How to Host Your Own Satsang
Thursday, November 13, 2014
A long time ago, when Kopila Valley was a teeny tiny home with just 6 children, we started the tradition of family satsang. It was a cold winter and it seemed like every night around 6pm, just as it was getting dark, the power would go out, leaving us sitting around with nothing to do until bedtime. The children spoke no English, and in those early days I spoke very little Nepali. We didn’t have a lot of money and our house was very cold and barren: no solar, no generator, not even an emergency lamp. So we'd light a candle and sit around in a circle cuddled under a blanket, and start to tell stories. I thought about the best way for my children to learn English and it lead me to start satsang, a tradition that I learned from Ramana’s Garden.
The kids all came knowing village songs because singing is a big part of Nepali culture. Villagers have singing competitions (called deura) and are often heard singing while take their cows and goats out to graze on the mountain sides. I came from a family that LOVED music. No one was a musician, but music was always playing and my sisters and I grew up having dance parties and playing dress up.
So naturally sitting in Nepal with no power and not much to do, we began singing songs together, dancing, and talking about our days. Satsang is a time to sit quietly and reflect on the day. You start out with everyone sitting in a circle on the floor, taking deep breaths and releasing anything that you need to let go of. Sit up straight with your legs crossed with your hands on your lap in a standard yoga pose. Sometimes during the initial meditation we all hold hands. Other times we just take some deep breaths with our hands pressed together in Namaste. Nena, our current home fellow and resident yogi, always leads the best meditations and sometimes the kids lead by themselves. This is how satsang begins.
The prayers we do every single night are gayatri mantra, ganesh mantra, and a shiva song. Most of the prayers can be downloaded online. We end every single satsang with geyatri mantra because it's one of the world's oldest known prayers for peace. Also we start every satsang with 3 lonnnng OMMMMMs sung in unison. It's so relaxing! The leaders of satsang get to choose whatever songs they want and some days we get to learn a new song. We know everything from pop songs, to multicultural/religious songs, to the beatles, to row row row your boat! At the end of singing it's family meeting time. You talk about what happened that day, make announcements, talk about the schedule for the next day, or any issues or problems that have come up with the family. Some satsangs are serious, some are short, some are fun and a little wild, some are sad if we're going through something difficult, but we try to keep the theme of gratitude and togetherness. It’s a time to center ourselves and close out the day before bedtime. Once a month we focus on a family virtue. Last month we worked around the word "loyalty" and this month we chose the word “acceptance.” We have a book and curriculum we follow called the family virtues guide. At the end of every satsang we take a minute to pray, meditate, or make a wish! Whatever you prefer. The kids call it "wish time." Then you get Prassad! This is a little treat, usually fruit. Like a bedtime snack. It’s also a traditional Hindu tradition to eat a little Prasad after you sing Hindu bhajens.
Satsang has taken many forms! We’ve hosted a lip-syncing contest, we've break-danced to celebrate a birthday, we’ve even taught a class on stop, drop, and roll safety procedures. We celebrate holiday traditions like Hannukah or Valentine’s Day. We’ve hosted a book club. We’ve welcomed a new member to the family. We have welcome satsangs and goodbye satsangs for volunteers and friends. We play games like silent ball and the animal game, or we go around the room telling jokes.
The topics we discuss at family meeting range anything from “SOMEONE isn’t flushing the toilet!” to laundry not being put a way to "Stop stealing cucumbers from the garden!!" Often we're talking about the latest epidemic. (Lice, pink eye, scabies.) We always try to do the positive reinforcement thing and compliment each other. "Rooms have been extra clean lately! Congratulations to our soccer team for winning! Report cards were great!"
Satsang can be anything you want it to be! You can carve out a time that works for your own family. It doesn't have to be every night. You don’t even have to call it satsang. It’s been amazing for us especially now that the family has grown so big. Usually it's the only time during the day that we're all together in one room. I can't imagine our life here without it.