Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji – morning – August 23, 2015 – KSHT Frisco, TX USA
Jai Veera Hanuman ki Jai
Sri Ramachandra Prabhu ki Jai
Sitaramachandra Prabhu Ki Jai
Harihi Om Tatsat
All those who listened to the second part of Hanumad Vilasam last night, raise your hands. Okay. I am very happy.
You must remember that this entire story occurred because of birds. That you must note. I will ask you questions later where birds are mentioned, in Hanumad Vilasam, in Sundara Kanda, in the Ramayana. Wherever you go, birds are mentioned. In the Siva Purana, there is a connection with birds. The entire Bhagavatam was narrated by Suka Brahma, a bird. There are colorful birds. All the Puranas have their basis on birds.
We learned language and speech from certain birds. Most birds communicate only with sounds. Usually after a bird hatches three baby birds, it gives them separate names after the first 5-6 days. Only if called by its name, it will come to receive its food. In South Africa and New Zealand, millions of birds gather in one place. They all have their nests there. They go out to fetch food. They return only to their individual nests. They all recognize their own babies. If a baby bird is starving, another bird’s parent will feed it and shelter it under its wing. We only notice the birds fighting. That is our karma. We see nothing else. Humans lack that kind of compassion. We feel that helping others will accumulate karma for us, we believe that giving for charity will bring us sin and bad luck. People say: I gave a donation of ten dollars the other day, and since that day I have become a pauper. You blame the person who received the money from you. You say that since the day you fed some hungry people, you are having shortage of funds. You regret having done that noble act. Someone gave us a picture of Ganapati and since that day we are suffering from misfortune, some foolish persons declare. Someone gave us a picture of Kalikamba, and since then in our dreams we are seeing blood, some other idiots say. People make such comparisons and associations and deviate from dharmic behavior.
Your management is at fault, if you are suffering a shortage of funds. It is not the fault of the one who received the charity. If you had not fed another, you still would have suffered misfortune. At least you fed one person. That earned you some merit. Your style of calculation is totally wrong. You only calculate your losses. You do not add up your gains. It is only when you suffer, that you profit. It is only if there is darkness, you appreciate the value of light. You have to experience the darkness of suffering. Only with experience you learn. During your bad times if you helped at least one person that is to your credit. You must not say that because you gave money to someone, you are now a loser. If you had no money to give in the first place, could you have even been in a position to help another person? Because you had, you gave. Now you do not have. But you will get money again. It will take time. You must not blame your own good deed, or Guru for your problems.
You should not fear problems. You should welcome your problems. Say, come on. Then the problem will run away, frightened. It will be afraid of coming to you. You experiment and experience it. Look forward to getting problems.
If in a jungle, a tiger catches you, it will certainly eat you up. But before it catches you, if you make a loud noise and act fierce, it will certainly take a step backwards. At least act like a tiger yourself and act offensive towards it. As a last resort, you try it. It will definitely be surprised and confused, thinking you are another strange animal.
If you fall in a river, you grasp at a blade of grass for support. It will not help you.
Hey, like a bird, you are clutching an electric wire (speaking to a child sitting in the front row). Whatever object you find, you want to destroy it, by pulling it and twisting, and tearing it. That is the mentality of these children. The carpet also will feel pain if you keep pulling out the strands and ripping it. You understand? The owner of the carpet will feel the pain, even if the carpet does not feel the pain. Since I am the owner, I feel the pain.
In a cinema theater, you are engrossed in watching a fighting scene, and you break the chair next to you, or pull out the stuffing from the cushions. It is not Dharma.
Following Dharma is very simple. Developing good habits is Dharma. Strict discipline with yourself is Dharma. A helping nature is Dharma. Giving respect to parents and teachers is Dharma. Being attentive when you drive, is Dharma.
Hindu Dharma is based on that principle. Gurur Brahma Gurur Vishnuhu …Matru devobhava. Mother is God. Father is God for you. The one who gives you knowledge to live in the world is God. The one who gives you spiritual knowledge is God. The guest who comes to your home is God. At least offer a seat to the guest and some water or beverage to drink. You should satisfy him and then bid farewell, if you were about to go out somewhere. To a known person, you must show courtesy. Do not turn him away at the door. It is a matter of respect. These are persons who are known to you and have helped you. If it is a stranger, and you have other plans, you may tell him so. You will get into problems if you encourage strangers to come into your home and make themselves comfortable. That is not Dharma. If he is a destitute, give him some help at the door, and send him away.
I have told you a lot about birds. We have orphaned and injured birds at Shuka Vana, a total of 1200 of them. Some are aged. We cannot kill them. We have to support them as long as they live. We have bird toys here to raise funds to support Shuka Vana. Please come and collect them from Swamiji’s hands after paying twenty dollars for each. It is an insult to me that they have not been purchased for this long from the book stall.
Sri Guru Datta
Compiled by Smt Hira Duvvuri