How to quieten the monkey mind? Sathya Sai, singing Bhaja Govindam verses, shows one way

Last updated on 14th October 2017

Given below are my recent comments (slightly edited) on a Facebook post in response to above question of how to quieten the monkey mind:

Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba's words as sung by him tell us one way to achieve that:
Satsangatwe Nissangatwam, Nissangatwe Nirmohatwam,
Nirmohatwe Nischalatattwam, Nischalatattwe Jeevan Mukti.
Hare Rama! Hare Rama! Rama Rama Hare Hare!
Hare Krishna! Hare Krishna! Krishna Krishna Hare Hare!

Here's the song sung by Bhagawan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8l3zkBiZ6k, 3 min. 21 secs.
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I think it is part of Bhaja Govindam of Adi Shankara but I don't know whether Bhagawan modified it a little. ... It is not just a reminder to take the holy name of God/Avatar but a mix of spiritual wisdom and holy name of God. ... Bhagawan was crystal clear about spiritual directions in such matters. A dream Guru he was, to me at least!
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Let me try a literal translation of the first two lines of the above mentioned verses, with my not-so-great understanding of the word Nissangatwe. So please be warned that my interpretation could be wrong.

Satsangatwe Nissangatwam, Nissangatwe Nirmohatwam
From good/divinity lovers/worshipers company (so good/divinity lovers/worshipers company for significant time is implied as the first step) to no company (solitude), From no company (solitude) to no infatuation (I think moha translates properly to infatuation).

Nirmohatwe Nischalatattwam, NIschalatattwe Jeevanmukti
From no infatuation to (being established in) steady/unchanging/eternal principle/basis (of consciousness/awareness), from being established in steady/eternal principle/basis of consciousness/awareness to liberation (from cycle of life and death).

I need to go out now. Hope to revisit this and improve my translation by using Internet sources/references.
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Well, this is one path that Swami spoke of. In this path, which seems to be a Jnana Marga path, I think solitude and stillness of mind are vital. .... But Swami did not limit his teachings to this Jnana Marga path alone. Most of his devotees, it seems to me, preferred Bhakti and Karma marga paths. He spoke many times on Bhakti and Karma. I am sure that the same destination is eventually reached by people following any of these paths.

In this context I should also share that once when I was doing Seva Dal duty in Sai Kulwant Hall (sometime in the 90s) and was rather frustrated with the challenges (humiliation, insults, phsyical strain etc.) that Seva Dal duty involved, and was thinking that this Seva Dal stuff is not really suiting me, Bhagavan gave a discourse that day itself where he touched upon the topic! He said something on the lines of (paraphrased):

Today I will tell you three paths to reach the Divine. [Ravi: I pricked up my ears. I said this is what I want him to tell me! I thought he would talk about Jnana, Bhakti and Karma paths and perhaps elaborate on which path suited which type of persons.] They are: Seva, Seva, Seva!
--- end paraphrased words of Bhagavan discourse ---

Ravi: I got that message loud and clear! It was not what I wanted to hear as I wanted to get some words from Swami that helped me move away from Seva Dal duty to more Jnana marga type of activity. But he was the Gurudev and I was the struggling spiritual aspirant. So I had to accept his words, even though I was not so pleased to hear that!

Today, I believe that Swami sensed those thoughts of mine and responded to them via his discourse.

As I kept his Seva, Seva, Seva words in my mind, I always tried to include significant level of Seva in my spiritual quest. Later I realized that it was this Seva activity that went a long way in bursting ego-pride related stuff that was in me at an internal level (not exposed much to outer world), and helped me better connect and appreciate the Bhakti and Karma marga people, and even learn from them.

I learned the vital spiritual trait of loving God by associating with Bhaktas. That was something that I think I could not have developed, or easily developed, by only Jnana marga approach (as I had understood it). Today, I am first and foremost a lover of God (as you may see even in my Facebook profile pic). Everything else comes afterwards.
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More about Bhagawan's emphasis on Seva.

The seating arrangement among staff and Sai orgn. senior office bearers in Kulwant Hall was a clear index of the position of the persons in the ashram system. It was like the seating arrangement in a King's darbar (court) reflecting the relative importance of the people in the darbar/court (to the King).

If a person who formerly was ashram staff, did not do any service activity currently but was leading an individual sadhana life, he would have to sit along with the Old Students (next to the garage area) which was not ideal for viewing mandir events and seeing Swami when he was seated on the dais! But people contributing to ashram seva activities on a regular basis could sit in staff or verandah area, and be much closer physically to Swami and generally have a better view of mandir events. So the message was loud and clear. If you want to have a seat which is physically closer to Swami in Sai Kulwant Hall, then you better do some seva in the ashram. That was the huuuuge importance Bhagawan in physical form, gave to Seva.

Another example is that of the late Gopal Rao sir, who was a former head of Andhra Bank, devotee of many decades, and was living in the ashram. He was the grandfather of a former lady colleague of mine in Mastek (software company) in Mumbai, where I was a (independent) software consultant. So I had visited Gopal Rao sir a few times and had some interesting chats with him.

Even though he was quite old (perhaps 80s then), he used to do South Indian Canteen seva of tearing the coupons of those who had been served OR were to be served their meals! BTW he would be wearing a traditional dhoti while doing this Seva. What an outstanding example he set for people like me, about the importance of Seva in Prasanthi Nilayam ashram. I mean, he was a retired chairman of an important state level bank in India, and was very well off. I think Bhagavan had even praised Gopal Rao sir publicly for doing this Seva.

Any person who has spent significant time in presence of physical form Bhagavan in Prasanthi Nilayam would clearly and unambiguously know that Bhagavan gave Seva first priority! Scriptural knowledge, medical knowledge, academic knowledge, singing ability etc. was all given reasonable importance in its place in the ashram system, but if you wanted to melt Bhagavan's heart and earn his praise, and also be respected in Prasanthi Nilayam system, you HAD TO DO SEVA. That was the extraordinary culture that Bhagavan created in Prasanthi Nilayam! Manav Seva is Madhav Seva was something that was the real thing for Bhagavan and not just mere words. This I say out of my experience in Prasanthi Nilayam system in Bhagavan's physical presence from Oct. 2002 to Mar. 2011.
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About comment about me being in Bhakti marga now: Well, Bhagawan would say that all margas are one or something like that (which you have also mentioned in your comment). My understanding of this is that Bhagawan felt that all aspects are IDEALLY needed in a devotee. So he would lay stress on chintan. He would lay stress on self-inquiry. But he would lay equal stress on Bhakti and on Seva! Today my path is a seamless blend of some Jnana, some Bhakti and some Karma marga paths. So I would not characterize my path as being primarily Bhakti now. I would rather say that Bhagavan showed me/taught me/enlightened me that love for God and worship of God is AN INTEGRAL part of the Jnana Marga (path of wisdom). Earlier I was foolishly arrogant and had a skewed intellectual less-properly-understood view of topics like Vedanta. By bringing devotion and love for God in my spiritual practice I now have a far better understanding of topics like Vedanta than before.
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From some Internet browsing:
1) The two lines: Satsangathwe ... are from Bhaja Govindam. But the Hare Rama lines seem to be a modification.
2) Nissangatwam is typically translated as detachment (instead of my literal translation of no company/solitude).
3) Tatwam, in this context, may be better translated as basis (instead of principle).
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Moha, I think, is translated many times, as delusion. Sometimes I think I have seen it being translated as infatuation.
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The classic Sanskrit word for detachment is vairagya, I think. From a Sanskrit word point of view, while I don't really know Sanskrit, whatever little bit I have been exposed to of Sanskrit, tells me that Nissangatwam cannot be literally translated as vairagya.

Perhaps neither is the translation of it as no company/solitude, the correct one, in this context.

The sangam in traditional and ancient India would have been, I guess, vital for status and survival. Perhaps nissangatwam may mean something like keeping away from regular society and regular worldly life. So it may mean sticking to a small group of people/spiritual aspirants who either help or do not hinder one's spiritual quest. In other words, limiting one's contacts to a small group of people. BTW I have heard that Bhagawan has privately advised some students who were in spiritual sadhaka/aspirant mode, to limit their contacts to a small group of people. I think that makes a lot of sense to a serious spiritual aspirant both from a time management perspective and also from a less tangled life perspective.

So I think in this context, Bhagawan would have interpreted nissangatwam as having limited/small group of people as one's company and NOT being caught up in regular society with its regular worldly affairs. I don't think translating nissangatwam as detachment is precise in this context. In fact, I think it could even be misleading. Detachment (vairagya) is a very big word with lots of commentary on it. One can hold big positions in society yet be detached! Nishkama Karma! King Janaka is typically held up as a great example of such persons who were active in society but were detached! Hands in society, head in the forest!
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About satsangam in this context: I think Bhagavan would have meant company of the good, the holy, the spiritual seekers and spiritual adepts. Mind you, the words, spiritual seeker, would include devotees who are into traditional Bhakti marga practices and who may not be doing much of reading intellectual stuff like Advaita and Upanishads. In my considered opinion, the simple and devout Bhakta is as vital a seeker to God as is the intellectually gifted scripture scholar.
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An update:
Just to bring some real life touch to what I said: Here's a video of Bhagavan felicitating Gopal Rao sir (the same ex-chairman of Andhra Bank who used to do Seva at South Indian canteen tearing coupons of people who were seated for meals, perhaps upto his early 90s) for his 100th birthday, if I recall correctly. Felicitation of Sri Gopal Rao, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sV-nz--TQjg, 9 min. 10 secs.

And here's the video of Bhagawan visiting Gopal Rao sir in Super hospital when the latter was seriously ill, Swami and Father, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPXe13tLTXg, 3 min. 50 secs.

The two above videos seem to have been put up by Gopal Rao sir's son Sri Suryanarayana (seen in the videos), whom also I have had the pleasure of meeting during one or two of my visits to Gopal Rao sir's room in the ashram (South building just behind Sai Kulwant Hall).