Satsang

The pathway to God is not necessarily a lonely one. When we think of religious or spiritual men, our immediate impression is of ascetics and hermits living alone in forest or caves, doing practically nothing all day but sit meditating upon their navels.

Worship can be, and is indeed an essentially democratic or communal endeavour. The pilgrim need not fear that his progress might only come through ploughing a lonely furrow in life. He must know that the pursuit of God is quite easily accomplished in the pleasant and plentiful company of like-minded souls. Spiritual activity is intense and rigorous, no doubt, but it can be sporting and companionable effort too. Hence take heart, says Shri Maharaji to the spiritual aspirant, take heart for there is not only safety innumbers but Salvation too!

Collective worship is also called "Satsang" (Good association). Members of a Hindu household, even in this day and times, can be observed to assemble daily at a pre-determined hour in the prayer-room to offer 'puja' to a family deity. They are said to constitute a household 'satsang'.

In village communities in India or in any other parts of the world, it is usual for many such households to get together for what is often known as the weekly 'bhajana-sammiti'. Here they sing religious songs, dance, clap their hands and happily recount stories from 'Itihasa Purana ', like the Ramayan and the Mahabarath . This is also a 'satsang'.

In the large temples, it is custom to celebrate annual 'brahmotsava' or 'mahotsavas'. These are grand religious affairs celebrated in the spirit of mega-carnivals to which thousands of devotees throng. These congregations are also large-scale satsangs'. The Muslims meet every Friday mid noon to worship together, the Solat jemah that’s also satsangh.

The principle and practice of collective worship is a timeless one in India. "Satsang" is as old as the very idea of Bhakti and the two are, in fact, inseparable.
• If Bhakti is seed, 'satsang' is soil.
• If God is the destination and Bhakti is the journey, then 'satsang' is the ticket.
• If Bhakti were regarded as a holy game of life that God-seekers engage in, then 'satsang' would be the field on which it is played.
As in most games of the world, in this one where God is the goal, it is team-effort that accomplishes what is beyond individual capacity.

Gandhi Ji once echoed this very principle of 'satsang' in truly stirring words:

"I want to find God, and because I want to find God, I have to find God along with other people. I don't believe I can find God alone. If I did, I would be running to the Himalayas to find God in some cave there. But since I believe that nobody can find God alone, I have to work with people. I have to take them with me. Alone I can't come to Him."

In the classic Sanskrit hymn of Bhakti, "bhaja-govindam", composed by Adi Jagadguru Sankaracharaya (5th century AD), there is a crisp but eloquent verse hailing the efficacy of collective worship through 'satsang':

satsangh-gatvE nis-sangatvam
nis-sangatvE nirmOhatvam
nirmOhatvE nischala-chittam
nishchala-chitthE jivan-mUkti

(Verse 9: "bhaja-govindam")

"The company of good-men rids one of attachments; When attachments are rid, delusion dissipates; When delusion is rid, the mind attains steadiness; When the mind is steady, salvation is near".

The great statesman and freedom-fighter of India, Rajaji (Sri C.Rajagopalachari), being an ardent admirer of this hymn of Sankaracharaya, was once moved to write a personal commentary on it. Many years later it was serialized and published in a popular Tamil magazine ("Kalki"). In his very insightful note on the above verse of Sankaracharaya, Rajaji highlighted the enormous power and utility "satsang" possesses as a spiritual tool in the hands of the traveller on the road of Bhakti. Man's final destiny lies in individual salvation i.e. "jivan-mUkti" says Sankaracharaya, but the means to such end lies in common and collective endeavour, 'satsang'.

Rajaji went on to explain the use of 'satsang':

"Association with good and enlightened men ('satsang') provides the easiest occasion for the practice of withdrawal from desire and attachment. Everyone is aware of the effects of good company. It is more effective than mere precept. Calmness and equanimity are the results of good company. As desires and attachments become fewer and fewer, Man's delusion which preys upon his life too diminishes". Ancient hymns like the 'bhaja-gOvindam' help us understand that throughout the history of religious life, it was through the 'collectivism' of 'satsang' that individual love of God, or Bhakti, found its best and most enduring expression.

The statement that 'satsang' enables and nourishes Bhakti (and that there truly is "salvation in numbers") is not mere theological speculation. It has been clearly and amply vouched for in the philosophy of Divine Love

Authoritative confirmation of the efficacy of 'satsang' is available in no less a scriptural source as that fountainhead of all philosophical truth – the 'Bhagavad Gita'. In two splendid verses, Shri Krishna himself underscored the pre-eminence of 'satsang' as a form of worship:

"macchitthA matgatha-prANA
bOdha-yanta: parasparam
kathayantascha mAm nityam
tUshyanti cha ramanti cha"


"tEshAm satata yUktAnAm
bhajatAm preeti-pUrvakam
dadAmi buddhi-yOgam tam
yEna mAmupayAnti tE

(B.Gita: X.9 & 10)

"They (i.e. the members of the 'satsang')", said Shri Krishna, "they inspire one another ("bOdha-yanta: parasparam") by constantly exchanging and sharing with each other their thoughts and feelings ("macchitthA matgatha-prANA") about Me and My attributes which they themselves are ever experiencing. By narrating to each other about my divine deeds born of my adorable nature ("kathayantascha mAm nityam"), they live in contentment at all times. The speakers are delighted by their own speech, because it is so spontaneous! And the listeners too feel their speech to be of unsurpassed beauty! They live thus in bliss! ("tUshyanti cha ramanti cha")"

"To such an assembly of my beloved devotees, I lovingly grant ("preeti-pUrvakam") that rare but supreme mental disposition ("buddhi-yOgam") by which they come to Me" ("dadAmi buddhi-yOgam tam yEna mAmupayAnti tE").

The essence of 'satsang', as the Gita reveals to us, is "bOdha-yanta: parasparam", the unique spirit of collaboration that rules amongst 'bhaktas'.

The word "parasparam" may be variously translated as "mutuality", "inter- dependence", "symbiosis" etc. Quite simply, it means sharing things with one another in a spirit of empathy… with an all-abiding attitude in daily life of "all-for-each, each-for-all". "Parasparam" is really power of spiritual synergy at work.

The other word "bOdha-yantah" is ordinarily translated as "enlightenment", "spiritual illumination" or "awakening consciousness".

Thus, in the best possible translation into Sanskrit, the term "bOdha-yanta: parasparam" would roughly mean "collective enlightenment through mutual collaboration".

Mental contemplation of God through means other than 'satsang' is often a severely solitary experience. The seeker of God engaged in purely meditative exercises of Bhakti (such as "Roop dhyana"- Form Meditation, "manana" – Mental contempation or "Kritan") is absolutely alone in his state of immersion. None else can recognise, let alone partake of his inner ecstasy or illumination; nor is the person really keen to share such experience with anyone else.

Worship through 'satsang', in stark contrast, spreads the benevolence of Bhakti with the force of a contagion. The enlightenment it bestows on devotees is infectious and transparent. Even they who lack meditative capacity nevertheless get to experience God through sheer collaborative inspiration. The reason why Bhakti through 'satsang' is naturally filled with so much wholesome contentment ("tUshyanti cha ramanti cha") is precisely because of this all-important element of 'collectivity'. And the Gita calls it: "bOdhayanta: parasparam".

Shri Maharaji says, “there are only two entities apart from the soul. One is God and the other is Maya. One is truth and the other false. God and his saints are the truth, hence association with them with complete involvement of the mind is referred to as satsang. Contrary to this, what ever subjects we have left, being endowed with the three gunas “tamas, rajas and sattva”, belong to Maya, and are hence untruth”.

In short, that association which leads to the attachment of the mind to spirituality is satsang and apart from this all other subjects are Kusang (bad association).

There is another exquisite expression in Raganuga Bhakti. It suggests that if a 'satsanggee' has gender it must be feminine indeed. A country or nation is referred to in the feminine, we say "motherland", for example, and we always say "her flag" or "her great people". "Bharath mata" or Mother India symbolises India and again, similarly, the gender of great ships (like the luxury cruises, "Queen Elizabeth" or "Queen Mary II") is always feminine. Likewise, if 'satsangees' were to be attributed any gender at all, without a doubt it would be feminine… It is fact that stands attested by scriptural tradition.

In the Ramayana, it is said, the 'satsang' of 'rishi-s' of Dandakaranya when they first set eyes on Lord Rama, was swept off their feet. The sages were completely "bowled over" with love for Him. They were rare and fortunate souls indeed in being able to witness divine Grace and Beauty stand embodied on earth and having a living avatar moving about amongst them at such close quarters. (Just imagine having the Divine Beloved living so close amongst us that His very breath was upon us!) It is a wonder of "itihasic" – (Historical fact) all wonders that the mind of a whole Vedic community of abstinent, forest dwelling hermits however turned suddenly, head-over-heels as it were, to romantic thoughts. Each 'rishi' in Dandakaranya, after watching Shri Rama, found himself secretly wishing he could turn himself into a woman and behold the Supreme Person ("parama-purusha") through lovelorn eyes and a heart besotted with feminine passion.

The secret yearning of the 'satsang' at Dandakaranya did not go unfulfilled. History has it that the 'rishi-s' were reborn in the time of Shri Krishna as the lovely 'Gopikas' of Braj. These damsels, as we know, happily courted and frolicked with their beloved Shri Krishna to hearts' content and feasted their eyes all day long upon the majestic form of the Beloved! Somewhere in this history there is a cautionary lesson for the male chauvinist. A male-dominated 'satsang' of Vedic sages switched gender in rebirth from 'rishis' to lovely 'gopika-s' in order to truly behold and experience the beauty of Shri Krishna!

History also tells us that many Bhaktas took the same happy cue of the 'rishi-s' of Dandakaranya. Personalities like Jeeva Goswami, Tukaram, Surdas, Bilvamangal who turned themselfs into a "nayaki" a lovelorn heroine pining for her elusive Lord and poured thier heart out in poetical hymns brimming with love. They too showed the world that Bhakti is best expressed through the feminine frame of the human mind, what in the idiom of the Bhakti tradition is called "nayaki-bhava" . There was another South Indian Saint who went a further step beyond the "rishis" of Dandakaranya. He was none other than Andal's (Mera of South) father, Sri Vishnu-Chittan, also known famously as 'Peria-Alwar'. This Alvar extended the feminine character of "Bhakti-bhava" to its very extreme but logical end-form. He betook himself to be Shri Krishna's mother, Yasoda, and poured his heart out in glorious songs which spoke of God Almighty seen and experienced through the melting moods of maternal tenderness known as Vatsalya Bhava.

The 'satsang' of ancient 'rishis' were inspired by it. It was what the Saints too aimed at. What is Bhakti indeed if not a human soul aching for God as a mother's heart aches for her child? Or a lover pinning her heart for the beloved. If the soul of womanhood had a name it surely would be Yasoda or a gopi’s name. And who but loving mothers alone would grasp the enormity of the truth that a 'satsang' and its Bhakti are female in gender?

There are many reasons for us as satsangees getting involved in this satsang with our Gurudev Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj, just remember that life it self is short and with work we associate our selves so much in the world of Maya and even when we come back home it’s the same association we have the with world of Maya. When do we have the time for God then? Or Shri Maharaji’s association (satsang). Through Satsang, we can try getting closer to God; we shall try making the point to meet from on a regular basis to chant the name of the Lord, to hear His leelas and His attributes and to listen to Shri Maharaji’s talks.

We have given ourselves lots of excuses for not attending or coming for Satsang when we get the chance, reflect on these excuses and ask yourself if it is valid or it is just because I am lazy. Some of us have not gone to see our beloved Master, Shri Maharaji in a long while and we are giving excuses so much so that we believe that theses excuses are truly valid. We even get annoyed with friends who question the validity of these excuses. There is one chance and this is the chance, there has been excessively many could have, should have, would have’s that has been poured out in words with hallow meaning.

Gauranga Mahaprabhu bluntly put it as “durdaiva” from the second verse of Shikchashtak.

namnam akari bahudha nija-sarva-saktis
tatrarpita niyamitah smarane na kalah
etadrsi tava krpa bhagavan mamapi
durdaivam idrsam ihajani nanuragah

Some would say that the word “durdaiva” means unfortunate, frankly in my opinion after having been in Shri Maharaji’s Satsang the word unfortunate is an unsuitable word because …. Imagine you are marooned in an island and a thousand ships have been sent to rescue you and one after another the ships left the island and the last ship left. You told yourself that I would take the next one, or the next one and the next one. Not having regard for Grace, this itself is a Spiritual Transgression that cannot be forgiven. You have taken lightly Grace that is showered upon you by your benevolent Lord, as such you your Spiritual Transgression is stopping you from going forward. Not even this article will wake you up from the deep mayic slumber of your excuses of comfort and laziness.

As Shri Maharaji says “I can only hope that one day this child of mine will turn and come back to me, I will keep working to ensure that you will turn, I will do my very best. If Saints and God give up, then there will be no hope for anyone”.

Radhae Radhae

Dr Gopal Raja
Bakthi Dham