I have been to satsang at many sant mat organisations. What happens? Well basically NOTHING. You attend for years and years and at the end - you get nothing.
How can this be, when the scriptures speak so highly of satsang?
Maybe, just maybe, this is not true satsang. Satsang is meant to transform your whole life and take you to realization. Yet in practise nothing happens. It can even get incredibly boring listening to the same old stories week after week and being told to attend to your meditation.
Well I have news for you. The reason there are no results from attending such satsangs is because that is not satsang at all! How can there be results when all you have attended is a cheap imitation of the real thing?
When people are conducting satsang who have NO FIRSTHAND experience of the truth - what you get is a theoretical talk about truth. This will not help the seeker - rather it will hinder progress because you are listening to someone who has NOT attained.
Par Par pandit aura Samjai - anpi ghar jal ki khabar na pai
The Pandit explains truth to others by reading scriptures
But he is unaware that his own house is burning down
This scripture is clearly saying that anyone who gives satsang from scriptures without realising for himself is misleading others. The scriptures do not call this satsang for a very good reason. You cannot benefit from it because the realized person is essential for satsang to happen.
THE REAL MEANING OF SATSANG
What does satsang really mean? SAT means TRUTH and SANG means COMPANY. So SATSANG is the company of truth. Being in the presence of truth. Satsang is the company of the SATGURU. The Satguru is one who has REALIZED the truth and not someone who gives out theory. If the Satguru is not realized then there is no satsang - it is a mere gathering of people to listen to an intellectual talk.
Everyone has THEORIES. Siri Ramakrishna was sitting when a disciple passed by carrying a book. Ramakrishna called him over. "What is this book you are carrying?" he asked. "It is a book about water, it is a complete study of water." replied the disciple. "Then squeeze the pages of the book and let us see how many drops of water ooze out." Said Ramakrishna. If you squeeze the pages of the book there will not be a single drop of water because the book is about theory. It is not the water itself. In the same way talking ABOUT God is not the same as REALIZING God. You can know lots of theory but it will not help you. You need to drop all your so-called knowledge and be in the company of a realized being. That is satsang.
The MIND is a barrier to truth. Why? Because it is full of concepts and concepts are not the truth. All concepts are barriers to truth. The mind wants to know - it is hungry for knowledge - it wants to gather all the theories and understand God or Truth. This cannot happen because there is nothing to understand. God, Truth or Enlightenment is not a theory that you can understand. It requires you to drop all your thinking and stop trying to be "right."
You have to be OPEN and RECEPTIVE if you want to experience Truth. Your mind must stop struggling to be right. You simply let go and surrender in the company of an Enlightened Master. That is the way. It does not matter what the Master does - it is all satsang. He can be silent or he can speak - He can sing, dance, shout, pull faces at you or anything else. You simply accept what is happening. This can only happen if you are in love. If you are not - then it will not happen for you because you will be too busy judging and you will not be open. Why is love essential? Because only in love will you surrender automatically.
The real meaning of Satsang is the company of the Satguru. Anything else is not satsang - but just a theoretical talk. In order to realise truth you need to drop all your knowledge and in a theoretical satsang you will go on collecting more knowledge. You will become a scholar of sant mat. You will be able to give great talks and guide others. However, you yourself will remain in darkness and your guidance will actually be mis-guidance because unless you realize the truth for yourself - you will only mis-lead others.
KABIR says: mein Kaita hu ankei dekhei tu kaitha hu kagaz ki likeh
I speak what I have seen with my own eyes - you speak what is written in scriptures.
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