October 13, 2021
Dear reader,
Namaste.
Many centuries ago in India, the abstruse truths of the universe and of God were accessible only to those who were learned or members of elite Brahmin families. This was because it was only they who understood Sanskrit, one of the oldest languages in the world and the language in which most scriptures were written.
In time, however, there came to be a remarkable emergence of saints and Siddhas who, out of their great compassion and generosity, imparted the incomparable wisdom of the scriptures in the common vernacular—in the languages that all the laypeople of India spoke and understood. In this way, everyone was now able to comprehend the wisdom of the scriptures, obtain the means to experience God, and learn how to better live a meaningful life. The medium that the saints and Siddhas drew upon to impart these teachings was satsang.
One of the great Siddhas of our own time, who transformed thousands of lives through his satsangs, was Baba Muktananda. It was Baba who made shaktipat known and available all across the world, and who, in the 1970s, made the most wonderful spiritual gathering—called satsangs—familiar to the Western world.
The month of October is an extraordinary time of year for Siddha Yogis and new seekers, because this is when we observe the anniversary of Baba Muktananda’s mahasamadhi, the merging of his physical form into universal Consciousness.
In India when a great being leaves their body, the occasion is not regarded as having the finality of death. While they are living, a great being will often, and very naturally, go into a state of deep meditation, which is also called samadhi. When they ultimately leave their physical body, it is therefore called mahasamadhi, “the great samadhi.”
For most people, birth brings joy and death causes sorrow. However, the great beings—the saints and the Siddhas—are not caught in these pairs of opposites. The natural course of life, from birth to death, is a movement from joy to greater joy, from light to ever more incandescence.
Honoring a great being on any day is uplifting. I am reminded of one of Baba’s favorite sayings: “You are what you think.” When you think of a great being, naturally your own greatness flows forth within you, lapping the shores of your mind.
If honoring a great being on any day reaps such benefit, then honoring them on the occasion of their mahasamadhi is even more uplifting! On the full moon of Wednesday, October 20, 2021, we will commemorate the 39th lunar anniversary of Baba Muktananda’s mahasamadhi. And the way we will honor Baba and experience our own greatness is by participating in what he made so well known throughout the world: satsang.
Having attended hundreds upon hundreds of satsangs with Baba, both in Gurudev Siddha Peeth in India and during Baba’s travels throughout the West, I can assure you that attending this satsang in honor of Baba Muktananda’s mahasamadhi will be exactly like attending satsang with Baba. Thinking about Baba, seeing his image, finding him in my heart, meeting him in my dreams, reading his books, studying his teachings, attending satsang on the Siddha Yoga path website—in all of these things, I feel I am with Baba, and he is with me.
Baba never missed an opportunity to speak about atman, the Self—to teach about the Self, to expound on the Self, and to make sure that Siddha Yoga students study the Self and understand what the Self is. And I can certainly attest: Baba imparted the experience of the Self.
I therefore find it absolutely fitting that the title of the satsang in honor of Baba Muktananda’s Mahasamadhi is:
Greet the Self
This satsang will be available on the Siddha Yoga path website beginning the evening of Saturday, October 16 (USA eastern daylight time), and it will be available until the end of October. The satsang will include:
- The hymn Jyota se Jyota Jagao
- A share about a teaching from Baba
- A video talk by Baba Muktananda titled “Wherever You Are, Attain the Self”
- Chanting the Siddha Yoga namasankirtana Om Namo Bhagavate Muktanandaya
- Meditation
I look forward to joining you all as we honor Baba and invoke his presence and his grace by participating in Siddha Yoga satsang.
With warm regards,
Sindhu Porter