SATSANG.....SERVICE.....MEDITATION(Practice)... revised2-9-010

There is a chapter in Baird Spaulding's LIFE AND TEACHING OF THE MASTERS OF THE FAR EAST that begins with a gathering of Saints in a remote cave somewhere in the Himalayas. after they had all arrived in the cave, they sat in silence for seven days before anyone spoke. that seems to be the most beautiful description of what i think SATSANG is supposed to be.

From the beginning of my involvement with Prem Rawat in late 1971, SATSANGS were held on a nightly basis by his students in addition to whatever public meetings were held to disseminate his message. when i first moved to San Francisco in 1973, there were many small nightly Satsangs around the city, mostly in Premies' living rooms. a vacant chair was in the front of the room, sometimes on a stage. whomever wanted could go sit in the chair and share their thoughts with the group. when the first person was finished, a second person would continue. this would go on for about an hour or so. there was no other organization of the meetings.

over time, people seemed to think that there needed to be more organization and politics crept in. soon, Satsang became not so much fun anymore. only certain people in any given 'community' were considered worthy of sharing their thoughts and eventually the open-mike process was terminated, (not sure how that happened). not too long after that, the 'ashram' structures disappeared and we were left with the seat of our pants!!! Subsequently, communities all over the country fell apart and Premies who had previously held high positions in the organization began defecting and denouncing Prem as a fraud.

also, it just occurred to me that it might very well be the case that it is SATSANG that helps to create COMMUNITY, which also seems to make PRACTICE easier, and SERVICE more readily available...because you can see what that really means in a 3 dimensional way....i'd like to say that there has been an understanding(concept) of SERVICE perpetuated over time(?) which i believe is nothing more than an ignorant, self-centered idea concocted by some selfish fool who couldn't see any farther than his/her nose. as i understand, Service is a process of GIVING TO OTHERS(mentally or physically) WITHOUT SELFISH MOTIVE..'FROM THE HEART', without thoughts of reward, simply for the joy of giving, etc. etc., which has little to do with Lotus Feet, Stinky Feet, or any other kind of FEET!!!!(unless you're a podiatrist!!!). Mr. Rawat puts it this way: the ancient Egyptians believed that after you died, you were asked two questions before you could be admitted to Heaven. 'Did you find happiness in your life?' and 'Did you help others to find happiness?' you had to be able to answer 'yes' to both.