Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji in the morning – December 1, 2014 – Msyore
Jaya Guru Datta
What is your name? What is your father’s name? What is your grandfather’s name? What is your gotra/family lineage? What is your family name? Who gave these names? You don’t know?
You are telling me what you know based on what has been told to you by your elders. It is not anything that you have made up or created. Is that correct? Okay.
We cannot create anything new. When we worship a deity, it is a tradition to mention the name of the deity and the deity’s lineage. In north India they still practice it, such as saying Siva, His gotra, Vishnu, and His gotra, Datta, and His lineage and so on when they begin their worship.
Without any foundation, we cannot say anything. Without any foundation we cannot build a home, even in the modern day. Even while doing any experiment, without any basis, we cannot do anything, we have to use some chemicals and their combinations in medical experiments, for example.
Whatever is created without any supporting evidence or information will not sustain. It will collapse very soon. Some things last for a short time. Some things are preserved through eons. Music is one thing that lasts eternally through the eons and millenniums. Today we are speaking about Nada.
Sangita Ratnakara is an ancient work preserved on palm leaves. Parts of it have been stolen. It was preserved in Kumbhakonam in Tamil Nadu. Whatever parts of it could be retrieved and restored were printed. After 50 years the partial information that was available was reprinted. Later, some scholars, from their knowledge and expertise have added a little bit to it.
Music is most ancient. It came from Brahma, Vishnu, and is close to the hearts of Siva, Hanuman, and all other deities.
Without breath and sound we cannot live. Whatever type of music it may be, the superficial genres may be going through modifications, but the basic musical notes have not changed. They have remained the same through the ages. Whether the music is repulsive, indecent, or unappealing, it still consists only of pure musical notes. It all depends on how we perceive and treat music. Some lyrics or the movements associated with the music, may be crude and not to our taste. Some renderings of music may be harsh to our ears. Still, the musical notes are only Nada.
We all breathe the same air. There is no separate air for a good man, a wicked man, a man of poverty, a king, a yogi or a man of luxury. All the five elements are common to all. Only the minds of individuals are different, based on their karma.
Breath is everywhere. That is God. That is the all-pervasive nature of God. He is in you. He is in me, as breath. The same space is within me and within you. God’ Creation is like that.
The empty space within you is all God. Does it mean that he is not manifested as a gross substance? Anything manifested is perceived by us and it is all God. It does not require a special mention that all that is known and seen, is God.
That is why the great souls say that the right side heart is God. There is a small empty space. It is referred to as the spiritual heart. We are asked to strengthen it or improve it. The regular heart has blood and flesh and substance to it for us to improve on it. We have lungs and so on. How to improve upon what is formless? There is nothing to see. Because it cannot be seen, we have to try to see it. That is sadhana. That requires a determined effort. That is Guru Mantra. With determination you must experience what cannot be perceived. By pursuing such an effort with firm resolve, we get freed from the cycle of rebirth. We are born only for this purpose. Therefore, try to know it, try to experience it.
How did man come into existence with this body, these limbs, and this intellect? What is their purpose? Their purpose is to experience that empty space. We have to enter into it and get transformed into that formless state. Why? Because we have assumed a shape. Where did we come from? We came only from there, from that empty source. Why did we come? We came following our karma. We have to therefore, return to our source.
It is only for that return journey that we require these vehicles of transportation. These vehicles or the means of travel are Veda, Yoga, Nada, love towards all that exists, charitable activities, social work projects, being Satvic and kind to ourselves, Yajnas, Yagas, and other worship rituals, and so on. These are the instruments and the means which support us to achieve the purpose of our lives.
All good devotees should learn and absorb from these Gna Na Bha Yoga lectures. Today we have heard about Nada. Other subjects also should be heard and analyzed. You grasp what is offered by the scholars and apply that knowledge into your personal lives, without any misinterpretation or distortion to suit your convenience or whim.
We must gradually change our mind set. Do not selectively take only what is convenient for you and reject the rest. You must accept it as a whole and assimilate it and adjust your living style according to it.
On the occasion of this Datta Jayanti, Gna Na Bha programs are taking place. Now let us proceed to the next event.
Jaya Guru Datta
Sri Guru Datta