Sri Sri Ganapati Sachchidananda Swamiji – speech on Day 6 of Navaratri Celebrations – October 13, 2010 – Mysore
Jaya Guru Datta
Swaravali Raga Sagara, the audio CD from the Healing Music Concert held in Malaysia this year was released by Sri Swamiji. The music was played and blissfully and peacefully enjoyed by Sri Swamiji and the entire audience for about half an hour.
“For the purpose of blessing everyone with a broad, open-minded perspective, Mother Goddess incarnated as Vishaalaakshi (literal meaning is – the wide-eyed one), the presiding deity of Day 6 of the Navaratri Festival. She looks upon all with an equal generous compassion. That is the real meaning, and not that her eyes are huge. She looks upon the vast Creation, protecting each and every atom, and each and every living being in it with equal grace and love. Even the tiny frog that is hidden under the rock is nourished and protected by her. Her expansive view covers the most desolate mountain regions, the thickest jungles, and the deepest oceans, all of which harbor countless living beings, both visible and invisible. Just like the Sun’s rays, her vision spreads everywhere, from all different angles, at all times.
‘Sarvendriyaanaam nayanam pradhaanam’, it is said. Of all the sense organs, the eye is the most important. Mother Goddess has incarnated in many forms with very special features of her eyes, such as Padmaakshi (lotus-eyed), Vaamaakshi, Meenaakshi (fish-eyed), Lolaakshi, Deerghaakshi (elongated-eyed), Mrigaakshi (deer-eyed) and so on. She is the giver of life and energy through nourishment or food. One must remember Mother Annapoorna with gratitude before taking food. When out of anger a plate of food or a glass of drink is rudely pushed away, that person and that household will suffer from poverty and stomach ailments. It is a sin to abuse and criticize food even if it does not meet your taste. One should never shout and use bad words towards the mother, the wife, the chef, or the server of food for any reason. Food is Mother Goddess herself. Food of any type should be worshipped, be it bread or rice.
Some people brag that they are very generous and that they do Annadana. Yet, they are greedy and miserly in preparing or serving sufficient food. They prepare, serve or provide food with an arrogant attitude as if the person receiving the food is inferior to them. They treat the recipients with disdain and insults, throwing food in their face with irritation. If I were the one at the receiving end, I would be thick-skinned. I would eat heartily to my satisfaction, disregarding their attitude. But many people feel very hurt with such a bad and unfriendly behavior. To behave like that is very wrong. One should willingly forego their own share of food to satisfy a hungry person, and not fill them up with bananas before offering the meal so that they would eat less food. One should always give food with love, compassion, gentleness, joy, and generosity. That itself is equal to worshipping Mother Annapoorna-Vishalakshi. They are both one and the same. They both reside in Kashi, which represents the heart or the head region, indicating compassion and discrimination. Even we may sometimes get a bad thought or take a bad view of something. By worshiping Mother Goddess we get purified.
Song: Annapoorna Jnanapoorna
There is a place in Nepal called Akshi Peetha, which represents the Eye of the Mother. When Mother Vishalakshi is worshipped, we obtain a broad and generous perspective whereby we see the presence of God not only in a temple but everywhere. Our narrow, self-centered perspective is removed. In individuals who have attained that state of Tureeya, who have achieved that perfect vision of seeing everything as God, ego and attachment do not exist. They wear their broad, universal perspective as their decoration. They are great souls who are ever kind, compassionate and virtuous. Mother Vishalakshi always resides in their hearts.
The Vedas describe the person who possesses such a vision as ‘sa-akshata’ meaning ‘the one who has seen’. When such a person sets his eye on something, it happens at once. Through their eye energy gets transmitted. Their power cannot be described.
On the other hand there are those who have a cruel eye, who wish evil upon others, like Pootana (the demoness in Bhagavatam who tried to kill baby Krishna with her breast milk). When such persons cast an eye, a healthy Tulasi plant will die, or a child becomes sick. We have to protect ourselves from the glance of such persons, by covering the plant with a cloth, or hiding the child from their view. Sometimes insistently they search, find, and cast their evil eye. If your worship of Mother Vishalakshi such people will get reformed. You will be protected from their evil effects. That is why many devotees start their day by obtaining the Sadguru’s protective glance upon them by looking at his photograph. In spite of that if some small mishap occurs, you must realize that because of Guru’s grace only a small mishap occurred, and not anything more serious. Mother Goddess and Sadguru always protect you.
The Lalita Sahasranama, the 1000 names of Mother has many descriptive names for the eyes of the Mother Goddess, such as ‘Kaamaakshee kaamadaayinee’, Parvatee padmanayanaa’, Sahasraakshee sahasrapaat’, Ramyaa raajeevalochanaa’, ‘Varadaa vaamanayanaa’, Tejovatee trinayanaa’, Lolaakshee kaamaroopinee’, ‘Aaraktavarnaa trilochanaa’, Mrigaakshee mohinee mukhyaa’, Daraandolita deerghaakshee’, ‘Pushkaraa pushkarekshanaa’, and Vishaalaakshee viraaginee’.
Song: Chanting of the Trishati – a section of the 300 names of Mother Lalita, simplified and set to tune with great effort.
Song: Vishala lochane
(O Mother with a broad vision, and pure feelings and effulgence, please protect me always. O sweetheart of Siva, you cannot be grasped by the evil ones. You glow with joy and radiance. Your forms are endless. You rule the worlds enjoying the unbroken bliss of supreme consciousness with a perpetual smile on your face. Seeing the happiness expressed by your beloved you open your eyes wide and look upon everything wishing to bestow the eternal Sat-Cit-Ananda to all.)
We are very lucky to witness this elaborate worship of Mother Goddess. You will not find it anywhere else or in the future. Here there is only one priest. He is the only priest. Nobody can substitute or replace him like priests in other temples.
Look at these Europeans. How steadily and patiently they sit and watch. Our people are now learning from them. They do not take breaks to either drink water or leave water or to sleep. I have never seen such devotion. Agastya sits like a piece of wood taking photographs. Generally these people do not sit on the floor. Their knees and ankles will hurt. Our people who do japa have asana siddhi. They can sit for long hours. These people do not know mantra. It is all because of only their devotion to Swamiji. When announcements are made through the microphone, it is all in Indian languages. They do not understand. The Indian music performances sound very strange to them. All different funny sounds. The Russians who came for the first time looked stunned and bewildered at this ‘music’. (Sri Swamiji produced the sounds).
The people sitting at the back of the stage (who have been given the Deeksha – vow by Sri Swamiji to do either mantra chanting or read specified scriptures during this festival period) make the funniest gestures and expressions (Sri Swamiji demonstrated the poses, actions, and facial expressions such as yawning, nodding off to sleep, stretching without any inhibition). They are in their own world, oblivious to what is happening outside. We must take photographs of their actions and expressions. It is a big performance.
The camera people – with things always attached to their ears and their eyes, their faces are distorted (Sri Swamiji imitated the bent heads and the squinting and blinking eyes); they only know how to look through the camera lens, not directly at anything with both eyes. Even without their equipment they look and talk like that. They are so habituated.
Even this Sitaram – minute after minute, he is handing me the harati, even when it is not time for harati. I have to remind him that now the curtain has to be closed. Always, he can only think about handing me the harati. This other kid, like a machine, he places the tray, and he removes the tray, non stop. You wonder what is happening. I know there are two or three children, stealing bananas, to go to the backside to eat in secret.
What a glorious Navaratri we have! Swamiji goes on, round and round, again and again, endlessly. We think he is done. And he goes around again. We never know when the curtain will close or when it will open. There is no fixed duration or time schedule. The curtain closes. You open the bottle to drink water. Suddenly the curtain opens. You put away the bottle. You do not want to drink during puja. No time to go to canteen to drink coffee because you do not know when to go. You do not want to miss the puja. You get up to leave quickly when the curtain closes. At once the curtain opens. You sit down again. Sometimes the puja finishes very fast. Sometimes it seems to go on and on and on.
Song: Sri Maataa Maanini Maheshwari (Kannada) – A bhajan which appears in a diamond shape when written, a thora bandha song. The arrangement of the syllables is like that. The song has a very special meaning. The commentators can elaborate on it endlessly.
(This song is on page 33 of the English book ‘Sri Krishna Jaya’. The diamond pattern appears as shown below, gradually increasing from one syllable to nine syllables, and then decreasing again to one syllable. It is an amazing creation by Sri Jayalakshmi Mata.)
Sri
Ma ta
Ma ni ni
Ma he shwa ri
Nam bi de na mma
Sa cci daa nan di ni
Sa rva maa ye ja na ne
Ja ga dee shwa ri la li te
Ja ya va nu he lu ve maa te
A bha ya va ko du thaa ye
Sa ka la ge nee taa yi
Sri shti ge bra hmaa ni
Ja ya ja ya vu
Sree la li ta
Maa te ge
Ja ya
Vu
Mangalam: Jaya Devi Durga
Sri Guru Datta
Courtesy: Smt. Hira Duvvuri