Satsang: Gather to Speak about Truth

Find others who share your aim to reach God-consciousness and gather together. I know this sounds daunting; it goes far beyond anything one could call an exercise. To commune with others involves commitment and a willingness to expose your deepest aspirations. It requires stepping out of conformity with society and finding souls you can align with, even if you have no other social ties.

Many seekers choose not to meet these challenges. They attempt to walk the path in isolation, feeling suspicious of religious movements and shy about exposing their vulnerability in public.

I think a great deal of this reluctance can be overcome by discarding the model of religion. To gather together on the path isn’t the same as forming a sect. There is no need for dogma, prayer, ritual, priests, or official scripture. No one is to be elevated above the rest.

If the word spiritual connotes any or all of these negatives, you are conflating religious doctrine with spiritual growth. The two aren’t the same, and we have an undeniable need to gather together for spiritual purposes.

My instinct is to follow the model of Satsang, which is a simple gathering for the purpose of speaking about truth. In church, people are included if they conform to a body of rules and beliefs. In Satsang, anyone can attend who has a love of spirit; there are no obligations because there is no official organization with an agenda.

A Satsang can even be silent, or it can combine a period for meditation and a period for talking. In the form I prefer, one person is assigned to talk, another to comment, and then group discussion begins. There are no debates and rebuttals, no sermons, and no attempt to proselytize. The purpose is to let spirit expand, and words are useful only to that extent.

Adapted from The Third Jesus: The Christ We Cannot Ignore, by Deepak Chopra (Harmony Books, 2008).

Read more: Spirit, Deepak Chopra's Tips, religious, Satsang, spiritual

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Holly L.

8:19AM PST on Nov 15, 2011

Speak UP - Love one another!

send a green star

Becky Y.

1:38PM PST on Nov 14, 2011

Truth is transient. One person's truth is another person's lies.
I like what you had to say Gaby. It is also how I feel. It is good for all of us to be able to speak our minds in this venue...where we are gathered together from all points of the globe, some of us not so much to seek but to be able to speak. I thank Deepak for this.

Past Member .

1:14PM PST on Nov 14, 2011

Your article is a good description of what goes on during a Quaker meeting. We have no priests, ministers, sermons, creeds or music. We simply gather together in silence to attune ourselves to the Light within. Some may speak during meeting if they sense a message that is meant to be shared. We are a community of seekers.

myra d.

12:35PM PST on Nov 14, 2011

Amazing. Thank you Gaby. Your comments spoke to a lot of my feelings and concerns. Thank you Dr. Chopra. I am Jewish and it's hard for me to feel that there is anything other than "the creator". Satsang gives a name to a form that I don't have to feel guilty about being a part of. The rest is silence.

Jane H.

11:46AM PST on Nov 14, 2011

I am a member of a 12 Step Group and this article describes just what we do.

rene p.

11:41AM PST on Nov 14, 2011

thank you Bruce.....you nailed it!

Uma C.

8:18AM PST on Nov 14, 2011

Gaby Sister Soul- water finds it's own level and the age needs of the souls attracted to the kind of group we're leery of are normal for where they're at.Meeting in this virtual reality has simultaneity potential we can use very well. In the last few days we've been at a point of communication sharing ecstasy.Merely willing something together this medium allows it to magnify and impact simultaneously as though each of us was accessing it in the same second, which in Virtual we are.In one coming together there was someone just screaming in identity shattering pain. Simply obtaining permission from 2 others and calling it; a heart's call would go out, shining a light for her high self facilitating connection coming upon her in the moment. In relation to: "whenever there are three or more gathered in my name ...etc" that connection becomes the dominant shared reality and the focus is immediately blessed. When I was a school girl I was reading Buber's "I and Thou" and began conceiving the space between any I's and Thou's as divine principle I called three.Holy Spirit? I would be in a crowd and spotting a troubled soul( empathy goes along way) I would say "Three go there and do this and that" and watching the change it would. In Virtual we share the potential for invoking a strong healing "Three",Anytime we wish to join to point the light for spirit count me in. True healing involves pointing the light, holding the channel open, and getting out of the way. Satsang Superb

Gaby D.

11:49PM PST on Nov 13, 2011

Hey Goodmorning Deepak and all other Soular Energy Satsang friends! Today's post seems to be a follow up on yesterday's post, to which my answer was that I am 'leary' of groups that gather together as more often than not, a group soon has (self)proclaimed) leaders that introduce dogma, a set of rules to 'live' buy, a system of right and wrong etc. Deepak I know of the concept 'Satsang' as you see them in India, where many seekers go to visit a guru, and are together in Satsang. It is a beautiful way of being together in spirit and learning! The Guru pointing the way towards enlightenment. And although I tend to agree that Satsang is a beautiful venue, I also have seen the 'worshipping' of the Guru. I suppose it is a human tendency to honor those that bring us spiritual enlightement, and in itself there is nothing wrong with that....yet, once that becomes a 'religious ritual' then you get into a trouble zone again, just my humble opinion.
I for one tend to think that our Soular Energy Satsang right here is wonderful; you as the speaker introduce a topic and we are free to either comment, or just read and learn, from you and from each other, I truly treasure this place, treasure reading your posts and the comments from many other visitors who over time becomelike well-known friends. Some answers and comments really resonate, whilst others make you raise your eyebrows in wonder. These Satsangs truly inspire us to think and contemplate the beauty of the diversity of it ALL.

Sue M.

9:29AM PST on Nov 13, 2011

thanks

4:53AM PST on Nov 13, 2011