Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji – Datta Kriya Yoga class in the evening – March 3, 2016 – Mysore
Compiled by Smt Hira Duvvuri
Swamiji is only giving advice, a little bit. This is not a discourse, it is not Upadesha (spiritual instruction). Yesterday I told you that Yoga is a big ocean. It is not a small subject. Yoga is very necessary in this life. It is very important for us. Most of us do Yoga unknowingly, Hatha Yoga. While doing any work, Kriya Yoga also is done. Combining concentration to the work we do, is Kriya Yoga. Without concentration, we cannot accomplish anything. Till a job is completed, we must not leave it. We should not leave a work half done, and begin something else. If you have chosen a certain work or project, big or small, finish it first before you jump to another work.
Normally people jump from project to project without completing any, and the result is minus. Afterwards it will cause disappointment and depression. When we do any job, we begin very enthusiastically, and we invest a lot into it. We expect results too soon, and not seeing them, we at once switch to a different project, something that is again new to us. Before we gain experience with the first job, we change to something different. What happens then? We benefit from neither the old project nor the new. We thus engage in different things at the same time. One begins to write a good book. Suddenly he will abandon the work and will begin doing something else. We approach our work with a business mentality. We must not be concerned about profit. We should be determined to first finish what we began. Complete concentration should be placed on the work at hand. We begin the study of Bhagavatam. Then someone tells us that the Ramayana is better. We discontinue our study and switch to Ramayana. We follow one Guru. Then someone tells us that another Guru is more powerful. We reject our guru to go and follow another guru. We do this in everything. Would you do this when you cook food? Would you cook something half way and then leave it to begin preparing another dish and leave that also half done? You will remain hungry, mealtime will be way past and both the food items will go waste. You will end up compromising by eating something undesirable like a pickle or something, instead of a proper, well balanced meal.
Whatever you begin, complete it. As a standby, you may have something whether or not it is tasty and appetizing. You are then forced to accept it. You must have the determination to eat only what you have planned to prepare. Whatever work you do with concentration is equal to yoga practice, even going to sleep. So many cannot sleep because there is no concentration on sleep. At bedtime, they entertain so many other unnecessary thoughts. Or, the concentration is on the physical bodily pain.
He, who has no concentration, can achieve nothing. Such an attitude of lack of focus gradually becomes a disease in itself. Whether it is in business or in small things, everywhere one fails. Only hurdles are faced. This happens because we do not look for the faults which lie within ourselves. We should recognize our own faults and try to correct them. Sometimes we feel that we are doing everything right. Yet, we fail and get discouraged. We do not see what it is that we are doing wrong. People thus get so distressed that in the end they feel that their life is an utter waste. They lose self-esteem. They feel that they have failed in everything, in properly raising children, in giving them a good education, in securing assets, in clearing loans, and in completing tasks. They feel that they have lost respect in society. They lose respect for themselves. Until that stage is reached, one remains happy. But once that blow strikes, one is forced to search for a way out. One fails at that stage, even in doing meditation, or in helping one’s children. Physically, mentally, professionally, socially, and in family relationships, one feels inadequate and worthless. One fails to concentrate and fails in business also.
Every student of Yoga must first ensure that the feeling that I am useless must be avoided at any cost. Despair must be shunned. Once God gave me birth as a human being, God will certainly give me the strength to fulfill the purpose of my human life, of helping mankind, is the conviction one must develop. I will never be a burden to society, family, or this earth. Such a stubborn positive attitude must be acquired. I am special. My body, mind, and intellect are all highly worthy. They all belong to God. When God has given birth to a daughter or son like me, I will mend my ways and prove my worth. If I should ever feel about myself that I am unworthy, it is an insult I offer to God, is how one should feel. That is the first step in Yoga. I will correct myself so that I become useful, if not to many, at least to one. I will strive towards that end. I will achieve happiness. I have to obtain that state, is the goal that every Kriya Yoga student must set for himself or herself.
I am a worthy individual. My mind is noble. No sins will touch me. No disease can touch me. It can only affect my body. This body is not mine. It is not I. Any pain that is suffered is yours, it is not mine. That should be one’s stubborn attitude. Society may consider you to be an obstinate soul. Let them think so. It does not matter what they think, or what the family members think. That you think of yourself as a worthy soul and a happy individual is what really counts. My mind and my intellect have nothing to do with my soul. This conviction must be developed by the students of Kriya Yoga. I am most contented. There is no one who is happier or more contented than I.
But you do not need to declare the above to others. If you do so repeatedly to others, it will indicate that you are expressing fear. This the students of Kriya Yoga must learn.
Earlier Swamiji mentioned that Dattatreya remained under water for a thousand years. Considered a certain way, He and Water are one, He and Fire are one. But He assumed a human form. During the state of Dhyana, absorbed in complete concentration, He forgets His body and remains under water. He is teaching us to forget the body and identify ourselves with the entire Creation. He is teaching us that we are all-pervasive. All that exists is mine. You and I are one, O God. All that is yours is mine. I am in your womb. All the elements are in me, and I am in them. Other than I, there is nothing else. I am blissful. This feeling must be maintained every second. This is Datta’s teaching. I am full and complete. I am everywhere and I am full and whole. I have no sorrow. All the dispassion, all the sorrow, and all the happiness of all that exists, is mine. Good and evil, joy and sorrow are all mine. They and I are the same. I have nothing. I am everything. Happiness and I are not different. Pain and I are not different. They are not different from me, that I can have or experience them. Honor and dishonor are both I. They are not mine. I have nothing. This feeling is taught by Datta. This is the lesson learned by Datta through concentration.
What is it that Kriya Yoga students must do? What should they follow? You are already following. But sometimes boldly you ask what it is that you have to do. Who are you, to do any duty? He is getting things done by you. Who are you, to do anything or to ask anything? It is best not to ask anything. Let whatever happens, accept it. God is witness to all. He is in me, witnessing all, is what you should realize with firm determination.
The key keeps turning. The mechanic may simply touch it when it stops occasionally. This machine runs by itself. He does not run it. The entire Creation runs itself. No one runs it. He got it started. He brought it into existence.
That is all. It keeps going. It requires no overhaul or maintenance service. Similarly, we too keep going. It never ends. When it started, or how, we do not know. We know that there is no ending to this. All Karmas are done by us. No one but us, is responsible. We are God. We are the witness. We are the ones doing actions and experiencing the consequences of those actions. We are the witness. We cannot blame anyone for anything. There is no scope for it whatsoever. We are Self-born. No one turned the key. It just turned. How? It just did. What has started to move, may one day stop moving. One day, this entire Creation may end and vanish when the final deluge (pralaya) comes. We don’t know. It may just be dissolved into Him, including us. At death, we merge back into Him. Both the sinner and the saint merge into Him. Good and evil, both get dissolved. Every entity gets merged. It is we, who get merged, who experience everything, and who get dissolved. What do we merge into? Into ourselves. Not into the Supreme Soul. That is only a name given by us. We merge back into ourselves. We have to firmly grasp this Vedanta. This is Upanishad. Every Kriya Yoga student must feel that every step taken is a step taken by the Supreme Soul, and not by the individual. Every second belongs to Him. Such a mindset you must develop. You must practice this. That is concentration. That is penance. That is what Dattatreya has shown to us. Such penance He still keeps doing. His body has not surfaced from the waters. He is still immersed there. He continues His penance. Since when has He been doing this? Not since His birth. We do not know when He was born. How long will this continue? It will continue eternally. This is what Dhyana is. For Dhyana there is no time limit, or end of one course to proceed to the next course. After one station, no other station comes. Do not expect that. There is only one destination. This train does not stop. We do not know which our station is. The journey continues. The wheel keeps turning. Again tomorrow we will continue this turning of the wheel. There is no ending to Swamiji’s discourse. There is no ending to our listening. There is no stop. We keep going. Till tomorrow, we keep going.
Jaya Guru Datta.