Chapter – 2 - The ritual of listening to Satsangijivan

Thus, after hearing his wonderful speech, the king was not fully satisfied and was still very eager to hear his nectar-like enlightening speech; so, pleased, he again asked him - 1.

The King said – O Sage! Of great intellect, expert in religious matters,I wish to know the detail procedure of hearing this Shastra from you. So can you please tell me clearly. 2.

Thus asked by the king who was very eager to know, the great sage was very pleased and spoke to that humble and loving king. 3. 

Shatanand Muni spoke -O Great King! Men of all four castes and Ashramas (stages of life) are said to be qualified to hear this sacred text. 4.

This is the path common to all, the bestower of all kinds of prosperity and helps to accomplish all four goals of human life directly, which is eulogized by great sages and also adored even by gods. 5.

It is not possible to understand the divine nature of one’s own Self,without hearing narratives of Lord Shri Hari’s life and teachings. Without knowing Him thus how it will be possible for human beings to break the chain of Sansar ! 6.

Satsangijivan as a lamp of knowledge

This sacred text is like a lamp for those who have become blind by the darkness of ignorance; Listening to the life story of Shri Hari is like a medicine for those who are suffering from worldly ills. 7.

Those embodied ones who desire to advance on the spiritual path and do effort for their good in all respects, should always hear this auspicious life story of the Lord. 8.

If it is not possible for a person to hear this life story of the Lord regularly all the time, he should hear it every day at least for some minimum available time, attentively. 9.

If a person is unable to hear it every day, he should hear it on some auspicious day or in an auspicious month. 10.

Those who hear this auspicious story for an hour or for half of it or even for a minute (moment) with devotion, will never come to an evil end. 11. 

By performing all these sacrifices or by giving all kinds of gifts, whatever the reward is earned by a man, the same is earned by hearing this story sincerely and devotedly. 12.

O King! A man who has not heard this auspicious story of Shri Hari is regarded as a beast; so those who desire their own good should hear it, by observing the proper procedure. 13.

O King! If it is not convenient for a person to hear it regularly then he should hear it in the four months of monsoon or on auspicious occasions. 14. 

The ritual of listening to Satsangijivan
Having finished daily religious duties, one should call upon a speaker, who is an expert in the Shashtras, offering him a comfortable seat, the host should salute him respectfully. Then having placed the sacred book on a decorated elevated desk, the speaker should be offered a low-level seat(behind the desk) specially arranged for the speaker i.e. ‘Vyasapeetha”. That seat should be very soft and comfortable. 15-16 

Firstly the host should worship the sacred book, then he should adore the speaker with sandal-paste, auspicious rice, garland of flowers, waving of scented stick and lamp. Then he should be offered eatables, beetle leaves, fruits and gifts, with devotion; and bow before with respect. 17-18 

Humbly calling upon the speaker
Then, the host should salute the speaker with the following words ‘O you! The expert in the knowledge of Vedas and the Shashtras! The bestower of knowledge regarding Shri Hari. You are His intent devotee. You are the incarnation of the auspicious vow, I bow down to you very humbly’– Then the host should worship the prominent listeners, Brahmans and gentlemen among the audience. 19-20.

Saluting the speaker, all listeners should sit on the lower seats than the speaker and listen to him with a tranquil mind. 21.

Decorum of sitting in the congregation
Kshatriyas should be arranged to sit behind the Brahmans; Vaishyas behind the Kshatriyas; Shudras behind them and the men of intermix caste should sit behind the Shudras in the assembly. All should sit in a disciplined manner, observe the decorum of the assembly and hear the Katha of Lord Shri Hari. 22-23.

People should give a seat to the learned Brahmans who are advanced in penance and those absorbed in Brahm, the supreme spirit, should be given the seat in the front row. Ladies should sit keeping distance of a bow (Dhanu – traditional distance- measuring unit) from the gents; they should observe with discipline and hear the story of the Lord. 24-25. 

A listener should gift (even) a leaf, flower, fruit or a copper or gold coin or at least handful of grains to the speaker and then, sit and hear the divine story. 26. 

The speaker may be a little boy, young or an old person, may be poor or weak, in this case no discrimination should be made; he should always be respected and honoured by the listeners who are desirous of their well being.. 27.

The speaker should never be regarded as an ordinary person. The speech that comes out of the speaker’s mouth is like a wish-yielding cow (Kamdhenu) for human beings. 28.

Speaker as the foremost guru Some men deserve respect due to their birth (by caste or age) some by merit but among those the speaker of this sacred text stands above all those deserving persons. 29.

A human being takes birth in this world thousands and thousands of times and goes through unlimited sufferings, for such a man who can be more adorable than the speaker of this scripture who imparts knowledge about Shri Hari ! 30.

Satsangijivan should not be recited to certain persons 

This story of the Lord, should not be read in the presence of those having evil tendencies, like cunningness, challenging attitude, misbehaviour. 31.

Satsangijivan should not be recited in certain places

A wise speaker should not read this auspicious story in the place occupied by ill-behaved men or at a place inhabited by low born people or a place occupied by wild animals or the gambling hall. 32.

Where should Satsangijivan be recited?
This story of the Lord should be read only in a good place - a (prospering) town occupied by virtuous people or in a temple or on the riverside, or at a dining hall of a sanctified household, where pious Brahmans dine. 33.

Those listeners of the sacred text who do not worship the speaker, respectfully offering sandal paste, flowers or salutations, surely become very poor. 34. 

Decorum of listening to Satsangijivan

Men should not sit to hear the story with a turban on their head. They should not chew tobacco or betel nut etc., at the time of hearing this sacred story. 35. 

The seat of the listener should not be on the same or higher level of the speaker’s seat. Listeners should sit properly and not with their legs spread or in Virasana pose (folded leg pose used in yoga). 36.

None should sit with his feet covered by a cloth or should not hear the story in resting position unless he is suffering from any physical ailment. 37.

The consequence of disobeying the rules of listening to katha

Those who hear this auspicious story of Shri Hari watching the faces of ladies lustfully, will become a stray pig in that town.. 38. 

Those who talk or gossip or those who argue with obstinacy unnecessarily at the time of hearing the story of the Lord, are born as donkeys. 39. 

O best of the kings! Those wicked persons who create obstacles or hindrances while Shri Hari katha is going on they become ghosts in the next life. 40. 

Those mortals who find fault with the speaker or in the sacred story that removes the sin, become stray dogs for next hundred births. 41.

O King! So, this story of Shri Hari should be heard with respect and discipline and modesty and thereby making the speaker comfortable. 42. 

Hospitality for the speaker 

The reader of this story should be given an oil-massage followed by a bath. He should be given rich and tasty food every day. Every day he should be given filtered and boiled milk of cow added with sugar in the morning for smoothening his voice. 43-44. 

At the completion of every chapter and on any special day of vow or on auspicious occasions, the speaker should be specially worshiped and given fees according to one’s monetary capacity. 45. 

At the end of the Katha - the reading of the scripture, elaborate worship of the speaker should be performed; all listeners should gift gold to the speaker according to their capacity. 46.

The speaker should be gifted with gold or copper coins, clothes, food or a vehicle according to monetary position of each listener. If any of the listeners are poor, they may gift wood or at least some soil. 47.

The audience should worship the speaker offering him cloths and ornaments; he should be seated in a decorated carriage, and be taken to his house in a procession with singing and playing instruments. 48.

O King! Thus I have told you the general rules regarding the discipline of listening to the scripture named Satsangijivan. Persons who hear it following these rules, told by me, surely will get its full reward undoubtedly. 49-50.

First, having known about this correct procedure of hearing the story of Lord’s life, then one should listen to it. This course of listening should be followed according to these rules. It will surely fulfil the desires of the listeners. 51.

Here ends the second chapter of Satsangijivan Mahatmya that describes the correct way of listening to the story of the Lord in the conversation between Shatanand Muni and Hemantsinh regarding the importance of the composition and other topics. 2