Sat-purusha
Sat-purusha · sat-purusha, “a good person”
Grammar: masculine noun; a compound of sat (good, real) and purusha (person): “a good person”. The plural sat-purushas means “the good”.
Meaning: a good, holy person who has no “I” and “mine”, sees Īśvara in all and fixes the mind on Śrī Hari. Same in sense as sādhu.
In the scriptures: Śrī Kṛshṇa teaches Uddhava about the sat-purushas in the Eleventh Skandha.
Uddhava’s question. Uddhava asks who is a sat-purusha in the eyes of Śrī Kṛshṇa, and what bhakti the good accept. Śrī Kṛshṇa answers that to one who gains bhakti through the company of the sat-purushas, they show his parama-pada (highest state), and he attains him easily (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 11, Chapter 11).
The marks of the good. The bhakta is compassionate, harms none and is forbearing; truth is his strength; he is pure-hearted, equal to friend and foe, and helps all. Desire does not stir his mind; his senses are restrained; he is gentle and peaceful, pure in conduct, gathers no things, does no act for fruit here or hereafter, eats in measure, and takes refuge in Śrī Kṛshṇa alone. He is attentive and deep-hearted and conquers the six waves: hunger, thirst, grief, delusion, old age and death. Without ego he honours others; he is capable, friendly and compassionate, and seeks the ātma-tattva. Of the many dharmas Śrī Kṛshṇa taught, their practice brings merit and their neglect naraka; yet the one who leaves them all and worships him is the best of the good (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 11, Chapter 11).
The company of the good. In the story of Purūravas, Śrī Kṛshṇa tells Uddhava that the sādhaka should give up the company of the wicked and keep the company of the good, who cut away his attachments with wholesome words. The sat-purushas expect nothing, fix the citta on Śrī Kṛshṇa, see Īśvara the same in all, have no “I” and “mine”, and gather no possessions. They always sing his accounts, and the pāpas of those who share in them are destroyed. As serving Agni removes cold, fear and darkness, serving the sat-purushas removes dullness, the fear of saṃsāra and ajñāna. For those sinking in the ocean of saṃsāra, the peaceful knowers of Brahman are the best refuge, like a strong boat. Food is the life of beings, Śrī Kṛshṇa the protector of the distressed, puṇya the wealth after death, and the sat-purushas the protection from saṃsāra. The sun gives outward sight; the sat-purushas give the full sight of the Ātmā. They are the devatās and the relatives, the Ātmā, and Śrī Kṛshṇa himself (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 11, Chapter 26).
Related terms: Sādhu · Satsaṅga · Bhakti · Saṃsāra · Brahmavid
Sources
- Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 11, Chapters 11, 26