Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji in the morning – July 19, 2018 – Trinidad & Tobago
Compiled by Archana Penukonda
Sri Mahaganapate Namaha
Sri Saraswatyai Namaha
Sri Padavallabha Narasimha Saraswati
Sri Guru Dattatreyaya Namaha
Om Namo Hanumate Namaha
Om Namo Hanumate Namaha
Om Aim Hreem Shreem Shiva Rama Anagha Dattaya Namaha
Om Aim Hreem Shreem Shiva Rama Anagha Dattaya Namaha
Om Aim Hreem Shreem Shiva Rama Anagha Dattaya Namaha
Jaya Guru Datta
Sri Guru Datta
Prasad just talked about Bhagavad Gita. Get the Guru Gita books and join the Guru Purnima chanting on Guru Gita day. He will teach you how to chant in 3-4 days. Record the Guru Gita if needed to practice it in the right tune. How many of you know the Guru Gita? Everyone including the new people join the Guru Gita chanting. You can offer Guru Gita and Bhagavad Gita chanting as Guru Dakshina to Swamiji. Nowadays, the entire world is responding to Bhagavad Gita chanting. Everyone is taking it very seriously. Some are memorizing the Bhagavad Gita, and some are learning to read. Next year, if you have 108 people come together to chant the Bhagavad Gita, I will definitely come here. There are only 700 shlokas to memorize. Bhagavad Gita is my language just as music is my language. For the last 50 years, Swamiji has only been talking about Bhagavad Gita. The meaning of the Bhagavad Gita is the subject of His every talk. I then decided why not have all devotees learn the shlokas. Now, the whole world is aware of Bhagavad Gita. Even illiterate people are learning the Bhagavad Gita by repeated listening.
Believe it or not, an 80-year-old man is memorizing the Bhagavad Gita. Vishwanatha, the auditor in the Ashrama is 80 years old. He started memorizing the Bhagavad Gita recently and is now able to chant quite a few chapters. There is another elderly devotee Dr. Vishwanath who is 75 years old and is also memorizing it. The auditor only knew accounts, he did not know Sanskrit. Swamiji asked him to learn the Bhagavad Gita. He said he would do it if that made Swamiji happy, because then God would be happy. He said if Swamiji blesses, God will bless. Swamiji said he would be very happy. The devotee since then has been memorizing the Bhagavad Gita.
There is another old lady with poor eyesight who cannot even chant Sri Ganashaya Namah, Sri Saraswatyai Namaha. Her life has been miserable. She is using special glasses and is reading all 700 shlokas of the Gita. These are all miracles. A 5-year-old boy from USA memorized all the 700 shlokas. This is a wonder. His brother was memorizing the Bhagavad Gita and this 5-year-old learned from listening to his brother. I have a messenger application on my phone. Little children send me a good morning or good night greeting everyday along with a Bhagavad Gita shloka. What a change in this world! What a change among Data devotees!
This is real Puja. This is real penance. It is not just physical Puja alone. Gradually, as you learn the meaning, Vedanta will automatically come to you. You will understand Sanskrit. You will understand Homa (ritual involving sacrificial fire) is, Sun God, Moon God, Lord Hanumanta, Navagrahas etc. You will experience the answer to “Who am I?” You will understand the answer to, “Why all this drama?” “Why are we laughing, sleeping, weeping, birth, death?” We are happy when there’s a birth in the house and sad when there’s a death. Buying new clothes makes you happy. When those clothes get ruined, you are sad. “Sukha duhkha samanvayam” (Equanimity in joy and sorrow). This laughing and weeping is all karma. We must experience the cycle of karma. That is why great seers, sages and Gurus like Vyasa Bhagavan gave us very easy methods to find our who we really are and to learn about our karma. Death comes to everyone. Every one that is born gets old age and death. That is the circle. Old age is very difficult and miserable. Some people take care of the elderly, some do not. Some societies put them in old age homes. Some of the aged just live alone and not go to old age homes. Their children are in America or London. You live alone, but Swamiji is with you. That energy will come, do not worry about old age. Do not be afraid. Experience and fight. You must prepare for old age.
There are four ashramas (stages in life) – Bala avastha (childhood), Yauvana avastha (youth), Vanaprastha (gradual withdrawal from responsibilities), Vrddhapya (old age). What are these four? One is childhood. Although most children do not know anything at that young age, some are very clever. They have the knowledge of a 50-year-old. I have some children in Mysore Ashrama who are like that. They look like 6 year olds, but have computer brains. The next stage is youth. You are a young boy or girl. You have the pride of youth. You do not care for anything. This stage can completely spoil our life. That is the time you need to be careful and follow spirituality. Read good books, be calm, eat Sattvic food. If you eat Tamasic food, you will be irritable. Many people here eat mirchi roti (spicy bread). Yesterday, I also took one to taste. I could not eat it. I drank 4 bottles of water. I do not know how you eat. That is not Sattvic food. You can take roti without the chili. A little spice or pepper is enough. If you eat food that is not Sattvic, like meat for instance, it will fill you with the six vices – kama/desire, krodha/anger, lobha/greed, moha/attachment, mada/arrogance, matsarya/jealousy. If you control food, karma is automatically controlled. If you cannot control food, you cannot control karma. So, be careful. Control your food intake.
Next, you are always talking like a chatter box. You are talking about others and gossiping. Why the unnecessary talk? It spoils your mind. You want to hear the gossip. You are not listening to Ramayana or Mahabharata. You want to only hear these bad things. You want the stories about your neighbors. “Oh, that lady went out with that boy? They went to the movies together?” You spend 30 minutes on that story. Someone else joins in and brings a bigger story. You are very happy to listen to it all. Talk less, eat less spicy food. You can eat plenty – eat 10-15 rotis if you wish – but eat Sattvic food. It promotes peace.
Some people sleep all the time. They watch television or movies past midnight, until 1 or 2am. It spoils your mind. If you are trying to memorize the Guru Gita or Bhagavad Gita, this spoils the practice and the mind. The mind is filled with that content you are watching. You do not sleep well. You must sleep at least 5-7 hours. Younger people can do with 5 hours. Children must sleep 7 hours. Older people can sleep 4 hours, no problem. A good sleep makes the mind fresh and makes it easy for you to memorize the verses. Eat fresh food, sleep well, talk less, avoid unnecessary chatter. You will learn how to have good health. You follow these simple things, you will be very happy.
If you have time, do not engage in chatter or watching movies. Do something good with your life. Find out ways and means to learn good things. Find people to teach you those things. Anyway, Swamiji’s healing, meditation and relaxation concert happens tomorrow. It is called Datta Ganga Raga Sagara. Datta Ganga is Aripo river. So, it is Sri Aripo Raga Sagara. I like Aripo, but how can I visit with so much rain? Whenever Swamiji visits the river, 200-300 cars full of devotees show up. Even though I want to visit secretly, people find out and come. Sleep well tonight. Eat good food. I permit you to eat spicy food, but less spicy.