Radha Soami, or Radhasoami Satsang, is a religious organization founded by Shiv Dayal Singh in 1861 on Basant Panchami Day in the Indian subcontinent.^[1][2] The nameless God beyond the gods is given a name: it is Radhasoami, according to those who follow the Agra branches of the movement. Repetition of the name (or names) enables the seeker to gain access to their energy to lift his/her own internal energy currents to the higher levels of God-consciousness, the realm of ethereal light and sound.^[3] The Radhasoami conception of the interior realm alluded to by the sants is articulated in considerably greater than it was by the sants themselves: it has multiple tiers, the discovery of which involves a journey through increasingly rarefied strata of consciousness.^[3], states Mark Juergensmeyer in his book 'Radhasoami Reality: The logic of a modern faith'.

Yuba City USA Radha Soami Satsang Ghar. Yuba City SOS Study Center Yuba City 701 Plumas Street Yuba City, CA 95991 USA. Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB) is a philosophical organization based on the spiritual teachings of all religions and dedicated to a process of inner development under the guidance of a spiritual teacher.

The Radhasoami's, states Mark Juergensmeyer, shows that RS is not an offshoot of Sikhism--despite the common misconception--since it is not directly related; the two traditions, however, share some common roots and a common cultural outlook with Hinduism, for example: some practices and theological concepts such as karma, yoga (shabd) and guru. However, Radhasoamis are also different from Hindus and Sikhs because they reject the concept of a sacred scripture, rituals such as Karah Parshad and pilgrimage gatherings and ceremonies. The Radhasoamis are a religious fellowship that accepts saints and living gurus from anywhere.^[4]

The movement started in Agra, its contemporaneous headquarters are in Beas, with parallel branches found in India and outside India.^[1][4][5] There are over 30 different Radhasoami groups in the world.^[5] Competing Radhasoami groups have headquarters elsewhere such as in Dayalbagh, Agra. Download subtitle indonesia film anime.

According to Pierluigi Zoccatelli, there were an estimated 3 million Radhasoami followers worldwide in 2004, with many subsects based on the Guru. Of these, the Radha Soami Satsang Beas is the largest^[5] and it had 2 million followers.^[6] Other subsects and movements influenced by Radhasoami include Divine Light Mission, Eckankar, Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness, Science of Spirituality and others.^[6] Some of these groups have tried to distance themselves from the other.^[5] Succession upon the death of previous guru has been a source of controversies and schism in the Radhasoami movement since the beginning.^[5]

Nomenclature[edit]

According to Mark Juergensmeyer, the term 'Radha Soami' is a vaishnava phrase for God (lit. 'the lord [Swami or Soami] of Radha, the concert of Krishna') despite the movement does not believe in an anthropomorphic God; however, so the term 'Radhasoami' mean the master of spiritual energy.^[7] Whereas the Agra branches viz. Dayalbagh, Soamibagh believe that Radhasoami is neither a phrase nor a derivative, but the supreme being itself in the form of sound (Dhwanyatmak) and light(Chaitanyam).

The writings of Swami Dayal use the term Sat Nam, rather than Radhasoami. The gurus and the tradition that followed him used the term Radhasoami during the initiation rites, meditation practices and as mutual greeting. This has led to the fellowship being commonly called Radha Soami.^[8] In some subtraditions of Radhasoami, states Lucy DuPertuis, the guru's charisma is considered as the 'formless absolute', being in his presence is equivalent to experiencing the incarnation of the Satguru, the guru is identified as the Radhasoami.^[9]

Beliefs and practices[edit]

To the Radhsoamis, six elements form the framework of their faith:^[10]

• a living guru (someone as locus of trust and truth),
• bhajan (remembering Sat Nam, other practices believed to be transformative),
• satsang (fellowship, community),
• seva (serve others without expecting anything in return),
• dera (community organization, shrine), and
• bhandara (large community gathering).

The Radha Soami Satsang believes that living gurus are necessary for a guided spiritual life.^[1] They do not install the Guru Granth Sahib or any other scriptures in their sanctum, as they consider it ritualistic. Instead, the guru sits in the sanctum with the satsang (group of Sikh faithfuls) and they listen to preachings from the Adi Granth and sing hymns together.^[1] They believe in social equality, forbid caste distinctions and have attracted Dalits to their tradition. They are active outside India, and attracted converts to their movement.^[1]

The Radhasoami are strict vegetarians. They are active in charitable work such as providing free medical services and help to the needy. They do believe in some orthodox Sikh ritual practices such as covering one's head inside the temple or removing shoes, and they serve karah prasad (offering) at the end of prayers.^[1] Their basic practices include Surat Shabd Yoga (sound assisted meditation), initiation of disciple into the path by a living guru, obedience to the guru, a moral life that is defined by abstinence from meat, drugs, alcohol and sex outside marriage. They also believe that jivanmukti or inner liberation is possible during one's lifetime with guidance of the living guru.^[5]

See also[edit]

• Radha Soami Satsang Sabha, Dayalbagh

Gurus

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abcdefgKristen Haar; Sewa Singh Kalsi (2009). Sikhism. Infobase Publishing. pp. 12–13. ISBN978-1-4381-0647-2.
2. ^Mark Juergensmeyer (1995). Radhasoami Reality: The Logic of a Modern Faith. Princeton University Press. p. 90 note 5. ISBN0-691-01092-7., Quote: 'The date of Swami Shiv Dayal Ji's first public discourse is Basant Panchami Day, February 15 1861'
3. ^ ^abJuergensmeyer, Mark (1995-12-31). Radhasoami Reality: The Logic of a Modern Faith. Princeton University Press. ISBN0691010927.
4. ^ ^abMark Juergensmeyer (1995). Radhasoami Reality: The Logic of a Modern Faith. Princeton University Press. pp. 7–8, 14–18, 23, 55–57. ISBN0-691-01092-7.
5. ^ ^abcdefJames R. Lewis (2002). The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions. Prometheus. pp. 590–592. ISBN978-1-61592-738-8.
6. ^ ^abPierluigi Zoccatelli (2004). Peter Clarke (ed.). Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements. Routledge. pp. 508–509. ISBN978-1-134-49970-0.
7. ^Juergensmeyer, Mark; Roof, Wade Clark (2012). Encyclopedia of Global Religion. SAGE. ISBN9780761927297.
8. ^Mark Juergensmeyer (1995). Radhasoami Reality: The Logic of a Modern Faith. Princeton University Press. pp. 41–42 with footnotes. ISBN0-691-01092-7., Quote: 'The word Radhasoami literally refers to Krishna as lord (swami) of his consort, Radha' (p. 41); 'The Beas group translates Radhasoami as 'lord of the soul' (p. 42).
9. ^DuPertuis, Lucy (1986). 'How People Recognize Charisma: The Case of Darshan in Radhasoami and Divine Light Mission'. Sociological Analysis. Oxford University Press. 47 (2): 111–124. doi:10.2307/3711456., Quote: 'Various branches of Radhasoami have argued about the incarnationalism of Satguru (Lane, 1981). Guru Maharaj Ji has accepted it and identifies with Krishna and other incarnations of Vishnu.'
10. ^Mark Juergensmeyer (1995). Radhasoami Reality: The Logic of a Modern Faith. Princeton University Press. pp. 11–12, 40–42. ISBN0-691-01092-7.

• ^ Larson, Gerald J. India's Agony Over Religion (1995). p. 136. SUNY Press (State University of New York) ISBN0-7914-2411-1

Further reading[edit]

• Juergensmeyer, Mark (1991). Radhasoami Reality: The Logic of a Modern Faith, Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN0-691-07378-3
• Lane, David C (1992). The Radhasoami Tradition, New York. Garland Publishing. ISBN978-0-8240-5247-8
• Schomer, Karine & William Hewat McLeod, eds (1987).The Sants: Studies in a Devotional Tradition of India, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1987. Academic papers from a 1978 Berkeley conference on the Sants organised by the Graduate Theological Union and the University of California Center for South Asia Studies. ISBN81-208-0277-2

External links[edit]

A Surprise Houston Visit by Guru to a Tumultuous Welcome

(Indo American News, USA, July 15, 2011) — With very little notice and much less fanfare, the present guru of the Radha Soami Satsang Beas (Punjab), Baba Gurinder Singh, paid a surprise visit to Houston and was welcomed by nearly 1,000 adherents to the faith this past Saturday, July 9. The program was a daylong affair, starting from 10 in the morning and was pulled together by a huge number of volunteers who had been given an inkling that a dignitary would pay a visit.

Gurinder Singh, who is lovingly called Babaji by his followers, gave a satang (discourse) which lasted over 90 minutes and included a question and answer session. The Satang was held in north Waller County at the Science of the Soul Study Center and the main hall was full to capacity with followers not only from the Houston area but also from all over Texas and several other states and other countries as well.

The Center is situated in the on a 120-acre lot that was acquired in 2007 in the Kickapoo Preserve subdivision. Since then, work has been going on to build a single-story, approximately 15,000 sf metal building that looks like a barn. The now almost complete building can seat 1,000 people and is surrounded by what were once lush ranches but is still a very quiet place where one can meditate.

Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB) is a philosophical organization based on the spiritual teachings of all religions and dedicated to a process of inner development under the guidance of a spiritual teacher. RSSB’s main centre is Dera Baba Jaimal Singh, named after its founder who settled there in the late 1800’s. Located in Punjab, the ‘Dera’ is a self-contained community with 6,000 residents.

Radha Soami means ‘lord of the soul’, satsang describes a group that seeks truth, and Beas refers to the town near which the main centre is located in northern India. RSSB was established in India in 1891 and gradually began spreading to other countries. Today RSSB holds meetings in more than 90 countries worldwide.

The philosophy teaches a personal path of spiritual development which includes a vegetarian diet, abstinence from intoxicants, a moral way of life and the practice of daily meditation. Kaho naa pyaar hai movie. There are no rituals, ceremonies, hierarchies or mandatory contributions, nor are there compulsory gatherings. Members need not give up their cultural identity or religious preference to follow this path.

At the core of the RSSB philosophy is a belief that there is a spiritual purpose to human life – to experience the divinity of God who resides in all of us so that we realize that there is only one God and we are all expressions of his love.

Central to the RSSB philosophy is a spiritual teacher who explains the purpose of life and guides and instructs members in a method of spirituality based on a daily meditation practice. The present teacher is Baba Gurinder Singh, who lives with his family at the main centre in northern India.

There are 22 other Science of the Soul Study Centers worldwide, with 3 on the US mainland, one in Hawaii and two in Canada. The other US centers are located in New York City, Petaluma, California and Fayettville, North Carolina. The Houston Science of the Soul Study Center is located at 24689 N. Kickapoo Rd. in Waller County.