- Jan 3, 2010
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Sabd has been the cause of attention in various religions in various word forms. Sabd is considered as God Himself; both as written or spoken word; as Name of God (Naam). God’s Order (Hukum), Divine Musical Hymn (Bani), Divine Music (Anhad Naad), Knowledge (Gyan), Divine Light, Emancipator and Guru.
Spiritually, the term "Sabd" has a much deeper significance, quite different from its commonly accepted meaning. Almost all the religions have accepted Sabd as pertaining to God in one form or the other. All the religions accept that before its manifestation, there was no form whatsoever; nor was there any sun nor moon nor sky nor earth, for then the Sabd existed by itself in a formless state.
In the New Testament, we often find translations such as: ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God’(John 1:1) or ‘And the Word was made flesh’ (John 1:14)
However, as is indicated by the capitalization of Word, we must strive to understand the true meaning of this metaphor. In Greek the text uses the term logos, while the corresponding Aramaic text uses the term miltha. The root of logos points toward two basic meanings:1) something spoken aloud, or 2) intention, command, declaration, decree. Similarly, the root of miltha points toward two basic meanings:1) something spoken aloud, or 2) manifestation, cause.
In a similar manner, the book of Genesis says:’And God said, Let there be light: and there was light’. (Genesis 1:3) The term translated as said is the Hebrew 'amar which has two basic meanings: 1) something spoken aloud, or 2) command, promise, intention.
Similarly, the Qur'an says: ‘To Him is due the primal origin of the heavens and the earth; when He decreeth a matter He saith to it: "Be"; and it is.’ (al-baqarah 2:117)
Hinduism
The Hindu saints describe it as Mool (the root cause). It is the vital principle immanent in every form and permeating all, the visible and the invisible. It is the Causeless Cause, the eternal self-existing life, running endlessly in and out of time. It is the very soul of the Creative Power, all pervading even to the purely spiritual realm - Sat Lok. In the Hindu scriptures, it is described as the essence of ether, which goes to show that it is more subtle than ether and is all-pervading. The Upanishad sages have described it as "Pranav" or that which can be heard through the pranic vibrations, without the help of tongue, lips and palate, for it is reverberating of itself in and out of space. Its presence, in fact, is felt in the union of matter and spirit, for every union implies vibration and vibration is caused by Sabd or Sound-the active life-permeating all space, nay receding far back into Itself; for God too is described as "Sabd," as the Power of God (Sabd) is not distinct and separate from God: God and Godhood (God-in-action) always go together. According to Chandogya Upanishad, “the yogi takes the support of the Word (for salvation)”.
Jainism:
According to Shri Sutra Nandi of Jainism: hearing the Sound resembling that of the conch and witnessing the Lotus Light like that of a newly blossomed flower between the two eyebrows, one faces his Ishta, the Satguru. The aspirant is enjoined to sit in solitude and meditate with a single-pointed attention, on the Maha Mantra of Panch parmesti and to perceive the light.[1]
Doctrine of Logos
The doctrine of Logos of the ancient Greek as adopted by Christians later, the Word is the creative, actively expressed and revelatory thought and Will of God which is at once distinguished and identified with Him. The Divine Name, Word or Sabd, as used by Sri Guru Granth Sahib, from the philosophical point of view, comes very close to the concept of the Logos in the ancient European Philosophy. It has a great similarity with the doctrine of the Logos as propounded by Philo Judaes, a Jew, who lived in Alexandria in the first-half of first century B.C. and first-half of first century A.D. Word is the immanent Rational Principle in the universe, and it is the active principle in all divine and esoteric knowledge. The Logos is the Reality of all realities underlying the whole universe. It is the First Substance from which everything has its origin.
The Logos is an aspect of One Being. It stands between the Absolute Being and the contingent beings. It stands in closest relation to God’s knowledge. It is the consciousness of God. Through it, the universe is brought to manifestation. It is God conceived as the self-revealing principle of the Universe –God manifesting Himself in the form of Universal Consciousness. This doctrine of the Logos was further developed by the Egyptian born Roman Philosopher Plotinus (205 – 270 A.D.), whose philosophic rendition is known as Nous, meaning rational mind, according to which the Logos appears as the creative and form-giving aspect of intelligence.
Doctrine of Unity of Existence
God is the Rational Principle, the First and the Highest Intellect and is regarded as the World Reason. The Sufi Philosopher, Muhiyuddin Ibn-al-Arabi (1165 – 1240 A.D.), who propounded the doctrine of Wahdat-al-Wajud, Unity of Existence, relied on Logos, the Word, and combined it within his ideology, among other things, the Rational Principle of Philo, the First and the Highest Intellect and God as the World Reason of the Nous of Plotinus and the Universal Reason of the Stoics. Stoics were the members of the School founded by the Greek Philosopher, Zeno in Athens in 308 B.C. This School believed and taught that the wise man should be free from passion, un-subdued by joy or grief, and should manifest indifference to pleasure or pain.
Doctrine of Perfect Man
In Zoroastrianism it is called Sraosha. Originated from ‘Shr’, it can be equated to shruti of Sanskrit as well as to the Word or Logos.[2] Saosha means to listen. This relates to internal sound; to anhad naad which can be heard by a ‘Perfect Man’ only. According to Ibn-al-Arabi, the Logos is not only an aspect of the transcendent Deity above the Universe, but also the immanent Rational Principle in the universe. He also calls it the Reality of Perfect Man (Brahm Gyani). The Logos becomes the immanent instrument, and even at times the personal agency, through which the rational creative activity of the transcendent God is exerted upon the world. So the Divine Name, or Word, is the Logos through which God creates. It is also the embodiment of Divine Wisdom.
Doctrine of Creative Activity
The Logos is the creative activity through which God becomes conscious of Himself. This consciousness, according to Ibn-al-Arabi, reaches its highest point in the Perfect Man in whom the object of creation, that is, the desire of God to be known, is realized and it is in the Perfect Man that God knows Himself perfectly. The mystical aspect of the Logos is that Universal Principle which finds its fullest manifestation in the class of men coming under the terms prophets and saints. According to Ibn al-Arabi each prophet is a Logos which manifests a particular attribute of the Reality. The prophets are called Logos and they are united in one Universal Principle which acts through all rational beings. It is the active principle in all revelations and inspirations.
Judaism & Christianity
The Jewish and Christian scriptures abound with references to the Word as the creative aspect of God, and as the means by which He is reached. In the very beginning of the Bible we read: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth and God said, Let there be light, and there was light. (Genesis1.) This is elaborated by St. John as follows: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shined in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. . . . That was the true Light, which lightest every man that cometh into the world . . . And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth. (John 1: 1-5, 9, 14)
Christ further explained the initiatory aspect of the Word in one of his most famous parables -------The sewer soweth the Word. And these are they by the way side, where the Word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the Word that was sown in their hearts. And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who and when they have heard the Word, immediately receive it with gladness; and have no root in themselves, and so endure for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution arises for the Word's sake, immediately they are offended. And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the Word, and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the Word, and it become unfruitful. And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the Word and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirty fold, some sixty, and some a hundred.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him: and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life; and life was the light of men. (John1:1-5)
Bible Psalms & Proverbs
Spiritually, the term "Sabd" has a much deeper significance, quite different from its commonly accepted meaning. Almost all the religions have accepted Sabd as pertaining to God in one form or the other. All the religions accept that before its manifestation, there was no form whatsoever; nor was there any sun nor moon nor sky nor earth, for then the Sabd existed by itself in a formless state.
In the New Testament, we often find translations such as: ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God’(John 1:1) or ‘And the Word was made flesh’ (John 1:14)
However, as is indicated by the capitalization of Word, we must strive to understand the true meaning of this metaphor. In Greek the text uses the term logos, while the corresponding Aramaic text uses the term miltha. The root of logos points toward two basic meanings:1) something spoken aloud, or 2) intention, command, declaration, decree. Similarly, the root of miltha points toward two basic meanings:1) something spoken aloud, or 2) manifestation, cause.
In a similar manner, the book of Genesis says:’And God said, Let there be light: and there was light’. (Genesis 1:3) The term translated as said is the Hebrew 'amar which has two basic meanings: 1) something spoken aloud, or 2) command, promise, intention.
Similarly, the Qur'an says: ‘To Him is due the primal origin of the heavens and the earth; when He decreeth a matter He saith to it: "Be"; and it is.’ (al-baqarah 2:117)
Hinduism
The Hindu saints describe it as Mool (the root cause). It is the vital principle immanent in every form and permeating all, the visible and the invisible. It is the Causeless Cause, the eternal self-existing life, running endlessly in and out of time. It is the very soul of the Creative Power, all pervading even to the purely spiritual realm - Sat Lok. In the Hindu scriptures, it is described as the essence of ether, which goes to show that it is more subtle than ether and is all-pervading. The Upanishad sages have described it as "Pranav" or that which can be heard through the pranic vibrations, without the help of tongue, lips and palate, for it is reverberating of itself in and out of space. Its presence, in fact, is felt in the union of matter and spirit, for every union implies vibration and vibration is caused by Sabd or Sound-the active life-permeating all space, nay receding far back into Itself; for God too is described as "Sabd," as the Power of God (Sabd) is not distinct and separate from God: God and Godhood (God-in-action) always go together. According to Chandogya Upanishad, “the yogi takes the support of the Word (for salvation)”.
Jainism:
According to Shri Sutra Nandi of Jainism: hearing the Sound resembling that of the conch and witnessing the Lotus Light like that of a newly blossomed flower between the two eyebrows, one faces his Ishta, the Satguru. The aspirant is enjoined to sit in solitude and meditate with a single-pointed attention, on the Maha Mantra of Panch parmesti and to perceive the light.[1]
Doctrine of Logos
The doctrine of Logos of the ancient Greek as adopted by Christians later, the Word is the creative, actively expressed and revelatory thought and Will of God which is at once distinguished and identified with Him. The Divine Name, Word or Sabd, as used by Sri Guru Granth Sahib, from the philosophical point of view, comes very close to the concept of the Logos in the ancient European Philosophy. It has a great similarity with the doctrine of the Logos as propounded by Philo Judaes, a Jew, who lived in Alexandria in the first-half of first century B.C. and first-half of first century A.D. Word is the immanent Rational Principle in the universe, and it is the active principle in all divine and esoteric knowledge. The Logos is the Reality of all realities underlying the whole universe. It is the First Substance from which everything has its origin.
The Logos is an aspect of One Being. It stands between the Absolute Being and the contingent beings. It stands in closest relation to God’s knowledge. It is the consciousness of God. Through it, the universe is brought to manifestation. It is God conceived as the self-revealing principle of the Universe –God manifesting Himself in the form of Universal Consciousness. This doctrine of the Logos was further developed by the Egyptian born Roman Philosopher Plotinus (205 – 270 A.D.), whose philosophic rendition is known as Nous, meaning rational mind, according to which the Logos appears as the creative and form-giving aspect of intelligence.
Doctrine of Unity of Existence
God is the Rational Principle, the First and the Highest Intellect and is regarded as the World Reason. The Sufi Philosopher, Muhiyuddin Ibn-al-Arabi (1165 – 1240 A.D.), who propounded the doctrine of Wahdat-al-Wajud, Unity of Existence, relied on Logos, the Word, and combined it within his ideology, among other things, the Rational Principle of Philo, the First and the Highest Intellect and God as the World Reason of the Nous of Plotinus and the Universal Reason of the Stoics. Stoics were the members of the School founded by the Greek Philosopher, Zeno in Athens in 308 B.C. This School believed and taught that the wise man should be free from passion, un-subdued by joy or grief, and should manifest indifference to pleasure or pain.
Doctrine of Perfect Man
In Zoroastrianism it is called Sraosha. Originated from ‘Shr’, it can be equated to shruti of Sanskrit as well as to the Word or Logos.[2] Saosha means to listen. This relates to internal sound; to anhad naad which can be heard by a ‘Perfect Man’ only. According to Ibn-al-Arabi, the Logos is not only an aspect of the transcendent Deity above the Universe, but also the immanent Rational Principle in the universe. He also calls it the Reality of Perfect Man (Brahm Gyani). The Logos becomes the immanent instrument, and even at times the personal agency, through which the rational creative activity of the transcendent God is exerted upon the world. So the Divine Name, or Word, is the Logos through which God creates. It is also the embodiment of Divine Wisdom.
Doctrine of Creative Activity
The Logos is the creative activity through which God becomes conscious of Himself. This consciousness, according to Ibn-al-Arabi, reaches its highest point in the Perfect Man in whom the object of creation, that is, the desire of God to be known, is realized and it is in the Perfect Man that God knows Himself perfectly. The mystical aspect of the Logos is that Universal Principle which finds its fullest manifestation in the class of men coming under the terms prophets and saints. According to Ibn al-Arabi each prophet is a Logos which manifests a particular attribute of the Reality. The prophets are called Logos and they are united in one Universal Principle which acts through all rational beings. It is the active principle in all revelations and inspirations.
Judaism & Christianity
The Jewish and Christian scriptures abound with references to the Word as the creative aspect of God, and as the means by which He is reached. In the very beginning of the Bible we read: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth and God said, Let there be light, and there was light. (Genesis1.) This is elaborated by St. John as follows: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shined in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. . . . That was the true Light, which lightest every man that cometh into the world . . . And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth. (John 1: 1-5, 9, 14)
Christ further explained the initiatory aspect of the Word in one of his most famous parables -------The sewer soweth the Word. And these are they by the way side, where the Word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the Word that was sown in their hearts. And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who and when they have heard the Word, immediately receive it with gladness; and have no root in themselves, and so endure for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution arises for the Word's sake, immediately they are offended. And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the Word, and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the Word, and it become unfruitful. And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the Word and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirty fold, some sixty, and some a hundred.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him: and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life; and life was the light of men. (John1:1-5)
Bible Psalms & Proverbs
- By the "Word of the Lord was the heavens made . . . For him spake and it was done. (Psalm 33:6, 9).
- Forever, O Lord, thy Word is settled in heaven. . . . Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. (Psalm 119:89, 105).
- The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous rennet into it and is safe. (Proverbs 18:10).
- The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, but the Word of our God shall stand forever. (Isaiah 40:8)
- Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeded out of the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4).
- The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. (John 3:8)
- Verily, verily I say unto you, he that heareth my Word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath ever-lasting life and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (John 5:24).
- Now ye are clean through the Word which I have spoken unto you. (John 15:3).
- I have manifested thy Name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world . . . I have given them thy Word . . . (John 17:6,14)
- Sanctify them through thy truth; thy Word is truth. (John 17:17)
- Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the Word of his power .(Hebrews 1:3)
- For the Word of God is quick (living), and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)
- Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted Word, which is able to save your souls. (James 1:21)
- Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which lives and abides forever. (I Peter 1:23)
Christian Saints
The scriptural references further explain this thought: ‘Those in whom the eternal Word speaks are delivered from uncertainty. From one Word proceed all things and all things tell of Him. Love the Word better than the world’. (The Imitation of Christ.)
‘The Word of God became man that you also may learn from a man how a man becomes a God’. (Clement of Alexandria.)
‘For all whatsoever has life, lives in the Speaking Word, the Angels in the Eternal Speaking and the temporal spirits in the re-expression or echoing forth of the formings of time, out of the sound or breath of Time and the angels out of the Sound of Eternity, viz., out of the Voice of the Manifested Word of God’. (Mysterium Magnum.)
Islam
The Muslim divines call it Jauhar (essence). The essence of Sabd is Pure Consciousness. It is the active life-principle of the whole creation. It is the Guiding and Controlling Power behind all that exists. All manifestation is the result of Sabd and without it nothing exists. It is the very life-essence of everything.
Among the Muslim Sufis, various orders include Sultan-ul-Azkar (the king of prayers) and Saut-i-Sarmadi, (the Divine Song) also called Kalam-i-qadim (the Ancient Sound), and the Kalma or "Word," Nida-e-Asmani (the Sound coming down from Heaven). The fourteen Tabaqs (regions) were made by the Kalma - the Word.
Power of the Word as Scientifically tested
The power of the word is immense. Here we have an experiment recorded by a researcher Masaroo Emoto. “During the process of sampling and photographing different kinds of water, it seemed to me that the quality of the ice-crystals depended on more than just whether it was natural or tap water. I came up with a hypothesis: "Water shows different shapes of ice crystals depending on the information it has received." I was certain that the difference in ice-crystal formation was not due solely to the presence or absence of chlorine but to the other information affecting it.
To test this, I put the water into two glass bottles. On one bottle, I pasted a label typed, "Thank you," and on the other, "You fool," in such a way that water would be able to "read" them. The water in both bottles was the same. I then froze the water in each bottle.
The results were more than supportive of my theory; the water in the bottle with "Thank you" formed beautiful hexagonal crystals, while the one with "You fool" had only fragments of crystals.
If water collects information and its crystals reflect those characteristics, it means that the quality of water changes based on the information it receives. In other words, the information we give water changes its quality.
I was more motivated than ever to study water, and at the same time, I started to think about how people would be able to become happy with good water. As this experiment convinced me that my theory was correct, we then began to give water various information, freeze it, and photograph the crystals. The results were interesting.
We consistently found that water responded to positive words by forming beautiful crystals. As if it wanted to express its joyous feeling, the crystals opened up like a flower. In contrast, when the water was shown negative words, it did not form crystals.
For example, when we showed water the word "happiness," it formed crystals with well-balanced shapes like beautifully cut diamonds. On the other hand, water exposed to the word "unhappiness" resulted in broken and unbalanced crystals. That water seemed to have tried hard to form crystals, but it exhausted its strength and crashed, happiness slipping away from it.
We continued to show a pair of opposite words to the same water, "well done" versus "no good," "like" versus "dislike," "power" versus "powerlessness," "angel" versus "devil," and "peace" versus "war." Water formed crystals only when it was shown the positive words.
Interestingly, water responded to foreign words in a similar but not exact manner as it did to Japanese words. Water formed beautiful crystals to all the words expressing gratitude all over the world, such as thank you (English), duoxie (Chinese), merci (French), danke (German), grazie (Italian), and kamusamunida (Korean).
Water seems to correctly understand the essence of what it was shown -- in this case, the feeling of gratitude -- and take the information in. Water didn't recognize the word it saw as a simple design; rather it understood the meaning of it. When water realized that the word contained good information, it formed crystals. Perhaps water is also capable of sensing the heart of the person who wrote the word.
As we were exposing water to lots of words and taking photographs of the resulting crystals, my eyes were glued to one photo, more beautiful than any other water crystal pictures I had seen. I was fascinated by its beauty.
The crystal was opened up as strongly as if a fully blossoming flower. It was as if the water was stretching its hands fully expressing its joy. The words we had shown the water were, "love and gratitude." Since then we have talked to water with many kind words, showed it beautiful pictures, and played wonderful healing music, but we have never again been able to take water-crystal pictures as beautiful as the one that resulted from showing water the words, "love and gratitude." To water, the words "love and gratitude" must be the best information.
The power of words is related to the fundamental force commonly known as energy, shakti, chi etc. variedly. As the energy of the universe is unfathomable so is the power of the word which is beyond words.[3]
Sikh Philosophy-Sabd- Guru-God-Name
In Sikhism, philosophically, an identity of spirit is clearly recognized, close but distinct from the concept of the Logos, between the Divine Name (Naam), and the Word of God, the spirit of the prophets and Gurus, and the Divine presence or the Light of God. According to Guru Nanak, the Divine Name (Nam), or the Word, which he also calls Sabd, is the Cause of the universe. It is the way of His expression. The phenomenal world is the attribute with which God is described. The Sikh saints call it the Name of the God and consider Sabd is the primal cause of both birth and dissolution. Both birth and death originate from Sabd, rebirth too is from Sabd.’(Majh M3, p.117)[4] All spiritual expression of divine knowledge by the Gurus is called ‘Sabd’, or ‘Bani’.
Cosmic Principle
The attributes of God can be found only in an outward expression or manifestation in the external world. Besides, it is through these attributes that God manifests His creative activities in the world. Therefore everything of this world is an aspect of the Divine Name, or the Word, to which it owes its existence. The Word, or the Divine Name, is the indwelling revealer of God. It is the cosmic Principle, the cause of all Creation and identified with the Holy Spirit and Creative Transformative Power of God. A Divine Name is the Divine Essence in one or the other of its infinite aspects. The Divine Essence is the One Universal Substance and is identical with Absolute Reality. The Divine Name, or Sabd, is identified with the presence of God which can be realized in one’s own consciousness.
Sabd as God
"Sabd" implies the Power of God that has created and is sustaining the various grand divisions, divisions and sub-divisions of the vast creation of God. It is a current from the ocean of consciousness and is characterized by sound-vibration, or in other words, it is a live and active principle which, emanating from God, is enlivening all creation. It is the instrument with which God creates controls and sustains His vast universe. It acts as a life-line between the Creator and His creation and serves as a golden bridge between the two. Divine currents, like the ethereal waves of a radio, are spread out in the atmosphere in all the directions of the compass, giving out delectable strains of music. We, however, cannot catch the ethereal vibrations and listen to the divine melody until we get in tune with the Infinite by adjusting our mental apparatus. Therefore we become etherealized more and more as we come in tune with the heavenly music.
Sabd as God in Various Roles
Sabd is considered as God the Creator, God; The Protector, Preserver and Developer and the God as Destroyer. In all the religious scriptures, "sabd" is stated to be the Creator of the Universe. The Vedas tell us that "Naad" brought into being fourteen Bhavans or regions. In the Koran, it is mentioned that "Kalma" created fourteen tabaqs or divisions. St. John, in his Gospel, has written that "Word" is the root cause of the creation. The sacred Sikh scriptures also tell that God created the universe with single word and expanded it through reverberations.
Unanimity in Religions
All the religious books, including the Vedas describe "Sabd" as the primal manifest form of God. Sama Veda-Sabd is Brahm and "Silence" too is Brahm. Brahm alone is vibrating everywhere. The Mohammedan divines tell us that the world owes its very life and existence to Sabd. Word ‘kunn’ is the essence of Islamic creation. Prophet Mohammed said that he heard the "Voice of God" as any other sound. Shamas Tabrez says: World came into being through Saut (Sabd or Sound). And from Saut spread all light. Abdul Razaq Kashi tells us: The Great Name (ism-i-azam) is the very essence and life of all names. Its manifested form (Sabd) is supporting the entire creation; it is great sea in which we all appear as waves. He who belongs to our order alone can understand this mystery. Sri Guru Granth Sahib tells us: The Sabd is God’s; God in Sabd Himself. [5]
The scriptural references further explain this thought: ‘Those in whom the eternal Word speaks are delivered from uncertainty. From one Word proceed all things and all things tell of Him. Love the Word better than the world’. (The Imitation of Christ.)
‘The Word of God became man that you also may learn from a man how a man becomes a God’. (Clement of Alexandria.)
‘For all whatsoever has life, lives in the Speaking Word, the Angels in the Eternal Speaking and the temporal spirits in the re-expression or echoing forth of the formings of time, out of the sound or breath of Time and the angels out of the Sound of Eternity, viz., out of the Voice of the Manifested Word of God’. (Mysterium Magnum.)
Islam
The Muslim divines call it Jauhar (essence). The essence of Sabd is Pure Consciousness. It is the active life-principle of the whole creation. It is the Guiding and Controlling Power behind all that exists. All manifestation is the result of Sabd and without it nothing exists. It is the very life-essence of everything.
Among the Muslim Sufis, various orders include Sultan-ul-Azkar (the king of prayers) and Saut-i-Sarmadi, (the Divine Song) also called Kalam-i-qadim (the Ancient Sound), and the Kalma or "Word," Nida-e-Asmani (the Sound coming down from Heaven). The fourteen Tabaqs (regions) were made by the Kalma - the Word.
Power of the Word as Scientifically tested
The power of the word is immense. Here we have an experiment recorded by a researcher Masaroo Emoto. “During the process of sampling and photographing different kinds of water, it seemed to me that the quality of the ice-crystals depended on more than just whether it was natural or tap water. I came up with a hypothesis: "Water shows different shapes of ice crystals depending on the information it has received." I was certain that the difference in ice-crystal formation was not due solely to the presence or absence of chlorine but to the other information affecting it.
To test this, I put the water into two glass bottles. On one bottle, I pasted a label typed, "Thank you," and on the other, "You fool," in such a way that water would be able to "read" them. The water in both bottles was the same. I then froze the water in each bottle.
The results were more than supportive of my theory; the water in the bottle with "Thank you" formed beautiful hexagonal crystals, while the one with "You fool" had only fragments of crystals.
If water collects information and its crystals reflect those characteristics, it means that the quality of water changes based on the information it receives. In other words, the information we give water changes its quality.
I was more motivated than ever to study water, and at the same time, I started to think about how people would be able to become happy with good water. As this experiment convinced me that my theory was correct, we then began to give water various information, freeze it, and photograph the crystals. The results were interesting.
We consistently found that water responded to positive words by forming beautiful crystals. As if it wanted to express its joyous feeling, the crystals opened up like a flower. In contrast, when the water was shown negative words, it did not form crystals.
For example, when we showed water the word "happiness," it formed crystals with well-balanced shapes like beautifully cut diamonds. On the other hand, water exposed to the word "unhappiness" resulted in broken and unbalanced crystals. That water seemed to have tried hard to form crystals, but it exhausted its strength and crashed, happiness slipping away from it.
We continued to show a pair of opposite words to the same water, "well done" versus "no good," "like" versus "dislike," "power" versus "powerlessness," "angel" versus "devil," and "peace" versus "war." Water formed crystals only when it was shown the positive words.
Interestingly, water responded to foreign words in a similar but not exact manner as it did to Japanese words. Water formed beautiful crystals to all the words expressing gratitude all over the world, such as thank you (English), duoxie (Chinese), merci (French), danke (German), grazie (Italian), and kamusamunida (Korean).
Water seems to correctly understand the essence of what it was shown -- in this case, the feeling of gratitude -- and take the information in. Water didn't recognize the word it saw as a simple design; rather it understood the meaning of it. When water realized that the word contained good information, it formed crystals. Perhaps water is also capable of sensing the heart of the person who wrote the word.
As we were exposing water to lots of words and taking photographs of the resulting crystals, my eyes were glued to one photo, more beautiful than any other water crystal pictures I had seen. I was fascinated by its beauty.
The crystal was opened up as strongly as if a fully blossoming flower. It was as if the water was stretching its hands fully expressing its joy. The words we had shown the water were, "love and gratitude." Since then we have talked to water with many kind words, showed it beautiful pictures, and played wonderful healing music, but we have never again been able to take water-crystal pictures as beautiful as the one that resulted from showing water the words, "love and gratitude." To water, the words "love and gratitude" must be the best information.
The power of words is related to the fundamental force commonly known as energy, shakti, chi etc. variedly. As the energy of the universe is unfathomable so is the power of the word which is beyond words.[3]
Sikh Philosophy-Sabd- Guru-God-Name
In Sikhism, philosophically, an identity of spirit is clearly recognized, close but distinct from the concept of the Logos, between the Divine Name (Naam), and the Word of God, the spirit of the prophets and Gurus, and the Divine presence or the Light of God. According to Guru Nanak, the Divine Name (Nam), or the Word, which he also calls Sabd, is the Cause of the universe. It is the way of His expression. The phenomenal world is the attribute with which God is described. The Sikh saints call it the Name of the God and consider Sabd is the primal cause of both birth and dissolution. Both birth and death originate from Sabd, rebirth too is from Sabd.’(Majh M3, p.117)[4] All spiritual expression of divine knowledge by the Gurus is called ‘Sabd’, or ‘Bani’.
Cosmic Principle
The attributes of God can be found only in an outward expression or manifestation in the external world. Besides, it is through these attributes that God manifests His creative activities in the world. Therefore everything of this world is an aspect of the Divine Name, or the Word, to which it owes its existence. The Word, or the Divine Name, is the indwelling revealer of God. It is the cosmic Principle, the cause of all Creation and identified with the Holy Spirit and Creative Transformative Power of God. A Divine Name is the Divine Essence in one or the other of its infinite aspects. The Divine Essence is the One Universal Substance and is identical with Absolute Reality. The Divine Name, or Sabd, is identified with the presence of God which can be realized in one’s own consciousness.
Sabd as God
"Sabd" implies the Power of God that has created and is sustaining the various grand divisions, divisions and sub-divisions of the vast creation of God. It is a current from the ocean of consciousness and is characterized by sound-vibration, or in other words, it is a live and active principle which, emanating from God, is enlivening all creation. It is the instrument with which God creates controls and sustains His vast universe. It acts as a life-line between the Creator and His creation and serves as a golden bridge between the two. Divine currents, like the ethereal waves of a radio, are spread out in the atmosphere in all the directions of the compass, giving out delectable strains of music. We, however, cannot catch the ethereal vibrations and listen to the divine melody until we get in tune with the Infinite by adjusting our mental apparatus. Therefore we become etherealized more and more as we come in tune with the heavenly music.
Sabd as God in Various Roles
Sabd is considered as God the Creator, God; The Protector, Preserver and Developer and the God as Destroyer. In all the religious scriptures, "sabd" is stated to be the Creator of the Universe. The Vedas tell us that "Naad" brought into being fourteen Bhavans or regions. In the Koran, it is mentioned that "Kalma" created fourteen tabaqs or divisions. St. John, in his Gospel, has written that "Word" is the root cause of the creation. The sacred Sikh scriptures also tell that God created the universe with single word and expanded it through reverberations.
Unanimity in Religions
All the religious books, including the Vedas describe "Sabd" as the primal manifest form of God. Sama Veda-Sabd is Brahm and "Silence" too is Brahm. Brahm alone is vibrating everywhere. The Mohammedan divines tell us that the world owes its very life and existence to Sabd. Word ‘kunn’ is the essence of Islamic creation. Prophet Mohammed said that he heard the "Voice of God" as any other sound. Shamas Tabrez says: World came into being through Saut (Sabd or Sound). And from Saut spread all light. Abdul Razaq Kashi tells us: The Great Name (ism-i-azam) is the very essence and life of all names. Its manifested form (Sabd) is supporting the entire creation; it is great sea in which we all appear as waves. He who belongs to our order alone can understand this mystery. Sri Guru Granth Sahib tells us: The Sabd is God’s; God in Sabd Himself. [5]
References
[1] Shri Sutra Nandi, From Suttagame Part II, by Puppha Bhikoo (1954 edition, p.1064
[2] Duncan Greenlees, Gospel of Zoroathustra, Philosophical Publishing House, Adyar, Madras, 1951, p.4.
[3] S. Barber, Conscious Water: Power of Prayer Made Visible, Masaroo Emto, Spirit of Maat from (“Messages from Water” is a photo collection that was originally published in 1999), Aug 1, 2000
[4] auqpiq prlau sbdY hovy, sbdhu hI iPr Epq hovY[[ (mwJ mhlw 3, pMnw 117:8)
[5]ਤੇਰਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਤੂੰਹੈ ਹਹਿ ਆਪੇ ਆਪੇ ਭਰਮੁ ਕਹਾਹੀ ॥ (ਮਃ 3 ਪੰਨਾ 162:10)
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