The Yoga of Sound, PT. 4

[Guest guest]

James jamesbean

 

 

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.

 

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... 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