Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji on Deepavali– October 26, 2011 – Mysore
Morning speech
Jaya Guru Datta
“Om Namo Hanumate Namaha. Datta Hanuman ki Jai! Guru Datta is in all forms. He is the source for all incarnations. Hanuman is chiranjeevi. He is eternal. He has existed through all the eons. Hanuman got this boon from Rama. He represents Life itself. He has joined Datta. The foundation of Guru Tatva, the concept of the Guru began with Datta Swami. When you visit any temple, you must learn to see your own Guru everywhere. This is true devotion. You must believe, “All forms are the forms of my Guru: He is all-pervading. He is omnipresent. Don’t ever say, ‘My Guru Tatva is different.” Because you depend on your body, your mind, your intellect, and your sense organs, you think of different tastes, you think of joy and sorrow, you think of ‘me’ and ‘mine’. Such feelings of difference do not touch Hanuman who is everywhere. Air is everywhere. Space is still there even if you remove all the air and make it a vacuum. Akasha or space is all-pervading. There is no place, where space does not exist.
We have imposed limitations, such as my body, my home, my joy, my sorrow. You think that they are all yours. Hanuman is both joy and sorrow; He is both hunger and the satisfaction of hunger.
Giving speeches is easy. Putting it into practice is very different and very difficult. Only the one who practices these concepts will understand Hanuman; only he will understand the Sadguru. Hanuman Himself is Air and He occupies Air also. He is One, yet He splits Himself into infinite parts. Rock candy is sweet whether it is one huge block or it is broken up into one thousand tiny bits. It still retains the same quality. This thought process is the main thread; it is the Soothram; the first principle. There are more detailed explanations and branches and sub branches to this thought. But this is the main principle.
To make it easy for us to recognize this principle, He made this Creation. We must recognize this unity. We limit ourselves to only seeing the differences. Till death, we continue to be slaves to temptations. Even extremely old people, who have lost all their teeth, still do not give up their craving for tasty foods. They want to eat the crunchy snack, Jantikalu. Since they cannot chew, they ask that it be powdered and made into a liquid, so that they can still enjoy its taste. Do you need such dependence on taste? You must control your taste buds and your mind. One should only drink simple liquids in extreme old age. But people still ask for Masala Dosa to be put in a blender, and want to drink it through a straw. The desire still remains, till death. It must be controlled.
Happy Deepavali! Do Deepa darshana. View the lights. Guru is the moving light. Deepa means Jnana, spiritual knowledge. We keep lots of lights and sing, “Happy Deepavali, Happy Deepavali!” Deepavali is not just for that. Its meaning is that you should go towards attaining knowledge, by giving up the darkness of spiritual ignorance. Light comes running to chase away the darkness. But you go chasing after darkness, saying, “I don’t believe.” Darkness and ignorance go together.
When you mix Panchamritam, the five nectars, (milk, yogurt, ghee, honey, and sugar plus pieces of banana fruit), you cannot differentiate the taste of each of the ingredients in the final mixture. Ignorant people think that the five elements are different, because of Maya or illusion. Each individual item is not referred to as Amrita, such as milk amrita, yogurt amrita, ghee amrita and so on. It is only when all five are mixed together, that it becomes the Panchamrita, and totally different unified substance which is like a divine nectar.
If your child comes up and asks you, “What is in it?” you simply scream at the child, and say, “Just drink it. It is prasadam.” Perhaps as a parent you do not know how it is made. It is just like the teacher gets mad at a sincere student who wants it explained whether the earth is round or flat or whether the sun is going around the earth or the earth is going around the sun. The teacher, if he does not know the answer himself, will shout at the student and make him stand up on the bench, or punish him in some other way. He will not be willing to learn the subject to explain it clearly to the interested student.
Some people are afraid to learn spiritual knowledge; to acquire Jnana. They are afraid of Vedanta. They are afraid that those who teach Vedanta will either take away their money, or they will make them give up home and family life.
The Guru’s compassion is required for one to attain the grace of Hanuman. If Swamiji says that you should do japa, that means that by His sankalpa, the japa will get done. You should not argue with Swamiji and question, “You are Hanuman; you are yourself all the gods; Why should I do japa? You yourself are Mantra, Yantra, and Tantra. We will simply go to the cinema and watch. What do we gain by doing japa? Do we get more coffee or tea? Do we get more money?” If you question like this, then you will not get any benefit.
In the beginning when Swamiji used to give the raksha, people used to get very confused and look around here and there. If they go to any temple, the first thing that they want is something to eat, as prasadam; rock candy pieces, or banana or something like that to consume. At some Datta temples inMaharashtra, they give only one hard pea. You cannot eat it and you cannot spit it out also, because it is prasadam. These days people politely refuse to accept that prasadam because they do not want to go through the trouble. Sometimes in some temples they give Akrot, a hard dry fruit. It also poses the same problem. It will not soften in the mouth and it cannot be chewed. It is so hard, you can break your teeth with it. That is why they also have dental clinics right next to the temple to fix broken teeth.
You should not be going to temples for teertham (holy water) and food prasadam only. All that you should be interested in receiving is blessings. You get so tired after listening to Swamiji’s discourses; you want to eat something or drink coffee or tea. You accumulate too much fat, doing that. Good messages you receive through one ear and let go through the other ear. But bad gossip and bad news, you will nicely digest and hold close to your heart.
Happy Deepavali! We will worship the Mother Goddess this evening.
Many people are unable to view the Hanuman Mantra video either because they have no access to computers, or for some other reasons. You may sponsor for their viewing by proxy. You may sponsor any number, with a minimum of one hundred views. You may sponsor a thousand views or five thousand views or even more. For each hundred views that you sponsor in someone’s name, that person’s name will be written on a white piece of cloth that will be submerged in the sacredSarayuRivernear Ayodhya after the Poornahuti for the Ramayana Yajna. That brings them great blessings. This program will continue till Datta Jayanti in December 2012, till the new Hanuman temple with the 70 foot Hanuman statue is built in theMysoreashrama. You may slowly, gradually increase your view count. There is no tremendous rush or haste. Do daily 10 or may be 108. If you go to www.dattapeetham.com, the front page itself will jump at you with the Hanuman Mantra or Shatashloki Ramayana videos. It goes on automatic repeat plays. It has been made very convenient for you. It will just keep on playing. You do not need to watch continuously. Let it be playing. You attend to your work and watch in between your work. Once in a while shut down the computer because you want to maintain it and not allow it to get spoilt. Swamiji gets all the data; who is watching; how many times; how fully; whether it is being turned off half way; where it is being watched fully; every single detail Swamiji knows, including the photo of the viewer. He knows it all inside His head. Do not ask for proof. He has already told you that He is the all-pervading Parabrahman.
The Likhita Yajna, the writing ritual of the Mantra, Om Namo Hanumate Namaha has commenced. The books are being inaugurated today. When you write the Mantra in the books, your identity is at once registered with Swamiji, even without your writing your name. Swamiji will immediately know who you are, and all your sorrows and problems. That is guaranteed. Don’t ask for proof and for witnesses. When Swamiji is on top of the Mt. Everest and holding the flag, you will still ask for proof. He is the all-pervading Parabrahman. After you write the Mantra ten times, place a small donation in the Hundi. It will be used when the Hanuman Temple is built, for preparing Naivedyam for the Lord.
The higher the number of views, the more puttugamsri poems Swamiji will write. They are beautiful, covering all subjects. The poems express Swamiji’s joy that you people are watching the videos.
Happy Deepavali! Happy Deepavali! Happy Deepavali!”
Sri Guru Datta
Evening
Jaya Guru Datta
“Sri Maha Ganapataye Namaha. Sri Saraswatyai Namaha. Sripada Vallabha Narasimha Saraswati Sri Guru Dattatreyaya Namaha. Happy Deepavali!
You should say, ‘Same to you!”
Jyoti means Jnana; jyoti means Pranam (Life Force), Jyoti (Light) is Sarva Shakti Sampanna (incorporates all kinds of Energy). Jyoti is something wondrous and amazing. For all human beings, animals, insects, planets, stars, and for everything in Creation, the five elements are the most important and essential components. Air, Light, and Water are all interdependent. One does not exist without the other. In our bodies, the five sense organs are the most important; the five jnanendriyas (the organs of perception). You add to these the five organs of actions and the Mind. Creation occurred by itself, from itself; it is self-born; that is Brahman. Both the scientists and the Vedas agree on this point. Some gases, some elements, came into being and took form as planets and life forms.
As I mentioned this morning, in Panchamrita, although each ingredient such as milk and ghee are Amrita (nectar) by itself, it is not referred to as such. It is only in combination that it is called Amrita. Like that, the combination of all five elements makes this Creation. Man acts only by the combination of these five elements. This body is a mix of these. Man has to keep under his control, the actions of his organs. The organs of perception can only be controlled by the Sadguru.
Today is Deepavali, the festival of lights, where we celebrate by lighting the lamp of knowledge. We also offer prayers to benefit our forefathers. It is important to light three lamps. Everyone celebrates this festival of lights; even those who follow other religions.
Why do we have Pataakis (fireworks)? We remember the battle that took place between Narakasura (ignorance) and Lord Krishna (Paramatman) who was aided by Satyabhama (Mother Goddess). Narakasura employed Maya (illusory) tactics. His weapons were appearing on the ground, in the sky, everywhere in different, unexpected shapes and sizes. That is why we have the bhoo-chakras that spin on the ground, Vishnu-chakras that spin in the air, the nakshatra (star) fireworks that sprinkle star shapes from the ground and from the sky, and several different fireworks that produce different degrees of loud ear-piercing sounds. All those demons that went out of business when the war ended were blessed by Krishna that they could come down to earth in Kaliyuga and run their businesses as manufacturers and vendors of fireworks. Here they frighten the children, break ear drums, burn money, and cause fire accidents. The demons were worried that they may not be allowed to ply their wares here. Lord Krishna assured them that He would arrange for the Governments themselves to grant permission to use fireworks on special occasions, such as the Independence Day.
Jaati leni Jyoti – Light that transcends caste differences is a wonderful concept. Just ponder over it; people of all different castes have to work together to bring this lamp into being, before we can light this flame. The potter makes the clay saucer; the oilman extracts the oil; the weaver makes the wick; the timber-man and the chemist make the match sticks. Once the components are in place, it is placed in front of a stone idol made by a sculptor, by a man whose heart is of stone (not yet softened by spiritual knowledge) and is lit, amidst the chanting of mantras (by priests) with prayers to have a vision of God. The fire of the flame is pure and cannot be untouched. You cannot keep it in your pocket. You cannot hold it in your hand. When the efforts of all, are combined who work in co-operation, this Paramjyoti (the Supreme Light) is realized by all.This we remember today.
Jnana Sampatti (the wealth of spiritual knowledge) is what we should pray for, when we pray to Mother Goddess Dhanalakshmi (Goddess of Wealth); next, we should pray for good health; then we pray for Guru Bhakti (devotion towards the Guru); we then pray for love and loyalty towards our country; then pray for love and reverence towards mother and father; and we remember our forefathers and pray for them in this three day festival. To remove our inner darkness, we light all these lamps. Sri Bhuvaneshwari Mata ki Jai! Victory to the state of Karnataka!
Happy Birthday! What is this? Whose Happy Birthday is this? We say, ‘Happy Birthday!’ to our jnana that has just been born; it is Happy Birthday to all auspiciousness. In front of the unmoving idol of divinity, the moving Man offers lights as a part of his prayer for spiritual knowledge.
When I was a child, there was no money to burn on fire crackers. I never spent even a penny on fireworks. We took empty tins and banged them to make noise. We tied small tins to the tails of donkeys so that every time the donkeys shook their tails, it made a loud noise. Those were our real fireworks. Remember to light three lamps.
My blessings to all devotees worldwide! You have witnessed the Puja live on yogasangeeta. You have remembered the five elements. Goddess Lakshmi took the form of Satyabhama to help Lord Krishna in the battle against Narakasura, to help him win.
Do not pray for winning the lottery. I will not bless such a desire because you will not win. If you ask, I will say no. It is everyone else’s money. It is sinful money. It is gambling money. You will acquire all their sins if you accept that money. No one ever asked me for a blessing that they should win the lottery. Only one devotee ever asked me for that as a boon and he became a pauper eventually. Lakshmi stands, and that too in water. That is how the painter Ravi Varma has portrayed her. She does not remain steadily in one place. A millionaire one day becomes a beggar the next day. Vidyaranya Swamij prayed for gold. He performed many rituals and being unsuccessful, finally gave up all and went away in only a loin cloth. Then, Lakshmi came by Herself to him. He did not want Her then. When you ask for Lakshmi (monetary wealth), she does not come to you. When you stop wishing for Her, only then She will come to you. You notice that money keeps going to the rich people. Don’t invite Her. She will come only when She chooses to come.
Ravi Varma portrayed Saraswati seated on a rock. Our stone head is that rock. She has not been given any soft seat. We should invite her to bless us with knowledge. Parashakti is fierce in her appearance. That is because we have so much anger within us. You all appear as such sadhus (peaceful people) sitting here so calmly and peacefully now. Once you reach home, all the ten incarnations will burst out of you and will manifest in their ferocity. You are very angry, whether sitting, standing, eating, or drinking; you are angry. All I have to do is to go to your home, and take a peek through the window, and I will have the vision of Adi Parashakti (the fierce aspect of Mother Goddess). You also see that when people who appear normal go into beauty parlors and come out with all colors painted on their faces, looking like Mother Goddess Kali!
Why wait till they reach home? The incarnations begin to manifest right here in the Chappal Stand where they stop to collect their footwear. Hold your tempers at least till you reach home and drink some water. Practice patience. If your neighbor accidentally touches you, you get angry. You feel urgency for everything! Prasadam should be given at once. Food should be served at once. The coffee should be produced at once. Because you are in such a hurry, the wife will give you boiling coffee and you will end up burning your tongue! You are in such a tearing hurry to start eating your meal, that the hot rice that she serves you straight from the stove will burn the roof of your mouth. You must learn patience.
Now the puja is completed. You will all get coins as prasadam; with your friend Swamiji’s blessing you will all get, even if you are in America; how? Through the computer screen! You are all watching this program on yogasangeeta.com. Go to dattapeetham.com and view the videos that play non-stop.
It is one month since I came back from America and my English has gone ‘Govinda!’ I now speak only in Telugu and Kannada. If I spend fifteen days there again, my English will show lots of improvement.
Happy Deepavali! Happy Deepavali! Happy Deepavali!”
Sri Guru Datta
Courstesy: Smt. Hira Duvvuri