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You are going for… What?!
Satsang.
Satsang?! Followed by incredulous gasping noises.
Ya… I am going for Satsang, want to come along?
Are you *insert expletive here*?!
Just come and see what happens…
Many people have a nightmarish concept of Satsang. Few extremely ugly looking people sitting in a corner singing desperately out of tune and clapping utterly out of rhythm...
But I would keep cajoling my friends and very, very reluctantly a few of my them (and then lots of them) did eventually come with me to an Art of Living Satsang. Almost universally after Satsang, they would exclaim Man that was the coolest thing I have ever gone to! I feel great!
And they would be addicted to Satsang just as I was.
Maybe it was the singing, or the Knowledge or the Meditation … or the delicious very Parsi Dhansakh or Curry Rice that mom would serve after Satsang… But for years, come Thursday evening, people in droves would flock to our tiny apartment in Dadar and be in Satsang, and go back recharged and revitalized.
How does Satsang work?!
We are made up of 90% or more space. Our bodies are hollow and empty. Its no wonder that sound has a very profound effect on us. The right type of music can move us to tears of joy and gratitude.
Have you noticed how when you suddenly hear some music from when you were young(er), warm nostalgia arises in you and you start feeling nice? Just imagine a favourite song from 5-10 years or so ago… Notice you are smiling that goofy smile?
Sanskrit is a very old language. Our consciousness is also very, very old. The Sanskrit chanting that is done during Satsang is nostalgia for that aspect of our consciousness and it puts that very same goofy smile on it. So very deep in our Being, we start to feel happy, rested and at peace.
Satsang is not a performance, where one person sings and the others listen. Everyone sings together. The little minds that chatter incessantly are silenced as the mantras take effect and unite all the individual minds and everyone experiences a sense of expansion.
So by chanting and singing Sanskrit mantras together we get a vertical depth into our very Being as well as a feeling of horizontal expansion as the many minds come together.
Every Satsang has some discussion about Knowledge. This stimulates the intellect and sharpens it. A few minutes of guided meditation settles the mind.
You cannot help but feel fantastic after this!
And of course Satsang is usually followed by superb food :)
The journey from the Head to the Heart is just a few inches, but most of us in Art of Living have taken the scenic route via the stomach.
If you have not been to a Satsang, you are missing something. The ultimate treat is of course Satsang in the presence of Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. Put everything aside when that is happening and go!
Jai Gurudeva!
Bawa
PS In case you are interested, here is my recipe for a delicious veggie Dhansakh
PPS The Picture is of a Satsang that happened in Argentina on 9th September 2012 where 1.5 Lakh+ people sang together, listened to Knowledge and meditated for World Peace in the presence of our Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. They had all given up smoking and alcohol to prepare themselves to meditate!
Source: Speaking Tree
More Wisdom Quotes from Sri Sri Ravi Shankar - Click Here
Satsang.
Satsang?! Followed by incredulous gasping noises.
Ya… I am going for Satsang, want to come along?
Are you *insert expletive here*?!
Just come and see what happens…
Many people have a nightmarish concept of Satsang. Few extremely ugly looking people sitting in a corner singing desperately out of tune and clapping utterly out of rhythm...
But I would keep cajoling my friends and very, very reluctantly a few of my them (and then lots of them) did eventually come with me to an Art of Living Satsang. Almost universally after Satsang, they would exclaim Man that was the coolest thing I have ever gone to! I feel great!
And they would be addicted to Satsang just as I was.
Maybe it was the singing, or the Knowledge or the Meditation … or the delicious very Parsi Dhansakh or Curry Rice that mom would serve after Satsang… But for years, come Thursday evening, people in droves would flock to our tiny apartment in Dadar and be in Satsang, and go back recharged and revitalized.
How does Satsang work?!
We are made up of 90% or more space. Our bodies are hollow and empty. Its no wonder that sound has a very profound effect on us. The right type of music can move us to tears of joy and gratitude.
Have you noticed how when you suddenly hear some music from when you were young(er), warm nostalgia arises in you and you start feeling nice? Just imagine a favourite song from 5-10 years or so ago… Notice you are smiling that goofy smile?
Sanskrit is a very old language. Our consciousness is also very, very old. The Sanskrit chanting that is done during Satsang is nostalgia for that aspect of our consciousness and it puts that very same goofy smile on it. So very deep in our Being, we start to feel happy, rested and at peace.
Satsang is not a performance, where one person sings and the others listen. Everyone sings together. The little minds that chatter incessantly are silenced as the mantras take effect and unite all the individual minds and everyone experiences a sense of expansion.
So by chanting and singing Sanskrit mantras together we get a vertical depth into our very Being as well as a feeling of horizontal expansion as the many minds come together.
Every Satsang has some discussion about Knowledge. This stimulates the intellect and sharpens it. A few minutes of guided meditation settles the mind.
You cannot help but feel fantastic after this!
And of course Satsang is usually followed by superb food :)
The journey from the Head to the Heart is just a few inches, but most of us in Art of Living have taken the scenic route via the stomach.
If you have not been to a Satsang, you are missing something. The ultimate treat is of course Satsang in the presence of Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. Put everything aside when that is happening and go!
Jai Gurudeva!
Bawa
PS In case you are interested, here is my recipe for a delicious veggie Dhansakh
PPS The Picture is of a Satsang that happened in Argentina on 9th September 2012 where 1.5 Lakh+ people sang together, listened to Knowledge and meditated for World Peace in the presence of our Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. They had all given up smoking and alcohol to prepare themselves to meditate!
Source: Speaking Tree
More Wisdom Quotes from Sri Sri Ravi Shankar - Click Here
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