Pointless Satsang

[Divine Kala]

Satsang is very important, yes? You will not hear a no from me. It gathers spiritual seekers together and through discussion allows us to grow in one another's presences but when you do not understand one jot of Hindi attending a satsang is not going to have much meaning, is it?

Over the past year I have attended many satsangs that are advertised as English only to sit through something which I cannot contribute to nor understand. What, then, is the point of attending such gatherings? Yes, the bhav of the other devotees is intense but it cannot inspire me if I cannot understand one jot of what they are saying.

And now I find myself wondering; why go to the Sunday aarti and langar at 'my' temple is I cannot understand a word of what is being said? The songs are meaningless to me (that does not mean I do not enjoy them), the announcements are indecipherable and often I miss out on celebrations because they are advertised in Hindi and no one thinks to tell me about them.

I love Hinduism, I am such love with Ma Shakti and look to Sri Shiva and Sri Krishna for examples of how a person should act, and I have no desire to leave it (how could I? Mata ji has saved my life on so many occasions I am often baffled by the immensity of her love for me) but I am feeling a little hopeless today...

Jai Mata di

[goodlife]

you could ask some fellow in satsang to help you atleast with the announcements.

I love Hinduism, I am such love with Ma Shakti and look to Sri Shiva and Sri Krishna for examples of how a person should act, and I have no desire to leave it (how could I? Mata ji has saved my life on so many occasions I am often baffled by the immensity of her love for me) but I am feeling a little hopeless today

so just cause you could not understand the language, you put all your beliefs on the line? dont you think you are being hasty? if it is only out of gratitude for the favours you think you have been granted, you continue to venerate them, then probably you have your answer. say thanks and move on.

PS: once upon a time i didnt understand a word of most of the english songs i heard, but it never stopped me from listening to and enjoying them again and again. and with time, patience and practise, now i understand most of the lyrics today.

best of luck for your journey of discovery.

[kallol]

Dear DK,

It is a question of fitment according to your mind's maturity.

Take for example this forum. There are plenty of topics going around under different threads. You will find your alignment is mostly tending towards a few.

The reason being the same - fitment.

The satsangs you are not finding interesting may be highly interesting to many. So you have to find the fitment.

It is like a new student has been asked by school principal - "go and find out which class you fit" . The student goes to class 1 - does not fit. Moves to class 2 then to class 3 etc.

Ultimately he feels the fitment in say class 6 or 7. So accordingly he starts attending and enjoying that class.

So do not get perturbed by non fitment.

Love and best wishes

[Onkara]

Namasté DK
Have you considered learning another language i.e. Hindi or that of your local Hindu community? The mandir I visited in the UK provides free Hindi lessons, perhaps you could find people willing to teach given your determination to attend.

I ask as I have faced a similar dilemma. Language learning can become a part of our sadhana, initially it is fairly basic, but later it becomes a way to understand culture, ideas and theology as we see how it is used to express thoughts. If you have chosen your spiritual path, you could consider including language learning?

[Mana]

Namasté DK
Have you considered learning another language i.e. Hindi or that of your local Hindu community? The mandir I visited in the UK provides free Hindi lessons, perhaps you could find people willing to teach given your determination to attend.

I ask as I have faced a similar dilemma. Language learning can become a part of our sadhana, initially it is fairly basic, but later it becomes a way to understand culture, ideas and theology as we see how it is used to express thoughts. If you have chosen your spiritual path, you could consider including language learning?

Namasté all

I could not agree with you more Onkara, very wise words.

I should like to propose that even without understanding of the words energy and form is still present so I should also say that it is worth every moment of your time DK even whilst you are learning. The very experience of this could be formidable if you open your heart to it.

Peace

[Adhvagat]

Goodlife and Kallol put it perfectly.

There are certain events that are supposed to be holy and the energy is just not there, as a western, I went to a lot of ceremonies that were either not done by the right people in the right mindset and/or the people attending were disrespectful/rude and the spiritual potency was just not there. If I were to get frustated with dharma because of them, I wouldn't be here...

I understand the importance of the social level, but if we get frustated that something in the outside is didn't happen in accordance to our expectation, then the problem lies inside.

PS: I'm sure that if you ask around at the temple someone will be able to inform you about events in english.

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam DK: I remember being frustrated as well. But now the temple i go to isn't so much about the satsang. Its more just a group of individuals worshipping. The individual worship comes first. The lunch after the puja comes second. We don't have speakers. I agree with Pietro's comment about some places just not being done right.

The main thin I remembered back in the day was that I was there to see God, not people. the temple is first and foremost the House of God, not a congregational building like in Abrahamics. I remember that, reinforce that, and finally accept that. ... a lot.

Aum Namasivaya

[Believer]

Divine Kala,

Maintaining your attachment/enthusiasm/devotion to the satsang (congregational chanting) when you don't understand the language can be a daunting task. I would corner someone, anyone, during the social part of the gathering (after all the services have been completed and people are milling around or partaking in the parsadam/langar), and tell them, "I don't understand Hindi, were there any announcements made about upcoming events that I should know about?" I would also ask people to write the starting verse of bhajans sung in the temple. With that information, you can do a web search to find the commonly sung bhajans written in the Roman script, and most times, their meaning in English too. It is tedious, but do-able.

In one of the temples that I attended, some hymns were chanted in Sanskrit, bhajans were sung in Hindi and occasionally a sweet bhajan was sung in Gujrati. Not knowing Gujrati, I had to inquire from quite a few fellow worshipers to find out the starting verse of the bhajan, which turned out to be a bhajan to Shri Nathji, Lord Krishna's Govardhan-leela.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYR-HxzGS4E

I don't meant to be disrespectful to anyone, but one thing that sticks out in my mind many times, is that in times of frustration, we 'born Hindus' have no where to run to. When our backs are against the wall, we have to find a way to fit in, to understand the puja rituals, to absorb the vibrations, even from a bhajan in a language that we may not understand (I sure hope that you know that India has 20+ major languages used in different states of the nation). We cannot cut loose and run for the hills. We don't have a choice of disowning the essence of our existence. We don't assess whether the Hindu gods have been good or indifferent to us, to decide whether we should stick with them or not. Our dedication is neither partial nor conditional. Hinduism, in all its hues, is as much a part of us as our DNA. As has been aptly pointed out in the previous posts, language is a window to the culture/religion/thoughts/social traditions/mindset, and indeed to the very soul of a group of people. One has to try to get a basic understanding of it to become one with the group. If there is a temple bulletin board, one could post a need for an informal language teacher. Frustration must be channeled in a positive direction to help one's spiritual growth.

Alternately, ISKCON is one answer, as they do have proper prayer/song books, all written in Roman script. But even there, most bhajans are sung in Bengali, that being the language of most of their acharayas. Rama Krishna Missions cater to hybrid Hindus, where English is the medium of conversation/pooja/pravachan but where non-Hindu concepts/deities/scriptures are also accepted. I fully sympathize with the difficulties faced by converts in their desire to experience the core of Hinduism through learning a native language. But, I guess, there are no easy solutions.
-

[NayaSurya]

For me, I don't think I could sing to Beloved words I did not know....or what I was saying to Him. Which is why I take apart these songs of devotion..word for word...find translations to them in every location upon the internet. Years ago...it wouldn't have been possible..but now it is.

So ask one who you trust the names of these songs and then learn what you are saying to Beloved.

This whole conversation remind me of the few times I went with my catholic friend as a child to their service...kneeling and standing and a load of latin and I asked them..."What are you saying?" and they reply "@#*$ if I know I just repeat after the priest!" and this made me very sad that they could be saying something which they may not mean because they did not know the words at all.

Love is universal...and your feelings of love translate in every language. But I think the very act of humble learning of these words is a form of devotion. Beloved...I love you so very much that I come out of my comfort zone and learn something very difficult and strange to this incarnation.



Even if you flub up the words at times...keep trying<3

I second all the above suggestions. Find one who will tell you the specific songs being sung...and then go print out the words and translations.

We are so lucky to have the internet to help us!<3

[devotee]

Satsang is very important, yes? You will not hear a no from me. It gathers spiritual seekers together and through discussion allows us to grow in one another's presences but when you do not understand one jot of Hindi attending a satsang is not going to have much meaning, is it?

Over the past year I have attended many satsangs that are advertised as English only to sit through something which I cannot contribute to nor understand. What, then, is the point of attending such gatherings? Yes, the bhav of the other devotees is intense but it cannot inspire me if I cannot understand one jot of what they are saying.

And now I find myself wondering; why go to the Sunday aarti and langar at 'my' temple is I cannot understand a word of what is being said? The songs are meaningless to me (that does not mean I do not enjoy them), the announcements are indecipherable and often I miss out on celebrations because they are advertised in Hindi and no one thinks to tell me about them.

I love Hinduism, I am such love with Ma Shakti and look to Sri Shiva and Sri Krishna for examples of how a person should act, and I have no desire to leave it (how could I? Mata ji has saved my life on so many occasions I am often baffled by the immensity of her love for me) but I am feeling a little hopeless today...

Jai Mata di

Come on, Divine Kala ! Do you think learning English (through which I am interacting with you all today) was any way easier for me ?

Have patience. In one of the Satsanga, one saint said, "Have infinite patience & there will be immediate results". There will always be some people ready to help. Keep yourself open to such help offers. Start reading Hindi ... it is not as difficult as you think.

OM