Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji during Birthday Celebrations – May 25, 2011- Mysore
Jaya Guru Datta
Sri Ganeshaya Namah
Sri Saraswatyai Namah
Sripada Vallabha
Narasimha Saraswati
Sri Guru Dattatreyaya Namah
How many of you watch the Telugu Datta Mata (TV program of Sri Swamiji’s messages)? Some have raised their hands. Some with elbow pain have not raised their hands, although they watch TV. That is because they watch TV, but not this program. In this program, Swamiji tells good stories giving the message of Vedanta. These are great stories teaching the message of the Upanishads. They are simple. Not like other gurus’ discourses.
If all your difficulties have been removed, and if you are free from difficulties altogether, then you do not realize their value. Only those who are suffering from troubles, and are hoping for relief, appreciate these messages. That is human nature. But a true disciple will always listen, whether he is in good times or in bad times. He will listen and appreciate. He will not comment or criticize. He remembers that he is not the guru. He knows that I am the Guru always. Even a mother gets annoyed with a child when the child criticizes and demands too much. You must accept gladly what is given to you by the Guru and by the mother. You must never hurt their feeling by finding fault and questioning their judgment or quality of what they have given. Such a complaining attitude only occurs when you are too comfortable, and not when you are in difficulties.
You must try to understand what the Guru is saying. Whatever he says, it is for your benefit. He only does what is good for you, always. You must have this faith. One day the script for a message was sent to one group without my verifying it first for accuracy. Once sent, it cannot be withdrawn. It got published and went to several people in the group. 99% were happy to receive the message. They felt grateful. 1% commented. How can he send such a message? Why was this kind of message sent? Such people who find fault like that will never understand Vedanta. You should accept what you receive, with reverence, as prasadam. Do not question the source. Since Swamiji has sent it, it is a blessing. You cannot return it. It is meant for you. You accept it. Swamiji has arranged so that no comments can be posted as replies to these messages. Whatever be the message, it contains a hidden meaning. It will sound familiar to you. Yet you may not clearly follow the meaning. It contains a theme from Swamiji’s mind. It is meant for your benefit. Simply accept it. He makes it easy for you to swallow. He strains out the pulp and gives you just the essence. That is your Guru’s compassion. It cannot be comprehended. It is his special message to benefit you.
When you have your horoscopes read, the astrologer gives long and detailed explanations as to the positions, glances and movements of the planets. You cannot understand all the explanations. Their solutions give only temporary relief. But Datta gives lasting relief. He may not, and sometimes will not, completely remove your difficulties. You should not demand complete relief. Understand that he sacrifices himself just to help you, by taking on your burdens upon himself. He always does what is best for you.
It is good that all of you have come here to the ashram. What is it that you do here? You come here, find a good seat and wait for Swamiji’s darshan. If he comes, you are happy. You have darshan. As soon as he leaves, you sit here and there, talking, gossiping, chit chatting. You talk on your cell phones. May be a few calls are important. You go to the kitchen drawn by the food smell. If the food is ready, you eat. You talk some more. You go to your rooms or wherever you have been given accommodation. You sleep for some time, or you talk, or you wash your clothes. Then you are hungry again. You go to the canteen. You look for junk food, fried vadas or other snacks. They tell you that by Swamiji’s order they only serve healthy food like idlis. You are disappointed. You drink coffee or tea. You wander about, talking aimlessly. You wait for the evening program. You rush to occupy your seats. Otherwise you will not get good seats. There is music that you don’t understand. At least dances you enjoy watching. You look at girls in colorful dresses, young girls, or older girls. You wait for Swamiji’s darshan. Then you go for dinner. You eat. You go to bed. Sometimes you can sleep immediately. Some people cannot sleep. You take your own blanket. If you cannot find it, you take your neighbor’s. You wake up by 4 AM because if you are late, you will find all the bathrooms occupied. That will be inconvenient. What you have received as prasadam the previous day, you deposit there. Then you take bath with cold water or hot water, whatever you get that day. You get dressed and head back to the kitchen to refill yourselves with prasadam because you feel bad that yesterday’s fill, you have gotten rid of. You drink water, you rest, and you come back again to attend the programs. This routine continues for 3 or 4 days. By following this routine here mechanically, what have you gained? What is the benefit of this activity? I don’t understand.
In the free time, while you are walking, while you are resting, while you are eating, instead of talking, instead of being on the phone, instead of thinking bad thoughts or useless thoughts, you should be chanting the mantra given to you by the Guru. In the ashram if you do that, it is highly beneficial. It will remove your bad fortune. It will give you siddhi, spiritual benefit. Every spare moment, without wasting it, with every breath, you should be chanting the mantra. You do not do it. It does not even occur to you to do it. Your mind is not steady and firm. It is too fickle.
The routine activities will take place without any effort on your part. When you are hungry, the body will automatically take you like a robot towards food. Such activities do not need any effort on your part. You do not have to try. The routine activities will happen. But this activity of mantra chanting requires a deliberate effort. It requires discipline. You must cultivate it and practice it. Do not spoil your mind with useless thoughts and temptations. One desire if you fulfill, four will crop up to take its place. Instead, keep your mind quiet and chant the mantra. New people may find it difficult at first, but in a day or two it is possible to cultivate this good habit of occupying the mind with mantra chanting.
Our normal lives will go on, with business, family, children, hospitals, operations, and other problems. We do not have to try. Mechanically these activities will go on. You cannot escape from them. In their midst, you must include mantra chanting. That is what will give you relief from your problems.
Viswamitra, a great sage, a highly learned scholar, was going through a forest. He was exhausted and suddenly felt faint with hunger and thirst. There was no food or water anywhere. He felt as if he were going to die. Finally he found a cobbler’s hut. The cobbler was skinning some dead animals. He rushed there and begged for water. They did not have any water to give him. He begged for some food. They had none. All that was available was some flesh from a dead cow. Viswamitra said, “Give it to me to eat. Otherwise I will drop dead.” The cobbler was taken aback. He did not have any suitable food to offer the sage. Viswamitra demanded to be given whatever was available, quickly, to protect his life. He accepted three spoonfuls of the cow’s flesh. He felt revived. By then a little girl brought some water from the pond and offered it to him to drink. Having regained some strength from eating the food, and being able to think clearly, the sage exploded with fury and began screaming at the cobbler, “You wretched fellow, how dare you give me foul food?” and he yelled at the girl for offering him water that was unfit for a sage to drink. The cobbler stood stunned at this sudden change in the behavior of the sage. Viswamitra wanted to find water and demanded to be shown a source. He snapped at the cobbler, “Don’t come close to me. Don’t touch me!” The cobbler led him to a lake nearby and stood aside. Viswamitra in his rage, entered the lake, drank a lot of water, and vomited all the food that he had swallowed at the cobbler’s house. He pulled out his intestines through his mouth, washed them clean, and put them back in their place. He bathed and cleansed himself. The cobbler stood watching all these strange feats in amazement. He thought to himself that this is not a human being. These are not acts of humans.
Viswamitra stepped out of the lake and asked the cobbler to ask for a boon. The surprised cobbler trembling with fear said, “You came in to my house hungry, and desperately begging for food. You were happy to receive food from me. Then you became furious and began cursing me and my daughter. Now you engage in this strange activity. I do not know what to think. You are a powerful sage who does not need the assistance of folks like us. I do not understand any of this. Can you please explain the meaning of your actions? That is the boon I ask for.”
Viswamitra said, “Protecting one’s life is one’s most important duty. When life is in danger, it is not wrong to break the rules of dharma. Since my life was in danger, and I was able to find food at your home to save my life, I accepted your hospitality. But once revived, I had to do what was right for me to do. I have to now follow my dharma. So I cleansed myself of the sin of having eaten the flesh. Had I not seen your home, I perhaps would have used my powers of penance to create food to feed myself. Since you have saved my life, I offer you a boon.” So saying, the sage splashed some water on the face of the cobbler. At once the cobbler remembered his past life wherein he had been a great scholar who had committed some heinous crimes. He realized that as a result of his past sins he was now born as a cobbler leading the wretched life of skinning dead animals. By the gift of the boon from the sage, his ignorance was lifted. He decided to pay for his sins by continuing to expend his karma in his present life and begged the sage to grant him the strength to follow the path of dharma while engaging in his duty as prescribed by fate. The sage blessed him and left. The cobbler in course of time attained moksha, liberation.
Some people I know continue to do their work even when it is way past their meal time. They are simply determined to complete the task at hand. They say that the food can wait. They remain cool. They have to finish Swamiji’s project first. But there are others who are very irritable when they are hungry. There is a saying that you should keep your distance from a hungry Brahmin and a farmer who has just had his meal. Both are quarrelsome and irritable.
When the Guru tells us something, instead of accepting his word and obeying implicitly, we apply our ignorance to his words and find mistakes and question his intelligence and offer alternatives to suit our convenience. It is wrong. Here is what you should ask from a Guru. You ask for a crystal clear mind and pure thoughts. You ask for the experience of the bliss of the Paramatman that he always experiences. You ask for energy to endure your problems of worldly life. You ask for these in your mind. If you ask directly, the guru may say, “How dare you ask for such big boons without being qualified to receive them?” Ask quietly in your mind and remain patient. Carry on with your worldly life doing your duty.
When Lord Narayana appeared in front of the child Dhruva, the child devotee remained speechless. He simply gazed at Him in reverence and joy. Narayana wanted to hear the boy praising Him. But knowing the child’s inability, He stepped onto Dhruva’s tongue and sang the praises Himself.
You must have the faith that the Guru will always do what is best for you.
Please have darshan of Lord Datta Venkateshwara. The Brahmotsavam is taking place now. It is very auspicious to have His darshan in the evening time.
Sri Guru Datta