Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji in the evening – November 28, 2016 – KSHT, USA
Compiled by: Archana Penukonda
Sri Maha Ganapataye Namaha
Sri Sarasvatyai Namaha
Sri Padavallabha Narasimha Sarasvati
Sri Guru Dattatreyaya Namaha
How many people know Telugu? Raise your hand. How many understand Telugu? Raise your hand. How many speak Telugu at home? Raise your hand. The ones raising your hand are not lowering it. That means you are speaking Telugu at home. So, you are trying. You must try to understand Telugu. It is a beautiful language. It is a soothing language. There is very nice essence in it. It is like learning music. If you learn Telugu, you will see that it is close to Sanskrit. It is as close to Sanskrit as Malayalam is. It is said that Telugu is Theta (clear and beautiful) and Kannada is Kasturi (fragrant). Tamil tastes like Pongal – if you eat it, it tastes good. So, Tamil is good when you speak the language. Tamil is called Agastya language. It is the language brought to us by Sage Agastya. Sage Agastya is the lord of medicine too.
Anyway, we need a language to communicate. Without sound, there is nothing. Sound is very important. The sound of talking is most important. That is communication. Otherwise, there is no communication. Before communication with sound, there was the language of silence. How many have seen a silent movie? Even before movies like Pushpaka Vimana (a movie with no talk track made in 1987), there were movies that had no sound at all. Such movies were made even before your parents were married. The characters communicate only with signs. It is said that, that is the real language. The language that came after consisted of codes. The number of taps determined the meaning – like in Morse code. I learned that language when I was young. I used it for 3 months when I did military communications in the post office. It is very nice. From that point, I started music. When I was young, my music experience started with these code words. I began writing music in those code words. When I set a certain set of code words, a song would be ready. Even now (the bhajan) Krishnam Vishnu is communication (with the divine). That is why we should not hate languages. We should not discriminate against other languages. If you keep listening to languages, you will learn some words in those languages.
When somebody is speaking in another language, listen fully, do not hesitate. Concentrate. You will definitely understand. Because that person is using his/her own language, not an unknown language, you will understand some words. Then slowly, you can connect those words and understand the subject that person is talking. That is why you must never dismiss a language. If you are irritated with the language, you will never be able to understand. If you are irritated about eating, your stomach will not digest the food properly. You must relish the food with hunger. If you do not desire the food, you will need to control what you eat and then get yourself tested to see if you have any ailment. Do not hate food. If you do not like it, do not eat it. Why eat and suffer? Similarly, when you listen to a language, if you just keep listening, you will understand.
Why am I saying this? I said this the last time too. You must not forget your mother tongue. I will keep saying this. I will keep remembering and reminding you as well. If I don’t remind you about it, I feel like I forgot to say something. I say the same thing to people that speak Kannada, I say the same thing to people that speak Tamil, I say the same thing to people that speak Hindi, I say the same thing to people that speak Gujarati. I keep reminding them. People whose mother tongue is Telugu should speak Telugu with kids at home. Do not forget. Telugu is a very good language. Each language is great to its speaker. The food cooked is always great to the one who cooks. But the husband who cannot eat the food may stealthily throw it away. We should try to make the food so that it can relished.
I am very happy in this lunar month of Karthika. On one hand are the sacred Jyotirlingas and on the other hand, the sacred Mysore Jyotirlinga. We got that Shiva Linga (Mysore) in a miraculous way. It is a great story. In 1964-65, my grandmother and grandfather said that Lord Shiva was in their fields and that they would hear many noises and Shiva chants at night. They wanted Swamiji to bring the Shiva from there. It is a long story. We went there; Mysore Chowdiah – a very famous violinist of those times and a Tahsildar (income tax officer) went there along with the (district) collector to see where the Shiva Ling was, because if it was part of an old temple, we couldn’t bring it with us. We found that it was exactly in grandfather’s field. On the surface, it was all agricultural crops. But if we dug it out, the archeological department would not let go. As soon as we went there, there was already a big pit there, as if someone dug it. We did not even dig it. Lord Shiva was found under such circumstances. When we saw the Shiva Linga there were a lot of serpents coiled around it like ornaments. We got the serpents out with music.
Violin Chowdiah was a great musician. He built a big college. He also built a big auditorium in the shape of a violin. His children and grandchildren are all in big positions – politicians and artists. He accompanied Swamiji. When Swamiji sang, he played the violin. That is when I sang Isa Patisa (the bhajan). After the Shiva Linga came out, I sang Taddhim Sankara.
Right then, we made a bullock cart and put the Shiva Linga on it. Who would lift the Shiva? Every day, he would appear in Swamiji’s dream and say he wanted to come to Swamiji. Swamiji did not have a temple then. Swamiji felt back then that Nada (divine sound) was God. God is in Nada alone. I had stubbornness about it, so I never built a temple. I did not know why God gave me that stubbornness. I did not believe in idols, I felt God was in Nada. But now God made me build so many temples. What a punishment. The more I resisted, the more he made me build temples. I even told him I had wanted to build temples to see if he would stop. I regretted not wanting to build temples (which is probably why God made me build temples). I let him go ahead with his desire. Temples are also a kind of Nada. We should adjust to whatever God wills.
We need to worship a form, because we have a body. It was difficult to bring the Shiva up from the bottom of the pit. Swamiji just put his hand inside the pit and the Shiva Linga came and sat right in the bullock cart. I cannot explain it scientifically, but that is the Shiva Linga you now see in Mysore Ashram. He said he did not want to a temple because Swamiji did not want a temple. I made something like a temple so that 10,000-20,000 people at a time can see it. He sat outside so that many people can see the Shiva Linga simultaneously. They can all offer their own worship. When I see some symbols on the Shiva Linga, I feel like it might have belonged to the Chola kingdom. They used to be in Karnataka. That region used to be in their control.
So, seeing the Shiva Linga, the Mysore Jyotirlinga, I called in Sachchidanandeshwara. Interestingly, at exactly 12 midnight on Shiva Ratri, if you put some butter on it, it would turn into ghee instantly. Sometimes, it would turn into ghee within 2 seconds. You could see the ghee. It was the time of Lingodbhava (the time of appearance of Shiva Linga). There was so much heat in the Shiva Linga that it would turn into ghee. So, we would use ice water for Abhisheka. Even now, we do Sahasra Kalashabhisheka. I remembered that Shiva as I was worshiping this Shiva here.
Just as the God of Kaliyuga is Venkataramana Swamy, our God in the Ashram is Lord Shiva. He responds when you call him, he fulfills all your tasks. He is in the Ashram under the temple tower. Come (to Mysore) for Shiva Ratri. Do not miss it. Every Shiva Ratri, there is Shiva chanting, do not miss it. No one should miss. Everyone that can, should come if you get vacation. Even this Shiva (Dallas Hanuman Temple’s Shiva) is so wonderful, it is made of Sphatika (pure crystal). I am seeing such a Shiva Linga for the first time. Nowhere have I seen one like this. You may see a crystal Shiva Linga in many places, but even the base is made of Sphatika.
You pray to this Shiva Linga and whatever you wish will happen. But, you must pray with devotion. You must not see it as a crystal Shiva Linga. It is live. Do not think of it as a Shiva Linga, it is real Shiva. You must not think this (Dallas Hanuman) is Hanuman Murti, it is real Hanuman. At one time, Venkataramana Swamy (in Tirupati) used to give interviews and talk to devotees. As devotees grew in number, he turned into an immovable form. There were too many devotees, too many fights and too much violence. Let’s say Swamiji were to just sit here, you will have a lot of devotion in the first half hour. In the second half hour, your devotion loosens and you will relax a little bit without even realizing. In the third half hour, you will have unnecessary chatter with Swamiji and say silly things. In the fourth half hour you will ask questions and answers as you please , so the respect you have for Swamiji will decrease. That is the reason why the Lord appears just for a brief moment. That image of the Lord should be imprinted in our head. That is why they ask you to keep moving (in big temples like Tirupati). You must make a mental print of that form. You must believe that, that form will appear in your mind whenever you want. If you just stand there in front of Venkataramana Swamy, it will just be an idol for you. If are allowed to stand right in front of Venkataramana Swamy for an hour or two, you will think of him as just an idol. I do not want to say this, but may be the priests do not have as much devotion (as the devotees in the temple). May be the scholars do not have as much faith. We sometimes feel that way.
The priests chant the sankalpa and perform ablutions with a lot of devotion only in the first 10 minutes. That is why they keep changing the priests because the devotion should not be lost. If there is only one priest, he will be a guard for that shrine and do his duties for money. He may or may not chant the mantras. He automatically becomes like that. But devotees that go there will have devotion because they do not have much time with the Lord.
Many people ask Swamiji often, “Why do we not see you when we come to Mysore? We wait for two days, sometimes ten days even, to see you”. I tell them that unavailability is more valuable. What you do not get has more value. Last week, they said salt would be scarce. It was all over the TV. Everybody was buying big bags of salt. What’s the point of hoarding so much salt, a little water could wash it away. One announcement that the item would be unavailable is enough in India, there will be long lines in front of shops and people will not budge until they get the item. This is a good trick for businesses to get rid of old stock.
If the doors to the Hanuman shrine are open 24 hours, you will not care enough. You will not care to attend Arati because you know you can have Darshan of the Lord later. You will go whenever you find time. Your desire wanes. We must have desire for God. He made this creation, we did not. We should be eager to see him. The devotion in having Darshan of Venkataramana Swamy after walking up the hill is very different from the devotion in having his Darshan after driving up in a car. When you walk up the hill and wait in line to see the lord, that devotion, that feeling of reaching Vaikuntha when you see the Lord is a sweet experience. There is no better experience than that. But when you go up the hill in a car and get in the VIP queue, is that devotion? Only when we are tired and are chanting the name of the Lord from the exhaustion, do we experience that devotion. If we get there comfortably and return comfortably and eat Prasadam in the meanwhile, what is the fun? When you see Swamiji after waiting for a long time in Mysore, that is when you have devotion. If you see me right away, you do not have as much devotion.
Love for Swamiji is different from devotion for Swamiji. You have a lot of desire and love for Swamiji, but devotion is different. Eating a little Prasadam is so delicious when you are very hungry. But when you are full, and it is slightly low on salt, you will not like it.
At the Naganatha Jyotirlinga, one needs to climb down and crawl towards the Shiva Linga. How many of you have seen the Naganatha Jyotirlinga? Even if you do not want, devotion will take you over. You will be chanting God’s name from exhaustion. That is the set up they had before. In the sanctum sanctorum, you had to bend and squeeze yourself in to have Darshan of the Lord. The temple tower is very tall, but you have to become very small to see the Lord. That is the architecture they created. If you do not make yourself smaller, you will hurt yourself. There is too much water and it is very slippery. You will tread very carefully, thinking of God constantly. In America, everything is setup with carpet and modern amenities. You will appreciate the temple, but you will not appreciate God. You must praise God, not just the temple. To praise God, you need devotion. All of this month, having Darshan of the Jyotirlinga is very good.
I am very happy with yesterday’s program too (in Baton Rouge). Dattatreya is always laughing. Very good. It is a very nice, small temple in an industrial area. There is a lot of devotion among people there.
It is time for Arati now. The day after tomorrow, we might have a screening of the Devi Navaratri movie. It is a wonderful movie. I had tears watching it. A devotee team made that movie. Just like the Hanuman team here, there is a team in Hyderabad. A devotee called Bujji led the team. They said to Swamiji, “You keep saying it is the last Navaratri, but you are continuing to do the Navaratri each year”. I said I didn’t know when I will stop doing it. They then asked to make a movie on the Devi Navaratri festivities. I said, “Okay you can make the movie, but you must not ask for retakes or ask Swamiji to look at the camera”.
Dhvaja (flag) Puja – we will place these flags in the presence of the Lord for 30 days after which you can keep it in your home. These are Dharma Dhvajas. People used to keep a Dharma Dhvaja at home in the old days. They would keep the flag for the entire year. This used to be a North Indian tradition and now we are doing in South India too. This used to be a tradition in Trinidad and other countries too. The Dhvajas will be removed every 30 days, so you can also do Dhvaja seva then.
Tomorrow, all torams from the pillars would be remove and Yajna will be performed.
Sri Guru Datta