Book Review

NAM: Essence of Spirituality
BY: T.R. Shangari, Kirpal Singh Khak, Gurdip Singh Bhandari, Manmohan Sehgal
Publisher: Punjab: Radha Soami Satsang Beas, 2023.
ISBN 978-81-19078-95-0

Nam: Essence of Spirituality is dedicated to exploring one topic only – Nam, also known as Shabd, Word, Logos, and so many other names. This book is an English translation of the Hindi book Nam Sidhant, first published in 1985. In the 1980s, the four authors were asked to write several essays each about Nam. The Publisher’s Note describes the authors of the essays that make up this book as “scholars of spirituality” and explains:

The scholars took different aspects of the power that is Nam and held it up to the light, gazed at it through different lenses, and saw its beauty refracted through many facets of its gem-like glory. Each essay, therefore, stands as its own contribution, and each can be read for information, for inspiration, for comfort, for solace, or perhaps just to help us remember again the power that created and sustains everything.

For this English translation, the order of the essays from the original 1985 book was changed, and the final chapter, “Shared History, Shared Experience,” was significantly expanded.

Each of the essays makes an in-depth exploration of Nam from a particular angle. For example, among the essay topics are “The Creative Power of the Lord,” “Nam That Can Be Heard,” “Nam that Can Be Seen,” “Searching for Nam,” and “Nam and Dying While Living.” Some of the later essays turn to questions of the role of religion in human spirituality and the differences between rituals, customs, and the practice of Nam. Although each essay can be read as an independent study of Nam, when put all together in this book, the essays form an inspiring narrative that encourages the reader to connect with this creative power.

All the essays explore their subject thoroughly, with each point supported by numerous quotes from saints and mystics. For example, in the essay “Nam: The Lord’s Gift” the author says, “Nam cannot be obtained by our own effort; it can be obtained only by the Lord’s grace.” All happens by his command. Soami Ji goes so far as to say, “Without grace, no plans can materialize; only with grace can I comprehend the mystery.”

The author stresses that Nam is God’s greatest blessing because it is the means of merging with God. He shows convincingly how rare it is to receive this gift. As Soami Ji says, even the desire for Nam can only be had by “special grace”:

Those blessed with the special grace of the Creator will be the only ones who want to drink this Nectar.

The author then shows that the only way to be blessed with this unique gift is through a living true master. Quoting from the Adi Granth, he writes, “My Guru is the dispenser of bliss, and he instils in me the Lord’s Nam and is my refuge in the end.” In the words of Paltu:

He who brings the divine Melody from the skies within is my master. He indeed is my master, and him alone shall I worship. He remains absorbed in the strains of the Word; such is his state.

Throughout the essays, the authors affirm that the seeker can hear Nam, the wondrous power of God. As Guru Nanak says, “The sweet, melodious, unstruck Sound Current resounds continuously in the home of the fearless Lord.” Sufis have referred to it as the call from the skies, the imperial Sound, the Voice of the Lord, the blissful Melody, and the blissful Voice. By hearing this divine Sound, the mind turns away from the world.

The essays also show that Nam is seen as well by the seeker. Saints and mystics have extolled the glory of Nam as not just Sound but also Light. This divine light can only be perceived by the inner eye and with the guidance of the master. This light is constant, unchanging and illuminates the entire world. Kabir writes, “Oh my love, I have known the story of the sovereign Lord. Within us, the Lord’s Light shines, but a rare one, by the Guru’s guidance, becomes aware of it.”

Most of the quotations from saints and mystics in the book come from the Adi Granth, Soami Ji, or the bhakti mystics of India. However, the authors also bring quotes from other spiritual traditions that corroborate these mystic teachings, using different words and images. For example, from the Christian tradition, where the human body is called the temple of the living God:

And then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament. And there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.
_{Revelations 11:19}

From the Buddhist tradition, the Lotus Sutra says of the Buddha:

His body was motionless and his mind had reached perfect tranquillity. And as soon as the Lord had entered upon his meditation, there fell a great rain of divine flowers … And at that moment, there issued a ray of Light from within the point between the eyebrows of the Lord.
_{Saddharmapundrika, 1 Prose}

And from the Islamic tradition, the Qur’an says:

God is the Light of the heavens and the earth. His Light may be compared to a niche that enshrines a lamp with a crystal of star-like brilliance. It is lit from a blessed olive tree neither eastern nor western. Its very oil would almost shine forth, though no fire touched it. Light upon Light; God guides to His Light whom He wills.
_{Qur’an 24:35}

The final chapter, “Shared History, Shared Experience,” further proves that “throughout history, saints and sages have given us the same message.” It surveys how Nam is discussed in each cultural and religious context, beginning with the Vedas and then, in roughly chronological order, in Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Jainism, Buddhism, the Greek philosophers, Taoism, Christianity, Islam, and finally, the mystic tradition of India.

The book’s message is that the Almighty has devised a plan of return for all sincere seekers. It is for all to embrace. In Sar Bachan, Soami Ji writes:

I devised a step-by-step approach of Shabd practice by which you would reach your true home. Through the inner practice of Surat Shabd, hold on to the path of five Sounds. Climb the ladder of Shabd step by step, and reach Sach Khand, the region of Satnam.

All in all, Nam: Essence of Spirituality gives us uplifting insights into our inward journey. The waves of Light and Sound of Nam, Shabd, the Word, and the Logos permeate every particle of the creation. These waves emanate from the highest realm of absolute being. Attuning to them, seekers undertake their spiritual journey and return to their original home. Following the Sound and Light of Nam, they one day realize that ultimate truth of which we catch a whisper, a glimmer, from the words of Guru Ram Das:

The Lord himself is the Shabd.
He himself is the awareness, attuned to its music.