Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji – First day of Datta Jayanthi – December 11, 2016 – UPH, Mysore
Compiled by: Bala Aati
Those who are here today are all lucky. You could listen to the Mala Mantram of Dattatreya during the puja today. This is the mantra I always recite in my mind.
Dattatreya gave this mala mantra to Vishnu datta. Eknath, Namanath, Ranganath are three different paths followed by Datta devotees in Maharashtra. Nareshwara Maharaj taught this mantra to his devotees. Rangavadhoota and Gangavadhoota were great professors, one in Science and other in Literature from Bombay university and the famous Allahabad University. They chanted this mantra and turned lakhs of people into Datta devotees and gave salvation to them. Like how Tembe Maharaj propogated Datta stava, these two professors propagated this datta mala mantra. Even today, in Maharashtra, there are many people who are following Datta’s path. They are all rich yet follow their traditions. They lead their life very systematically. There are millions of such devotees. I’m warning you. You all also should become such devotee. Time is running out in everyone’s life. Make use of it wisely. Don’t waste your time.
They are requesting me to record this maha mantra of devadeva guru, adi guru Dattatreya. With Datta’s grace, will try for it. You all heard Kavacham but not Mala Mantram. Every Upanishad is hidden in this mantra. This is not to be recited by everyone, not at everytime. Only those who were permitted by Guru and are initiated by Guru alone can do this. Is it harmful by doing so ? Not harmful but it is waste of your time and energy. By any chance, if Guru says you can do it, it is as good as initiation. We all must gain that eligibility. It is said that Rama mantra is a great mantra. Datta Mantra is greater than Rama mantra and is moksha mantra. It is deva mantra. We keep pictures of all deities at home and expect some good to happen from each one of them. When we fall sick, we run to a doctor and follow whatever they say. We take the given medicine and follow the diet told. We expect result instantly.
Nothing in this world can happen instantly. Even when your heart beats lub dub, it needs few seconds. Blood circulation is possible only then. Expecting instant results is foolishness. Anything in this world needs some time. To cook rice, you need some time. To go from here to there, you need some time. For food intake, you need some time. For food to digest, you need some time. To bat your eyelids also, you need some time. Those who expect things to happen instantly are the greatest fools in the world. They are sinners too. It needs some time for a fruit to rippen. Similarly when you chant some mantra for fulfilling your desires, the right time has to come.
For Prahlada it took a lot of time. Bearing all the difficulties, he got used to difficulties. He reached such a stage that if his father hasn’t punished him for a single day, he couldn’t live without it. He reached such a stage that he got used to his father’s punishments. But, people around him and his mother could not tolerate that. However, Prahlada got used to those difficulties. Finally he realised that Lord Narayana would not appear till all his karmas are completed. So, whatever you need to face before that time, you mush face it happily. You must not be disgusted and must face them with smile. He felt that he needs more difficulties in order to think of Lord Narayana. He waited for more and more troubles so he can focus more on the lord. Can we, people in Kaliyuga ever think so ? Prahlada said so. He waited for the grace of the lord.
Earlier, I told you one story of Druva. When Druva went to have the darshan of Narayana, one devotee doing penance under a tree asked him to enquire with Narayana as to when he can get salvation. Druva checked with Narayana about this old devotee’s enquiry. He was past 100 years already by then. Narayana replied that the old man would get salvation after every leaf of the tree where he was sitting undergoes 100 falls and 100 springs. Druva hesitated to convey this message to the old man but did so. The old man jumped out of joy for the assurance that he got from Narayana that atleast after so many years, he can attain salvation. He said, no problem even if it is after 1000 years, I’m assured of salvation – he felt. There are many who do not get liberated even after many eons also. We only speak about it. In order to attain salvation, it is not enough how many ever births we take and how much ever trouble we face. Moksha Siddhi or salvation happens only after Mantra Siddhi.
One must strive for the attainment of mantra initiated by Guru. Mere chanting of the mantra for one hundred thousand times of each letter in the mantra is not Siddhi. You take bath in all the rivers, complete everything that Swamiji asked you to do and wait for a phone call about salvation. Will this give liberation ? No. Chanting of Mantra should not be done with expectations. Even if salvation comes or not, just do it because your Sadguru initiated you into it. Doing what ever your Guru says itself is salvation.
Why not ? How can I say I didn’t get it ? He gave me the mind to do that work. I’m doing it despite my situations. Even in my dreams, I’m thinking about it. I’m doing it without any fickleness. Do you know how many troubles I have that are attached to my body ? All those are my self invited troubles. Some have come knowingly and some unknowingly. Inspite of all this, I’m able to chant the mantra given by my Guru. That is going on in my mouth, on my tongue, in my mind. Aha ! What a compassion ! This itself is salvation – should be your approach.
Look at Narayana Tantra. This is what was told in it. This is the great secret about liberation. Despite all the hinderences, you are still able to chant your mantra. This itself is liberation. Why do you need the time frame for liberation ? Forget it and just do it. In this process it is ok even if you die.
Today, I told you about the speciality of mantra. I told you about the merit of mantra. You must always do the penance but should not look for its merit. Since we are in Kaliyuga, occasionally if we talk about the results of it, we are hopeful of attaining it. You see an object in the mirror but feel that you cannot have it and do not even attempt to go near it. Even if you know that you cannot have it, you must make an attempt to try for it. But after going to the mirror, since you did not get that object, you must not break the mirror. That mirror has shown you a way. So you must not break it. Your Sadguru showed you a path. Do you abuse Him for that ? What will you gain out of it ? Moreover, you become side tracked and get into additional troubles. If you break the mirror, you stamp the same mirror glass pieces and get hurt.
Look at this punishment. You get into an additonal sin of abusing Guru. You try to escape from it but cannot. The broken glass pieces have spread all over. Similarly, the sin of abusing Guru has spread for many births. It has spread not just for you in multiple births but also for your father, mother, wife, children, friends and to all your relations. There is so much of force in those pieces.
So, under any circumstance, do not even feel that the mantra give by your Guru is not yeilding you any result. Do not say I’m not able to do it, I’m not able to concentrate on it, I’m not doing the chant count as instructed etc. Why is this mantra given to me ? Other Guru gave some other mantra. Let me leave this and take that other mantra. I’m not gaining anything out of it – this is what you feel.
Guru’s sankalpa is different. Guru will never disclose the results gained out of the mantra. It is prescribed in the sankalpa itself. Gaining a Guru Mantra itself is the greatest merit. For all those who dedicate themselves for that mantra, Guru Himself stands as a witness to absorb them into Him.
There are few sankalpas and mantras in which some words in between are recited silently. You may think, why they became silent suddenly amidst a great chant. It is because you must not hear those words. That is the secret. So, will you all now observe that silence and ask what was that mantra ? Don’t do that. Because, that is a link between something and is a karma mantra. That should not be told.
Guru would be initiating you into a mantra. Say some four letters were not told. He would not tell them to you but He will chant them inside and then will continue with the rest of the mantra. You may feel that Guru forgot the mantra or why is He not telling me those four letters. If you feel so, in either cases, you are not at all a disciple. It is like you are in the game but not counted. A naughty child is taken into the game but the leader of the game does not count him. The child keeps playing not knowing this. The leader too does not tell him. Sometimes, after 2-3 games, the child may become corrective also. So, the leader gives him a chance. Else, the child is very naughty. He might throw away the bat, hide the ball or hinder the game. Added to this, mother tells to take care of him. He is extremely naughty. Can’t leave him at home nor bring him for the game. Can’t sit next to him all the time because you need to play. He won’t allow you to play. Hence, you pleade the leader to consider him also in the game. Then the leader says, ok, let him play but we dont count on him.
Similarly many devotees who come here are just in the game. You are not in my count. May be just one or two are there in my count. But Guru gave the mantra to everyone ? Yes. Like how the ball is given to everyone in the game. Then how ? Who are we ? You are all like that naughty child. No. We are not. Yes. You are not naughty. But your fickleness is your naughtiness. Your ego, your pride, your delusion in your mind are running like trains.
Externally you act. Swamiji also does the same with such people. Because, he is there in the game but not in the count. Then, who is there in the count ? Only Guru knows. You may think, I’m there, I’m there. That is also ego. Whoever leaves this ego, pride, fickleness, they are true devotees. Even if they have Swamiji’s darshan or not, initiation from Him or not, seen them or not, they don’t bother. There are few such people. They dont bother even if Swamiji speaks to them or not, smiles at them or not. They just do their duty. My incarnation is for them.
There are two games here. One with the false devotee and false Guru and the other between true devotee and real Guru. Dattatreya has three faces. Vishnu face, Brahma face and Siva face. Siva’s face is weird face. He creates weird feelings in you and punishes you for that. Vishnu face makes things favourable for you and gives you troubles. Brahma face gives you knowledge and makes you fickle. Here you should win. You must not become fickle. They are not sharing their tasks. As Siva, He is destroying, as Brahma He is creating and He is ruling as Vishnu. He is protecting you as well as troubling you. He gives you sorrows. No choice. You have to face it as a human being. Be associtated with Guru or leave Him. No problem. Where ever you are, this only will happen to you whether you come to me or not. This happens even if you are not a disciple of a Guru. This is your fate. Even if you are an athiest, this is what is your fate. Even if you are a believer, this is your fate. Even if you are a scholar, this is your fate. This is the fate of an ignorant too. This is creation. You must win over this with your intellect.
Sometimes, you may not understand this. You are directionless like in a forest. My words are always like this. Like you are left out in a dense forest, in the middle of a dreadful ocean. There is no compass. You do not know to swim. You are surrounded by sharks. You do not even know the directions. No life saving boat. There is darkness around. Water is freezing. You will die out of cold. You are in great fear. You are frightened of the Sharks that surrounded you. They dont eat you though. You even wish that sharks should eat you. You cannot take that fear. You cannot live. You cannot die. This is when you must use the mantra given by your Guru.
This fear is seen in your life too. Who protects you then ? The mantra given by Guru comes as a saviour at that point of time. You think it solves your problem ? No. It only gives you immense strength to face them. That’s enough. What more do you need ? You can see in the darkness. You can fight against sharks. You can face freezing cold. What more benefit can a mantra give you than saving you at such time ? During such time, use your mantra as a weapon on your troubles. But, then you must not be fickle.
This Dattatreya Mala Mantram that you heard today is such a powerful mantra that saves your from that darkness. Being a datta devotee is a great fortune. You may ask, why is that Swamiji not propagating severely and not turning the entire world into Datta devotees ? I will not do it. It should not be done so. Everyone must face their fate. If I do that, all your karmas will surround me. You face yours. If prahlada was protected initially, all his karma would have surrounded Lord Vishnu. So, he was left for his fate. After eveything is faced, when the karma ends, you get the eligibility for entrance. It is an entry pass to merge in the Lord. So, if you face trouble, think that your sin is washed out. The sin committed long ago is now in the form of your trouble. To wash away that sin, you have face this trouble now.
I experiment this on myself too. If I have some pain, I feel the same. If one finger pains, I feel, its ok, the other finger is fine. I’m stubborn in this. I say to myself, I have 10 fingers. Its ok if one is painful. You too must become stubborn like this. I have a devotee in Malaysia who is so stubborn like this. I wouldn’t tell his name. He is a great devotee we see in this Kaliyuga. Who is that you find out on your own. One must become like that. We can not help him. Yet he is a great devotee. Why can’t Swamiji give me such devotion ? He has given. You do not know your capability. I’m not praising you. You do not know your capability. There is some energy in you which brought all of you to me. There are millions of people in this world. They could not come to me today. Smaller denomination currency is not available these days. Trains are not available. There is cyclone today. In such situation too, how did you come ? You came from the same place where there is cyclone. Didn’t you come ? Even when there is no currency, you came. Even when there is no train reservation, you came. How did you come ? Swamiji filtered few people and brought them here. Do you know how tasty a filtered coffee would be ? You all are that filtered coffee and tea.
You are very lucky that you heard the Mala Mantra of Dattatreya today. Mere listening is enough. How to chant it, how many times to chant it, when to chant it is immaterial to you. I’m happy you heard it. Thats enough for me. Listening to this mantra is this year’s first day of Datta Jayanthi blessing for you.