Submitted by SALAAM - Presider on
Today, an uninterrupted current of satsang is flowing from place to place, but do we ever ask ourselves what one gets from satsang? The specialty of spiritual discourse is that it connects a person to the true path and takes him to the Truth. The secret behind whatever is said in satsang, such as stories about the great divine personalities, the divine play of men of God, is that the devotee proceeds towards the true path, being connected to the Truth. The meaning of ‘satsang' is ‘company of truth' and it is possible only when we listen to satsang. St Tulsidas Ji also says this in the Ramcharitmanasa– "Suni samujhahin jan mudit man, majjahin ati anurag. Lahahin chariphal achhat tanu, sadhu samaj prayag." "When a person listens to satsang, understands and cheerfully adopts its teachings in his life, he acquires the four fruits of life."
He gets this by sitting in the company of saints which is compared with Prayaga, the confluence of the three rivers – Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati. So, first of all we should sit in satsang with love and reverence. Then we should contemplate on what we have heard. This is how we benefit from the discourse. St Tulsidasji further says– "Nam prabhaw jani ganrau. Pratham poojiyat nam prabhau." "Lord Shri Ganesh is worshipped first of all gods and goddesses because he knew the importance and influence of the Holy Name." "Sumiri pawan sut pawan namu, Apne wash kari rakheu ramu. "Hanuman Ji remembered the Holy Name and had Lord Shri Rama under his control." Such infinite and unbounded glory of the Name has been described in our scriptures. Saints say – "Jar chetan gun doshmay, Vishwa kinha kartar.
Sant hans guna gahahin pay, pari hari vari vikar." "The Almighty created living as well as non-living entities with merits and demerits. Saintly people are swan-natured and so grasp only the merits, leaving aside the demerits." In other words, wherever there is spiritual discourse, we should adopt true things in our life. When the Jews took their case against Jesus to the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, he asked what they wanted. They replied that this criminal should be crucified. The Governor asked what wrong had he done? They said that he called himself the Son of God whereas we all are part and parcel of God.
They could not understand Jesus' message. What is Truth? Jesus Christ said, "If you seek, you will definitely find." So, saints have said – "Jin dhoondha tin paiyan, gahare pani paith. Main bawari dooban dari, rahi kinare baith." "Whoever searched, found, but one is required to dive deep. I was scared of getting drowned, so I sat on the shore." Spiritual discourse is something that you have to dive deep to get the pearl of Truth. A saint says – "Majjan phal pekhiye tatkala, kak hoy pik bakau marala." "Listening to satsang gives instantaneous results. A crow-like person becomes like a cuckoo." We have to surrender to understand. Pearls are found by the one who dives deep.
Lord Shri Krishna told Arjuna, "Unless one acquires Spiritual Knowledge, he cannot achieve salvation in life, even though he might have read many religious scriptures and worshipped many deities. Narsi Mehta also says the same thing – "Jahan lagi atmatatwa chinhou nahin. Tahan lagi sadhana sarva jhoothi." "Until you have Spiritual Knowledge, all sorts of meditations and spiritual practices are false." St Tulsidasji said – "Ram name ek anka hai, sab sadhan hain soonya. Ank rahe dash gunya hai, ank gaye sab soonya." "The Name is like the number "1"and everything else is like zero. If you have the digit ‘1' then it goes on increasing ten-fold the more zeroes you add, but if ‘1' is removed, then everything becomes zero." A lone zero has no value, but when we put it after ‘1', then it is increased ten times. But mere zeroes have no value.
So, it is the digit ‘1' that is important. It's the same with Spiritual Knowledge. It is like the ‘1' and all other measures have no value. When a person acquires Spiritual Knowledge and he meditates on the Name, then the result is salvation, the heavenly abode of God. If one does not have Spiritual Knowledge, then all his meditations and worshippings bear no fruit and remain as zero. Lord Shri Krishna says in the Gita, "Arjuna, this creation has been made from the three attributes and the Truth is beyond them." A living being is part and parcel of the Almighty, so he must have some characteristics in common with the Almighty. Sea water kept in a small vessel will still taste like sea water.
When a person collects a sample, he takes only a small bit. A doctor tests only a small portion of our blood, not all the blood in our body and by testing it he is able to diagnose our disease. A living being is a part of the Almighty, so the indestructible element is hidden within it too. Lord Shri Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita – "Nainam chhindanti shastrani, nainam dahati pawakah. Na chainam kledayantyapo na shoshayati marutah." "Soul is indestructible. No weapons can pierce it. Fire cannot burn it, water cannot wet it and wind cannot blow it away." It is said that, at the end of his life, one's good and bad deeds will be judged and he will be punished or rewarded accordingly.
This is also written in the Koran. Our saints have said that one gets the fruits of his good and bad deeds. Guru Nanak Ji has said – "Lakh chourasi bhramdiyan, manush janam payo. Kah Nanak nam sambhal, so din nere ayo." "After wandering through 8.4 million species, now you have got a human birth, so remember the Holy Name because the time to go is fast approaching." There are people who describe their previous births. They say that they were cheated or they were killed by deceit. After studying all such cases, science had to accept that death is not the end of a person. Death only destroys his body, but all the imprints in his soul remain intact. The subtle body by which he is able to repeat the happenings of his previous births remains intact. After all, what is death? It is simply the transformation from gross body to subtle body.
If God is indestructible, then soul is also indestructible. Soul goes on wandering until it reaches God; the Whole of whom it is a part. You all have seen that during a program, when a child gets lost, he cries because he has become separated from his father and mother and until he is reunited with them, he goes on crying. As soon as he rejoins his parents, he becomes happy and fully contented. A human being is like a lost child in this world because he has been separated from his real Father-mother, the Almighty God.
When he meets his true Father, his wandering and all miseries will come to an end. The true Spiritual Master talks about the true Spiritual Path. We have to know the Holy Name of God about which saints say again and again – "Ram nam ke heere moti, sant bikheren gali gali. Le lo re koi ram ka pyara, awaj lagayen gali-gali." "Saints spread and give away the jewel of the Holy Name of God from street to street. A true seeker and devotee takes it."
By Ponting Brown
http://www.articlesbase.com/religion-articles/knowledge-through-satsang-7289046.html