In ancient Vedic culture the chanting of mantras and the singing of devotional songs in praise of the Divine have always been recommended. The power of the human mind to create its own reality has always been put to work. When you acknowledge, appreciate and celebrate all the abundance that has been showered on you, your sense of gratitude makes it grow even further. When your focus is on lack, lack grows; when your focus is on abundance, abundance grows. Throughout the world, in almost all ancient cultures, the universe, Brahman, the ocean of consciousness, the paramatma was always perceived as the Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient, Divine, Supernatural entity. And everything in it—from the sun to the moon to the stars to the oceans to the mountains to the rivers to the rains to fire to air—was always seen as portions, sections, chunks of the Divine energy. They were always revered, honoured, worshipped. The wise seers knew that if humans honour and respect nature, it will always protect them and provide for them.

Hence they formulated this ritual, this tradition, this practice of Not for circulation Optimizing the Golden Opportunity of Being in the Human Body 155 singing praises of the Divine, expressing your thankfulness and requesting-praying-pleading for whatever you want, with a clear belief that ‘whatever will be asked for, shall be given’. The nature, universe, the Divine, is always poised to proclaim, ‘Tathastu’, let thy will be done, so be it (‘तुम जो चाहो, सो हो’). Some call it the law of attraction. Whatever you allow to develop in your inner world, you will attract that in the form of things or events in your outer world. The intensity of your prayer vastly determines how quickly tathastu (so be it) happens.

The spiritual masters proclaimed:

जो इच्छा करे मन माही, प्रभु प्रताप कछु दर्लु र्लभ नाहि।

In a pure, pious, uncontaminated mind, whatever wish, desire, intention or prayer arises, the collective consciousness, Brahman, Divinity is poised to fulfil it.To regularly express gratitude for life, to convert your desires and wishes into prayers and to offer them to the

In the second section of satsang, the literal meaning of this word is addressed. Sat is truth, knowingness; sang is association. Being in association with the ultimate truth is satsang. Even the writing or reading of this book is a part of it. I am honestly expressing the intricate truths that I have explored in my life, and you are courageously, inquisitively and open-heartedly reading them. While reading and contemplating about them, if you instinctively feel that your personal truth is being addressed, that your understanding of the consciousness is getting enriched, that you are finding practical use of this knowledge in dealing with the issues of your life, please be generous, courageous and responsible and share it with others.

In India, where universal consciousness and individual consciousness have been studied for millennia, the rishis have documented their extraordinary findings in the form of a few scriptures. Extremely meticulous, methodical, detailed descriptions of all aspects of the consciousness are available in such holy manuscripts as the Bhagavad Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam, Patanjali Yog Sutras, Narada Bhakti Sutras, Ashtavakra Gita, Yoga Vasistha, etc. From bhakti (devotion), gyan (knowledge), dhyan (meditation) to swar (power of breath) and mantra (the magic of chanting)—everything is explored extensively in these scriptures for the benefit of humanity. I recommend that, with utmost reverence and respect, you go through these divine scriptures for the blossoming of your own consciousness. Reading openheartedly the narrations of truth by the learned ones; regularly reminding yourself of the deeper, higher truths of existence, so that the mind doesn’t lose the path of self-realization; and taking reference of the holy scriptures to explore the true nature of the self all this is part of satsang. In the domain of swadhyay, observing your tendencies on a very regular basis, your conversations and the platform or base on which they sustain is also part of satsang, being in association with the deeper truths of life.