November 3, 2024
The point in Satsang is not to think of numbers, not to think of the value and who comes and who does not come. Even when there were many people in the Ashram in Rishikesh, the people in the Satsang were only few. People who were living next door would not attend Satsang. But Swami Sivananda was never perturbed about it, never scolded people. He felt 'That is their business. They come and go when they want.' Total freedom! But He was there and, very often, there were only two or three people in the Satsang.
When you hold Satsang, as far as possible read source scriptures. Do not go for any commentaries and things like that, for then you get 'polymix'. Go to the sources. From there, can we get closer to the truth? That is what Satsang means. Can we draw a little closer to this truth by communing with these words? If that is possible, we are blessed!
So, one must understand the spirit. Once you get into the spirit and go on listening to it, then something happens. The penny drops - occasionally, and not on every occasion, and not on every page that you read. Sometimes the penny drops here, sometimes there. There is a time when I understand that, there is a time when I understand this, there is a time when I understand a third thing. If it has to happen, it has to happen! For instance, I have read the Yoga Vasistha once while translating it, once again while reading it through, once again after publication, but still when I listen to it suddenly, as Swamiji said, there is a shock. "My God, I didn't think of that before!" So this Satsang must be kept going.
There is a message, there is beauty, there is a shock, there is a revelation. That is called Satsang. So, I request you to listen to the readings and, where possible, where you can, and even where you cannot, join in the chorus.
If you are a little far away, have your own Satsang: small scale, large scale. Swami Sivananda often used to say, "You need only one - one plus infinity - God is there with you." One plus infinity is more than anyone could imagine - so carry on.
If this habit can be formed then it can bring great blessings to our life.