Speeches of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji – July 26, 2024 – SGS Datta Yoga Center, Burlington New Jersey, USA
Speech after Sri Chakra Puja & Ganapathy Homa in the morning
Panchamukha Hanuman Stotram:
vandē vānara nārasimha khagarāṭ krōdāśva vaktrāncitaṁ
nānālankaraṇaṁ tripancanayanaṁ dēdīpyamānamruca
hastābjairasikhēṭa pustaka sudhākumbhānkuṣādrin halaṁ
khaṭvangaṁ phaṇi bhūruhaṁ ca dadhtaṁ
sarvāri garvāpahaṁ
sarvāri garvāpahaṁ
When we worship Hanuman, in the fruit of the mantra, it is said that Hanuman does “garvāpaham” – He subdues the pride of all beings. This Garvam or pride is related to ego, temper, dissatisfaction, depression, etc. All these are the relatives of Garvam. Hanuman crushes these when we worship Him, so we can find the path forward. Hanuman shows us the spiritual path. What goal we should reach, where we are, what we are destined for, even what Loka we are fit for is all decided by Him. He is Brahma. He is our next Brahma. Such a form of Brahma took on the form of Vishnu and Shiva as well.
He also became the form of Kalika Mata in between. Such a form of Adi Para Shakti – Hanuman – we cannot consecrate enough number of times, or worship enough number of times. It is a great fortune to even be part of this Seva. We must be destined for it. Think about who was born first – you or money? You were born first. It is only after that you got husband, wife, job, house, etc. But all this is a result of past impressions. Whatever you have or do not have is a result of past life. But in this life, you may be blinded. So, do not just resign and say everything is just fate. It is only a result of your past actions. Many show their hand to a palmistry expert. Some even show the sole of their feet or their back for others to read their future. None of this is prescribed in Vedanta or Upanishads. All this came about much after. So many books have been written about this. They have random examples, we cannot verify them the claims they make.
You may wonder what Swamiji is saying. When you have faith in Hanuman and meditate on Him singlepointedly, none of the so called destiny plans will affect you. You will develop the strength to withstand all difficulties. That is why we worship Hanuman so we can earn His grace. Such a Hanuman is getting consecrated here. I am very happy.
Thousands have experienced untold fruit at KSHT Dallas. Lakhs of people have tied Toram in that temple. There are 4 pillars there to tie Torams, one pillar for each kind of desire. Every year, lakhs of Torams are put into Homa Kunda. After 16 days, many come back to the temple and report back that their work was accomplished or that if their work was not accomplished, something good came out of it. They feel like they got an even better outcome through the association with temple, the devotees, the Seva there, the strength to face difficulties, etc. They have even written about their experiences. They feel they gained friendship and strength and inspiration and charitable nature from the Datta devotees. Their reason for tying the Toram was different, but this is what some of them earned.
We got the worship place in the city of Burlington. The fortune of the people, the stone/moorti and the place determine where the Lord wants to be consecrated. This place’s good fortune, the fortune of the place that built this place brought Me here. That is why I had to do Sri Chakra Puja here and you had to be here. This boat (of Guru) is very big.
Purandhara Das says in his composition: O God, I am seated in Your boat, please do not let go of us. You are my refuge; my life is in You. When we take a bus ride in the night, we should have a good driver who is not a drunkard or who does not smoke. 50+ lives are in his hands. You must also have an assistant driver. When you drive long distances to see Swamiji, have an alternate driver too. Book a hotel room along the way if you are driving long distances.
The Lord is rowing the boat in this massive ocean of Samsara. This is a big ocean. We are onboard the boat of Sadguru. It is the spiritual boat, the boat of faith, the boat of Satsang, Bhajans, Vratas, rules, Bhagavad Gita, Guru Gita, Annadana, public service, service to the needy, social service, the boat of the traditions of the country we are living in. Even the strongest swimmer cannot swim in this ocean of Samsara and reach the other side. We MUST use this boat. O Boatman, I seek refuge in you, please take me to other side.
The one who takes us to the other side is Guru. “Please do not throw me off the boat midway!” Many boatsmen may abandon you midway. They may cheat you. So, be careful whose boat you get on so that you can get to your destination. You must not be hasty. You must not eat where there is no light. This is not because Shastras say so, it is common sense so that insects and flies do not fall into food. We ascribe many practices to tradition and get confused about what is what. We do not know what person or what book to trust. We are in this frightening forest. We do not know what beasts there are. There are many. Even a small mosquito bite can be bad, but this samsara has so many beasts.
We have the nature of a fawn – we are fickle. We accumulate things that are on sale. Greed. If there’s news that salt is going to be out, we accumulate bags of salt at home. This fickle nature should be gone. We should only keep what we need. The desire to hoard it all is not right. We should only keep the baggage we need. We make massive plans and then cry over the work not happening. You buy a big home when you get a small job and do not yet have a proper visa. That is wrong. You must plan properly.
The Guru Nilayam is small, it is good enough. You buy such big homes, what is the need? A small house is enough. A small room for guests is enough. If the place is small, they will leave anyway. Out of greed, you keep changing employers. Why? Do your current job well. Many fall from the boat, they do not know how to swim. They say Swamiji did not save them. If you thrust your hand into the fire and cry that Swamiji did not protect you, how will that work? We make mistakes knowingly or unknowingly sometimes. Do not blame God for everything. Are you as devoted as Prahlada or Dhruva or Meera Bai? You only have fake devotion! If a small thing goes amiss, you cry that Swamiji is not helping you. It is because of Swamiji that the problem has not gotten worse. You must find solace, you must pray for courage to withstand and fight in this world. “Even if I fall from the boat, please give me the strength to find the way back”, you must pray like that. The boatman asks you to be stay put and not move around. But we are fickle, we want various things, we keep moving around.
You go to various different doctors because you have no faith. If you eat all the medicines, that will not work. We are destroying ourselves, no one else is destroying us. We should correct ourselves.
Many of you promised to do Bhagavad Gita every day, but did not. You fell into difficulties. You have time to eat, drink, sleep, get dressed and wear makeup, to use a toothpick, criticize others, think about evil things, but you have no time to chant one chapter of Bhagavad Gita? You have no devotion or faith. ‘Then, what did I have until now? Fake devotion.
It is as if you did Bhagavad Gita for my sake. I was happy that you did the Mahayajna, I thought you would go forward on this path, but that was all deception. If you cannot chant at least one chapter a day, return the gold medal, why do you keep it unnecessarily? You are all Datta devotees, you must all go on this path. I will see you in the other worlds, our bond lasts over multiple lifetimes. Krishna is a cowherd; He keeps all the cattle near Him. I see you, but I cannot uplift you because your energy is gone.
Many ask why Swamiji is not talking to them like He used to before. Reason is that your energy and bank balance are gone. You must collect your energy and bank balance. Chant Lalita Sahasranama and Vishnu Sahasranama, chant Bhagavad Gita, listen to it. This is all energy. When you collect such energy, you will grow radiant, God will reflect in your eyes. Then, God will speak with you with great affection. You have time to eat, drink to your fill, binge on pizza, etc. You take a big piece of Pizza, bite on it, rip it with the hand, and eat just like you ate meat in your previous life. You are so delighted when you see the cheese stretch out, the longer the merrier. And then the Chinese food, the long worm-like noodles and all; you splurge on them. I am not asking you not to eat, but I am asking you to also do what I am asking you to.
What sin have I done? Why do you not do what I ask you to? Can I not live happily in India? I have Gandharv Loka-like Ashramas. Why should I come here and beg you to chant? Think just a bit about why Swamiji is doing this! Many have been with Me for lifetimes, I need to bring them back to Me. Brahma has given Me work, I am doing that work. My body was affected severely by Dengue. Old people affected by Dengue need at least 2 months to recover. But I traveled for your sake, I flew on the plane lying down. I came because I promised. We had 48,000 people who ate at the Gita Utsav. Bhagavad Gita is becoming a revolution.
Many used to be afraid of the Gita. Telugu people used to believe Gita was chanted only during someone’s death. Bhagavad Gita is the essence of our life. It is a scripture for humanity. It bestows immense merit to even listen to one Shloka or one syllable. I asked someone to chant Hanuman Chalisa 3 times. He met me later and said he was doing as I instructed. I asked him to demonstrate and he chanted the phrase “Hanuman Chalisa” 3 times. We are getting too clever for own good.
Everyone with Appji must recite one chapter of Bhagavad Gita every day. I will start blocking you from tomorrow otherwise. It does not matter whether I listen or not. This will benefit you in the future.
One spiritual guru announced he was throwing precious stones, he asked everyone to collect. He spoke for 3 hours. At the end, 5-6 people were still waiting for the stones. The Guru revealed that his speech was full of precious gems that everyone should collect in their hearts.
We usually have a little gold metal on the body. In marriages, it’s a custom and must-have for at least a small gold ornament. Sometimes, the gold comes in handy during difficult times. So too, the Guru throws our way various precious stones we should collect. The firefly runs towards its death by going into the fire. Fish is lured by the bait and it dies. Deer is lured by music and meets its end. We too are drawn to Samsara and are destroyed. That is why we should collect Guru’s words. When we are in difficult times we should use the precious gems.
I like Datta Darshanam very much. Study it repeatedly. In the story of Madalasa and her son Alarka, you will find an instance where Alarka finds his answer from Madalasa’s words, written on a foil inside the ring she gave him when she departed.
(Swamiji summarizing in Tamil.)
This place has the good fortune to have Sri Swamiji’s Puja. We are filled with Kama, Krodha, Lobha. We should get on board the Guru’s boat to cross this ocean of Samsara filled with those vices. Our lifespan is very short. We are barely here for 100 years. After 80 years, we can barely function in this world. We cannot see clearly or hear clearly. So, do as much Sadhana as possible now. Study good books. Sure, watch TV, eat pizza, but by God’s grace, we should put every day to good use.
We are alive today by God’s grace. Use your Prana and this body properly. This body is a boat in which is seated the Buddhi. God is Atman in the body. This boat has 9 holes, where the water enters from, we do not know. Life may leave through one of the 9 doors. We are all in this ocean of Samsara. We do not know what will happen. There is no one to show us the way. We cannot even drink that water in the ocean. The only path to cross the ocean of Samsara is Guru.
Follow the Guru’s words. Guru teaches small words or big. Meditate for just 10 minutes each day. Close your eyes and forget all your desires, vices and household, family, bank accounts, etc. It is you alone for those 10 minutes. Look within yourself. Do you not have 10 minutes? You have time to eat, drink, decorate yourself in front of the mirror, etc. You eat various items of food, but you have no time to pray to God? You pray to God for your own benefit, is your own insurance.
Children have their own karma, they brought it with them. You cannot take their karma. How long will you hanker after them? After a certain age, you must let them be. You gave birth to children. You must first pray to God and then have children so you have good children. But if you are submerged in desires, then your children will be the same.
Swamiji has given you so many teachings and gems via books, digital media, YouTube, etc. Some think I come to US for business. I do not need to. I am happy in India. I have an Ashram in the Himalayas. I come here only for you. It is not for business. The temple here is only for you, it is not my Walmart or Amazon branch. You are My people, and you are My branch.
The proceeds from the concerts in Tennessee will go to birds and cows. Shuka Vana is like heaven. The injured, rehabilitated birds and cows get support and rehabilitation. We take care of humans, we should also take care of animals.
Speech in the evening during Divya Nama Sankeertana
Bhajan ID 9
Bhajan ID 601
Narada Sutra says that those who laugh at the devotees who rise and dance in joy to the Bhajans are taking onto themselves the sins of seven births of those dancing. That is why, do not laugh at them. Help them or you dance too. Sit and sing, or dance with them. What is wrong in dancing to Bhajans? We dance to random songs, why not forget oneself and dance to Bhajans?
In the past, Swamiji would stand and do Divya Nama Sankeertana. He would wear ankle-bells on His feet and dance. In the 60s and 70s, there were no TVs, no proper tape recorders or cameras. Now we feel we wish we had those devices to record the events then.
We can now only hear about those stories. After 1972-73, we started getting phones and cameras – some big cameras. Before that there were no tape recorders. Now, we have so many options to record, but we do not want to listen. We have so many facilities. We can listen to any Bhajan at any time now.
Samsung people called and asked why I am always mentioning iPhone and not Samsung phones. They gave me a Samsung phone today so I am talking about them. You can listen to Bhajans, see SGS Posts. You can all subscribe to Bhajan Babies as well. It is not only for children. Adults can also watch Bhajan Babies channel.
The mind must have discretion. Mind without discretion has no life. Many here have no life (of mind). Sometimes I send messages on Appji as well. Those messages are very strong. The picture of birds of the day are also published on SGS Posts.
SGS Posts is Live Bhagavad Gita. Bhagavad Gita is a conversation between Arjuna and Krishna in the battlefield. In this Kaliyuga, the same conversation is between Swamiji and you, via SGS Posts.
You must be careful bringing up children. You must train them at a young age. SGS Posts Message: A child’s mind grows rapidly. Parents must keep pace. It is better to bring up children correctly. If not, do not have children.
This is an old Bhajan.
Bhajan ID 124
Bhajan ID 1938
Bhajan ID 1307
Bhajan ID 8590
Those who want to be part of Varam Dehi Healing Music can still buy tickets. The proceeds will support birds. Those birds will become your future ancestors.
Dogs here are King. Even wealth is bequeathed to the dogs here. In India, there are so many strays. We should feed the hungry dogs. In Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan and other states, they feed stray dogs. Some are spaying and neutering dogs. Some are building a refuge for strays. Sometimes, there is no food or water for the animals. Some people are afraid to feed the strays because they think the strays will live around the house all the time. You can support the organizations that feed the animals.
You can place some food or water for birds on your terrace. After their birth as birds, beings take birth as humans. They may take birth as your children. We have to take 80 lakh births in each species, not one or two. We take birth as aquatic creatures 80 lakh times, for example. The more you kill fish, the more they grow in number. The fish do not cry when dying. They are happy. Some fish are killed as soon as they are born and they take the next birth. They have to take birth 80 lakh times. That takes many many years.
Then, as terrestrial creatures like cows, buffaloes, donkeys, dogs, we take birth 80 lakh times. These animals are also often killed. Snakes are killed and eaten. Those who kill animals will take birth as those animals. That is why our elders remind you often to only eat Sattvik food. We think we get protein from seafood alone. We eat meat because we think we need that protein, or because the doctor said you need protein. There are some who would rather die than eat meat.
The way you take what food is very important. When you eat animals, you take birth as those animals.
We take 80 lakh births as birds. That is why their lifespan is short. Some birds live long, but most have a shorter life. They die due to calamities, big rains, etc. After avian births, they take birth as humans. So, if we take care of beings, they will, at some point, come back as humans. If you feed them one morsel of food, they will be grateful to you.
So, this is the system of births.
In human birth, we should reach the supreme state of no rebirths. We should subdue Kama and Krodha and not let them loose. The mind should always be absorbed in God. We should not curse God for small obstacles.
To reach that supreme state, we need Charity, Compassion and Dharma. Then, humans get Nivritti (path of renunciation). We should move away from Pravrtti (worldly path) toward Nivrtti. We should not give up duty. We should always do our duty. After Nivrtti, we go to Sayujyam (merging with God).
What I said so far is the musical notes – Sa Ri Ga Ma….
We are singing so we can journey in that line.
Bhajan ID 8491
In 1968-69, a lady cooked fish for me to eat. When I opened the lid, there were fragrant lilies. I told her that if there is fish, I would eat it. But if there is no fish, I would starve the entire day and that would inflict the curse on her and her entire family would perish soon. I was called Kesare Swamy then. Kesare also means Mud, Marshland…that name came because Swamiji was short tempered.
So, I asked the lady how I could eat those flowers. I starved the entire day. After that, the entire family perished one by one. Swamiji does not curse anyone. I was doing Ganapati Homa. I do not know why Ganapati was so angered.
I used to hold Prashna Ganapati by my right ear and do as instructed. It looks like a regular stone. Jayalakshmi Mata gave Prashna Ganapati to Swamiji.
People got very frightened of all this. So, I put away Prashna Ganapati. That is why with right ear I listen to only Paramatma Tattva. When someone speaks to Me on the right side, I ask them to speak on my left. It is good to speak to the Guru in the left ear.
Someone brought Me “Keera Vada”, Lentils and Spinach Vada…because they said Swamiji appeared in their dream and asked them to. That is why my throat is like this!
This “Keera Vada” is something which Telugu people don’t know much about. Tamil people should know it, and they would do a great job of it. In Singapore, there was this devotee who brought Me this delicious “Keera Vada” always!
If you offer Naivedya with devotion, I will definitely receive it.
That is why sometimes I am not hungry. It smells like coffee near me because someone had just offered me Coffee Naivedyam.
Bhajan ID 8473
I am singing here because this is like a class for you. I can just simply sit back and eat fritters. But I sing because we should all sing together. Because we are going to get a Hanuman temple here, we are singing Hanuman Bhajan.
Bhajan ID 1305
This Bhajan was composed in 1966-67. Chowdiah was a great violinist of that time. He used to do a lot of concerts. He used to tell Me later in his life that people applaud even if he played out of tune because they had no idea about music but loved his music so much.
We went to an agricultural field. Every day, Shiva would appear in the dreams of my maternal grandparents and asked why they would not give Him to Swamiji. The agricultural field belonged to the gypsies. My grandfather lived with them for a while. After Swmaiji’s birth, his mind got transformed and he turned towards God, giving up all wealth. Until then, he was dedicated to land and agriculture.
Seeing my grandparents, the tribal would give them land. They used to sow crops and give the yield to the needy.
In the area of Ratnapuri where a king used to rule before, they lived. They would see Shiva in their dream every day, asking them to give Shiva to Swamiji. They built a small hut on that agricultural field. Shiva was underground and they used to sleep in their hut that was built on top of that. Naturally, Shiva wanted to get out. Savitramma, My grandmother, came and told Me about this dream.
Tambura was My god, cymbals were My god, and I did not want to build any temples. I just wanted to sing praises of god and wander away. But when grandmother told me about her dreams, I said Shiva had to tell Me directly if I have to get Him out. Grandmother insisted again 6 months later, which happened to be the day before Shivaratri. I sent her away again with the same reason. I had no Shiva Puja, no Shiva’s photo, etc. This was back in 1966-67.
Then, after Shivaratri, when I was going towards that field, the collector joined Me. Chowdiah also came along as he happened to be there. His daughter Pankaja also used to join.
They showed Me the site on which they used to sleep. We dug and found Shivalinga from a dilapidated temple. There were serpents around the Shiva Linga. Those serpents disappeared. The Shiva Linga would not move despite many people trying to move it. That Shiva is the Sachchidanandeshvara Shiva in the Ashrama. It is the only open temple in the Ashrama. Until then, there were no idols in Swamiji’s life.
Shiva Linga is the first one.
That Shiva Linga would not budge despite massive effort by a number of people.
Then, Swamiji spontaneously sang a Shiva Bhajan. Chowdiah, his (pointing at Chandan Kumar’s) grandfather, played the violin. After that, he would keep playing violin for this song all the time. This is how the Isha Patisha song came about.
Bhajan ID 1305
Chowdiah was playing the violin, Swamiji was singing, Swamiji placed a hand under the Shiva Linga and the Linga, on its own, sat on the bullock cart that was waiting nearby.
This Bhajan is a Maha Mantra – a great mantra. For many, many devotees, many grave diseases got cured. In India, in Mysore, they keep singing this song all the time. They want to hear it again and again. They love this Bhajan so much.
This is in Mohana Raga, but it sounds a little different.