First that the soul can rise above physical consciousness, given means whereby it can focus its energies, without recourse to the arduous control of pranas, and second that full spiritual realization or true samadhi is not merely a matter of transcending the physical (though that is necessary as a first step), but is the end of a complex inner journey in which there are many intermediate stages the attainment of which, under certain conditions, may be mistaken for the final goal and may thus debar further progress. The problem that arises before the true seeker in the face of such a situation is to discover a means other than that of pranas, jnana, or bhakti of an Isht-deva, as not only to enable the spirit-currents to be released from their present physical bondage, but also to enable the soul to be drawn upward unhindered from one spiritual plane to another until it transcends completely all the realms of relativity of naam and rup, of kal and mahakal, and reaches its goal: at-one-ment with the Nameless and Formless One.
The Sound Current
It is in the context of this problem that Surat Shabd Yoga, or the yoga of the celestial Sound Current, assumes its unique importance. Those who have mastered this yoga teach that the Absolute, though free of attributes in Its primal state, projects itself into form and assumes two primary attributes: Light and Sound. It is no mere accident, they point out, that in the revelatory literature of all major religions there are frequent references to the “Word” which occupies a central position in their pattern. In the Gospels we have:
In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. — Saint John 1:1
In ancient Indian scriptures we read repeatedly of Aum, the sacred Word pervading the three realms of bhur, bhuva and swaha (i.e., the physical, astral and causal). Again, Nanak says:
The earth and sky are of naught but Shabd (Word).
From Shabd alone the light was born,
From Shabd alone creation came,
Shabd is the essential core in all.
Shabd is the directive agent of God,
the cause of all creation. — Prabhati
The Muslim Sufis declare:
Creation came into being from Saut (Sound or Word)
and from Saut spread all light. — Shamas-i- Tabrez
The Great Name is the very essence and life of all names and forms.
Its manifest form sustains creation;
It is the great ocean of which we are merely the waves,
He alone can comprehend this who has mastered our discipline. — Abdul Razaq Kashi
Moses heard the commandments of God amidst thunder and flame, while in Zoroastrian and Taoist thought alike there are references to the “Creative Verbum,” the “Divine Light,” and to the “Wordless Word,” the silent Word.
