Review of Satsang Day Part1

The following reflections contain a brief review of our Satsang Day of Reflection - held on Sat 13th June 2015  under the generic title of

Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times

 

Part 1: - Morning Session  -

Themes:- Knowledge & Action plus the Inter-connectedness of all creation 

Setting the Scene

We live in a world beset by many challenges, a world that is on the cusp of an evolutionary change. Some of the the issues and challenges facing us are outlined in the following points:

We are experiencing an explosion in knowledge about the  Cosmos  in all areas of Science, Technology, Neuroscience ,Theology and Cosmology. 

We now know that all creation is inter- connected and that everything, yes literally EVERYTHING! , has come from star dust.

These discoveries are both awesome and amazing . They  challenge many of our ‘set’ ideas and accepted ‘truths’ 

Some of these  ‘truths’ and ‘ideas’ have caused , and are continuing to cause, widespread chaos for our planet and its peoples and particularly the economically poor and deprived.

 If our human family is to survive and prosper in an holistic manner, then we need to face the demands of these challenges with  both wisdom and discernment .

The purpose of our Day of Reflection was to provide the opportunity to 'sit by the wayside' and reflect on  our ability to discern and make wiser choices.

Our Day of Reflection was designed   to provide an opportunity to look at 4 aspects or themes  of this challenge  and how each could be related to, and supported by, ancient wisdom.  

Each was supported by a short video clip from  Sister Ishpriya,  the Spiritual Guide of the Satsang . She uses some  excerpts from  the ISA UPANISHAD of Hinduism  to relate these aspects both to modern life and ancient wisdom.

 We  had time for personal reflection, silence and Group sharing.   In addition extracts from Hinduism, Buddhism,  Taoism, Christianity , Islam  and Native American Spirituality supported  these themes and extracts will both introduce and end all 4 themes as these reflections continue.

But first the 18 verses of the Isa Upanishad, some of these will be repeated as we reach each of the 4 themes. In itself, the Upanishad is a 'pearl' of Universal Spiritual Wisdom

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.

Preparing for Our Day

As is our customary practise, we use the Mindful Practice of Sacred Circle Dance, to both prepare us for, and lead us into, our day. Angela led us in a simple , but meaningful time of Sacred Circle Dance.  

Before that she reminded us of the importance and purpose of Sacred Circle Dance as a simple yet powerful form of Mindful Meditation to Music and Movement  and read this short extract from her Sacred Circle Dance Flier ( see website) 

So why take part in Sacred Circle Dancing?

Spiritual Practice is intended to develop our Inner Life and our experience of being connected with a larger Reality.  Regular practice leads to a greater integration with the self, with others, our wider human community, with Nature, the Cosmos and, above all, the Divine.  Dance is a wonderful form of Spiritual Practice. In many cultures it plays a key role in their experience of the Sacred.

Perhaps, we could benefit and see Dance as another way for us to experience the Divine. We could see it as wonderful spiritual practice that has the added advantage of being enjoyable. So doing it for the joy of doing it could, in itself, become for us another way of expressing the Divine within.

Korev Yom   Angela chose the Jewish  Song ' Korev Yom' and we danced this to the backdrop of a picture of Jerusalem - looking out from the Mount of Olives towards the Temple and the Dome of the Rock 

This site is both holy and sacred to the 3 Monotheistic Traditions of the West - Judaism - Christianity and Islam.

The movement to the dance has our own interpretation and consists of 4 symbolic elements which each individual brings to any time of communal Satsang. These are :

What we bring to the Group -

What we offer the Group

What we offer in gratitude

What we take  for ourselves from the group.

Morning Session - Themes 1 and 2

AN OPENING QUESTION & A BRIEF RESPONSE

Can the inherited wisdom of the faith traditions help. ?

 Perhaps we need to pause and revisit the essential truths of the world's great Faith Traditions and also the spirituality of the Aboriginal Peoples.

We can take something from  our Sikh sisters and brothers and the teachings of Gurudev Nanak their founder.

The Guru teaches that we would be wise to seek and  find the SAT or essential Truth at the heart of creation.

 Christian Wiman  ( a poet ) has this to say about  Christianity.  His words could be adapted for other Faith Traditions i.e. for church read mosque, mandir, gurdwara etc

   "Faith itself sometimes needs to be stripped of its social and historical encrustations and returned to its first, churchless incarnation in the human heart.“

In modern parlance, it can be helpful to 'get back to basics'  

However, 'basics' does not mean losing any of the essential Truth and Mystery that lies at the heart of this wonderful and awesome Cosmos and Creation. It can mean to remove the

( mainly) 'man made' and 'patriarchial'  encrustations that can overpower and diminish the wonder of the Mystery. 

We are back once again  to the wisdom and words of the  opening verse of the Isa Upanishads

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

          Leaving the transient, find Joy in the Eternal:

Theme 1. Balancing Knowledge & Action
verses from Isa Upanishad

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.

1st Video Clip from Sister Ishpriya

Post-Video Reflection

After a period for Personal Reflection on Theme 1 - the balance between Knowledge and Action, we returned for a short time to reflect on the words of the Buddha ( below) 

Theme 2: - Macro & Micro Cosmos - 

The Inter- Connectedness of All

Behold the Universe in the glory of God: 

and all that lives and moves on earth.

The following short extract from another of the 'jewels' of the Vedas was read. This comes from the Chandoga Upanishad

We opened Theme 2 with a time of reflection on the following picture of the Corinna Nebula and the opening Verse of the Isa Upanishad

2nd  Video Clip from Sister Ishpriya

After the 2nd video clip we spent time in silence/meditation/silent prayer as best suited each individual ( either in solitude or focusing on picture above.

Final Morning Reflection & Personal Sharing

Before a time of Personal Sharing the following quotation from Julian of Norwich was offered. She is arguably one of the greatest Mystics of the Middle Ages and one whose clarity  of vision and teaching has stood the test of hundreds of years

We then took time to share and listen to each other in Satsang Companionship before breaking for lunch.


Part 2 of these reflections, covering the 3rd and 4th themes , will appear in a separate Blog Post.