Information on Radha Soami Satsang Beas, and Gurinder Singh (from the Nov/Dec '96 Sonic Spectrum)
Michael Turner
The SONIC SPECTRUM
(c) November/December 1996
UNBROKEN CHAIN (PART 5):
A LOOK AT GURINDER SINGH
& RADHASOAMI SATSANG BEAS
- by Sri Michael Turner
Having taken a look at some of the current western
Light and Sound paths, let us now turn our attention eastward
to our predecessors and cousins in India and Southeast Asia.
We will begin with, the largest Surat Shabd Yoga group on
the planet, Radha Soami Satsang Beas, which is headquartered
at Dera Baba Jaimal Singh, located in Beas, India. Founded
by Baba Jaimal Singh, it took on real form during the 45-year
mastership of Jaimal's successor, Hazur Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj.
As I mentioned a while back, after Sawan Singh passed
away in 1948, Sant Kirpal Singh Ji Maharaj left the Dera and
founded the Ruhani Satsang in Delhi, India. The Dera however
was given (by order of Sawan Singh's will) to Jagat Singh,
another one of Great Master's main disciples. With it went
the majority of Sawan Singh's sangat.
Jagat Singh was a strong and capable master, who
helped the sangat work through their grief over Sawan's death.
However, due to His advanced years and ill health, Jagat's
period of mastership was short lived. He presided over the
Dera for barely two ˝ years before shedding the body
permanently on October 22, 1951. As His spiritual/literary
legacy, Jagat left one fine book, a collection of His discourses
and correspondence entitled, "The Science of the Soul." In
one letter therein, Jagat Singh makes the following points to a
Satsangi,
"Let me explain more clearly: We have
first of all to concentrate at the eye center,
between the two eyebrows, and repeat the
five Holy Names at least two hours every day,
if not more. Thus we withdraw our consciousness,
which now pervades the entire body, up to the eye
center. Here, at this center, we contact that region
which is ruled by Jot Niranjan, catch the next
higher Shabd and reach Trikuti or the top of
the Mental Region, i.e., the region of Karan or
Causal Mind.
From this region we pass on to the
Third Stage where the soul is free from the
three covers - physical, astral and causal -
and, being rid of those dragging chains is
strongly impelled onwards and reaches the
Fourth Region or the Stage called ‘Sohang' in
Sant Mat, and to which you have referred.
Having shed these covers and realized
its spiritual nature and its kinship with the
Lord, the soul joyfully exclaims: ‘That am I'
because it realizes that the two are of the
same essence - one is the Ocean and the other
is a drop from that Ocean. You will thus see
that it involves no contradiction in any way.
The Five Names are the Names of the
Lords or Rulers of the vast Spiritual Regions
which the soul has to cross before reaching
Sach Khand. Simran or Repetition of these
Names, as directed, brings in concentration.
But it is Shabd which will draw you up and
take you from one region to another, right up
to Sach Khand.
You can hear the Shabd now, in your
present state of progress. However, at this
stage the Shabd will not be able to draw you
up because the attention is still tied to the body."
And to another, He remarks,
"The Western mind is apt to expect
quick results. However, it is not the work of
months or even a year or two to be able to train
the mind which has been accustomed to
wandering outwards for numerous births in
the past. So long as the mind does not turn
back and sit still in the "Third Eye," an individual
cannot be said to have stood on his own legs
and neither can he help others to any appreciable
degree."
Before His death, Jagat Singh clearly delineated Charan
Singh (Great Master Sawan Singh's grandson) in His will as
spiritual successor and inheritor of the Dera. Though barely
34 at the time - one of the youngest men ever to assume spiritual
mastership - Charan grew into the position quite naturally. If
He had been allowed His choice, Charan would have never
even considered the possibility of serving as Living Satguru.
Trained as a lawyer in college, Charan had a bright future as
a prominent attorney, and quite possibly a public servant.
Many of His influential friends tried to get Charan to run for
public office. However, when Charan asked Jagat Singh about
it, Jagat replied that it was not in God's plans for Him, and that
His grandfather, Sawan Singh, would not have approved.
So Charan let go of His secular ambitions and, when
He was appointed by Jagat Singh's will to lead the Dera, He
acquiesced as a matter of honor and respect for His grandfather.
He served as Living Sant Satguru of Radha Soami Satsang Beas
for nearly as long as Sawan Singh, and saw its group of initiates
expand exponentially. At the beginning of Charan's mastership,
the sangat numbered around 150,000. When Charan passed
away, there were 1,200,000, or nearly ten times as many as when
He started.
Much of this was due Charan's extensive world tour
schedule. He traveled the globe, much the same way Kirpal
Singh did, expanding His itinerary to include Africa and Mexico
as well. In addition, Charan Ji benefitted from having a stable
organizational base - both in terms of number of students as
well as long-term, relatively controversy-free, continuity, which
could only have helped give it an outer sense of legitimacy.
Maharaj Charan Singh wrote a number of books in
His lifetime, mostly collections of Satsangs, questions and
answers and correspondence with students. Outstanding
ones include "Light on Sant Mat," "Die to Live," "The Master
Answers," "Divine Light," "Spiritual Heritage" and "Light on
St. John." In "Light on Sant Mat," Maharaji makes a number
of powerful points on spirituality. Following is just one example,
"We are all either making karmas or
paying off karmas. Satsangis, by virtue of
meditation and concentration at the eye center
and contacting the Sound Current, develop a
detached attitude and are also able to pay off
their past karmas more easily. Their minds and
brains, far from being deranged, are sharper,
more acute and under control. You will
appreciate this if you give the full time to simran
and bhajan, that is, the repetition of the five
Holy Names and listening to the Divine Sound
within . . ."
When Maharaj Charan Singh died on June 1, 1990, He
appointed his Nephew, Gurinder Singh Dhillon, to serve as
His successor. Prof. David Lane includes portions of the will
in his book, "The Radhasoami Tradition,"
"I appoint Sh. Gurinder Singh Dhillon
S/o Sh. Gurumukh Singh Dhillon as my spiritual
Successor as ordered by Hazur Baba Sawan
Singh Ji Maharaj. He will be the Sant Satguru
as well as the Patron of Radha Soami Satsang
Beas Society . . . (May 30, 1990)"
This appointment apparently came as somewhat of a
surprise to many of the initiates, being that Gurinder had spent
most of the late 1980's in Spain as a businessman. In addition,
Maharaj Gurinder Ji was only 35, with a wife and two small
children, at the time of the appointment. However, the sangat
quickly rallied around Him and gave Him their unwavering
support. Since then, Gurinder Ji has undertaken several world
tours, apparently making it a point to visit the U.S. every couple
of years, in addition to Central and South America, Europe and
Africa. As a result of this global outreach policy, as of this
writing (December 1996) there are more than two million
initiates of Radha Soami Satsang Beas (an 800,000 people
increase since Maharaj Charan Singh's passing in 1990).
The presentation of the Surat Shabd Yoga Teachings
at Radha Soami Satsang Beas is fundamentally the same as
with most of their eastern counterparts. A lacto-vegetarian
diet is required (milk products only, no meat, poultry, fish or
eggs permitted), sexual continence strongly encouraged,
intoxicant and tobacco use strongly discouraged and a minimum
of two ˝ hours per day of meditation recommended.
There is no tiered initiation structure, as we find in the
western Light and Sound groups, just a single initiation into
the traditional "Panch Naam." In this process, students are
given the "Five Holy Names of God" which are spiritually
charged by the Living Master and give them access to all of
the inner regions at a pace each individual can deal with.
Initiates are instructed on the theory of the practice, the nature
of the inner regions and the proper way of chanting the five
Names silently, with the tongue of thought, while meditating
on the inner Light ("Dhyan") and Sound ("Bhajan").
As far as I know, Maharaj Gurinder Ji has yet to publish
any of His talks in book form, or release audio or video tapes
of any of His Satsangs. From what I understand, He tends to
feel that a wealth of material was released by His predecessor
and uncle, Maharaj Charan Ji, and that to add His written and
taped input would be pointless, glutting (if you will) a nearly
saturated market. Copies of His Satsangs can be obtained,
however, by subscribing to one of local periodicals, such as
Radha Soami Greetings (P.O. Box 6289, Washington, D.C.
20015-0289). They can also provide you with information
about Maharaji's tour schedule.
Additional information on the work of Maharaj Gurinder
Singh Ji (as well as the substantial catalog of books and tapes
on Surat Shabd Yoga)can be obtained from R.S. Books,
P.O. Box 242, Gardena, CA 90247. Maharaj Gurinder Singh
can be contacted directly at: Radha Soami Satsang Beas,
P.O. Dera Baba Jaimal Singh 143204, District Amritsar,
Punjab, INDIA.
* * * * * * *
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