Radha means ‘Soul’ and Swamy means “Lord’. Thus literally, Radhaswamy means “Lord of the Soul” or the “Supreme Being”. The Radhaswamy teachings, expound in a simple language, the age-old teachings of the Saints, and is a systematic and practical method of Self Realization leading to God-Realization.

Our Soul is a drop in the Ocean of Truth (Supreme Lord) from where it has been separated from time immemorial. Covered by the Senses, the Mind and its attachments, the unfortunate Soul has forgotten its Original Home, the Supreme Lord. Immersed in the deep ocean of worldly life, with innumerable desires and aspirations, the soul has gone through the cycle of birth and death countless times. Till such time when the soul does not return to its original home, it does not experience true and everlasting happiness. This endless cycle of births and deaths can only be broken while the soul is in the human form under the guidance of a Perfect and a living Master. He helps the seeker to understand the true nature of the soul, through initiation or ‘Nam’ and attaches the seeker to Shabd or the Sound Current so that the soul may free itself from the shackles of Kal, the negative power.

God resides in the inner recesses of the heart of man and not outside of him. The mind is the veil between man and God, and He can only be seen when this screen is removed. The nature of the mind however, is to revel in pleasures of the senses. It can be weaned away from these sensual pleasures only when it gets something supremely superior, nobler and sweeter. This something is the Divine Sound Current – the Divine Melody – the Voice of God. This is referred to as “Nad” in the Vedas; “Qalma” or “Bange-asmani” in the Quran; “Logos” or “Word” in the Bible; and as “Nam” or “Shabd” in the Radhaswamy faith. This divine sound current is ceaselessly reverberating within us at the third eye, ‘tisra til’, a focus just behind the eyes and between the two eyebrows. It is to this point that the body consciousness has to be withdrawn and retained, and this can only be done under the guidance of the Guru or Master. Then, and only then, is God realization possible and the soul’s redemption from the bondage of mind and matter is complete while living in this very body.

This spiritual journey starts with the concentration of the mind at the third eye, continues with the withdrawal of the soul from the physical body and then the divine audible sound current, which is the Supreme Creative Power reverberating through all realms of creation is heard. The sound and the light heard and seen by the inner ear and inner eye draws the soul progressively into higher regions and ultimately enables it to merge with the Supreme Lord.

This divine melody is heard by all the initiates who follow the instructions of the Guru. It is not heard by the physical ears but by a developed finer sense. At first, it is feeble and variable in tone, but as one progresses it becomes more distinct and more musical until it finally becomes sweeter than all earthly sounds. It then draws the soul upwards, purifies and ennobles it and prepares it for higher abodes. Under its benign guidance, and aided all through by the Guru, the soul journeys further and realises an awakening or super-consciousness and the development of powers never before realised. The goal of this spiritual journey is to take the soul back to its origin and unite it with God.

The path of the saints is the practice of Surat Shabd Yoga. This science or technique of God realization is what the Radhaswamy faith teaches for which the Guru is the pivot. It is only through constant and devoted meditation as taught by the Sadguru, that our soul will merge with the Supreme Soul, which is the aim of Santmat.

The teachings of Santmat are not new; they have been taught by the saints through the ages. They were imparted to sincere seekers by saints like Kabir Sahib, Guru Nanak, Tulsi Saheb and others. Swamiji Maharaj of Agra, who is also called Radhaswamy, formulated the teachings of saints into a system more suited to this age and taught the practice of the sound current (Surat Shabd Yoga) in a simple and easily understood manner.

This then is the core of the Radhaswamy teachings. It is the science of connecting the soul of man with God through the “Sound-current”. It is through the Master or Guru that this “connection” happens, when He initiates the seeker of truth into this path.