Spiritual Companionship & the Language Barrier
Little by little, but seemingly naturally, the idea came to
me to introduce Sri Easwaran’s teachings to the Japanese people. I was sure
that the practicality and universality of his teachings would appeal to anyone,
regardless of nationality. Besides that, by sharing his teachings I wanted to
build a base for spiritual companionship.
As my desire
to share his teachings with others became more serious, my aspiration to hold a
satsang became stronger. However, there was a big barrier in doing so: none of
his books had yet been translated into Japanese; added to that, not many people
felt easy reading or listening to English. This was true of myself actually.
When I read his books or watched the video talks, I often realized that his
words slipped away from my understanding; I was missing some important messages
(in truth, even now!) So, in order to comprehend his words correctly, I began
to translate his books into Japanese mostly for my own study.
Coincidently,
there appeared a small group of people who were interested in meditation.
Knowing that I was doing this seriously, they asked me to teach them the way I
was following. It gave me an excellent opportunity to introduce Sri Easwaran’s
method of meditation and the allied disciplines. Passage meditation was quite
new to everyone, so along with the translation of Chapter I of Passage
Meditation, I added some basic passages from God Makes the Rivers to
Flow for them. Also, for the “inspirational reading,” I chose one book at a
time and prepared each month a handout of usually one chapter per gathering.
When we finish that book, I choose the next one. This method fills the years
with true spiritual progress. This was the beginning of our satsangs.
With the
passage of time, for one reason or another, one group would dissolve and a new
one would arise, all in the course I feel of natural development. In fact,
there have been many ups and downs: sometimes I have to deal with people who
have quite different expectations, or who want to follow different meditation
methods. At other times, I feel I’m too busy to prepare a text, or think that
it is difficult to travel a long distance to a satsang venue. But in the end,
it is really important for me and others to have satsangs. Having spiritual
companionship is an essential part of the practice. Even if there is only one
person present, it is a precious experience for both of us. Organizing satsangs
have given me strength to go forward. I have learned how to obtain the
important sense of detachment.
