Satsang

The scientific principle of causality states that every effect is preceded by a cause. For any result to be produced there always has to be a cause behind it. Nothing happens without a cause. As a universal principle, water evaporates at 100 degrees Celsius and this holds true for all water particles at all places, at any given time. Be it India, Pakistan or Tibet – water still evaporates only at 100 degrees Celsius, neither at higher temperatures, nor lower, and this remains an unchallenged fact.

However, Carl Gustav Jung, with his principle of synchronicity, proved that certain effects could also be obtained without any perceptible cause. Certain effects have been obtained in the presence of a specific factor, which cannot be proved to be the cause, yet without which the result is not accomplished. It is not involved in the process, yet its presence is essential. During a dance performance, some people in the audience start tapping their feet to the rhythm. If all of them start dancing or tapping their feet, we can say that it is due to the principle of causality because under this logic, there are no exceptions. However, not everybody in the audience is influenced; only some are in-tune with the rhythm. This shows that the music was already there within them. It just needed an inspiration. The music within resounded in the presence of this external music. This phenomenon is ‘synchronicity’.

Once this principle of synchronicity is understood, it is easy to understand the meaning of ‘Self-realisation through the Sadguru’. It is true that without a Sadguru you can never experience the profound truth but the contribution of a Sadguru is like that of the dancer. He dances in the joy of his bliss and seeing him, you too are motivated to dance, you start swaying and tapping to the beat with him. The Sadguru dances in the pure joy of His consciousness, intoxicated with the bliss of enlightenment. This intoxication is contagious. The process of transmission of pure joy is called satsang.

Role of a Sadguru

Satsang is like a tavern (bar), where the Sadguru inspires in us the desire to experience exhilarating spiritual ecstasy. He motivates you such that every living moment of your life seeks that eternal bliss. He generates a storm which compels you to wake up from your slumber. The Sadguru frees you from your desires, your wants and your ego. The biggest obstacle in your life is your ego which manifests itself as, ‘I know’ and the Sadguru removes this block for you.

When you approach a Sadguru, he will not fill you with knowledge. On the contrary, he will empty you. You will have to lay down your ego at his altar. Going to a Sadguru means losing everything – your ego, your false notions, your drawbacks…leaving you with nothing more than your Self. And the day you are left with nothing but your Self, that is the day you will have achieved that which is worth achieving.

When you go to the Sadguru, you expect him to fill you with knowledge so that you may experience the profound truth and become enlightened. Unfortunately, you go to him already overflowing with information and the pride of this excess knowledge is your real problem. The Sadguru snatches away this excess knowledge which you are proud of. He does not fill you up with advice, rather he empties you.

You go to the Sadguru with the firm intention of achieving something. You think you are learned and go to him seeking some more knowledge to add to your own treasure trough. The Sadguru takes away this theoretical knowledge and sends you back empty-handed. You have accumulated excess information from everywhere and flaunt it with pride. The Sadguru takes away this pride from you so that you have space to bloom, wisdom dawns and your Self is revealed.

Let go of Doership

The Sadguru releases you from the shackles of doership. When the disciple is immersed in the love of the Sadguru, when he is willing to surrender unconditionally to his Sadguru, he is rendered free from the shackles of this attitude. For such a disciple, sentiments like, ‘I have done this’, ‘I shall do this’, ‘It should be done like this’ and so on, just dissolve. Instead, what remains is ‘You have done this’, ‘Thy will be done’, ‘In your happiness lies my happiness’. With open arms the disciple welcomes all events, good or bad in his life as blessings of his Sadguru.

His life becomes like a wave which has surrendered to the sea and thus willingly, gladly merges into it. It may have lost its individual identity, but in the bargain, it has attained the vastness, the calmness and the depth of the sea. It is now, devoid of any turmoil or uncertainty. However, if a wave does not merge into the sea and wants to retain its identity, it will forever stay in a state of turbulence. When you relinquish your separate identity or ego and accept oneness with the Divine, you are at peace, but when you hold on to the attitude of being a doer, you give rise to the ego and then you are forever in an agitated state.

It is the ego, which weakens the will power and deadens the inner strength. However in the presence of the Sadguru, you understand the worthlessness of such an ego, the harm that can be caused by the attitude of doership and so you are willing to surrender to the sea, happy to merge into its vastness. Thus, when the attitude of doership dies, you merge with the infinite. So too, the disciple, having surrendered to the Sadguru, merges into his vastness and attains his exalted state.

May all be fortunate enough to find a Sadguru.
May all surrender to him and attain his state of ecstasy.
May all awaken from the slumber of ignorance and experience eternal bliss.