Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji at Narasimha Jayanthi – May 15, 2011 – Mysore
Jaya Guru Datta
The main significance of Narasimha Jayanti is to emphasize the truth that God is everywhere. He is invisible. Yet, He is everywhere. The child Prahlada declared that God can be found anywhere, that there is no place, where He is not present. The father challenged the son, Prahlada, to show him God inside the pillar. God exploded out of the pillar, at twilight time in the shape of half man, half lion, in a ferocious form, like a flash of lightning. He placed the king, Hiranyakashipu on His lap, tore his stomach open with His claws and taking out the intestines, wore them lovingly around his neck as garlands. He came to protect his beloved disciple, the child Prahlada. Prahlada was not scared at the ferocious form. He reverentially praised the glories of the Lord.
Hiranyakashipu was the son of the sage Kashyapa. He had noble parents, Kashyapa and Diti. He was well raised. He was very intelligent. He was a learned scholar. It was his scholarship that made him arrogant and egotistical. He trusted only his intellect. He did not believe in God. In his previous incarnation, he was a beloved devotee of Lord Vishnu. Because of a curse he became a demon. The Lord loved him and rescued him, although it appears as if he was cruel towards him. He in fact gave him liberation. His finger nails became filled with poison and he suffered. Then Lakshmi, His consort had to treat the wounds with audumbara leaves to remove the pain.
Prahlada was a child. He was not a scholar. He received spiritual initiation from sage Narada while he was still in the womb of his mother. He was born a devotee of Vishnu. He had implicit faith in God’s all pervasiveness. His father disagreed with him. He got angry and tried to have him killed. He had him crushed under the feet of elephants. The boy survived. The king justified it saying the elephants stepped lightly on him because he was a child. The boy was fed poison by his own mother who was forced by the king to administer it. The boy did not die. The king believed that his wife betrayed him. Prahlada was thrown off a cliff. He lived. Hiranyakashipu very intelligently explained that he floated in the breeze and fell lightly on the ground because the wind helped him. The king used all kinds of reasoning but refused to believe in God. He refused to accept the child’s word that God was all powerful and all pervasive.
Hiranyakashipu was afraid to die. He did great penance and asked the Gods to bless him with immortality. They refused. Then gloating over his own intelligence, he made a list of conditions under which he could not be killed. The Gods agreed to grant his wish. He asked not to be killed during daytime or nighttime. God appeared at twilight, the evening hour when it is neither day nor night. He asked that he should not be killed inside or outside. The lord killed him right on the doorstep, which was neither in nor out. He said he could not be killed by anything living or dead, or by any weapon. The Lord used his fingernails, which are neither living nor dead. He asked that he would be killed by neither man nor beast. The Lord appeared as half man, half lion. The king demanded that he would not be killed either on the ground or in the sky. God placed him on his thigh and ripped him open. God had to go to a great extent of trouble and pain to circumvent all the conditions placed by King Hiranyakashipu.
This incident proves that human intelligence can never be superior to divine potential. It teaches humility. It teaches that faith and humility are far superior to learning and intelligence. The sage’s scholarly and mighty son lost to the demon’s own child whose strength was his faith. Arrogance and Ego are man’s worst enemies, this story proves.
Long nails, painted or not, contain poison. Sri Swamiji’s sacred feet frequently get poked and scratched and get infected and inflamed because of the impact of finger nails when he grants the blessing of ‘Pada Sparsha’ (allows devotees to touch his holy feet). It takes several months of pain and suffering before the injuries completely heal. By the time they heal, it is time for a fresh round of attack and abuse.
Devotees must learn and practice discipline. Talking and making noise while Sri Swamiji is present in the prayer hall is being very disrespectful. Many times it is senior devotees who arrogantly indulge in this practice. It creates annoyance to others and leaves a bad impression. Caring only about having Sri Swamiji listen to their personal problems at length reflects nothing but utter selfishness.
Many so-called devotees do not care whether Sri Swamiji performs pujas or not, whether he gives music concerts or not, whether he gives discourses or not. All they care about is personal interviews. They want their worldly problems solved. That is all. True devotees who are unselfish and are interested only in spiritual progress are barely 1%. Sri Swamiji would like that number to grow to at least 50%.
The same devotees keep coming back in line with offerings, just to grab yet another chance for engaging Sri Swamiji in listening to their concerns or to simply chitchat. That is very wrong. (Sri Swamiji instructed the volunteers to double the cost of items for offering to discourage such activity). Do not treat Sri Swamiji like any other ordinary human being. Many devotees try to educate Sri Swamiji on latest happenings, technology, politics, and innovations. They do not realize that Sri Swamiji is already way ahead of them in keeping up with modern trends. Because Sri Swamiji does not rudely put them in their place by telling them off, they mistakenly believe that they are actually informing Sri Swamiji of things that he does not know. They misjudge him out of their own ignorance.
Ignorant devotees do not realize that Sri Swamiji already knows what their problems are before they begin to explain. He has already blessed them with a look, with a word, or with a touch. They remain unsatisfied that Sri Swamiji has not done more at the physical level. Sometimes Sri Swamiji has someone else give prasadam. The reason is that instead of looking at their hands, to make sure that the prasadam does not fall down, Sri Swamiji can instead look into their eyes while they are walking by, to transmit spiritual healing energy more effectively. Not understanding this, the devotees insist on Sri Swamiji giving them prasadam in their hands. They are the losers when they make such demands. They are missing out on something far more precious.
One drop of teertham (holy water) is sufficient. You do not need to drink a glass full. If you drink too much you will get sick. That drop of teertham needs to enter your stomach and touch the right spot to heal. Many devotees do not drink it. They simply sprinkle it on their heads.
It is wrong to crowd around Sri Swamiji when he is about to leave. It is usually the senior devotees who selfishly block access to others to approach Sri Swamiji. At such times Sri Swamiji ignores those who crowd around him, and searches for the new devotees who are standing far away. He greets them, and talks to them, even if he needs to crane his neck to do so. Whereas, if the same senior devotees step aside to let the new devotees get close to Sri Swamiji, he will certainly notice their thoughtfulness and will acknowledge their gesture with a look of blessing or a word of greeting.
Do not compare and be jealous that Sri Swamiji is looking at someone else and not you. That he is talking to someone else and not you. That he is smiling at someone else and not you. The reasons for this are entirely brought on by yourselves, by your own selfish and demanding behaviors.
Be willing to give for annadanam, feeding the hungry. Do not ask, “Since I gave yesterday, is it necessary that I should again give today?” You ate yesterday here. Are you not eating here again today? You should not fine Sri Swamiji for hosting you. You should contribute not only towards your own meals, and those of your family, but towards those others who share the dining room with you. You must realize that the more you give the more benefits you yourselves will reap.
Sri Guru Datta