joining (yoga) of the spirit (surat) with
the Divine Sound (shabd). The Divine
Sound emanates from the Supreme
Being and is always present. Most peo-
ple cannot hear it due to their preoccu-
pation with worldly things. With proper
training and devotion to a true guru
(satguru), anyone can eventually
become attuned to the Divine Sound,
and resonate in harmony with it. The
most important part of this path is con-
tact with a true guru, since only a true
guru has access to the divine and is con-
sidered a manifestation of the divine
itself. Devotion to a true guru is the sin-
gle most important factor in a person’s
spiritual development, and this spiritual
progress hinges on complete surrender
to the guru’s grace.
This metaphor of the Divine Sound,
and human resonance with it, has much
in common with the images used by
Guru Nanak, the first of the Sikh gurus,
and with the Nathpanthisbefore him.
The overwhelming stress on a guru
makes it possible for this religious
discipline to be practiced by just
about anyone, and most of the Radha
Soami followers are householders living
in the world rather than ascetics. For
further information see Sudhir Kakar,
Shamans,Mystics,and Doctors, 1990;
Lawrence Babb, Redemptive Encounters,
1987; and Mark Juergensmeyer, Radha-
soami Reality, 1991.
Surdas
(early 16th c.) One of the ashtachap, a
group of eight northern Indian bhakti
(devotional) poets. The compositions of
these eight poets were used for liturgical
purposes by the Pushti Marg, a religious
community whose members are
devotees (bhakta) of Krishna. In the
Pushti Marg’s sectarian literature, all
eight poets are also named as members
of the community and as associates
of either the community’s founder,
Vallabhacharya, or his successor
Vitthalnath. In this literature, as
recounted in the Chaurasi Vaishnavan
ki Varta (“Lives of eighty-four
Vaishnavas”), it was at Vallabhacharya’s
order that Surdasbegan to compose
poems about Krishna’s lila, his playful
interactions with the world and
his devotees. He then proceeded to
compose the 5,000-odd poems of
the Sursagar.
The oldest manuscripts paint a much
different picture of Surdas, for most of
them contain only a few hundred
poems, which are usually quite short.
The most important themes in the early
poetry are supplication (vinaya) and
separation (viraha), and although one
also finds the depictions of Krishna’s
childhood for which Surdas has become
most famous, these themes are more
important later in the poetic tradition.
Surdas’s poetry thus shows a wide range
of themes, from his own spiritual life to
devotional “glimpses” of Krishna; the
latter most commonly explore the reli-
gious tension between the image of
Krishna as a charming child and his alter
ego as lord of the universe. As in much of
Vaishnava devotional poetry, Surdas
composed these poems to invite his
hearers to enter Krishna’s world.
The difference between these
pictures raises doubts about the
connection between Surdas and
Vallabhacharya. Although songs by
Surdas have been worked into the rites
of the Pushti Marg, Surdas composed
no poetry in praise of Vallabhacharya,
unlike the other ashtachap poets. It
seems just as likely that, as the popular-
ity of Surdas’s poems grew, he was
“claimed” by the Pushti Marg as a fellow
Krishna devotee. In fact, there is very lit-
tle definitely known about him, includ-
ing whether or not he was actually blind,
as is generally accepted. Only two of the
oldest poems mention blindness; one of
these is clearly metaphorical, and the
other is part of a litany of the woes of old
age. As with so many of the bhakti
poets, one knows a great deal more
about the poems than the poet. For
further information see John Stratton
Hawley, Krishna:The Butter Thief, 1983;
and Surdas: Poet,Singer,Saint, 1984;
see also John Stratton Hawley andSurdas