Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji – August 14, 2015 – KSHT Frisco, TX USA
Speech in the morning
Jai Veera Hanuman ki Jai
Since a week, devotees have been asking about this vastram that I am wearing (around the neck). In Delhi there is Amara Jyoti organization which serves 800 handicapped children. All of them are disabled. So many awards they get for their work. Swamiji visited 3-4 times. He gifted them a Datta temple and also a prayer hall. I asked what of kind help they wanted from Swamiji. They said no money was required and they did not need any recommendation to the government. You are our God, they said. I asked the head of the organization.
They make handicrafts. Wonderful work they do and they study also. We want to sell these vastrams made by them and send the funds to them. Some stay in the hostel. Some live in their homes. Brilliant children. Very sharp intellect. Some have no eyes, no hands, or feet. Many are deaf or mute. Pity. It was possible for them to make some handicrafts. Swamiji asked if they could make Hanuman vastrams. Swamiji gave them a model. Easy to wear. Very light. You can fold and put in your pocket or purse. Be careful. It may fall off or taken away by someone. Put a knot. Otherwise it may get stolen. Very nice. Like a garland. Hanuman likes this color very much.
Those devotees who are wearing Datta Vastram attract Swamiji’s attention and Swamiji’s glance upon them. Swamiji’s glance falls on them and He gives them Shakti Paata/spiritual energy transmission. Many do not wear Datta Vastram. Those who neglect to wear the Datta Vastram lose Swamiji’s blessing. They perhaps think that they are already very powerful and do not need Swamiji’s special blessing. The vision of Swamiji which falls on devotees who wear the Datta Vastram is of a different kind. The glance which falls on devotees who are without Datta Vastram is of a different kind. Many are losers because of their negligence or pride at not wearing the Datta Vastram. Those who wear the Datta Vastram need and get Swamiji’s blessings.
These Hanuman Vastrams’ color is very different. Amara Jyoti Children struggled to get this color. Swamiji told them to chant the Hanuman Chalisa to get the required color. They weave cloth on the loom also. I was moved by their dedication and effort. Hanuman devotees should take and wear these Vastrams. They are powerful. I want to help Amara Jyothi. Purchase them now. We have only a limited number.
Hand wash only and line dry in the shade. Treat them with delicate care and only hand wash. They will vanish if you put them in the washing machine with a strong detergent. The color also will fade. Only two threads will remain. I am not responsible for the damage caused by your harsh treatment of them.
Hanuman likes two colors. This is one of them. Don’t ask me now for the other. Cut in half and stitch the ends for small children to wear. Otherwise it is too long for small kids. Fold them in half otherwise.
I am very happy that you have supported this cause. Amara Jyoti blind children will benefit from this sale. Swamiji did one concert for them also. They sent two boxes of Hanuman vastrams. They do the weaving themselves.
Jaya Guru Datta.
I thought today there would be no program. This became today’s major program.
Swamiji’s voice returned magically for doing the Sundara Kanda Saptaha. Swamiji had lost His voice because of sitting in the cold air conditioned hall for long hours.
The same day of Kumbha mela at Godavari pushkaralu, when Swamiji took a bath in the river, His delicate body got affected. If someone nearby coughs or sneezes, Swamiji at once catches the infection. This happened at the Godavari river. My assistants are always very careful and keep a distance if they have a cold. They feel miserable about that, but they endure keeping the distance. For some reason, Swamiji’s resistance to infection is now reduced. Swamiji took bath there in the river, with three dips. Immediate effect was seen. Right after that He took a long flight to come here, sitting inside an air conditioned cabin.
This hall at first felt very cold, when He entered. Outside temperature was very hot. There was also a lot of dust because of new construction. Swamiji needed voice rest. Still He did not give it rest. He spoke and sang.
Swamiji spoke with Hanuman and said He would surrender to Hanuman’s sankalpam. Swamiji told him of the voice condition and felt doubtful whether He could participate in the Hanuman Chalisa 24 hour chanting.
Hanuman made me do the Hanuman Chalisa chanting. Pray to Hanuman with devotion. He readily blesses. His power is immense.
The Sundara Kanda Saptaha was a great success for the devotees. Hanuman listened to Swamiji narrating his story before. But now in the Marakata form also He listened. This is a very rare green stone. Like glass, it is very fragile. The priests are very afraid of handling the murti.
Mother Sri Rajarajeswari was first consecrated here. There is a history behind the installation of Sri Rajarajeswari by Sri Swamiji. After installation, the murti returns to Swamiji’s Guru Nilayam. It has happened twice before. It has happened again here.
Now Durga Parameswari has replaced Sri Rajarajeswari Mata in the temple. History is repeated once again.
Two more Ravanas remain to be killed, not only the ten-headed Ravana of Ramayana. That is the subject of the next three day discourse, Hanumadvilasa. The embrace given by Rama gave Hanuman immense energy. He then became formless. After Rama’s coronation Hanuman was idle. He begged for work. Usually after a major project is done, the salary comes, regardless. But without work one feels useless. One loses touch with work. After some time of not using the computer, one forgets the use of the computer. It is an easy course to take to learn to use the computer.
Eye problems, hand problems develop if there is no work, and even mental problems.
Hanuman was moaning. He kept doing the Rama Nama japa. No one accosted Hanuman even or took notice of him.
The citizens of Ayodhya were so lucky to live as contemporaries of Rama. Future generations will appreciate your association with Swamiji and will speak proudly that their grandparents personally knew and served Swamiji. It is you yourselves who will be reborn as your future generations. Perhaps not in the same families. But you forget your own past lives and you will praise the luck of your ancestors. You will then wish for Swamiji’s company.
Liberation is not so easy to get. Rebirths will occur for many. You will miss the good fortune of the grandparents. We think like that now. Do we not? We miss Rama. We wish that we had lived during his time.
Hanuman visited the homes of citizens. Like Rama. He resolved their difficulties. The Constitution of the country was perfect and ideal then during Rama’s regime.
When after our country got its independence, the Constitution was written, due to the British influence some discrepancies occurred. That is bad for our Constitution. It took some wrong turns. They took examples for the Ramayana, no doubt. The Assembly building has pictures taken from our scriptural stories. They are hidden now, out of shame. People these days are ashamed to declare the greatness of their forefathers. They are ashamed to properly pronounce their grandfather’s name. A son who is ashamed to correctly pronounce his father’s or grandfather’s name is a pig. Be proud to be a Hindu. See. Hanuman Hoffman, who is an American wears a dot on his forehead, whereas many Indians do not. The dot protects dharma. Widows may wear Bhasma/Vibhooti dot. It covers and protects the Lambika Chakra. Always cover it. The Choodamani (head ornament) is not for decoration. It is for protection. When children wear it, or wear the Papidi Billa (the ornament which covers the parting of the hair and the top part of the forehead) I love it. Jada billa also. Some women wear an invisible pinpoint dot, matching their saree. They keep Swamiji guessing whether their husband is living or not. It is a punishment for Swamiji because he would not know how to accost them. Some wear a dot that is so small, it could be the dropping of a fly that landed on their face. What do you lose if something larger is worn?
Several decades ago I had visited Delhi. I visited for 13 days. It was originally planned for 10 days. When Swamiji got off from His flight, Professor Krishna Kumar had brought to the airport, several college students, mostly girls, to receive Him. Desraj Sapra also was there. 13-18 girls wearing shirts and shorts which were skimpy, what you call Minis were there. They offered garlands to Swamiji. Swamiji was burning with embarrassment and disapproval. But He kept quiet.
At Krishna Kumar’s home a pendal (tent) was built for conducting the programs. More girls joined for the evening program. Chow chow language, a mixture of several languages and dialects was spoken. Bhajans program was held. The people sat in front, on chairs. There was no place on the ground. They were also uncomfortable to sit on the ground. Lots of girls and a few boys were there, all college students.
R K played the harmonium. R K is now 90 plus years old. Pampa, who is no more, played the tabla. RK asked Swamiji, are you not fired with disapproval at their attire? No, Swamiji said, I will wear pants tomorrow. No, no, he begged, you please don’t Change. Swamiji said, Okay.
When Swamiji was ready to leave on the return flight, so many students came to the airport to give Him a send off. Swamiji was then a young man with a just sprouting beard. Krishna Kumar apologized for any discomfort Swamiji might have suffered during His stay.
Swamiji, the great actor, enacted a drama. He acted as if He were weeping with sadness that He had to leave Delhi. He said He had developed an attachment towards all the youngsters. How to leave? They all had shown such interest in Swamiji’s Bhajans. If He could, He would certainly stay longer, He said. I wish I could stay. I would spend a few more days if I could, Swamiji said. At once, every one of them insisted that Swamiji should stay longer. Swamiji said, if you dressed better, I would definitely be tempted to stay.
We will definitely wear traditional clothes, they all assured Swamiji and begged Him to cancel His ticket and spend a few more days with them. Swamiji canceled the ticket. The girls promised to wear sarees thereafter for all the programs of Swamiji. More Bhajans were requested to be sung during the weekend.
Why did you not tell us this on the first day? They asked. If Swamiji had mentioned about the dress then, you would have hit Him and and chased Him away. Now you know Swamiji and you like Him. I also feel free to tell you now, He told them. Our mistake, they apologized. The pendal remained. It was not taken down yet. They called back the microphone technicians. At the next session, they all wore sarees. They got accustomed to sitting on the floor.
Now they are all elderly. They come to Swamiji and feel shy to remember that incident. Ratna Verma’s daughter, and daughter in law also were there.
If wearing a Saree is a problem, then wear choodidar. That is okay. Devotees of Kalikamba wear those in north India. Our tradition for teenage girls is to wear Langa davani. As per the country, and the weather you dress. Cover the body. Especially cotton clothes are good for the summer. Also in winter and with cold breeze, it is good to keep the body covered properly. Do not encourage girls to wear skimpy clothes which expose the body. Very small kids, it is okay to wear shorts.
I will continue the story of Hanuman later.
Sri Guru Datta
Speech in the evening
Wonderful music session today. I am very happy. Upcoming musician children played serious music on different instruments. It is not orchestra, not symphony, but different music.
Can you spare me forty minutes of your time?
I will now be releasing a CD called Mayan Sunrise. The music is a little out of the ordinary. It is about an ancient Mayan King from Chinchin Itza, Mexico. The remote place is 600 kilometers by road into the interior of the country. Swamiji went there to visit a Sun Temple along with a party of people in 4-5 cars. There are many Sun Temples there. This is one of the important temples which Swamiji had visited. He felt a certain powerful experience there. He has conveyed His experience through a series of sounds in this remarkable audio CD.
The CD conveys the true story of an ancient Mayan king. According to the ancient Mayan tradition prevailing at that time, for any crime, whether it was small or big, they did human sacrifice without any investigation, deliberation, or judgement. They did not question whether the person was truly guilty or not.
There is a story of the last of the Mayan kings.
It was a real vision that Swamiji experienced there. There was a big forest.
This Emperor ruled over the kingdom. His son was very jealous of everyone. He coveted the throne. He was afraid of losing his claim to the kingdom. The minister was a very a good man. The son was afraid that the kingdom may be given away to the minister. He decided to frame the minister by wrongly accusing him of stealing the Royal Seal, and getting rid of him. So the prince stole the Royal Seal. The Seal was used by the king for making ordinances. That he stole the seal because the minister was greedy for the throne, was the rumor spread by the prince. The king believed the words of the son. He was very fond of the minister. He felt reluctant to get him killed, so he exiled him from the kingdom. The prince accepted that decision unhappily, while wishing to kill the minister during his exile.
The minister was a great worshiper of the Sun God, as we worship Hanuman. The minister was driven out of the kingdom. He was thrown in a desert. The prince ordered the guards to kill the man. But, the guards, who were very fond of the minister, were unwilling to kill him. They left him stranded in a dry desert, with no water, assuming that he would soon die. They told the prince that they did not kill the minister, but that he died on his own.
This is where the story begins.
The first Raga: The minister walks along parched with thirst. The desert people who see him, drive him away, saying that in that area where water was already scarce, they did not want to have yet another individual sharing the resource.
The second Raga: The minister leaves the desert and enters a deep jungle. He found some water there. He resumed his worship of the Sun God. But there he was found and captured by some cannibals (man eaters). He continued to pray to the Sun. The cannibals fed the minister nicely to fatten him up. Somehow, the minister escaped from them by the grace of the Sun.
The third Raga: The minister found a steep hill, which he climbed with difficulty. Once he reached the top, he saw a beautiful city beneath him. He was completely disoriented by then. It had been two months since his exile began.
In the meanwhile, the king began to feel disturbed in his mind that he had unfairly treated a loyal minister. He felt convinced that he would not have stolen the Royal Seal. He began making enquiries and investigations. Those who knew of the prince’s cruel misdeed disclosed the truth to the king, even though they were afraid to reveal the secret. Upon being tortured, the prince confessed his crime. He was sacrificed. The king showed no mercy that he was his son.
The king, who knew of the deep devotion the minister had for the Sun God, himself being a Sun worshiper, believed that somehow the minister would have found some divine protection. He sent his men to look for him. They find the minister climbing down the hill.
The fourth Raga: Suryakanti: The minister is brought back to the kingdom and offered the throne. The first ordinance the king passed was that human sacrifice should be stopped thereafter. That is why I liked that king very much.
Swamiji had seen the places where they conducted those human sacrifices. Where the kings killed the criminals where blood flowed in streams. The large rocks are jet black. When Swamiji visited those places, all the tormented souls gained Liberation. For a long time it was Swamiji’s intention to release those souls. It was done when Swamiji’s feet touched the ground.
Chitti Babu’s son Sundar came to see me and requested a chance to serve Swamiji. Chitti Babu was a legendary veena player, who gave his last concert in the presence of Swamiji. He played the Akhanda Veena. He also played Swamiji’s song. Sundar has become a great Music Director. I assigned this job of doing the music for this CD. I played the synthesizer. Also a video is being prepared of this musical theme.
It is very modern in its rendering and the choice of the instruments. But the ragas are ancient. It is a very rare combination. We have brought some CDs. It is already available on ITunes for download. Sundar was supposed to be present here for this occasion. For some reason, he has not come.
Mayan Sunrise is the name of the CD. Please get these CDs for yourselves and for your friends. The music is superb and extraordinary. It will surprise you that Swamiji has played in this manner. The modern generation will be attracted to this style of playing.
As each of the ragas is played, the entire story unfolds before the mind’s eye. You will see the mental picture first, of the desert, with the first Raga. With the second Raga, the desert will be visualized. With the third Raga, the attack by the cannibals in the jungle and plodding up the steep hill will come before the mental screen. The fourth Raga will paint the picture of reaching the top of the hill, to see the sun rise, and the view of the beautiful city beneath.
The four Ragas depict the four types or stages of the human journey.
The fifth track gives a combination of all the four ragas, where the reunion with the king occurs.
Sri Guru Datta
Compiled by Smt Hira Duvvuri