From jamesjs@unixg.ubc.ca Thu Feb 12 03:00:12 1998
Newsgroups: alt.meditation.shabda
Subject: Naam or Word: A Study of the Sound Current (2/9)
From: jamesjs@unixg.ubc.ca (James Shannon)
Date: 12 Feb 1998 11:00:12 GMT



                          
                             
                             NAAM OR WORD
   
                                  by 

                         Sant Kirpal Singh Ji

                             (1894 - 1974)                           


                               [PART 2]
      


NAAM: WHAT IT IS

  All scriptures speak of Naam but have not been able to
say adequately what It is. It is impossible to define and
delineate It in words. It may be described as "life-impulse"
or "conscious-principle." When It begins to vibrate, It
produces melodious sound, which is termed Naam or
Shabd. 

This Sound Current proceeding from the Deep Silence of the 
Formless Kutasth is responsible for all forms and colors, 
visible and invisible to the naked eye.

All life hangs on this life-principle. No life can exist 
without Naam. The Sound-principle is all-pervading; it may or
may not be felt, yet It is reverberating from top to toe.
It is the Kernel and the Essence and at once both the
material and efficient Cause of the endless universes in
which this physical earth is but a speck.
    
    O Pipa! this universal vibration is the Primal Cause-
      less Cause,
    But can be apprehended only through a Master-soul.

                                                RAJA PIPA


In all religions God is spoken of as the Sound-manifest or
Life Principle. It is a current, live and conscious, and has
in It the germs of creation. It is because of this link
between the Creator and the creation that the spirit or
soul of a person can cross over the physical body and
traverse the spiritual regions to reach the True Home of
our Father - Sach Khand. 

From scriptures we learn that Sound Principle or Naam 
is of two kinds: (i) outer, and (ii) inner. The former 
consists of words that may be spoken or written down and 
recorded. This constitutes all learning and knowledge at 
the intellectual level and is termed Apra Vidya or 
knowledge of the world and the worldly surroundings. All 
worldly wisdom is included therein. It is also called 
Varn-Atmak, for with it Atma or Soul can express itself 
and functions in the world. 

All book knowledge is because of Varn-Atmak Shabd. 
Comprehension of world and worldly relations depends on
this type of Shabd which helps outwardly in the physical
plane. It serves as the means of conveying ideas and emo-
tions from man to man, just as any other animal would
do. 

Outer sound then, serves as the first step in the study
of the Science of the Spirit. Theory precedes practice and
the Master-saint has to make use of it for explaining this
most abstruse subject. Again Japa or oral repetition of
certain words or names of God is to be done by Varn-Atmak 
Shabd. The preliminary training of the mind is the first 
essential on this Path and hence the need for outer sound 
or Shabd. Japa is of four kinds:
  
  (i)   Baikhri or oral, performed by tongue.
  (ii)  Madhma, done mentally at the seat of the Shakti
        in the Kanth or throat.
  (iii) Pashianti, done at the seat of the heart.
  (iv)  Para, also a mental process performed with atten-
        tion riveted at the seat of the navel.

All these types of Japas give solace of varying degrees and
one gets peace of mind of a temporary nature only, because 
the various bodily ganglions involved in them are of a 
lower order, situated below Shiv-Netra or the Third Eye.
  
  Besides these, there is Simran or Japa of the 
indescribable and hidden Sound Current that proceeds of 
Itself from the depths of the Great Silence. It is 
technically termed "Para-Vidya" (Knowledge of the Beyond)  
or "Dhun-Atmak Shabd." In this type of Japa one has just
to listen to the all-pervading Naam or Shabd. 

As this Sound cannot be expressed in any symbolic form, it 
is expressionless. It may be contacted above the sensory 
plane,behind the center of the two eyebrows. The true 
significance of Naam, the Creator of various planes and 
divisions of the endless universes, may be known by one who
is an adept in the Surat Shabd Yoga or has united his soul
with the Sound-principle.
    
    
    He who performs Japa with the tongue of thought,
      knows the true nature of the Sound Current (Word
      or Naam) 62 
                                     GURU NANAK


To doubt Dhun-Atmak Shabd is the very essence of one's
soul, but one cannot apprehend It without the help and
guidance of a Master-soul or adept in the line, and 
without Surat Shabd Yoga, i.e., establishing a contact of 
the spirit or soul with the essential live-principle (through 
a regular process of inversion or self-analysis). One does
not get life's richest gift; for the spirit is engaged all the
time in outer pursuits by constant association with the
mind and the senses, reveling in the enjoyment of the
world and worldly objects. 

Emerson, the great American philosopher, speaks of 
inversion as "tapping inside."

  Lord Jesus metaphorically speaks of it:
        
        Knock and it shall be opened unto you. 63

Naam or Name is Varn-Atmak, while Naami or Named
is the Great Power behind the descriptive words and is
Dhun-Atmak. From epithetic words, one has to recede to
the Power which the words denote and stand for. The
Japa or Varn-Atmak is performed orally by the tongue
and is just a preparatory course in the spiritual discipline
of the soul. Sant Ravi Das says in this context:
    
    Without actual sight (of an object) longing does not
      arise.
    Whatever is visible to the naked eyes is perishable
      indeed,
    He who establishes an inner contact of Surat and
      Shabd (Spirit and Sound) through the help of
      Varn-Atmak words, is a true Yogi, desireless and
      free. 64

Varn-Atmak or epithetic names look just like dolls 
apparently dancing by themselves; but they in fact are 
being made to dance by invisible hands controlling the lines
behind them. In exactly the same way there exist infallible
links between Naam and the Naami (or the Name and the
Named:  Varn-Atmak and Dhun-Atmak Shabds). Varn-Atmak words 
pave the way to Dhun-Atmak Shabd and are thus essential aids 
in stilling the mind of oscillations, purging it of all 
impurities and rendering it capable of apprehending the 
Dhun-Atmak current within, for without this vital chord, 
the spirit cannot transcend the physical plane and enter the 
higher spiritual planes leading to the Home of our Father. 

The Varn-Atmak words may and do differ because of lingual 
differences, but the DhunAtmak Shabd being the Life-Principle 
of the spirit or soul is the same throughout. It has indeed 
been an Unspoken Language and an Unwritten Law throughout the 
ages and it shall remain so till eternity; for all life is 
one and one only for the entire creation, though it is in 
multitudinous forms. 

The teachings of the Saints which center round the
One Reality are, therefore, a common heritage for the
entire humanity and not for this or that class or social
order or religious sect. The Saints are secular in their 
outlook and not sectarian. Children of Light, they give light
to one and all, irrespective of caste and creed. God made
man (an embodied spirit) and man made religions and is
caught in his own handiwork just like a silkworm in his
cocoon. 

The Saints come to liberate man from his own self-made 
bondage, to take him out of the narrow grooves which he 
has molded himself through centuries of habitual way of 
living. The Saints do not meddle with social orders nor 
do they create any. Their call is addressed to the spirit 
alone. They come with a divine mandate:

     To lead man from Darkness to Light, from Untruth
       to Truth, from Death to Immortality.
     Arise, awake and stop not until the goal is reached.
                                                    
                                                THE VEDAS

     Think not that I am come to destroy the Law, or the
     Prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. 65
                                                                             
                                                CHRIST

Again,

     For them (saints) there is no difference between the
       so-called twice-born: the Brahmins, Kshatriyas and
       the Vaishyas and the low-born Sudras, for they
       address them all alike.

        The beloved of the Master (Gurmukh) worships the          
        Naam and attains Moksha (liberation)-the Naam            
        which, O Nanak! pervades equally in all.                  

                                              GURU ARJAN                
                                                                

In the life story of Guru Nanak we find the anecdote of    
Mian Mitha, a fakir of Mithankot, a town in the Punjab         
(now in West Pakistan). In his wanderings, Guru Nanak
came across this fakir and told him that without Naam or
Word one found no peace here and hereafter and could        
not escape from the Karmic bondage. As to what this          
Naam or Word was, he said that it was not a subject of      
comprehension by the senses, but it could be apprehended    
on a super-sensual plane. 

The Guru asked Mian Mitha to listen within himself, but 
the Mian could hear nothing. Thereupon the Guru took him 
aside and looking at him asked him once again to attune 
himself within, whereupon the Mian exclaimed that he could 
distinctly feel the vibrations of Naam in every pore of 
his body.

This shows that the Word of God is characterized not by
words but by vital vibrations.                                
    
    A beloved of the Master feels and experiences the        
      quickening of life-impulse in all the pores of his     
                                         
                                         GURU NANAK


The Saints, therefore, in common, say that God is one and
there is only one way that leads Godward. The spiritual     
discipline does not interfere with nationality or social 
religion. Every person, whatever his nationality or religion,
can practice this discipline and successfully follow the     
Path of the Saints. The Divine Link or Word is already                        
present in each individual, no matter who he is and what-
ever his vocation in life. 

It is attained by a process of self-analysis and inversion 
and one who learns and practices this process can come into 
contact with It. But the trouble is that everyone clings to 
the age old convictions and is not prepared to break away 
from them and accept ideas which appear new and novel. But 
by constant association with a Godman or a man of 
realization, the Light of Truth gradually dawns upon him, 
and in course of time he begins to realize the Truth.

                                

NAAM IS THE SOUND PRINCIPLE
  
  Naam is characterized by a sweet and serene Sound Current. 
This Ethereal Music is going on in each individual. In fact, 
there is no place without It. Its Divine notes can be heard 
through the grace of some Master of Divine Music or 
Master-soul. All the scriptures of the world make
pertinent references to this heavenly Harmony.
    
    
    God manifested Himself as Naam-the ever rever-
      berating Naam,
    The Vedas, Shastras and Smritis sing of Naam, times
      without number. 68
                                                GURU ARJAN


    The Naam (Sound-principle) reverberating as It is
      in all hearts, does not diminish or increase and is
      Unchanging Permanence,
    Without Naam all are just paupers, and this Truth
      comes only from a Master-soul. 69
    

    Hearing the Naam one becomes the knower of the
      Self, and gets all that is good and noble,
    Hearing the Naam all sins drop off of themselves and
      one easily gets at the Truth,
    

    O Nanak! by hearing the Naam, one's face shines
      with glory,
    The beloved of the Master is ever in contact with
      the Naam. 70
                                                
                                                GURU NANAK
    

    Then the Eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the
    Ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the
      Lame man leap as an hart, and the Tongue of the
      dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break
      out, and streams in the desert. 71
                                                
                                                ISAIAH
    

    For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face
      to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know
      even as also I am known. 72

                                                ST.  PAUL


                                                
THE SEAT OF NAAM OR WORD

  The body is the Temple of God, for God made man in
His own image. But it is only after the spirit, through the
process of inversion, gets concentrated between and 
behind the two eyebrows that one can hear the divine melody. 
Guru Nanak, when questioned by the yogins (those engaged 
in yogic exercises like Pranayam, etc.) about this music, 
told them:
    

    O yogi, you may have the gift of the Divine Link only
      if you transcend the body. 73


This Divine Link is essentially musical in character and has
a great magnetic force a which pulls the Spirit upward to
spiritual realms, as Spirit, Word and God are of the same
essence. When like attracts like, the Spirit is irresistibly
drawn out of the bodily raiment. Maulana Rumi therefore
says:
   

   If I were to give thee a little account of the divine
     strains, all the spirits would leave their respective
     bodily abodes.


Christ too speaks of it:
   
   When the dead shall hear the Voice of the Son of
     God, they that hear shall live. 74


This heavenly Harmony is already within each one of us,
and we could distinctly hear it if we could by leaving the
outgoing faculties through repetition of certain name or
names, withdraw the spirit from the sensory plane. The
reverberations of this music make us self-absorbed and
self-intoxicated.
    

    One dyed in the Naam is ever absorbed within and
      gets eternal bliss. 75

                                                GURU NANAK


All the intoxicants of the world produce but a passing
inebriation and a momentary forgetfulness; but a spirit
dyed in the color of Naam or Word is ever-engrossed in
the Sound Principle arising from the Deep Silence of the
Soul and experiences an everlasting bliss which is 
interminable:
    

    The intoxication of the Naam, O Nanak, works round
      the clock.

                                                GURU NANAK



Naam is the Life Principle that works through all that
lives and its withdrawal means disintegration, dissolution
and death:
    

    I live when I listen to Naam's music and I die when
      I forget it. 76
                                                
                                                GURU NANAK

Again,
    
    O my Beloved, I do live when I contact the Naam,
    Without that there is no life, my Master has instilled
    this in me. 77
                                                   
                                                GURU RAM DAS


So long as this inner contact of the spirit with the Naam
which is latent in each one of us is not established, there
is no way out for the spirit and it gets no peace.



TIME FOR PRACTICING SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES

 One may devote oneself to the worship of Naam or
Word at any time and at any place for there are no 
restrictions in this behalf. But Amrit-Vela (early dawn) 
is the most appropriate and fruitful for the purpose.
       

       At the ambrosial hour of the early dawn,
       Be ye in communion with the divine Word,
       And meditate on His glory. 78
                                                         
                                                GURU NANAK  

Again,
   
   O thou rise early, and worship the Word day and
    night, and then, O Nanak, thou shalt have no grief
    and escape from all troubles. 79

                                                GURU RAM DAS


WHY IS NAAM INAUDIBLE?
 
 Our mind is ever in a state of oscillation. It is covered
with the dust of ages upon ages. All the time our mental
faculties are flowing outward into the world, and never for              
a moment have they known any rest. Until the mind is
purified and stilled, one cannot listen to the 
reverberations of the Sound Current.
            
   There can be no devotion with an unclean mind, for
     one cannot have access to the Sound Current,
   A man dwelling on the plane of the senses, dies in
     the senses and loses all respect here and hereafter. 80
                                                                
                                                GURU AMAR DAS

Again,                                                  
            
   Oscillating between this and that on account of 
     egoistic life, the mind gets lost and finds neither 
     charm nor interest in the Sound Current. 81

                                                GURU AMAR DAS



NAAM IS A SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCE

  Naam in the real sense is beyond perception, 
comprehension and apprehension. It is an unspoken language
and mutely it speaks. Madam Blavatsky calls It the Voice
of the Silence. A continual touch with the Word helps in
stilling the mental vibrations and quieting the mind. Guru
Nanak speaks of It:
            
     Naam cannot be seen with the eyes, nor can it be
       comprehended, but with all this, it is so sweet and
       so loving,
       
     O God! grant Nanak this ambrosial nectar from age
       to age, so that he may ever be engaged in its 
       limitless vibrations. 82


       
REAL NAAM: INCOMPREHENSIBLE AND HIDDEN

The real essence of Naam is all-pervading in each 
individual and is yet hidden and unfelt. It can be made 
manifest through the grace of a Master-soul who is 
established in the Naam, or in other words is 
Naam-personified and capable of transmitting to others 
his own life-impulse.
   
    In the present age, the Unmanifested Naam reigns
     supreme, and is surging in abundance in each
     individual,
    It, however, becomes manifest in such hearts as take
     refuge at the lotus feet of a Master-soul. 83

                                            GURU AMAR DAS


In this world, one can have each and every thing one may
desire; but the Unmanifested Word is too difficult to be
achieved. It is the heritage of one who is a Gurmukh or
established in the Master-soul.
      

    Hari Naam is a very rare commodity,
    It may grow in the heart of some Guru-man. 84
    

    The whole world is devoid of Naam,
    Yet it may be obtained from a Guru-man. 85

                                             GURU AMAR DAS



NAAM: DIVINE LINK BETWEEN MAN AND HIS MAKER
 
 The Controlling Power of Naam has within its mighty
grasp the endless series of universes. Human body too has
been designed on the model of Cosmic Order. This microcosm 
made up of diverse elements likewise owes its integrity 
and organic unity to Naam. It is the indissoluble link
between God and man. Just as a fish can ride a mighty
wave, so a spirit can ride the Sound Current and reach the
Sea of Sound or Naam. 

The Path of Sound Principle is known as a process of 
inversion. All other paths lead to extensionalism, with no 
way out of the panorama of life.
   

   Whoever gets linked with Naam, he alone, O Nanak,
    can realize the Immaculately Pure. 86

                                                GURU ARJAN



THE PATH OF NAAM LEADS TO SEHAJ STATE

  Naam helps a spirit in the attainment of Sehaj-a state
of perfect equipoise beyond the realm of the three Gunas:
(Satvik, Rajsik and Tamsik; i.e., Equanimity, Action, and
Inertia respectively). It is a state not subject to decay 
and disintegration.
   
   Let the Beloved of Nanak have mercy on him for
     Naam is the blind man's staff unto him. 87
                                                        
                                                GURU ARJAN
   

   O God! Thy Name is a pilgrim's staff to the blind,
   To me who is a poor and helpless wretch,
   Thy name is my prop and support. 88
                                                
                                                NAM DEV



NAAM: THE MOST EFFICACIOUS SADHNA IN THE PRESENT AGE

 Whenever vice predominates and virtue goes underground 
and good acts are altogether ignored, the Saints preach 
the spiritual sadhna or practice of Naam, for it is
the easiest and the quickest remedy. In this age all 
individual and social acts and the performance of rites and
rituals as enjoined by the scriptures are hardly of any 
substantial use for they are outmoded and out of time.

    In this age, Kirtan (the Sound Principle) occupies
     the highest place (among spiritual practices). 89
                                                     
                                                GURU ARJAN


Sant Ravi Das testifies to this:

    In Sat Yuga (the golden age) "Sat" or Truth reigned
      supreme; in Treta (the silver age) sacrificial 
      oblations had their day; in Dwaper (the copper age)
      idol worship was the law of the land; but in Kal
      Yuga (the iron age), Naam is the most potent and
      sovereign remedy. 90


Swami Tulsi Das Ji concurs:
    
    Meditation (on the Sat) prevailed in the first unit of
      time, Yajnas or sacrifices in the second, Bhakti or
      loving devotion in the third and now in the fourth
      when evil is in the ascendant and the mind is
      wholly engrossed in evil like a fish in the sea, Naam
      or the discipline of the spirit works as the saving
      life line from the ocean of delusive matter.

                                             TULSI  DAS


    In Kal Yuga Naam is the only precious thing, for with
      the help of Naam, the devotees are saved. 91
                                
                                             GURU RAM DAS


    In this Kal Yuga, all Sadhans or practices are of no
      avail except that of Naam, for it alone is a potent
      remedy. 92
      
                                     SWAMI SHIVDAYAL SINGH
    

    In Kal Yuga, Naam is the only means of salvation. 93
    

    Now that Kal Yuga has set in, it is the most appro-
      priate season for sowing the seed of Naam,
    Nothing else can bear fruit now, do not be in any
      delusion on this account. 94
    

    Nanak would gladly make an offering of himself to
      one who has been linked with Naam. 95
                                  
                                             GURU ARJAN


NAAM: THE SAVING FACTOR IN ALL THE FOUR AGES

 The Path of the Naam is the most ancient and the most
natural. It is in consonance with the Divine Law. In all the
During the last five hundred years, saints like Kabir Sahib,
Guru Nanak and the other nine Sikh Gurus, Dadu Sahib,
Paltu Sahib, Tulsi Sahib, Swami Shiv Dayal Singh, Baba
Jaimal Singh and Baba Sawan Singh have been the great
exponents of this Path. 

The Muslim divines have been practicing and preaching the 
Path of Kalma for fourteen hundred years or more. The 
Prophet Mohammed, Shamas Tabrez, Maulana Rumi, Hafiz Sahib, 
Moinuddin Chishti and others taught this very thing. 

Again, two thousand years ago, John the Baptist and Christ 
laid down the Path of the Word or Logos. Zoroaster long 
before preached of Sraosha or the Sound Current in Persia. 

Lord Buddha,twenty-five hundred years ago, practiced this 
very sadhna. The teachings of Gorakh Nath, long before Buddha,
centered round this cardinal principle.  

Four thousand years back, we find that in Egypt it was known 
as the "Path of Aton" which was preached by King Ikhnaton.

In the Upanishads we find references to "Udgit" or the
"Harmony" of the Beyond. Lord Krishna, long before,
was fully conversant with this science. 

In the Vedas, the oldest scriptures of the world, we read 
in Wak Devi Sukat of "Naad" or music and "Sruti" or that 
which is heard.
 
 Kabir Sahib tells us that he came in all the four Yugas,
and every time he preached of Naam or Word. In each
Yuga he was known differently as Sat Sukrat, Munindar,
Karunamae and lastly as Kabir.
 
 The Sikh scriptures testify in plain words that during
the four Grand Divisions of time people benefited by the
practice of Naam by sitting at the feet of saints:
   
   In all the four ages, Naam occupied a predominant
    position and people meditated on the Shabd. In
    this age, Gurmukh (Guru-man) alone is saved. 96

   Whosoever benefited, he did so through Naam, obtained 
    by the grace and the blessings of some Gurmukh 
    (Master-soul) 97

   Naam alone has been the Saving Life Line through
    the ages. 98
                                                     
                                          GURU AMAR DAS



2.  EVIDENCE FROM VARIOUS RELIGIONS
             
If we go through the scriptures of various religions, we
find clear references to the basic common factor, the
Divine Light and Sound Current, as the only means for
creation and maintenance of the universe and the 
regeneration of mankind.


                       HINDUISM

According to the Hindu theological books, the whole
creation was made through Naad. They also refer to it as
"Akash Bani" (voice coming down from the Heavens).
We have references to it in the Vedas, the most ancient
scriptures in the world. In the Naad Bind Upanishad, for
instance, the subject is dealt with in a very lucid manner.
The Hath Yog Pradipaka also speaks of this Sound Prin-
ciple.
    
    He has taken the support of the Word (melodious
     tune).

                                        CHANDOGYA UPANISHAD
    

    Let yogi sit on Sidh Asan and while practicing the
      Vaisnavi Mudra, should hear the sound through
      his right ear.
    By communion with the Word, he will become deaf
     to the external sounds, and will attain the Turya
     Pad or a state of equipoise within a fortnight.
    First the murmuring sounds resembling those of the
     waves of the ocean, the fall of rain and the running
     rivulets and the Bheri will be heard intermingled
     with the sounds of bell and conch, etc.

                                        NAAD BIND UPANISHAD


    Though He is beyond speech and mind, yet one can
      experience and realize Him by going beyond speech
      and mind.
                                                      
                                        BRAHM UPANISHAD


    He is the Immutable, the Supreme and the Self-
      luminous,
    And knowing Him one transcends death; there is no
      other way to freedom . . .
    He is to be realized in the cave that shines.
                                                   
                                        KAIVALYA UPANISHAD


    Meditation on Nad or the Sound Principle is the
      royal road to salvation.

                                        HANSA NAAD UPANISHAD


Tejabind Upanishad conceives the Supreme Atman dwelling 
in the heart of man, as the most subtle center of 
effulgence, revealed only to yogins by super-sensuous 
meditation.
  
  Now about the effulgent point: It has its excellent
meditation, super-mundane, seated in the heart (attainable
by) the Anava, Shakta and Shambhava (methods); the
meditation is gross, subtle, as well as that which is 
transcendental.
 
 It is the most difficult but the only process of Supreme
Realization: Even to the wise and the thoughtful this
meditation is difficult to perform, and difficult to attain,
difficult to cognize, and difficult to abide in and difficult
to cross.
    
    The seeker must therefore be one determined to make
      that which is inaccessible accessible, and one whose
     sole aim is to serve the Guru and His Cause only
     - the worship of the Supreme Spirit.
                              
                                         TEJABIND UPANISHAD

After studying the Vedas, the intelligent one solely intent
on acquiring knowledge and realization should discard
the Vedas altogether as the man who seeks to obtain rice
discards the husk.
    
    Like the butter hidden in milk, the Pure Consciousness 
      resides in every being. That ought to be constantly 
      churned out by the churning rod of the mind.
      
                                        AMRITBIND UPANISHAD


There occur, in the Upanishads, terms like "Trilochan"
and "Tryambaka," referring to the one having three eyes
- the third eye being the Single Eye of Christ or Divya
Chakshu or the eye that is self-luminous.
  
  Gosain Tulsi Das Ji, the famous author of the Hindi
Ramayana, speaks of it as follows:
    
    The nails of the Master's feet are more lustrous than
      the shining crest jewel. A concentration on them
      opens the inner vision and one becomes all know-
      ing.

                  
  
                        BUDDHISM

Extracts from "The Path of Sudden Attainment" by Hui
Hai (a scripture of Mahayana Buddhism) translated by
John Blofeld:
    
    Nature of Perception: The faculty of perception is
    continuous, so perception takes place whether objects
    are present or not. Thus we know it is the objects
    themselves that come and go and not the faculty of
    perception. It is the same with all the senses.
      
      Nature of Hearing: It is not the question of
    whether there is sound or not. Because the faculty of
    hearing is continuous, so hearing takes place whether
    there is sound or not. It is the real nature of the 
    "Self" as knower, that perceives and hears independently 
    of the objects and sounds respectively and apart from
    the sense organs.
      
      Method of Enlightenment by sudden apprehension:
      
      Its purpose is to reach a state where thought is
    absent. Its scope lies in not allowing yourself to be
    moved by any form of allurement. Its nature is 
    stillness and its activating agent is wisdom.
      
      Wisdom: Four kinds:
      
      (i) The five kinds of perception produce the "Wisdom 
    of self-perception or self perfection." It consists
    in being able to use all the forces of perception with-
    out being thereby caused to believe in the plurality
    of form.
      
      (ii) Apprehension produces the "Wisdom of profound 
    discernment or observation." It consists in
    being able to enter into the sphere of all forms of 
    perception and to be proficient in making distinctions
    between them without allowing disorderly thoughts
    to arise and thus achieving freedom from illusion.
      
      (iii) Discrimination produces "Universal Wisdom." 
    It consists in being able to regard every single
    atom without feeling love and hatred and implies the
    voidness of distinction.
      
      (iv)  Next comes the basis of all perception which
    produces the "Perfect All-reflecting Buddha Wisdom." 
    It is Absolute Void and Stillness, Perfect and
    Unwavering Brilliance.


                            [End of Part 2]
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