Satsang: Sat (truth), sang (company)
There is a shining within each being. The point of Satsang is to ignite this shining, to bring it forth. What could be better than this? All are welcome!My first encounter with Satsang was by invitation in 1984, in the lineage of Ramana Maharshi. I didn't have an idea of what to expect or a reference point for this type of meeting. This first meeting felt like an initiation of wisdom, to — who I am. It felt like I landed upon the greatest treasure, spiritual seeking culminated and this captured all of my attention. My life easily became dedicated to Satsang. I continue to cherish the tradition of Satsang. My relationship to it has shifted dramatically since those early days to include all of life not just the so-called "spiritual" aspects. There is not a moment that is outside of Satsang. We are truly all one and the same unconditioned essence. In many ways, Satsang has served its purpose—to dissolve the imagined walls of separation.
Some favorite quotes:
From This By H. W. L. Poonja
Whatever comes let it come,
what stays let stay, what goes let go,
always Keep Quiet, and always adore Self.
This is the essence of living skillfully
in the world of appearance.
During all activities of life
always know that you are the Self.
The way to live a happy beautiful life
is to accept whatever comes
and not care about what does not come.
The true Teacher has no students,
all is Being and only Silence speaks.
The perfect Teacher has no teachings
because he knows that you are Free already.
So the true Teacher's non-teaching
is that there is no Teacher, no student, no teaching,
and that Nothing has ever existed.
This Teaching must be without words
and must land in your Heart.
If you try to understand, it will only land in your head.
Expectations are illusions, so don't run after them and
Don't get involved in anger, lust or greed either.
Just don't involve yourself with them.
Keeping Quiet and content is the best weapon.
Don't touch anything that appears
Because it will soon disappear.
Look Within to where there is no name or form
And you will know who you are:
Freedom.
Paraphrased from Words of Sri Anandamayi Ma:
A state of being exists where it is immaterial whether Brahman (God or Truth) assumes a form or not. What is, is That. In this case, what is there to express in words? At a certain level the Self may reveal itself to itself. At the same time, Brahman does not reveal himself at all: to whom is she to reveal herself? Where there are neither forms nor attributes, what is to be put into language? Where nothing is excluded, how can oneness be obstructed? Here nothing is seen as separate from what you are. What is, Is. So what can be said or left unsaid, since it is entirely beyond words!
In the realm of phenomena there is much differentiation, such as above and below, ascent and descent. If you speak of ascent and descent, it is implied that there must be a place to descend to. But where could you go? To yourself alone, of course. Ascending and descending are one and the same thing, and she who ascends, is she who descends, and the acts of ascending and descending are also yourself. Although you speak of divine descent, God does not become divided. You see fire flare up here and there, but this does not affect its unity; fire as fire is eternal. There is nothing whatsoever outside of that and you are That. From this point of view, ponder over this.
I Am That, Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj:
Q: How is it that the person, who to you is quite illusory, appears real to us?
M: You, the self, being the root of all being, consciousness and joy, impart your reality to whatever you perceive. This imparting of reality takes place invariably in the now, at no other time, because past and future are only in the mind. 'Being' applies to the now only.
Q: Is not eternity endless too?
M: Time is endless, though limited, eternity is in the split moment of the now. We miss it because the mind is ever shuttling between the past and the future. It will not stop to focus the now. It can be done with comparative ease, if interest is aroused.
Q: What arouses interest?
M: Earnestness, the sign of maturity.
Q: You see love everywhere, while I see hatred and suffering. The history of humanity is the history of murder, individual and collective. No other living being so delights in killing.
M: If you go to the motives, you will find love, love of oneself and of one's own. People fight for what they imagine they love.
Q: Surely their love must be real enough when they are ready to die for it.
M: Love is boundless. What is limited to a few cannot be called love.
Q: Do you know such unlimited love?
M: Yes, I do.
Q: How does it feel?
M: All is loved and lovable, nothing is excluded.
Q: Not even the ugly and the criminal.
M: All is within my consciousness; all is my own. It is madness to split oneself through likes and dislikes. I am beyond both. I am not alienated.
Q: To be free from likes and dislikes is a state of indifference.
M: It may look and feel so in the beginning. Persevere in such indifference and it will blossom into all-pervading and all-embracing love.
Oneness
We inhabit the same ground
You pretend not to know me
I pretend not to know you
Neither of us can actually grasp
What is, we simply are
Still this talking happens
just like breathing
just like hearing
just like seeing
Forever more clearly into
The eyes of Love.
The eyes of Love.
~ Prajna [more...]