To: K-list
Recieved: 2000/08/02 18:54
Subject: [K-list] The Yoga of Sound, PT. 4
From: James
On 2000/08/02 18:54, James posted thus to the K-list:
From: James jamesbeanATnospamapexmail.com
THE YOGA OF SOUND, PART FOUR
By James Bean
Copywrite September 1997
HEARING THE MUSIC OF THE SPHERES IN SUFI MYSTICISM
"The Mysticism of Sound" by Hazrat Inayat Khan is an amazing book
presenting the Sufi teachings on inner Sound and the HU Chant (HU is
an Arabic word pronounced: "whoooooooooo"). I highly recommend it to
anyone interested in the Sound Current teachings of Sufi mysticism.
Hazrat Khan on hearing the Mystic-Sound: 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 eyes or ears, 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 Muhammad heard in the cave of Ghar-e Hira when he became lost
in his divine Ideal. The Qur'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 Anhad Nada during his Samadhi [deep meditation] 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, to
whom it is revealed from within; it is because of this that they know
and teach one and the same truth. (The Sufi Message Series, II)
HEARING THE SOUND CURRENT IN THE ANCIENT GNOSTIC RELIGION
Before the Sufi mystics of the west, in ancient times there were
Gnostics: Jewish, Hermetic, and Christian mystics who also described
hearing the Sound, and seeing the Light of God while in deep states
of meditation. The following is from "The Gnostic Mystery" by Andrea
Grace Diem. She quotes from the Nag Hammadi Library, several ancient
new testament-like collections of holy books written in the Coptic
language of Egypt:
Man's soul shall become, when it leaveth the body, a great flood of
Light, so as to traverse all the regions until it cometh into the
Kingdom of Mystery.
[I] turned to myself [and] saw Light that [surrounded] me and the
Good that was in me; I became divine. (Allogenes)
In Trimorphic Protennoia the gnostic writer (in the voice of God)
describes how this transformation takes place:
I cast [voiced] Speech [or Sound] into the ears of those who know me.
And I am inviting you into the exalted, perfect Light. Moreover (as
for) this (Light), when you enter it you will be glorified ... you
will become gloriously glorious, the way you first were when you were
<Light>. And I hid myself in everyone and revealed [myself] within
them, and every mind seeking me longed for me, for it is I who gave
shape to the All when it had no form. And I transformed their forms
into (other) forms until the time when a form will be given to the
All. It is through me that the Voice originated ... And it is a Word,
by virtue of a Sound; it was sent to illumine those who dwell in
darkness...[I] am a Light that illuminates the All. I am the Light
that rejoices [in my] brethren, for I came down to the world [of]
mortals...
When describing the philosophical nature of the cosmos, Gnostic
writers emphasize this Sound Current, variously referred to as Word,
Voice, Logos, Speech, or simply Sound. Also, throughout Gnostic texts
reference is made to the manifestation of a mystical Light, known as
Treasury of Light, Immeasurable Light, etc. In the Trimorphic
Protennoia it is described in the following way:
I am [the Word] who dwells [in the] ineffable [Silence]. I dwell in
undefiled [Light] and a Thought [revealed itself] perceptibly through
[the great] Sound ... And it [the Sound] exists from the beginning in
the foundations of the All. But there is a Light [that] swells hidden
in Silence and it was the first to [come] forth...I alone am the
Word, ineffable, incorruptible, immeasurable, inconceivable. It (the
Word?) is a hidden Light ... being unreproducible, an immeasurable
Light, the source of All...It is foundation that supports every
movement of the Aeons that belong to the mighty glory. It is the
founding of every foundation. It is the breath of the powers. It is
the eye of the three permanence's, which exist as a Voice by virtue
of a Thought. And it is a Word by virtue of the Sound ... I (the
Word) became a foundation for the All........ (Trimorphic
Protennoina in, "The Nag Hammadi Library In English," James M.
Robinson, Harper Collins)
THE NADA AND SHABDA YOGA SYSTEMS OF INDIA
Hinduism is very much a religion of divine Light and Sound; many
Indian scriptures and spiritual traditions teach about the universe
being created through the Sound of AUM, the ecstasy of hearing the
cosmic flute of Krishna, or hearing the Unstruck Melody (Anhad
Shabad) of God that reverberates throughout the universe. Yogis of
Nada Yoga and Masters of Shabda Yoga Meditation impart to their
students knowledge about developing their inner spiritual sense of
transcendental hearing.
NADA YOGA, HEARING THE ETERNAL SOUND
A good example of Nada Yoga practice is found in, "The Shambhala
Guide To Yoga," George Feuerstein, Shambala Books: "First, the
practitioner should block his or her ears with the fingers and focus
inwardly, listening for the arising of the inner Sound. To begin
with, a variety of sounds may be heard -- the practitioner may hears
sounds like: the sound of the ocean, a rain cloud, a drum, a
kettledrum, a conch, a bell [ringing sound], a horn, a flute, a lute,
or a bee [humming sound]." The "Nada Bindu Upanishad," an ancient
Hindu scripture on Sound Meditation (Nada Yoga), mentions the
possibility of hearing a sound that resembles the Vina, an instrument
used in Indian classical music.
According to this tradition, these sounds are always resounding
in the soul, thus when one attains a certain level of stillness and
concentration, spiritual Sound becomes audible. In truth, the inner
Sound is always there, it is we (our attention) who come and go. We
gain awareness of the Sound, creating the illusion that the Sound
has "arrived." When we get distracted or leave off our meditation
practice, it seems to us that the Sound has "stopped." However, this
otherworldly Sound continues, like radio waves flowing through the
atmosphere, available to be "tuned in" anytime we want to listen.
PART FOUR///
"The vibrations of this Sound are too fine to be either audible or
visible to the material eyes or ears......" (Hazrat Khan) Yet, as
Masters and mystics often point out, there is another kind of hearing
and another kind of seeing. The eyes and ears of the soul -- the
spiritual senses -- can be developed. There is Light coming from
beyond the darkness, and there is Music coming from beyond the
silence, for those who have ears to hear: those who desire to
meditate and discover the wonders of inner space for themselves.
Part Five will focus upon the Shabda Yoga tradition of India:
Meditation upon the Inner Light and Sound (Shabad, Saut-e Sarmad) of
God.
James
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