Modern Indian Mysticism: Commentary on Western Response to Radhasoami Faith (An Old and Rare Book)

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This work is designed to answer some of the questions and clarify some points raised by several Western critics and Christian commentators. Max Muller in his Ramakrishna: His Life and Sayings (Longman, London, 1916) had made a few remarks "On Rai Saligram Saheb Bahadur" (Huzur Maharaj) about whom he says that "the horrors of mutiny in 1857 made deep impression on his mind", and that after he had accepted Shiv Dayal Seth (Soamiji Maharaj) as his master, he began to render "all forms of services to him" (pp. 20-21).

Max Muller, however, did not go into the principles and practices of the Radhasoami faith a task which was attempted by JN Farquhar of Oxford (England) and James Bisset Pratt of William's College, Massachusetts (USA). Pratt in his India and Its Faiths (1915) had dubbed the Radhasoamists as "emphatically Quietiests" (Chapter XI, pp. 213-223). Farquhar in his Modern Religious Movements in India (Macmillan, 1918) had made some questionable observations both about the Radhasoami theory and practices (Chapter III, pp. 157- 173). Paul Brunton's work, A Search in Secret India (London, 1934), in Chapter XIII, deals with the Radhasoami faith as practised in Dayalbagh, Agra, but does not analyse its basic principles and practi- ces. An Indian Christian writer, Vishal Mangalwadi, in his work The World of Gurus (Vikas, 1977) devoted two sections (pp. 191-235) to the analysis of some tenets of the Radhasoami faith. His analysis, though sharp and intelligent, almost completely ignores the primary source material associated even with the founder of the faith, Shiv Dayal Seth (Soamiji Maharaj), and is based exclusively on the material published by the Beas Group.

In 1991, a work of Mark Juergensmeyer, Professor and Dean of Religious Studies at the University of Hawaii (USA), appeared under the title, Radhasoami Reality: The Logic of a Modern Faith, purported to be based on source material relating to the Radhasoami faith and ancient Indian religious and philosophical systems, particularly the Vedanta. But it is not! Nor does it refer to the works of Maulana Rum, Hafiz Shirazi, Sarmad, Kabir, Nanak, Muin ud-din- Chishti, other Sufi saints of India and Iran, and John Bunyan of England, all of whom had paved the ground for the manifestation of the Radhasoami faith. The primary source material like Sar Bachan, Prose (2 Parts) and Poetry (2 Volumes), are almost ignored, and even references to such works in English as Rai Saligram's Radhasoami Mat Prakash, Pandit Brahm Shankar Misra's Discourses on Radhasoami Faith, and Phelp's Notes on the discourses of Madhav Prasad Sinha, are few and far between. Juergensmeyer's work is primarily based on the testimony (through interviews) of some living Radhasoamists whose views and judgments may be considered wanting in authenticity by many. His reliance on interview records as source material may have resulted in factual errors and inaccuracies as well as biased judgment for and against some Radhasoamist groups. If he had checked and verified the response of his interviews with reference to the primary source material, his labours could have produced a more useful addition to the literature on Radhasoami faith.

But whatever their limitations, all these works do raise quite a few questions the answers to which are of capital importance to the understanding of the Radhasoami faith. This work is an humble endeavour to answer some, but only some, of these questions within the author's own limitations which undoubtedly are quite severe. He has sought, so far as he could, to set the record straight and analyse the theory and practice of the faith with reference to several sources like the works of Maulana Rum, Kabir, Nanak, Chishti, John Bunyan, apart from the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Puranas, the Epics, and, of course, the published discourses of those Radhasoami masters who have faithfully followed the faith as revealed by the founder.

This endeavour involved a good deal of researching, collection and marshalling of facts, plenty of comparisons of the principles and practices of the Radhasoami faith with earlier systems, lot of interpretation of facts as well as opinions, and a good deal of translation of Hindi, Urdu, Persian and Sanskrit sources into English. Within my limitations, I have rendered these sources into English. It is possible that despite best effort to obtain accuracy, precision, veracity and correctness, errors of fact, judgment, interpretation, and translation might have crept in. For such errors I crave my readers' indulgence, assuring that should they point out my errors to me, I shall be extremely grateful and will take care of them in future editions.

The relevance of this work can be appreciated if we remember that while according to the foundational philosophy of the Radhasoami faith, there can be only one master of the age, so that on his departure there could be an interregnum unless and until another master becomes manifest, presently there are several masters practising "guruship", and many more might be waiting in the wings. Any reader would like to have the ability to distinguish the chaff from the grain. This work could possibly help him. The Radhasoami faith, moreover, is spreading fast even in the West, and its simplicity, positivism, and scientific approach is appealing to large number of people who are eagerly searching for a system and a faith which can give them some light in the context of prevailing darkness. This work may also help such people in making their choice.

**Contents and Sample Pages**