The sages say that satsanga, the company of the wise (or some contact with them), is the most important help on the way to God. It is the spiritual fuel needed to feed our spiritual fires. Satsanga is the company of those people and things which motivates and inspires one on the spiritual path. Kusanga is the reverse - it is the company of those people and things which try to dissuade us and attempt to block our progress on the spiritual path.
All things are God, yet we cannot eat dirt, we must eat grains- we have to be careful. Similar is the case with satsanga and kusanga.We cannot do anything we like, be influenced by one and all, and expect to progress on the spiritual path.
God manifests Him/Herself to us in the form of perfected beings, the Gurus, the rishis. This manifestation to help us to evolve spiritually and become similar perfected beings, instruments of the Divine.
In this Kali yuga, where can we find satsanga? Sivananda used to say that satsanga includes both contact with living perfected beings as well as contact with their great and sublime thoughts through their books. In this day and age, it is hard to find truly perfected beings just round the corner. Fortunately however, it is relatively easy (especially via the internet) to find their books and writings.
I carry a few spiritual books with me always on my travels to read- they provide me inspiration and encouragement on the spiritual path. My all time favourite book is Japa Yoga by Swami Sivananda- reading a few pages of this book inspires me to take up my japa practice with renewed vigour.
I also keep a piece of cardboard on which are stuck the photos of Sri Krishna (in the middle) and six saints including Swami Chidananda and RamaKrishna Paramhamsa and others. I keep them near the place where I do japa and I feel they are with me. This is one type of satsanga.
Satsanga is also a good way to counter the negative effects of kusanga. There is no shortage at all of kusanga in this Kali Yuga.
Kusanga represents all that is negative, selfish, greedy, egoistic, worldly, pleasure-seeking, ignorant. The majority of our society consists of this - in terms of people, books, movies, hobbies and so on.
It is important for spiritual aspirants to maintain enough satsanga in their lives to counter the daily kusanga that we are exposed to whether we like it or not.
My satsanga comes from:
1. Spiritual books- of my Guru Sivananda and his excellent disciples Chidananda, Swami Radha and others, RamaKrishna Paramhamsa and other saints of all religious traditions. I am truly blessed to have a spiritual giant such as Sivananda as my Guru. Reading a few lines from any book of his at once squashes all the kusanga thoughts generated by my relatives and powers my spiritual sadhanas. If it were not for him I would be rapidly sinking in the mire of samsara with no way out. He is my first and most important strength.
2. Ashrams- visits to Ashrams once in a while, including that of my Guru in Rishikesh (Divine Life Society).
3. Photos of my Gurus and saints- I imagine they are with me in the house. I turn to them for company. I want to be like them. I want to think like them. Their photos inspire me, make me feel they are with me, supporting me.
Ordinary people ask "why do you do japa?". But these saints say "how can it be that you have forgotten the Lord for a minute? Remember Him constantly, repeat His Name constantly." They set a high standard, a standard to be achieved. Sometimes I wish I could be on a separate planet in just their company and learn from them and do intense tapas. But I accept I am where I am meant to be.
4. My Divine parents, my Divine family- I feel my Divine parents are Krishna/Sivananda (Father) and Durga (Mother). They keep me on the path. My Divine uncles and aunts are the various saints and disciples of the Gurus- thinking of them also inspires me on the path. I also imagine Rishis such as Narada, the divine musician and bhakta of Narayana, visiting me time to time to keep me company in kirtan. If it were not for my Divine family, my spiritual fire would have been extinguished a long time ago.These are my antidote and protection against kusanga, and the fuel of my spiritual fire and spiritual path.
I feel it is good to take stock of the satsanga- kusanga balance from time to time. To ensure we receive enough inspiration from satsanga. To ensure we are aware of the effects of kusanga on our minds and not let these take root in us.
P.S. An update on the second purascharana- I crossed the half way mark (4 lakhs) some days ago. I did a half-an-hour Vishnu homam at home a few days ago to celebrate (1 mala of offerings) and to pray for world peace. I use the super-short homam manuals provided by Narasimha Rao on his website vedicastrologer.org. (Worth checking out his website for the manuals which are clearly written). There are various groups now that are promoting doing homams by oneself. Another group is Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (Art of Living) who has recently started a one month course to learn to do pujas and homams oneself at home.
I believe one can and should do homams oneself if possible if one is interested, as it creates a stronger connection with the Divine than simply paying priests to do them (they are usually very business-minded anyway). This is especially true if the homam is being done for spiritual progress, world peace or some other altruistic motive for the benefit of all beings. If the homam is more complex and one cannot do it oneself, then it makes sense to pay a priest to do it I guess. I personally enjoy doing homams and do a short 20 minute one now and then when I am in the mood. I like the fire (it feels alive, and yogis believe it is- the deityAgni), making the ghee offerings, and feeling that this nourishes the gods and pleases the Divine. In the Gita, Krishna advises humans to perform homams to nourish the devas, who in turn provide us with nourishment in the form of rain and therefore food grains. It is a beautiful symbiotic relationship. Doing homams is also one of the five great yagyas expected of house-holder (pancha maha yagyas). I also feel the whole atmosphere where the homam is done is purified. Would recommend giving homam a try along with japa- the two complement each other nicely. They are quite easy to do with the manuals and there are only a few materials that are essential which are easy to obtain (ghee, homam kund, spoon, wood/fuel).
Hari Aum Tat Sat
All things are God, yet we cannot eat dirt, we must eat grains- we have to be careful. Similar is the case with satsanga and kusanga.We cannot do anything we like, be influenced by one and all, and expect to progress on the spiritual path.
God manifests Him/Herself to us in the form of perfected beings, the Gurus, the rishis. This manifestation to help us to evolve spiritually and become similar perfected beings, instruments of the Divine.
In this Kali yuga, where can we find satsanga? Sivananda used to say that satsanga includes both contact with living perfected beings as well as contact with their great and sublime thoughts through their books. In this day and age, it is hard to find truly perfected beings just round the corner. Fortunately however, it is relatively easy (especially via the internet) to find their books and writings.
I carry a few spiritual books with me always on my travels to read- they provide me inspiration and encouragement on the spiritual path. My all time favourite book is Japa Yoga by Swami Sivananda- reading a few pages of this book inspires me to take up my japa practice with renewed vigour.
I also keep a piece of cardboard on which are stuck the photos of Sri Krishna (in the middle) and six saints including Swami Chidananda and RamaKrishna Paramhamsa and others. I keep them near the place where I do japa and I feel they are with me. This is one type of satsanga.
Satsanga is also a good way to counter the negative effects of kusanga. There is no shortage at all of kusanga in this Kali Yuga.
Kusanga represents all that is negative, selfish, greedy, egoistic, worldly, pleasure-seeking, ignorant. The majority of our society consists of this - in terms of people, books, movies, hobbies and so on.
It is important for spiritual aspirants to maintain enough satsanga in their lives to counter the daily kusanga that we are exposed to whether we like it or not.
My satsanga comes from:
1. Spiritual books- of my Guru Sivananda and his excellent disciples Chidananda, Swami Radha and others, RamaKrishna Paramhamsa and other saints of all religious traditions. I am truly blessed to have a spiritual giant such as Sivananda as my Guru. Reading a few lines from any book of his at once squashes all the kusanga thoughts generated by my relatives and powers my spiritual sadhanas. If it were not for him I would be rapidly sinking in the mire of samsara with no way out. He is my first and most important strength.
2. Ashrams- visits to Ashrams once in a while, including that of my Guru in Rishikesh (Divine Life Society).
3. Photos of my Gurus and saints- I imagine they are with me in the house. I turn to them for company. I want to be like them. I want to think like them. Their photos inspire me, make me feel they are with me, supporting me.
Ordinary people ask "why do you do japa?". But these saints say "how can it be that you have forgotten the Lord for a minute? Remember Him constantly, repeat His Name constantly." They set a high standard, a standard to be achieved. Sometimes I wish I could be on a separate planet in just their company and learn from them and do intense tapas. But I accept I am where I am meant to be.
4. My Divine parents, my Divine family- I feel my Divine parents are Krishna/Sivananda (Father) and Durga (Mother). They keep me on the path. My Divine uncles and aunts are the various saints and disciples of the Gurus- thinking of them also inspires me on the path. I also imagine Rishis such as Narada, the divine musician and bhakta of Narayana, visiting me time to time to keep me company in kirtan. If it were not for my Divine family, my spiritual fire would have been extinguished a long time ago.These are my antidote and protection against kusanga, and the fuel of my spiritual fire and spiritual path.
I feel it is good to take stock of the satsanga- kusanga balance from time to time. To ensure we receive enough inspiration from satsanga. To ensure we are aware of the effects of kusanga on our minds and not let these take root in us.
P.S. An update on the second purascharana- I crossed the half way mark (4 lakhs) some days ago. I did a half-an-hour Vishnu homam at home a few days ago to celebrate (1 mala of offerings) and to pray for world peace. I use the super-short homam manuals provided by Narasimha Rao on his website vedicastrologer.org. (Worth checking out his website for the manuals which are clearly written). There are various groups now that are promoting doing homams by oneself. Another group is Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (Art of Living) who has recently started a one month course to learn to do pujas and homams oneself at home.
I believe one can and should do homams oneself if possible if one is interested, as it creates a stronger connection with the Divine than simply paying priests to do them (they are usually very business-minded anyway). This is especially true if the homam is being done for spiritual progress, world peace or some other altruistic motive for the benefit of all beings. If the homam is more complex and one cannot do it oneself, then it makes sense to pay a priest to do it I guess. I personally enjoy doing homams and do a short 20 minute one now and then when I am in the mood. I like the fire (it feels alive, and yogis believe it is- the deityAgni), making the ghee offerings, and feeling that this nourishes the gods and pleases the Divine. In the Gita, Krishna advises humans to perform homams to nourish the devas, who in turn provide us with nourishment in the form of rain and therefore food grains. It is a beautiful symbiotic relationship. Doing homams is also one of the five great yagyas expected of house-holder (pancha maha yagyas). I also feel the whole atmosphere where the homam is done is purified. Would recommend giving homam a try along with japa- the two complement each other nicely. They are quite easy to do with the manuals and there are only a few materials that are essential which are easy to obtain (ghee, homam kund, spoon, wood/fuel).
Hari Aum Tat Sat
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