Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji in the evening – January 15, 2017 – Pithapuram
Compiled by: Smt Hira Duvvuri
This center has developed very well. All devotees who live close by must come and offer their volunteer services to make improvements here. Ramana Murthy must take the lead. Here, this temple, the Guru Nilayam, and this beautiful stage have all been nicely completed.
We celebrated Sankranti yesterday. Some did it in a Satvic or compassionate manner. Some were cruel and inhuman. They killed mercilessly many animals in the name of religion or just for whim and cruel fun. To kill and eat animals and birds does not make it a celebration. How is it a celebration when give pain to so many creatures?
In Krita Yuga humans and other creatures co-existed in peace. That is the way to celebrate life. Today people are overtaken by ego, and self-importance. It starts in the family, between spouses, inflicting pain on another. Then the violence spreads to the society at large.
Originally, even tigers ate only grass. Observing man’s cruelty, they began to kill and eat. Peaceful co-existence ceased. Man kills and eats, perhaps a time will come for cannibalism also when man kills and eats man’s flesh.
Every creature that is killed, will definitely take revenge against the killer. To escape that cycle of getting victimized by revenge for hurt inflicted, we must stop giving pain in the first place.
Once, in Nepal, 300,000 buffaloes were mercilessly slaughtered in the name of tradition. People kill chickens and goats also as offerings to God. It is nothing but cruelty. Offer a coconut to God or flowers, in the name of tradition. Wear new clothes, feed hungry persons. Help needy students in the tradition of charity offered by the forefathers. Offer worship, perform religious rituals, go on pilgrimages. If you eat meat and then go to temples, God is not pleased. Even human meat is tasty and you may begin to indulge in it also, out of cruelty. You rear birds and animals. Then you kill them and eat. You may also kill the old and sick at home, your own elders and eat them up in the future, with this cruel mindset. Tradition is not killing others. Performing a play, doing a temple ritual is tradition. Killing is demonic. It is not tradition. In Nepal, even small children were given swords to chop off the heads of buffaloes. Blood flowed like rivers. I was in tears when I heard the news and saw the photos published in the news. That same year, in the same region, a devastating earthquake occurred and merciless killed many humans. In Japan, many whales were chopped to pieces. Within a year, a huge tsunami occurred, killing all those cruel humans. God does not forgive such cruelty. God will certainly punish all meat and chicken eaters. Diseases, troubles, and accidents occur as a result of these cruel practices.
Today it is Kanuma festival. I don’t know how many animals will be tormented. Every creature loves to live. You must not shorten its life deliberately. Fruits and vegetables do not live long. God permitted the consumption of those because they anyway fall to the ground and rot quickly. Greens give more energy than chicken. Today it is Kanuma festival. That is why I am speaking of this topic. This is the place with the Temple for Kukkuteshwara (kukkuta=rooster). One must not kill chicken. This town itself grants liberation from sins. In a place of pilgrimage, one must not commit sins by killing animals and chickens. All along the route, I witnessed the killing of chickens today. Please refrain from such activity.
Jains are very conscious of harm done to creatures and avoid violence at any cost. They only eat flour products. They pick up fallen seeds to eat. It is a great religion. Jain religion. They live without causing violence. I like that faith very much. I wished to join that religion. Maybe in my last days I may still adopt their practices.
Hoysala Karnatakas belong to Jainism. One sect wear clothes and another sect go naked. Some wear white clothes. The Jain monks love Swamiji. They have many great pilgrimage centers. They honor and respect Swamiji a lot. I have close association with them. We follow and respect their beliefs. In dream also, we must not inflict pain on others. Those who victimize others will be punished by God, so declared Lord Krishna Himself.
I feel as if I have come home, when I come to Pithapuram. I have visited many villages along the way, so that they all do not need to come here. Only Kakinada and Pithapuram people have come here.
Those who have smart phones must install SGS Posts. The messages will reward you with liberation. Bhagavatam episodes are published daily. Facebook has a page for Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda. ‘Like’ the page. SGS Posts gives messages in many languages. When you have the smart phone in your pocket, you have the Bhagavatam in your pocket. Anytime there is wi-fi you can listen to the 10 minute episodes earlier broadcast on ETV.
If you have email, you can activate it. It is free. We have helpers here to assist you. Villagers own more smartphones than the city folks. Most people have sophisticated phones. Apple or Android phones. Tomorrow we will have a larger gathering. Those who install SGS Posts will be given a chocolate and a raksha. Those who fail to install will be shown the chocolate and the raksha, but they will not be given them.
We are happy to get together here again this year.
Sri Guru Datta