Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji during Divya Nama Sankeertana – July 5, 2024 – Karya Siddhi Hanuman Temple, Frisco, TX, USA
The Bhajan group sang very well. They had just 7 days to prepare and present. Good job! Also my blessings to Madhavi who trained the group.
I am singing Bhajans now after 2-3 months. Rama Smarana album recording was the last Appaji sang. Since I had Dengue fever, I did not sing Bhajans. I am barely speaking even. My voice is weak. I feel weak sitting too. But my energy is very good. Very strong. Only the body parts are not. Today is the first time at Lord Hanumanta and Sri Rama Parivara’s abode that I am singing again.
In China, people eat all kinds of animals, that is why they are suffering so much. A lot of diseases originate there. We all suffered due to Corona Virus. You are all good people, but you must fix your tendencies and habits.
What is Svadharma (our own Dharma)? Our daily duties must be observed. We should respect our parents. This is our Dharma. We should respect elders, that is Dharma. Respect your teachers, that is Dharma. Feed the hungry at least some amount of food. We worship for our own selfishness or our own Tapas, but Dharma is important.
We should observe Dharma even at the cost of our lives. There are different qualities in God’s creation. Tigers do not eat grass, they eat meat. But the tiger will not hunt until it is hungry again. That is also Dharma. But humans hoard and store in the refrigerator. That is not Dharma. Tigers can eat only meat; they cannot eat grass. That is their Dharma. But humans can live comfortably eating leaves, fruits, vegetables, Sattvic food. But we eat chicken. That is not our Dharma.
I am not saying this, the Mahabharata says this. Even if you are hungry, feed another. Adharma is – not caring for others and only feeding ourselves. Dharma is very nuanced. We should not hurt or mock others. It is not Dharma to do so.
Everyone is equal, everyone is part of God’s creation. Be friendly with everyone. Violence in life is not a real life. Life with Ahimsa is real life. A small story is narrated in Mahabharata. Dharma alone is eternal. Joys and sorrows are fleeting – they come and go. But Dharma is always there. The Jeeva is observing Dharma, it is eternal. Because it is the Jeevatma that merges with Paramatma. So, you must help the Jeevatma. Do not kill the Jeevatma. Jeevatma should not be tortured. Only do good by the Jeevatma. Do good deeds as much as possible because Jeevatma travels with God. Buddhi/Intellect goes to hell. It goes to death god, but Jeevatma likes God.
We are all sitting here, singing Bhajans, chanting names of God, Bhagavad Gita, Chalisa, meditating etc… that is all for Jeevatma because we want to journey with God, with our Dharma. Our vehicle is only Dharma. Jeevatma takes this vehicle to God. Buddhi always sins. Its vehicle is sin. Jeevatma’s vehicle is Dharma. Adharma is related to Buddhi. But sins have more velocity. Jeevatma has very little velocity. Sins are like the concord flight, but Jeevatma is like a tortoise. That is why try to accumulate more and more Punya, then your speed will increase. We are sitting in the vehicle of Jeevatma. The fuel for this vehicle is Satsanga. The Jeevatma is always crying. It has no satisfaction. So, we should train it through good books – the biggest walking book is Guru.
With that book, we should slowly learn everything. We should follow Dharma. If we pursue Dharma, our speed will increase. It is easy to follow the path of sins. We are very poor in terms of Punya. We have a lot of karma. I think you know the story of Dileepa. Rama was born in the lineage of Dileepa. He prays to God for children. God gives him a small cow and asks him to take good care of it, very carefully. It was to be fed Dharmically. The King had to personally get the cow to graze. He was to take the cow to the woods for grazing and bring it back. Sure, the King has a lot of servants, but the King was to go himself because that was God’s command.
So, the King would take the cow grazing. One day, the King got tired and slept as the cow continued grazing. Then, the cow slowly entered a cave as it continued grazing. In the cave was a tiger whose Dharma was to eat whatever entered the cave. The tiger would not leave the cave. Then, when the tiger was about to kill the cow, the King woke up and couldn’t find the cow. He regretted and ran looking for it. He spotted the cave and the cow inside. The tiger was about to pounce on the cow. The king stopped the tiger which then started talking to the King. It said it had to eat the cow as it was its Dharma and it was hungry. The King offered himself in place of the cow saying: My Guru gave me this cow as Prasadam. Please eat me. It is okay if I do not have children, but please do not eat the cow, eat me instead.
The tiger appreciated that the King offered himself. The tiger was ready to pounce on the King who was ready to lay down his life. Then the tiger turned into Indra and blessed the King. The King demonstrated Dharma and sacrifice. That is why Sri Rama was born in that lineage. That is why one must respect parents. It is okay if you do not live with them or worship them daily, you must never hurt them. You must never disrespect Guru or doubt Him. This is also Dharma. We should do whatever Guru directs us to.
We should bathe daily, not once a week. We should follow our daily duties. Speaking the truth, non- violence is also Dharma. Loss of wealth, loss of life, or loss of any kind is okay, but one must never compromise on Dharma. Later, Dileepa had children, and in his lineage was also born Sri Rama.
Bhajan ID 24
https://bhajanmala.com/nodes/24
Bhajan ID 342
https://bhajanmala.com/nodes/342
This Bhajan has very powerful meaning. Swamiji is giving a message in this Bhajan. Poets who wrote even small poems have earned the grace of Mother Saraswati. Brahma is so fortunate. He has untold fortune becaue Saraswati is always him.
Shiva is always absorbed in Tapas. He is not distracted even if the scorpions or snakes surround Him. They are also His creation. He swallowed the poison, what can snakes do to Him? Shiva shows Ahimsa in His form. He does not inflict violence. People are called billionaires when they make just 1 billion or Millionaire when they make just one million. Lakshmi has favored them. But Lakhsmi is always near Hari. Imagine how much Lakshmi has favored Him! Shiva is so fortunate who is always immersed in Tapas. The entire Bhagavatam is in this third stanza. Nahusha’s story is in the Bhagavatam. Shiva is so fortunate. Indra is so fortunate. One day I will tell you the story of Nahusha.
The fourth stanza is the entire Devi Bhagavatam. You will understand it if you study Devi Bhagavatam This composition has Bhagavatam, as well as, Devi Bhagavatam. It extols the greatness of Mother. Shiva is also praised here. Swamiji extols Mother more in this Shloka. Shiva is fortunate as Mother is always with Him. This is captured in the fourth stanza. Shiva and Mother are the primordial couple. They are our real mother and father. We have all come from them.
This fifth stanza captures the beauty… O Mother, Shiva is so fortunate. (It’s like a child who is disappointed not getting candy. “Shiva got You Mother, I did not. You are pursuing Shiva, please won’t You cast Your compassionate glance on me once?” It also could be interpreted as: “O Mother, it is okay if You go after Shiva, can You not look at me once, He lives in graveyards. But O mother, You are pursuing Shiva, I will pursue You”. So, whoever prays to Shiva and Parvati – the primordial couple – are blessed. Hanuman is the form of Shiva. Suvarchala, His consort, is the aspect of Parvati.
Bhajan ID 1576
This Bhajan indicates: I will wash your clothes, I will work in your house, please chant the name of Vittala. I will wash your bathrooms, I will finish your homework, chant the name of Vitthala… During summer, they would distribute cool buttermilk and ask them to chant Rama’s name. This Bhajan has beautiful meaning.
https://bhajanmala.com/nodes/1576
The name of Vittala is so tasty. Such taste is not even in heaven. In heaven, you are asked to be silent. You need to close your eyes and do Tapas. No play, no thirst, no hunger, no food. Nothing. Vaikuntha is like this. But here, you can get idli, dosa, fights, everything. We can do as much Bhajan as we like. We cannot do Bhajans in Vaikuntha. If you go chant names there, you will be shushed and asked to maintain silence. So, we do not need Moksha, we should come back and sing Bhajans in Frisco. Vitthala Nama is sweet, it is like nectar. You can taste it, but you must sing with devotion. As you chant, it is sweet. Then, you swallow and feel the sweetness. This is the secret.
How can you heal with Bhajan? We must always keep chanting the name of Ram and Vittala. So, the saliva gets sweet as it’s churned by the divine names. Swallow it. There is a Salagrama near our navel. The water/saliva falls on that Salagrama like doing Abhisheka to the Salagrama. Further down is Shiva, where too it falls. Then, it flows through our blood all over the body. That is why you feel very, very good after Bhajans. If you close your eyes and feel it without talking, you will experience it. Someone asked me how Bhajans heal and I told them this. This is how it works medically.
Everyone has the right to chant the name of the divine. Tukaram is saying that chanting the names of the divine gives Liberation. There are two types of Bhajans – some I sing for myself, some for the audience. Today was for the audience.