As we mentioned this book is compiled from Satsangs with Prabhuji that were transcribed and collected into a book.
The introduction of the book, which is also a transcript of a Satsang, opens by explaining what Satsang is:
These meetings aren’t lessons or lectures; they can only be called satsaṅgs, or “meetings with the Truth.”
As Prabhuji points out the term Satsang is commonly translated as a “meeting with the truth”. And from the first sentence he clarifies that Satsangs are not lessons or lectures.
In various of his writings and lectures, he clarifies that the teacher or the professor delivers in his lessons what he knows, to the student that doesn’t know. The student approaches the teacher to gain information about what he doesn’t know, and what was unknown before, becomes known after attending the class. But the truth that we are discussing is not certain data that we can acquire. It is transcendental to our minds and perception, and therefore we cannot obtain it like we accumulate facts and concepts. The truth is The Unknowable, and we can encounter it only when we are able to put aside our usual ways of knowing.
Satsangs, are meetings with the truth. These are not lectures about the truth, but a meeting with the truth. And the difference is huge.
And how can a meeting with the truth take place?
A Satsang is a meeting with a master, an enlightened being, with someone who sees reality, that became the truth. He is not only talking about the truth, but he is what he is talking about. He is the embodiment of truth. This is the reason that in Hinduism the realized Guru is often named an Acharya, or someone who leads by his own example. He is what he is teaching, and it is displayed by the way he interacts, talks, moves, and even by his silence and his mare presence. Therefore, a meeting with the master is a meeting with the truth.
But what is the nature of this meeting?
When we are meeting, our perception is that I am a separate entity, a being, a subject, who meets others which for me are objects. And I am accustomed to the fact that they see me as a separate being and for them, I am an object. In this way we are interacting with others, as separate entities, each residing in a body and identifying with a name and a form, with different needs, and desires.
But, as we mentioned, the meeting with the master is not a meeting with someone, but with the truth.
According to the Vedas Brahman is the ultimate reality and the only thing that really is. The Mahāvākyas, the great sayings of the Upanishads state: Tat Tvam Asi , “you are that”; Aham Brahmāsmi – “I am Brahman” (the pure consciousness); Ayam Atma Brahma – “This Self (Atman) is Brahman”. Which indicates that the final reality is our true nature. The meeting with the master is a completely different encounter because when the aspirant meets the enlightened master, he doesn’t meet a person, but a manifestation of consciousness, a pure expression of existence, of truth. That same consciousness is what the great seers described as what we truly are as well, and this is what the master sees behind everyone and everything. For the aspirant, for the first time, someone is seeing him not as an object, not as a personality with a name and a story, but as pure consciousness. In this encounter, something can awaken in the seeker. It is not an exchange of information, but a profound meeting that has the potential to transform the life of a sincere seeker. Meeting with the master is happening at the deepest levels of existence, transcending the body, the mind, and the feelings.
And this meeting is, obviously, completely different than a lesson or a lecture.
“Satsaṅga is a Sanskrit word composed of two terms: sat or satya, “Truth,” and saṅga. Saṅga is a word that we find in so many different places: sādhu-saṅga, the saṅga of the disciples of Lord Buddha. Saṅga is “together,” “in community,” “gathered.””
The term Sat:
In chapter 5 of Prabhuji’s book Advaita Vedanta, Prabhuji dedicates a full chapter to Brahman or the ultimate reality. As we already mentioned Brahman is the single unchanging reality that is underneath this universe of names and forms, the one reality behind this multiplicity. When trying to explain the one that is transcendental to the world and beyond our mind, the Rishis, or the seers, described Brahman as the nature of Sat-Chid-Ananda, existence-consciousness-Bliss.
Commonly when people hear the term truth, they relate it to the property of being in accordance with facts. The world’s great thinkers were dealing with the question of what Truth is, and there are various philosophical theories about it. When we learn in Vedanta about Sat, or Truth, we are not talking about the realms of the facts, but about the foundation of existence itself.
As Prabhuji explains in his book Advaita Vedanta:
“Brahman does not exist, but it is existence itself, or sat. The sages of Vedanta define reality in terms of perpetuity. If something is subject to change or if its manifestation is temporary, they do not consider it to be real.”
According to Vedanta the truth is only what is permanent, or what has eternal existence. For Vedanta Sat or truth, is synonymous with existence, because only what has permanent existence is true. My body has temporal existence, as it will have an end, therefore it is asat, or not true. My thoughts and feelings are coming and going; therefore, they are asat. Anything in this material world has a beginning and an end, therefore it is not considered to be the truth.
As Prabhuji wrote:
“What is real exists yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Only what is immutable can be considered real. Therefore, since it is absolute immutability, Brahman is the only reality. “
The ultimate reality, existence itself is Sat, or truth, because it is the only thing that always exists and never changes.
Atman is Brahman dwelling in the living being. The ones who have accessed the reality of Brahman as their own true nature, also recognize the eternal reality behind every name and form.
What is Satsang?
The majority of the people, most of the time, are engaged in the false, in the temporal. Satsang is usually referred to as a meeting where truth is discussed or a gathering that is centered around the truth. But as we already brought up, Satsang is not a meeting about the truth, but a meeting with the truth. The association, the communion, with someone who realizes this truth, the embodiment of reality, can open for us the possibility to contact it as well. And this brings us to the second term that Prabhuji mentioned: Sādhu-saṅga.
Sādhu-saṅga
Sādhu-saṅga is an association with holy or saintly people. All spiritual traditions emphasize the importance of this connection on the path of one’s own inner evolution.
Human beings are social creatures, and our nature is influenced by the company we are associating with. Our character will be formed by the people we spend time with, and therefore we should select them wisely.
In his book Bhakti Yoga, Prabhuji explains:
“Devotion cannot be learned intellectually, as it is not a matter of methods or techniques. Prema, “sacred and pure love,” is like a virus that can only be caught through contact with someone who carries it. Thus, we might say that pure devotees of the Lord are those who have been transformed into tremendously contagious elements of devotion.
Herein lies the great importance of sādhu-saṅga, “the company of great souls,” and satsang, “association with a sage who has realized the Truth.”
This explains why for a spiritual aspirant, association with a realized master is essential, and this is one of the primary reasons to accept, serve, and live in the presence of a spiritual master. By connecting with an authentic master, a Sādhu-saṅga, one can associate with the truth, and get infected by it.
The saṅga of the disciples of Lord Buddha
The Sangha was established by the Buddha himself to support the spiritual development of the ordained Buddhist monks, bhikshus, and nuns, bhikkhunis, who dedicate their lives to practicing the teachings of the Buddha.
The Sangha is essential and central to the Buddhist tradition. Any Buddhist is advised to take shelter under the Three Jewels of Buddhism, which are the Buddha (the Enlightened One) the Dharma (the teachings), and the Sangha (the spiritual community).
Traditionally, these communities are referred to as the bhikkhu-sangha and the bhikkhuni-sangha. The Buddhists who have attained any of the four Buddhist stages of enlightenment, whether they are members of a monastic community or not, are referred to as the Arya Sangha, or the “noble Sangha”. These individuals are considered “noble” (arya) because they have realized the truth taught by the Buddha and have achieved a level of spiritual realization. What makes them a sangha is not belonging to a specific community, but their level of consciousness, which sets them apart from most people.
As one of the Three Jewels, it is the Arya Sangha that is the jewel that the Buddhis take refuge in. They are the ones who can inspire and guide us on our path.
We can see that both the Hindu term Sadhu-sangha and the Buddhist Sangha emphasize the importance of association with sincere seekers, but more significant is the association with the Sadhus or Aryas, who are self-realized. They can inspire and guide us on the path, and by encountering them something of the truth that they experience can infect us and transform our lives.
To conclude: satsaṅg, or “meetings with the Truth” is a meeting with a spiritual master, which is a manifestation of truth. Truth according to Vedanta is not at the level of facts, but it is existence itself. What is true is what was, is, and will always be. Therefore, when we are talking about The Truth, we are talking about Brahman or the one unchanging reality that is the foundation behind this changing world of names and forms. The meeting with the master is not at the level of words, concepts, and ideas, it is not a meeting between two separate entities. The master sees in us the same essence that he realized within himself, and the encounter with the master is contagious and can ignite in us the recognition of our authentic nature.
