Satsang, Sadhana and Sangha

Greetings family. I'm writing to you today with fresh inspiration and would like to offer a few things here for those who read and resonate with what I share.

I'm coming from a place of integration and assimilation of this past year's cycle. We are approaching the Vedic New Year, tomorrow Saturday March 29, 2025, which happens to be the new moon in Aries and also a solar eclipse. This moment is the initiation into our next zodiac cycle, where the energies shift back to the beginning and slowly unfold through cosmic patterns known by us as astrology.

Each year we go through cycles. As we know, the cycle of life -- from birth to death -- is distinguished by distinct phases with distinct "energies" which preside over the particular phase we are in. As we are OF Nature, we are bound by Her laws and we -- whether consciously or not -- follow these larger patterns. Just as a 24 hour cycle has a phase for waking, living, and sleeping, and a 365-day cycle has phases for spring, summer, autumn and winter, so too do our lives follow a pattern. Zooming out to the level of the solar system we may also observe, by paying attention to the transitions between zodiacs and the different phases of the moon, a distinct energy is at play in any given life moment. What I am pointing to here is the natural unfoldment of life and the spiral-like cycle we all go through. Growth is the process by which we move through these cycles and arrive at the same point, albeit with more wisdom and thereby a higher vibrational perspective. What I mean by this is that, whilst we may end up repeating cycles and seasons, we repeat with more refinement, understanding, and experience. This ultimately is the evolution of consciousness, which is mirrored in the evolution of the cosmos. We are not only part of this process, we ARE this process as it is unfolding uniquely in each of us.

So, for me, I like to take advantage of these junctions between seasons, between moon phases, between zodiacs, to evaluate, contemplate, reflect, integrate, and proceed forward. The past serves to inform the present moment, and the future serves to inspire our present moment. Yet it is the present moment where all is unfolding. Time stands still in this infinite space of presence, and all things emerge from here. We are constantly at the precipice of something new, and yet sometimes, without our vigilant awareness being applied, we bear the risk of repeating the past. This is what is known as karma. We all have our own unique set of lessons that must be learned, digested, assimilated and applied in order to rise to the next, higher stage of vibration and consciousness. This is the pathway of light. The opposite of this is the pathway of darkness and ignorance. It is said that within every single moment lies the juncture of two paths; the choice of which one to follow is the function of consciousness. One path leads to, in religious terms, "salvation", and the other path leads to the mires of unconsciousness. What is really meant by this is that we are either choosing to grow and learn how to live a life of inspiration -- following the light -- or we are feigning ignorance, burying our heads in the sand, and avoiding the lessons that are meant for us. The result of avoiding our lessons is that we experience a life that feels out of alignment. We might not necessarily know what this means, but we feel it. The opposite is also true -- when we are living a life that is in alignment, we feel the support of the Universal intelligence behind our every step. The final result of authentic spirituality -- in whichever tradition we study -- is the experience of a life that is connected to something much greater than us. However we look at it, this is what is being transmitted to us by the masters and what is being passed down to us in the evolutionary chain of wisdom and light.

The question is, then, what is the next step? What do I do now? What have I learned and what do I carry with me? What can I discard?

This process of spiritual growth is much like the escape of a rocket ship from the Earth's orbit. A tremendous amount of fuel is necessary to lift a rocket off the Earth and into outer space. We can think of our deeply rooted conditions and beliefs like the ground of the Earth. These beliefs that we hold as part of our identity serve, in a way, as the ground of our being. We cling to them because they help us make sense of the world around us, and provide stability to our mind and perceptions. If suddenly all of this was taken away, we would end up totally destabilized and very afraid. For some, this happens during powerful plant medicine experiences. For others, a powerful awakening or mystical moment can bring this about. Sometimes it is a major accident or the end of an important relationship. We are left questioning everything we once "knew" and we cannot find a ground anywhere we look. Once the dust settles, the final result is a transformation. The fixed identity has become sufficiently rocked and has undergone the necessary growth to arrive at a new stage of being. This can take some time and it can be quite uncomfortable, depending on the support system in place (or lack of). For the yogi, they approach this process of spiritual transformation systematically. This is what is known as sadhana.

Sadhana refers to the set of practices and behaviors which leads one along the path of spiritual development. Remember that what is effective is what will bring one to the next, higher stage of development. We are referring to the tools and spiritual techniques necessary for the expansion of one's consciousness. We have to remember that we are looking at Reality through a pinprick of light. Our capacity to perceive the totality of existence and what is truly possible is very limited. We are limited by our conditions, our beliefs, our karmas, and the collective and yet agreed-upon delusions of humanity. Sadhana, or authentic spiritual practice, is a systematic approach to gradually purifying our perception so that we can see more accurately. To see more accurately we have to first become aware of where we are limited, and where we are limiting ourselves. An honest self-diagnosis into the root of our problems is the first step in crafting an effective sadhana, and as we continue on with our practice we must continue to examine the nature of our limitations. This is what makes sadhana so difficult: if it is indeed effective, sadhana will reveal to us where we are stuck and it will reveal the pathway forward. Over and over again we must confront our fears, our laziness, our doubts, our uncertainty, and we must face it and grow through it. In addition to this process being difficult, this voluntary self-confrontation is exactly what makes sadhana effective. Eventually, if we are lucky, we might fall in love with this process and learn to embrace the spiritual journey. We fall in love with the pathway of light because we see that we can actually take responsibility for and partner with consciousness to make a better world -- through ourselves.

As we walk along our path, we find those which resonate with us, inspire us and uplift us. This is known as sangha. The sangha is the community of light-seekers who have also fallen in love with their process of growing. Buddha famously claimed that this concept -- the concept of sangha -- is and was of critical importance for the seeker. As we ascend to higher and higher levels of consciousness, we will continuously being challenged by life. Due to the law of karma, we are projecting outwardly our lessons and attracting to us the situations and experiences which will help us grow. Some may not like this and try to fight the mirror. Others accept the ingenuity of cosmic intelligence and seek to digest the lessons as they present themselves. Either way it is uncomfortable, however in one instance there is an acceptance and a surrender and in the other there is a resistance and a turning away. Only one of those pathways leads to the light. If we are lucky, we will be around people who understand this and embrace it. This is sangha.

Through all of this, something remains a true anchor for us and a ground in the midst of the storm. This is the satsang, which refers to the teachings of the masters and sages which point the way. The study of Truth is a life-long endeavor; the universal truth is fluid and lives, moves and breathes in everything that is. Satsang refers to those teachings which help direct our attention towards this universal truth. We have many examples which can help us in our alignment to this but on a deeper level, it is up to us to pay attention to where the truth in us is resonating. Since we are all of divine origin, and we are all animated by the spark of life which is the manifestation of the one supreme, cosmic intelligence ... we all possess a compass towards what is real. Just as iron filings are attracted to the magnet, even beneath a piece of paper, the fragmented parts of us are drawn towards that magnet of the light. We must pay attention to what information, what nuggets of wisdom and what experiences help feed our light. This is the true essence of satsang. Spending time each day nourishing our divine spark and feeding this holy flame fills us with the inspiration to continue on the path. What books we read, what we listen to, what conversations we have... this is all satsang. The literal translation of this word satsang gives us a clue into this: sat meaning "truth" and sang "company" -- we must remain in the company of truth. This keeps us on the pathway of light.

Despite the constantly changing seasons and cycles of life, we have these three pillars -- sadhana, sangha and satsang to hold us true to the evolutionary process. This leads us along the path to a life of true fulfillment, harmony, and joy. A life filled with light.

As part of my own path and intention to carry on following my inspiration, I continue to share what works for me and what I've learned along the way. I will be sharing more content related to the yogic path in the coming months. Some of these will be recorded as videos in a series called "Satsang, Sadhana and Sangha". Stay tuned, and stay inspired. Follow the light.

Om Namah Shivaya.

-GI