Sri Sri Ravi Shankar talks about the significance of the satsangs and singing bhajans at one pf the Art of Living Santang.
Q. You give so much importance to Satsang. Is there any scientific reason behind?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Satsang means the company of reality, being in touch with the truth. Satsang is not just singing. Singing some complicated songs which you don’t understand is not Satsang. Music is a part of it. The second part is understanding the logic. The third part is sitting and reposing in yourself, in deep meditation, being with yourself.
Q: How do we remember the good things and forget the bad?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: It is better to forget bad things and it is good to remember good things. Both together are life but we forget this and remember all the negative things. It is important to remember what you hear in Satsang. Forgetting other people’s mistakes is important. Remembering not to repeat our mistakes is important. Remembering lessons from others’ mistakes is also important.
Satsangs are gatherings where scattered minds unite through music, meditation, and wisdom to experience a higher state of consciousness. One can choose to listen to the bhajans or participate and sing.Either way, satsangs brings clarity of mind and helps in centering the mind. The chants in satsang take us beyond music to a silent corner of our inner self. “The word bhajan is very precious. Bhaj means to share. Sharing all that the Divine is. It is not necessary to know the words or meaning to any song. Singing helps to bring serenity. Singing is simply merging into the sounds, floating on its waves with a sense of contentment and meditation,” shares Sri Sri.
The entire universe is made of rhythms. When sounds are in harmony, there is music; non harmonious sounds create chaos. Similarly, when there is rhythm or harmony in life, the heart blossoms; there is humanism. It is this rhythm that takes us back to our source. We may identify ourselves as officers, housewives, teachers, but these are just external identifications. Satsangs help us move beyond such identifications towards our source – from where we came.
Sound is energy. Our human nervous system responds to the sounds and vibrations of ancient Sanskrit chants. Listening to these sounds has a rejuvenating effect on the body, mind and spirit.
In between each bhajan is the silence. Still and calm, the mind relaxes. “Doing more satsang and seva is the way to reduce misery. We are so fortunate. We have this opportunity to even think, discuss knowledge and have an experience of that inner space,” explains Sri Sri. “If you have any worries, you have to leave it here; that’s the rule of Satsang, you cannot take your worries back. You can go only after you drop them here.”
Satsangs are not limited to any culture or geographical region. Whether it is the harmonious sound of gongs in Buddhist meditations or Jewish hymns since ancient times, people from all cultures and traditions have used music to further people on their spiritual journey
