tradition that followed him used the term Radha Soami during the initiation rites, meditation practices and as mutual greeting. This has led to the fellowship being commonly called Radha Soami. In some subtraditions of Radha Soami, states Lucy DuPertuis, the guru's charisma is considered as the "formless absolute", being in his presence is equivalent to experiencing the incarnation of the Satguru, the guru is identified as the Radha Soami. Founder The Radha Soami tradition can be traced back to the spiritual master Shiv Dayal Singh (honorifically titled Soami Ji Maharaj) who was born on August 25, 1818, in the north Indian city of Agra. His parents were followers of Guru Nanak of Sikhism and a spiritual guru Tulsi Saheb from Hathras. After completing his education, Shiv Dayal Singh gained employment as a Persian language translator, left that role and spent increasing amount of his time to religious pursuits. He was influenced by the teachings of Tulsi Sahib of Hathras, who taught Surat Shabd Yoga (which is defined by Radha Soami teachers as “union of the soul with the divine, inner sound”); guru bhakti (“devotion to the master”); and high moral living, including a strict lacto-vegetarian diet. He accompanied Tulsi Saheb a lot. He did not take initiation from him, however. The founding date of the movement is considered to be 1861 when Shiv Dayal Singh began publicly to give discourses. Successors and branches After Shiv Dayal Singh 's death in 1878 he was succeeded by several disciples, including his wife Narayan Devi (“Radhaji”); his brother Partap Singh (“Chachaji Saheb”); Sanmukh Das (appointed head of the sadhus); the army havildar/sergeant Baba Jaimal Singh, Gharib Das of Delhi; and the postmaster general of the Northwest provinces, Salig Ram (alias Rai Salig Ram), each of whom started their own distinct centers. According to some scholars, Shiv Dayal Singh passed leadership to Salig Ram. After their deaths, multiple followers were claimed to be the rightful heirs, and this eventually led to a large proliferation of various masters and satsangs (“fellowships”) throughout India that were regarded by their followers to be the true manifestations of Shiv Dayal Singh and his teachings, described as Sant Mat (“the path of the saints”). The masters gave birth to over 20 lineages (guru-shishya traditions), most of which already disappeared. The most famous living branches are Radha Soami Satsang Soami Bagh Agra, Radha Soami Satsang Beas, Radha Soami Satsang Dayalbagh,