The Birthday of the Satsang: An Appeal

             AN APPEAL

   TO THE SPIRITUAL TRAVELLER

Dear Companion on the Journey

The International Satsang Association (ISA) is a companionship of spiritual seekers. It exists in order to promote personal and spiritual development which draws from the wisdom of different traditions. The ISA supports people in their efforts to increase their social awareness and responsibility to themselves, others and the Planet.

The Spiritual Teacher of the ISA is Sister Ishpriya, who travels widely around the world giving retreats, conferences and spiritual guidance. In addition the ISA has a ‘home’, which is Die Quelle (The Source). It is a place of contemplation and encounter where spiritual practice, guidance and personal studies on spirituality and associated subjects are facilitated in an Ashram context.  These are led and guided by Ishpriya. It provides people with the opportunity to experience various forms of community that are open to women and men of all nationalities, social status and religious traditions.  Consequently, Die Quelle plays an essential part in both spreading and living out the ideals and values of the Satsang Commitment.

Die Quelle has been open for 15 years and in that time costs have risen and, like all houses, maintenance issues arise. Several major improvements have been necessary, for example: a new roof, a new well to secure its water supply and connection to a proper sewage system. All these, plus numerous others repairs have taken their toll on what little reserves were available. In brief, if nothing is done to improve the financial situation, then there is a serious possibility that we have only 2 years or at most 3 years before the closure of Die Quelle.

Consequently, the Board of Trustees have decided to launch an appeal to try to secure the future for Die Quelle. We recognise that  in these times of economic hardship it  not be possible to commit to too much. However, all donations will be gratefully received. Details of the three ways  to forward your donation are outlined below. 

The easiest way is to go to the main ISA website, find the Die Quelle page and you will be able to make an electronic donation via Pay Pal.  These donations can be ‘one-of’ or regular annual donations for 4 years. We would particularly ask Satsang Members to consider a regular donation as this will provide a secure base on which to plan our financial affairs.

How to send your donation: Details  from the ISA Treasurer

You can use any of the following ways :

1)       A bank transfer to the account of the „International–Satsang Verein“.

Raiffeisenbank Lieboch
BIC: RZSTAT2G210

IBAN: AT89 3821 0000 0001 7871

2)              Donations can be made through our “PayPal” account on our

       website  http://www.international-satsang.org/

       or directly

http://www.international-satsang.org/isa/contribution.html

Donations in Euros and currencies other than Euro can be made safely and efficiently   through “PayPal”. Note, that a valid credit card (also Switch, Maestro, Visa etc) is required when using this system.

3)       Cheques should be made payable to “Satsang Source Project”, Account No 17871

A reminder: Cheques involve bank charges which decrease the value of your donation.  This is avoided by using either direct bank transfer or the PayPal account.

Note for Pay Pal Users

When using the ISA Website Pay Pal method , if your donation includes the promise of renewal for another 4 years, please state the “4 YEAR RENEWAL PLEDGE” in the payments “purpose” or “message for recipient”  field or make your pledge by electronic (mailto:donation@diequelle.net) or regular mail ( “Die Quelle”, Hohenau 25, A-8241 Dechantskirchen, Austria).

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. Please contact me or Die Quelle if you require any further information.

 Love – Peace – Joy

 Peter Creagh

Board of Trustees (Member)

TAKE FULLNESS FROM FULLNESS :- The ISA UPANISHAD

TAKE  FULLNESS FROM FULLNESS

Reflections on the ISA  Upanishad by Sr ishpriya



These notes are offered  as a 'backup to a series of recorded CDs by Sister Ispriya on the Isa Upanishad. They are available as a download from the Satsang Website http://www.international-satsang.org/  as a series of talks.Her first talk in  the series,  ‘WHY ?’ ,  sets the series and the Isa Upanishad in a context . These notes are offered   as many may be interested in the Upanishads and their background.

Although we may come from different Faith Traditions, those of us who are committed and serious about our chosen spiritual path derive great comfort and inspiration from the Sacred Scriptures. In addition we know that the One we seek is in many ways ‘unknowable’ . God, the Supreme Spirit, Ultimate Reality  Allah, Satguru or by whatever name we call Him is in many ways a sacred mystery.  Our Muslim friends talk about the 99 names of God and Hindus talk of the 1000 faces of Brahman.

So each Faith Tradition provides a ‘window’ onto the Reality and each also has a strong history or tradition which dwells on the ‘Mystical’ aspect of God. In Islam, this is perhaps best represented by the Sufi Mystics and Masters. In Christianity we have the long tradition of the Desert Fathers, John of the Cross, Hildegard of Bingen and Mother Juliana of Norwich to mention but a few. In Hinduism this mystical strand is found in the life and teachings of the Rishis ( seers) and many  Sannyasis ( monks and nuns). However, they reach the  peak of the essence of the teaching  in the great Upanishads.

The Upanishads are part of the Vedanta  ( the end of the Vedas), whilst the Vedas themselves come from a Sanskrit word ( to know or to possess) The Upanishads are considered to be the ‘pearls of the Hindu teachings’  A very literal translation of the Sanskrit word Upanishad is ‘to sit at the feet of the Master. There are many hundreds of these ‘epistles’ or Upanishads. Their authors are unknown and they stretch back at least 3000 years. However, there are about twenty or so which are considered to be spiritual masterpieces and in most compilations the Isa Upanishad, although the shortest and by no means the oldest, is considered to be the most concise and prosaic of them all, in fact it is ‘ the jewel in the crown of the Upanishads’ . It is almost always the first one in any edition of the Upanishads. Unlike the great Bhagavad Gita, many of the Upanishads are not as well known but they do contain wisdom of equal validity and relevance.

The 18 verses plus the opening Shanti Patha ( Invocation for Peace) are contained in the following two  pages.

Peter Creagh

ISAWASYA UPANISAD:-  THE ISA UPANISHAD

SHANTI – PATHA Invocation of Peace Fullness is here; Fullness is there. When Fullness is taken from Fullness Fullness still remains OM Shanti – Shanti -  Shanti

1.                  Behold the Universe in the glory of God: and all that lives and moves on earth.

Leaving the transient, find Joy in the Eternal:

Set not your heart on another’s possessions.

2.                  Working thus, a man may wish for a life of a hundred years.

Only actions done in God bind not the soul.

3.                  There are demon haunted worlds, regions of utter darkness.

            Whoever in life denies the Spirit falls into that darkness of death.

4.                  The Spirit, without moving, is swifter than the mind.

            The senses cannot reach him: He is ever beyond them all.

            Standing still, he overtakes those who run.

            To the ocean of His being, the Spirit of Life leads the streams of

             action.

5.                   He moves, and he moves not. He is far, and He is near.

            He is within all, and he is outside all.

6.                  The one who sees all beings in his own Self, and his own Self in all beings, loses all fear.

7.                  When a wise one sees this Great Unity and his own Self has become all beings.

            What delusion and what sorrow can ever be near him?

8.                  The Spirit filled all with his radiance.

            He is without form and invulnerable, pure and untouched by evil.

            He is the supreme seer and thinker, immanent and transcendent.

            He placed all things in the path of Eternity.

9.                  Into deep darkness fall those who follow action.

Into deeper darkness fall those who follow knowledge.

10.             One is the outcome of knowledge and the other is the outcome of action.

Thus have we heard from the ancient sages who explained this truth to us.

11.             He who knows both knowledge and action, with action overcomes death  and with knowledge reaches immortality.

12.             Into deep darkness fall those who follow the immanent.

           Into deeper darkness fall those who follow the transcendent.

13.             One is the outcome of the transcendent

           and the other is the outcome of the immanent.

           Thus have we heard from the ancient sages who explained this

            truth to us.

14.             He who knows both the transcendent and the immanent, with the immanent overcomes death and with the transcendent reaches immortality.

      15.     The Face of Truth remains hidden behind a circle of Gold.

                 Unveil it, O God of Light, that I, who love the True, might  see!

16.      O life giving sun, off-spring of the Lord of Creation, solitary seer of

          heaven!

           Spread Thy Light and withdraw Thy blinding splendour,

            that I might behold  Thy radiant form.

           That Spirit far away within Thee is my own inmost Spirit.

17.      May Life go to immortal life, and the body go to ashes.

           Oh my soul, Remember past strivings, Remember!

           Oh my soul, Remember past strivings, Remember!

18.      By the Path of Good lead us to final bliss, O Fire Divine, thou god

           who knows all ways.

           Deliver us from Wandering Evil.

           Prayers and adoration we offer unto thee.

Translation by Juan Mascaro

(Penguin Books)

‘Creativity & Revolution’

What is Education?

‘Challenging our Cultural Filters’

A Day of Reflection & Experience

Saturday 12^th February  2011     (10.30 – 4.30 )

FRIENDS MEETING HOUSE

Summerfield Road

 Wolverhampton

We live in a world that faces many challenges. It is a world where change is occurring at an unprecedented rate. We tend to take much for granted and we are perhaps unaware of the cultural filters that colour our view of the world and of hitherto acceptable ‘truths’. This effects our view on Spirituality, Religion, Science, Social Awareness and all areas of life.

One of the critical foundations of our views on our world is formal Education and particularly the concept of Universal Education.  Education is a relatively recent event in our human history and has, to some extent, become a  ‘Sacred Cow’ . This day will use the theme of Education to begin to critically examine the influences and filters of this and other Sacred Cows and how these influence our concept, practice and experience of Spirituality. 

There will be personal and video input  to stimulate our reflections. Our Video Input will be several recent ‘clips’ from a variety of source e.g.  Barack Obama and Sir Ken Robinson.

OPEN EVENT   ALL ARE WELCOME

COST: To cover the cost of hiring the Hall and drinks there is a charge of £5 /person

PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN PACKED LUNCH

Inter-Faith Group :- Report

BRIEF REPORT ON A MEETING OF WIFG

I recently attended a meeting held by the Wolverhampton Inter-Faith Group  ( WIFG) and here are a few notes,

Sorry I find it very difficult from a memory point of view to write up after an event, but next time we go I will make some notes and do a short write up straight afterwards. I struggle with short term memory. During a break I was chatting with a man from the Sikh religion and we were discussing the shortages on this world. I asked if anyone had ever calculated how much each of us in the west would need to do to reduce our global footprint to make a significant difference. He replied 10% is all that it takes to make a difference. What a simple reply and how achievable. I did not need to know how he computed this, but felt any goal was better than no goal.

So I am staring to walk short distances instead of go in my car, like to Relate or into Wolverhampton. I have still needed warm clothes on in my house during the winter, so the temperature for the house was not hot, and we have heated one main room well by means of a log burning fire. Starting to look at how we eat, and making soups out of left overs. I’m looking forward to us getting the compost recycling bins to kick start my interest in this again. What is noticeable, is that all this has helped me to slow down and notice my surroundings and to connect with people who I meet.

Finding the pace of life that is the right balance for me is now a more conscious process, although as usual I am often led away from this by financial necessities.

Hope this finds you well. We have all had a lovely Christmas break and have enjoyed the winter snow even though it has been treacherous at times, and adventurous. Finally details of two WIFG Events follow.

Firstly, HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY SERVICE

On Thursday 27^th January 2011 in conjunction with Wolverhampton City Council, a service will take place at 11.00am at the War Memorial between St. Peter’s Church and the Civic Centre. This is to commemorate the millions of Jews and other minority groups who were killed by the Nazis in the 2nd world war, and also victims of genocide in other places such as Cambodia, and the Balkans. This year’s theme is, Untold Stories, in which we will heart the testimony of survivors and eye witnesses of these atrocities. Afterwards, over refreshments in the Mayor’s Parlour, we will be able to sign a declaration of commitment to remember the Holocaust and fight against the evils of anti-semitism and racism in the future.

Secondly, PRAYERS FOR PEACE

On Sunday 30^th January at 3.00pm in St. Peter’s Collegiate Church our annual service of prayers and readings from each of the main faiths represented in our City will take place.  The theme this year is ‘Peace that Passes Understanding’, which emphasizes the need to ground our common desires for peace in the mystery of God. Only when our own passions are stilled can we recognize the power of divine love which is the basis of all our efforts to achieve peace. At the end of the service we can meet our neighbours from other faiths over light refreshments.

Monica Evans

ISA Rep on WIFG

REFLECTIONS ON OUR MEETING;- Sat 8th Jan

READING THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES

Some Reflections

This was our 1^st Meeting of 2011 and it took place 2 days after the Christian Festival of The Epiphany which was most appropriate. Epiphany tells the Christian Story of how Jesus became manifest to the world through the Magi or Wise Men. In reality, the Magi were people who were  seekers, people of wisdom  and were open to reading the signs of their  times. 

We listened to the 2^nd of 3 talk given by Sister  Ishpriya at a Satsang Retreat in Douai Abbey in March 2010. Her talks were related to how Satsang Members could effectively live out their Satsang Commitment   In her 2^nd Talk she suggested that Satsang Members  had two basic practices. These were firstly   Being open to Reading the Signs of the Times and secondly Sitting Still Doing Nothing ( Meditation). She then focused on the 1^st of these ‘Reading the Signs of the Times’

She shared a common experience we all have. This is the modern tendency  to collect knowledge , not through experience but through reading. She recounted how often , on discussing any issue, she is often asked ‘ Have you read this book’?   She challenged this all too common attitude and suggested that, in order to read the signs of the times, we needed to be open more to experience.  We have a Tsunami of information in our modern world and we can so easily  be swamped by it. This requires each of us to reflect deeply and to learn to discern, select and reflect on what is essential.  We could learn from Eastern Approaches as these place more emphasis on the importance of experience over mere knowledge, and so much of the latter  is only information which is NOT based on real understanding nor experience.

She recounted an experience of meeting 3 Westerners at a Buddhist Community in North India and how they responded to her questions. She recalled  the quality of their ability to really listen deeply and how one, when asked ‘What are you reading’ ? replied ‘ Reading !  I’ve only been practicing for 5 years ! ‘   Ishpriya repeated her advice and observation that Meditation is not merely practicing a method it is a discipline and a preparation. We sit in practice in order to listen and be ready and prepared to enter into the ‘state’ referred to as meditation.   

We need to be aware (and to beware of ) , that in this ‘age of mass-communication’ we do not fall into an ‘era of mis-communication’. Much of the ‘information’ floating around the Web needs to be viewed with caution. We certainly need to read the signs of the times in our own life. Only when we do this can we be available  for others.

She then focused on the inequalities in our human family. Some of us have more than we need , we have an abundance and others have so little – these suffer scarcity. She commented upon a recent statistic.  This suggested that  there was equal distribution of the world’s resources and that if somehow this could be represented by a portion of land, then each person would get 4.5 hectares for all their needs . In other words, 4.5 hectares would symbolically represent and provide every member of humanity with enough.

However, this IS NOT how our current world works.  She quoted the following few statistics based on the 4.5 Hectare symbol.

INDIA – Each person had just over 2 hectares

CHILE -  Each person had the ‘norm’ of 4.5 Hectares.

GERMANY – Each person  had 12 Hectares

JAPAN- Each person had 14 Hectares

USA – Each person had almost 23 Hectares.

The above statistics are stark and make a valuable point. If we were to try to raise everybody’s standards to that of the West and of the USA we would require 5 ( FIVE) more planet Earths . However  we only have 1 World.

Something has to change.  This change is not external it is internal. We all need to take responsibility. We need to sit and discern, select and reflect on this issue of inequality in our human family. This is  where the Satsang Practice of   ‘sitting still doing nothing’  is vital and it could provide us with a  new way. We have to discern the essential difference between WANTS  and Real NEEDS.

Our meeting then led to a shared discussion that focused around the following questions  designed to provide some focus for our reflection and any general sharing.

How can we remain open and awake to  reading the signs of our times ?

What message do the current inequalities in our human family  hold for us ?

What has been our experience of an epiphany in our life ?

These reflections merely give a ‘taste’ of our Satsang Meetings and do not necessarily give a true sense of our experience. In the end, just as a recipe is not the actual meal, these reflections cannot truly convey the experience.

Readers are always welcome to our open meeting. Our next meeting is:

DAY OF REFLECTION - Saturday 12th February 2011

10.30 - 4.30 - Wolverhampton

CREATIVITY AND REVOLUTION

Challenging our Approach to Life and Particularly Education

FURTHER DETAILS AND FLIER TO FOLLOW

READING THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES

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SATSANG MEETING : January 2011

For many, New Year is a time for making resolutions. It is a time, set in the midst of Winter and darknes,  to reflect  on life and  to decide new directions, new horizons and what changes to make and what to keep constant. To do this with wisdom and discernment requires great thought and reflection.

Our regular Satsang Meetings are one of the ways that can  provide us with both the space and support to do this.Our next  Satsang meeting, the first of 2011  is on:

Saturday 8th January 2011

Friends  Meeting House

Wolverhampton

1.30 - 4.45 p.m

This is our 1^st Meeting of 2011 and it takes place 2 days after the Christian Festival of The Epiphany which is most appropriate. This is because, Epiphany tells the Christian Story of how Jesus became manifest to the world through the Magi or Wise Men. In reality, the Magi were people who sought and were open to reading the signs of the times  and this is related to our talk today

Our topic is based on a talk given by Sr Ishpriya in March 2010 at a Satsang Retreat in Douai Abbey. Its title is

Reading the Signs of the Times

All are welcome  to attend and we hope to see you there. For details of how to get there please see the Main Page of our Website http://www.satsang-companionship.org.uk/

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