It is necessary to insert a brief comment here about the path of Sant Mat, and not leave one with only a consideration of buddhism and advaita. As the 'path of the Masters' is also at the heart of Sufism, as exemplified by Rumi and Kabir, it is a significant alternative approach that is often left out of such discussions as these.

   While anadi is somewhat conservative compared to newer teachers of 'consciousness', he still teaches a 'direct path', inasmuch as he advocates bypassing all mystical states, considering them to be 'subconscious' and 'objective' experiences disconnected from the subjective light of I Am. And, in many cases, that is indeed so. Most mystics do not start with the intuition of consciousness. In the ancient path of Sant Mat, however, the role of the Master assumes paramount importance. It is not just a technique or self-generated yoga path - in this case, surat shabd yoga - but a relationship with a realized Master who is embedded in the Word, the divine logos that flows out of the heart of the Creator, beyond mind and matter, maya and Isvara, and on which ones soul journeys beyond all objective realms to its own subjectivity and the ultimate Subjectivity of the Beloved. In doing so, and if done correctly and successfully, non-duality on the phenomenal plane is generated automatically, although perhaps not until the end of ones mystical stage of practice. This is a school in which grace is of utmost importance, and in which one may practice a lifetime before getting access to the inner realms, which are then experienced in full consciousness. It is a path of man-making, where the elements of the virtues, concentration, devotion, awareness, perseverance, insight, and and surrender are intermingled, and with ninty-five per cent of the divine grace often withheld until the time of ones death, upon which one transcends into the beyond into deeper and deeper dimensions of being and the heart of reality, with the Master as ones eternal guide. This is the promise.

   Indeed, the emphasis is always on devotion to ones ideal, and not on the various mystical states themselves that may arise to bewitch one on the path. As far as inner discipline goes, one is advised during his practices to concentrate only on the light, the sound, or the Master's radiant form, which, when directly contacted, completes ones guru-bhakti, or fana fil sheik, and the Master as the Word or Naam then becomes realized as the sole director of ones path en route to fana fil Allah. His 'job' is to take one as directly and swiftly as possible to the transcendental or purely subjective realms of Sat Lok. This may entail a prolonged and uncomfortable period of 'winding up ones karmas', bereft of mystical consolation, in order for the soul to be free to transcend its bondage to this dimension. anadi, in fact, emphasizes this point about elimination of the karmas as well. In Sant Mat, the Master is said to be the sole arbiter of this process. Thus, one will often find on this path many people who don't look particularly realized, while the true character building is going on under the surface. It is a path of positive mysticism, where ones human life is to be expressed and developed fully, at the same time that one develops spiritually, the two being fundamentally inseparable.

   It is, perhaps, not as chique as non-duality, and it is also true that many more beginners will seem to be found on this path than in the so-called 'direct paths', but then, who is to say who is truly a beginner? Can one read another's soul? Nor is the complete spiritual development necessarily a permanent escape from the plane of life, for when one merges with the Creator ones will is no longer his own. Non-duality is a hidden secret on this path, in the hands of a competent Master. And the teachings are gradually changing to reflect this, for the perceptive.

   I mention this not that I am an advanced or even apparently successful disciple on this way, nor do I even consider myself to be a current practitioner as such, only that the dimensions of awareness, being, and heart which anadi mentions may be realized through grace in an non-linear or round-about way in the path of the Sants in contrast to the precise process he outlines and transmits or in the more technical and seemingly more 'direct' schools of understanding of advaita and buddhism. Yet what could be more direct and simpler in essence than communing with and being absorbed into the Word of God as proposed by the saints? By, in fact, Jesus himself? It is possible that one will penetrate deeper into the heart of being than on any other path, sooner or later. Of course, this also depends on finding a perfect master, and being a truly sincere disciple, both of which are rare. The Master or Murshid is the heart of this path.

   I will be the first to agree that the inner planes can be experienced, as can the present one, in either an enlightened or unenlightened way. Yet it must also be said that there is a true death and successive 'rebirth' at every plane quit by the soul. There may be fear when first transitioning into the beyond, even if it not be the 'great' or final death such as is mentioned in Zen. This is an indirect but straightforward path in which the appreciation and understanding of the progressive stages of the way will vary depending on the maturity of the disciple, but all of its roads, with many twists, turns, idiosyncrasies, and secrets of its own, lead essentially to the same goal in the end. And then one can 'wake up' further. So it is a valid option that should not be left out of the discussion.