Speech of HH Sri Datta Vijayananda Teertha Swamiji – Corona Satsangam – April 22 , 2020 – Mysore
Compiled by Jaya Akkanapragada
Śrī Mahāgańapatayé namaha
Śrī Sarasvatyé namaha
Śrī pādavallabha nrsimha Sarasvati
Śri Guru Dattātréyāya namaha
Śri Gańapati Sacchidānanda Sadgurubhyō namaha
If there is a satsanga in the evening, it is called Sandhya satsang, since this is happening during this time of Corona, we can call this Corona satsang. Karo na – in hindi means let us do/ have. So karo na satsang – let us have satsanga.
During this difficult time, Pujya Sri Swaiji has been engaging us in so many different ways and giving us so much joy. To make sure we do not get afraid, or worry unnecessarily, He is engaging us all. Many people are worried about how He is, and about His health. As soon as the lockdown was announced, the first thought in everyone’s mind was “Oh! We cannot go to Mysore” He has been blessing us with so many beautiful sūktīs, bhajans, pūjās and so many darshanams which could not have been physically possible. Without having darshanam, we were all feeling restless and uneasy. Knowing all this, He is spending so much time with us. Not just with us, He is also recording messages so they can reach more people through various TV channels. In the midst of all this, He is also making sure that all the migrant labour who are stranded in Mysuru with no food, do not go hungry. Thousands of people have been provided food. Everyone who has been contributing to puja séva are in Appaji’s mind. He has given everyone the benefit of participating in annadāna. The food donation has been done in the name of the puja seva kartās.
Appaji is making arrangements not just for migrant labour, and people in Mysuru who have no means of supporting their families, but a few hundred families who serve in the ashrama as well. All this is being made possible through the donations sent in by puja seva kartas. Appaji has not only been talking to us about the importance of dāna, but is actually showing us how to do it. This is the mark of a Guru – He teaches by walking the path. He teaches, preaches and also guides us by setting an example. Such a Guru is greatly glorified in the scriptures.
Yesterday when Sri Swamiji performed Deepa Lakshmi puja, He reminded us that the lamps were lit not to expel physical darkness on a no moon night – amāvāsya, but to expel the darkness of ignorance within us.
Yesterday all of you chanted the Hanuman Chalisa. This is a great time for contemplating on the Divine. It is rare to get so much time, so we must learn to make the best use of it. There is also suffering. If someone falls down, and sprains their leg, is it wise to always think only about the pain or the sprained leg? In times like this, we must learn to overcome these difficulties. We must think of a way to spend our time well. This is sakārātmaka drishti.
Why are people finding it difficult to stay home now during the lockdown? Ramayana and Mahabharata teach us the importance of maintaining cordial relations with everyone at home, and in society. This is why Guru also spends so much time talking about these epics. Earlier when we had to rush to work, we did not get to spend time with family. Now, we have time. We should make use of it.
We have a big goal. We have to fight and win over Corona. Yes, we are all afraid and anxious. But some amount of fear is necessary in these situations, otherwise everyone would be roaming around on the streets in spite of the lockdown. If we did not have fear, we would let a stone fall on our leg and hurt us. Scientists are telling us that if we come in contact with someone who is infected, we can spread it to more people. Our goal should be to win over this, by socially distancing ourselves. As Swami Vivekananda says, we must learn to use our intellect to reach our goal. We must rise up to meet the goal, not lower the goal to our level. Participate in all the sevas at the ashrama and do whatever you can to help those in need.
This Corona has made us miss so many festivals – Ugadi, Rama Navami. It’s okay, let us think we have offered these festivals to it as a sacred offering, and may it happily leave this bhūlōka and go back into Paramātma. Appaji is showing us how to spend time in this difficult time. For the past 1 month, all the Datta devotees who have been watching these live satsangas, for them live has become their life. They are so happy watching all the various programs via live – whether they are pujas, sūktīs, making us learn Bhagavad Gita, teaching us how to spend time at home, and what our seva should be in this time. In so many ways, Appaji is blessing all of us. Many devotees are telling us “this is a wonderful opportunity. We have never seen all these beautiful mūrtīs in Swamiji’s puja mandiram before. We are so happy and fortunate.”
With this satsanga, Swamiji has made us forget our difficulties. Yesterday, with the contributions to puja seva, 18 Lakhs worth of food supplies were bought and distributed to people who have no means of earning now. Where can they to go now? There are people in lower income groups as well as upper middle class people who are struggling. Appaji has handed over the supplies to Sri GuruDutt who is the Municipal Commisioner, and asked him to distribute these supplies to all those who are in need. There are 150 people who accompany harikatha and bhajan programs where they happen. Now they also have no means to earn a living or support their family. There are also people in nearby areas who need help, so a table has been placed outside the ashrama, so that people can come and pick up whatever they need. We need to learn how to help those in need from Sri Swamiji. Since the Guru teaches by example, He is also known as Āchārya.
There is a beautiful sūkti by Bhartruhari which is apt for those who do seva.
Parōpakārāya phalanti vrukshāha
Parōpakārāya duhanti gāvaha
Parōpakārāya vahanti nadvaha
Parōpakārārtham vidam śarīram
This body – śarīram is to do some things for yourselves, but also to do some good for others without expecting anything in return. If this is done through the Sadguru, it is even more beneficial. Look at these trees which bear fruit. They never eat the fruit. If we water, it’ll take the water, otherwise it’ll search deep in the earth for water, and use the water to grow and bear more fruit for others. Once when someone remarked that they wanted to do more seva, God blessed them saying “Then be born as trees! They only exist to help others.” Some forms were cursed to be born as trees, but there are other forms which, as a blessing received, are born as trees. In any case, all trees help others. Swamiji is making sure that as soon as funds are being received, they are put to good use to help those who are in need.
We feed grass which is not useful to us, to the Cows. They in turn give milk. We don’t even let their calved drink the milk. As soon as the cow starts to give milk, we move the calf away, and milk the cow for our needs. We either sell or drink the milk. We must learn from these cows to provide for others.
Rivers also flow only to provide for others. Some may dismiss this lightly saying how does a river know which way to flow, it has no intelligence. But this is wrong. In kerala, we all know the story of how Pūrńānadi changed course when Shankar Bhagavadpadacharya commanded it to do so. We may think a river does not have intelligence, but rivers have the power to wash away our sins.
So must learn from the example set by trees, cows and rivers.
Śīryataiti śarīram – this body will anyways be destroyed. So before that happens, why don’t we use it to do some good. Even if this body is gone, we will remain, but we need to earn some punya – merit. That is why use this time wisely, and make use of this body to do some good work. Do good work as your duty. You will not receive anything in return, you should not expect anything also. For example, if you don’t stay at home now, you can fall sick. But what do you gain from staying at home? Nothing really. You are just being safe, and will not get infected.
Appaji is showing us this sūkti in action. No one should go without food at this time. There are many animals which need help. We must do whatever we can to help them also. In the beginning, many people were unhappy and afraid when they had to be at home. Once Swamiji appeared via Live, they overcame their fears and are happy staying at home now. Those who do not have good relations with others at home are the ones who are unhappy right now. If we are affectionate and loving towards one another, what difficulty is there? We can share our happiness together and find ways to spend time in spiritual contemplation. We should spend time thinking about what qualities we should develop, what negative traits we should give up and how to better utilize our time for spiritual pursuits.
Think of this as ‘stay home’ vrata – ritual and practice it with great care. Follow all the rules laid down. If you have to step out, when you come back, try and take a shower. Wear a mask at all times. When a doctor has to go into the operation theatre, he has to wear the surgical mask and gown. Just because he steps out for a few minutes, he cannot say “Oh, it’s only been a few minutes.” If he does not scrub again and put on the mask and gown, he will endanger both the patient and himself. Therefore he takes every precaution. Similarly, we must regularly wash our hands.
Yesterday Appaji made all of us chant Hanuman Chalisa. When I was young, I had experienced isolation, so this not new for me. I travelled with Appaji on a yatra to Vijayawada in 1988-89. There was construction going on, and the dust there did not uit me. That is when I learnt that I was allergic to dust. I had severe cough and cold. Since Swamiji had told us that when we are sick, we should not be near others, I went up some stairs, and slept alone at the top of the stairs. Early in the morning, I couldn’t breathe and was fighting for my breath. I must have seen all the lōkās in that state. A Volunteer found my struggling to breathe, and immediately rushed to fetch Dr. Krishnakumari. She immediately came and after checking me, she administered an injection. The news reached Appaji, and He requested the doctor to do further tests and determine what went wrong. The doctor’s home and clinic were in the same building, so I was taken there. After all the tests, I heard them discussing and saying I had acute bronchitis. I was very young then , so I did not know what acute meant. I assumed I could go home that evening. Then the doctor explained that it was a serious situation. When Appaji was informed about this, He said I should be kept in the clinic itself for the next few days. That week-long self isolation was initially difficult. But then I saw the other kids there – Dr. Bujji and the others talking only in spelling. So I spent my time playing with them and started enjoying myself.
Initially many people feared the lockdown. Now they are so used to spending time at home, they are dreading going back out again. We should not be afraid. It is only our fear that makes a big demon of a small problem. I will teach you a kituka – a simple technique. In yogavāsiśtam, there is a beautiful incident. I cannot speak without quoting from Yogavāsiśtam since we have been having these discourses since 2014.
Rāma had many great difficulties. Even though he was a royal prince, he was disgusted with the world, with childhood, youth, samsara – the constant play of life, so he asked Sage Vasiśta “what should I do?” Sage Vasiśta said “My son, I shall tell you a secret. See this samsara as a long-drawn dream.” Who can say such a brilliant thing except a Sadguru! Sometimes we have short dreams which last a few minutes. Some times, we have longer dreams where we wake up scared, and go back to sleep only to have the dream continue. It is like a long movie with 2 intervals.
Sage Vasiśta advised Rāma to see samsara as a dīrgha svapna. All of you also think of Corona as a long dream. Imagine Paraméśvara is asleep and is having this dream. Just the thought will give you a lot of peace. In His dream, He sees Earth, and somewhere in China this Corona is born. And from China it spread to the entire world. Now we must remember that all this is happening in His dream. It has spread to the entire world and has reached India. People in many countries are suffering. All this appears in His dream. We are all after all small small parts of His great Cosmic form. Each of us is one nail, one finger, one limb of His Cosmic form. The Viśnu Sahasranāma says the 3 worlds are His body.
One of these days, sometime after May 3rd, Paraméśvara will feel “Oh, this is not a nice dream” and He will wake up. When that happens, this lockdown will end. What happens when He wakes up? The dream no longer exists. What is a difficulty in a dream? Isn’t it gone as soon as one wakes up? If we can think like this, it is very easy to win this battle. I shared this simple method with all of you. If you practice, with sādhana, you will also experience it.
As I thought about whether people had faced quarantine and house arrest before, I realized this is not new. When the great flood happened, there was a similar situation. Why think about a flood. Every night when we go to sleep, after the dream passes and we go into deep sleep state, what is that if not isolation? Without any attachments, we are happy in that state. During the mahāpralaya – great flood, all the 5 elements combined as one. All beings were there in isolation. And when creation happened again, they came back. Of course, there was no Corona then, but if we can learn to be happy and maintain social distance, we can overcome this.
It was not just in the case of beings but also in the case of Gods – dévatās that isolation was experienced. The dévatās fought against the demons and lost. There was a reason for this.
There is a saying that Mahātmās do not appear without a reason. They come to do lōka kalyāńa – to benefit the masses. Similaly, once Dūrvāsa Maharśi – the elder brother of Dattātréya Swami who was known for his temper, appeared. Durvāsa means one who wears tattered clothes. He would wear such tattered clothes and roam around. Only those who knew His greatness could recognize Him.
As He was walking, He saw a young woman coming from Kailasa. She had just worshipped Pārvati dévi, and was coming back with a garland of golden lotuses. Although they were made of gold, they had a fragrance. Such a thing can only happen in dévalōka – the abode of Gods. Seeing the flowers, Dūrvāsa Maharśi asked the lady to give Him the garland. She knew who He was, so she respectfully offered the garland to Him. He went straight to svargalōka and saw Lord indra coming out of the Ganga river seated on Airāvata. Airāvata was not a regular elephant. It was the size of the Himalayas. Now you can imagine how Indra looked seated on this elephant. Dūrvāsa Maharśi was ushered ahead by the attendants so He could meet Indra. He offered the garland of golden lotuses to Indra as mahāprasādam. Ideally, upon seeing the Maharśi, Indra should have jumped off the elephant, and prostrated to the Guru. But for whatever reason, that day, indra not only stayed seated, but also took the garland with his left hand. And to make matters worse, not realizing the significance of the flowers, he placed it around Airāvata’s neck. The elephant got irritated with the flowers which were poking its skin, and took off the garland and threw it on the ground and crushed the flowers with its feet. Seeing this Dūrvāsa Maharśi was very angry. He cursed Indra for insulting the prasādam from Jagadāmba – Mother Goddess. In that instant, all the people who were playing instruments and singing Indra’s praises stopped. Indra was now an outcast.
Indra now had to go into isolation, so he went to Mandara parvata. Since he was the Lord of all gods, he took Vāyu, Agni and all the others also with him. In isolation, they all did tapas. Bruhaspati who Guru to them all was not affected by this curse. As soon as He came to know of the difficulty his disciples were in, he came out of dhyāna, and went to Mandara parvata. When he saw all the dévatās there, He told them “You are all blessed to be doing tapas in such a sacred place. You should be grateful for the opportunity this curse has bestowed upon you all! How else could you have ever come to Mandara parvatam.”
In the same way, we are all blessed. Otherwise can you imagine all of us staying at home for so many days given our hectic lives? When the dévatās saw their Guru, they held His feet – just like all of you are happy and relieved when you see Appaji in Live every day. You may all think “Swamiji, you all have it so easy. You have a beautiful sprawling 40 acre ashrama and you can go for a walk in it. We are confined within 4 walls.” The situation is just the opposite here. Appaji is confined to His Guru Nilayam. Even I am not going anywhere. Only if there is some work, a few people step out, do their work and then go back inside. In fact, the lockdown is being followed even more strictly here.
The prayer hall is so deserted now. It would always be so festive and filled with devotees. Not only are we missing the devotees, they are also missing us. We can see this very clearly in Appaji’s eyes. He is missing His children and feeling bad that He cannot see them in person. Have you seen a mother make her babies cross the road? Take any animal- a dog, duck or cow. Until the children cross to the other side, the mother will be so anxious. It is the same case with Appaji also. I see it every day. Appaji is constantly worried about His children. Since Appaji is doing so much for His children – whether it is through pujas, satsangas or recordings for TV channels, we must also stay safely at home and not worry Him.
In the case of the dévatās who were doing tapas, all this had to be done so that the milky ocean could be churned, and nectar – amritam could be obtained. It was only because nectar emerged that the dévatās were victorious against the demons, and became immortal. Until the nectar came, they were getting wounded in battle like everyone else. May the nectar like medicine for this Corona also come soon. If it has to come, we have to stay at home – prayatnam and pray – prārthana. We must follow the path shown by Swamiji.
When Lord Indra was in a place called Śucīndra, Lord Dattātréya appeared before him, and initiated him into the worship of Lakshmi Devi. That is why today, Appaji has performed Deepa Lakshmi Devi puja. It has all come together very beautifully today on Amāvāsya to talk about the Devatas’ victory and about Appaji’s victory.
Jai Bolo Śri Sadgurunāth Maharāj ki Jai!