Importance of Listening to Discourses
Listening to satsangs or discourses from Guru-mukh is highly valued in the tradition of sanatana dharma. It forms a crucial part of our journey of seeking and is an integral aspect of traditional Hindu living. There was a time when it was very common for mothers to take their children to kathas that would happen in the neighbourhood. Also, the young and old, would wait for their village or town to be graced by the presence of a Guru for discourses. The below points highlight the value of discourses, as derived from the teachings of Jagadguru Puri Shankaracharya.
Planting seeds of dharma
Earlier, pregnant women used to listen to discourses so that the child in the womb receives the values of dharma and adhyatma well in time. Kayadu had Prahladji in her womb when upadesha was being given by Devashri Narad Muniji. While she forgot what was in the discourses, Prahladji became a great bhakt of Bhagavan and succeeded in invoking the presence of Narasimha Avatar of Bhagavan Vishnu to end the tyranny of Hiranyakashyap.
Abhimanyu was in Subhadra devis womb when the great warrior Arjun gave the upadesha of method of entering a chakravyuh but as he was teaching about how to come out of it, Subhadra devi slept off. Ultimately, this loss of knowledge resulted in Abhimanyu’s virgati in the Mahabharata war. Thus, it is said that sleeping in a satsang is like losing one’s son, emphasizing the importance of staying alert during discourses. However, there is another view that Dharma Samarat Svami Karpatriji Maharaj explained, that if someone is sleeping in satsang at least he is not dependent on capsules for rest and sleep and may get some relief.
Prahladji said that we must receive the nectar of the Bhagavat katha in childhood itself. Powerful dharmic values, traditionally, were planted in young children when mothers took them to listen to the kathas of Srimad Bhagavatam, Ramayan, etc. When Jagadguru Puri Shankarcharya was a small boy, He sat in the lap of His aunt (who brought Him up) and attended discourses on Srimad Bhagavatam.
Seeker’s Path to Realization
Shravana (listening), manana (contemplation) and niddhidhyasan (repeated reflection) are of immense importance on the path to realization of our true Self. Bhagavan or the Ultimate Truth is recognized when we repeatedly go through this process, just like wood is rubbed together to create the fire for a yajna.
Self-Purification
Listening to discourses helps us purify our minds and raise sattva guna in us. It gives us important insights and helps create the right orientation for the study or understanding of dharma. Discourses that relate to our Ishta devata, about the leela’s and teachings of Bhagavan help us develop a more intimate relation with the Divine. Listening to discourses by a Sat-Guru gives us the phalas or fruit of performing hundreds of Ashvamedha yajnas.
Understanding Vedas and Shastras
If we wish to understand the teachings of vedas and shastras, it is essential for us to gain knowledge through the discourses of Guru. The teachings give us the right guidance to apply in our lives and this must be our attempt. Relying on self-study alone or listening to those who do not have the essential knowledge or training, for the understanding of shastras, can lead us to darkness. Appropriate traditional training, scholarship and spiritual elevation is required to understand their true essence. On studying the principles of sanatana dharma in the correct method for a minimum of 50 years, several realities are revealed and experienced. Therefore, we must listen to the discourses of Gurus belonging to a traditional lineage since they alone have the deep traditional study of vedas and shastras. We must be careful of who we listen to on matters of dharma and spirituality.
Protecting Ancient Sanatana Tradition
For Atman kalyaan or spiritual well-being, and the protection of the ancient sat-sampradayas (or authentic lineages), the practice of listening to discourses on and vijgyana (knowledge and science), must continue through physical presence of students before the Acharya/Guru. Although, many listen through live telecast over YouTube etc, the practice of attending discourses is necessary for preventing the traditions from going extinct.
Listening to Discourses for Svasth Kranti
In contemporary times, we are face the rapid loss of traditional values and social systems that our ancestors followed. Owing to the entry of western values through education system and the destruction plus heavy distortion of traditional Sanatana dharma at various levels, even the generation of grandparents are often devoid of traditional Hindu wisdom. In such a difficult situation, there is a need of a healthy revolution or svasth kranti to keep the flame of dharma burning. This revolution is at the psychological level, and it is only the exposure to the pure unadulterated knowledge of vedas and shastras that can help us turn to our roots. A crucial way to create this revolution is by listen to discourses of traditional sampradaya Gurus. This can be done in our homes through the internet, or by attending discourses.
Considering the above, we all must make an honest effort of listening to discourses for our own spiritual growth and to receive the right guidance to bring the values of Sanatana dharma in our lives. It is only when we follow our tradition of listening to satsangs and attempt to bring vedic wisdom into our lives through authentic discourses, will our Hindu civilization stay alive for the generations to come.
Obstacles we face
Be it for the purification of our own mind, our spiritual quest or for the preservation of dharmic values in society, the importance of listening to discourses of our Acharyas or Gurus is undisputed. It is through their pearls of wisdom that the knowledge of the vedas and shastras can be brought into our lives. Through this we can develop a worldview that is based on our Hindu perspective and, also learn to discern what is right and wrong, what would make us accumulate sin or paap and what would bring punya into our life.
However, even though we might be aware of the importance of listening to satsangs, there could be several obstacles we may face in the process.
Being heavily drawn by our worldly interests, listening to discourses may feel as unpleasant as hot water being poured on us. We may resist it in many ways. At this point, we must make a stubborn effort to continue listening, little by little, just like a hatha yogi. Over time, we shall start gaining interest.
Jagadguru Puri Shankaracharyaji gives the example of a person suffering from pitta-roga (overheating of the body) to explain the condition of a lay person attempting to listen to satsangs. In a state of pitta-roga, the taste of sugar-candy or mishri is bitter. We do not enjoy it at all. However, as we continue to keep it in our mouth, the body starts cooling off slowly, curing our illness. As we heal, the sugar-candy begins to taste sweet. In the same way, initially, we do not appreciate the discourses and all the spiritual topics. As we persist listening, the words of the Guru start influencing our mind in a good way and then, we start enjoying the process. Thus, if facing such obstacles, we must continue to attempt listening till our mind becomes conducive to wisdom of Atman jyana.
We must also remember that it is rare to have the opportunity to access discourses of a Sat-Guru. This chance may not be available to us for lakhs of lifetimes to come, and we must feel very blessed if we have such an opportunity now. Recognizing this, we must make full effort to listen. It is indeed an irony that many householders wish to attend discourses but owing to their family or work commitments they cannot. However, those who are unmarried or are present in the very teerathas, often do not value listening to satsangs that they can attend easily.
Listening must be done with full attention and reverence. Even if we do not understand everything, the whole effort of being present and attempting shall give us the fruit of this precious activity and at some point in the future we will be able to grasp more. We must use our precious human life in a good way to attain the ultimate wealth Jagadishvara and must not miss the valuable opportunity of listening to discourses if we can.
Note: Do not miss the lifetime opportunity to listen to Live Discourses by Jagadguru Puri Shankaracharya on Upanishads, Brahmasutra and Srimad Bhagavatam, during the auspicious period of Chaturmas.