Contemporary Sant Mat Movements - Introduction

Introduction

The basic teaching of contemporary Sant Mat, as described by its Masters, is that everything lies inside us and that God is within. The outside world is only an image or a reflection of the inner reality. So self-knowledge or knowledge of the higher self and God-knowledge (taken as a practical project rather than a theoretical inquiry) are the topics of Sant Mat.

Kirpal Singh describes Sant Mat as a synonym for Surat Shabd Yoga, the yoga of the Sound Current, or more simply Shabd yoga, a meditation technique he asserts was taught and practiced originally in northern India. Singh writes that practitioners of Shabd yoga position the path as not requiring the physical torture of penance and austerities that marked many of the yogas and spiritual paths throughout the ages. Thus it is sometimes called "Sehaj" (easy) yoga.

Widely accepted translations of the Indian term "Sant Mat" are "Teachings of the Saints" and "Path of the Masters." These are both incidentally the titles of prominent works on the subject. Another commonly accepted definition of the term is found in Man Know Thyself by Sant Kirpal Singh:

Man is constantly changing or introducing new names and terminologies to describe this Science. The Masters were called Sants, and the nature of knowledge Mat, thus giving us the term 'Sant-Mat', which is at present mostly used to name the Path of the Masters. Other terms, such as Shabd Yoga, Surat Shabd Yoga, Sehaj Yoga, are also used to describe the same Science. In the Sanskrit language, the word 'Sant' means Master of the highest Order, and 'Mat' is a confirmed opinion or statement made by an adept after personal experience. The foundation of this Science, therefore, is the result of a critical study, minute investigation, and the lifelong personal verification of facts based on practical experience of the Self in man. This experience of the Self is something that a competent Master is prepared to give to each individual who approaches him. Sant Mat, therefore, is the teaching, system and path of the Saints.

However, terminology, names, and groups are not considered to be of any importance in Sant Mat:

The Masters do not attach any importance to names, designations, or the fact that many religious sects, groups and circles, have claimed this Science as their own and named it after their leaders or founders. They look upon these groups as schools where man — the noblest being in Creation — can study with other men as children of one and the same Almighty Father.