Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji – July 5, 2016 – JDRC, USA
Compiled by Archana Penukonda
Veera Hanuman ki Jai!
Our Indian philosophy is very great. It talks about all the scriptures and Upanishads including Ramayana, Mahabharata, and even the very easy Bhagavatam and Bhagavad Gita. These are very great because everyone wants to know for himself, “Who am I?” That’s the big question. “What is my journey?”, “What are my duties?”, “Why do we get this human birth again and again?”, “What is this confusion?” Ordinary people are always thinking like this. But wise men and saints are always thinking about Atman. They consider that, that is their duty for having taken this human birth. But, we are always immersed in our duties – marriage, children and money. And then death. What is this? Animals also are just eating and producing children. And then they die. No moksha/liberation. No spiritual knowledge.
In this worldly life, there are daily sorrows, daily weeping, all kinds of pain, including bodily pains. You have good amenities in life and so you are always thinking about food, children, loans, and job problems. Man is very busy until death. Even in their advanced age, people are thinking about their children not getting married or not getting a good job. They are always thinking and weeping. One day, they get a big disease and the game is finished. No moksha.
Animals are constantly eating and producing children. There is no moksha there either. We are also continuously eating and quarrelling, in our mind, body and soul. And one day, we die. What does it mean? What is this drama? How can we understand it? Who will teach us? That is why in Vedanta, and in Guru Charitra, it says you need a spiritual Guru.
Through a Guru, you can understand who you are, and what the body is. You can think for yourself daily about who you are, for one or two hours.
You are only thinking about money, quarrels, and your children’s problems. It’s the children’s own karma. Why are you thinking about it 24 hours a day? Is your grandfather thinking about you? Not even your father is constantly thinking about you. If they have a problem in their body, they will neither think about you nor about their own spouse. They are only thinking about their health. People always think about their own pains. Automatically, that brings them dispassion. They’ll brush away your problems as your karma because they are in pain themselves. They want to die. They get this dispassion in the last moments of their lives. But at that time, no one gives them spirituality. Your time is lost. Everything you did was a waste. Even your life is a waste. My advice is to go ahead and lead worldly life, no problem, that is your karma to lead a worldly life. But for half the day, think about spirituality. Sit and pray. Think about the question mentioned above, and about the reason behind the question. Think about how to learn good dispassion. Think about that. Otherwise, you are wasting time.
So many people are thinking about unnecessary things. They are unable to accomplish some things and are always thinking about them. They want promotion after promotion after promotion after promotion. Finally, death is the only promotion. There is just no satisfaction. They are very happy about the weeping and confusion in their lives. They don’t want peace in the house. There’s always misunderstanding and quarrels. It’s like they are in the grip of Saturn. Always weeping without satisfaction. They have no satisfaction, not with food, not with clothes either. You are creating problems for yourself.
We don’t want to sit in peace. We don’t want happiness. You can’t be content with what you have. You always chase after what you don’t have. You want more cars. You are creating problems for yourself. You want many tastes. Disease comes with those tastes. And then, we are besotted with thinking about how to fight those diseases. You can throw much money at the diseases, but they cannot be cured. It’s a loss of time and money. People and relatives around you are also weeping. No use.
God has given humans a 100 years to live. Nearly 50 of those years, we spend sleeping. We sleep for half a day or may be 7- 8 hours a day. Some people are sitting on the sofa and staring at the ceiling thinking about bank balance, quarrels, and their own problems. They are pensive about their son and daughter-in-law. Not thinking about God. You are wasting your time thinking about your children all the time. Not even once do you chant “Namassivaya”. You may verbally say “Namassivaya” or “Hare Rama” or “Hare Krishna”, but your mind is elsewhere. You say Jaya Guru Datta, but your mind is elsewhere. How can you get any merit? How can you concentrate? Set aside at least 5 minutes a day to concentrate on God. Chant one or two names of God for concentration. Can’t we do this for at least 5 minutes? We can’t. You are driving an hour to get to the temple, but you sit in the temple only for 10 minutes and leave. Why are you even going to the temple? Instead, sit in your own house and pray with concentration. You can pray at home for that entire duration. Why are you wasting that time?
You can play some bhajans or meditation music or some soothing music in your car. I’ve seen so many cars filled with film songs. Only when Swamiji comes, they are playing bhajans. I know the tricks. I know your drama. You are all cheats, I know. You taught me these tricks. I never knew all this before, but you have taught me these tricks. I’m a trickster too now. I know all your tricks now.
You are the not the same inside and out, and therefore, I’m becoming like that too. You like that better. If I’m the same inside and out, you don’t like it. I should be the way you are. I learned from you. You are my Gurus, not my disciples. People want those tricks and gimmicks. They don’t want Truth. If I tell the truth, you feel Swamiji is not good, you feel Swamiji doesn’t understand your feelings. Finish. You summarize everything with that statement. If Swamiji supports you, then you think Swamiji is very good. I know everyone’s future here. I may give some advice such as “Be careful about your future” or “Come to the Ashram”. Some listen, some don’t. If you don’t follow my advice, then you run into problems, and I won’t be responsible. If you want Guru to take responsibility for you, you must listen to and follow what Sadguru says. Until death, then I will take the responsibility for your life. Sadguru guarantees that responsibility. You have good insurance with Sadguru.
That’s why our scriptures including Guru Gita say that when there is a Jnani, a saint, or a wise man, you must follow him. Guru Gita says “Na guroradhikam, na guroradhikam” – there is no one who is greater than Guru. Sadguru is greater than God, than father or mother. All the gods also follow Sadguru. Dattatreya is Deva Deva Guru. He is the Guru to the gods and the celestials. Even Vishnu is following Dattatreya. The incarnations of Sri Rama and Krishna followed Lord Datta too. You must understand. Don’t chatter. Don’t waste time. Swamiji has advised many people to chant the Lalita Sahasranama even while cooking. The food turns out very tasty then. Instead, you are quarrelling and weeping while cooking. How can you eat that food? If you put good energy into the cooking with chanting of God’s names, then the food tastes very good. If you are offering service or doing meditation, do it with full attention. Don’t calculate how much you offered last time. I gave ten dollars last time. This is not your money; this is not your prana or your business. God gave you all that to be given back to Him.
So, our Hindu scriptures are very great. Different Vedas provide different meanings and offer different paths. They explain the things to do on each path. There are so many easy methods to follow. It is not about religion, only Atman. That’s why Europeans like Hindu philosophy. No other philosophy talks about Atma Jnana. Only Hindu philosophy talks about it. Other philosophies involve a lot of weeping and a lot of asking for more and asking for forgiveness. In Hindu philosophy, you are asked to give to others instead. Hindu philosophy asks for punishment and then for good teaching. Other philosophies talk about asking for forgiveness for all actions. Today, God will forgive and tomorrow, the person will again commit the fault. They are asking that God should write off or cancel all sins until today. Then tomorrow they will repeat the sins.
But what did Parasurama ask for? Parasurama prayed to Lord Datta for punishment and then for spiritual teaching. He prayed for Guru Tattva. He said, “I’ve done wrong. First give me punishment. Don’t excuse. I must sacrifice. I must pay for my mistakes. I want to correct myself. Please show me the way”. Sadguru is not shy. Sadguru doesn’t do business. Only one business required is that you follow his path.
Why this birth? Why this Hindu birth? It’s very great. People want to come to India. They want to spend time in India. They are searching for Guru, for Atman. But, we don’t care for Dharma. We don’t even follow our own Dharma. We are only concerned with eating and with money.
[Jaitra showed Swamiji a Telugu bhajan related to Swamiji’s discourse. “Sikshinche swami rakshinchu gaka, buradalonunchi paikettu gaka” – may God punish me for my sins and then protect me. May he raise me and lift me up out of this muddy marsh or mire.]
He’s showing a beautiful bhajan of Swamiji. Very nice meaning. Be careful. Life is precious. Time is very precious. Don’t waste this time. Before eating, pray or meditate. There are Annapoorna mantras. But we want to stand in our shoes and eat while keeping an eye on the clock. How does the food go into the body? It will not digest properly. In our system, you must sit on the floor and eat. That’s what Ayurveda stipulates too. You must sit on the floor. We are only sitting at dining tables. You can practice even now. In India, even 99-year old people sit on the floor and eat. Nowadays, people eat while driving in their car, they eat and drink while standing in their office. If you have no time, there is an exemption, but it can’t be done that way all the times. You should not drink water or coffee while standing. Even your blood circulation will get messed up. You get different diseases.
People are on the phone while they are eating. What if you don’t talk for those few minutes? Switch off the phone for a few minutes. Some read the newspaper while eating. They don’t know, they don’t watch what they are eating. They might be eating a cockroach too. Each grain you eat, has your name on it. You can’t see it. Each leaf you eat will have your name on it.
Your mind is elsewhere. You take phone calls during bhajans. No signal on the phone, no signal with God either. You can’t turn off the phone even for 1-2 hours. It’s a big disease now. Okay, you can use the phone, I use it too to propagate spiritual messages. But, it’s not good to be on your phone 24 hours a day. If you are on the road, let people know you are traveling and ask them to call back a couple hours later. That’s it. You can’t do that? Can you or can you not? When it comes to Swamiji’s messages, you say you have no phones, or no time, but for all activities like chatting, with a boyfriend or a girlfriend, you always have the phone available.
Even 70 year olds have girlfriends, what do to? Should I laugh or cry? If you pray or do bhajans, or do nama japa, sit with concentration for 5-10 minutes. It’s good energy for you. In the beginning, I saw some people cry during bhajans and thought they had so much devotion. But, gradually I realized that they were thinking about something else about their personal worldly problems and weeping. If we keep remembering our problems all the time, how will it work? If you think about devotion, you can automatically face and fight the problem. That’s why Swamiji gives easy bhajans. Follow the Guru, faith in God, face the devil, finish the game. You can finish the problems. But you can’t do that. Every time you sing bhajans, you are thinking about other things. Is that the time to think? While eating, you think about your problems. Before you go to bed, you think about your problems. Even while driving, you are thinking about your problems. You’ll end up in an accident. Unnecessary thinking. Forget everything for 10 minutes.
This is a very nice Ashrama. All day today I was thinking this big Ashram is like Shuka Vana. This big Ashram is like Shuka Vana. The birds are singing just like in Shuka Vana. You forget all problems and get good energy here. You’ll learn to face problems. Hundreds of thousands of people follow Swamiji’s words. Sometimes, Swamiji will tell the couple during the wedding ceremony that it wouldn’t be a good marriage, and they stop the wedding right there. They are very happy now. So many people listen to Swamiji. You will be happy if you listen. If you don’t, there’ll be problems. This person here neglected to obey Swamiji’s instruction. He is paying the price for it now.
Prasad will give translation of that bhajan. It talks about how to pray to Sadguru and what to pray for.
I’m very happy about the small lake, the swimming pool. It’s very nice. One of the reasons that pool exists is Gopi. Rick also helped a lot. I am very happy. Padma and Ishwari are taking care of the Ashrama maintenance. After seeing this Ashrama, our Neela is not saying much. He’s only working. He is asking Swamiji to stay here for 15 days. I told him it was none of his business, but he says Swamiji can stay here for 15 days or for 3 months.
I asked “What about Dallas?”. He says Dallas is also very nice. Swamiji can stay in Dallas for 6 months. I ask him, “What about my Shuka Vana? What about my India?” He says, Swamiji has been in India for over 70 years, he can now stay here. It was a wonder to hear Neela talk like that. I asked him why he was saying all that. He said both JDRC and Dallas had swimming pools for Swamiji. Oh, the swimming pool was the reason. Swamiji gets good exercise.
Swamiji does yoga in water daily. Swamiji couldn’t do Yoga last month and a half due to the travel schedule. It’s very difficult to do without practicing Yoga.
I’m very happy Rick, with your construction of the pool. Padma, I’m very happy with the maintenance of the Ashrama. Ramana was remembering Swamiji’s first trip to the USA. Once upon a time, Ramana and Swamiji traveled around the US. Only the two of us traveled around the country. Swamiji would only eat an apple, a banana and a glass of milk. It was very easy to travel. Ramana was also eating just an apple and a banana. I told him to go eat something, but he didn’t want to, since his Swamiji wasn’t eating anything else. He ate that way for 3 months. Only apples and low fat milk.
Baton Rouge Ashram is also very nice. Very good Datta temple there. Daulat is here. People from Dallas can visit the Datta temple. It’s the first Datta temple in the US.
The musicians may now render a few Bhajans. Bhajans:
Gam Gam Ganapati Vinayaka Isa Patisa Krishnam Vishnum
Arati: Koti Surya Teja Maruti
Sri Guru Datta