Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji on Ugadi day – March 23, 2012 – Mysore
“Sri Ganeshaya Namaha. Sri Saraswatyai Namaha. Sripada Vallabha Nrsimha Saraswati Sri Guru Dattatreyaya Namaha.”
I am happy to see today the majority of devotees are Kannada. Hence I will speak in Kannada. People comment that frequently I speak in Telugu. I convey my best wishes and blessing for a Happy New Year. A new period of good fortune begins with this year Nandana, which means ‘happiness’. The past few years had horrible names such as Vikrti (ugly), Virodhi (enmity), and Khara (donkey). In the 60 year cycle some deities look upon us favorably and some give us cruel looks. The immediate future ones are pleasant, kind, and peaceful. Some planets in between however, may cause some turbulence in nature and disturbances in the mind.
Venus is the king this year. He is assisted by Jupiter who controls the rains. He is a giver of fortune. While these planets and their presiding deities are good, we have to also do our part in strengthening their powers with our focused prayers. When a disease occurs, we fully disclose our problem to the doctor so that he can cure it. The same way a spiritual seeker should fully clear his doubts with his guru. He should give the guru a chance to bless him with his knowledge.
When a chauffeur is new, the owner of the car cannot afford to go to sleep. He should be alert and should encourage the new driver. Then the journey will be good. You may have relatives and friends riding with you in the vehicle. At least one person should be designated to stay awake and keep the driver alert. When one person yawns, coughs, or sneezes, the tendency is for all those around to follow suit. So if one person falls asleep in the car and snores, the others will also fall asleep, and the driver is at risk of falling asleep also and causing an accident.
We have to develop good habits. We have to help our boss or our leader with our good behavior and support. A pet dog sleeps only when its owner is safe at home and is awake and relaxing. When the owner sleeps, the dog stays awake and alert to protect him. When he is away, the loyal dog stays alert to protect the property. Like this, we have to help the gods. How? They do not need gift items like televisions or computers. What they require, are our concentrated prayers through the chanting of mantras. With focus we should be constantly wishing them success in their efforts of protecting us. Our minds should be pure and must possess concentration. While pure minds bring good fortune and bliss, contaminated minds bring down upon us defeat and misery. The eight types of good fortune will accrue to the good people, while the eight types of misfortune will find any crack and crevice to enter into the lives of those with impure minds.
It does not cost any money to acquire a pure mind. You must do guru dhyana. You must serve God. That is your duty. Do your own designated duty. Performance of duty is of paramount importance. It is equal to offering worship to God. A doctor who is very conscientious in his treatment of patients and in maintaining their good morale has no need to perform ritual worship. His work itself is worship. Christians excel in their approach to service. They are really divine in that aspect. They are ready to take on any type of service without finding it shameful or distasteful. Hindus are far behind them in their attitude towards service. Hindus have not grown to that level. Even at home you do not serve. You have old people at home. You do not give them a helping hand. If they have no bladder or bowel control, you despise them and show disgust. You do not help to clean them or their mess. You must remember that not only they, but we are all also filled with filth. Our wastes also smell and look bad. We engage in superficial decorations. Inside, we are like the municipality garbage trucks. We make bad sounds, we stink, have mess, pus, and bloody discharges that are distasteful. Our beauty is only skin deep. From our nine holes filth oozes out. Remember that. From human body odor, even a dog turns away in disgust.
To have a clean mind, first of all you must keep your body clean. To keep your body clean, you must wash it regularly and wear only washed and clean clothes all the time. Your polyester shirts might appear clean, but they stink, once they have been worn. Your old heirloom saris given by the great grandmother have never been washed. They are heavy with dirt and dried perspiration. If you dip them in a pond to wash them, the fishes will die from the pollution. You must clean your eyes, nose, and teeth twice a day without fail. If you consume onions and garlic, your entire body smells. Your breath smells awful. Many people cannot live without eating deep fried crunchy snacks. Others have to close their noses when such people approach them. We need to eat only satvic food. Many people who do not regularly clean their teeth have such bad breath, that I wonder whether dentists get special training in numbing their sense of smell. You must rinse your mouth every time you eat or drink something. People who tend to perspire must bathe twice daily. A clean body promotes a clean mind. Once you cleanse yourselves inside and out, if you chant your mantras, there will be direct transmission to the gods. I want you all to promise that you will do this starting today, in this New Year. Trying is not good enough. You must do it without fail. I will not entertain your complaints that you have no focus, and that you cannot sleep well, if right after complaining you go out and eat onions and fried snacks. You keep your body clean. Then the guru will clean your mind. Only the guru can clean your mind. Mental dirt can only be cleaned by the guru. You do this for three months. Then you come and report the change that you notice in yourselves. See how systematic your life becomes. There is no cost involved in doing this. Clean your house. Throw out all garbage. Sell or give away old stuff. You must learn the knack of living well. Some people wear fancy outer clothing but their underwear would not have been changed in 21 days. It would be practically sticking to the body. When I was a child, I had only two sets of clothes. But I kept them clean always. It did not matter if I had to even beg for food. I was very strict about bathing and brushing my teeth. I am so obsessed about cleanliness even now that if I fall asleep while working and wake up suddenly at midnight, I quickly run and wash my hands because I had failed to do so prior to going to bed. Even if I am running a temperature, I still have to keep my body clean. Otherwise I cannot take any food. I would require a sponge bath at least, if I have a 104 degrees fever. People use all kinds of excuses not to bathe. If some old relative living hundreds of miles away dies or if someone far away gave birth to a child, you use that as an excuse not to bathe. If there is a death in the family and tradition dictates that you should not cook at home, you happily go out and eat. But guru darshan you avoid. If your renter’s sister-in-law in Mumbai has given birth to a baby, you feel lazy here to bathe. These are all excuses, just as you give as an excuse for not viewing the Shatashloki Ramayana video saying that the Internet does not work.
You must put in a determined effort. Develop the good habit of cleanliness. In a clean mud pot if you pour milk, it will remain fresh. In a gold pot that has not been washed, if you pour the purest milk, it will still spoil. Even in a diamond bowl that is dirty, it will spoil.
Beauty is not important. Being clean is important. I am repeating to you all this just the way my father had instructed me when I was young. This is the way to help the gods to help us. Do your duty of keeping your body, your mind, and your house clean. The plan and process of Creation we cannot understand. We are unable to perform rituals. Okay. It may be difficult to practice. I am giving this small advice to all Datta devotees to practice. Take Life Membership in Bhakti Mala magazine. It comes in all languages. Soon you will have Internet access online.
Tuesday Annadana – Share Your Food austerity, please adopt. Once a week skip either lunch or dinner every Tuesday and give the food or equivalent cash to a needy person in your neighborhood. If you are unable to do so, we can feed the poor here during Purnima Annadana that takes place every full moon at Sri Datta Venkateswara Temple. The details have been given on videos on vimeo.com and YouTube. Pamphlets have been distributed, emails have been sent. Join Datta Seva scheme also. Hurry up and get involved in all these services.
Many devotees from Hyderabad are disappointed that Swamiji could not be present there for Ugadi. Small repairs had to be done in this body. Because of dust, small breathing and heart problems occurred. You know that I could not sing even at Shivaratri. The Ayodhya program was even better than the Kashi program. In one day in the presence of Rama more things were accomplished than what were done in Kashi in a whole week in the presence of Siva. Those who have attended have gained great spiritual merit. They have to now safeguard it.
Prof. Krishna Kumar’s daughter’s childhood wish was that Swamiji should stay at their house in Delhi, ride in their car and receive medical treatment from them. All those wishes of that pure soul have come true. In Delhi, I stayed at Duggal (son-in-law of Prof. Krishna Kumar)’s house. While bathing I felt a little uneasy. They showed so much care and concern. I feel as if tiny specks of my mother Sri Jayalakshmi Mata are present in so many women. I have lots of granddaughters, perhaps by my mother’s grace. I have the responsibility of getting them married. Perhaps in the future I should change the situation and have more boys as grandchildren.
On the Sarayu River, we were talking about Rama and Guha with the boatman. He spoke in a bragging tone that he owned 40 boats. Suddenly we got hit by another boat and he fell into the water. That should have been the end. But I turned around and saw Bala Swamiji and Prasad sitting quietly behind me (like bad planets). Had they not been there, it would have been good for me. I had actually told everyone to get off the boat when we left for the ride. I did not realize that these two had remained. Because of them I had to pick up the oar to balance the boat, to protect them. For their sake I had to come back. What to do? It was my duty to protect. My shoulders ached. In that cold water the boatman swam back, saying that his life was saved because of me. After that I did prokshanam (sacred water sprinkling) for a thousand people, like one obsessed. I was acting like a machine. It was too much of crazy enthusiasm. I hurt my joints. When I later complained about my pains, all that I received was scolding from the people around me. When we got to the hospital in Delhi, I told them, “No tests, take me to the operation theater and perform an angioplasty.” They found the main artery clogged. They put a stent. The heart doctor Rajaneesh said that he had seen me eighteen years ago and that by my blessing he became a great doctor. They insisted that I should spend one night at the hospital. I did. They gave me a very special room.
I wanted to go to Hyderabad for Ugadi. The doctors said no. Now Ugadi has come. I am sitting in front of you, scolding you. Once a body is taken, karma follows. Even the Ashwini twins, the celestial physicians, the Sun god (leprosy), Indra, Krishna (stomach pain), and Rama (headache for 12 years), and Ramana Maharshi (cancer) suffered from bodily ailments. It has to be endured.
Watch the Ayodhya video, eat Ugadi chutney (consisting of 6 different tastes), offer worship at the temple, eat sweets, and listen to the reading of the Panchangam (Hindu almanac). The daily remembrance and uttering of the five features of each day – lunar phase, day of the week, star, yoga, and karana as given in the Hindu calendar is of great benefit in bestowing health, wealth, knowledge, and wellbeing. Keep it written in the kitchen and read it before you begin to cook the meal. It benefits the family. Datta Peetham posts it each day on facebook. You may refer to the ashrama calendar. There is no need to search everywhere for this information, you do not need to climb stairs daily to find it. At least one person in the family must read it daily, even if there is no devotion. It benefits the entire family.
Happy Nandana New Year to all!”
Sri Guru Datta