Satsanga: The Supreme Cure

Sarga 16 of the Mumukshu Vyavahara Prakarana in the Yoga Vasistha is all about the power of satsanga — the company of the wise — and how it plays a central role in escaping the cycle of suffering and delusion. It's a direct continuation from the earlier chapters where inner virtues like santosha (contentment) were discussed, but now it focuses on what actually triggers and sustains those virtues.

Meeting noble souls helps you rise above the world.
It’s the greatest support a seeker can get.
Their presence uplifts, purifies, and redirects.

 From their company, the flower of wisdom blooms.
Those who protect it become vessels of true fortune.

 Even death feels lighter in a sage’s presence.
Hardship turns sweet like a hidden blessing.

 A sadhu’s presence is like wind clearing thick fog.
It lifts the soul trapped in the frost of pain.

 It sharpens the mind and cuts down ignorance.
It frees you from inner slavery — completely.

From satsang, the brightest lamp of discernment is lit.
It shines clear, like a dew-kissed lotus in sunlight.

 It gives lasting peace — safe, deep, and flawless.
A joy beyond compare flows from saintly company.

 Even when life falls apart, never let go of satsang.
Even a glimpse can rescue a drowning heart.

 Satsang is the lamp that shows the path.
It destroys the darkness inside and brings truth to light.

 One bathed in the pure stream of satsang —
What need have they for rituals, vows, or pilgrimages?

If saints — free of craving, doubt, and bondage — are found,
what use is tapas, pilgrimage, or scriptural hoarding?

 Blessed are those whose minds find rest in such saints.
Even the poorest must seek them, like a gem in dust.

 The mind touched by satsang blooms with divine charm.
It shines like a lotus among heavenly nymphs.

 That noble soul who tasted pure discrimination,
never abandons the company of the wise.

 Saints who’ve cut every knot of bondage —
they are to be served by all means, for they are rafts across this ocean of becoming.

They are dry firewood for hell’s flame —

those who mock saints and dismiss their presence.

Poverty, death, sorrow — all these painful illusions

are cured entirely by the medicine of satsang.

Contentment, saintly company, right inquiry, and inner peace —

these four are boats for crossing the ocean of samsara.

Contentment is the highest gain.

Satsang, the loftiest path.

Vichara, supreme knowledge.

And shama — the deepest joy.

These four, pure and luminous, break the bondage of becoming.

Whoever practices them rises beyond the waves of delusion.

If even one of these four shines in someone’s life,
the others follow like bees to a blossoming flower.

 Each one gives birth to the others.
So hold tight to even one — that’s the key to all success.

 Contentment, satsang, inquiry, and peace —
they move together in a pure mind like ships on a calm sea.

 Where these four dwell in harmony,
prosperity springs up like fruit on a wish-fulfilling tree.

 In a person who has all four — vichara, shama, satsang, and santosha —
qualities bloom like beauty under a full moon.

Where satsang, peace, inquiry, and contentment dwell,
victory flows like a king’s council led by wise ministers.

 So, O Raghu’s son, choose even one of them —
and with strength of will, train your mind to hold that jewel.

 Until at least one virtue takes root in you,
there is no higher path — no matter how far you walk.

 Crush distraction with the teeth of discipline,
till your mind firmly rests in the pursuit of virtue.

 Whether you're a deva, yaksha, man, or tree —
without effort and self-mastery, there’s no means forward at all.

If even one noble quality is nurtured with strength,
all faults quickly melt — as if burned by inner fire.

As virtue grows, other virtues follow and destroy all defects.
But when vice grows, it devours even the good left behind.

 In the dense forest of mind, desire flows like a wild river,
with banks of good and evil — sweeping all beings along.

 Where you direct this river, it will flow —
so choose the right bank and guide it with effort.

 With the speed of effort, steer your inner stream
toward the shore of good.
This river of your own nature — ah, don’t let it sweep you away!

Satsanga — the company of the wise — is not just a support but the very root of liberation; from it arise contentment, inquiry, and inner calm. Even if one masters just one of these, it leads to the rest, and together they become the raft that carries a seeker across the vast ocean of samsara.

Ramaswamy Sastry and Vighnesh Ghanapaathi