The Origins of Sant Mat, The Five Names, and the Identity of Tulsi Sahib’s Guru, E-Book by James Bean, 2015
On the Usage of the Term “Sant Mat” and the Tulsi Sahib Connection; Sants of Antiquity; Who Was Tulsi Sahib’s Guru? Our One-And-Only Solid Clue; Sant Dariya Sahib of Bihar; About the Ratnagar Rao Doctrine; Rare Quotes From Sat Saheb, Dariya’s Guru; The Origin of the Five Names; The Panch Naam Words Traced Back to Kabir/Dharamdasi Texts.
Where the Path Comes From: Everyone in contemporary Sant Mat has a clear idea about their own recent history of masters, at least dating back a few generations. Most trace their lineage of gurus back to Sant Tulsi Sahib of Hathras, India. Tulsi Sahib (1763-1843) is viewed as the adi-guru or founding guru, the “great grandfather” of modern-day Sant Mat. The identity of Sant Tulsi Sahib’s guru has understandably been of great interest to many students of Sant Mat history. It’s quite normal for followers of a spiritual path to be curious about “the family tree” of previous masters, wanting to know where their spiritual path comes from. So, who was the guru of Tulsi Sahib? And who was that individual’s guru? Who was the guru before that? And so on….
The Five Names/Panch Naam Mantra: So, who was using the panch naam mantra – these five names – prior to the time of Sant Tulsi Sahib? It’s an important question as it may shed further light on the identity of Tulsi Sahib’s guru and the origins of this spiritual path called Sant Mat. If Tulsi Sahib did not invent the usage of the five names himself, then it’s rather likely he was continuing the practice he had learned at the feet of his own guru, reflecting an even older tradition of Sants. It would be most informative to know the identity of this earlier Sant Mat path that represents the “people of the five names”, if you will, those who chanted these sacred mantra-words during earlier centuries….
The Path of the Masters: The Ten Sikh Gurus are quite well-known. The Adi Granth (Guru Granth) is easy to get. There are even several translations of Sikh scriptures accessible to anyone for free on the web. I can see why it would be so easy for English-speaking westerners interested in Sant Mat to see the Ten Sikh Gurus as being a kind of “primary line of masters” before the time of Soamiji Maharaj. However, the world of Kabir and successors, Kabir Sagar volumes, bhajans of Dharam Das, other compositions of Kabir lineage gurus, Sat Saheb, Dariya Sahib with his twenty three books, and the four or five volumes of Sant Tulsi Sahib are far more obscure. For the most part, these are available only in Hindi, virtually unknown to most, especially in Europe and North America. Thus, there is a great need to focus on what has been translated, the information which has come to light, and begin the process of researching that Sant Mat history prior to the time of Soamiji Maharaj and Sant Tulsi Sahib. For me, what comes into view is another “line of masters”, a treasure-trove of Sant Mat literature, and a much more precise history of the Path.
– Sant Mat History E-book: The Origins of Sant Mat, The Five Names, and the Identity of Tulsi Sahib’s Guru: https://archive.org/details/TheOriginsOfSantMatSachKhandPDF