View this page "Saut E Sarmad (Abstract Sound) of the Sufis"
Naam Simran Shabad
The external music helps only at the initial stages. Ultimately we
have to tune in to the Abstract Sound or the unstruck sound (aka Saut-
e-Sarmad of the Sufis, Nad, Shabad, Naam, Holy Word, Kalma, Udgit,
Sound Principle, etc.).
Those who are able to hear the Saut-e-Sarmad (Abstract Sound also
referred to as the unstruck sound) and meditate on it are relieved
from all worries, anxieties, sorrows, fears and diseases; and the soul
is freed from captivity in the senses and in the physical body.
ABSTRACT sound is called Saut-e-Sarmad by the Sufis; all space is
filled with it. The vibrations of this sound are too fine to be either
audible or visible to the material ears or eyes, since it is even
difficult for the eyes to see the form and color of the ethereal
vibrations on the external plane. It was the Saut-e Sarmad, the sound
of the abstract plane, which Mohammad heard in the cave of Ghar-e Hira
when he became lost in his divine ideal. The Qura’an refers to this
sound in the words, ‘Be! and all became.’ Moses heard this very sound
on Mount Sinai, when in communion with God; and the same word was
audible to Christ when absorbed in his Heavenly Father in the
wilderness. Shiva heard the same Anahad Nada during his Samadhi in the
cave of the Himalayas.
The flute of Krishna is symbolic of the same sound. This sound is the
source of all revelation to the Masters (Gurus), to whom it is
revealed from within; it is because of this that they know and teach
one and the same truth.
The Sufi knows of the past, present and future, and about all things
in life, by being able to know the direction of sound. Every aspect of
one’s being in which sound manifests has a peculiar effect upon life,
for the activity of vibrations has a special effect in every
direction. The knower of the mystery of sound knows the mystery of
the whole universe. Whoever has followed the strains of this sound has
forgotten all earthly distinctions and differences, and has reached
that goal of truth in which all the Blessed Ones of God unite. Space
is within the body as well as around it; in other words the body is in
the space and the space is in the body.
This being the case, the sound of the abstract is always going on
within, around and about man. Man does not hear it as a rule, because
his consciousness is entirely centered in his material existence. Man
becomes so absorbed in his experiences in the external world through
the medium of the physical body that space, with all its wonders of
light and sound, appears to him blank.
The sound of the abstract is called Anahad in the Vedas, meaning
unlimited sound. The Sufis name is Sarmad, which suggests the idea of
intoxication. The word intoxication is here used to signify
upliftment, the freedom of the soul from its earthly bondage. Those
who are able to hear the Saut-e-Sarmad and meditate on it are relieved
from all worries, anxieties, sorrows, fears and diseases; and the soul
is freed from captivity in the senses and in the physical body. The
soul of the listener becomes the all-pervading consciousness, and his
spirit becomes the battery which keeps the whole universe in motion.
The more a Sufi listens to Saut-e Sarmad, the sound of the abstract,
the more his consciousness becomes free from all the limitations of
life. The soul floats above the physical and mental plane without any
special effort on man’s part, which shows its calm and peaceful state;
a dreamy look comes into his eyes and his countenance becomes
radiant, he experiences the unearthly joy and rapture of Wajad, or
ecstasy. When ecstasy overwhelms him he is neither conscious of the
physical existence nor of the mental. This is the heavenly wine, to
which all Sufis poets refer, which is totally unlike the momentary
intoxication’s of this mortal plane. A heavenly bliss then springs in
the heart of a Sufi, his mind is purified from sin, his body from all
impurities, and a pathway is opened for him towards the world unseen;
he begins to receive inspirations, intuitions, impressions, and
revelations without the least effort on his part. He is no longer
dependent upon a book or a teacher, for divine wisdom, the light of
his soul, the Holy Spirit, begins to shine upon him. As Sharif says,
‘I by the light of soul realize that the beauty of the heavens and the
grandeur of the earth are the echo of Thy magic flute.’
Some train themselves to hear the Saut-e Sarmad in the solitude on the
sea shore, on the river bank, and in the hills and dales; others
attain it while sitting in the caves of the mountains, or when
wandering constantly through forests and deserts, keeping themselves
in the wilderness apart from the haunts of men. Yogis and ascetics
blow Sing (a horn) or Shanka (a shell), which awakens in them this
inner tone. Dervishes play Nai or Algosa (a double flute) for the same
purpose. The bells and gongs in the churches and temples are meant to
suggest to the thinker the same sacred sound, and thus lead him
towards the inner life.
It sounds like thunder, the roaring of the sea, the jingling of bells,
running the water, the buzzing of bees, the twittering of sparrows,
the Vina, the whistle, or the sound of Shankha until it finally
becomes Hu, the most sacred of all sounds.
This sound Hu is the beginning and the end of all sounds, be they from
man, bird, beast, or thing.
The Supreme Being has been called by various names in different
languages, but the mystics have known him as Hu, the natural name, not
man-made, the only name of the Nameless, which all nature constantly
proclaims. The sound Hu is most sacred; the mystics call ism-e Azam,
the name of the Most High, for it is the origin and end of every sound
as well as the background of each word. The word Hu is the spirit of
all sounds and of all words, and is hidden within them all, as the
spirit in the body. It does not belong to any language, but no
language can help belonging to it.
The mystery of Hu is revealed to the Sufi who journeys through the
path of initiation. Truth, the knowledge of God, is called by a Sufi
Haq. If we divide the word Haq into two parts, its assonant sounds
become Hu ek, Hu signifying God, or truth, and ek in Hindustani
meaning one, and both together expressing on God and one truth
Aluk is the sacred word that the Vairagis, the adepts of India, use as
their sacred chant. In the word Aluk are expressed two words, al
meaning he, and Haq truth, both words together expressing God the
source from which all comes.
The sound Hu becomes limited in the word Ham, for the letter m closes
the lips. This word in Hindustani expresses limitation because Ham
means I or we, both of which words signify ego. The word Hamsa is the
sacred word of the Yogis which illumines the ego with the light of
reality.
Jehovah was originally Yahuva, Ya suggesting the word oh and Hu
standing for God, while the A represents manifestation. Hu is the
origin of sound, but when the sound first takes shape on the external
plane, it becomes A, therefore alif or alpha is considered to be the
first expression of Hu, the original word. The Sanskrit alphabet as
well as that of most other languages begins with the letter A, as does
the name of God in several tongues. The word A therefore expresses in
English one, or first; and the sign of alif expresses the meaning one,
as well as first. The letter A is pronounced without the help of the
teeth or tongue, and in Sanskrit A always means without.
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