Satsang
Satsang
By Sri Skanda’s Warrior of Light
To help the erring humanity escape the pangs of worldly life, Lord Skanda sends forth His divine messengers to perform God’s work of Grace on this plane called Earth. These messengers are Jeevanmukthas — enlightened souls — who are sent forth into the world to uplift the downtrodden humanity from their deeply-rooted affiliations with desire, ignorance, and ego.
The wisdom and personal austere conduct of these saints have stood as a beacon-light in providing spiritual solace to their followers.
Among the saints devoted to Lord Skanda, Arunagirinathar is one of the well known.However, there were other saints who were also privileged to receive Lord Muruga’s blessings.
From Namachivaaya Pathigam ("soTRuNai vEdhiyan...") — 4th Thirumurai:
உலகப் பற்று இல்லாத பெரிய சிவபக்தர்கள் கூடினர். அவர்களின் நிறுவனத்தை நான் தேடி, கம்பீரமான வடிவத்தைப் பார்த்தேன். இதைப் பார்த்ததும் சிவாவைத் தேடினேன். உடனே நமசிவாயா என்னைத் தேடி வந்தார்.
Transliteration:
veedinaar ulaginil vilumiya thondargaL
koodinaar aN-NeRi koodi senRalum
odinE NOdichenRu uruvam kaandalum
naadinEn naadiTRu namachi vaayaavE. 07
Meaning:
The great Siva devotees without worldly attachments gathered. Their company I sought and saw the majestic form. On seeing this, I sought Siva. Immediately, namaSivaaya sought me.
In the seventh stanza, Appar swaamigal advises the sadhaka to seek out and be among the company of (in this case) Siva devotees. By so doing, Appar accounts that as soon as he sought the company of Siva’s devotees, he had the darshan of God Siva and that Siva in return sought him (Appar)!
Appar eloquently tells us all that to develop and cultivate good qualities, the sadhaka should seek out and be among the company of like-minded people — who are working to tranform their hearts and minds — thus, continuing forward dynamically in their soul’s evolution to realize and merge with God. This is the essential purpose of Satsang — to derive the maximum spiritual benefit by engaging with others of like mind and spirit. To do so is a great blessing and one that we must take advantage of should we avail the opportunity.
The Saivite saint further hints that through satsang, other sadhanas — such as Japam (mantra recitation with prayer beads) and Dhyaanam (meditation) — yield quick and effective results because it helps the spiritual aspirant cultivate strong faith, good character, and noble qualities — essential for progress on the spiritual path.
