Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji on Shani pradosha – Bangalore- February 23, 2013
Today is a great festive day. Today is Shani pradosha. Not just this. As of yesterday a few hours of Ekadashi was still there. Bheeshma Ekadashi is celebrated for 3 days. Its influence also continues today.
All of you are aware as to how the devotees eagerly await the opening of the doors of Vaikuntha. Saint Kanakadasa sang- ‘baagilannu teredu seveyannu kodo’ which means- ‘open the door, O Lord Hari and give me some seva (service)’. The term ‘door’ here does not refer to the ordinary door that we come across. It is not the door of the house. It is not meant to state- O Lord, open the door, give me darshan and then close it again.
The term ‘door’ refers to the door of ignorance. ‘Seva’ here refers to knowledge (jnana). Therefore this is a prayer to the Lord to wipe away the ignorance within and to bless the mind with the good knowledge.
When we break a coconut and offer it to the Lord, it is symbolic of breaking our head or our ego (ahamkara). Then what emerges from within is the water. The water is symbolic of complete jnana (knowledge). It is the nectar of knowledge. After the water is drained out, then the person can see the white pulp/flesh inside. This represents the truthful and pure mind that then exists. When complete knowledge and pure mind are obtained, the ignorance (ajnana) that envelops us needs to be removed. Hence, the fiber/stalk from behind the shell is then removed. This is the practice.
Some people are lazy to do so or do not have the time to break this stalk. Some others are very particular about it. The reason behind removing this stalk/ fiber remains the same. In it is a prayer – ‘please bless me with good knowledge, please show me the light of truth’.
The flesh inside the coconut (also known as coconut meat), which is white in colour, tastes sweet. This signifies that, the supreme truth is sweet, the pure light is sweet. There is not even a trace of impurity. ‘Show to me this truth. Drive away from me all types of ignorance that have enveloped me’.
The water within is the pure nectar. It spills when the coconut is broken. This is akin to the milk that overflows when boiled. Likewise, it means that from within us the knowledge (jnana) overflows and spills out.
Such nectar is hidden deep within the coconut and can be reached only after the many layers that are covering it are removed. This phenomenon is known as naarikela nyaya. The outermost shell looks so smooth and nice. Misled by the smooth exterior, we begin to scrape it. But we encounter one layer after another of fibre. By the time we have pulled out all the fibre, we are tired and exhausted and say, “Thank God”. But, have we got the fruit? Yes, we have a coconut in our hands, but it is not in an edible state as yet. It is still covered by a hard shell.
Our creation is very similar to this. We have got sunk into one such creation. We have got struck into it. ‘Oh, I am going to get jnana, its coming, its coming, all my problems are going to get resolved shortly….’ While the person is living in this hope, a major catastrophe will land on his head. ‘Oh, you know, this landed on my head all of a sudden. How many obstacles I have bravely faced in my life so far. There is no end to the problems that I have faced. I cannot even explain all of them. My entire life I have been scraping the fibre (of problems). Endlessly I have been removing one layer of fibre after another. Now when I have almost removed all the fibre from my life, I have now faced with this biggest hurdle of my life. It is this big and hard coconut. What do I do now?”
Now we have to sacrifice the coconut itself. We have to break it with full force. The ignorance will not go away no matter how lovingly you plead with it. ‘Oh, ignorance. I will kiss you. Please go away’. It will not go away if you offer it all the courtesies like fanning it etc. It will not go away even if you hit your head with it (coconut). You will get injured but the coconut will remain intact. The coconut has to be broken using great might. It will then break into two pieces. These two pieces are the jeevatma (individual being) and Paramatma (supreme being). What is within the coconut is the jeevatma and Paramatma.
We tie the poornaphala, the complete coconut to the Lord. We are asking him to take away the fibre called problems from our life and rescue us from them. Towards this we are tying the coconut. “Like the fibre within this coconut, there are still a lot of difficulties within my life, O Lord. Please break them. I am sacrificing (tyaga) what I have, to you. I am putting some money offerings into your hundi. Out of love for You and with an intent that my karma may reduce, I am doing these sacrifices. I am eating only one meal a day. I am sleeping on the floor for these 40 days, so that my problems may be resolved. I am doing so out of devotion for you. Please drive away all my difficulties.”
“Until the problems are resolved, I will eat only once O Lord. That too because it is essential for my survival. I will not eat any delicacies but just the basic food that is required to sustain my life. I eat this one meal because, due to extreme fasting if I lose my life, You will get a bad name. I do not want You to get a bad name because of me”. This is the way true devotees think and speak.
For one year, until Sita was found, Rama slept on the floor. Likewise, Sita during this period abstained from eating and lived only on air. She collected and arranged all the leaves that would fall from the trees and slept on it. What a great pativrata (chaste woman)!
There is something called ‘ninda stuti’- prayer/praising the Lord through criticism. This criticism is also out of extreme love for the Lord. After Krishna left Brindavan, the gopikas in Brindavan lamented a lot. ‘O, this Krishna, he has deserted us. So many days have elapsed. He doesn’t come back. What did he do? What should we do now?’ Finally, they began the Katyayani vrata to seek him. They slept on the floor, wore a single piece of cloth (ekavadi) on their body, and followed other stringent disciplines such as giving up all luxuries so as to reach Him. At last, one day Sri Krishna appeared before each one of them in their respective houses. We have heard many such stories of true devotion. When devotion is pure, God will be visible within our house itself!
It is not necessary for Swamiji to be physically present in front of us at all times. We should believe that Swamiji is in our house, in our midst, He is talking to me, He is saying something in my ear etc. When such good feelings (bhavana) and thoughts exist deeply, then one day surely He will really appear before us.
The Sun can be spotted from every nook and corner. Wasn’t the Sun visible here? We may doubt, why then did Swamiji go so far (to arctic circle) and perform some Surya Namaskar? There will be so many hidden meanings and reasons behind Swamiji’s actions. It is not possible for Him to explain all of them. It is impossible to even recollect them all. There are no words to even express about this visit (to Norway). If there were some words available to describe them, then perhaps it would be possible. It was an activity for which there are no words to describe. We celebrated Ratha saptami festival there. I went there to recollect my ancestors, to remember my ancestor Poundarika. His aradhana was celebrated there on Ratha Saptami. Wherever we are, we celebrate his aradhana there on that day.
All of you will be aware that the North Pole as well as the South Pole have a certain attraction power which helps the earth hang in space. If you visit the Mysore Museum, you will see a strange globe that is hanging in the air with no support. There is not even a thread to support it. Anyway, who has the time to visit the museum? Once the interview with Swamiji is over, once we finish our meals prasadam, we are in a hurry to get back home. That’s all.
How many unique and wonderful items Swamiji has kept on display in that museum! Our two eyes are not enough to capture all that is kept there. There are many minute/ minuscule objects there. There is so much to be learnt from all of them. So educative they are! Do not be under the assumption that some old unusable objects have been collected and arranged by Swamiji in that place. You may think that Swamiji ran out of space in his room and so he kept them in the museum. That is not the truth. You will know of its value only if you visit that place. They are so valuable. So priceless. Did Swamiji buy them? No. All of them are gifts received from many different persons. It has happened that sometimes when Swamiji had gone to a shop and liked any particular item, a devotee who is nearby simply bought it and gifted it to Swamiji. Swamiji does not remember buying even one of them. Where does Swamiji have the money to buy them all? Do you think I take money and go to the shop with the intention to buy? All of them are gifts given with lots of love by devotees. Only those that are eligible and worthy enough to be displayed are sent to the museum. Other items are put up for sale. I tell the devotee directly – I am putting this up for sale. The devotee replies- ‘do what you want with it. It doesn’t matter to me. Giving you was my responsibility. I wanted to enjoy the satisfaction of having given it to you. What you want to do with it is your prerogative. You sell it, throw it or keep it somewhere. It is not my problem. Just touch it as a token of acceptance. That’s all’ and walks away.
Is it possible to demand that all the saris gifted to Goddess should be draped around Her? The organizers will get fed up. They will ask us to get lost. We should be satisfied that the saree was shown to Her. Thousands of saris are offered to the Divine Mother. Thousands of dhoti (panche) are offered in temples to the Lord. How is it possible to drape all of them? Thousands of coconuts are offered in a temple. If we were to claim that all of them should be consumed by that Lord would it be possible? He will return your coconut to you. After all, it is your fibre, he is returning to you. Just offer one namaskar with devotion to that Lord.
The Sun emits some very powerful energy rays. If the earth did not have the power to attract/ magnetize them, (magnetosphere) then the earth would have caught fire. These rays get attracted and drawn into the earth. At night these rays are released from another part of earth. This is a daily happening and it happens everywhere. Do not assume that it is limited to winters (referring to northern lights phenomenon). During winter, it is dark and the light from the stars is not bright enough. Hence the rays that are going back from earth to the Sun become visible in the dark. They are very colourful and picturesque. Because of the brightness we cannot witness this happening in the other parts of the earth. Earth gets its brightness from the brightness of the stars. In the poles, as part of the rotation of the earth, sunrise is late and sunset takes place quickly. The sun is visible after 9 AM and sets by 2 PM.
The scene of these northern lights is amazing and wonderful. Its beauty cannot be brought out even by the best artist in the world. The scene witnessed in the sky is the most magnificent scene. All colours are visible in it. Not just 7 colours, but in unlimited combinations. When the rays are going back, they fall on the clouds and then it appears as if they are dancing.
Drape a thin curtain, of absolutely thin material. Make wrinkles in it. Keep a fan on the other side. The curtain will begin to move. All the objects kept on the other side will become visible through the thin curtain. It will be as if there is no curtain at all! If a small lamp is kept on the other side and this side is darkened, then the light will appear dazzling. Keep a fan on this side now. Adjust the air circulation with one fan being speedier than the other. Keep adjusting this speed of the fan alternatively. The curtain will begin to move is different combinations. It will appear, as there are hundreds of curtains, creating multiple combinations. Although there is only one light, in this movement of curtain, it will appear very bright. Now sprinkle a little water off and on using a piston. Like mist. A small sound also will be heard. It will become colourful. Vibgyor will be formed. We can do this activity here too.
Ratha saptami function went off very well. You will know about it only when you watch the video on You tube or Vimeo. How many of you have watched it? Those who have watched it please raise your hands. (A few hands are raised). Only so few have seen this. All of you should watch this video. I think that maybe the others went to attend a marriage function and hence they could not watch the video. Or perhaps I think there was an electricity failure at their place. Hence they couldn’t watch this video. Oh, you don’t have a laptop in your house? Oh, You don’t have a phone that has these features? Oh, you are not a member? Oh, you didn’t know? Its ok, ok, you find out now about these activities. Get a good phone and watch these videos.
It is a wonderful scene, these northern lights. Everyone should watch it. Our Swamiji has gone there. There are thousands of videos uploaded in you tube. Instead of watching all those, how nice it would be to watch the video that pertains to our Swamiji? How nice it would be if you would watch with that intent at least. You can also show the video to your neighbours who don’t watch such videos. Why can’t we show it to them? Show them this natural beauty that exists in these northern lights. Show them this natural happening that takes place on a daily basis in nature.
Coming to the topic of birds. Perhaps you may wonder. Why is Swamiji going after birds these days? Someone asked, Swamiji when will you begin to go behind donkeys? I replied, ‘donkeys come daily to my ashram, why should I chase them?’ (Swamiji smiles). You should always remember that if Swamiji takes up an activity, then it is with some good intent/purpose in mind. You should not ridicule it. You should reflect deeply about it. If you don’t want to think, no harm. Just simply enjoy the experience. That’s all. Enjoy it and clap your hands in happiness. That’s enough. If we share Swamiji’s happiness it is sufficient. What is the need then to analyze and criticize his activities? It is not causing any trouble to anyone. Not hurting anyone.
Our Puranas have given so much importance to birds. It will be clearly understood when you think in-depth about it. Suka Brahma, who was in the form of a parrot, obtained initiation (about supreme) from Shiva/ Vyasa and he, in turn, initiated hundreds and thousands of people into it. The lineage of parrots is the lineage of Suka Brahma. The bird Garuda eternally serves Lord Vishnu. There are two types of Garuda (eagle) – one is white and the other is a mixed one (mishrita). These mishrita Garuda eat everything that is available on this earth. Vishnu’s Garuda, which is the real Garuda, sustains only on air. The lineage of this Garuda are millions of birds of varied colours.
Today’s ‘Times of India’ (Feb 23rd) newspaper carries an article about the research on birds that has been conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of technology (MIT). Why did it have to appear today? Did I call and ask them to print it today? This article states that man learnt speech from the song of the birds.
Music is not limited to musicians. Music is there in the life of every person. Every human creates music. Music (raga) exists in every activity right from snoring. All our anuraagas (attachments, love) and each and every step that we take in this world due to our moha (illusion, infatuation) is purely based on musical notes (raga). That is why it is a raga (musical note) like anu-raaga, moha-raaga, karuna-raaga. All of them are connected to ragas.
Even our speech is connected to raga. For example, politely and lovingly inviting someone, “please come in and sit. When did you come?” is one tune. When the same sentence is said in anger/irritation, then it is of a different tune/note. Thus, we mix the nine emotions (nava rasas) and depict our different emotions (bhavana) in our life. One second we display feelings of compassion. We will plead, “Can we please have this. We need it.” Suppose it is refused, then in the next second we show feelings of intense anger “what is this? Can’t you do this little service? We knew that you were of such a horrible nature. I always knew you are so stingy”. On the other hand, suppose the wish was granted, then we will display feelings of love, “Ok, thank you. It was very sweet of you. We were sure that you would give.” (Swamiji modulates his voice and expresses the various emotions).
All these are emotions that emerge out of our anuraaga (love, attachment). When the husband buys a sari for his wife, then she will sing his praises profusely- “Oh, this is why I married you. You are a king. You are Vishnu. You are Shiva”. If in the event he doesn’t buy the sari, then she will scold, “Oh, you are the stingiest person on this earth. You are a horrible man. My mother had warned me about your nature. But it is my mistake to have married you”. What is this fight? You already have .04 children, now why raise these unnecessary topics- “It is my bad luck that I married you”. Why all this fuss for just one sari? This small issue is dragged and converted into a big fight. All this is anuraga. When a task needs to be completed, we shed crocodile tears. (Swamiji enacts). The wife will sob and amidst her tears she will say, “Oh, I was sure of this outcome, (sob, sob)”. This is another anuraaga. Each of these emotions has a distinct name.
When playing with an infant, people display different type of emotions. Without caring about who is in the vicinity, people just continue to speak meaningless words and make meaningless sounds to the baby, “Oh, la, la, la.. oh. Kutti kutti…” If the child pees on them, even then they will be happy, “Oh, Prasada, Prasada, Prasada. Oh, it is said that child peeing on us brings us good luck, you know. Lakshmi (wealth) will come to us”. They will say. If peeing of a child were to shower wealth, then what will be showered if the child were to throw away something else from its body?
When we are angry with the child, we display different feelings, “OH, this bad child was born to me. It doesn’t leave me” we shout. In fright, the child begins to howl even more loudly. All these are communications of anuraaga. They are all feelings, emotions.
Harikatha daasas put themselves in every role and enact all the emotions. You will see this even in Swamiji’s life. He enacts all the roles. It is necessary. Otherwise it is not possible. These 9 emotions (nava rasas) is a vast subject. They need to be displayed. Not just Swamiji. Each and every one of us is the same. Based on this is the body language. It is an art. It is said that we have learnt this great art from the birds.
Swamiji is trying to build the connection with these birds. Trees have been mapped with the zodiac signs, colours have been mapped. Some great Mahatma in the ancient past has mapped then. Likewise why not we map the birds to the zodiac signs? When a bird comes and sits in our balcony or by the window, we try to make a small conversation with it. We greet it. There is nothing wrong in it. We derive some joy from it. But then people are scared that some allergies may come from being close to a bird and/or from its feathers etc. Did someone ask you to go close to it and smell it? Did anyone ask you to smell its droppings? Close your nose when you are in the vicinity.
Don’t humans release anything bad? Do you know how many diseases spread because of humans? When singing ‘paahi paahi’ in the hall, the person sneezes. How many germs he has released into the surroundings through this? The other person who is singing ‘paahi paahi’ inhales it. Disease thus spreads. Most diseases spread through humans, not through birds and animals. If you go and put your nose and mouth into its bowl or into its feather and smell it, then obviously you will get the disease. Be careful. Maintain cleanliness.
Don’t people rear dogs? Dogs move around all over the house. Many a times people who rear dogs, can speak of nothing apart from the topic of dogs. ‘My dog barks ‘hoow’ in a unique way when it sees me. You see, my dog loves this particular thing. you know, how I have trained it…’ endlessly they go on. Many devotees began to bring their dogs with them when they came to the ashram. I had to drive them away. I said, ‘I rear dogs no doubt. But you don’t bring your dogs here’. When properly trained and kept in the house, there is no problem. It is a companion within the house.
Likewise, it is so easy to rear a bird at home. Do you know that the Cockatiel bird always sings ‘Rama, Rama’? You should observe its tongue. Endlessly it will be repeating ‘Rama, Rama’. That sound is good for us. Just keeping the bird besides us and petting it, helps reduce BP.
So much research has been conducted about birds. Do not think that birds are something very ordinary. Among them there are many types- trained birds, wild birds and so on. Birds are so beautiful. What a superb creation of the Lord! Within one feather there are 4 colours. The colour combination is not due to the association of two different species of birds. Within the same species, there will be birds that have 7 different colours. People try to bring out these colour combination in the lovebirds. They fail. Finally what do they do? In Kerala, they paint the birds and sell them. There is a certain chemical, when this is applied the paint comes off. This is how we test to see if the colour is natural or not.
Birds are of beautiful natural colours. During the British rule, these birds were brought to India through ship so that the British could keep them as pets. While leaving the country, these birds were left behind. Today their population has multiplied. So what is the fault in this? There are many regulations that these birds should not be caught. This has been done to preserve them. They are not some hens that they can be simply caught. Observe them and enjoy their beauty. Those of you who are rearing them, please look after them carefully.
Birds migrate and come from far off lands travelling thousands of miles. They lay eggs while they are here. When going some birds take their little ones back with them. Others leave them behind. These birds stay back here and mingle with these surroundings. All this is a vast subject. A lot of research has gone into it too.
Rearing birds is something that cannot hurt/trouble others. The bird as a pet is hardly visible. How then can it cause trouble to others? In lieu of keeping dogs and cats as pet, you can keep bird as a pet. Some people are allergic to cats. Touching cats causes their skin to itch. In dogs a new type of disease has cropped up. Nevertheless it is not harmful. There is nothing wrong in having dogs as pet.
But there is nothing like keeping a bird at home, one that constantly says ‘Narayana, Narayana’. Something like a cockatiel. It is the least expensive pet. All it needs is a small cage and it eats a few grains which of the size of mustard seeds. And of course a little water it needs. That’s all. It leaves behind very little poop, which can be collected in a small piece of paper and thrown away. Do you know what joy is derived when it sits on your shoulder or on your body? It gives so much joy. When it hops around the house making small noises, how delightful it is!
Swamiji is preparing a book. He is compiling from various great sources, various granthas and is getting the book prepared. Bala Swamiji has also scanned various puranas and got the relevant matter for the text. I have some 30-40 persons to work on every research of mine. Each one of them has to supply some data or the other for it. After all the mixture is compiled, then I will check if it is all matching and in the correct degrees. After it has been checked thoroughly, the book becomes public.
You will be surprised to know that even you can train the birds easily. I can give it training in 3 days. No yantras. No mantras. No miracles. Get a bird that has been partially trained and then we can take care of the rest. It should have opened its mouth. That’s enough and it is important too. In America they make the birds talk. How astonishing it is! Whatever we want, it will talk accordingly. It replies to our questions. Not some trained answer. But true replies. Ask it any new question and it will answer that too. Ask it, ‘should I open the cage door now?’, it will reply, “No, leave it. I shall open it myself’. ‘It is enough if I can fly’ it will say. I have seen all this in America. Then I got the thought, why should we not do so in India? I have begun this project. It is lovely. Towards this we have got some precious birds.
In addition, I have got this idea of Zodiac birds based on our star (nakshatra), zodiac sign (rashi), our planetary position (navagraha). This is something scientific. See, today’s paper explains how the ancient ancestors learnt the art of talking from the birds. They learnt the language of the birds. In the ancient past, birds were messengers that took messages from one land to another. Even today, in some parts, pigeons are the postman and carry the messages from one place to another.
Once again I will say that birds are not something ordinary. Birds are Garuda. Peacock is the mount of Lord Subrahmanya. Goddess Meenakshi has the parrot in Her hand. Lords Indra and Manmatha have birds as their vehicles. Birds Jatayu and Sampati were so helpful to Rama. When seen from any angle, we will conclude that humans have originated from monkeys. Even before that it was birds. We were all gagana chara (flying in the sky). Therefore we should give birds the due respect. Not rearing birds is perfectly acceptable. But please do not despise them. This is a very important lesson that we should all learn.
Courtesy: Parimala Eshwarla