By On the chilly morning of Sunday, January 21st, nearly 700 individuals gathered at Tagore Theatre in Chandigarh to attend SRM’s inaugural Satsang of 2024 – Anand Saar. With the majority attending their first live SRM event, Sri Guru aimed to familiarize the audience with the Saar, the essence of life and spirituality. Whether participants were friends or relatives of existing SRM seekers or had discovered the Mission through social media, a shared anticipation for exploring spirituality could be felt inside the auditorium.
Welcoming seekers with a soulful bhakti to align them with the spiritual ambiance, the talk commenced with Sri Guru shedding light on the title ‘Anand Saar,’ inspired by the undeniable truth that the essence of life is to experience true happiness. Through a thought-provoking allegory of a man searching for a gem in a river, Sri Guru unveiled the core dilemma of modern society – our pursuit of happiness in the exact opposite direction of its true existence. The audience’s introspection and receptivity were noteworthy as they acknowledged that, despite the unending race for ‘more,’ a persistent void remains within. Subsequently, Sri Guru underscored the role of spirituality in filling this void.
Nestled in the heart of Chandigarh, Tagore Theatre, a renowned cultural hub, stands as a tribute to Rabindranath Tagore, fondly known as “Gurudev”. Sri Guru used this prestigious stage to take inspiration from one of Tagore’s most famous literary compositions, the 35th poem of Gitanjali:
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action –
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.
Using Her creative prowess, Sri Guru related each line of the poem to a distinct step on the spiritual journey of a seeker:
- Freedom from fear
- Freedom from ignorance
- Freedom from the boundaries of sects
- Seeking a Sadguru
- Striving for excellence and purity
- Evolution of intellect
- Faith in God
After elucidating the Path of Spirituality, Sri Guru took the audience into the Practice of experience through a guided meditation. A brief yet intense session of 20 minutes allowed everyone to catch a glimpse of the Anand that the session was all about. A sense of deep relaxation and calmness permeated the entire hall.
The clarity gained during the event extended beyond the Satsang hall. With the help of a neatly designed booth highlighting the Path and Practice at SRM, a team of volunteers was well prepared to provide personalised guidance tailored to each seeker’s unique spiritual journey. Recognizing the diversity of paths – some resonate more with Bhakti, some connect more with Satsangs, while others with Meditation – the team assisted seekers in understanding and navigating their spiritual journey, offering tools for sustained connection.
With Anand Saar, the message was simple and clear: seek a Living Master, a Sadguru who can explain the intricacies of the spiritual path through Satsangs and provide transformative meditation practices to experience the transformation. The talk served as a brief and much-needed pause from the relentless Vistaar (expansion) of life. And for some, this could be the start of a long-awaited journey to return to the Saar.
