Ready to Take the Shabd Challenge?

The Master explains fully:
Attach yourself to the unstruck music of Shabd.
There is no way, other than through Shabd,
  to break free from the vessel of the body.
_{Soami Ji Maharaj, Sar Bachan Poetry}

The meaning of the opening lines of Soami Ji’s shabd is crystal clear: attaching oneself to the Shabd is the only way to liberate ourselves from the cycle of birth and rebirth. Baba Ji has repeated the same message in his satsangs: there is no way other than the Shabd. But what exactly is it? There is no better description of its power and dynamism than that found in the following passages of One Being One:

This creative Word or Music is the dynamic, active power of the One. This is what brings things into being, and sustains their existence. The Word is the One Himself. It is also the essence of our own being or consciousness. And it is musical? It can be heard? Yes.

The creative Word is light and sound, which can be experienced within ourselves, not with material eyes and ears, of course, but with their spiritual counterparts. The divine light of the Word can be seen within ourselves, and the vibrations of the Word can be heard as the sweetest and most compelling music.

Sant Mat is not alone in sharing knowledge of the Shabd. As indicated by the numerous names to which it is referred – the sound current, the unstruck music, the Word – the music of creation has been known and experienced since time began.

The scriptures of all the world’s great religions refer directly and indirectly to the music of the spheres. However, it is not uncommon to find them misinterpreting or downplaying the significance of Shabd. In no way is this observation intended as a criticism. Many such texts were slowly and painstakingly translated (by hand) from a little-known language to one accessible to many. Nonetheless, without the support of a knowledgeable teacher, the translators of historical religious texts were forced to imagine the meaning of the original.

From our perspective, the difficulty the translators experienced in trying to make sense of a phenomenon beyond language reminds us of how fortunate we are to have a true master as a guide. Like Soami Ji’s verse, Baba Ji’s satsangs and responses to our questions leave no room for ambiguity – there is no alternative to the Shabd; nothing will deliver us to our true home except the Shabd; there is ultimately nothing but the Shabd. So, when discussing the wonderful phenomena of the sound current, we should approach it with humility, recognizing the great gift we have received. Our Master, without expecting anything in return, disregarding his own comfort, always with the benefit and convenience of seekers in mind, travels the globe to teach anyone interested about the Shabd and the teachings of the Saints.

The significance of the Shabd is explained further in One Being One:

This cosmic music is the Axis of Being, the Axis of Love, the creative centre of the universe. It never stops. If it did, the universe would cease to be. It is the natural link between the One Being and the little beings who feel themselves to be separated.…

Just as birdsong is present in the garden, even when our minds are too absorbed in cares and concerns to hear it, so too does the creative Music play on eternally in the centre of our beings, even if we are too distracted to be aware of it. We only have to listen. To become truly still and silent. Then we realize that it has always been resounding.

“Truly still and silent” – that is how we need to be to contact the Shabd and why ‘meditation’ is the answer to every question we ask Baba Ji. Because isn’t this the purpose of meditating – to be still, silent, and realize the Shabd?

At initiation we promise to give two and a half hours of every day to meditation, attending for three quarters of the time to simran, and one quarter to bhajan. Simran, the repetition of the five holy names, gives us the concentration needed for bhajan. Then, in absolute oblivion to the outer world, we listen to or for the sound current resounding within and, accompanied by the Shabd Master, are pulled to the higher regions. We might wonder how much simran we need to do before we reach this stage. Maharaj Charan Singh responds to our query in Die to Live:

There is no fixed timing as to how much time is to be given to simran and how much time to Shabd.… But when, with the help of simran, the Sound becomes very distinct and clear and pulls you upward, you may switch from simran to the Shabd. You yourself will be able to decide when to lessen your time in simran and when to increase your time in Shabd.

However, Hazur Maharaj Ji cautions us not to stop simran as soon as we start to hear the Shabd, but to continue repeating the names until we are more spiritually advanced:

Simran should be continued until a very late stage. You can’t say that since you’ve started hearing the Sound, you should stop simran. Even then, simran should be continued. It may be only for half an hour or one hour, but it should be continued until a very late stage, until the second stage, simran should not be ignored. Simran should be kept, because you never know when the mind may slip out. Concentration is essential for hearing the sound, so simran should be carried on.

Conversely, Hazur Maharaj Ji reminds those of us who neglect bhajan at the expense of simran not to do this either. This would be like labouring, with love, over the preparation of an exquisite meal with all the finest ingredients and, once it is ready, chucking it in the bin without tasting a single morsel. If we believe the Shabd is the only means of reaching our original home, surely it is pointless to undertake all the necessary preparations to travel along the path but fail to walk it? Attending to simran and bhajan is therefore of utmost importance. In fact, according to One Being One:

There is no higher kind of meditation than listening to this celestial symphony. It leads beyond all bodies, minds, birth, death, and everything else in created form.

The Creator has determined that listening to the Shabd is the only form of worship that will yield significant results. That is not to say that other supplications have no effect. If we seek the love of the Creator in its full glory and if our objective is to travel to the highest region from where we came, then intimate contact with the Shabd is the only way. Listening to the Shabd is the highest service to the Master; no other is required.

In summary, there is no way to the Supreme Lord except through accessing the Shabd, and there is no way to contact the Shabd except by the grace of a true Master. The gift he freely shares transports us from the land of gloom to the transcendent reality of Sat Lok, our true home. That is why we are fortunate beyond our wildest imagination. However, the power of the Shabd and our longed-for destination will remain only a concept in our mind unless we live by the four vows, put in the work, and turn them into reality. In case we are tempted to look for a shortcut, in Die to Live, Hazur Maharaj Ji states: “There’s no short cut at all.”

There is no other way than the Shabd. Are you ready?

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The problems of the world will never end and have never ended. No man in this world can say that he has no problems in life. Our duty is to make our willpower so strong, through meditation, that we are able to rise above the difficulties of life. Our duty is to make efforts to solve the problems when they arise and, whatever the results of our efforts may be, try to live in the will of the Lord. Meditation indirectly solves all our problems by making us forget this world and its objects. Therefore attend to it with love and faith, without wondering about what life brings to you.
_{Quest for Light}