Deriving Maximum Benefit from Satsang

"If pride enters a devotees heart when
he comes to attend a religious congregation,
then he stands to gain nothing. Whoever
wishes to derive the maximum benefit from
a holy congregation, and to reap the fruit
of crores of ‘yagyas’ (sacrificial rituals),
should do the following four things. Look,
you labour, but if you work in a wrong
manner and sow seed in dry land, it does
not sprout into plant. It is either burnt by
heat or eaten by termite. Only seed that is
sown in wet land, in the right manner, at a
proper depth and in the right season
sprouts and bears fruit. Similarly, when you
attend a holy congregation of the true, you
should keep four things in mind.

First, start from home with faith and devotion. In this
manner, all the distance travelled and time
spent to reach the place of congregation is
accounted for in heaven where abide Guru
Nanak Sahib and the Tenth Master Sri Guru
Gobind Singh. There, like a computer, our
presence is accounted for in heaven. Instead
of taking us to be present in the mundane
world, we are considered present in the
court of God Almighty. Whether one comes
on foot or on a vehicle, one’s mind and
heart should be focused on the holy
congregation. Even more than this, the
moment a man starts thinking that he is to
attend the holy congregation and so must
finish his worldly tasks, the entire period of
time from that moment is accounted for in
heaven. If he starts finishing his tasks from
the previous day, the time spent in doing
so is also reckoned in heaven provided he
has faith and devotion.

Secondly, when you come here, you
must pay obeisance with love and
reverence. What is your gain? When you
bow your head to the Guru, you will be rid
of your evil deeds and good deeds will
naturally take their place.

Thirdly, you should come here in utter
humility after shedding all sense of pride.
If you come with pride in your heart, you
have nothing to gain here. Don’t come here
with a sense of importance of your power
and position. At the Guru’s threshold
everyone is a cipher, a non-entity. We are
mere beggars seeking favours, “Lord God!
Give us this; give us that.” And our prayers
are granted by the bountiful and gracious
God.

Finally, you should listen
to the discourse with total concentration of
mind; first listen here attentively, and then
remember it at home ; it is only then you
reap full advantage of attending a holy
congregation. This is the fourth thing that
you should keep in mind."

-Sant Waryam Singh Ji.

Offering advice

A Naam abhiyaasee once told me that when you offer spiritual advice to a person (about something that you haven't experienced) and they don't believe you, you then lose some energy. To prevent this, just mention that you gained the information elsewhere (eg. read it somewhere, heard it from someone). No need if its something that you yourself have experienced.