Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji in the morning – Atirudra Yaga – Day 3 – Anugraha Bhashana – January 19, 2023 – Srisailam
One of the bhajan singers today – Hema – from Chennai who led the singing for the group is the daughter of the Chennai Ashrama Trustee Sri Suresh. Her grandfather was a big lawyer. When Swamiji used to do record for LP records, her grandfather used to help. The family sings bhajans a lot. If they do not sing bhajans, they talk to Appaji’s photo. I want every family to be like that.
Some people distort their face when you sing bhajans. Just continue singing and one day, they will become even more ardent devotees than you. There are so many different kinds of bhajans Swamiji has given you. Great souls have sung divine compositions that have uplifted innumerable beings. That tradition of singing bhajans was lost since we gained independence. Since independence, we are hankering for material possessions such as land, home, vehicles etc. When the great souls used to sing divine names and walk the streets, their singing was the only entertainment for people. There were no phones or TVs or radios then. I still remember those days. We celebrated when we got a phone line at the Ashrama.
There was a time we had no electricity. When we are suffering like that without amenities, we used to get out on the street and follow the saints singing divine names. There were no mics, so the saints would sing with loudly in their beautiful voices. Since independence, there has been a lot of advancement in amenities. Buses, roads, trains, phones sets are all at our disposal. Now we are only interested in these comforts. Back then, there were silent movies and then came movies with sound. We (India) got independence 75 years ago. In the improvements in the last 70 years, we have forgotten bhajans and classical concerts. We have TVs, cinemas, clubs etc. now. We got used to creature comforts. Now we have hotels everywhere, back then, we only had choultries – Dharma Satras. People would travel on horse-drawn carriages. You can ask the elders in your house, they will tell you how they lived. But you do not even like to talk to them. You must spend an hour everyday with the aged members at home, speak to them lovingly. If you do not talk to them while they are there, all that knowledge and history will be lost. They will tell you about the suffering people had pre-independence.
Back then, weddings would go on for 10 days. A singer saint who used to chant divine names and get alms in return ended up at a wedding for 10 days. He ate and rested everyday, and at the end of the wedding rituals, forgot what he was to chant. Instead of “Govinda”, he would chant “Grovinda”. Our comforts make us forget God. These days, we either are hooked to the phone or the TV. In this manner, spirituality and devotion got destroyed in the last 75 years. If you do not wake up now, your children and grandchildren will suffer.
If you complain that your children and grandchildren have no devotion, it means that your lineage has a ticket to hell. If you say that your grandchildren do not sleep or eat until they sing bhajans, you have a ticket to Vaikuntha. There are many who may not be able to come to see Swamiji often, but they love to sing bhajans. “I have no time, they will not let me sing at home, they do not let me chant at home”, do not give these excuses. So what if they do not have devotion, you do what you can. Rather than lament about your children lacking devotion, let them be. Do not worry about them, to each his own. You keep doing your duty and sadhana. If you are constantly grieving that your children or grandchildren are not devoted, you are losing on your own sadhana. They are losing anyway, but you are too. Those who say that there is no devotion in their household can be assured there is a ticket to hell for the family.
Relationships do not matter when it comes to sin and merit. Your grandparents used to constantly go on pilgrimages. What are you doing? You have many amenities, so you do not care; you are used to comforts. You must teach children devotion. Then the house will turn into Nanda Gokulam. Rather than complain about the family or descendants lacking devotion, you do your sadhana. They will go to hell anyway, why do you want to go also simply by grieving about them? If you did not train your children when they were young, how can they be trained now when they are grown up? They are sinners, even if they happen to be your children.
Many lament that their children do not come to Swamiji. Let them not, why are you following them? Each one’s count of sin and merit is his own. Therefore, do not worry about others when you are with Swamiji. If you do, you will not come with me. I will sign a bond paper to guarantee you that. If you come to me, it is only you and me. There is only a single seat for each person, there is no double seat. If you are hungry, it is you who should eat. Will your hunger be removed if you feed your child or your neighbor? Sin and merit are not shared by anyone, not even your spouse or parent. Our sin and merit are our own. You must breathe if you want it be alive. You cannot ask your spouse to breathe for you because you are busy.
The body turns into a corpse once the jeevi leaves. No one wants to keep the dead body at home for a long time. They may keep the deceased person’s shoes, but not the dead body.
I am saying all this so we can learn to inculcate dispassion. If I do not tell you, no one else will. This is all for our good, it is not inauspicious. Train your children to be on the spiritual path. There are 333 crore Devatas, how many have seen Vishnu? Many did not have Darshana of Vishnu even though they are Devatas. So, the merit we accumulate is very important.
Some of the devotees I saw last year are not there today. They are happy in Vaikuntha, getting the house ready for me. They did what I asked them to, and hence went to Vaikuntha. A few others have gone to hell, they did not do what I asked them to.
The children sang well today. They are all from various places. We should all sing bhajans. Yesterday, we sang Deekshiteshvara bhajan. The bhajan is already in the Bhajanmala app. We can sing that song next few days so that you all can sing from memory on your own. If you apply your mind and sing the bhajan, you will hear the bhajan everywhere you go. Many heard the bhajan in their mind all night.
Tomorrow is day 4 of Atirudra Yaga. Days 4,5,6 are very important. Tomorrow is Masa Shivaratri. The day after is the new moon day. Being here on Masa Shivaratri is like being here on Shivaratri. We will do bhajans during Pradosha Kala (immediately following sunset).