HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji gave Discourse from November 19 – November 25, 2018 during His visit to KSHT, Dallas TX USA.
Sankeertana Saptaham
The Lord is eternally with you
Sachchidānanda rūpāya viśvōtpatyādi hētavē
Tāpatraya vināśāya śrikrishnāya namaḥ (Padma purana)
I offer obeisance to Lord Śrikrishna, the embodiment of truth-knowledge-bliss (Sachchidananda), who is the cause for the creation, sustenance and annihilation of the entire universe, and who frees the person from the three forms of afflictions (tāpatrayas).
Based on certain selective instances witnessed it is incorrect to accuse the Lord in a demeaning way. For example, thinking such as the following should never be encouraged: ‘Strange are the plays of the Lord! He does not shower immediate blessings upon the devotee who beseeches him fervently but responds instantly to the one who does not pray. He does not chase the person who follows Him but chases the person who cares not for Him. He does not fulfill the desires of the home that dutifully prays to Him but fulfils the desires of those in whose house He is not even thought of’. In fact it is terribly sinful to think so.
Remember that the Lord has feelings of equal-mindedness towards all creatures. At all times He oversees everyone and at the right moment He comes to their aid. At the apt moment He ensures that the devotee is bestowed with the fruits for his past good actions. He eagerly awaits that suitable moment when He can cause an awakening of wisdom in the devotee. When the quota of sins in the devotee’s account increase, He ensures adequate punishment. The Lord thus perfectly executes His duties. He has no distinctions such as people loved by Him and people unloved by Him. He completes His tasks with absolutely no forgetfulness.
Unable to grasp this profound truth, the devotee named Vijaya was perturbed that the Lord did not cast His compassionate gaze upon him. Falling at the feet of his Sadguru he beseeched, ‘O Gurudeva! I have placed implicit faith upon the Lord. Unfailingly I worship Him with devotion. I have engaged in many rituals to please Him. I have participated in many pujas and other worships and have also engaged in charitable deeds to the best of my abilities. Why is it that even after many prayers the Lord fails to fulfill my desire? Does He even notice me? Will He ever shower His grace upon me? Will He ever come to my aid? Will He stand by me? These doubts plague me night and day. Kindly answer’.
The supreme master replied, ‘My dear son! Your line of thinking is faulty. Abusing the Lord is sinful and you must apologize for it. Just as you have your own calculations, will He not have His own? His benevolent gaze covers all living entities. His protective hand reaches out to every entity. He is undoubtedly observing you. In fact, He is always with you and is eternally
protecting you. Remember this always! With this understanding further strengthen your faith and devotion. He will respond to your calls and will make Himself visible to you. Do not doubt His existence based on your limited knowledge. His actions are beyond your analysis and understanding. To understand Him and His actions is almost impossible. Hence increase your forbearance. Continue your worship. When the right time arises, your prayers will be answered’.
Vijaya remained inconsolable even after such a patient reply from his master. In dejection he walked towards the ocean. Noticing a boat anchored there, the desire to go for a boat-ride emerged in him. Seating comfortably in the boat he began to row it. As he reached the middle of the ocean he was trapped in a huge cyclonic storm. The heavy destructive winds that blew violently led to a series of huge waves from the deep seas tossing his boat vigorously.
‘O Lord. Save me. Save me’- even as he prayed a powerful wave crashed onto his boat tossing it far away. Frightened out of wits and believing he had died, Vijaya swooned. Meanwhile another huge wave crashed into the boat, smashed it into bits while hurling him on to a nearby island.
All of a sudden the weather was restored to normalcy. The calm and pleasant surroundings made it difficult to believe that a hurricane had just gone by. The dark clouds dissipated and Sunrays enlivened the place. With the touch of the harsh piercing rays on his body, Vijaya regained consciousness. He realized that he had been thrown on to an island. He carefully studied his surroundings. He then realized that he was on an uninhabited island. Fear overtook him completely. The silence unnerved him.
The fruit trees and the flowing stream helped him abate his hunger and thirst. ‘O Lord! Is this what I was destined for? I am truly unfortunate’- lamenting thus, he built a thatched hut and began to live in it. Days passed by. One evening hoping to spot any passing boat, he walked towards the ocean. As he was standing by the beach he saw a huge cloud of smoke. On closer observation, it was evident that his hut had caught fire.
‘O God! Why are you testing me endlessly? I beg for your protection but you seem to be bent upon punishing me. I have nowhere to go. You have thrown me on an uninhabited island. You have now robbed me of my shelter. Are your actions justified?’- weeping inconsolably he swooned there.
Vijaya felt that someone was waking him and throwing water on his face. ‘Wake up. It’s been a long time since we left the island. We need to quickly reach the mainland else our employer will punish us. Seeing the huge burning fire we realized that you were signalling for help. Hence we diverted our boat towards that island and rescued you. In the process we lost a lot of time’.
Hearing these words, Vijaya sat upright. The Lord’s helping hand was clearly visible to him. He was deeply moved. His voice faltered. His eyes brimmed with tears of joy. ‘O Lord! I had misunderstood You completely. Unable to understand Your greatness I falsely accused You innumerable times. I realize now that You were eternally with me. Finding the most suitable opportunity You helped me. Burning down my hut it was You who signalled them for help on my behalf. You rushed to my aid when I needed it the most. To You I offer million obeisances’.
Vijaya who thus reached home safely learnt not to get over-excited at times of successes and depressed at times of failures. He saw every experience as a prasada (blessing) given by the Lord.
Strange is the Lord’s way of offering protection! When He will protect, how He will protect is beyond understanding. It is therefore wrong to condemn Him considering one’s difficulties as punishments given by Him. Try to understand His responses. It amounts to meditating upon Him and focusing upon Him. With this the benefit of leading a life filled with His essence is earned by us.
Imprinting this preaching firmly in your minds, strengthen your levels of devotion. His compassionate gaze will fall upon you. He will hold your hand, work along with you and help you complete all your daily chores. In order to serve you He will remain standing at your doorstep.
May the compassionate gaze of the Lord cause unflinching devotion to arise in you and fulfilment of your desires! May all of you be graced by Him!