The world is ailing and the only cure is for us to turn our backs on sinfulness, and return to spiritual practice.

Chasing the illusion

In this era of materialism and consumerism, the human soul has been deprived of the joys of being one with the Source, and with the realization that God is attainable and that our spirit is part and parcel of the Supreme Soul. The latter is brought by the illusion that we are the mind and the body. Thus, we are accustomed to chasing the things that make our bodies satisfied—food, sex, intoxicants, and material success, and filling our minds with thoughts about yesterday and the future. All of these often result in unhappiness, dissatisfaction, anxiety, physical and mental sicknesses, and spiritual emptiness.

Moreover, humanity’s materialism also destroyed natural resources and disrupted the natural flow of things, hence, the issue of climate change and the possible end of humanity’s existence itself in the next few decades. As you may realize, our selfish acts because we chase impermanent things (thus, illusory), also affect the life and health of other beings.

Sangkamalayan and our quest for the true, the good, and the beautiful

Sangkamalayan, first and foremost, was created out of our desire to learn what is true, to find what is good, and to embody things that are considered noble and beautiful.

The desire to know what is true

It is not an exaggeration that this group has been formed because of its core members’ desire to know the truth about themselves, and to connect to the divinity.

As Sathya Sai Baba has said in one of his spiritual discourses (Satsang):

There are many fields of knowledge but there is only one supreme knowledge. This supreme knowledge is self-knowledge, the knowledge of the immortal self. It is the knowledge of your unchanging reality, your true self – that which was never born in which will never die. There are many other types of knowledge. There are different fields of art, science, commerce, and education. But these will only help you to gain some transitory worldly objectives and worldly pleasures. To realize the eternal bliss that is your own true nature, you must have self-knowledge. It is the only knowledge that enables you to know the inner peace and unending joy which is your own truth, your real identity. When you shine with self-knowledge, you become love itself. You become pure and completely selfless. Then you will always be in perfect harmony with all existence. (Sai Baba Gita, p. 1)

Even the Taoist faith also acknowledges that the True Self is the spiritual self, and nothing else. As Taoist philosopher and teacher, Chuang Tzu wrote:

The perfect man is a spiritual being, not bound by flesh.

Were oceans to boil up around him, he would not feel hot;

Were the cosmos to freeze up in ice, he would not feel cold;

Were lightning to crack open the mountains, and fierce winds to heave the seas, he would not stir at all.

Such a being rides upon the clouds of heaven, mounts the sun and moon like a chariot, and passes with ease beyond the reaches of this world.

Neither life nor death can touch him—how much less so the concern over gain or loss

(From Jonathan Star’s Two Suns Rising (A Collection of Sacred Writings), p. 43)

The longing to do something good and share something beautiful

Sangkamalayan is about love and compassion, and out of that love and compassion is our desire to bring positive changes to the community, and if possible, to the world.

It is more than feeding the hungry in the streets or sharing clothes and toys with abandoned children in a shelter—it is about sharing the wisdom of love, of Agape (agápē)—the highest form of love. As St. Paul wrote to the Christians living in ancient Corinth: “And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.” (Cf. 1 Corinthians 13) This kind of love extends not only to human beings, those who are living in dire conditions in the slums, but to Mother Nature, whose love also nourishes us and other unseen (yet existing) beings.

Moreover, Sangkamalayan is also a hub for psychospiritual and eco-spiritual healing and getting in touch with the divinity that resides inside—and outside—of us.

Furthermore, Sangkamalayan also dreams of building a strong community of lightworkers, healers, storytellers, and cultural workers, unitedly working for the positive evolution of humankind. Under the guidance of spiritual masters of all spiritual and esoteric traditions, we hope that Sangkamalayan will serve as a shining beacon to find the path, going Home…