Satsang is a compound Sanskrit word that means “keeping the company of the Self.” The Self, Awareness, is the true nature of everyone and one keeps company with it by continually meditating on it in many ways. One of the most effective methods involves discussing non-dual teachings with someone who has realized his or her identity as the Self, to get clarity with reference to Self inquiry. The satsangs posted here are the questions of many people around the world who are interested in enlightenment and find that Vedanta is their preferred means of Self knowledge. Since I am a teacher of Vedanta, a time tested means of self inquiry, I am qualified to reply to these questions.Search & Read
ShiningWorld Reader
No One Is Here to Please the Jiva
Susan: In adjusting this time I ran into a few tricky relationship situations with the people who looked after the house in my absence, and then this great sentence jumped out of your book, Ramji: “People are here to work out their karma, they are not here to please me.” Perfect! It really helps ☺ and I am now quite pleased.
Sundari: It is very sobering and freeing knowledge that no one is here to please us but to work out their karma. Understanding this puts our likes and dislikes, along with all jiva expectations, into proper perspective. I couple that important teaching with the knowledge that everyone is Isvara and my job as the self is to serve Isvara in every form, with devotion and love, no matter what gets presented to the mind. These two nuggets of timeless wisdom are vital pieces in the puzzle of jiva life – if we get this, truly get this, we are as good as free.
This is another quote from James that belongs on the golden-nugget list for moksa:
“At some point you are going to have to give up expecting your desires to be fulfilled. If they haven’t already and life has had ample opportunity to fulfill them, then isn’t it reasonable to suppose you are not going to get what you want, and be satisfied with WHAT YOU HAVE? We can have all the ideas about what we want, but what happens is up to life, NOT UP TO US. The only control we have is how we respond to what life sends our way. So you can be happy with what life sends – or not. It’s up to you. Life is benign. If you look at your life, you will see that everything is taken care of. You’ve got your three square meals a day, a roof over your head and clothing on your body. Do you really need anything more to be happy?”