David Christopher Lane has a new book from Cambridge University Press that I will feature in the next blog post in November. The publisher announcement explains The Sound Current Tradition thusly:
The practice of listening to subtle, inner sounds during meditation to concentrate and elevate the mind has a long history in various religions around the world, including Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. Today there are a number of new religious movements that have made listening to the inner sound current a cornerstone of their teachings. These groups include the Radhasoamis, the Divine Light Mission, Eckankar, the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness (MSIA), MasterPath, the Sawan-Kirpal Mission, Quan Yin/Ching Hai, Manavta Mandir, ISHA, and a number of others. In this study we provide a historical and comprehensive overview of these movements and how they have incorporated listening to the inner sound as part of their spiritual discipline. We are particularly interested in the distinctive and nuanced ways that each group teaches how to listen to the inner sound current and how they interpret it in their own unique theologies.
I first heard of this practice in a Search for God group associated with Edgar Cayce, then found it as the title of a book by Helena Blavatsky; Lane was aware of both of these connections. The Brotherhood of Light and Church of Light are not mentioned, but references to “the Voice of the Silence” appear in multiple BofL lessons, not derived from Cayce or Blavatsky. The first two appear in Astrological Signatures:
The candidate has heard it said, “Knock and it will open; Ask and ye shall receive; Seek and ye shall find.” So, sustained by a love of justice, he stands with clean hands and a pure heart at the gate to the sanctuary. After a time his efforts are rewarded by glimpses of the interior as the gates are opened by other hands, or the intuitions of his soul penetrate their opaqueness. His summons are finally answered by the Voice of the Silence, encouraging him to further endeavor; but at the same time admonishing him that there is no vicarious atonement or attainment. Each must unlock the doors that bar his progress and that guard the temple from profanation, for himself.
The harmless cup symbolizes love and virtue; the poison cup, passion and vice. Each soul is confronted with the trial of this choice, and only by obeying the Voice of the Silence can it safely be passed. If, in spite of his oath of submission, the neophyte refuses to obey, he is informed that the initiation is broken and he is confined to a dungeon for seven months and then allowed a second trial. If he thus fails at the first test he may never rise higher in the ranks of the Magi, though he may gain freedom later by successfully passing the test. In such a case he represents a weak and wavering soul who fears to obey the dictates of his inner self. The neophyte’s only hope of escaping extinction is to pass the ordeal, though once failing he does not have the opportunities that would have been open to him had he taken the decisive step at once. The laws of the Magi compel him to pass the trial or perish in the dungeon cell.
Several more will be cited with the full review of the book, which I am still reading. Meanwhile here is the publisher link. The Sound Current Tradition (cambridge.org)