Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji after morning puja – May 27, 2013 – Jesus Datta Retreat Center, West Sunbury PA, USA
Todays music is very good. Good meditation tunes. I am very happy. He (musician) is coming to Appaji since he was a child. Their family has taken great responsibility in the matters of Ashram and temple here.
Gita Pracharak has talked until now about the name “Shrutiserimantasanchara”. Shruthi (pitch) is not just related to music. Shruti means Nada. Nada is everywhere. Within you, me and animals. Nada means our Prana. Breath itself is Nada. Sanchara means travel. Not just physical travel but invisible travel. It means, Sadguru is a traveller to Atman. When you ask me a question during an interview, sometimes the answer doesn’t come immediately. Because when you sit there, Swamiji travels through your mind to your atman. I travel into your mind and feel your body, in your attitude and then I will come back. It is very difficult to explain. Then I’ll know the truth about the future. Sometimes He hides the entire subject and talks different things. Sometimes, devotees forget the questions they want to ask when they are before Swamiji. Only when Swamiji insists they remember the questions they want to ask. Why does this happen? Because Swamiji enters your mind and influences in your heart, then you have no desires.
I’ll give an example. If you go to any naturally beautiful place, early in the morning, you have no words when you see that beauty. You only make expressions like “aha!”. No words to explain it. When you see Swamiji, you will have no words to talk. No way to explain it. You settle down in a few minutes, days or years, then you will slowly be able to talk. You don’t ask why. This is a natural phenomenon. Also because you believe in Swamiji, your faith will turn into Ananda, happiness. That’s the final state we need. Ananda: the Bliss. That’s why Sadguru shows chin-mudra always. A lot of you talk about chinmundra, but you don’t understand. You copy. What does it mean? The thumb represents Paramatma(God), the index finger represents the Jeevatman, you. Chinmudra represents the mixing of Jeevatma with Paramatma by focus and meditation. The three other fingers represent the three Tattvas (properties) we don’t need after union with Paramatma. That’s why they three fingers are pointing upward. These three tattvas are Karana Sareera, Karya Sareera and Karma Sareera. These are the three bodies we don’t want. The final state is called bliss. This is the final advice Swamiji gives you. Leave your body, leave your karma, leave your actions, all kinds of actions. You can leave it all. Mix with Paramatma, God.
This body is not permanent. It will only live for 100 or max 120 years. Or you’ll get bored. If God gives you 10,000 years of life, you’ll get bored of it. Imagine how many people you’ll have to see die or take birth and loving. We’ll get bored of all that. Maybe after 100 years itself you get bored. The Jeevatma needs a new body, new clothes. How many years do you wear your clothes? Maybe 2-3 years, maybe 10 years. Slowly the clothes get old. Some people become fat because of eating and the clothes don’t fit. You also don’t get the same colour and style all the time. Same way, you get bored of this body. Your memory, sight and voice will be lost. You can’t walk, you’ll always coughing. Still, the Atman is young. Jeevatma is bored. After a hundred years, we must leave this body. That’s why people say janmantara – multiple births. People only talk about births. Even newly married couple also talks about next birth saying “I will love you in my next birth too”. First live through this birth! First day itself, out of ambitions and love you make promises, that’s not good. Before eating some food, you don’t say “I want this tomorrow too”. You first eat what’s in your plate. Then you understand the taste. People overestimate. When you get a hundred thousand dollars, that very minute you wish “I want another 100,000 dollars”. You just got your first hundred thousand. You experience this first! We’re overambitious.
Just Swamiji enters your house you say “Swamiji please visit next year too”. I want to stay one or two hours there! You want me to go back right then and come next year? First experience this visit, one, two or three hours. That experience is ever lasting. That is a gift for many births to come. When do you ask about next visit? When the last minute comes and Swamiji is about to leave, you can. You can’t ask that in the first minute. Some people who get the opportunity to touch Swamiji’s feet ask “please give us this chance always” before even touching the feet this time. This is like taking a guarantee from me that you don’t die and I don’t. This is not good. You should never ask a gift, particularly one that is above and beyond you. We are very ambitious. You cant ask for the same soup everyday. You’ll get bored of it tomorrow. If I visit you house everyday, you’ll be bored one day. You’ll have to make preparations everyday without even having to go to work! One day you’ll say “come later, I haven’t made preparations everyday”.
God gave us this Karmic body to clean up and fulfil all karmas and eating, sleeping etc. Daily if MahaVishnu appears, what will you do? One day you’ll say “Please take rest and come day after tomorrow please”. Tomorrow is holiday. So you’ll get bored 1. If you live too long and if you see too much of God. What an illusion this is! If you’re granted permanent stay in Vaikuntha (the abode of Lord Vishnu), what happens? There are no feelings, no happiness no sadness. No coffee, no crepes. No sorrow, no quarrel, no sleeping, no hungry, no anger. Just “Om”. No movement. Even if the angels are dancing you can’t watch. MahaVishnu won’t allow you. Don’t look! He says “only Indra can watch. Not you!” If you watch, you go back to earth. Then you meditate. No happiness, no sorrow, no pain killer, no sleep, no nothing. Then you’ll know that Indra always has four girls dancing around Him. Then you start meditating “Om! One day I want to be Indra!”.
These human beings are very interesting. Weeping, laughing, quarrelling, anger, hunger, sleep, pain. We’re always busy. When it pains you are busy crying. When there is good food you are busy eating it. In Vaikunta, there is no busy. They are like stones. We don’t want Vaikuntha. We only need earthly life again and again- with Appaji that’s is!
What is Moksha? Do you need liberation? I’m not there at that liberating point ok? Only Indra is dancing with four girls. Here there is laughing, weeping, husband, wife, children weeping, in Appaji’s meeting and volunteers asking you to leave! Get out! When you leave you can cuddle your child. This is all illusion. Even this moment is. We all know that this is illusion. Do you all know about the illusion? Then why did you fall for it? You fell in this knowingly. Its like you fell in the pit knowingly and are crying to God for help. Krishna! Is this meaningful?
How many times will you eat Avakai (a pickle favoured by many in Andhra Pradesh, India). You should only eat it once in a day. But if offered you will eat many times. Anyway, anything in surplus bores us and lack of it gives us sorrow. Everything has to be balanced. Only this balance makes our life beautiful. Otherwise it is not. Food, travel and thought should be balanced. When balanced and punctual, life is beautiful. When Swamiji visits and is inside the room you wish He comes out on stage and talks. When He comes out and spends too much time with you, it gets to your head and you talk and behave cheaply. Anything in surplus is not good. The lenience and easiness gets to you unknowingly. Even God’s darshan should be limited. Teaching and bhajans should also be limited. Sleep is limited. Even temperature should be like that. Temperature of the body should be at 98.3F. Even one degree hotter, it is fever. It feels really bad. That’s why you should pray to God for balance in everything.
You shouldn’t ask for too much of anything. Also give to God a part of what you’re already given. Don’t say “give me and then I’ll give you”. So I should bless you with a lottery worth 2 billion and take only 2 million of it? This is not business. Don’t ask about what is not to be given. And what is to be given to you will be given to you anyway. Share what you are given with God as family member. Swamiji is a family member. When you eat, take a little out for Swamiji. Or leave a dollar at his feet. Make Him a part of your family. Then, because He is your family member, you will automatically get balance in your family. If you leave him out, you will lose that balance. If you mix Him into your family, He will share your sorrows too! Remember this very well, always. Swamiji mixed Samsara and Vedanta.