A satsang I very highly recommend
Listening deeply with an open heart and mind
Tonight I watched a new video of my dear friend John Butler, the Christian mystic, called “Divine Justice.” I was quite triggered by his responses to three questions he was asked by the interviewer. I immediately dashed off a critical comment, which I later edited and revised several times. I knew right away that something about my reaction was off because I could feel that I was judgmental and angry, and that my heart wasn’t open. I felt sure I was right and he was wrong. I felt like a victim, and I was seeing him as an other who was ignoring my very real suffering and adding to my oppression. It’s an old koan of mine, how to balance the suffering and injustice in the world with the bigger reality in which all is well, and it’s an issue where John and I have butted heads before.
No sooner had I dashed off my reactive comment than the universe, appearing as YouTube, put a video of a satsang with Tom Das in front of me, and I clicked on it.
Tom is a medical doctor and spiritual teacher in the UK and a devotee of Ramana Maharshi. It appears to be an excerpt from a satsang he held shortly after the US election. It begins with a participant, a gay man, expressing his upset over Trump’s win. For the record, although I am also gay, and although I didn’t vote for Trump, I don’t share this man’s views about the election—but in his upset and his assumptions, I could totally see a reflection of my own reaction to John Butler’s video. It woke me up and opened my heart.
I loved the way Tom responded to the man who was upset, and it relates to all of us in ways far beyond this particular issue or situation.
Tom does not express any particular political opinion or position, and this is definitely not a political or partisan satsang. What Tom says was nothing entirely new to me—it’s very much what I’ve said many times. But Tom says it from a very deep place, in a very clear and gentle way, with a great deal of love and humility. He even tells the Old Chinese Farmer story in a way that brought out a whole different element for me. All in all, this satsang touched me deeply. I highly recommend watching it.
A word of caution on one bit that may put some of you off—Tom sometimes speaks in devotional language, and when he speaks a few times of trusting Bhagwan or Ramana, as I hear him, he means God, Wholeness, Ultimate Reality, Presence, Life, the Universe—translate it into whatever word works for you. I encourage you not to get hung up on the language or put off by the ways he expresses this if it isn’t exactly your way.
This is a very beautiful, potent satsang, and I had to share it with all of you.
Love,
joan
I appreciate the humility you demonstrate in sharing the triggered reaction you had to John Butler’s responses.
Thanks as well for sharing Tom’s satsang and the wisdom he shared ~ that a deeper understanding is available through recognizing inherent innocence; that we don’t choose our beliefs; that forming a conclusion/position/judgment about “other” is to simply not have gone far enough. His responses/insights to the political situation are the best I’ve heard. Recognizing inherent innocence facilitates curiosity, exploration, understanding, and compassion. Anything that leaves even a subtle sense of “other” is a gentle reminder of a limiting construct waiting to be recognized, uncovered, explored, felt, released and set free.
And, even though I’ve heard the farmer story many times throughout the years, I, too, enjoyed Tom’s version.
Much love and appreciation, Joan. Thank You for Being.
Wow. While and after watching this, a great sense of liberation is what I am feeling. It is what we don't know that the mind appears to toy with(loved the Old Chinese Farmer story....had not heard it before) . Hearing him say, "We can't choose our beliefs." became crystal clear. Thank you for giving a 'heads up' about what to expect during the video. I have steered clear of 'satsangs' lately. I felt at home and very comfortable with Tom Das and this video. Thank you Joan.