Satsang - The Company of Truth

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Satsang - The Company of Truth

 

 

Satsangh is the company of a good person. 'Sat' stands for

godliness, 'sangh' for company. Sat sangh means the company of Sat

(Truth). Though sitting at the feet of an " enlightened person " is a

great satsangh, the best satsangh is abiding in the Atman, which is

Sat-chit-ananda.

 

Company of the sants (saints, which word came from sant) ennobles,

educates (in a higher sense) and 'purifies' us. Purifies means

removes from our mind greed, lust, pride, jealousy, vanity and

delusion. We generally see these defects in other people. But in

satsangh, we start seeing them in ourselves, because satsangh

basically is for oneself, to correct oneself.

 

The company of the highest knowledge and Truth; the company of a

Guru; contact with a person or an assembly of persons who listen to,

talk about, and assimilate the Truth. This highest company also takes

the form of hearing or reading the words of highest awareness,

reflecting on, discussing and assimilating their meaning, meditating

on the source of these words, and bringing this awareness into one's

daily life.

 

From satsangh comes non-attachment, from non-attachment comes freedom

from delusion, which leads to self-settledness. From self-settledness

comes Jeevan Mukti.

 

You see, people approach God to seek for this or that, and even when

visiting a friend or a Guru, then think of " what good it will do to

me ? " It is indeed rare to find someone who is in search of Brahman

alone. As Shankara says " pare brahmaNi ko.api na saktaH " " There is

hardly anyone who wants to experience Brahman alone. " Even some monks

say 'I want to read this, know this better than someone. I want to

memorize sandhi rules, memorize bhagavad gita. etc.' Noble motives,

but still falls short of only one true motive - Look for the Self,

and that alone. The rest are mere details.

 

In satsangh the prevailing atmosphere is one of nobility,

understanding, generosity and love. All noble qualities are to the

fore, suppressing the baser instincts and feeling. All satsanghiis

(people who attend satsanghs) seem to like each other and ever

willing to help each other.

 

Who can be a Satsanghi?

 

A satsanghi may be your mother, sister, friend, confidant, loved one.

The necessary requisite is that the meeting should be uplifting!

 

Why purification of mind is necessary ? Same reason why we clean our

reading glasses; with dust, oilstain and paint marks on spectacles,

We won't be able to read anything, and if we insist on reading

through them, you would say that I was crazy; but that's what's the

whole world's problem. We just won't wipe our specs clean and see

clearly. So too, the mind full of desires (paint marks) and other

enemies (stains and dust), is unable to know what is good for it.

Tragically, it does not even know that its specs are full of dust &

dirty.

 

In satsangh, you can read the holy scripture of your choice (Gita,

Upanishad, Bhaagavatam, Ramaayana etc.), read commentaries and either

discuss or someone knowledgeable explains the meaning and its

relevance in today's world. Invariably the practical day to day

living guidance is given.

 

`Dharma' is popularly translated as `duty' or `religion'.

However the word enfolds a lot more. My Dharma as a wife may not

coincide with my Dharma as a mother or sister or an individual.What I

am trying to say is, while fulfilling my duty as a friend, I may be

displeasing my relatives, or social obligations or myself… the list

may be endless. Also my dharma in every relationship, may be

different to yours, because circumstances differ. Again my dharma as

householder differs from that of a renunciate. Which is the right

mode of conduct, then?

 

The choice and decision is difficult. This confusion is called

a `Dharam sankat' This conflict sends people scurrying to

psychiatrists. In India we go to our Guru's door-step or to satsangh.

 

Goswami Tulsidas has written in `Ram Charit Maanas':

 

Bin satsangh,vivek na hoye

 

Ram kripa bin sulabh na soye

 

Translation: It states that without satsangh, `vivek ` does not

come. Again `vivek' people popularly translate as conscience. In

actual fact, vivek means the power to discriminate, within the

framework of the right mode of conduct given a certain situation. The

second line says that without the Grace of Shri Ram it is very

difficult to obtain.Both satsangh and its offspring `vivek' So ,if

one does not do satsangh or go to satsangh, one does not obtain

Vivek.Without Vivek it sure is tough to live in this jungle we call

life.

 

 

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