Satguru, or sadguru, means the 'true guru' in Sanskrit. The term is distinguished from other forms of gurus, such as musical instructors, scriptural teachers, parents, and so on. A satguru has some special characteristics that are not found in any other types of spiritual guru. Satguru is a title given specifically only to an enlightened rishi or sant whose life's purpose is to guide the initiated shishya on the spiritual path, the summation of which is the realization of the Self through realization of God.
Kirpal Singh was a spiritual master (satguru) in the tradition of Radha Soami.
Contemporary Sant Mat Movements, mostly among the Radha Soami tradition, are esoteric philosophy movements active in the United States, Europe, Australia, Latin America, and especially India. These movements assert that Sant Mat shares a lineage with Sikhism and contains elements of thought found in Hinduism, such as karma and reincarnation. They further assert that Sant Mat also contains elements found in Sufism and has inspired and influenced a number of religious groups and organizations. They refer to this spiritual path as the "Science of the Soul" or ‘Sant Mat’, meaning ‘teachings of the saints’. More recently it has been described as "The Way of Life" or "Living the Life of Soul." It incorporates a practical yoga system known as Surat Shabd Yoga.
Surat Shabd Simran is a type of spiritual meditation in the Sant Mat tradition.
Radha Soami is a spiritual tradition founded by [Rai Saligram], disciple of Shiv Dayal Singh. According to Soami Ji "my teachings are of Anami" "let both continue." Soami Ji in 1861 began his satsang on Basant Panchami Day in Agra, India.
Shiv Dayal Singh, called by the honorific "Param Purush Puran Dhani Huzur Soami Ji Maharaj" by his disciples and devotees, was born on 25 August 1818 in Agra in the colonial era British India, and died on 15 June 1878 in the same city. His parents were followers of a spiritual guru Tulsi Saheb. Shiv Dayal Singh was the founder and first spiritual leader of Radha Soami a 19th-century spiritual sect.
Sawan Singh (1858-1948), also known as The Great Master or Bade Maharaj ji, was an Indian Saint or Sant. He was the second spiritual head of Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB) from the death of Jaimal Singh in 1903 until his own death on 2 April 1948.
Born Shri Beli Ram Ji, Shri Swami Swarupanand Ji Maharaj, was an Indian Guru of Shri Paramhans Advait Mat lineage. He is also known as "Shri Nangli Niwasi Bhagwaan Ji", as "Hari Har Baba", as "Sadhgurudev Ji" and as "Second Guru". Born in village Teri in Kohat district, India, the young Beli Ram Ji was initiated into the sanyasas in the early 1900s in Teri by Shri Paramhans Swami Advaitanand Ji, who named him Shri Swami Swarupanand Ji. During Swami Advaitanand ji's life, Swami Swarupanand ji created an order of sanyasis in northern India and founded several centers with the purpose of disseminating his master's teachings.
Sant Mat was a spiritual movement on the Indian subcontinent during the 13th–17th centuries CE. The name literally means "teachings of sants", i.e. mystic Hindu saints. Through association and seeking truth by following sants and their teachings, a movement was formed. Theologically, the teachings are distinguished by inward, loving devotion by the individual soul (atma) to the Divine Principal God (Parmatma). Socially, its egalitarianism distinguishes it from the caste system, and from Hindus and Muslims. Sant Mat not to be confused with the 19th-century Radha Soami, also known as contemporary "Sant Mat movement".
Julian P. Johnson (1867–1939) was an American surgeon and author of several books on Eastern spirituality. He spent much of 1932 to 1939 in India, was associated with the Radha Soami Satsang Beas movement and Surat Shabd Yoga, and wrote five books as a result of his experiences.
Hazur Maharaj Charan Singh Ji (1916–1990), was the spiritual head of Radha Soami Satsang Beas, Dera Baba Jaimal Singh, after he was named successor by the preceding Beas guru Sardar Bahadur Maharaj Jagat Singh Ji, in 1951. Maharaj Charan Singh served as the guru for the Beas Dera for almost four decades, until his death from heart failure in 1990 at the age of 73. Before his appointment in 1951, he had practiced law in Hisar and Sirsa, India. He was an initiate of Maharaj Sawan Singh's, who was his paternal grandfather and the predecessor of Maharaj Jagat Singh. Maharaj Charan Singh assigned the duties of his successor and Guru to his initiate and nephew Baba Gurinder Singh.
Kabir Panth is a Sant Mat denomination and philosophy based on the teachings of Kabir. It is based on devotion to him as one guru as a means to salvation. Its adherents are from many religious backgrounds as Kabir never advocated change of religions but highlighted their limitations. According to some scholars, this tradition belong to Vaishnavism with universalist leanings. In respect of Kabir, his followers celebrate Kabir Jayanti.
Jaimal Singh (1839–1903) was an Indian spiritual leader. He became an initiate of Shiv Dayal Singh. After his initiation, Jaimal Singh served in the British Indian Army as a sepoy (private) from the age of seventeen and attained the rank of havildar (sergeant). After retirement, he settled in a desolate and isolated spot outside the town of Beas and began to spread the teaching of his guru Shiv Dayal Singh. The place grew into a colony which came to be called the "Dera Baba Jaimal Singh", and which is now the world centre of the Radha Soami Satsang Beas organisation.
Jagat Singh (1884–1951) was an Indian Surat Shabd Yoga practitioner and initiate of the Sant and Radha Soami Satsang Beas Guru Sawan Singh. He worked as a college chemistry professor at an Agricultural College and was honoured for meritorious service by the British as Sardar Bahadur. After retirement he was chosen by his spiritual master to be his successor, becoming the third spiritual head of Radha Soami Satsang Beas. Remembered as quiet, inconspicuous, and unassuming, he was once described by the Muslim mystic Sain Lasoori Shah of Lyallpur as a "perfect disciple" who became a "perfect Master".
Sirio Carrapa is an Italian teacher and practitioner of mysticism and Surat Shabd Yoga in the Sant Mat tradition. He was a disciple of Kirpal Singh and Ajaib Singh, and he is acknowledged as a spiritual Master, carrying on the work of his Masters.
Salig Ram, popularly known by the honorific "Huzur Maharaj" and by the government-conferred title "Rai Bahadur," was born in Peepal Mandi, Agra, on 14 March 1829. He served as chief inspector of post offices in British India, and, in 1881, was Postmaster-General of the North-Western Provinces, based in Allahabad. He was the first Indian to hold the position.
Baba Devi Sahab (1841–1919) was one of the leaders of the Sant Mat religious movement, popularizing it throughout North India and Pakistan.
This is a list of gurus who gave teachings about the Path of Sound.
Radhasoami Satsang Sabha is the Chief Working Committee of Radhasoami Satsang Dayalbagh. The teachings of Radha Soami sect are based on the spiritual teachings of Shiv Dayal Singh and dedicated to a process of inner development under the guidance of a spiritual teacher. The Present spiritual leader of Radha Soami Satsang Dayalbagh is Prof Prem Saran Satsangi who is a retired academic Dean Of IIT Delhi and a System Scientist and Physicist. Radha Soami Created 2nd Branch in 1898 by Brahm Shankar Misra from Salig Ram command. The main Dera was created in 1861 by Shiv Dayal Singh. Check all the Radha Soami Deras in See Also Section
Dharamdas was an Indian saint, Bhojpuri-Language poet and one of the disciples of Kabir. It is said that after becoming Kabir's disciple, he gave away all his rich possessions.
