Before starting the column ’Awakening of Spiritual Emotion (bhav)’ in the Sanatan’s Marathi publication, Dainik Sanatan Prabhat, Sri Durga devi said to Sage Rama, "We may have to stop bhav satsangs." After the column was published She said, "Unless there is a change in the attitude of seekers after reading these articles, we will tell them to discontinue with bhav satsangs." Hence, all guiding seekers are reminded to kindly make sure that the bhav satsangs are continuing as per the guidelines given by Sri Durgadevi.

     In present times, it is necessary to increase spiritual emotion in seekers, hence, Sri Durgadevi had asked seekers to conduct weekly bhav satsangs, and also provided guidelines for them. With Her guidance, bhav satsangs were started in the Sanatan’s centers all over the world. However, seekers have made changes in the format of the bhav satsang according to their own wish. Sri Durgadevi is present subtly for each bhav satsang. By making changes in the format of the bhav satsang, the resolve (sankalpa) of Sri Durgadevi of increasing spiritual emotion within seekers will not activate. Hence, it is likely that She may tell us to stop the bhav satsangs.

     Changing the bhav satsang format according to your own wish is equivalent to indirectly attracting Shri Durgadevi’s wrath. To avoid this, guiding seekers should see to it that bhav satsangs are held in the manner given below. If the guidelines are not being followed, replace the present seeker conducting the bhav satsang with a seeker who has spiritual emotion. The topic of the satsang should be the same as that given in the ‘Awakening of Spiritual Emotion’ article which appears every Sunday in the Sanatan Prabhat on page 3, or as per the following given points.

     The topic in the satsang should be related only to the awakening or increase of spiritual emotion in the first half an hour of the satsang. (Topics such as personality defects, kshatravrutti, troubles of distressing energies should not be taken.)

     We should not increase the first half-hour session just because we have many points to share. Superior Deities are helping us in our spiritual practice, which in no way means that it is okay not to follow their strict guidelines or wishes. It is difficult to attain a deity’s grace, but it is even more difficult to regain the grace of a deity once it has been taken away. Without the grace of Deities, seekers cannot progress in Spirituality. Listening to what Deities say and putting it into practice should be our first priority and so bhav satsangs should be conducted as per the guidelines given by Sri Durgadevi.

Method of conducting the bhav satsang

First 30 minutes: Points on development of spiritual emotion.

    For the first 20 minutes, the satsang-conducting seeker should narrate points on spiritual emotion. For the remaining 10 minutes seekers should relate their spiritual experiences (anubhutis) related to development of spiritual emotion.

Second 30 minutes: Collective chanting of ‘Om Sri Durgadevyai namaha’

    With a prayer to Sri Durgadevi, seekers should collectively repeat (chant*) “Om Sri Durgadevyai Namaha.: After every 10 repetitions of Her Name, one should pray to Sri Durgadevi. (In the marak (destroyer aspect) tune.)

Third 30 minutes: Continuous prayer.

    The following prayer should be said - “Let all the activities during the day be done with spiritual emotion. Let me get the strength for the mission of nation building and establishing Righteousness (Dharma). Let the obstacles in my spiritual practice be removed.“

     One can also make the following prayers to God:

Fourth 30 minutes: Collective chanting

    Collective repetition (chanting) aloud of “Om Gan Ganapataye Namaha (3 times)” and “Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya” three times, alternately, with a prayer to Sri Durgadevi every five minutes.

Last 5 Minutes: Expression of gratitude

    During the last five minutes of the bhav satsang, seekers should express constant gratitude to Sri Durgadevi as follows:

“All the actions in the day are happening only because of Your grace. You only are getting everything done from us. Let this spiritual emotion persist in my mind continuously.“

     Conducting the satsang regularly in the above-given manner will retain the sattvik component (sattva predominant) of the seeker throughout the week until the next bhav satsang. This is the resolve of Sri Durgadevi. It will also help in our rapid spiritual progress.

     Take into consideration the following, while selecting the theory points for the bhav satsang:

    Instead of just going through the motions of conducting and participating in the bhav satsang, it is more important to pay attention to development of spiritual emotion in seekers.

    Click here to download the correct tunes for collective chanting in the bhav satsang.

    Miraj (India) ashram seeker Miss Kavita was constantly getting thoughts in her mind like, "I should not stay in the ashram. I do not want to live. I should die." One day, without any reason, she started crying and said, "I want to go home. I am not capable of staying in the ashram. I cannot contribute in the ashram." After going home, the bhuvlok–kshatraveer (warrior) seeker Kashinath, who was residing in her, told her, "I was under the impression that ‘Durcat’ (a mantrik—practitioner of mantra--troubling Kavita) was destroyed, but I was wrong. He was hiding somewhere inside of you. He was troubling you physically and I took care of that, tried to reduce it. But I failed to realize that you are psychologically weak. After discovering this defect in you, I realized Durcat had stored away all his black energy in one particular part of your body and was using it all to put the single thought, 'I want to die'. in your mind. Due to that one thought, different distressing energies would manifest in you or cause you distress."

    If any seeker gets similar thoughts, say a prayer to their chosen Deity of worship and start repeating the Deities Name. Take help of the guiding seeker and remove any such thoughts. Such suicidal thoughts can easily propel a person to act upon them. Do share with other seekers these thoughts; they can help us prevent such untoward incidences from happening.