There are two ways of Vidya:

(i)  Agh Drishta or Apara Vidya, for the layman who wants physical happiness.
(ii) Yog Drishta or Para Vidya, which deals with that which is above the senses.

  Jainism divides Yoga, the science of knowing yourself and attaining perfection, into eight stages as follows:

 l. Mitra - Vision is very dim. It can be compared to light of grass particles which is momentary and extremely dim. The yogi in this stage adopts vows of non-violence, truth, celibacy, etc. To him all living beings are friends. He bears ill will to none. He finds great happiness in good thoughts and good deeds; but it is not possible in this stage to go much higher.

 2. Tara - Vision here is also dim, compared to the light of cowdung cake, although vision is a little better, but it is momentary and dim. One adopts short-term rules for purification. He becomes purer in his relations with outside world also. He busies himself in reading of books of great seers. He feels great interest in all that is helpful in raising the soul higher.

 3. Bala - Vision here is also dim, compared to wood-light.  Asanas are performed. He can easily do Padmasan etc., but it is not external Asanas which are aimed at but the spiritual Asanas. He becomes firm in external Asanas but he experiences glimpses of spiritual happiness. He rises a little above the body.

 4. Dipra - is compared to light of Deepak or candle light. Here he attains Pranayam not only externally but internally also. He has now firm faith that it is the soul which is to be called for primarily. To save the soul he may even give up his body. To attain purification of soul, he is prepared to face any dangers and difficulties. His leaning is more and more toward soul. He attains peace not known before.

 5. Sthira - is considerably bright and lasting, compared to the light of jewel. He sees the world and worldly things in proper perspective. Strong likes and dislikes have disappeared. He becomes composed and calm and realizes and feels that he is not body but he is some Divine element residing within. He is soul and he feels the difference. He feels his body different from soul. He gets the Sound from within of various wonderful  tunes which attunes one with Samadhi. Desires of body and senses are not liked by him. He has full faith in God, in the pure form of the soul, and he is yearning to be pure, absolutely pure.

 6. Kanta - can be compared to light of star. Here there is great control over mind. The mind finds happiness in devotion to God, in love and meditation of pure soul. Mind becomes steady in these higher things and finds no pleasure in physical happiness and amenities. Here he becomes so pure that he can get vision of Siddhas - liberated souls, great souls. His actions also become so pure that he is loved even by great Saints.

 7. Prabha - can be compared to light of sun. It is bright and strong. Here right knowledge has grown immensely and meditation becomes his second nature and he finds innermost happiness. He is serene, he has great control over his senses and mind.

 8. Para - can be compared to the light of moon, serene, peaceful and cool. Here meditation reaches highest pitch and he becomes immersed in it. He attains Samadhi (Sama) and becomes faultless. His state can be compared to full Moon in all its Splendor.
 

FROM YOGA DRISHTA SAMUCHAYA
BY SRI HARIBHADRACHARYA

EXCERPTS FROM JAIN SCRIPTURES:

From  Suttagame Part II, by Puppha Bhikoo (1954 edition):

Tapas itself is the light and it shines forth in the human body.
                                                                              PAGE 996, GATHA 44

Hearing the Sound resembling that of the conch and witnessing the Lotus Light
  like that of a newly blossomed flower between the two eyebrows,
  one faces his Ishta, the Satguru.
                                               PAGE 1046

When the knowledge finds an anchorage in Knowledge, there flashes forth light.
                                                                                                                                    SAMAYASSAR

The aspirant is enjoined to sit in solitude and meditate with a single-pointed
  attention, on the Maha Mantra of Panch parmesti and to perceive the light.
                                                                                                              SHRI SUTRA NANDI

    The essence of the Avestic teachings is to be found in the prayers to the various cults of life as taught by Zoroaster, the Master of life, who lived several thousand years ago. Edmund Szekely, speaking of these cults, tells us of the last two cults as follows:
 

(i)  The Cult of the Light of Life: The next cult in the Avestas is the cult of Humanity or as the Zend text expresses it, the cult of the "Light of Life." What does this stand for? This Light, declares Zoroaster, comes to us continually from the most distant ages, making it possible for us to possess the total wisdom and experience of previous generations, without the need to try again for ourselves what they have already tried and proved right in the course of thousands of years. For Zoroaster, the greatest fault we can be guilty of, is to neglect this "Light of Life" and to limit it to only a few rays instead of absorbing It in its fullness through observance of the cult which bears its name. Most of the passages concerning the cult of the "Light of Life" are to be found in the book of the Avestas entitled Vispered, which is the exact Zend equivalent of our word "Omniscience."

(ii)  The Cult of Eternal Life: The ninth and last cult in the Avestas is the cult of the Stars - the cult of "Eternal Life." This cult became the one most widely known in antiquity, and most of the passages mentioning Zoroastrianism in the works of the classical Greek authors are concerned with it. According to Zoroaster, life is not the exclusive privilege of this planet; there are innumerable planets and solar systems in infinite cosmic space where life exists in a wide range of forms.  Zoroaster teaches that life is a form of cosmic energy which will always appear wherever favorable preconditions exist. Life is a cosmic function, an inherent quality of the Universe,  and there is in boundless space and time a universal solidarity connecting all forms of life on whatever planet. Certain planets or solar systems may disappear or appear, and the life of them likewise, but life itself, appearing and disappearing, on eternally changing planets and solar systems, is as eternal as the Universe. And man is a part of this eternal life -- of this universal cosmic ocean formed by the sum total of all forms of life on all the planets. The most beautiful hymns in the Avestas are to be found in the part devoted to the cult of "Eternal Life."

    The Avestic term for the principle of life is "Sraosha" (the angel of inspiration) . In Zend Avesta, we have an invocation to Mazda praying for the gift of Sraosha for those whom He loves.

  Mr. M. H. Toot, a great scholar of comparative religions, in his book,  "Practical Metaphysics of Zoroastrians," tells us that in "Gatha Ushtavaiti," Ratu Zoroaster proclaimed:
 

Thus I reveal the Word which the Most Unfolded One has taught me,
The Word which is the best for mortals to listen.
Whosoever shall render obedience and steadfast attention unto Me,
  will obtain for his own self the All-embracing Whole Being and Immortality;
And through the service of the Holy Divine Spirit
Will realize Mazda Ahura (i.e., Godhead).
                                                                HA 4S-8

Again the same scholar quotes elsewhere in an as yet unpublished work, the following passages from "Ahuravaiti Yasna":

Divine Guidance of the Eternal Master,
Accomplishing long life in the Right Paths leading to the Absolute Kingdom
  of the Divine Mind,
Wherein  the  Omniscient,  Self-existent  Life-Giver dwells by His
  all-pervading Reality,
I cause to invoke that divine Sraosha (i.e., the Word) which is the greatest of all
  divine gifts for spiritual succour.
                                                 HA 33-35

The Creative Verbum:

Assimilating one's unfolding self with His all-pervading Reality
The Omniscient, Self-existent Life-Giver has framed this mystic Verbum
  and Its melodious rhythm,
With the Divine Order of personal self-sacrifice for the Universe,
  unto the self-sublimating souls,
Which  is  that  person  who  with  the  Enlightened Superb Mind can give both
  these (Mystic Verbum and Divine Order)  through His gracious mouth unto the
  mortals.
  HA 29-7

    The Jewish and Christian scriptures abound with references to the Word as the creative aspect of God, and as the means by which He is reached. In the very beginning of the Bible we read:

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth . , . And God said, Let there be light, and there  was light.
                                   GENESIS 1

    In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. . . . That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world . . . And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth.
                                                                                                         JOHN 1: 1-5, 9,14

    Behold, there went out a sower to sow; And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:  But when the sun was up, it scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some a hundred. And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. . . .

    The sower soweth the Word. And these are they by the way side, where the Word is sown; but when  they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and  taketh away the Word that was sown in their hearts.  And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the Word, immediately receive it with gladness; and have no root in themselves, and so endure for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the Word's sake, immediately they are offended. And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the Word, and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the Word, and it become unfruitful. And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the Word and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.
                                                                                     MARK 4:4-9, 14-20

By the "Word of the Lord were the heavens made . . .For he spake
  and it was done.
     PSALM 33:6, 9

Forever, O Lord, thy Word is settled in heaven. . . . Thy Word is a lamp unto
  my feet, and a light unto my path.
                               PSALM 119:89, 105

The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it and is safe.
                                                                                                                                PROVERBS 18:1O

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, but the Word  of our God shall
  stand forever.
     ISAIAH 40:8

I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me,
  mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize (immerse)
  you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.
                                                MATTHEW 3:11

Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceedeth out of
  the mouth of God.
        MATTHEW 4:4

The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but
  canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that
  is born of the Spirit.
                       JOHN 3:8

Verily, verily I say unto you, he that heareth my Word, and believeth on him that
  sent me, hath ever-lasting life and shall not come into condemnation; but is
  passed from death unto life.
                                     JOHN 5:24

Now ye are clean through the Word which I have spoken unto you.
                                                                                                               JOHN 15:3

I have manifested thy Name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world . . .
  I have given them thy Word . . .
                                     JOHN 17:6,14

Sanctify them through thy truth; thy Word is truth.
                                                                                JOHN 17:17

Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person,
  and upholding all things by the Word of his power . . .
                                                                         HEBREWS 1:3

For the Word of God is quick (living), and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged
  sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and
  marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
                                                                                                           HEBREWS 4:12

Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with
  meekness the engrafted Word, which is able to save your souls.
                                                                                                          JAMES 1:21

Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God,
  which liveth and abideth forever.
                                          I PETER 1:23

And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him a hundred forty
  and four thousand, having his Father's name written on their foreheads. And I
  heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great
  thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as
  it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts and the elders:
  and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand,
  which were redeemed from the earth.
                                      REVELATION 14:1-3

The testimony of Christian saints of all traditions (Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox) confirms and clarifies the scriptural references:

Those in whom the eternal Word speaks are delivered from uncertainty. From one
  Word proceed all things and all things tell of Him. Love the Word better than the
  world.
                                                                                                           THE IMITATION OF CHRIST
 

The Word of God became man that you also may learn from a man how a man
  becomes a God.
                                                                                                  CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA
 

Absolutely unutterable and indescribable are  the lightning-like splendors of Divine beauty; neither can speech express nor hearing apprehend. Shall we name the brilliance of the morning star, the brightness of the moon, the radiance of the sun - the glory of all these is unworthy of being compared with the true light, standing farther from it than does the gloomiest night and the most terrible darkness from midday brightness. This beauty, invisible to bodily eyes, comprehensible to soul and mind only, if it illumines some of the saints leaves in them an unbearable wound through their desire that this vision of Divine beauty should extend over an eternity of life;  disturbed by this earthly life, they loathe it as though it were a prison.
                                                                                                                 ST. BASIL THE GREAT

The Writings Of Jacob Boehme, the Lutheran cobbler-mystic of seventeenth-century Germany, center around the Word and offer conclusive evidence that the esoteric teachings of Christ (Surat Shabd Yoga) had not been completely forgotten:
 

If you should in this world bring many thousand sorts of musical instruments together, and all should be tuned in the best manner most artificially, and the most skillful masters of music should play on them in concert together, all would be no more than the howlings  and barkings of dogs in comparison of the Divine Music, which rises through the Divine Sound and tunes from Eternity to Eternity.
                                                                                                                       THE AURORA

For all whatsoever has life, liveth in the Speaking Word, the Angels in the Eternal Speaking and the temporal spirits in the re-expression or echoing forth of the formings of time, out of the sound or breath of Time and the angels out of the Sound of Eternity, viz., out of the Voice of the Manifested Word of God.
                                                                                                    MYSTERIUM MAGNUM
 

The Disciple said to his Master; How may I come to the super-sensual life, that I may see God and hear him speak?

His Master said: When thou canst throw thyself but for a moment into that where no creature dwelleth, then thou hearest what God speaketh.

Disciple: Is that near at hand or far off?

Master: It is in thee. And if thou canst for a while but cease from all thy thinking and willing, then thou shalt hear the unspeakable words of God.

Disciple: How can I hear him speak, when I stand still from thinking and willing?

Master: When thou standest still from the thinking of self, and the willing of self; "When both thy intellect and will are quiet, and passive to the impressions of the Eternal Word and Spirit; And when thy soul is winged up, and above that which is temporal, the outward senses, and the imagination being locked up by holy abstraction," then the Eternal hearing, seeing, and speaking, will be revealed in thee; and so God "heareth and seeth through thee," being now the  organ of his spirit: and so God speaketh in thee, and whispereth to thy spirit, and thy spirit heareth his voice. Blessed art thou therefore if that thou canst stand still from self-thinking and self-willing,  and canst stop the wheel of imagination and senses . . .  Since it is naught indeed but thine own hearing and willing that do wonder thee, so that thou dost not see and hear God.
                                                                                                          OF THE SUPERSENSUAL LIFE

The following is the spiritual experience of Eliphas Levi, a Catholic priest:

   A particular phenomenon occurs when the brain is overcharged by Astral Light; sight is turned inward instead of outward; night falls on the external and real world, while fantastic brilliance shines on the world of dreams; even the physical eyes experience a slight quivering and turn up inside the lids. The soul then preceives by means of images the reflection of its impressions and thoughts.

    This is to say that the analogy subsisting between idea and form attracts in the Astral Light of reflection representing that form, configuration being the essence of the vital light; it is the universal imagination, of which each of us appropriates a lesser or greater part according to our grade of sensibility and memory. Therein is the source of all apparitions, all extraordinary visions and all the intuitive phenomena peculiar to ecstasy.

    The appropriation or assimilation of the light by clairvoyant sensibility is one of the greatest phenomena which can be studied by science. It may be understood in a day to come that seeing is actually speaking and that, the consciousness of light is a twilight of eternal life in being. The Word of God Himself, who creates light, and is uttered by all intelligence that conceives of forms and seeks to visualize them. "Let there be light." Light in the mode of brightness exists only for eyes which look thereon, and a soul enamored with the pageant of universal beauty, and fixing its attention on that luminous script of the endless book which is called things manifest, seems to cry on its own part, as God at the dawn of the first day, the sublime and creative words: Fiat lux . . .

    . . . To understand the cause of this force, but never to be obsessed and never overcome thereby, is to trample on the serpent's head. In such secrets are contained all mysteries of magnetism, which name can indeed be applied to the whole part of antique Transcendental Power. Magnetism is the wand of miracles, but it is this for initiates only; for rash and uninstructed people, who would sport with it or make it subserve their passions, it is as dangerous as that consuming glory which, according to the allegorical fable, destroyed the too ambitious Semele in the embraces of Jupiter.

    One of the great benefits of magnetism is that it demonstrates by incontestable facts the spirituality, unity and immortality of the soul; and these things once made certain, God is manifested to all intelligences and all hearts. Thereafter, from the belief in God and from the harmonies of creation we are led to that great religious harmony . . .

     . . . It follows from this revelation from the ancient world that clairvoyant extasis is a voluntary and immediate application of the soul to the universal fire, or rather to that light-abounding in images - which radiates, which speaks and circulates about all objects and every sphere of the universe. This application is operated by the persistence of will liberated from the senses and fortified by a succession of tests. Herein consisted the beginning in the light, the adept became a seer or prophet; then having established communications between this light and his own will, he learned to direct the former, even as the head of an arrow is set in a certain direction. He communicated at his pleasure either strife or peace to the soul of others; he established intercourse at a distance with those fellow-adepts who were his peers, and, in fine, he availed himself of that force which is represented by the celestial lion. Herein lies the meaning of those great Assyrian figures which hold vanquished lions in their arms. The Astral Light is otherwise represented by gigantic sphinxes having the bodies of lions and the heads of Magi. Considered as an instrument, the Astral Light is that golden sword of Mithra used in his immolation of the bull. And it is the  arrow of Phoebus which pierced the serpent Python . . .  The Astral Light as a whole, that element of electricity and of lightning, can be placed at the disposition of human will. What must be done, however, to acquire this formidable Power? Zoroaster has just told us; we must know those mysterious laws of equilibrium which subjugate the very powers of evil by sacred trials, must have conquered the phantoms of hallucination and taken hold bodily of the light, imitating Jacob in his struggle with the angel. We must have vanquished those fantastic dogs which howl in the world of Oracle, we must have heard the light speak. We are then its masters and can direct it, as Numa did, against the enemies of the Holy Mysteries. But in the absence of perfect purity, and if under the government of some animal passion, by which we are still subjected to the fatalities of tempestuous life, we proceed to this kind of work, the fire which we kindle will consume ourselves; we shall fall victims to the serpent which we unloose and shall perish like Tullus Hostilius . . .

    Pythagoras defined God as a living and Absolute Truth clothed in light; he defined the Word as number manifested by form; and he derived all things from the Tetractys - that is to say, the tetrad. He said also that God is supreme music; the nature of which is harmony.

    It is related furthermore that beasts were obedient to Pythagoras. Once in the middle of the Olympic Games,  he  signaled to  an eagle winging its way through heaven; the bird descended, wheeling circlewise, and again took rapid flight at the master's token of dismissal. There was also a great bear ravaging in Apulia; Pythagoras brought it to his feet and told it to leave the country. It disappeared accordingly, and when asked to what knowledge he owed such a marvelous power, he answered:  "To the Science of Light." Animated beings are, in fact, incarnations of light. Out of the darkness of ugliness forms emerge and move progressively toward the splendors of beauty, instincts are in correspondence with forms; and man, who is the synthesis of the light whereof animals may be termed the analysis, is created to command them.  It has come about, however, that in place of ruling as their master, he has become their persecutor and destroyer, so that they fear and have rebelled against him. In the presence of an exceptional will which is at once benevolent and directing, they are completely magnetized, and a host of modern phenomena both can and should enable us to understand the possibility of miracles like those of Pythagoras . . .

    The Astral Light is the Living soul of the earth, a material and fatal soul, controlled in its productions and movements by the eternal laws of equilibrium . . . This light, which environs and permeates all bodies, can also suspend their weight and make them revolve about a powerfully absorbent center . . .

  Among the Muslim Sufis, it is known as Sultan-ul-Azkar (the king of prayers). Another order of Sufis call it Saut-i-Sarmadi, (the Divine Song). They also call it Kalam-i-qadim (the Ancient Sound), and the Kalma or "Word," Nida-e-Asmani (the Sound coming down from Heaven). The fourteen Tabaqs (regions) were made by the Kalma - the Word.

    Khawaja Hafiz, a great divine, says:

From the turret of the Heaven, a call bids thee Home,
But fallen into the snares thou listeneth not.
No one knows where the Mansion of the Beloved lies,
But sure enough, the chiming of the bells proceeds therefrom.

Take the stop-cock from thy ears, and hear thou
  the voice of emancipation coming to thee,
Attach yourself not to the material world,
The elixir of life is showering from above.
The beat of Love while sounding in the Heavens,
Sends blessings to the souls of the devotees.

Grow not skeptical, but attune thyself to the Sound
  coming down from the Heavens,
Thy soul shall have revelations from afar.
What are these? the glimpses of the Unrevealed;
  were I to speak of these sweet melodies,
Even the dead shall rise from their graves.

Rise above the horizon, O brave soul, and hear the Melodious Song
  coming from the highest heaven.

    Shah Niaz, another Muslim devotee, says:

Soul is the Will and the Secret of God. Its meditation is carried on
  without the help of tongue and palate. Alas! thou art stuck fast
  in the physical bondage and do not hear the Holy Sound of God.
  My Beloved is speaking to thee all the while, but woe to thee
  for thou heareth not the Voice.

The whole universe is resounding with the Sound, and thou hast only
  to open the door of thine ears.
For opening the ears, it is sufficient to stop hearing the outer sounds.
  If you do this, you will hear the perpetual and unending Sound. It is infinite
  and has no beginning nor end, and on account of that, It is called Anhad
  (i.e., without any limits). Without this Word - the Eternal Sound - an expression
  of the Infinite, the world could not have come into existence. Hold communion
  with the Melodious Sound and lose yourself in it, O wise man. O God! show me
  that place from where the Kalma (Sound Principle) proceedeth without Words.

    Here are a few extracts taken from the "Hidden Words" of Baha-Ullah, a mystic saint of Persia:
 

O Son of Love!
Thou art but one step away from the glorious heights above and from
   the celestial tree of love. Take thou one pace and with the next advance
   into the Immortal Realm and enter the Pavilion of Eternity. Give ear then
   to that which hath been revealed by the pen of glory.

O Essence of Negligence!
Myriad of mystic tongues find utterance in one speech, and myriads
  of mysteries are revealed in a single melody; yet, alas! there is no ear
  to hear nor heart to understand.

O Children of Negligence and Passion!
. . . Open your ears that ye may hearken unto the Word of God,
  the help in peril, the Self-Existent.

O Son of Dust!
. . . hearken unto the mystic voice calling from the Realm of the Invisible.

O Son of Being!
Thou art My Lamp and My Light is in thee. . . . I  have created thee rich. . . .
  and within thee have I placed the essence of My Light.

O Son of Spirit!
. . Alas! How strange and pitiful, for a mere cupful, they have turned away
  from the billowing seas of the Most High, and remained far from
  the most effulgent horizon.

O Offspring of Dust!
. . . up from thy prison ascend unto the glorious meads above, and from
  thy mortal cage wing thy flight unto the paradise of the Placeless.

O Son of spirit!
Burst thy cage asunder, and even as the phoenix of love soar into the firmament
  of holiness. Renounce thyself and, filled with the spirit of mercy, abide in
  the realm of celestial sanctity.

O Son of Man!
Ascend into My heaven, that thou mayest obtain the joy of reunion,
  and from the chalice of imperishable glory quaff the peerless wine.

O My Servant!
. . . This is the river of everlasting life that hath flowed from the well-spring
  of the pen of the merciful; well is it with them that drink!

O Son of Passion!
Cleanse thyself from the defilement of riches and in perfect peace
  advance into the realm of poverty; that from the well-spring of detachment
  thou mayest quaff the wine of immortal life.

O Son of my Handmaid!
Quaff from the tongue of the merciful the stream of divine mystery . . .

Without the Word, Sound or Eternal Song, the soul sees not.
  Where could she go? As she cannot fathom the mystery of "Word"
   she is wandering from place to place.
                                                  KABIR SAHIB

 
Mind hankereth after evil; through the Word the Master restraineth it.
                                                                                                  GURU TEG BAHADUR
 
 

Through the medium of the Word, soul doth cross the endless ocean of matter.
  Lowly Nanak, therefore, glorifies His Naam (the Word). 99

The Word is both earth and ether. These had their being through the Word.
  This Word expressed Itself in other aspects as well. The whole creation sprang up
  after the Word. O Nanak, the endless Word is reverberating in each heart. 100

The all-pervading Word has attracted all my mind. What else have I to think of?
  Communion of the soul with the Word creates everlasting Bliss. At-one-ment with
  the Lord procures the Essence of Joy and Peace. 101

I am emancipated. The God-man has unfettered me. Through the communion
  of soul with the Word, I have gained the resplendent seat of honor. O Nanak!
   the All-pervading Naam or the Word dwelleth in the hearts of all. The company
   of the Gurumukhs procures communion with it. 102

Far off, on the other shore, is my Beloved. The God- man's Word alone carries
  the soul across. In the company of the saints, man is in bliss and never repents. 103

How can the ignorant get to the principle of union of soul with the Word?
   Without communion with the Word, soul comes and goes. O Nanak! the
   Gurumukh who is himself emancipated, is met by the merciful Writ of the Lord.104
                                                                                                                                    GURU NANAK
 
 

The creation and the ultimate dissolution of the universe is caused through
  the Word. Again, through the Word, it takes its existence anew. 105
                                                                                              GURU AMAR DAS
 
 

By good luck, the Lord Consort has become ours. The Endless Song (the Word),
  resounding everywhere, gives a clue to His Court. 106

The Word made all the earthly and heavenly  systems. 107
                                                                                GURU ARJAN
 
 

He is the true saint, who talks about the secret of the Divine Word (Eternal Sound).
  Having scrutinized the Unknowable and the Unthinkable, He has realized
  the Bani (the Eternal Sound).
                                      TULSI DAS
 
 

Word is the lock and Word is the key thereto,
With the chains of the Word, all are bound.
The Lord resideth in the form of the Word,
I bow my head at His Feet.
                    DOOLAN SAHIB
 
 

Ever since I heard the Limitless Divine Song (Anhad) reverberating throughout,
The indriyas (organs) have become tired of going out,
And the mind has shed all its ramifications,
All desires have been satisfied; like a madman, I have lost myself
  in the Word, and obtained complete oneness with It.
                                                                                CHARAN DAS
 
 

The Sound of the Word is the prime cause of all. It is also the be-all
  and the end-all. The three regions and the fourth were made by It.
  The Word and the Spirit are of the same origin and both spring from
  the essence of the Nameless One. It is both the cause and the effect,
  and all were created by It. The Word is the preceptor as well as the disciple
  and is resounding in the heart of everyone. The Word is water and
  It is the fish also. Kabir speaks only of this Word. Nanak and Tulsi
  proclaimed the same Truth. The king and the minister, both are
  Word personified. Radha Swami (the Lord of the Spirit) says:
  My brave son, listen to It.
                                                                      SWAMI SHIVDAYAL SINGH

This completes "Evidence from various religions"