Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji – July 5, 2012 – Chennai
Jaya Guru Datta
Sri Maha Ganapataye namaha
Sri Sarasvatyai namaha
Sripada Vallabha
Narasimha Saraswati
Sri Guru Dattatreyaya Namaha
The 70th Birthday celebrations in Mysore were conducted very well. The Chennai devotees gave a major contribution with a lot with sincere devotion and commitment. The Volunteer group took care of all the food arrangements, providing a variety of delicacies.
Everybody is giving advice to Swamiji these days. They want Swamiji to behave the way He did 20 or 30 years ago. How is it possible? Are you the same now as you were 20 or 30 years ago? Are your parents the same now as they were two or three decades ago? No. People change and their ways change. You have to be ready to accept the change.
After the Ayodhya program there has been a small setback. Everyone is inquiring about Swamiji’s health and telling Him to take rest, demanding that instead of going to the ashrama, Swamiji should visit only their house and take rest there, give interview only to their family, and give blessings only to their family. For 50 years Swamiji has visited so many homes of devotees, over and over again and stayed there and blessed them. It is not good for Swamiji to remain long in the homes of worldly householders. That is why ashramas are built, so that instead of blessing only one family at a time, Swamiji can give darshan and give advice to, and bless a thousand people at a time. Are those who are insisting that I visit their home only, willing to spend enormous amounts of money in building shamianas (tents) to accommodate a thousand people and arrange for their meals also? No. They do not like to spend the money. In that case, do not make such demands.
Treat the ashram as your home and support the activities there. Do not selfishly demand that Swamiji should visit your home only, and not anyone else’s and give advice that Swamiji should not even go to the ashram to address large gatherings.
Many people speak empty words, ‘Swamiji, please consider this as your own home. We have specially built a room for You. You can stay here and take rest.’ If you really mean what you say, then register the house in Swamiji’s name. Then it will be His own home and He can visit at His choice and convenience, and not upon your demands. One couple in America spoke such words; I call them mother and father (amma and nanna). Swamiji responded with these same words and was shocked when they actually willed the property to Swamiji. Swamiji insisted that they consult with their children and get consent. The children also said that it is up to their parents’ wish and Swamiji’s. The couple takes care of the property by staying on the premises and they pay rent every month to Swamiji. Some other devotees from Andhra are also doing the same thing. Such devotees are rare.
Swamiji normally does not speak of His discomforts or show them even when He is ill. Then people begin to demand that Swamiji should visit their homes, visit the ashram, give discourses, sing bhajans, give interviews and so on, since He looks hale and hearty. Such an attitude is wrong. You may pray for blessings, in your mind or in front of Swamiji’s photographs. Swamiji definitely hears your prayers and will bless you. But you cannot rudely demand services from Swamiji and entertain such expectations. That is not the way to treat a Guru.
To get out of accepting such selfish demands, these days even when He is well, Swamiji uses His cough and bad throat as excuses not to give interviews, discourses and not to sing bhajans. That seems to be the only way to escape from unreasonable expectations. Once your own requirements are met, when you get your answers in the queue, you want Swamiji to go inside to take rest, without answering the questions of those behind you in the line. Are they not people like you with difficulties? Are you the only one in this world with problems? How can you deprive others of their time with Swamiji? Swamiji is like the Sun. Can you monopolize the Sun and put Him in your pocket?
People are downgrading Swamiji to the level of an ordinary pundit or an astrologer, criticizing, demanding explanations and making accusations when their plans get upset. That is very wrong. People come to him with Lagna Patrikas (wedding announcements) and then ask for Swamiji’s approval for the match. If you have already made the decision to conduct the marriage, you may only pray for Swamiji’s blessings; you cannot force him to approve your decision. If that late in the sequence of events if you ask for his opinion, you are really putting him in a difficult spot. If he disapproves, you argue that already all the negotiations and arrangements are completed and you have paid the deposit for the marriage hall and you cannot go back on it. If Swamiji gives his approval against his will, forced by your demands, and then if things do not work out, you blame Swamiji. He has to bear the brunt of your wrong doings and your sins. That is simply not right.
Approach Swamiji for His true opinion at the very outset before making any commitment and be ready to accept His word whether He says yes or no. If you want to go according to your own plan, wish and decision, you have to be prepared for the consequences. You should not then ask for Swamiji’s opinion. Only pray for blessings, that is all. For things that go wrong due to your own powerful bad karma, you cannot put the blame on the priest, the astrologer or Swamiji. Astrologers simply make their calculations and present them to you. They cannot change your fate. Priests offer prayers on your behalf. They cannot change your destiny. Swamiji gives blessings but cannot reverse your bad karma. The same mistakes people are now committing with Bala Swamiji also. That is why I am warning Him to be careful because many people are trying to trick Him into difficult situations and force out answers against His will and conscience, because of their own selfish attitudes and motives.
Hanuman is very powerful but he is under a curse from the sages that unless reminded of his powers, he remains unaware of them. That is why it is important every day to praise Hanuman. Then He takes care of you. Jambavan and others had to convince Hanuman that he alone had the ability to cross the ocean, go to Lanka and return safely. Guru should always be praised in His presence. Instead, these days people are showing pity towards Swamiji and speaking in front of Him as if He were just an ordinary human being with common weaknesses and bodily illnesses. It is wrong to reduce Him to such a level. Pray for His health with sincere devotion. Genuinely show concern if He is under excessive strain. That is okay. Be sincere and unselfish in your prayers. That will give strength and good health to Swamiji.
We have traditions and beliefs established in our culture. A son should be complimented as if he were a friend. A wife is never praised to her face. But a Guru’s glory should always be sung in His presence. That gives Him strength. Guru is like Hanuman. The more the devotees praise Him, the stronger He gets. But people show disrespect in speaking about the Guru and speak of Him as an ordinary person. Such people have discouraged even great souls like Rama and Krishna. Rama told His sons Lava and Kusha before entering the Sarayu river to give up His physical body that the human race will never improve, although He had tried His best to guide them. After ruling for 11,000 years, that was the conclusion that He came to. Krishna also said the same thing at the age of 125 years to Uddhava, His favorite disciple that people have not changed, in spite of all His teachings and efforts at uplifting them. Now Swamiji is feeling the same thing. You should not make Him speak such words. You should not give Him disrespect and discouragement to such an extent. By doing so, you decrease His strength and His longevity.
A dog rolls around in ash and comfortably falls asleep. It dreams. Suddenly in the dream it gets enlightenment. It wakes up and wants to excitedly share its spiritual knowledge with other dogs. But the moment it shakes its body to get rid of the ash, it forgets everything. Such is the case with all of you. You have listened to all these wise words. The moment you get up from here you would have forgotten everything that I have spoken about.
Jaya Guru Datta
Sri Guru Datta