Guest guest Posted March 24, 2002 Report Share Posted March 24, 2002 Jai Guru Datta !!! Please pardon me, but in reference to the statement : "I personally feel at present that meeting other devotees or chatting with other devotees would not help any other person. I couldn´t even help my own daughter ......" I would like to say that you have missed the purpose of satsang altogether. The word 'Satsang' is derived from 'Sat', and 'Sangh', where 'Sat' means Truth, and 'Sangh' means Company. Together, the combination of these conote "Company of the truth". What is "Company of the truth ?" In one word: Fellowship We constantly interact with people around us, and that is inevitable, unless ofcourse we live an isolated life of a hermit. Our interactions with those around us, almost always, are about mundane worldly affairs. But, these interactions, be they from one end of the planet to the other, when they expound upon higher truths, then these interactions become Satsangh. What in the west we term as "fellowship". When we adore the Lord, in which ever form, then automatically there is a desire to Glorify him, and some times Glorifying him in solitude does not suffice, we begin to crave for others to join in. This glorifying of the Lord, which can be in the form of chanting, singing his praises, and reading about his passtimes is like a Tonic for the soul. There is no desire to solve any bodies problem in doing satsangh, simply basking in the Glorification of the Lord. The satsangh is itself a panacea for all our troubled minds. A few moments of rest for the troubled soul, thats all. Jai Guru Datta !!! Jai Guru Datta, Shree Guru Datta !!! Jai Guru Datta, Shree Guru Datta !!!Jai Guru Datta, Shree Guru Datta !!!Jai Guru Datta, Shree Guru Datta !!!Jai Guru Datta, Shree Guru Datta !!!Jai Guru Datta, Shree Guru Datta !!!Jai Guru Datta, Shree Guru Datta !!!Jai Guru Datta, Shree Guru Datta !!!Jai Guru Datta, Shree Guru Datta !!!Jai Guru Datta, Shree Guru Datta !!!Jai Guru Datta, Shree Guru Datta !!!Jai Guru Datta, Shree Guru Datta !!!Jai Guru Datta, Shree Guru Datta !!!Jai Guru Datta, Shree Guru Datta !!!Jai Guru Datta, Shree Guru Datta !!!... ad infinitum !!!! >CarolinHeiss (AT) aol (DOT) com >jaigurudatta > Guru Seva >Sun, 24 Mar 2002 09:18:04 EST > >Jaya Guru Datta, > >Dear Raj Winand, > >I´ll try to answer you, but I may be wrong. > >1) I think that eating meat, as well as smoking cigarettes and drinking >alcohol, taking drugs etc, is caused by over attachment to one´s gross body, >and that this is a vicious circle, you do it because of over attachment, and >your doing it itself causes new over attachment. > >So perhaps you could apply the "Swamiji says" story of March 20th (Over >Attachment to the Stomach) to this question, not only to eating, but also to >smoking and taking drugs. (over attachment to the senses in general) > >As far as meat is concerned, of course there is also the point of ahimsa, of >not hurting other beings. > >Yet you could also say that by drinking alcohol or taking drugs you are >likely to hurt others, as you lose self control. E.g. if you drive after >drinking alcohol or taking drugs you might cause an accident, others might be >hurt or killed in that accident. In a discussion you might offend someone >just because you drank alcohol before etc. > >Meat, alcohol and drugs overstimulate Rajas and/or Tamas and keep Sattva >away. This goes for too much coffee, too, although coffee is probably less >dangerous. > >(I myself drink coffee and even eat fish every now and then, I am far from >being a saint, I am just trying to explain.) > >2) Some people say that marihuana does cause genetic defects. I don´t know. I >personally consider it neither better nor worse than alcohol, but just the >same. Try to avoid both unless you need marihuana for a medical reason and >your doctor prescribes it to you. > >3) In my opinion Satsang is only part of Guru Seva. Puja, Homa, Prayer, >Namasankirtana, Meditation etc are also Guru Seva, aren´t they? > >In a Sookti Manjari of Bhakti Mala I´ve read that Guru Seva is like a house >that must be built on the foundation of virtues and of fullfilling one´s >daily duties. Without foundation the house collapses. > >On the other hand, as far as I know Sri Swamiji said that whatever help one >gives to any other person, this is also done for Him, so helping others >should be also Guru Seva. > >As for Satsang, I don´t know how exactly it is done. > >In Bavaria, around Munich/Germany we don´t have any satsang or regular >meeting. One devotee from another part of Germany asked me whether I would >like to hold meetings in my home. > >Yet I don´t think that the other devotees from around here would come to my >home, even if I asked them to. They have been devotees much longer than I >have been, so why should they come to me? > >And as for chatting: I even doubt whether it was good to share my personal >story here in this newsgroup some time ago. > >In a short story like this I couldn´t tell about all the pain I felt during >my life, nor about all the mistakes I made and so on. So my story may have >given the impression of only one "side of my life" and some people may have >become jealous or angry, who wouldn´t want to be in my place if they knew all >about my life. > >E.G. I have one single child, my fifteen year old daughter, and despite all I >tried I couldn´t convince her of any of my values in life. I warned her of so >many things, yet I couldn´t keep her from any. > >And all this is breaking my heart at present, despite my theoretically >knowing that according to Inana, >I as an individual don´t even exist, so I can´t feel any pain, can´t even >ask: what was it that went wrong, why did I fail as a mother? > >I personally feel at present that meeting other devotees or chatting with >other devotees would not help any other person. I couldn´t even help my own >daughter whom I love so much, and despite my trying so hard, so >how can I think I can help anyone else? - > >But yes, Satsang may be a good thing for persons who are able to give >something to others. > >Being good to one´s body I wouldn´t consider Guru Seva in a strict sense. I >would consider it rather an everyday duty to keep one´s body in a good >condition, as a healthy body helps you to fulfill your duties. So your body >is an instrument, but you shouldn´t get over attached to it. > >Sri Guru Datta >Carolin > > > Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: Click Here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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