Keep the Critic Near: Satsanga and the Transformation of a Fickle Mind
In the morning satsanga of October 26, 2026, Swami Jyotirmayananda taught that Rama is never shaken by what the enemy probes in secret, that a critic kept near makes one more skilled, and that satsanga transforms the same fickle mind until nara becomes Narayana.
The satsanga opened with an invocation to Lord Rama of the Raghu dynasty, whose complexion is like a blue lotus, very tender and delightful, with Sita seated at his left side and a powerful bow and arrow in his hands. After the Hare Rama mantra came the prayer to the Lord, the ocean of bliss: give us the gift of wisdom, and may we be heroes in the battle of life. His beauty shines in the sun, moon and stars; His glory surges in the rivers, streams, lakes and seas. May we behold Him in all names and forms. He is the mother, father, friend, guru and guide, shining in heaven and in our heart. The prayer asked Him to shower His grace on us, and closed with Om Namah Shivaya.
Rama Is Not Shaken by Secrets
Swamiji then continued the Ramayana. The passage concerned one who had been a servant of Ravana and who came to learn the secrets of Rama's forces, and who by the end of the episode no longer served Ravana. Rama, Swamiji explained, is not dominated or affected by any secret. Every demoniac force that had come in secret, Rama welcomes, and he uses even the one sent against him to carry his own message back.
The Critic Who Makes You Pure
From there Swamiji turned to the seeker's own life and recalled the old saying nindak niyare rakhiye, aangan kuti chhavaye: keep the critic near you, give him a hut in your own courtyard. The inimical personality probes every secret of your life, and you come to realize that this is so, but you are not afraid. Give him a respectable place, Swamiji said, and in that state the critic does what the saying promises: bin pani, sabun bina, nirmal kare subhaye, without water and without soap, he makes your nature pure. Your intuitive movement becomes free.
He put it in a very simple way. You are a student writing articles. "And while you are writing, someone is watching." That one says, "It's wrong." He is pointing out the error, and so he makes you more skilled in writing articles. But if you go on writing articles and no one points out the error in them, the articles do not come out very good. That, Swamiji said, is the role of the nindak, the critic.
Arya and Anari
All of Rama's movements, Swamiji taught, give respect to women. He drew attention to a subtle point in how the word nari is used, and explained it through two words: Arya and anari. If you do not have nobility, you are anari, foolish; if you have nobility, you are Arya. The point, he said, is the removal of that type of foolishness. It is not only about giving respect to women.
The Miracle of Satsanga
Every human being, Swamiji explained, is characterized by a fickle mind. Yet it is the same mind that is transformed. The same nara, the human being, becomes Narayana. "But that's the miracle of Satsanga."
Without satsanga, the demoniac forces are so extensive that Swamiji likened them to locusts in the sky. On the other hand, the moment you go through satsanga, you have Hanuman shakti, the strength of Hanuman. All the forces that help you are divine forces, and all the gods come as your army.
Sugriva and the Will of Rama
Sugriva, Swamiji said, represents the higher self. The movement of the higher self becomes perfect when it is in tune with Rama's will. If you have not taken refuge in Rama, if there is no saranagati, the higher self still has its own power. "It can beat up ignorance." Then he added, "But it can't destroy it." Ultimately it is the higher self that gets beaten, and only after that does it come into harmony with Rama.
The satsanga concluded with a prayer for the grace of God to shower on all, with Durga's blessings, followed by the Mahamrityunjaya mantra, Tryambakam yajamahe, and the prayer sarve bhadrani pashyantu, may all see what is auspicious.
Terms in This Satsanga
- satsanga — the company of truth; the "miracle" that transforms the same fickle mind.
- nindak — the critic, who by pointing out error makes one more skilled.
- Arya / anari — the noble one and the foolish one; the distinction is nobility.
- Hanuman shakti — the strength of Hanuman, which comes to the one who goes through satsanga.
- saranagati — taking refuge in Rama, without which the higher self can beat ignorance but not destroy it.
- Narayana — God; the goal into which nara, the human being, is transformed.
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