Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji – October 25, 2011 – Mysore
Jaya Guru Datta
“Om Namo Hanumate Namaha
Om Aim Hrim Shrim Shivarama Anagha Dattaya Namaha
Today is Naraka Chaturdashi. Narakasura got killed. This is the first part of Deepavali.
InBangalore, there was a three hour program organized by Door Darshan. Swamiji was invited. This was held at the Raj Bhavan at the Governor’s residence. This was a Deepavali program. This will be televised on Wednesday morning at 10:00 am and Wednesday evening at 9:00 pm on Chandana TV Channel. Swamiji’s speech was at the end, following several cultural events. Leaders of different religions were present.
Swamiji’s Deepavali Message
Deepa means light. Light means Jnana, spiritual knowledge. In all religious traditions it is customary for people to light a lamp and then close their eyes to visualize their inner light. The moment you see a light you think of jnana and show respect; just as the moment you see someone wearing ochre robes you automatically give respect because the ochre robes symbolize sacrifice. So even if it is a fake sanyasi, you still show respect to the attire. It is psychological. There are also many fake devotees who make gestures of devotion without having any devotion in their hearts.
Naraka means darkness. To remove the darkness you light a lamp. This is also a good time to offer rituals for the ancestors to help them reach higher realms. We have ten or twelve major festivals inIndia, but we celebrate by taking a head bath and following other traditions.
For the lamps that we use for Deepavali, the clay saucer is made by a potter, the wick is made by a weaver, the oil is extracted by an oil extractor, the match stick is made by a carpenter, and finally we have the light when the lamp is lit. Amidst the chanting of mantras, even a stone hearted man lights a lamp in a place of worship to find the supreme light, Paramjyoti. It signifies Supreme Bliss. In the making of this lamp, there are no caste differences. People of all castes have to come together to bring this one lamp into existence. Even among those who experience this Paramjyoti, there are no caste differences. You have no special Brahmin Jnani or a Jnani of a different caste. To the one who has found Supreme Bliss, no such differentiation exists.
Atma, the Soul, is neither male nor female. When the life force leaves the body, the physical body merges with the five elements. If one gets free from desires while still in the body, one can experience that Supreme Bliss. The Paramatma is hiding in every body but we do not notice Him. He is all pervading but we do not acknowledge His presence. We notice only the body and the senses. They carry out their play with the six inner enemies, desire, greed, lust, jealousy, and so forth. He pervades all, and appears in different forms, yet He is One. He manifests in all the different beings, such as dog, cat, bird and man. He is everything. He is omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient; he is visible everywhere as everyone and everything. Today’s special message is that you must understand this and you must recognize His presence.
Man alone has been blessed with the sixth sense, the mind that makes him superior to other living beings. He must utilize this sixth sense and know that this very subtle Paramatman has occupied each and every one of us. What is God’s form? All forms are His. Your feelings, your imagination, your intellect, your nature, your spiritual knowledge, he gives it all as the Sadguru. He is capable of giving you Jnana. We must worship the Sadguru without a question. The Sadguru opens your eye of wisdom inside of you. The Sadguru’s word is spoken to you as Upadesha, night and day, ceaselessly. You must accept and receive it without criticism and without any instability in your minds. Sadguru’s teaching is occurring continuously whether or not He is speaking to you out loud. Do not say “He didn’t look at me, he didn’t speak to me, or he didn’t touch me”. That is ignorance. You are thinking of yourself as being the body and the sense organs. They are impermanent. You are permanent. It is with the senses that you touch, talk and fight; all that is ignorance. Do not complain that he did not give you prasadam or an interview.
Your Sadguru is capable of approaching your inner self. He is your inner light. That light is seen through meditation. The healing music that he has given you is not just for passing time. Your body, the mind, the senses are all temporary, they will all be rejected, they will not last two hundred years. Your inner self that is permanent is neithermale or female. Don’t worry about names, Datta or Mother Goddess, it doesn’t matter. Any God, any shape, it doesn’t matter. You must learn to discriminate between what is permanent and impermanent. If you have not understood this, you have not understood the Sadguru.
The fourteenth lunar day has a special significance. The Amavasya, the dark moon or the new moon, is very significant. It is the day when the Guru gives light to his disciple. That is the day when he removes the inner spiritual darkness. The full moon is when Lord Dattatreya gives his full darshan to his disciples. The two are different. The new moon is very significant for the forefathers to receive blessings. Bali Padyami, the day after Deepavali, is also very important. All these three days are very significant. Do as much japa as possible of “Om Namo Hanumate Namaha”. If you are unable to view the videos, you may sponsor for others to view them on your behalf. Please sponsor the names of your friends and relatives to be written on a sacred white cloth that will be offered to theSarayuRiverin Ayodhya after Shivaratri. View the videos ShataShloki Ramayana and SGS Hanuman on vimeo.com, puttugam.com ordattapeetham.com/hanuman. Watch these at least 9 times a day; if you do not have the time at least 3 times a day; if you do not have the time, then at least once a day. If you don’t have the time to watch at least once a day, then you may simply throw away your useless IPhones and computers and simply say “Om Namo Hanumate Namaha”.
Sri Guru Datta
Courtesy: Smt. Hira Duvvuri