Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji – Ugadi – evening – March 21, 2015 – Hyderabad
Sri Kuppa Krishnamurty’s speech about why Sri Swamiji is conducting the Hanuman Chalisa Parayana Maha Yajna this year:
Only Indian seers have known all along how to predict the future by studying the planetary positions during the passage of time. Time is Swamiji. The Wheel of Time has been mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita by Lord Krishna. He said the He is the one turning the Wheel of Time. Sadguru is one with Time. He knows how Time functions.
What is the connection between Hanuman and this Manmatha year? Why has Swamiji decided so strongly to promote the worship of Hanuman this year? How to explain this decision? When I asked Him this morning, Swamiji explained it to me thus: Manmatha is the name of this New Year. Each year has 21 rulers. Sani/Saturn is the king this year. He dries up. That is his nature. That is why if you observe outside, you will notice that this year so far there are no blooms on the Neem trees. Normally by Ugadi, they will be filled with flowers. Sani us slow. The minister is Kuja/Mars. He is very fast. Moon is the army commander. There are nine main leaders. 6 good posts are held by good planets. Devotion will increase this year. Rudrabhishekam/worship of Siva will Increase this year, which is good. Manmatha does not mean god who encourages male/female romance as most people mistakenly think.
Manmatha has no physical body. He has no chariot. But he lives, rides and travels. Great Yogis similarly live in their subtle bodies. The ones without gross bodies and operating in the subtle bodies are more powerful. Anangaha is the description of Manmatha which means he has no body or limbs. No charioteer also. Jnana is his form. There are 3 spiritual gurus and Manmatha is one of them. He is the conveyor of the teachings of Mother Goddess. During Sri Vidya worship Manmatha is invoked and worshiped. Manmatha emerged from the powerful third eye of Lord Siva. He is Vishnu ‘s son. Parvathi’s sakti/energy is responsible for Manmatha’s existence. Manmatha therefore has the powers of Lord Vishnu, Lord Siva, and Mother Goddess. Hanuman is also a combination of those same powers. Swamiji gave the Hanuman charitra/story in 2 sections. Siva is Hanuman. Hanuman is Rama bhakta/devotee of Rama. In the story of the killing of the demon Gardabhasura, Siva and Vishnu make each other promises to help one another.
Hanuman’s major achievement in his life is the leaping across the ocean. It is given a detailed spiritual description in the Sundara Kanda in the Ramayana. Hanuman is Lord of Maya Sakti – He transcends the power of illusion. Hanuman has the aspect of Adi Parasakti/Mother Goddess.
Our Rishis have inner vision. Hanuman upasana/worship is the best one for this year. There are many mantras for Lord Hanuman. But in the Kali Yuga people are not very disciplined. They are unable to follow all the required rules and regulations to worship with such powerful mantras. Hanuman Chalisa is one mantra the chanting of which can be done without restrictions and without any adverse effects. Saint Tulasi Das has composed this for the benefit of the people of Kali Yuga. Swamiji gave us this Upadesa. He wants us to fill our hearts with Hanuman. He wants our world to be filled with Hanuman.
I do not want to be miserly and keep Swamiji’s explanation only for myself. I am sharing with all of you the words of Swamiji, everything that he told me this morning during the Maha Darshana he gave to thousands of devotees on this auspicious day of Ugadi.
Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji
Sri Maha Ganapataye Namaha
Sri Saraswatyai Namaha
Sripada Vallabha
Narasimha Saraswati
Sri Guru Dattatreyaya Namaha
Till now we have heard the Panchanga Sravanam/prediction from the almanac for this new year. We have also heard the speech of Kuppa Krishnamurthy explaining about Manmatha. Throughout this morning’s activity, there was a constant churning in my mind about what is happening now and what will happen this year. Like sheets of newspaper turning. Like layers. The thought process was going on. All are surprised at this decision of Swamiji of 133 crores of Hanuman Chalisa chanting within a short period of time. But because of your faith in Swamiji, you all obey the instruction. You all follow your Guru. We offer prayers to avoid future troubles.
Lord Hanumans is easy to please. Hanuman is everywhere. He is everywhere as air. During the Rama avatar/incarnation, he took a form. Otherwise he has no form. He is light. Saint Thyagaraja praised Lord Hanuman as light. Rama He praised as a great divine king. He described all his beauty, all his glories, and how lovingly he lived with Sita. Thyagaraja cried because he wanted to see Hanuman. Finally Hanuman tested his devotion and gave enlightenment. Hanuman, as one of the tests, stole Thyagaraja’s worship idols. During his last days Saint Thyagaraja sang about the Paramatma, the Supreme Soul and described Him as Light. “Paramatmudu velige mutchata”. Thyagaraja developed the discrimination to distinguish between the real and the unreal, by the grace of Lord Hanuman. In every song Saint Thyagaraja sculpted Rama’s figure in all its vivid beauty. Finally Rama gave Upadesam to Thyagaraja and gave him liberation. He showed him the Supreme Light as Lord Hanuman.
Great experiences we are blessed with in our lives because of the compositions of Sri Thyagaraja swami. He began with the concept of duality/Dvaita by worshiping the Lord as separate from himself. Then slowly he developed knowledge and reached the level of Advaita/non-duality or oneness with God.
To understand and experience Vedanta, there are no shortcuts, no double promotions. It has to come step by step, very gradually. No IAS officer passes his exams all at once without any preliminary training and foundation. The government rules do not accept such a candidate. A strong foundation is very important. Even a highly educated parent has to relearn the childhood lessons to help his children with their homework and their exams. If you skip classes and subjects, later you will not understand the basics. Children’s class subjects also you should know. Who are you? Who am I? These questions should be posed, pondered over and understood. Difference leads to non difference. Rushing to heights by skipping certain in between stages will cause a certain downfall. One may know how to walk on water. But if one lacks the knowledge of how to enter water by holding the breath and staying underwater, one will sink. One must learn all the basics first before going to advanced levels.
We feel Hanuman’s presence in the air around us and in the space. We fly with him. But we do not see him or realize his all-pervasive nature. Sadhana enables us to experience Hanuman. Hanuman is Siva.
No form means Manmatha. Manmatha had a form when he was with Vishnu. Then Lord Siva burned him with the fire from his third eye. The very first guru to teach Sri Vidya, knowledge about Mother Goddess is Hanuman. In all the 3 worlds Hanuman saw Ravana and helped to destroy him. On earth, in Patala and in the sky. Sita saw Hanuman’s Universal form when he showed it to her in Lanka, and again while attacking Satakantha Ravana. Rama and Lakshmana swooned on the battlefield in Lanka and also while fighting against Satakantha Ravana in the sky. Maya/Illusion overpowered Rama and Lakshmana. Sita and Hanuman showed each other their respective Universal forms. All those who desire enduring goodness, eternal bliss, and liberation receive these from Lord Hanuman. He grants them.
Do not miss your chance by praying to him with cheap desires. You are humans. Do your prayers with devotion and not with any crazy and unreasonable austerities. If you engage in crazy fasting and ill-advised restrictions, your prayers will not bear fruit. You must follow rules and follow your responsibilities. While you do your required duties do the Hanuman Chalisa Parayana. Do at each and every stage of life, what you are required to do. Hanuman is guru to all. Valmiki and Tulasi Das are his incarnations. Only God can describe Himself. Others cannot describe God. Man-Matha means Man must go to Matha/ashram or a spiritual retreat. It means one must seek and go to Guru. Towards spirituality. With mantra you churn your mind. Simply letting the mind think on its own is harmful. It will remember all past events and will spoil your mood and concentration. You have to be extremely careful with mind and time. They are both very precious. Keep the mind busy with the chanting of God’s name. With mantra. Break your bonds. Keep reminding yourself: I now live. I am happy. This is my present duty.
68 countries submit their Hanuman Chalisa daily count to Swamiji. Pakistan, Iraq, and other Arab countries and Christian countries give their counts daily. A church gave land for building the Hanuman temple.
An MP3 CD is now available with 40 repetitions of Hanuman Chalisa in Swamiji’s voice. Begin playing it first thing in the morning. Chant along whenever you can. While you do your routine works, keep listening to the recording. Complete this Vrata for Swamiji. No cinemas from now on. In the time you watch one movie, you can finish 40 or more repetitions of Hanuman Chalisa. Pray that everyone should be healthy, strong, and courageous. Do not brood over misfortunes. God gave wealth and He takes away. Do not take ownership of your possessions or money. It is not your earning. It is only a gift from God.
Jan 31 to today it is 51 days. 27 crores and 30 Lakhs of Hanuman Chalisa chanting has been completed. What is your contribution in this? Change your routine now. I don’t ask for your money. I ask that you chant the Hanuman Chalisa as many times as possible every day. It is also available in Telugu. The children sang it earlier. This year is mixed with good and bad, as always. Good harvests. Less rain. Sani is King. He is a good planet. He starts bad. Then softens. Then he will be good in the end. It is like a snake’s mouth. By the time you reach the tail, it becomes good. His negative aspect subsides. No cause for worry. New Ugadi song will be played now, the recording. After that chant the Hanuman Chalisa 3 times. There are about 5000 devotees here. It will add nicely to our count.
My parrots chant the Hanuman mantra Om Namo Hanumate Namaha. I am very proud of them. I do not sing the Ugadi song now. I wish to hear the Ugadi song and see the video on the screen.
Sri Guru Datta