A Sample from Baba Faqir Chand’s Book, “Instructions For Seekers, Surat Shabda Yoga, The Yoga of Light and Sound”, Quoting and Commenting on Soamiji’s Hidayatnama

On the Astral Plane — the First Inner Region, Soami Ji Maharaj

“It is necessary that the disciple continue the practice meticulously
as a routine for two, three, or four times a day, according to his
leisure. If the mind intrudes with doubts and worries by raising
unnecessary questions, one should return to the master and petition
his help, then try to engage in the practice wholeheartedly. With
the grace, affection and support of the master and personal effort,
one will make progress gradually.

“Do not be disturbed. Never try to hurry, but move slowly to get real
benefit. Whatever you do in haste, or under the influence of
emotion, will be unstable… With the grace of the compassionate
master, you will surely be benefited eventually; and this gain will
be lasting…

“Now I shall explain the internal levels of spiritual experience
which are attained by the Saints. When you turn your gaze inward to
the center of your forehead, you will see the open spaces, the Sky,
and your Pure Self, or Surat [soul], will leave your body and soar
upward. When you see the Sky, you are in the region of the Thousand-
petalled Lotus [Sahasra dal Kanwal], where numerous petals are
performing various functions of the spatio-temporal world. One moves
in this region with great delight and will see the Lord of the
threefold world in form and person. Most religions content
themselves at this level, assuming that this lord is the Supreme
God, and pleased and content to see the brilliance and the Light, so
that their path beyond this level is closed and they can go no
farther.

“However, there is a very fine and small aperture at the crest of the
Sky … as small as the eye of a needle. Let your Pure Self soar
higher and go through that door. Passing through, you will find a
winding path called Banknaal [Crooked Tunnel]. Go further for a
short distance, which will be straight, then slope downward for a
while and again will go upward. Passing along this narrow path, your
Surat reaches the second region of space. This region is called
Trikuti [three prominences, causal/Akash region].” (excerpted from Swami Ji’s Hidayatnama, one of the sections of the Sar Bachan Radhasoami
Poetry, Volume One)

Commentary on Hidayatnama by Baba Faqir Chand

Let me explain the inner progress of the disciple. Man is in search
of the Supreme Being. Generally he is guided by the idea of the
method of worshipping which he imbibes from his family. According to
the political thinkers, a person needs freedom, the hungry need
food, and the oppressed need justice. However, the real need of man
is his spiritual development, his union with the Source and Ground,
the Supreme Being. The fulfillment of this need fulfills all others.

In explaining the levels of internal experience, I want to assure
everyone that what I describe is completely based on my own inner
experience… As I have experienced them, the Spiritual Levels
known to the Saints are:

1. Shiva-netra, or the Third Eye.
2. Sahesradal Kamal, or Thousand-petalled Lotus.
3. Trikuti, or Trinity.
4. Sunn, or Void.
5. Mahasunn [Great Void, region of intense darkness].
6. Bhanwargufa, or Whirlpool Cave.
7. Sata-loka, or the Region of Spiritual Light, or Truth.
8. Alakha-loka; or the Region of the Invisible Supreme Being.
9. Agama-loka, or the Region of the Unfathomable Reality.
10. Anami-loka, the Transcendental and Nameless Being.
11. Radhaswami-dham, the Final Abode of the Supremely Compassionate
Self.

The inward experience of the stages from the third eye to endless
space can be experienced by those aspirants who undertake the inward
journey, but still have not gone beyond the stages of duality. But
highly developed seekers know that these so-called visions and
phenomena are nothing but the creation of their own thoughts and
Samskaras, or tendencies. People living on the intellectual level
believe that they have attained the Supreme Truth and indeed do
enjoy mental visions and are satisfied with transitory mental bliss.
However, such people still suffer from the vicissitudes of life. If
people really wish to attain knowledge of Ultimate Reality and
arrive at eternal bliss, they must ascend to the higher stages,
attainable through the Path of Love and Devotion. The Religion of
the Saints advocates taking the inward journey, to absorb one’s
Surat [attention-faculty of the soul] within one’s own Self.

The Description of the Thousand-Petalled Lotus

Faqir: — As I have said, whatever exists in the material world also
exists within ourselves, which is why we have the perception of the
universe... The Thousand-petalled Lotus can be seen within the
mind. You have only to concentrate your thought. The deeper the
concentration of your mind, the greater will be your bliss.
Occasionally such a vision is experienced by a true devotee when he
is listening to the spiritual discourses of his master. That is why
it is necessary for an aspirant to have an Ideal, or a Guru, to make
spiritual progress which is not possible without loving your Ideal.
In fact, spiritual experiences such as visions and colours are not
created by your Ideal, but are created out of your deep love for
your Ideal or Isht. People who adopt a Guru only with the motive of
fulfilling their worldly desires never develop spiritually. The
attainment of the desired object and the development of the inner
state depends on the intensity of the love for the master… When
the desire becomes intense, it is called love.

Disciple: — What is the Sound which is, heard in this state?

Faqir: — According to the laws of nature, wherever there is
motion, there is Light and Sound. The moment the mind is
concentrated, after fixing its attention on the Ideal, Light is
generated, or the picture of the Ideal becomes illuminated within
the mind. The one-pointedness of the mind merges the fine subtle
elements, which form a circle and create motion. The Sound created
by this vibratory motion resembles that of a Bell. Though such
sounds may be heard with even a little concentration, they are of a
different kind, somewhat like the chirping of the sparrows. A person
who wants to experience the focus of the mind at this stage, should
detach himself from worldly desires…

Disciple: — What should one do to go beyond this state?

Faqir: — Now you understand that an aspirant must accept an Ideal
for his spiritual development. Once satiated with the scenes of the
Thousand-petalled Lotus, a keen desire to attain peace, bliss, or
equanimity, arises in the mind. And so, he creates a higher Ideal,
or master, and strives to rise to that level. His Surat withdraws
itself from all other thoughts and becomes fixed in itself by
repeating the Name of this Ideal which becomes a channel for
progress. During this stability, the Surat perceives Light and hears
the inner Sound from which it derives a special enjoyment.
Eventually the Surat is dissatisfied with this pleasure because the
level at which one experiences this kind of enjoyment is also
constituted by the five subtle elements, bound to increase and
decrease. Though the Surat may declare itself to be in the highest
state of enjoyment, its inner knowledge cannot accept it as
everlasting bliss, peace or equilibrium.

The quality of change at this state explains the dissatisfaction of
the inner mind in the following way. Since the stage of the Thousand-
petalled Lotus is the creation of the intermingling of the subtle
elements, different currents function in the universe at this level,
continuously creating and destroying the cosmos, the universes, the
galaxies, the suns, and the moons. The creation of your mind is like
this creation and destruction of the cosmos. Does the aspirant
continue to enjoy this bliss when he is absorbed in the inward play?
No, wherever there is joy, there is also sadness, or disappointment.
One is bound to both extremes and cannot attain permanent peace
beyond the temporary. Our ancient sages concluded that the very form
of Cosmic Light was the sole ground of the cosmos. But the fact is
that even this state is devoid of eternal bliss and peace. So long
as the Surat is absorbed in this play, it seems to be happy, but
soon becomes sad again. So it is evident that even this form of
Cosmic Light, or temporal spotless brilliance, cannot grant eternal
peace.

Having realized through experience that this region of the Thousand-
petalled Lotus is the region of motion and change caused by the
subtle elements, and that both pleasure and pain, attraction and
repulsion, are present here, the aspirant progresses upward. The
perception of the gross Sound of the Bells, and even of the gross
Light, which has been caused by the concentration of the subtle
elements in mind, begins to fade away and the attention of the Surat
is drawn on.

Now it begins to experience forgetfulness of its physical awareness,
causing a sort of slumber. If caught up in this slumber, the
aspirant falls asleep, but if he remains aware of his Ideal, adopted
in the very beginning, he is bound to ascend and become alert. This
state is called the undulating Narrow Tunnel, or Bunknaal, which
goes downward for a while and then turns upward. Every practitioner
experiences this internal state. The sensation of descending is the
state of slumber or forgetfulness caused by the temporary mental
disequilibrium, which distracts the aspirant from his Ideal. In this
forgetfulness, he feels as though he has descended, but
concentrating on his Ideal, he must ascend from this slumber toward
his cherished goal. At this point, only the Ideal of the aspirant
remains in his internal vision. This is the level of Trinity, or
Trikuti. Actually, the image of the Guru, experienced at this level
is the result of the integration of the subtle elements of mind. The
wavering mind is stabilized with the concentration on the form of
one’s Ideal. However, it is difficult to stay at this level also,
because the feelings still function. Only when it is held there by
the devotion to the Ideal, can the mind remain in this state. (Baba
Faqir Chand’s Commentary on Swami Ji’s Hidayatnama)