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Collective and individual practices · As much time as you can

Satsauṋga

Satsauṋga

“The keeping of good company is conducive to liberation and is known as satsauṋga in Sanskrit.”Ánanda Vacanámrtam 33, “Satsaunga”

Watch how it is done
Friends sitting together on the grass in the evening light, smiling and listening, cups in their hands

Why we do it

The aim of yoga is Supreme Consciousness

  1. 1

    The aim is Supreme Consciousness. The goal of yoga is far off, like a distant star system.

  2. 2

    The instrument to reach that goal is the mind. It is the subtlest part of us, so it is the only part fine enough to reach the aim.

  3. 3

    The method is meditation. Seeing a star takes a telescope pointed at it; reaching Supreme Consciousness takes the mind pointed at it. That is meditation.

  4. 4

    The preparation and care. A telescope has to be looked after, cleaned and set right to see the stars. The mind is the same. Every practice does this for the mind, directly or through the body, because the mind is connected with the body.

    See how it leads to the goal ↓

Reaching the goal through Satsauṋga

Satsauṋga brings us to the goal through what it puts into the mind. Keep company that talks of the Supreme, and you begin to think of the Supreme; and what you think of, you become. So the company of good people leads, step by step, to the company of Parama Puruśa Himself: the thought of Him through the whole day. The mind that keeps His company becomes one with Him, and that is the goal of yoga.

  1. 01

    Company fills the mind

    The people around us decide much of what we hear and see. When they talk of the Supreme, their talk goes into our mind.

    “If you are in the company of good people, that company – their discourses and talks will influence your mind, and your mind will be purified.”
    Bábá in Taiwan, “Man and His Ideological Desideratum”
  2. 02

    The mind goes back over it

    What we heard does not stay outside. Later the mind recalls it by itself and thinks it over again, and this thinking moves us to act.

    “Smarańa means the recollecting and rethinking of what was heard earlier.”
    Ánanda Vacanámrtam 33, “Satsaunga”
  3. 03

    As you think, so you become

    What the mind keeps thinking of, it takes on as its own quality. Thinking again and again of the Supreme, it grows toward the Supreme.

    “Yádrshii bhávaná yasya siddhirbhavati tádrshii”
    Namámi Krśńasundaram, “Párthasárathi Krśńa and Bhaktitattva”
  4. 04

    It strengthens your own practice

    What good company tells us from outside gives strength to what we repeat inside, in our own sádhaná.

    “This outer suggestion strengthens the vitality of auto-suggestion.”
    Ánanda Vacanámrtam 14, “Auto-Suggestion and Outer Suggestion”
  5. 05

    The thought gathers on Him

    When these good recollections are gathered and turned one-pointedly to Parama Puruśa, they become holy remembrance. Focused still deeper, through the unconscious mind, onto Him, they become nididhyásana.

    “When the subconscious has desirable smarańa and manana, and if they are collected and directed one-pointedly through the [subconscious] mind to Parama Puruśa, that is known as holy smarańa and holy manana.”
    Ánanda Vacanámrtam 33, “Satsaunga”
  6. 06

    The mind becomes as vast as He

    This thought of Him, kept through the whole day, is internal satsauṋga. The mind takes the form of what it ideates on: ideating on Parama Puruśa, it becomes one with Him. This is the goal.

    “By taking the ideation, of Paramátmá, the human mind becomes as vast as Paramátmá Himself.”
    Subháśita Saḿgraha 19, “The Supreme Aesthetic Science and the Cult of Devotion”

What it is

Satsauṋga is good company. Sat means truth, that which does not change; sauṋga means company. Its first meaning is the company of Parama Puruśa. This is internal satsauṋga: the thought of Parama Puruśa through all the waking hours, even while the body is busy with worldly work. Its second meaning is the company of good people, which is external.

Internal satsauṋga is absolutely essential. External satsauṋga has to be sought out, by choosing with care the company one needs. A sádhu is one whose company leads to physical, psychic and spiritual well-being.

In the sources

“Sat means “Truth”, that which is unchangeable, the Absolute. Only He is unchanging, so He alone is Truth. Sauṋga means “company”. So satsauṋga means “the company of Parama Puruśa”. But a second meaning is also there. This term is also used to describe the company of good people. The first is internal, the second external.”Ánanda Vacanámrtam 31, “Guhá and Satsaunga” (date not known)

“There are two types of satsauṋga – external and internal. Just as the best medicine is Parama Puruśa Himself, the best satsauṋga is also Parama Puruśa. Internal satsauṋga is the satsauṋga of Parama Puruśa, that is, the thought of Parama Puruśa during all the [waking] hours of the day, even when the bodily organs are engaged in worldly activities.”Ánanda Vacanámrtam 33, “Satsaunga”

“Internal satsauṋga is absolutely essential. Those practising internal satsauṋga may, as far as practical, attend external satsauṋga also, but if they cannot do so at any time, there will be no harm.”Ánanda Vacanámrtam 33, “Satsaunga”

“Svádhyáya is also done by attending dharmacakra (group meditation) regularly and having satsauṋga (spiritual company), but this kind of svádhyáya is intended only for those who are not capable of studying in the above manner.”Caryácarya 2, “Sádhaná (Intuitional Practice)”

How to do it

Inside: the thought of Him

Use your Iśt́a mantra, and use it always, through the day, also while the body is busy with work. Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti calls it the best auto-suggestion. Repeat it as your ácárya taught you.

The more His name is taken, the more the bliss grows; and the most fitting name for Him, Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti says, is one’s own Iśt́a mantra.

Keep at it until it is a habit, and keep the habit until it is your nature. Then the repetition goes on by itself, even in sleep.

Outside: the company you choose

Choose company by one test: do its talks, its work and its plans bring you nearer to Parama Puruśa? Then it is satsauṋga. Even learned talk of a high order is not satsauṋga if it does nothing to lessen that distance.

The simplest way, and it matters a great deal: go to programs, come to the collective practices, and keep in touch with other spiritual aspirants. Find a program near you, find an ácárya you can reach, and stay in contact with them.

Take care

  • “Good association results in salvation and bad association results in bondage. Hence evil company must be avoided.”Discourses on Tantra Volume Two, “Keeping Good Company”
  • “You must avoid those who are sinful. The sinful people are not equally wicked to all, but the honest people are equally virtuous to all.”Ánanda Vacanámrtam 8, “What Should Human Beings Do?”
  • “But mere external satsauṋga, that is, the mere sitting among good persons while the mind forgets Parama Puruśa or remains engrossed in undesirable thoughts, is not good.”Ánanda Vacanámrtam 33, “Satsaunga”

Good company and bad

“Humans should always be careful about the company they keep. What is the result of keeping good company? By spending time with good persons, a deep impression is imprinted on the mind, causing the desire to be good to rise in the mind. If, on the other hand, one chooses to associate with a drunkard, a thought will eventually come in the mind, “What is the harm if I drink a little wine?” And if one associates with thieves, one will think, “What is the harm if I steal something?” To give an example, suppose a person is standing beside a tea stall. There the smell of the tea wafts to the person’s nose. The person will then say, “Give me a cup, too.” In this incident, the smell of the tea affects the mind. If that person had not remained near the tea stall, the smell would not have reached the nose and perhaps that person would not have taken tea for two or three days. This is the influence that association has on the mind. Hence humans should choose their company very carefully, for a mistake in this will cause them to repent their whole life.”Discourses on Tantra Volume Two, “Keeping Good Company”

“Who is a durjana? It is a relative term. Durjana is one whose presence has a degenerating effect on others.”Ánanda Vacanámrtam 8, “What Should Human Beings Do?”

“Obviously, a thief will not be a durjana for a perfectly honest person because the latter will easily counteract the thief’s negative qualities. But for an ordinary person without any notable attributes, the thief will certainly be a durjana. Those with less psychic or spiritual power can easily be influenced by a wicked person. Those who are psychically and spiritually developed, however, are not so easily influenced and for them even a very wicked person may not be a durjana.”Ánanda Vacanámrtam 8, “What Should Human Beings Do?”

“It is the duty of every human being to avoid wicked people. You may ask, “Can wicked people ever become virtuous?” Of course they can, but remember that only those people having greater psychic power than them should try to transform them. So what should you do? Instead of going alone, you should take five or ten friends with you so that your collective psychic strength will be greater than theirs.”Ánanda Vacanámrtam 8, “What Should Human Beings Do?”

Why it matters

No one outgrows good company. Even a golden vessel loses its lustre if it is never polished; even a good person, even a sádhaka, needs this care, because the world never stops changing, and the change has to be kept going toward the higher.

Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti
“So, outer suggestion is a necessity, is indispensable for a man’s spiritual progress. This outer suggestion is called Satsauṋga in Sanskrit.”
Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti, Ánanda Vacanámrtam 14, “Auto-Suggestion and Outer Suggestion”

What science has found

Stories

  • The best company

    The scriptures say, "Satsaunge svargavása, asatsaunge sarvanásha—if you have good company, you will go to heaven; if you have bad company, you will go to hell." Bábá said that although reading good books, watching good movies, having good people around you, and eating sentient food, are all satsauṋga, "the best satsauṋga is being with Parama Puruśa― to think of Him always."Read the story

    — A worker who heard it from Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti, Ác. Shamitánanda Avadhúta, “Bábá Unparalleled: 102 Stories”, no. 98

  • Inside you, in dhyána

    Once, when they came to Bábá to get permission to leave, Subhadra Didi prostrated in front of Bábá and said, “I don’t want to leave you, I don’t want to leave. We have come from so far away. We don’t want to go back.” She was crying profusely and so was Prabhakar. Then Bábá said, “Whenever you do your dhyána you will find me there. Don’t think that I am only in Calcutta. I am always with you, inside of you. I don’t want to see you crying when you leave. I want to see you laughing.” Prabhakar said, “Bábá, when we leave you it creates such strong feelings of separation. That is why we come to Calcutta to see you, so that we don’t feel that separation.” “That is fine, Prabhakar,” Bábá said, “but even so, I don’t want to see you crying like this. I want my sons and daughters to laugh. I want to see them always laughing.”Read the story

    — A márgii couple from Mumbai, leaving after DMC, Calcutta, Acharya Ramananda Avadhuta, “Ashutosh Bábá: The Memoirs of Acharya Ramananda Avadhuta”, “Prabhakar and Subhadra Sandhu”

  • A brother in a time of doubt

    At this time every day I was going to Bábá's residence, placing my head at His feet, going for walk with Him and listening to His discourses whilst sitting on the tiger's grave. After about ten or fifteen day stay like this in Jamalpur, suddenly a mean and weak feeling began to oppress my mind. This was a feeling of disbelief. I began to doubt myself and sádhaná. These thoughts I could somehow try to keep within control. But when disbelief reached its maximum limit, I began to doubt Bábá also. … I must have passed some five six days in this state when I happened to meet a senior disciple of Bábá, Shri Shivshankar Bannerjee with whom I had become somewhat intimate by now. Somehow he discovered that I was in mental anguish and finding me alone he enquired what was the matter with me and why I looked so worried. I told him, "My worry is great but I do not know to whom I should express and what I should say?" He told me very sincerely that if it was not a very personal matter. I should certainly mention it to him. He promised all help within his means. I thought, "I have met a gentlemen who is trying to soothe my mental pain" and this gave me some confidence to reveal my pain. Then I told of all about my disbelief in myself, sádhaná, and even Bábá. … He then told me, "This feeling of disbelief was only a method of Bábá's test. This is a very difficult test and rarely one gets through this examination. No-one else can help in this matter except Bábá. The only solution is to cling to Bábá still more. I had also undergone this kind of test." I felt some relief at this and thought that this evening itself I shall, during the field walk, request Bábá to save me from such a test. … Bábá kept quiet while I was speaking, but from that very moment my feelings improved and became purified and never again I got such base thoughts again. It is very difficult to unravel Bábá's mysterious compassion.Read the story

    — A disciple staying near Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti, Jamalpur, Ácárya Nagina, “Ananda Katha”, “THE TEST OF DOUBT”

  • The sound at night

    I was greatly impressed by the philosophy of Ánanda Márga and by the conduct of its disciples. … The credit for bringing me close to the Márga belongs to Ácárya Rájmohan jii alone. His conduct quickly brought me near to the Sadguru. … … Suddenly one night the sound of "Bábá Nám Kevalam" falling on my ears filled my soul with rapture. From then on this thought began to run in my mind: should I meet some márgii sádhaka? Not even a week can have passed when one night a márgii sádhaka named Pyárá jii came and met me. Then the next day I met several márgii sádhakas. I too was a sádhaka. Because of my stay abroad my connection with the Márga had become somewhat separate, but I certainly did sádhaná at both times. That was the reason why sádhaná itself kept me near the Guru of the Márga, and always, whenever I was surrounded by danger, I went on being saved by the Guru's grace. …Read the story

    — A government officer back from years abroad, Purnea, Manorainjan Prasád, in “Bábá Saḿsmarań Auṋka (Memories of Bábá)”, ed. Krtanáráyań Pyárá, “The attraction of Bábá”

What Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti said

  • “When satsauṋga is followed, either physically or mentally or both, the subconscious mind, and thus the conscious mind, are charged with better and higher influences. This change will move the follower forward towards higher and better goals.”
    Ánanda Vacanámrtam 33, “Satsaunga”
  • “Time spent with others who are also actively seeking His internal [satsauṋga], will give very much momentum to your own sádhaná.”
    Ánanda Vacanámrtam 31, “Guhá and Satsaunga”
  • “So a good person in good company has in fact already achieved Him. He or she just has not let it be known yet.”
    Ánanda Vacanámrtam 31, “Guhá and Satsaunga”
  • “Spend as much time as you can in the company of honest people who have dedicated their lives for others’ welfare. This will enable you to develop your personal well-being and be in a better position to bring about the welfare of all created beings.”
    Ánanda Vacanámrtam 8, “What Should Human Beings Do?”

Videos

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    How To Balance Your Spiritual And Social Life

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