SATSANG: ITS SIGNIFICANCE

[amandeep]

.
ALL religions, old and new, draw upon certain key-words. Their meaning
may not exactly be the same but tonally they do have a lot in common.
In the Indian context, they are usually regarded as three in number.
Of them Simran underlines the human urge to meditate and attain
communion with the Divine. While Jainism and Buddhism urge upon
withdrawal for meditation, Sikhism and Sant-Kav prefer to do so amidst
the world itself. This is a life-long project to be consummated with
all the life-energy at one's command. No wonder, the Buddha, forsaking
all the luxuries of life, retired to the forest so as to realise the
ultimate meaning of life. The world is false and God is the only truth
was the teaching that Guru Nanak Dev propagated to awaken the people
engrossed in materialism for their self-enlightenment in the dark
times he was born to live. His four journeys or udasian as they are
popularly called, took him to far flung places. Extrinsically
physical, intrinsically they were mental, rather spiritual.
The wisdom to be thus attained through Simran becomes rewarding only
when it is actively shared with other fellow-beings. This sharing is
possible only through Satsang, that is the second key-word in the
Indian religions, bearing different names. In this regard, Western
religions, Judaism and Christianity, in particular, do not lag behind.
They also regard Satsang or congregation as the essential forte of
religious life. Only in congregation do worldly hurdles coming in the
way of this sharing, get known at large. These worldly hurdles can be
put to an end through Seva, that is the third key-word common to the
Indian religions and no less to their Western counterparts, as well.
Satsang is thus the fulcrum upon which religious and spiritual life
rests in full. Without it, the ultimate wisdom attained through the
Guru's grace is liable to remain restricted to a person's private
sphere. It becomes meaningful only when its wisdom gets into the grasp
of the fellow-beings for which Satsang is, in fact, a categorical
imperative. Thus Satsang enables the common people to share what the
Guru or the Prophet may bestow upon them.
It was with this realisation in mind, that the Sikh Gurus took several
measures to impel their followers to congregate at least once a year
at Amritsar where they raised Harimander i.e. the Abode of the Divine.
To be present at the site of it could be so exhilarating for the
followers. Around this divine structure was then laid the sarovar, a
dip into the pure water of which could wash away all their
infirmities. So rewarding did these measures prove in the long run
that it became a tradition and a voluntary practice for the followers
to congregate at the Abode of the Divine, at least once a year.
For the followers of the Nirankari Mission, this practice is equally
important. This shows how Satsang is the fulcrum for sharing a
religious or spiritual way of life with the common people in general.
For the Satsang to be true and effective, no bias of caste, class,
status, profession and gender should come in the way. When the caste-
bias prevails, it hinders the so-called lower castes from adopting the
way of life for the purpose of which Satsang may have been organised.
Was not a gender-bias there that kept the noble teachings of the
Buddha away from the grasp of half of the humankind in India? Only if
its fold had been as open to women as it was to men, this religion,
otherwise so human and humane in its teachings, would have struck deep
roots in the land of its birth, as well. Sadly enough, it lost its
moorings in India from where it had spread to several other countries.
If it became a living religion in China, Vietnam, Thailand and Ceylon,
it was because the womankind there was not deprived of its light.
For the Nirankari Mission, all these issues relating to Satsang are of
paramount importance. The following are the guidelines which with
regard to Satsang, the Nirankari Mission requires of its followers to
bear in mind: not only they are required to bear them in mind, they
are also expected to practise them, as well.
* They should believe and imbibe the feeling that only through Satsang
they can get the opportunity to inculcate the feelings of love,
affection and respect for others. After all, it is Satsang that brings
them close together in the benign presence of the Guru whose word and
deed are a source of light for them.
* When thus inculcated, these feelings can transform them into
spiritual beings, for Nirankar embodied in the Guru enjoins upon his
followers to relate through this mode in particular. That is why the
annual Samagam is held at the Mission's supreme headquarter at Delhi
to which the followers flock from all walks of life in hundreds of
thousands.
* In spite of all this, it is not the scale but the quality of Satsang
that is important. In this regard Jesus Christ dictum "For where there
are two or three gathered together in my name, there I am in their
midst" (Matthew 18:20) is the beacon light also for the Nirankaris.
This also shows how great is the urge impelling the Nirankari Mission
to adopt what good is there in different religions. It does not matter
whether they are Indian or Western in origin.
* The Nirankaris can make the best of it only if they regard Satsang
as a blessing bestowed upon them by their Guru. Under no circumstances
are they supposed to feel it as merely a liability. It is this that
Baba Hardev Singh Ji has well put in the following extract. For all
its length, it deserves to be quoted in full:
"When we go to the congregation, the words of saints lend firmness to
our mind. We get a support and our mind stays with God. Once our mind
remains fixed on the Almighty, our faith and devotion remain constant.
This takes us above worldly considerations and fills our mind with
Godly feelings. Once we rise above the worldly considerations, the
mind gets peace which is everlasting. If we continue to be engrossed
in the worldly thoughts, our union with God will weaken." (Stream of
Thoughts, pp. 133-34).
The Nirankari Mission disregards bias of every sort. Persons of
varying castes, classes, professions and sources of livelihood, can
come freely into its fold. The gender-bias is nowhere to be found. No
wonder women, young and old, literate and illiterate, also join its
Satsang in a large number. Even the children are taken well care of in
the course of Satsang. They, in keeping with their age and capacity,
are urged to execute certain tasks in the organisation of it. They are
also encouraged to articulate the problems they face in the course of
their education. Thus the Nirankari Mission believes in doing away
with bias or discrimination, be it of caste, class, profession, gender
or even generation. On account of this open and broad approach, it has
spread to many parts of the world. That it is on its way to becoming
global is a fact beyond any shadow of doubt. This is largely due to
the enlightened approach, the Nirankari Mission has adopted with
regard to Satsang.