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The Essence of Satsaṅga

An evening satsang discourse on the essence of spiritual community.

"Satsaṅga is the way to the cosmic self."

"One in all and all in one."

The lecturer addresses the gathering, defining Satsaṅga as the association with truth and contrasting it with negative company (kuśaṅga). Using vivid analogies—such as birds gathering at dusk, a flock of sheep, a family cook, and a fruit-bearing tree—he illustrates the harmony, oneness, and selfless service found in a spiritual community. He connects this to daily ashram life and concludes by emphasizing prayer and unity.

Filming location: Strilky, Czech Republic

Good evening, all dear Bhaktas, all brothers and sisters. It was a beautiful day yesterday, and the day before. It was a beautiful day, and it was too warm for people. So our God made it a little cool, and that is very important—how God does everything good for us. Satsaṅga is the Satsaṅga. Satsaṅga is one of the best. That's why our Holy Gurujī said, "Satsaṅga is the way to the cosmic self." Sat means truth. Sat znamená pravda, sanga znamená být společně, být pohromadě. So it is sat and sanga. And then we speak of something called dursaṅga. Dursaṅga means where there is no good quality. A to je tehdy, když tady nejsou žádné dobré kvality, vlastnosti, kde lidé bojují. They are angry, very angry, and many different things—drugs, many, many things—and they are fighting. So that's called kuśaṅga. Ku means not good. That is such an atmosphere where even the people are very afraid. The "ku" means negative: fighting, etc. Kuśaṅga and Satsaṅg. Sat means the truth. Sat means God. Sat means pure. Sat means in the place of God. That place where there is a temple, ashrams, a church, many things—there is the Sat. Sa means with all. Ta means all bhaktas in oneness. Satsaṅga, and saṅga means to be with them. Then it is like this: one in all and all in one. Everyone has that kind of peace, harmony. Like many birds from different sides; they were at some distance, but in the evening now, all of them come to one tree. Všichni ti ptáci se sletí na jeden strom a tam krásně prozpěvují. Když přichází ten západ slunce na jaře, jak krásně ti ptáci zpívají. We see other animals too. Dry grass, grass. The sun is coming out more and more every day. And also the humans, people again, they see the days getting bigger and bigger. And so it is also when we meet our friends. It doesn't matter from which country. Doesn't matter which language, maybe which religions. But they are all in harmony, oneness, kindness. That's called Satsaṅg. So Sat means the truth, and Saṅgha is to be with them. For example, we are here in the ashram, and all of you—many of you—some were meditating, one was making āsanas, prāṇāyāma. Some of you meditated, some of you did prāṇāyāma, some of you did āsanas, some of you did karma yoga, some of you worked in the park. Took care of our park, cleaned everything from there. We went to the vegetable park, and we are all checking how our grass is, how our vegetables are, exactly what it is. People are active at home or in the hotel—not in the hotel, but in the kitchen. And there are so many different things there in the kitchen. It is not only one thing. You just bring a vegetable and put it there in the kitchen, but the cook knows what he should need, and so they reserve everything. So that is this: this is our life, our health. We need this. So the cooks are in our kitchen, and they are happy that only that one is the best cook who will never think and say, "This person is not good, they are not working hard, they are not coming to work." Not like that. Like, for example, evening. Many sheep are coming, about 200, 300, 400 sheep. And then they come into their yard, and there are about 100 babies, and as the mothers are coming, all the babies are running, and they know which is their mother. Sometimes one drinks milk from another. And mother will say, "No, no, you go there." Or, a little baby will drink a little milk and then say, "No, no," and go to another mother. And sometimes two drink together. All in this, how beautiful. And when they have drunk the milk, they are sitting with the mother. Some are sitting more together. And peace. All the sheep, they are also sitting there. That is called harmony. That is peace. That is a oneness. And so is that cook. He knows. And he knows how many will come here. And they will get everything there. So this is called Saṅgha. That is the Sangha. So now, after all this, someone was cleaning our kitchens. Someone was bringing the wood. Someone was in the fruit garden. What was that? Everyone was so happy. Maybe someone said, "I must work." But when one gets a nice apple, he said, "Oh, the apple is very nice and sweet." And he will eat. We have, how many, two, three hundred of our apple trees. And how many apples there are, different kinds of apples. One tree: how many branches, how many fruits, how many birds, how many bees—everything. And this branch, the tree, hanging like this. That's a mother, and mother gives these fruits, and we all can take them. And because mother said it is too high, so she gives her hands like this, and we take the apples. And when mother has given the apples, then comes her branch, a little higher. That's it, oneness. And so, like, we are all in a big hall. Guru Kripāhi Kevalam Śiṣyake Ānandamaṅgalam, Gurudev said. Gurudev is the greatest. Gurudev Kāsaṅg is the greatest one. So in that way, the whole day, we know what we had in our brain. We have been seeing birds, other animals, bees, flies, butterflies, color, working very hard. That was something, life. It was life. And that means that we got something, we worked very hard, and then we have a nice feeling in the stomach, and then we come to the table. And our food is more, something different than more. You were doing only vegetables, or only fruits, or some rather different things. But the cook has everything together, and not only just pulls it. The cook knows how to cook. Cooking, that's why the cook, the beautiful pot, the cooking pot, has to be cleaned. The cook will nicely cook it clean. Otherwise, somebody thinks there's a dead little animal inside. And you put your food. That means that is not a cook. Cook is like a mother, and the child comes; the children are all people who are eating, and the mother gives everything clean, peace. That is a saṅgha. So when we come to the home, we are with our family, as all: the grandmothers, father, and grandfathers, then father, mother. Then, young people, and they have babies also. Oh my God, how many? Great-grandmother, then grandmother, then the mother, then mother-in-law, the fourth and the fifth, it's five generations. This is five generations. That's called all five. It is called Annamaya Kośa, Prāṇamaya Kośa, Manomaya Kośa, Vijñānamaya Kośa, and Ānandamaya Kośa. Who is in Ānanda? Grandmother. And then the grandmother, then the parents, then the children, and the other children. That's called Saṅgha. We are all Saṅgha. Then it is called the human social life. And otherwise, the great-grandmother is angry. The other one said, "No, that is not good, Lord." And the son is angry. The wife is not good. Children do not come. What is that? Oh, man! You know, as Gurujī said, "Jab tak paśu aur pakṣī pyāre, jab tak paśu aur pakṣī pyāre, śubha aru śyām," all they are there. So, in that way, my point is gone. And these ladies are not sitting there. Don't sit on the wall. Look, we are all in one family. Please go back half a meter away from the wall, please. Yes, more, more, and— Each other, also one and a half meter, oh God. That is what I said. This is Saṅgha, is the difference: one and a half meter distance, please. And if you don't know what is one and a half meter, yes, thank you very much. And if we were in the park, there was one and a half, so in that way, a whole family is so happy. And when the children are not in the house, there is no birdseed. Then the old person is sitting on one side, the other one is moving here and there. And the young couples, they are in different ways, and sitting only. One eats there, one doesn't eat, etc. And there is only one child. It makes everyone full of the light. Two more colorful parts. Three, you can't imagine. Four, you think, oh God, life is a life. This life, saṅgha, satsaṅga, that's why good satsaṅga. And when there is no, it is a kuśaṅgha, then they come; time doesn't come at home. Also, making different things. So, my dear, Satsaṅg. Satsaṅg.... Satsaṅg. Satsaṅg.... ... Satsaṅg. Satsaṅg.... So satsaṅg is the biggest of everything. And so, therefore, we pray. When we come together, then suddenly we become one. How? Because we sing the prayer. Or we sing the bhajans, so we don't speak of others. So when we do the prayer, we don't sing something different. We are singing satsaṅg, bhajans, or prayer. And you say the bhagdi, da, da,... da. It's not like that. We become one, one in all and all in one. Our Guru, Swami Mādhavān Jī Bhagavān, he said always, "One in all and all in one." Bhagavān Dīp Nārāyaṇ Mahāprabhujī is the light. Light of the light, sunlight, and Mahāprabhujī is sitting there on the door of the sun, and we go through the sun. Only those who are Brahmalokas, only those who have reached Brahman, those good people. And then this sun itself is Devpurījī. What is Devpurījī? Without the sun, it doesn't matter what you think and what you are feeling. So it is there, that power, that light. Alak purī jīv. Alak means unrighting will. You see, we cannot speak, we cannot understand beyond that. Therefore, prayer. Prayer is the prayer.

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

The text contains hyperlinks in bold to three authoritative books on yoga, written by humans, to clarify the context of the lecture:

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