Theos-Talk Archives (November 1994 Message tl00032)

Having just reread fragments 1 and 2 in the Voice, I am blown
away by the references that make sense now in a much fuller way
than before I explored the Radhasoami literature.  Not only are
the sounds heard on the inner planes identical to those taught in
RS initiation, but the RS practice of concentration at the brow
chakra to reach the inner Master and details like blocking the
ears and closing the eyes during meditation are also parallel.
This doesn't necessarily imply direct influence; as historian
Mark Juergensmeyer notes, the parallels may derive from common
sources in earlier Sant Mat teachings and practices.

But going back to Art P.'s thoughts about the world-rejecting
tone of fragment one, I think I can now see a clearer
relationship between it and fragment 2 than I could before
studying RS.  While the first fragment is all about the need to
become free from worldly attachments to reach the inner Master
and hear the spiritual sounds, the second fragment is all about
how this is a means and not an end.  The goal is bringing
whatever we gain from the meditation back down into the "real"
world.  I would say that the Voice is at a higher moral point of
view than what I have seen in RS lit because of this emphasis.

One thing that is striking me especially is the distinction
between the "eye" and "heart" doctrines.  I always took this as
symbolic, but now it seems much more direct.  The RS practices
focus exclusively on the Tilsa Til, or Third Eye, or Brow Chakra.
The Voice prescribes concentrating at both this center and in the
heart center.  Thus the "eye doctrine" is implicit in any path
that restricts its meditative focus to that one center, which
inevitably draws us inward and upward to spiritual realms.  But
only by bringing energy back down into the heart center can we
benefit others practically from our meditative experience,
perhaps.  And thus the "heart doctrine" is about bridging the
spiritual and material worlds through the middle principle?

Half-baked, inexperienced, and open to suggestion and
correction--
Paul