Sawan Ashram
Official guests
Mr. Y. B. Chavan, Finance Minister, Lt. Governor Baleshwar Prasad and other dignitories have paid visits to the Sawan Ashram.
On 7 October 1973, Sant Kirpal Singh welcomed with great honour the president of the Japan Budh Dharma accompanied by an entourage of his disciples beating on drums arrived at the Ashram. They spoke together through interpreters for over an hour in the Master's reception room, discussing among other things the forthcoming Unity of Man Conference to be held in February. Then the monks led all present in a Buddhist prayer, following which Rev. Mr. Chidatsu gave a short discourse in Japanese, which was translated into Hindi by the interpreter. Following the conference, a delicious meal was served the honored guests in the dining room.
“Sat” means “eternal” – which never falls away in dissolution or grand dissolution. That is God Himself. God does not die. And “sang” means “to come in contact with it”. So who has to come in contact with that God-into-expression Power (Naam)? That is our soul.
The first Satsang you get inside – first class. Another Satsang is coming in contact with suchlike people who have got first-hand contact with God. What do you want? That’s the point. Do you want God? Or do you want worldly things? This is to be decided. If you have got true desire, yearning to know God, then God will make arrangement to bring you in contact somewhere where He is manifest, where He is the mouth-piece of God, and He will enable you to contact God who is within your own Self already.
Satsang is purely meant to discuss and explain the subject of contacting the Naam Power – it is not a place where the social and political matters are taken up. It is a place of righteousness, and we should regard and respect it as such.
When we visit any religious temple, do we not enter with respectful humility? Where our attitude is not so, we surely expect to gain little from our attendance there. To talk of worldly affairs in sacred places is considered to be a sacrilege.
So your purpose in coming to Satsang is to imbibe the love of God, to sit in His sweet remembrance, to unite with Him. All things, past and future, all irrelevant matters can be dealt within your own place of residence. Come, but come with the very best of intentions. Bring the remembrance of the Lord with you, and take it with you when you leave. Even though you may not understand all that is said, yet if you sit with full attention you will profit by it. If your thoughts are somewhere else, not only you will lose, but other people will also be affected by the impure atmosphere you are creating, for thoughts are living and possess great power. Regard the Satsang as a place of purity; do not talk or think of anything but God, and whosoever attends will be blessed by the uplifting atmosphere.
Satsang is the sacred arena where spiritual stalwarts are built. It is the pool of nectar which grants blissful God-intoxication and all differences of caste, creed, or country sink down to their lowest ebb.
Just sit in the company, have a Satsang in the company of such Saints who are ‘Word made flesh’, and be receptive to them, not being like the man sitting in the church and thinking of the playground!
There is radiation. Each man has his (own) radiation. Those who have got stronger radiation, that radiation gives what is already within them. Because they are “Word made flesh”, that is radiated. To sit in the field or area of the radiation of the Saints gives you all these things straight away. The only thing is to be receptive. Maulana Rumi says, “If you have the chance of sitting by a Saint even for an hour” - in the manner as I am explaining to you - “that will give you better results than to sit in penances for a hundred years long!”
When you sit by fire, you get heat or warmth; when you try to rub wood against wood, and (strike) stone against other things, how will you get the heat? The radiation works. The physical presence of the Master cannot be underrated. Of course, those who have developed receptivity can derive that benefit even from thousands of miles. Just like radios and televisions - you hear the voice from thousands of miles, and you can see who is speaking and what he is speaking. Similarly, if there is nothing remain between you and the Master, maybe (you are) living on the other side of the seven oceans and the Master on this side, direct your attention to Him. If you have developed that receptivity, you can derive the full benefit of being near Him. That (receptivity) has to be developed. It is the fate of those who have developed receptivity. But for others, naturally sitting in the physical presence of the Master gives them radical change if they are receptive.
So Masters tell us what to do. “Sit in the company of the Saint within whom He is manifest.” Then he goes further to say, “To sit in His radiation and come in closer contact with Him”, as a man has got a cloth perfumed, you will touch him, pass by him, your clothes will be perfumed. A man who has got dirty clothes, if you tough him, you will get the bad odour, your clothes will be smelling bad. The whole thing is to sit within the radiation, in the field of action of radiation; you will derive wonderful (results).
What should you do? Seek the company of a Saint. Go near Him. Try to remain receptivity to the radiation – maybe at thousands of miles, or close to Him – with full receptivity.
So when you’d like to derive full benefit of the physical presence of the Master or suchlike man, then there should not remain anything between you and Him, not even your thinking of the body, either. Look! The eyes are the windows of the soul. These are the things written in the scriptures.
Sant Kirpal Singh
Once when Master was holding Satsang, a man passing by on a riksha asked the riksha puller to stop for a while. The voice of the Master attracted him. One person from Satsang went out and asked the gentleman to come in and sit and listen. But the man replied that he had urgent work and he wanted to leave.
After a few minutes however, he got down from the riksha and stood there for some minutes more. Later on he gave the money to the riksha puller, came in, sat down there and listened the whole Satsang. Next day he was the first man who requested for initiation. Master asked how many Satsangs he had listened to. He said, “Master, Your one Satsang has changed my life. These words had a magnetic effect on my life.” He was blessed with initiation.
So even the wayfarers were blessed by Master.
Harbhajan Singh