Speeches of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji – November 15, 2014 – Penal, Trinidad
Speech in the morning after puja
Jaya Guru Datta
Harihi Om Tatsat
Sri Maha Ganapataye Namaha
Sri Saraswatyai Namaha
Sripada Vallabha
Narasimha Saraswati
Sri Guru Dattatreyaya Namaha
Today is a very auspicious day. These 3-4 days we are on a different planet. It is raining. The sun is also shining a little bit. A beautiful ashrama. Beautiful temples. Good devotion. Very good dedication. Good merit is the fruit for the penance. Swamiji also came here. We are performing all kinds of rituals these 3 – 4 days. In this Kali Yuga it is difficult to perform all rituals. This monkey mind is very difficult to control even for five minutes. You are all over-enthused and happy. Swamiji is also participating with you in your happiness and enthusiasm.
It is not an easy task to build a temple. These days many temples are built but not maintained. Only activities. Be careful about maintaining. You are keeping bigger and bigger photos of God and Guru in temples and homes. But no maintenance. You must feel the presence of God and Sadguru in your house. You must talk to God and Guru in you photos and idols and one day you will get answers also. It is a good connection, good relation, good bondage, and good friendship. God is Sadguru everywhere. He is the real friend and savior. Be careful. 24 hours you should feel the presence of Guru in the photograph, laughing and sharing in your problems. You must feel and talk heart to heart. Physically you must feel that it is not just a color photograph. He is alive. He is talking. Touching.
This is my mother, my grandmother, my father, my grandfather, my child, like that you must feel. Then God will definitely answer your questions and respond to your problems. This is the truth.
If you keep some rock in your home, you should consider it as a Siva Lingam or Maha Vishnu. It may be an emerald, diamond or wonderful and colorful like nava ratnas/nine precious gems. Cost is not the consideration. It is not for fashion you bring so many idols. For 10-15 years you keep them with no wash, no flowers, no naivedya, and no hospitality. Each idol is alive. Be careful. Rama parivara, Siva parivara, Krishna parivara, like a showcase you keep. They are not toys. If you want to bring them into your home, then give good respect and give good training to your children. You are not permanent. After 80-100 years, you transfer house, and property to your children.
Like that, you can transfer to them, your this property also, telling them, – I feel this is Siva, Mother Goddess, Rama, and Krishna. These are not show case items, not collection items.
You have a beautiful Ramayana, and Bhagavad Gita but you do not read even one page. Colorful pages. I brought Swamiji’s photo, I brought this book, this idol, this colorful stone. It is not fashionable to just bring them.
You are committing a big sin. Be careful. Your collection items, tape recorders, tapes, books, and idols, you must use at least once a week. What is on the first page, what is on the last page, what is this picture, what is this colorful idol? You must observe and examine. These are not toys. You do research.
Children have so many toys, talking toys, moving toys. 100, 200, 500 toys. Why do you collect so many toys? This month new toys came into the market. Mommy, daddy, I want that also. Full room collection of toys. Then they go to college. The toys become old. Sold or go to garbage. Our books and idols are also going to be sold one day.
You are big collectors. Your children are small collectors. Like an exhibition you keep these things. I want you to experience the idols, and the books. Slowly your interest will grow. Sing one bhajan. Very tough. Sanskrit bhajan. You waste your lifetime doing worthless things. Right or wrong, do not hesitate, slowly you learn one bhajan. After 2nd and 3rd bhajan, it is not a waste.
You toy collection is a waste. Your practice of bhajans is not a waste of time. You are using your time well. So you are not missing. If you have a little bit of money, then you can support such a project as this. You cannot build such a big temple in your house. Daily or at least once a week, you can wash your idols chanting Om Namassivaya. You decorate with a cloth, a flower. Light an incense. You can pray. You can talk to God. I have so many problems, my health is not good. You are my God. You are my Swamiji. I don’t know mantras, or pujas. You are my child. You are my father. You are my grandfather. You are my savior. Try to do work puja and then you will understand how you feel happy. you report the results to me after one month of doing this daily. Slowly start reading the books. Interest will come slowly.
TV serials, Hindi cinema songs, you memorize. Garbage dances you watch. Same thing you do with bhajans, and it is not time waste or money waste. Cinema songs are only entertainment. Daily entertainment must be controlled.
Control your picnics, chatting, travels. No benefit after one hour of talking about government is like this and this. Watching news only for a few minutes is enough. Gain time, gain merit. What is sin, what is good and what is bad, you use discretion. How to use time well, how to give up bad things, you learn now. Good things come to your door. You chase after bad things. It is not good.
You came here. You are sitting here in spite of the rain. Beautiful bhajans. Good opportunity. I wonder that my child is singing Sanskrit songs from Trishati. I am very happy. I told Mani. I have learned something today. I am very happy. This is not political. Having several bhajan groups is not a problem. This is satsang. It is not a party. You must fight to sing. Learn the meaning of the bhajans. Go to the Internet and learn the meaning of the bhajans. Ask some pundits the right questions about meaning of bhajans. You go and search. SGS links are there and you go and search. So many are available. You can find. Ask Hira aunty.
Today is the first day, I am very happy. It is a miracle. Physically, it might have been planned. But for Dattatreya, it is not planning. Good devotion here. That is why Swamiji has come. So many good yajnas and yagas are happening in Mysore. Swamiji traveled to Delhi to attend some scholar’s program, and then on a big 20-25 acre field, there was a 10 million lamps festival/Koti Deepotsavam. Swamiji attended. Mysore also big program took place. Lot of traveling. This body is asking, give me rest, give me rest. 99% of the time I use this body. Not a single minute of rest. If there is one minute of time available, I use the Internet for work, or do music practice. I do not waste even one minute. I have not seen even one or two scenes of a cinema. Some devotees give me cinemas to watch and beg me to see them. I tell them lies, yes, I see. Then those people ask which song Swamiji? I close my eyes and give the phrase. The tears are coming. I see the whole cinema when I just close my eyes. Sometimes I sit in front of a cinema and do other 3 other things at the same time. All answers I give to all of them. I am looking for something. I am writing something. Prasad asks for attention. But my mind is traveling in so many angles. this feeling, that feeling from so many people sitting here, they all crowd my brain. I get a headache. Somebody do research with this Swamiji’s brain. I will write a will. Such waves are coming. I am not doing deliberately. Some sound from the road 10 miles away comes to the mind. That is also a drama. Why this drama, I don’t know. My mind is traveling, traveling, traveling. Go research my Life History, how many days of his life he spends in flights. What happened to this brain? So many people while traveling, are eating, sleeping, or watching a cinema. Swamiji does Internet, more traveling at a different speed from the airplane going in different directions. Suddenly my body does something. I feel tired. Yesterday I wanted to stay back one day and see my Hanuman. I stayed one night because that is my home, and then came here. I am very happy.
What is your name? Vinayak. His brother is Varuna. I am praying for good health for three days. These people my relatives, my devotees have great love and affection for me. Please forgive their mistakes. Pray to Varuna. Jaya Guru Datta.
One by one come for prasadam, whoever participated in Sri Chakra Puja and Homa. Purnahuti and then the evening program. Somebody give the program. If Appaji is in good health and good mood, I will sing. Otherwise, I will sit. People are singing very well. Sheetal and Gyan has also joined. Good group. Nice. What is your name? Amarnath. You are like Hanumanta.
Sri Guru Datta
Speech in the evening – Q & A session
Jaya Guru Datta
Sri Ganesaya Namah
Sri Saraswatyai Namah
Sri Padavallabha
Narasimha Saraswati
Sri Guru Dattatreyaya Namah
Today I’d like to do Questions and Answers for 15 minutes. Anyone can ask a question. Only spiritual questions. Not personal questions. Swamiji, will I get my visa? No, that is a different question. Swamiji, when will I get married? No, that is a personal question. If you get the opportunity to meet Swamiji, then you can ask those personal questions. Or, you can pray in front of Swamiji’s photo with devotion, with powerful devotion and powerful connection, heart-to-heart connection. That is very important. But, how to develop heart-to-heart connection? What kind of instruments do we need to develop such a heart-to-heart connection? That is also one question. Now, I gave you an example. So, you can ask questions. There are 15 minutes, may be you have the chance to ask 5 or 6 or 10 questions. Any spiritual question.
This is a very ancient system. Swamiji used to do this a lot before. Nowadays, the tricks have slowly come down. Again I want to have these question/answer sessions. Within 2-3 minutes, you get a powerful answer. The Trinidadians can ask first, and then the Americans.
Question:
Jaya Guru Datta. Pujya Swamiji, could you give us a tip or guidance on how not to fall asleep when we are meditating?
Swamiji:
That is a good question. So many people are trying to do dhyana while sleeping. You must try to be aware. That is why Swamiji is giving good training to European people. I conducted classes in Germany and Switzerland – Mauna (silence) Yoga for 2 to 3 days. For six hours each day, they were sitting only with awareness and mauna/silence. They were sitting in Padmasana/lotus position or another asana/comfortable seated posture. Swamiji gave good training in having that awareness. First, learn silence. Not just physical training, but mentally preparing to be silent. Don’t think of any problems, any pains, any fears or even any happiness. Completely zero your thoughts. “Thoughtless”.
Close your eyes and practice silence. You may feel very miserable in the first one or two hours. It is very difficult to control our mind, our sense organs. Because you are busy controlling, you don’t fall sleep. So, practice like that. Control, control, awareness. Even when you close your eyes, the system is automatically developing. The control system is automatically developing. How to control our different, different problems and questions? Sometimes, you may fall asleep, control that. Sometimes you may be hungry or angry or both. You must control. Sometimes if you are in silence, there may be nonsensical thoughts in the first hour. Bad incidents from 20 or 50 years ago are coming to mind. The bad words that somebody said also come to mind. That is not good. You must control that. It is not necessary to think about those matters. So, those first two hours in the beginning are miserable controlling. Maybe it will take one day for struggle, struggle, struggle. After the struggle the mind is tired two or three times, then you may get bored the fourth time. Some people may get bored the second time. Maybe some scenes are very good, so we went to see again and again. But some are not good. But which scenes are good scenes? Maybe some songs, some good things. You want to see again and again. That is not bad. You must control that as well. After you see the movie again, the fourth time, the fifth time, the sixth time, the seventh time, you get bored. Because this is not necessary in your life. If it is necessary in your life, you are not bored.
You want to learn that song by-heart. You want to visualize mentally in your system. So, you like to do it again and again. There is nothing wrong with that because you are giving some education to your mind. Before that, you were not giving any education. You were wasting time. Then you automatically know you are wasting time. That is not good. So, you are your own Guru. Then, the mind will decide which is good and which is not good.
More details about the mind, with silence. It is very difficult to keep silent because so many thoughts keep coming to the mind. They replay over and over again. Sounds. And some sceneries. Visuals. Hindrance. Sometimes, there are even smells – good smells and bad smells. Because of the powerful mind, you are developing these things. Sometimes, you are tuning those sounds yourself. Example, the sound of rain. Sometimes, you are tuning the sound of rain to be like a musical. It sounds nice to hear. Very good. But, some other sounds may not be good. The sound of an airplane is not good. Harsh sounds are not good. Some people are working with harsh sounds. They are used to those sounds. They don’t want the sound of rain or other soothing sounds. They think the soothing sounds are miserable. They want harsh sounds because their mind is developing in such a manner. So, I am giving examples of sounds. Some people work in a workshop. Some people work as bus drivers or train drivers or as pilots. They are used to such sounds. They sleep with such sounds. But, we can’t. We are not used to such sounds.
We are using soothing sounds. We can’t bear harsh sounds. Maybe you can bear for 1-2 hours, after that you can’t bear. No sleep. There is a lot of disturbance. As you develop your mind, there will be good sounds, bad sounds, good thoughts, bad thoughts, necessary thoughts, and unnecessary thoughts. You can decide for yourself which is good and which is bad. Later on, you control yourself. In the first three hours of silence, these kinds of quarrels occur. After that battle is finished, everything is peaceful. But if you control those quarrels, they will keep coming back again and again. So, you can leave it as is. Let the sound come, okay no problem. You can fight, fight, fight and fight. After you get tired, your mind is tired, your mind is defeated completely. Slowly you get a chance to do meditation. So, sometimes, you may fall down if you are not taking enough rest. You take full rest. You can fulfill your anger and hunger and take rest. That’s why saints say that early morning is the best time, because it’s after rest, enough rest.
You need 5-6 hours, some may sleep 7 hours, no problem. Some people are sleeping for 10 hours, that is not good. That is a disease. 5-6 hours of sleep is good. 7 hours is not good either. 5-6 hours is good for youngsters. And for old people, 4-5 hours is enough. Then, if you meditate after you get that rest, you will not fall down. If you fall down during meditation – one, you control and fight; two, you take good rest; three, eat less food. If you want to do good meditation, eat less food. 75% food is enough. Your mind may say 2 idlis or 3 idlis or 4 idlis. That is enough. The mind may then want 5th or 6th or 7th idli. Don’t touch. That’s food control. Your mind still wants to eat a little bit more. Control. That is why you must control your food intake. Also, you must take enough rest. Also, in the beginning hours of meditation, let the good and bad things fight. Then, slowly meditation develops without sleep or hunger or anger. Swamiji is giving you very simple tricks, simple advice. You must follow all these tricks. Then you see what happens. Jaya Guru Datta.
Question:
Swamiji, Jaya Guru Datta. What is your advice, Swamiji? We pray every day. But, when we look around, in this day and age, anywhere we look, there is crime, violence, natural disasters. What is your advice to us Swamiji, as devotees?
Swamiji:
Okay, nice question. Why are you always looking at crimes? Because your mind is also a crime mind. Inside, there is fear. You are only looking at bad things. You are not controlling, and you are not giving education to people. You are defeated in that field. Why are you thinking? In the ancient times too, there were crimes. In the Mahabharata, so many Kauravas committed a lot of crimes. Keechaka also was doing bad things. In the Ramayana, there are so many demons. So many saints had problems doing penance due to these demons. The crime then was more than there is in this Kali Yuga.
Now, we are only looking at small communities. You are only looking at crimes. You can develop good things/thoughts. As much as possible, be good. Do good things as much as possible together with your friends, your relatives, your children, and your parents. You can think about good things. Why are you only thinking about bad things? Why are you afraid about these things? If you are afraid, the people doing crimes will know you are afraid. Don’t be afraid. That’s first. Second, there is an invisible hand protecting us. That may be Ganapathy, may be Rama, may be Hanuman or Lord Shiva or Mother Goddess. So, you can believe in one and they will protect you. When you are sleeping, who protects you? That is only an example. When you are in deep sleep, who is protecting you? There may be an earthquake or there may be a thief. Or there’ll be a snake in your bed. But, who will protect? You are innocent. You feel innocent. You feel you are a devotee.
Because you are always in fear, “Maybe this person is not good”. “Maybe this person is thinking very bad things”, “This room has something”, “This house has something, this is haunted, may be Satan is here”. You are always thinking bad things. Bad vibrations. “Maybe my wife is not good”, “Maybe she has a boyfriend in college”.
Your wife is a good friend. There are 2 or 3 children there too. Later on, you get suspicious because of your demon mind. You are thinking, “Maybe my husband is not good, maybe he has a love affair”. Then, such thought keeps developing, developing, developing, developing, developing. Definitely the truth will be revealed, one day. Then, you will be miserable. Why are you developing bad thoughts? Why are you thinking bad things? If you think bad, bad is developing in your mind and that is how you will see your relatives, your friends, your children, and the environment. You must clean your environment as much as possible. Think, “This man is good”, “My wife is very good”, “My husband is very nice. Maybe one or two problems, but don’t worry. I excuse. Today onwards, we’ll have good things”. Then definitely your life is good. If you have a possessive nature, if you are a sadist, the way you see family is not good. Sadism is not good. You are a sadist and you are suspicious. That is a disease you are developing.
40 years ago, there was no fence in Mysore Ashrama. We had a big coconut garden. Now we have so many concrete buildings – coconut gardens. Before that, we had good mango trees and coconut trees. Believe it or not, we used to get huge coconuts in those trees and very tasty coconuts. In the market, coconuts were going for double the price. So, one day, one thief came. Every day some coconuts were disappearing, someone was stealing. So, one day, I somehow caught the thief. Our own security guards, the volunteer security guards – we used to not pay any money then. Now, we pay money. They used to be volunteers back then. We caught the thief. Security wanted to tie him up and beat him. I asked them not to. I asked, “What do you want? You want all these coconuts? These four trees are your trees. You can come daily and take, okay? Take as much as you want”. Believe it or not, he was a very famous thief. He transformed. And believe it or not, he said, “I will come daily and watch your garden at night times. I know the thieves. I will protect you”. Okay, that’s nice. I said, “I am seeing good things in your face. Maybe the circumstances are not good, that is why you are stealing. No problem. You can consider the four trees yours. You can come and take coconuts daily, legally. Then he changed. So many times, so many stories. But this is your Swamiji’s story now. There are so many stories in this lifetime with Swamiji, with Appaji.
So, don’t think bad. If any thief comes, give him good words. Don’t be negative. If you are negative, then, he will get even more negative. I think you can see good qualities in others. Swamiji’s final answer, in the ancient time, more than in this Kali Yuga, there were so may thieves, so many crimes in Mahabharata, in Ramayana. Now, it is lesser. We are lucky people, very less crime, according to calculation.
Question:
Jaya Guru Datta. Does knowledge lead to bliss? And is that bliss transient or permanent? What is it you meant when you said in the Guru Gita that Shiva is that Sadguru who gives knowledge and bliss at the same time?
Swamiji:
Your question is very simple. The answer is also very simple. You are asking, what is knowledge and what is happiness. Knowledge is like food. Eating is happiness. If you have some food, that is knowledge. You must eat. What happens after eating? You are fulfilled. So, we need education and Ananda. Without Ananda, no education. Without education, no Ananda. This knowledge is like the two eyes, two ears, nose. Without Prana, no mind. Without mind, no Prana. If the mind is dead like in the coma stage, there is no use of that body. So, without mind, there is no heart. Without heart, no mind. Heart and mind without body are of no use. There is a good connection between education and happiness. Education is like liberation. Ananda is also liberation. After education, you can get Ananda. Without Ananda, no liberation. So, Guru Gita says to go for knowledge first. Guru Gita itself is knowledge. Guru Gita iself is Ananda/happiness.
Question:
Appaji, what happens to the soul when it departs the body? And what stage is the soul in, when that happens?
Swamiji:
You know, where Atman came from? Do you know the address of the soul before it came to the body? There is no address after it goes too. That is the secret for meditation. That is what people want to know. What is the soul? How does it travel after it leaves the body? We don’t want to call it death. That is growing. Once more growing, growing. If you have good knowledge, it is growing up. If you have bad thoughts, downgrade. Don’t think about which place, what address, that is not your job. Your job is only to do good things. Thinking good thoughts is your job. Ancient people say, do japa, do Yajna, do Veda, so many different, different, different ways. You must only do those things. Don’t inquire, where it is going after death. Before death, no. After death, no. You don’t know what happened yesterday. You already forgot. Your phone is ringing somewhere, then you are searching. Your mind is very tiny. You are thinking a really big thing. “Where is the soul going? What is the journey? Which flight did it take?” That is not your job. Your job is to enjoy in this life. First you can find out what to do, what not to do. How to follow Swamiji, how to follow Sadguru. What does He tell you to follow? That is your job. It is not necessary to know about your past journey and future journey. Okay.
Question:
Swamiji, Jaya Guru Datta. I would like to know why do we pray? Since Swamiji knows our desire, God knows our desire, yet we have to pray and relate our problems and other things to God. Why do we have to do that when God, when Guruji Himself knows our desire?
Swamiji:
Good, thank you. You are demanding God. You are demanding from Guru, ”I don’t want to pray. You must give me something. I don’t want to believe in the doctor. Give me some medicine, doctor”. The doctor asks what your pain is. “No, don’t ask me. Give me”. Some people rush to the platform and ask, “Ticket, ticket, ticket, give me ticket”. Then, they ask, “Which station do you want to go to?” “Don’t ask. You are asking me for the station? Give me the ticket”. What ticket can they give? Prayer is very necessary. Begging is very necessary. When the baby cries, the mother knows the child has some pain or the child is hungry. Otherwise, she won’t feed. So, God knows, Sadguru knows your problems, He knows everything. But, it is your duty to pray. That is your attitude. Otherwise “Yes, I have everything. I don’t want to give you”. If you beg, then I will give. You beg mother, mother also gives. You beg, fill out the application, provide signature, then the bank will give you your money. Otherwise, they will not. Simple. That is why, praying is very important. Begging is very important.
Question: (not in recorded video)
Swamiji:
A Sadhaka will ask that question. It is not a public question. Some will ask for Muladhara Chakra. Some will ask for Anahata. Some for Vishuddha, some people want Sahasrara. It depends on each one’s own capacity. It is private. I like tea. Some people like coffee. Some people like Bournvita. Some people like drinking strong liquor. This is a question to ask Guru who has given the Kundalini Shakti and Upadesha. Or, go to good books, or you can ask Swamiji also. It depends on your blood pressure, your fate. He will examine you and then Sadguru will give guidance about the Chakra. That is a very serious and valuable question you are asking. Thanks.
Question:
Jaya Guru Datta Swamiji. What is the best way to destroy the ego?
Swamiji:
Better you don’t speak much to people. You defeat yourself always. If somebody does a mistake, you excuse. Develop that. Don’t get angry. Develop control. Otherwise for small small mistakes made by others, you get upset. Don’t get upset. Better to remain silent. Be busy with your prayers, your Sadguru, be busy with your family, be busy with your problem. Then the ego is automatically controlled. It is very simple, sir. That is the truth. I speak in a direct way.
Question:
In Guru Gita, in the early part Swamiji says there is a lotus on the right side. Can you explain?
Swamiji:
Question is simple. Answer is big. Right side of the heart is hollow. There is nothing. It is empty space. Finally the Guru Gita also says that God is like space and light. Light is everywhere. Space is everywhere. Right side heart is the invisible God inside us. God-like space. No form for God. Formless God. We have sense organs. We give forms. You pray Ram Ram Ram Ram. After so many years, what is happening? There is no Rama. There is no second Rama. You become Rama. That place is formless Rama. That is what the Guru Gita says. When you keep chanting Namassivaya and you get tired, whether you are eating, sleeping, or working, you keep chanting Namassivaya namassivaya. That is an empty spiritual heart. That is Sadguru heart. Left side physical heart is the karma heart that goes lub dub.
Question:
Jaya Guru Datta Swamiji. What is spirituality?
Swamiji:
This friendship is spirituality. This gathering is spirituality. This is not a drinking place. This is not a quarreling place. This is not a cinema place. This is not a bad place. This is a good place. We are talking about God. We are talking about Guru Gita. We are talking about Prana/life energy. We are talking about spiritual matters. We need such question/answer session, such a company with Sadguru, such conversation. This is spirituality. That is why we need Satsanga every day. In some families, even to this day, in some families, evening 7-7:30 they are sitting together and singing bhajans, chanting Vithala vithala. Then they discuss one Bhagavad Gita sloka for half an hour. Then they have their meal and sleep. That is a good habit. That is spirituality. Nowadays, people are sitting on a sofa and looking at a cinema. That is not spirituality. That is wastality. Time wastality.
Question:
Jaya Guru Datta Swamiji. What is Sraadhha? What is Sraddha?
Swamiji:
There are two words. When a person dies, you do Sraaddha. Sraddha is when you ask Swamiji a question and Swamiji gives you an answer. That is Sraddha/interest or faith. Some people fall down and unknowingly you help. Some idols you see. You have no belief or devotion. You think there is something. You close your eyes and join your palms in offering respect. That is Sraddha. I don’t know. I don’t believe. But they believe. When we offer hospitality to someone who comes to our house, that is Sraddha. Giving respect or thinking of something as precious, or is a pleasure to do, to give something, to help a needy person, it is Sraddha. Wanting to take some knowledge or wisdom from a wise person, or wanting to help another person, through exchange, that is Sraddha.
Question:
Jaya Guru Datta Swamiji. How does one become a good Karma Yogi? Jayalakshmi Mata remembered God while she worked. Is that correct?
Swamiji:
Dedication to work makes you a Karma Yogi. When you work and treat your work itself as Sadguru, then you are a Karma Yogi. You are a doctor. Your work is your worship. Serving your family is Karma Yoga. Be polite, serve without laziness, and with enthusiasm, that is Karma Yogi. Doing some good work is Karma Yoga. Go ahead and work, work, work. Don’t worry about results.
Question:
Jaya Guru Datta Swamiji. When will we sing bhajans?
Swamiji:
Good question. (Begins singing bhajans).
Sri Guru Datta