My First Ever Satsang Experience

It is said that everything happens for a reason; of late I too have begun to subscribe to this viewpoint. As another confirmation, an event occurred which I can only state as yet another proof of the above – that things happen for a reason. It is also proof, for me at least, that once you start walking the spiritual path, you will automatically meet people who are of the same bent of mind, and are on the same path. This has happened before as well, though not on this scale, as spiritually inclined people came into my life repeatedly over the past 2 years.

THE SUGGESTION

However, yesterday was on an entirely different scale altogether, as I received a suggestion to attend Gurudev Rakesh Jhaveri’s sermons from an acquaintance. It was also an invite to meet Guruji personally for a short darshan. The clincher was that Guruji was a disciple of Shri Rajchandra, whose life-play Yugpurush was earlier reviewed by me. This was not an opportunity to be missed – and I grabbed it with both hands. I went into the session totally unaware of Shri Rakesh Jhaveriji, and walked in just on Shri Rajchandra’s name, who had impressed me immensely in the play on his life.

THE JOURNEY BEGINS

I walked in with an open mind, and with a background of a spiritual journey that started with my own experiences, and went forwards into Vedant ever-more seriously. Now Guruji is a Jain Monk – and that did not make the slightest difference to me; this came as a surprise to me as well. I gelled in automatically; I recall feeling completely comfortable as I waited for the sermon to begin. And the sermon did not disappoint, and I walked away from it richer for the experience.

My learnings arise from my years of reading of Vedant, but the information that lay latent in my mind was catalyzed into practical terms and a proper framework by the Guruji {Truly, it is the Guru who shows the path}. And, the sermon was easy to understand, meaning even if you do not have a theological grounding {which I do possess by the Grace of God}, you get the same take-aways – Guruji was very realistic, practical and used easily relatable examples that will ensure everyone will get the same learning, shorn of Jargon; there was nothing mystic or mysterious. Just solid logic, penetrative wisdom and distilled refined knowledge.

 

MY LEARNINGS

SHAANT CHITT : The first thing I learnt was a confirmation of my belief on my love Silence of the mind and the world – on which I have written 3-4 long articles earlier as well; more to the point, my specific learning was the clarity I got about this concept, and the real world link to its expression. True Silence means a complete absence of Sankalp-vikalp in your mind, a state of being, a state of serene quietude. These two terms mean your desires, frustrations, etc, and your response to them… this is a lovely and attractive state of being, as I have experienced albeit for short periods of time, as testified on my blog earlier as well.

THE GROWTH PATH ON THE PATH OF SPIRITUALITY : An intuitively logical concept, this made an immediate impact. When you are on the comfort zone, there is no stimulus to change; your past deeds provide the external stimulus, and how you respond determines your path – towards spirituality or the other way, towards daily life like everyone else. When life throws sidewinders – you tend to respond; and thus come into the fear zone, where you encounter anxiety, worry about the future etc.

Your responses in this fear zone, when you have been pushed out of your comfort zone, determines the future course. This operates on all aspects of life; speaking of spiritual aspects, with a deeper response that originates in non-reactiveness, forgiveness, calmness etc arises a force that propels you to the Learning phase, wherein you are learning to deal with life as external to your real self, wherein you are beginning to train your senses to look inwards rather than outward. A successful navigation of this phase takes you to the Growth Phase…

YOU ARE THE CAUSE OF YOUR OWN THOUGHTS : Any person has myriad thoughts floating around in his or her mind; and each person is the cause of each thought that arises in your mind. Thought arise a response to extermal stimuli from the senses, and are originated in our desires, hates, dislikes, ego, pride, wants, needs, feelings, experiences etc. Thus, it becomes clear that a path towards inwardness would cleanse your mind if followed diligently. Once you realize that it is you who is in control, practice can ensure thought-control…

ALL THAT HAPPENS IS YOUR OWN DOING  : There is no point blaming anyone else. You – the real you meaning your Jeevatma, not this external body which belongs to the material realm – are the cause. You are born into this body with Prarabdha, which simple means the set of Karmphal which  are due to mature in this lifetime. You create new Karmphal, some of which matures in this life itself, while some goes into the Sanchit through the Agami Karmphal route. Wisdom, knowledge and Sat – truth can burn the Sanchit, but the Prarabdh has to be gone through. And that is where Devataas, Gurus etc help by facilitating the current path.

RECHARGING : This brings me to the Satsang – not just this one – but all Satsangs, and the need for  a Guru. Even our scriptures lay great emphasis on the need for a Guru; such sessions help us recharge not just our body but our mind and antahkaran as well, as we normally are too involved in day today routine matters. It shows new paths, as well as provides a practical grounding to theological precepts that can be applied. And that brings me to the biggest take-away… this provided me with a PRACTICAL LINKAGE OF MY PERSONAL READINGS…

IN CONCLUSION

I had gone with an empty relaxed mind to meet someone who was a disciple of Shri Rajchandraji, and hear his sermon, I had no context, no information whatever; I came away having met a Guruji. He showed me the indications of a way forward, and provided a practical grounding. He spoke in Gujarati – which I can understand, having Gujarati samaj close family; but there was enough English in it. I have just one request – can Guruji please look at using Hindi or English so that he can reach a wider audience?