General Tenets
The most central tenet is the need to be initiated by a living Master or Satguru ("sat" meaning true and "guru" meaning Master or Spiritual Teacher). "Competent Master" is another common formulation: the Master must be competent in the sense of having been commissioned by God, not just a person who feels like working in the role of a guru:
It is a sad affair that there are thousands of imitators, of false copies, but it doesn't mean that the world is devoid of truth and that a Master is not available to the people...It has always been a law that at least one complete master would be on earth to bring God's truth to the people. One such Master can benefit the entire world just as one sun can glorify and light up the entire world.
Technically speaking Sant Mat practice involves listening to the Inner Sound, also known in the Holy Bible as 'The Word' or 'logos' contemplating the Inner Light, and (eventually) leaving the human body at will - a practice sometimes referred to as "dying while living". The principal intent is to awaken the Soul and unite it with God. Sant Mat is a practical and not a theoretical investigation.
Contemporary Sant Mat movements claim to be different in a radical sense from other disciplines or kinds of knowledge which can be taught. It claims to be a meta-knowledge or method of going beyond knowledge and deprecates the mind and mental processes, at all times describing a dichotomy between the mind and the soul, in which the mind is only a negative copy or imitation of the soul. The mind is to become still and quiet so that the soul can begin to experience itself. The soul has its own internal sources of knowledge, and when properly connected to its inner sources, no outer education or knowledge is required or desired.
The second essential tenet is the mystical role of the Sound Current:
Prajapatir vai idam-agree asit Tasya vak dvitiya asit Vak vai Paramam Brahma
(from Vedas)
In the beginning was Prajapati (the Creator), With Him was the Vak (the Word), And the Vak (the Word) was verily the Supreme Brahman.
Proponents compare this with the verses of John 1 John to assert their special use of comparative religion (seeking the common thread in all religions and esoteric phenomena). Naam or Word, written by Sant Kirpal Singh, explores this theme. It asserts that the Sound Current is the esoteric form of God which is available to human beings. The Guru, who is a human being, has merged with the Sound Current in such a manner that he is a living manifestation of it (the Word made flesh). However, not just the Guru can achieve this, but all human beings are inherently privileged in this way
Read more about this topic: Contemporary Sant Mat Movements
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