Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji – morning – May 23, 2017 – Mysore
Notes from: Archana Penukonda
Harihi Om Tatsat
Sri Maha Ganapataye Namaha
Sri Sarasvatyai Namaha
Sri Padavallabha Narasimha Sarasvati
Sri Guru Dattatreyaya Namaha
We already completed 2 days. See how quickly time flies. We don’t even realize. It’s like pouring water into a raw, unbaked pot. What happens then? The new pot absorbs the water and then melts away. That is how our life is. We are wasting time. Time is flying. Time does not wait for our child’s wedding or for the construction of our house. Time waits for none. Time goes at its own pace, whether you are happy, sad, alive or dead. Man’s journey in life and time keep going ahead. They don’t come back.
Just as the sun rises and sets every day, people take birth and die. The sun sets but is born somewhere else just as we die to be born again. Even though it is the earth that is rotating, we feel like the sun is setting. This is Maya/illusion. This is the chariot the Lord above is driving. As we sit in the train and look outside, we feel like the trees and fields outside are moving. It’s actually the train that is moving. We feel like time is running, but it is our life that is running. This is the principle of life. It goes on. Time goes on.
When we turn on the fan, we think the breeze is coming from the fan. No. The fan is only circulating the air that already exists. When we sweat, we want a fan. Why? The breeze from the fan dries up your sweat, nothing more. It cools your sweat, but does not stop you from sweating. We have already come to the second day of Chaitanya Archana.
It is said that Venkata Ramana Swamy goes to the devotee who makes earthen flowers and offers to the Lord. He does not go to those who bring him golden flowers. Does that mean we do not need to offer golden flowers? It does not mean that. But the devotee making earthen flowers gets liberation first since his effort is filled with devotion.
Today, we have awardees from Andhra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, etc. It is a very significant day today. What is “Vidwan”? There are two types of awards. One is “Vidwan” and the other is “Nidhi”. When we say “Asthana Vidwan”, Vidwan means scholar. The first step is Asthana Vidwan. The second step is “Nidhi”. Nidhi in Sanskrit means wealth/treasure. Nada Nidhi means a treasure of Nada/divine sound. Asthana Vidwan is one who is accomplished. It is the first step to enter in to the Ganapathy Sachchidananda Ashram as a scholar and it is given in recognition of the person’s achievements. It is only after the awardee achieves much more than that that he will be given the Nada Nidhi award. In the book Datta Darsanam, Pingala Naga and Lord Dattatreya have a conversation. Lord Dattatreya says that whoever does great sadhana (dedicated practice) in his field and achieves great heights in his field will get recognition and will attain liberation. Despite being a part of this world and despite being in this samsara, such a person who accomplishes mastery in his field will definitely get liberation. These (the awardees) are all flowers which are offered at the feet of the Lord.
A person need not achieve expertise in every field, it is enough to achieve expertise in his own field. Some people read the Ramayana for a few days and then switch to Mahabharata and then to Devi Bhagavata and so on. This is not good. They become jack of all trades and master of none. Finish the task you are working on before you start the next. Then, you will gain some amount of understanding, otherwise, you gain nothing.
Look at the people sitting with me. They are all flowers of a garland. Their fields do not even match. They do not even compare to each other. But today, I am stringing these flowers into a garland and surrendering it to Lord Datta’s feet. I request that all of the awardees not be satisfied taking this honor and award and photos. They must strive for further accomplishments.
I am very happy. You are all fortunate to witness this. All these people on the stage are very accomplished in their own fields. May Lord Datta bless everyone. May everyone who has witnessed this, be blessed top. They are Raga Tapasvis (Tapas = austerity. Tapasvi is one who observes the austerity), Veda Tapasvis, Nada Tapasvis etc. Like Saint Tyagaraja said, “Endaro Mahanubhavulu…”. There are innumerable great souls. Swamiji has performed Chaitanya Archana to some great souls.
Sri Guru Datta
Part 2
For 40 years now, Sarasvati Mata in the form of poetry has been rising from within his (Sri Kuppa Venkata Krishna Murthy’s) heart. These books have been there for a while, but have come to limelight only now. It is very nice. The poetry can be easily understood. I have seen people (devotees) pick up books with a beautiful cover, but immediately put it back once they open the book and see poetry. If we read this poetry properly, we will want to read more. The more we read, the better we understand it. We will begin to like reading poetry. So first, just open to any page in this book and read the poetry on the page. Surely, your questions will be answered (through those poems). That is when you know that, that book is for you. It will be great to have such a book at home.
We cannot get some of the older publications any more these days. When we have great books that get published in our time, why can we not collect them? I still like collecting books. Go upstairs and see Swamiji’s collection. You may wonder when Swamiji can read and why He needs those books. But, I have a habit of collecting books. I have a desire that my children learn this habit too.
Second, if we buy a book, the author and the library benefit. When we buy a book, we make the author happy. We also help the shop and the publisher. Both these are good deeds. Later, if the children at home read the book, that is even better. You can also use it for your own reference. Mr. Deve Gowda (former Prime Minister of India) was saying that it was difficult for him to read. He was saying he could not see clearly, but he likes to collect books and read as much as possible. Because he cannot read the full book on Lord Datta, he reads a few shlokas/verses. He had to leave quickly, or I could have showed him more of Datta Charitra (Datta’s life history). He wanted the life history. These books were running out. We had an old copy that I signed and gave him. What you all must do is – promise me – go to the book shop. e are not printing anything new. There are many CDs of Swamiji. Take two CDs for your collection. How nice will that be!?
If you search for an old CD or an old book, it is unlikely that you find it. The old version of the life history book is not available any more. The books on Lalita Sahasra Nama and Tripura Rahasya that Swamiji wrote are not available anymore. We do not even print them anymore. We had to have people search for a copy in their house to get it printed again. Now, we have computers and we can fix that problem. Make it a habit to read books. Even if you like to read from computers or mobile devices, reading from books is better. Your eye problems may get fixed. People think otherwise (that their eye problems get aggravated). But if you read at the right time, your eye problems may go away. My father had cataract that went away. I asked my father what he did. He did not even get surgery. He said he began reading books. Does anyone read books when they have cataract? He said he got rid of the cataract because he read books. But you should not do that. You must read books before you get cataract. If you get cataract, get it removed and then read. Read one page or one Bhagavad Gita shloka per day. Read one page of life history every day. Then, you will develop that good habit of reading. Instead of reading senseless magazines that are of no use, we should read such good books. The good stuff will enter our head. The other books will just stay outside our head. Read one Bhagavad Gita shloka each day. There are so many books and magazines. The daily newspaper in the US is huge. We wonder who reads so much? There are 20-40 pages in the paper. You can only read some headlines. You cannot read the entire newspaper. Each person reads the articles that are of interest to him/her. People either read politics or sports or movies or business news depending on their interest. The first time I saw the fat US newspaper, I was surprised. I asked it was the weekly publication. I was told it was a daily publication.
But if you look at the Ashrama books and read them, it is a good exercise. Many say they are losing memory power. From the day you begin reading, your memory will improve. Memory does not come on its own. It will come from reading more. Therefore, books are important for us. That is why, two nights ago, I went to the book store (and signed copies that devotees were buying). May the bookstore be blessed. They printed a lot of books. We should help buy them so they can print new copies. Encouraging the things that Swamiji has established is real service. Go to the Bonsai garden for Rs. 20, that is real service. Go to the museum – the Rs. 20 fee does not even matter. You cannot even get a coffee for Rs. 20. Each day you go to the museum, you see something new. Coffee was so expensive when I went to Singapore. They will pay a lot of money to eat Dosa, Bajji etc. That stuff is fried in stale oil. Instead of pouring money into it, eat something fresh. That is why Swamiji has a canteen that serves fresh food. Swamiji also set up food for Diabetics so that they can eat comfortably and enjoy the programs in the Ashram.
So, all of you go to the bookstore and buy some books. Have a collection at home. It will not make your luggage heavy. Check your bags in (if you are taking a plane home). Collect the books, keep them at home. Swamiji may Himself find use for them. If Swamiji asks for a CD, you can say that you have it at home. You can go online, but the old printed CD is special. Whatever Swamiji is singing these days, it is available on online (iTunes and other similar stores). But we should spend some money on the ones that have been printed. Swamiji printed them out of great love for you. But you do not even buy. That is wrong. When you see Swamiji, you offer Rs. 1000 and prostrate. Instead, spend Rs. 200 on the books and offer Rs. 800 to Swamiji. It will be nice if you support the activities Swamiji has set up. I am losing my voice talking so much. I need to protect my voice since we have programs in the next few days. I was really losing my voice on the first day, but it is okay now. It is because of you. I went to Hanuman Temple and found out that devotees tied Purna Phala for Swamiji praying that His voice be okay for the celebrations. They prayed not for themselves, but for Swamiji. Have Darshan of Patala Anjaneya.
The other thing I am happy about is that people signed up for Sevas (Puja sponsorship) even though we said there would be no Prasadam given. I am very happy. Therefore, I am giving myself as Prasadam to you. I am coming to your house. I will be with you. That is Prasadam. It is enough to have His attention on us. Even though we had clearly announced that there would be no Prasadam given, people are signing up for Sevas. People are participating happily. I am very happy. It is already 1:30pm. Please go eat. There’s special food for diabetics. Some people are eating at both places (regular food and special food for diabetics). They feel they got rid of diabetes from having Darshan of Swamiji. So, they are eating at both places.
Swamiji released some tee shirts. The volunteers made these shirts to support Shuka Vana. The material is of good quality. Please buy them. They will not get dirty unless you get them dirty. They will not get wet unless get them wet. They will not get dry unless you dry them.
Sri Guru Datta