Consciousness, Literature and the Arts

 

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Volume 15 Number 2, August 2014

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A Neurotheological Approach to Understanding James Joyce’s Concept of Epiphany and Related States of Wajad and Turiya with Some Reflections on the Radhasoami Faith

 

by

Gur Pyari Jandial

Dayalbagh Educational Institute

 

Abstract: The principal writer to extend the meaning of the word ‘epiphany’ as a secular term beyond the realm of religion was James Joyce, who was interested in sudden, dramatic and startling moments which seemed to have heightened significance.  In Hindu philosophy, Turiya (or chaturtha) is the experience of pure consciousness. Ecstasy is called Wajd by the Sufis. The teachings of The Radhasoami faith centre upon a type of meditation practice known as Surat Shabd Yoga. Shabd refers to a sound current which can be perceived in meditation. Yoga refers to the union of our real essence (soul) through an inner listening with focused mental concentration with the inner sound (Shabd). It is therefore taught as the unchanging and primordial technique for uniting the soul with the Supreme Being. Research in neurosciences has revealed that the mind interacts directly with cortical neurons, resulting in both subjective phenomenal experience and causal influence on neurological processes. This paper is an attempt to make a neuroscientific study of epiphany and some of the meditative traditions and practices of India.

 

Key Words: Neurotheology, Epiphany, Wajd, Turiya, Radhasoami

Neurotheology, also known as spiritual neuroscience, is the study of correlations of neural phenomena with subjective experiences of spirituality. Proponents of neurotheology say there is a neurological and evolutionary basis for subjective experiences traditionally categorized as spiritual or religious. These may be the perception that time, fear or self-consciousness have dissolved, spiritual awe, oneness with the universe, ecstatic trance, sudden enlightenment and altered states of consciousness. Work on the neural or scientific basis of spirituality has occurred periodically throughout the twentieth century.  The advent of modern brain imaging techniques has made it easier to combine neuroscience with religious and spiritual phenomena.

According to the neurotheologist Andrew B. Newberg, neurological processes are driven by the repetitive, rhythmic stimulation which is typical of human ritual, and these contribute to transcendental feelings of connection to a universal unity. Supporters of religious experience posit, however, that physical stimulation alone is not sufficient to generate transcendental intuitive experiences.

This paper is an attempt to analyze the experience of ‘epiphany’ and the spiritual states of Wajd and Turiya, as well as some spiritual states experienced in the practice of Surat-Shabd-Yoga by the followers of the Radhasoami Faith in the light of the basic tenets of neurotheology. Etymologically the word ‘epiphany’ is from the greek epiphaneia, which means “manifestation, striking appearance". The term ‘epiphany’ was first used to refer to a  sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience. In literature it came to depict a literary work or section of a work presenting, usually symbolically, such a moment of revelation and insight. In another sense it maybe the sudden realization or comprehension of the essence or meaning of something. The term is used in either a philosophical or literal sense to signify that the claimant has found the last piece of the puzzle and now sees the whole picture.

The Hindu term for epiphany would be bodhodaya, from the Sanskrit bodha which means 'wisdom' and udaya which means 'rising'. In Buddhism, the term might refer to the Buddha finally realizing the nature of the universe, and thus attaining nirvana. Traditionally the word has kept this specific religious association, but in the twentieth century it came to refer to other, non-divine forms of revelation.

The principal writer to extend the meaning of the word as a secular term was James Joyce, who was interested in sudden, dramatic and startling moments which seemed to have heightened significance and to be surrounded with a kind of magical aura. The notion of the Joycean epiphany was first outlined in Joyce’s seminal novel Stephen Hero (the early version of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man), when a casual incident in Dublin strikes the protagonist, Stephen.

 

In chapter 15 of Stephen Hero, we find the following definition of Epiphany, ‘Its soul, its whatness, leaps to us from the vestment of its appearance. The soul of the commonest object, the structure of which is so adjusted, seems to us radiant. The object achieves its epiphany’ (Joyce, 1963, 213). By ‘epiphany’ Joyce meant a sudden consciousness of the "soul" of a thing. Elsewhere in Stephen Hero we find epiphany described as a ‘sudden spiritual manifestation’. In the novels of Joyce the epiphany is linked to the theory of aesthetics and the function of an artist.

 The exposition of aesthetics in A Portrait of the Artist as A Young Man begins as Stephen Dedalus explains to Lynch how confronted by a basket, the mind first of all separates the basket from the rest of the visible universe which is not a basket in order to apprehend it as one thing. “This phase of perception is called the discovery of the object’s integritas. Two successive phases, the discovery of consonantia and of claritas yield a radiant manifestation of the whatness of a thing” (Joyce, 1969, 211). Referring to A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Richard Ellmann suggests, “Stephen’s apostasy is accordingly presented as a choice for himself, and not necessarily one for others. On the other hand, he is an exemplum, not only in his capacity as artist, but in his character of emancipated man. His initial submission, in fear and remorse, to the terrifying sermons about death, judgement, and punishment, changes to revulsion at their cruelty” (Ellmann, 1984, 2).

An epiphany may also arise, as Stephen tells Cranly from the apprehension of a concrete object, such as the clock of the Ballast Office – which they were passing by at that moment:

Yes, said Stephen. I will pass it time after time, allude to it, refer to it, catch a glimpse of it. It is only an item in the catalogue of Dublin’s street furniture. Then all at once I see it and I know at once what it is: epiphany.

-What?

-Imagine my glimpses at that clock as the gropings of a spiritual eye which seeks to adjust its vision to an exact focus. The moment the focus is reached the object is epiphanized. (Joyce, 1963, 216)

In Joyce’s Ulysses, the most important revelations which are derived from phases of the mind are the dream epiphanies. There is ample evidence which shows that Joyce was indeed fascinated by Sigmund Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams, even if the main difference between the two great twentieth century personalities consists in the fact that while Joyce was looking for revelation, Freud was in search of scientific explanations.

In his work, Epiphany in the Modern Novel- Revelation as Art, Morris Beja divides Joyce’s epiphanies which arise from memory into two major types: retrospective epiphanies and the past recaptured. The main difference between the two consists in the fact that the former are the ones in which an event arouses no special impression when it occurs, but produces a sudden sensation of new awareness when it is recalled at some future time. The latter is similar to the epiphanies of Proust in his seminal work Remembrance of Things Past. In Proust’s book the epiphany of the present serves the moment when past and future cross each other — the moment that he calls ‘involuntary recall’. For Joyce as for Proust, art is less a matter of romantic creation than of epiphanic recreation.

True art, Marcel in Remembrance of Things Past realizes, is not a matter of progressively depicting a series of objects or events. The writer must take two different objects and state the connection between them. This identification of unique connections and hidden liaisons between one thing and another is what enables the writer to translate the book of life into the book of art. Marcel describes it as, “truth can be attained by us only when, by comparing a quality common to two sensations, we succeed in extracting their common essence and in reuniting them to each other, liberated from the contingencies of time, with a metaphor”. (Beja, 1971, 24)

For centuries writers and mystics have experienced sudden insights that seem detached from the flow of everyday perception. In many ways these experiences are the high points of human experience and the focus of artistic production.

Many writers, especially religious poets and mystics have conveyed the experience of epiphany: George Herbert, Henry Vaugham, Gerard Manley Hopkins, and William Wordsworth, made one of the most influential Romantic statements on inspiration.

In Hindu philosophy, the idea of a revelation can be understood in terms of turiya (or chaturtha). This is the experience of pure consciousness. Turiya is Spiritual Transcendental consciousness. The twelve terse verses of the Mandukya Upanishad – the scriptures of Hindu Vedanta are an exposition of the Mystic Syllable, Om and its link with the three major states of consciousness. The waking consciousness is the first aspect or phase of experience.

The waking consciousness is jāgaritasthānah, that consciousness which has its abode in the wakeful condition of the individual. This state enjoys the gross reality with

Internal to the waking consciousness, and pervading the waking consciousness, there is a subtler function of this very same consciousness, which is subjectively known as the dream-consciousness, or taijasa, and universally known as hiraṇyagarba, or the Cosmic Subtle Consciousness. In dream all the nineteen openings are there but in a subtle state. Just as in dream, one cannot make a comparison between dream and waking, one cannot make a comparison between waking and a higher life, unless one wakes up from this life.  During the time that one is in a state of dream, the dream seems as real as the wakeful state. As the dream state is recognized as dream only when we awaken, so will our consciousness of this life be known for what it truly is only when we awaken into a higher sublimated state.

In the third deep sleep state one acquires Prajna the state nearest to the highest reality of Brahman. There is neither mind, nor body nor senses nor the world in the state of deep sleep.  But ignorance, desire and action have not been sublated by any real knowledge. Therefore, the return from the state of deep sleep brings one back to the same state of consciousness. The state of Pure Consciousness, which is neither causal, nor subtle, nor gross, neither external nor internal is that grand Reality described in the seventh mantra of the Māndūkya Upaniṣhad. This Absolute, known as the turīya, or the fourth state of Consciousness, transcends all relational manifestations – causal, subtle and gross. While the waking consciousness is external and the dream consciousness is internal, this Consciousness is neither external nor internal, because it is not either waking or dreaming. It is neither internally conscious like dream nor externally conscious, like waking. It is called the fourth, not numerically, but in comparison with the three relative states of waking, dream and sleep. Turiya is without any attributes. It is santam, sivam, and advaitam (peace, goodness, and nondual). Ramana Maharishi calls this “Wakeful Sleep.” Turiya is present and functional in the perfected ones, even when they are awake. In Turiya, there is an irreversible union with Brahman. There is a permanent Metaphysical Unity. There are four progressive Turiya states, one deeper and subtler than the earlier one. The silence that follows the Sound AUM corresponds to this state.

Click here for Figure 1

This is the Ātman. This is our essential nature, and the essential nature of all things. We are the Ātman, which does not wake, dream or sleep which does not restrict itself to the outer or the inner. This is the Ātman to be known, the Goal for which we live in this world. Turiya can be realized only when one is awakened from the ‘sleep’ of the wakeful state. The fourth aspect is the soundless aspect of the ‘Om’ Mantra. It is not utterable and is not comprehended through the senses or by the mind. With the cessation of all phenomena, even of bliss, this soundless aspect becomes known. It is a state of nondual (advaita) reality—one without a second. One with direct experience of this, expands to Universal Consciousness.

The Higher Consciousness, Turiya, is a state realizable only by Yogis . The three states attest to the dualistic world, while Turiya attests to monistic world. The soul sprang from a monistic source and took its birth in a bodily form in the dualistic world. Turiya restores that monism that we sprang from.

Click here for Figure 2

The concept of an internal revelation exists in Sufism as well. Sufis believe that it is possible to become close to God and to experience this closeness while one is alive. Ecstasy is called Wajd by the Sufis. Sufism explains similar experiences through a well-described hierarchy of enduring spiritual stations (maqâmât). Fana- fil- tawheed  is the destruction of the ego-self and sense of onenesss with the universal consciousness. Only the most advanced Sufis can experience Wajd. This bliss is the sign of spiritual development and also the opening for all inspirations and powers. This is the state of eternal peace.

There are five aspects of Wajd:

Wajd is an ecstatic state of rapture, normally experienced by Sufi mystics through poetry or music. Wajd is highly valued, but when experiencing wajd a person is expected to maintain as much control as possible.  A state of wajd is not expected to last very long, but it is expected to be remembered forever and impact how a person lives. Sometimes the condition of Wajd becomes so strong that a sufi loses complete control of his body and starts involuntary movements which look like dancing or running. Sometimes a practitioner goes into a state of Wajd but sits quietly, though his mind and body are not longer in normal state or in his control. Swooning or falling unconscious are also states associated with Wajd. Wajd was particularly related to the religious practice of the Chishtis who emphasized a ceaseless search for the divine other. In this respect the Chishtis followed a particular ritual more zealously than any other brotherhood. This was the practice of Sema, evoking the divine presence through song or music.

The Radhasoami faith, considered by its adherents as the true path to achieve God-realization, is also referred to as Sant Mat or Religion of Saints. The teachings of this faith centre upon a type of meditation practice known as Surat Shabda Yoga. Shabd refers to a sound current which can be perceived in meditation. Yoga refers to the union of our real essence (soul) through an inner listening with focused mental concentration with the inner sound (Shabd) which it is maintained emanates from Radhasoami the Supreme Being. It is therefore taught as the unchanging and primordial technique for uniting the soul with the Supreme Being through the power of Shabd.

The Founder of the Radhasoami Faith was Param Purush Puran Dhani Soamiji Maharaj. He was born in Agra in 1818 and lived and preached there. He was the Supreme Being incarnate Himself and therefore did not have to have a Sant Satguru to initiate Him. According to the Radhasoami Faith, the Supreme Being has blessed the human body with certain latent faculties, by awakening which, the spirit entity can establish contact with different regions of the Creation (macrocosm). In Radhasoami Faith they are described as Sant Satgurus who are in communion with the Supreme Being and are His representatives upon the earth. Now their advent is a line of perpetual succession. The Faith lays down that in order to awaken the spiritual faculties one has to become the disciple of competent and an accomplished teacher. In Radhasoami Faith Sant Satguru is such a teacher. They go through the process as other human beings of formal initiation into the Faith and of participating in Satsang and practicing meditation but in fact coming as they do from the highest region they are already fully awakened. Dayalbagh is the headquarters of the Radhasoami community.

While revealing the original and general structure of the system of the universe in His canonical scripture Sarbachan Nazam (Poetry), Param Purush Puran Dhani Soamiji Maharaj wrote of the four stages of consciousness as disclosed  in the Upanishads. One of the prayers links the state of Turiya to other states. The translation is as follows:

 

The guru in his infinite grace and mercy revealed to me,

The state of Turiya which is Sahadalkanwal.

And the stages beyond Turiyateet

With the help of Surat Shabd Yoga ,

One may pass into Trikuti,

From there to Sunn and Mahasunn,

The spirit ascends to Bhanwar Gufa,

Satlok, Alakh lok, Agam lok and finally to its original abode, Radhasoami. (Soamiji Maharaj, 1976, 502)

The Radhasoami Faith affirms that truth does not dawn. It comes in a flash (like an epiphany but of a much higher order) – like an encrypted code it unfolds differently at different levels of consciousness. According to the Radhasoami Faith, higher regions of spiritual consciousness can be experienced in this very living state through the sounds that resound in these regions. The discourses of the Saints in the Radhasoami faith are replete with references to the earthly equivalents of the sounds that resound in these spiritual domains. As the spirit ascends to higher levels where the matter is more subtle, so do the sounds that resound in these regions become subtle as do the equivalent instruments to which these sounds come closest. Turiya or Sahasdal Kanwal, the fourth region of  the second grand division of the universe resounds with the sound of metal instruments (bell, conch). A region higher in this same grand division Trikuti resounds with the name Om and the music equivalent to instruments of the diaphragm (mridang, dhol). The next region in hierarchy is sunn which resounds with the name Rarang. The music which can be heard here is similar to that produced by string instruments (sarangi, kingri). Finally, Satlok, the second region in the first grand division resounds with the name ‘sat’ ‘sat’ recorded in sufi writings as ‘haq’ ‘ haq’. The equivalent earthly music is of wind instruments ( flute, been).

The Vedanta, Sufism and the religion of the Saints fascinate all regardless of culture, race or language. Their appeal lies in the sense of inclusiveness, the ability to bridge the barriers of time and place. Their impulse is towards experience rather than any language or doctrine about it: our lives as text, rather than any book, be it Qur’an, Gospel, Upanishad, or Sutra. Perhaps the religion of the saints has never been more relevant than in today’s world, torn by strife and violence.

 

Many years after Joyce one Sunday morning in March, 29 years ago, in 1992 as Dr. James Austin a neurologist--who was spending a sabbatical year in England waited for a train in London, he glanced away from the tracks toward the river Thames. --saw nothing out of the ordinary: the grimy Underground station, a few dingy buildings, some pale gray sky. He was thinking, a bit absent-mindedly, about the Zen Buddhist retreat he was headed toward. And then Austin suddenly felt a sense of enlightenment unlike anything he had ever experienced. His sense of individual existence, of separateness from the physical world around him, evaporated like morning mist in a bright dawn. He saw things "as they really are," he recalls. The sense of "I, me, mine" disappeared. "Time was not present," he says. "I had a sense of eternity. My old yearnings, loathings, fear of death and insinuations of selfhood vanished. I had been graced by a comprehension of the ultimate nature of things." (Austin, 2010)

This could be called a mystical experience, a spiritual moment, even a religious epiphany, but Austin did not. Rather than interpret his moment of grace as proof of a reality beyond the comprehension of our senses, Austin took it as "proof of the existence of the brain." As a neurologist, he accepted that all we see, hear, feel and think is mediated or created by the brain. Austin's moment in the Underground therefore inspired him to explore the neurological underpinnings of spiritual and mystical experience. In order to feel that time, fear and self-consciousness have dissolved, he reasoned, certain brain circuits must be interrupted. Activity in the amygdala, which monitors the environment for threats and registers fear, must become weak.  Similarly, parietal-lobe circuits, which mark the sharp distinction between self and world, must go quiet. Frontal- and temporal-lobe circuits, which generate self-awareness, must disengage. When that happens, Austin concluded, "what we think of as our 'higher' functions of selfhood appear briefly to 'drop out,' 'dissolve,' or be 'deleted from consciousness'." (Austin, 2011)

 

In a presentation at the ‘Toward a Science of Consciousness Conference’ held at Tucson, in 2010 Robert G. Mays, B.Sc., and Suzanne B. Mays propose that

 

The “mind” is an energetic, spatially extended, nonmaterial entity that is united with the brain and body. The mind is a separate entity having the character of a structured energy field, which can interact with physical processes including brain neurons. The nonmaterial mind is also the seat of conscious experience. The mind interacts directly with cortical neurons, probably via electrical interaction, resulting in both subjective phenomenal experience and causal influence on neurological processes. All cognitive faculties reside in the mind but ordinarily need the brain’s neural activity for conscious awareness. If the mind is what the brain does, any kind of exercise is bound to leave a physical trace. (Mays, 2006)

Recent findings in neurotheology hold that parts of the cerebral cortex growing  thicker is a state associated with trancelike states. In the neurological search for the spiritual, one is forced to face the same divide. The believers take this research as scientific evidence for the reality of their visions, while the atheists claim more proof that there is nothing outside.  In an breakthrough, Andrew Newberg at the University of Pennsylvania found that praying Franciscan nuns and meditating Buddhist monks generate similar brain scans: The frontal lobe, associated with focus and concentration, lights up. At the same time, the parietal lobe, which integrates sensory information, goes dim. (Newberg, 2001, 36)

 Newberg discovered stirrings in language regions for the nuns, who were meditating on a Bible verse, and in visual regions for the monks, who were imagining a sacred object. Reductive as these studies are—that is the whole point of neuroscience—there has been no loud objection from religious believers. They just take the results as evidence that the gods designed brains to be efficient spiritual resonators.

Hence the eagerness of Tibetan monks, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama, to participate in brain-wave experiments at Richard Davidson's lab at the University of Wisconsin. Such research revealed EEG patterns that appeared to be laced with higher than normal levels of gamma waves—even after the practitioners stopped meditating. These higher-frequency vibrations have been proposed as a mechanism for synchronizing separate brain modules—auditory, visual, etc.—to produce a unified perception of the world. How the brain does this are what philosophers call "the binding problem." (Newberg, 2001, 53)   Maybe the monks can bind these parts so tightly that everything seems like one—a mystical short circuit. Studies suggest that the visions of mystics like St. Paul and Sister Teresa are a kind of brain damage—lobe epilepsy, or TLE for short. The disorder found its way into literature as long ago as 1869 when Dostoevsky, in The Idiot, described epileptic feelings of "a wonderful inner light”. Proust too suffered from TLE.

The conclusion to be drawn from this growing fund of knowledge is that every event that happens to us or any action that we take can be associated with activity in one or more specific regions of the brain. This includes, necessarily, all religious and spiritual experiences. “This evidence compels us to believe that if God does indeed exist, the only place he can manifest his existence would be in the tangled neural pathways and physiological structures of the brain.” (Davidson,  2007, 175)

Today there is ample evidence to prove that regular meditation practice may reduce age-related neural degeneration in specific areas of the brain. Moreover it has now been scientifically validated that meditation can impact our health in strong and positive ways. However it cannot be proper to think that spiritual experience can be generated by inducing the requisite external stimuli. If one repeats a holy name, in accordance with some method of spiritual practice and if the rhythm of the repetition harmonizes with the sound produced at different spiritual centres, a state of resonance is produced. Accordingly one would hear the characteristic sound reverberating in the higher spiritual regions. This can happen only with Supreme Grace and by repeating with concentration a holy name or mantra.

The epiphany in the neurotheological sense then implies intense consciousness toward another, or extraordinary physical connections to others. In a deeper sense it may evolve into the vision of, or union with, some otherworldly entity, of which Plotinus spoke. This pertains to an individual trance like experience of the sacred or of God. Jeannine Jacques opines, “science and theology are not mutually exclusive, nor are they simply complementary.  Theology can be transformed by the new scientific discoveries, and science can be transformed by a theological and psychological framework, transforming individuals and groups even as they transform knowledge and humanity's understanding of ultimate reality. In the process, humankind has the potential to become more God-like, even as we see the face or nature of God more clearly, while still through a glass, darkly”. (Jacques, 2000)

 Neurotheology has much to say in terms of data and how much it will succeed in answering the bigger questions is something that remains to be seen. If from the epiphany we move to spiritual practices we can arrive at a better understanding of our core mental processes such as emotion regulation and capacity for compassion and happiness. The meditative traditions, especially in India, provide a compelling example of strategies and techniques that have evolved over time to enhance and optimize human potential and well being. Recent findings in neuroscience promise additional research which may lead to the increased use of these practices. Both science and theology, and all of life's experiences, have the power to transform our view of the world and the way we relate to the universe.

WORKS CITED

1.      Austin, James, 2012, Religion and The Brain: quoted by Sharon Begley and Anne Underwood. 25 Years John Templeton Foundation, Supporting Science-Investing in the Big Question, Newsweek20010507.

2.      Beja, Morris, n.d, Epiphany in the Modern Novel – Revelation as Art, London, Peter Owen Ltd.

3.      Davidson, J. Richard and Antoine Lutz, 2007, Buddha’s Brain: Neuroplasticity and Meditation, IEEE Signal Processing Magazine, vol. 25, no. 1.

4.      Ellmann, Richard, n.d, Light Rays: James Joyce and Modernism, New York, New Horizon Press Publishers.

5.      Jacques, Jeannine, 2000, “Transformational Potential: The Changing Face of God and of Self in the Realm of Science and Spirit” The Journal of Faith and Science Exchange, Vol.4.

6.      Joyce, James, 1944, Stephen Hero, New York, New Directions, 1944. Print.

7.      Joyce, James, 1969, A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man, New York, Penguin Books.

8.      Mays, G. Robert, and Suzanne B. Mays. 2012, “A Theory of Mind and Brain that solves the ‘Hard Problem’ of Consciousness”.

9.      Newberg, Andrew, Eugene D'Aquili and Vince Rause, n.d, Why God Won't Go Away: Brain Science and the Biology of Belief, NewYork, Ballantine Books.

10.  Swaminji, 2012, “OM Mantra”. Diagram. Om.

11.  Swamiji, 2012, ‘7 Levels of Consciousness’.

12.  Param Purush Puran Dhani Soamiji Maharaj, n.d, Sar Bachan, (Nazm). Agra, Radhasoami Satsang Sabha, Dayalbagh Press.

 

Glossary:

1.                  Turiya ( chaturtha): The fourth state or the state of pure consciousness

2.                  Wajad: State of ecstasy experienced by sufis

3.                  Prana: It is the force that controls the mouth, eyes and nose.

4.                  Apana: This oversees the process of evacuation and elimination of effete matter.

5.                  Vyana: This pervades the body and controls the circulatory and productive systems

6.                  Udana: This flows through the joints, feet and stimulates the activities of

7.                  Samana: This administers the distribution of nourishment equally to all parts of the body.

8.                  Jāgaritasthānah: The waking consciousness

9.                  Taijasa: The dream consciousness

10.              Prajna: The state of deep sleep

11.              Trikuti: Also called Sahasdal kanwal in Radhasoami Faith. This is the name of the sub-division of Brahamanda, the second grand division of creation

12.              Mridang: A drum like instrument with a deep resounding sound

13.              Dhol: A large drum

14.              Been: Wind instrument used by snake charmers

15.              Santam: Peace

16.              Sivam: Goodness

17.              Advaitam: Non-dual

18.              Maqâmât: Divine Stations or Names through which the Divine Essence is manifest

19.              Fana- fil- tawheed: Extinction or annihilation of the self; passing away, cessation; destruction, annihilation; vanishing, extinction; nonexistence; obliteration of the self (ego) and Absorption in the Divine Being.

20.              Rarang Om, Radhasoami: Holy names that resound at different spiritual planes

21.              Sarang: String instrument

22.              Kingri: string instrument similar to violin

23.              Satlok: Region in the third grand division of creation, according to the Radhasoami Faith

24.              Sunn: Region in the second grand division of creation, according to the Radhasoami Faith

25.               Sema: Ritual dance of the whirling dervishes

26.              Upanishad: These are philosophical texts considered to be an early source of Hinduism. Traditionally, these texts are considered to be authorless, and are categorized as Sruti. There are ten principal Upanishads of which the Mandukya Upanishad is one.

27.              Manas: Mind

28.              Buddhi: Intellect

29.              Ahankar: Ego

30.              Chitta: Seat of awareness

31.              Nirvana: Salvation

32.              Sidrat-al-Muntaha: This is a Lote tree that marks the end of the seventh heaven, the boundary where no creation can pass, according to Islamic beliefs. Muhammad,  being the only one allowed, travelled with the arch angel Gabriel, to the Sidrat al-Muntaha where it is said that God assigned the  five daily prayers to all Muslims.

33.              Sahadalkanwal: Turiya is known by this name in the Radhasoami Faith

34.              Turiyateet: a stage beyond Turiya

35.              Surat Shabd Yoga: Bringing the ‘surat’ or spirit in contact with the ‘shabda’, i.e., the spiritual sound current . The means or the practice by which this is done is‘surat-shabda yoga.

36.              Trikuti: Name of a sub-division of Brahmanda, the second grand division of creation

37.              Sunn: Name of a sub-division of Brahmanda, the second grand division of creation

38.              Mahasunn: region dividing the second and third grand divisions of creation

39.              Bhanwar Gufa: Sub-division in the second grand division of creation

40.              Satlok:   sub-division in the highest grand division of creation        

41.              Alakh lok: Region in the highest grand division of creation

42.              Agam lok: Region in the highest grand division of creation

43.              Radhasoami: When any energy becomes kinetic, it produces sound. Thus when spiritual energy becomes kinetic it is also accompanied by sound or ‘Shabda’. This is known as spiritual sound. The ‘shabda’ accompanying the current of spiritual energy which emanated from the Supreme Being and which sustains the entire creation is the ‘shabda’ Radhasoami.