group satsangsGroup satsangs or individual satsangs are good? Are satsang discussions? Or are they meant to be heard in silence? Or better still attended online or heard or seen offline? Which of these things matter the most? Is it necessary to participate?
Satsang is a group activity or just a one on one between the Guru and disciple. In the group the Master teaches general topics since there can never be conformity between any two disciples. In groups, there are chances of general discussion since everyone’s level of knowledge and understanding differs to a very large extent.
The questions asked could be generic in nature or even specific. Most of the material worldly people ask generic or personal questions. These people could wrap a personal query like health, studies, marriage or happiness and ask the Master. The Master being indulgent satisfies the querent. But it doesn’t mean there are any spiritual gems dispersed to that questioner. On the contrary any questions which are in no way related to spiritual do not require any Masters answers. The querent should approach professionals and get satisfactory answers.
Let us say the query is about health, then isn’t it better to ask the doctor? In the same way, anything related to psychology needs to be sorted out by psychologists. Money matters can be better handled by the accountant or the spouse. Expecting the spiritual Master to give you some unrelated subjects answer is wasting His time.
In one on one satsangs, the Master teaches very personal subjects. Depending upon the intellectual capacity of that individual he decides what kind and level of teaching to be imparted. It also gives that individual to question the Guru regarding the subject in detail. Delving deeper and deeper the individual can unravel the mysteries of spiritual with personal guidance. Here the Master is perfectly concentrating on the disciple and solves many problems related and unrelated.
This kind of focussed approach is the most appropriate and perfectly crafted one. The disciples level of competence increases rapidly and he is able to reach his goal super fast. The teacher wishes his disciple to live with him to give him undivided attention. Hence the need for ashrams. The Gurukul system encourages the disciple to ask and seek their goals out personally. All round growth of the disciple happens and he is able to pursue the subjects further.
In group satsangs, the emphasis is more on simplicity, time factor, knowledge grasping and accommodation of individuals. Whereas in one on ones it’s more personalized and experimental. The Guru is more attuned to open learning with right experiences too. Rich in context and experiences, the disciple gets nurtured much better. Lesser interruptions and more healthy relationship building happens in individualized teachings.
Any interruptions during group satsangs causes the other disciples time to be wasted. Everyone has paucity of time and money, so we should avoid asking questions during group satsangs. Meet the Master separately and only stick to spiritual ones. Stop asking silly and unrelated questions. Don’t have herd mentality and become one. You will never grow in spiritual. Be more personal and meet one on one for any kind of learnings related to spiritual. Your Master will answer even the silliest of your spiritual queries indulgently.

Image Courtesy by pixabay