What Is Satsang? - 4 May, 2015

So Chitra says, "Beloved Ananta Ji, namaskaram. Namaskaram. Adi Shankara says in his famous shloka: from Satsang to Nishsangatvam, to true aloneness. How can one recognize the graduation from Satsang to aloneness?"

I feel that there is some misunderstanding because what he was referring to... what is Satsang actually? What is Satsang? Satsang is the presence of being. Being with the presence, being with your sense of being, being with the truth which is here. So if this is Satsang, your attention is completely in the presence, then from here to see the Absolute with the simple question: 'Who is aware even of this presence?'

So it's not aloneness which is the Absolute, you see. Not even where there is one to be alone. This can be called the no-thingness or the emptiness. This one is all there is itself. It is empty of phenomena, although all phenomena arise from it. This pure awareness is what you are. That's what we said: first identification with the person, then for most there's identification with the presence 'I am', and then it is seen that I am the Absolute awareness which is aware even of the presence.

So when we come to Satsang, even like this in the presence of the Master, it is like we are in the presence of our own being. The presence of our own being which speaks through the mouth of the Master. So this presence, and then the complete dissolution of all phenomena, and you see that you are just this pure awareness itself.

Your question was: 'How can one recognize the graduation from Satsang to aloneness?' In a lot of spirituality, it is made to sound like it is very difficult to go from this presence of being to the Absolute Self. But to be honest, I see more trouble with it because it's such a simple looking to see that I am aware of this being also, this presence also, but I must be that which is aware, which is prior.