What is the meaning of satsang?
“I find that somehow, by shifting the focus of attention, I become the very thing I look at, and experience the kind of consciousness it has…”
This statement by Nisargadatta is very profound and it explains satsang in a very simple yet incredibly profound way.
Your base nature is pure and formless. The space becomes the smoke when filled with smoke, becomes fragrance near a rose, and bound by walls becomes a room …because the pure space is formless. It has no fixed characteristics of its own. It becomes the very thing that it holds. Silence has the similar behavior near a waterfall it sounds like falling water, near a stream it sounds like flowing water and near a Mozart it sounds like a music. Because these are base …pure and formless …ready to adopt anything. Consciousness too is just an empty slate, a clean mirror, a clear lake …it simply reflects the object in its view and adopts its nature.
Sitting near a lake, you start feeling its tranquility and serenity inside you, sitting in a rose garden the beauty of roses start arising in you, watching children playing in park, a child arises in you. Similarity, a silent transmission takes place when sitting near a Ramana, or Buddha. Some of his consciousness starts entering into you. The consciousness starts merging. Your nature starts adopting some of Buddha’s and a profound transformation starts taking place.
It also works in the society. Couple who primarily stay in only each other’s company soon start reflecting each other, start thinking, talking and behaving in similar way.
Because, this is how consciousness works …because it is not really separate. There are no boundaries. It has no protections, no walls. It spreads. A Buddha affects the consciousness of the people and place around him, so does Saddam. Every consciousness spreads and affects its surrounding.
