Shabd
is the Creator In
all the religious scriptures, "Shabd" is stated to be the Creator of
the Universe. The Veds tell us that
"Nad" brought into being fourteen Bhavans or regions. In the Koran, it is mentioned that
"Kalma" created fourteen tabaqs or divisions. St. John, in his Gospel, has written that
"Word" is the root cause of the creation. In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God. The same was in the biginning with
God. All things were made by Him: and
without Him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and life was the light of men…*5 The
sacred Sikh scriptures also tell of the same thing--the entire manifestation
has sprung from "Shabd" and is being maintained by Him. The sun, the sky, the earth and the heavens
al are within His Controlling Power and there is no place where He is not. The Immanence of Shabd is all-pervasive. Shabd
is the directive agent of God, And
is the cause of all creation. *6 GURU
AMAR DAS The
earth and the sky were made by Shabd, Shabd
has been the source of all light. The
whole creation sprang from Shabd, O Nanak! Shabd is the very
life of life. *7 Having set up everything, He
beheld His own imprint therein, He established the beautiful
earth and the starry welkin, He raised the tabernacle of
heaven with no pillars to support. He created the sun and the
moon with all the starry host and His light is pervading all. *8 GURU
NANAK Again, "Shabd" is
not only the Creator but he is the Destroyer also, and the rebirth of the
creation takes place through Him. Both the creation and the
dissolution are from Shabd, And Shabd again is the cause
of re-creation. *9 GURU
AMAR DAS In the Hindu scriptures, It
is described as the essence of ether, which goes to show that it is more subtle
than ether and is all-pervading. Its
presence, in fact, is felt in the union of matter and spirit, for every union
implies vibration and vibration is caused by Shabd or Sound--the active
life-principle permeating all space, nay receding far back into Itself; for God
too is described as "Shabd," as the Power of God (Shabd) is not
distinct and separate from God: God and Godhood (God-in-action) always go
together. The "Shabd" is
Thyself and whatever Thou ordaineth that comes to pass. *10 GURU
RAM DAS All the religious books,
including the Vedas, the oldest of them, have described "Shabd" as
the primal manifest form of God. In
Sama Veda we have, Shabd is Brahm and
"Silence" too is Brahm, Brahm alone is vibrating
everywhere. The Mohammedan divines tell
us that the world owes its very life and existence to Shabd. Shamas Tabrez says: World came into being
through Saut (Shabd or Sound Principle). And from Saut spread all
light. Again Abdul Razaq Kashi
tells us, The Great Naam (ism-I-azam)
is the very essence and life of all names. Its manifested form (Shabd)
is supporting the entire creation, It is the great sea in which
we all appear as waves. He alone can understand this
mystery who belongs to our order. Shabd is not the subject of
reading, ritual or reciting The Inner Sound Principle is
All-Conscious and too subtle for the ears, the tongue and the pen. It is an Unwritten Law and an Unspoken
Language. It is self-existing, self-sustaining
and self-supporting and yet is the very life of all that exists both in the
animate and inanimate creation. But it
can be realized in the deepest depths of the soul, for the two are of the same
essence, the soul being but a drop of the Ocean of All-Consciousness. In the Sikh scriptures, it is also called
"Sacha Shabd" or the True Word: With the True Word, one
knows the Truth, With the True Sound, one
sings the glory of the Lord. *11 GURU
NANAK Meditate on the feet of the
Master, and leaving aside al thy cleverness, be absorbed in the True
World. *12 Remember the Lord, O dear
Friend, And ever love the Truth
Word. *13 GURU
ARJAN It can be seen without eyes, It can be heard without
ears. *14 GURU
NANAK Lao Tze speaks of it: The Tao that can expressed
is not the eternal Tao; The name that can be defined
is not the unchanging Name. *15 Maulana
Rumi says: The Turks, Kurds, Parsis,
Goans and Arabs, They have all known It
without the aid of lips and ears. The Upanishadic sages have
described it as "Pranav" or that which can be heard through the
pranic vibrations, without the help of tongue, lips and palate, for it is
reverberating of Itself in and our of space. Sant Kabir has called It
"Videh" for It is above the realm of physical existence and can be
apprehended by the soul when it is unclogged from bodily raiment. All sing of the Shabd
without realizing that it is Videh or the Bodiless, No tongue can describe It,
but soul my contact it within. KABIR Hazrat Bahu says in this
context: Everyone repeats the Kalma
orally, by word or mouth, A rare soul may repeat it
with the tongue of thought; And whoever repeats it
within with loving devotion, He cannot describe it in
words. Again, My Master has taught me a
lesson, a lesson that goes on repeating Itself, And is heard in the ears
without the aid of stop-cocks. Maulana Rumi has beautifully
described It: O God, lead my soul to that
blessed place, wherein the symphonies flow. All religions teach of Shabd In all religious books we
find references to Shabd or the Creative Sound Current: Hindu scriptures speak
of it as Shabd Brahm and Ashabd Brahm or Nad, that is responsible for the
creation of the world. The ancient
sages and seers sang of it in their songs, and called it Shruti, meaning
"that which is heard." The
esoteric teachings were passed onform Master to disciple and the Word was made
manifest individually after years of spiritual discipline. In the Upanishadic Age, it came to be known
as Udgit or Song of the Beyond, meaning at once of the other world (spiritual)
and beyond the senses, for senses could not comprehend it and one had to
transcend them to catch its strains.
*16 other words that also came in to use for it are Pranav and Aum, for
it could be heard in the mental ears alone and could be sung with the pranic
vibrations without any other aid of tongue or lips. In Chapter 6 of the Maitreya Upanishad it is stated that there
are two Brahms, one Shabd Brahm and the other Ashabd Brahm and to reach Ashabd
Brahm, one has to meditate, in the first instance, on the Shabd Brahm which has
different kinds of Sounds that can be heard within by stop-cocking the ears
with the thumbs; and by this means one can cross over to the Ashabd or Gupt
Brahm, a state beyond the three Gunas and the three mental conditions, and
called Turiya Pad or super-sensual plane. In Yog-Sandhya, *17 it is
enjoined that a yogin, practcing yogic disciplines, ought to close his ears
with the thumbs and listen within him to the musical strains of the Child-akash
or mental horizon and thereby still the mind and attain the Turiya state and
merge in the Avyakat. In Chhandogya Upanishad *18
it is mentioned that Nad (heavenly music) springs from the Universal Sun (of
Brahmand) and that this secret was given by Ingris Rishi to Krishna, the darling
son of Devki. Guru Amar Das tells us, in
Rag Bhairon, that Bhakt Prehlad was save by Shabd: It (Shabd) has been the
saving lifeline in all the ages, Prehlad, the son of the
demon-king, knew neither Gayatri nor any rituals, He became one with God
through contact with the Shabd. *19 GURU
AMAR DAS In Gita it is said, Though under the sway of the
senses, one fells drawn toward God by force of the habit acquired in previous
births; nay, even the seeker of enlightenment transcends the Shabd Brahm. The yogi, however, who
diligently takes up this practice, attains perfection in this very life with
the help of latencies of many births and being thoroughly purged of sin,
forthwith reaches the supreme goal. *20 In the Nad-bind Upanishad,
*21 we find, A yogin ought to sit in
Sidha Asan (a yogic posture), and adopting V aishnavi Mudra, should hear within
him the "Sound" coming from the right side. In Yog Sandhya, an elaborate
account is given of the practice of "hearing the Shabd". In the Rig Veda *22 and the
Atharv Veda *23 there are hymns inpraise of Shabd. In Hans Upanishad of the latter is is given thatone who does japa
of the Hans Mantra, millions of times, comes to the realzation of Nad. It is also stated that Nad consists of ten
different types of melodies, nine of which are to be passed over, and the
tenth, which resembles the sound of the thunder of distant clouds, is to be
meditated upon and practiced, for It takes one to Par-Brahm. In Hath Yog Pradipka, *24
there are many Sholkas in praise of Shabd.
In the Vedas, it is spoken of as Nad and Akash Bani (Voice of
Heaven). In the Buddhist scriptures, it
is referred to as Sonorous Light or Flaming Sound. The ancient Greeks also
spoke of Shabd. In the writings of
Socrates, we read that he heard within him a peculiar Sound which pulled him
irresistibly to higher spiritual realms.
Pythagoras also talked of Shabd.
Plato spoke of it as the "Music of the Spheres." In the Greek language we have the term
Logos, from "logo," to speak, which stands for the "Word"
or Second Person of the Trinity. This
term Logos also figures in both Hebrew and Christian philosophy and theology
and in its mystic sense is used both by the Hellenistic and Neo-platonist
philosophies. St. John has used the
term "Word." It is a Sound
Principle (Shabd) emanating from the Great Silence (Ashabd). In Chinese scriptures, it is known as
Tao. Lao Tze, in the fourth century
B.C., used the word Tao meaning "Road" or "Way" to denote
the Hidden Principle of the Universe. In the Avestic writings of
Zoroaster, the Persian prophet of life, we come across the word Sraosha, which
stands for the angel of inspiration that inspires the Universe. It is a Power apart from the six spiritual
Powers of which Zoroaster speaks. It is
the cult of Eternal Life and is from the Sanskrit rood "Shru" (to
hear) and means that Power of God which can be heard. In the Zend Avesta, we have an invocation to Mazda praying for
the gift of Sraosha for those whom He loves.
It is the same as Shabd in the terminology of the saints. In our own times from Sant
Kabir and Guru Nanak down to Guru Gobind Singh, the ten Sikh Guru, Dadu,
Jagjiwan, Tulsi, Darya Sahib, Baba La! Das, Paltu and many others preached of
Shabd. Many of the references to
this subject in the Judaeo Christain tradition have been given above, in Book
One. Madam Blavastky, the founder
of the Theosophical Society, has described It as the "Voice of
God". In the Masonic Order we here
of It as the "Lost Word" in search of which the Mason Masters set up
their Order. In Koran, there is an Ayat,
"God commanded and it was done," Kun-feu-Kun. This, in fact, is the Kalma of the Muslims. The Sufis, an Order of
Muslim mystics, call it Vadan. It is
said: If the Anaam (Nemeless) hot
not wished to manifest Himself and become Naam, there would have been no
"Sound" and no Universe. Hazrat Inayat Khan, a modern
Sufi mystic, tells us that this creation is nothing but the "Music of
God" for It is the outcome or manifestation of His Power. He calls it Saute Sarmadi or the intoxicating
vintage from the Garden of Allah (God) and has given an elaborate description
of It, as appears from the following account: All space is filled with
Saute Sarrmad or the "Abstract Sound." 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 colour of the ethereal vibrations on the external
plane. It iwas the Saute Sarmad, the
Sound of the abstract, which Mohammed heard in the cave, Ghar-e-Hira, when he
became lost in his ideal. The Koran
refers to this Sound in the words:
"Be and all became" (Kun-feu-Kun). Moses heard this very Sound on Mount Sinai (Kohi-I-Toor), when in
communion with God. The same Word was
audible to the Christ when absorbed in his Heavenly Father in the
wilderness. Shiva heard the same Anahad
Naad during his Samadhi in the Himalayas.
The flute of Krishna is symbolic of the same Sound allegorically
explained. This Sound is the source of
all revelation to the Masters to whom it is revealed from within and it is,
therefore, that they know and teach the one and the same Truth. The knower of the mystery of
the Sound knows the mystery of the whole Universe. Whosoever has followed the strains of this Sound has forgotten
all earthly distinctions and differences; and has reached the same goal to
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 space and 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 wonder of Light and Sound, appears to him blank… The limited volume of
earthly sound is so concrete, that it dims the effect of the Sound of the
Abstract to the sense of hearing; although in comparison to It the sounds of
the earth are like that of a whistle, all other sounds become indistinct to the
mystic. The Sound of the Abstract is
called Anhad in the Vedas, meaning unlimited sound. The Sufis name It 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 Saute Sarmad
and meditate on it are relieved fro all worries, anxieties, fear and diseases;
and the soul is freed from captivity in the senses and in the physical
body. The soul of the listener becomes
All-Pervading Consciousness; and his spirit becomes the battery which keeps the
whole Universe in motion… The Sound develops through
ten different aspects because of Its manifestation through the different tubes
of the body (Nadis); it sounds like thunder, the roaring of the sea, the sea,
the jingling of bells, running water, the buzzing of bees, the twittering or
sparrows, the Vina, the whistle, or the sound of Shankha (Conch) until it
finally becomes Hu the most sacred of all sounds. This Sound Hu is the beginning and end of all sounds. This Sound Hu is the beginning and end of all sounds, be they from man, bird,
beast, or thing. THE
MYSTICISM OF SOUND In the Muslim scriptures, It
is variously described as Kalam-I-Ilahi (The Voice of God), Nidi-I-Asmani (the
Sound from Heaven), Ism-I-Azam (the Great Name), Saut-I-Sarmadi (the
Intoxicating Sound), Saut-I-Nasira (the Sound Melodious), Kalma-I-Majid (the Great
Commandment) and Kalam-I-Haq (the Voice of Truth) which can be heard inside,
and It was thaught as Sultan-ul-Azkar or the King of prayers. We have innumerable references to this Sound
in the teachings of the Mohammedan fakirs: Rise above thy mental horizon,
O brave soul, And listen to the call of
Music coming from above. MAULANA
RUMI The whole world is
reverberating with Sound, To listen to It thou must
unseal thine inner ears, Then shalt thou hear an
Unending Music, And that shall lead thee beyond
the confines of death. SHAH
NIAZ An unceasing Sound is
floating down from the heaven, I wonder how ye are engaged
in pursuits of no avail. HAFIZ Drive away all scepticism
from thy mind, And listen to the strains of
heavenly music, And receive within thee the
messages of God, For these come only by holy
communion with the self. The Prophet declated that he
heard the Voice of God, And it fell on his ears as
clearly as any other sound, But God has sealed thy ears, And so ye listen not to His
Voice. MAULANA
RUMI About the Prophet Mohammed
it is said *25 that at the age of forty he began receiving messages from God,
after he had for fifteen years practiced communion with Awaz-Mustqim (Anhad
Shabd or the Ceaseless Word), and had been the glimpses of Truth (flash of
heavenly light) for seven years. At one
time he remained for two years in the cave of Hira in meditation. It is further stated that
the prophet practiced in the cave of Hira, for six years, the Sultan-ul-Azkar
(Surat Shabd Yoga) and that Hazrat Abdul Qadir Jillani, did the same for twelve
years in that sacred cave. *26 All the Sikh Guru and other
saints, time and again, taught this very thing in very clear terms. Guru Nanak spoke thus: With stone-deaf ears thou hast
lost all thy wits, For thou has not got contact
with the Shabd, And by slavery to the Mind
thou hast forfeited thy human birth; Without the Master-soul, one
remains blind to the Reality. *27 GURU
NANAK Hundereds of moons and
thousands of suns may illumine the world, But without a Master-soul,
they fail miserably to dispel the darkness of the human mind. Without contact with Shabd,
one remains stark blind and deaf, Of what avail is their life
in this world? They get not the Water of
Life and escape not the endless cycle of births. *28 GURU
AMAR DAS Practice ye the Word of the
Master, For one knows the Reality
through the Word. *29 GURU RAM DAS Without
the Master, there is no holy congregation, Without
the Word one cannot know the Reality.
*30 GURU
AMAR DAS From
the above it is sufficiently clear that all Master-souls whether Hindus,
Muslims, Christians, and countless others, were conversant with the practice of
the Word, though they did not necessarily expound it as a regular science. Most of them tell of Anhad Shabd only,
leading up to und and Brahmand or the subtle and cosmic regions. But perfect saints, irrespective of whether
they belonged to one religion or the other, have gone even beyond this and have
spoken of Sar Shabd and Sat Shabd as well, and of regions beyond Brahmand
(Par-Brahmand, i.e., Sach Khand, Alakh and Agam Deshas). |