami Achyutanand Ji Maharaj. Revd. Swami Achyutanand Ji Maharaj has crafted an exquisite & eloquent explanation, in his book titled "Bindu - Nāda Dhyan", of the Yoga of Inner Light and the Yoga of Inner Sound, in which Santmat takes utmost pride. He has dealt with the highly esoteric concepts in his typical inimitably simple and lucid style, dwelling upon the method as well the significance of inner meditation. This book, full of priceless pearls of wisdom, is a must-read for any spiritual seeker as it has been written by a person who had the rare fortune of living for more than two decades in very close association with Maharshi Mehi Paramhans (28.04.1885 - 08.06.1986), one of the greatest ever sants and Gurus in the Santmat tradition, and thus of learning the finer secrets of Santmat's way of meditation. Maharshi Mehi had also appointed him the editor of "Shanti Sandesh", the Hindi spiritual monthly published from Maharshi Mehi Ashram, Kuppaghat, Bhagalpur, India, a post he held till a few years after Maharshi Mehi departed. This also provided Revd. Swami Achyutanand Maharaj the vast exposure to Santmat literature worldwide and the golden opportunity to delve deeper into the treasure-trove of the wisdom of Santmat. He was initiated into the Yoga of Inner Light, and subsequently also into Sound Meditation, by Maharshi Mehi himself. In this book, replete with quotes from scriptures and sants, he has masterfully put in perspective all the facets of "bindu-dhyān" (Yoga of Inner Light) and "nāda-dhyān" (Yoga of Inner Sound) that constitute the bedrock of meditation in Santmat.
This book proved a right away hit among the Hindi speaking lovers of the Santmat. Some people, however, felt the need of translating the book into English for the benefit of English speaking people from India as well as overseas where there is an acute scarcity of Santmat literature especially from Sant Tulsi Sahab-Sant Baba Devi Sahab - Maharshi Mehi - Maharshi Santsevi lineage. They approached me for taking up this task. I was, however, reluctant to accept the responsibility in realisation of my limitations... I considered myself not competent enough for the job. However, the insistence increased and when Revd. Swami Achyutanand Baba himself instructed me, I had no other go. I undertook the task hesitatingly, but had the solid backing of my friends and family members, especially my father, wife and brother, who lent me the much needed support. I had some very valuable inputs from my respected spiritual brother, Mr. Don Howard and spiritual sister, Mrs. Veena R. Howard from Santmat Society of North America. As I kept on posting, from time to time, excerpts from the translated works to my spiritual yahoo group "sant_santati" (the Progeny of Sants) at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sant santati and other Santmat groups, I got splendid encouragement of friends like James Bean, who runs Spiritual Awakening Radio in the USA and many other spiritual groups related to Santmat, Radhasoami and others. My brother, Rajesh Kumar, my wife, Suman Singh, and spiritual brother, Sri Choudhary sacrificed hours in proof-reading. My sons, Abhishek and Prasoon, lent me wonderful emotional support. I acknowledge here with a sense of immense gratitude the contribution of each & everyone who helped me in any way in seeing the book through the press.