• What are the basic teachings of Science of Spirituality?
• What is Sant Mat?
• What is the Science of Spirituality/ Sawan Kirpal Ruhani Mission?
• How is God viewed in the teachings of Sant Mat?
• What is the Light and Sound of God?
• What is the role of the living spiritual Master?
• What is the role of ethical living in the Sant Mat teachings?
• What is satsang?
• What is Jyoti meditation?
• Why is a vegetarian diet important?
• Is there a conflict between my current religion and the practice of meditation?
• Are there any similarities between Science of Spirituality and the religious traditions of the world?
• Are there rites and rituals that practitioners perform?
• Is there a specific scripture that I can study?
• What is Sant Mat and what do the terms "Sant" and "Mat" mean?
• Who is Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj?
• What does the Sant Mat believe about the soul and the purpose of human life?
• How does one become a member of Science of Spirituality?
• What is Initiation?
• Who gives initiation and what is involved in receiving initiation?
• What are the benefits of initiation?
• What are the requirements for initiation?
• How much does it Cost to receive initiation into Science of Spirituality, or Sant Mat?
• Does one have to be initiated to attend the programs of Science of Spirituality and practice meditation?
• How much does it cost to attend Science of Spirituality programs?

• Our true self is the soul.
• The soul is the essence of God.
• God brought creation into being through the Light and Sound of God.
• Contact with the Light and sound of God through meditation leads the soul back to God.
• The living spiritual Master has completed the spiritual journey and can connect souls with the Light and Sound within.

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Sant Mat is a path of positive mysticism in which we remain in the world, in our own society, culture, and family and, to the best of our abilities, fulfill our duties and responsibilities along with developing spiritually.

Becoming a student of Sant Mat does not mean converting or changing one's religion or one's clothing or customs. One should remain in one's own religion and culture while practicing meditation.

While developing spiritually, we are to fulfill our obligations to our family, our jobs, our education and career, our community, and to the world with loving devotion. We should help others and make a positive contribution to society.

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The Science of Spirituality, also called Sawan Kirpal Ruhani Mission, is a non-profit non-denominational organization dedicated to spirituality, peace and service to humanity. Under the guidance of Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj, individuals learn a simple and natural method of meditation. Each individual's personal experience of inner peace spreads to outer peace within families, neighborhoods, communities and the world.

Science of Spirituality/Sawan Kirpal Ruhani Mission has international headquarters in Delhi, India and national headquarters for the United States in Naperville, Illinois. There are numerous other centers in the US and other countries.

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• There is one God who created all that exists.
• God is called by many names in various cultures, languages, and religions, but is one and the same.
• God is eternal, all consciousness, all love, all Light and Sound, all peace, and all bliss.

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When God brought creation into being, two principles emanated from God---the Light and Sound of God. The Light and Sound of God can be contacted within through a process of meditation as taught by the living Master of Sant Mat (Sawan Kirpal Ruhani Mission/Science of Spirituality).

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The living spiritual Master is an indispensable guide to help people reach their spiritual goal by providing them with on-going guidance, to help them improve in their meditation, lead an ethical life that enhances spiritual progress, and be their companion on the inner journey back to their true home.

The living Master has been commissioned by the previous living Master to initiate souls so they can come in contact with the Light and Sound of God within, and traverse the spiritual journey back to their divine source.

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Ethical living is an indispensable foundation for spiritual progress. Ethical living includes:

• Nonviolence
• Truthfulness
• Humility
• Purity
• Selfless service
• Observance of a strict vegetarian diet
• Avoidance of alcohol and hallucinogenic and intoxicating drugs (not including medication prescribed by a doctor).

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Satsang refers to a gathering for the purpose of learning Truth ("sat" means truth; "sang" means gathering). Satsang in the Sant Mat tradition refers to the gatherings at which the living spiritual Master conveys the spiritual teachings. It is conducted directly by the living Master or by his chosen representatives and group leaders for the purpose of conveying the spiritual teachings.

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Jyoti meditation in Sant Mat consists of meditation on the inner Light. It involves:

• Stilling the body
• Stilling the mind through mentally repeating any name of God one feels comfortable with

Meditation is taught as a science and can be practiced by people of all religions, faiths, and belief systems. One does not convert or change their social or religious traditions to practice meditation. While the main purpose of meditation is purely spiritual, the practice has many beneficial by-products:

• Improves health by reducing stress and stress-related ailments
• Strengthens concentration and focus for academic goals, job efficiency, work productivity, and achievement in different fields of endeavor
• Develops calmness and equanimity
• Spreads individual experiences of inner peace to outer peace in families, communities, neighborhoods and the world.

People choose vegetarianism for many reasons. Some because it conserves our planet's valuable resources. Others, for better health. Others forgo animal foods out of a simple regard for life. Throughout the ages, spiritual teachers of many faiths have encouraged vegetarianism for an even more compelling reason. They stress vegetarianism as one of the cornerstones of a successful meditative and spiritual life. Sant Darshan Singh Ji Maharaj, author of "The Vegetarian Way of Life," tells us that a vegetarian diet is based on compassion and nonviolence. It helps us to maintain a balance between our body and soul. Click here for more information about vegetarianism.

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The spiritual Masters of this path never advocate that we change our religion or leave our communities to practice meditation. In fact, a hallmark of this path is “positive mysticism,” the belief that we should fulfill our duties and obligations to our families and societies while pursuing our spiritual goals. We earn our own livelihoods and fulfill our roles as citizens of our communities.

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Yes. Ethical living forms the basis of all the great religions of the world, and it is the foundation of any spiritual practice. The virtues inculcated by members of the Science of Spirituality occur at the level of thought, word, and deed. These are: Nonviolence (which includes a vegetarian diet), Truthfulness, Purity, Humility, and Selfless Service.

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No. Rites and rituals form the exoteric (outer) practices of the different religions. The only practice that members of Science of Spirituality subscribe to is meditation. Meditation constitutes the esoteric practice (inner mysteries) found in many of the great religious traditions. Through meditation or silent contemplation, the great saints and mystics of the different religions found their connection with their soul and then taught what they learned to their followers. We believe it is our birthright to experience ourselves as soul and begin our journey back to God. This can be done through meditation.

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There is no one revered scripture like the Bible, Torah, Guru Granth Sahib, or Koran, but there is a large body of discourses and books written by the saints of this tradition that have been translated into over fifty different languages. Some of this material is available on our Resources page.

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While Science of Spirituality is the term for the organization, Sant Mat is the term for the spiritual teachings. Sant Mat is the term made of two words "Sant" means "Saint" or " Master", and "Mat" means "Teachings". Thus, it means the teaching of the saints. The word saint encompasses a variety of terms including saints, prophets, mystics, founders of religions, enlightened beings, messiah, gurus, Masters, spiritual teachers, and realized souls. Sant Mat is the study of the essence of the spiritual teachings of all saints and Masters from all religions through the ages. This term is used because Sant Mat distills the underlying teachings of all religions. It finds the similarities and unity in all religions. The teachings of Sant Mat consist of two parts: theory and practice. The theoretical side of Sant Mat describes the teachings of saints and mystics regarding how we can realize our true self and realize God. The practice or practical side provides a technique by which students can practice a method of meditation or inversion by which one can experience for one's self the spiritual teachings. Each religion has two sides: the exoteric or outer rites, rituals and customs, and esoteric, or inner spiritual teachings. An examination of the inner spiritual side of each religion reveals a similarity. Sant Mat is built on the similarities found in all religions. These include the truths that

a) there is a God.
b) we are soul, a part of God.
c) the highest goal of life is to know God.
d) the way back to God is by going within through meditation or prayer.
e) we gain spirituality by leading an ethical life by performing selfless service to others.

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Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj is the spiritual head of the Science of Spirituality/ Sawan Kirpal Ruhani Mission and is the current living Master of Sant Mat. He travels throughout the world teaching meditation to sincere seekers after Truth. He is considered one of the world's leading experts in meditation. He has written many books and articles and has appeared on television and radio to teach meditation. He heads Science of Spirituality with its headquarters in Delhi, India and Naperville, Illinois, and numerous centers worldwide. He oversees the work of the various centers, including meditation centers, libraries of comparative religion, and yoga, schools and free allopathic, naturopathic, homeopathic, and ayurvedic clinics to provide free medical care to those in need. The Science of Spirituality also provides charitable work in helping victims of natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, volcanoes, and famine. For example, it recently rebuilt a town in India devastated by earthquake, by building homes, a community center, and meditation center. Besides his work in promoting the practice of meditation, he also is engaged in bringing about human unity and peace throughout the world. In this capacity, he is also head of the Human Unity Conferences, World Council of Religions, the Seventh World Fellowship of Religions Conference, and hosts two annual world conferences. Global Conference on Mysticism and Human Integration Conference.

Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj is author of the popular books, Inner and Outer Peace through Meditation, and Empowering Your Soul through Meditation, and many other books on spirituality translated into many languages. He talks are also available on videotape, audiotape, and CD.

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According to the teachings of Sant Mat, the soul is of the same essence as of God. The soul enlivens every living being. Its essence is eternal, all-consciousness, all love, all Light and Sound, all peace, and all bliss. Human beings can realize their soul and realize God while in the human body.

Within the soul is wisdom, a love more fulfilling than any in the outer world, a strength and power that can help us overcome any fear, and a connectedness and oneness that knits all life together.

The highest aim of human life is to attain self-realization (firsthand knowledge of the soul) and God-realization. The soul resides in the human body and can be realized through the process of inversion or meditation. Meditation ultimately gives us spiritual consciousness.

Spiritual consciousness means becoming aware of the soul and God within us. Most of us are aware of our body, of the thoughts passing throughout mind, and of the world around us. This is called body or physical consciousness. But human beings are more than the body and mind. We are actually soul, a conscious entity that inhabits the body.

The soul is a part of the Oversoul. The soul is the part that enlivens the human body. When the soul leaves the body at the same time of death, the body dies. But the soul in immortal. We continue to exist even after the demise of our mortal frame. Fortunately, we do not have to wait until our physical end to know our soul and God. We can experience our soul and god during this lifetime through meditation on Naam, the Light and Sound of God.

Since God is spirit, we can know God by transcending body-consciousness.

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There is no formal membership, but one becomes a student or disciple of the spiritual teacher, or Master. The current Master of Sant Mat is Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj. One can become a student be applying for initiation and being accepted as a disciple or student of Sant Rjainder Singh Ji Maharaj.

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Initiation is the process by which the spiritual Master conveys a portion of his life impulse or attention to a disciple to open his or her inner eye to see the Light of God, and to open the inner ear to hear the inner Music of God. The Master then conveys instruction for a method of meditation that helps one transcend physical body-consciousness to experience inner spiritual regions until one finally reaches union with god. Initiation is free and is given to all sincere seekers after truth who meet the requirements.

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Initiation is only given by the living Master. Initiation is the receiving of the spiritually charged attention of the living Master to open the inner eye and inner ear of the initiate so he or she can contact the inner Light and Sound. It is a sacred covenant between the living Master and the disciple.

Initiation also involves the reading of initiation instructions describing the process of meditation on inner Light and Sound, conveying of five charged words given by the living Master, and explaining descriptions of inner journey.

The living Master gives the initiation and can personally convey the initiation instructions or can authorize a representative or group leader to read the instructions on his behalf. If someone receives the instructions for initiation by a representative, with the living Master's approval, the initiate should consider that he or she has been initiated by the living Master. No one else, neither a representative nor group leader, is giving the initiation. They only read outer instructions on behalf of the living Master.

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• The Master will open his or her inner eye to see the Light and Sound of God.
• The living Master conveys the five Charged Names which serve as a protection and password to help the soul travel through the higher planes.
• The Master will serve as an inner guide in his radiant form to protect and guide the soul through the inner journey
• The Master takes over the responsibility of winding up the karma of the disciple during his or her lifetime so the soul can achieve union with God.
• The Master can adjust the disciple's karmic debts if he feels it is in the disciples best spiritual interest, and at times even takes on the karma of the disciple.
• The living Master provides outer guidance and help to the disciple in his or her spiritual progress.
• The Master responds to the disciple's cries for help in spiritual and mundane aspects of life and offers spiritual grace to the loved ones of the disciple

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• understanding the teachings through reading books and literature published by Science of Spirituality of SK Publications, or through attendance at talks or satsangs by the living Master or by his representatives or group leaders;
• adherence to strict vegetarian diet avoiding meat, fish, fowl, or eggs, both fertile and infertile, and any by-products of these;
• avoidance of alcohol and intoxicating and hallucinogenic drugs (except drugs prescribed as medication by a doctor);
• earning one's livelihood honestly;
• communicate to practice the meditation technique taught by the living Master.

Those who want initiation can apply by completing an initiation application, which is sent to Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj for his approval. The group leader of a satsang center that the applicant attends sends a cover letter recommending the applicant for initiation.

The living Master may choose to forego the formal written application process when on tour when initiations are granted in the physical presence of the living Master, but those wishing initiation still need to abide by the requirements and sign a form provided at initiation stating that they understand the requirements and agree to abide by the requirements.

Once someone receives initiation from a living Master, the Master will guide the disciple until the soul attains merger back into God. The disciple may leave the Master, but the Master will never leave the disciple and will provide help for the soul's journey until it is reunited with god.

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Initiation is free. Like all other gifts of nature, such as air and water, spirituality is free and available to all sincere seekers who meet the requirements for initiation.

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Science of Spirituality offers many programs to the public that people can attend without receiving initiation. There are weekly satsangs or programs in which one can study spirituality. There are a variety of seminars, workshops, retreats, and classes for the public, and there is an introductory form of meditation, called Jyoti meditation, which one can practice without being initiated.

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Initiation, all public talks, satsangs, and meditation sittings given by Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj are free. There is no charge for any of Sant Rajinder Singh Ji's programs.

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