Speeches of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji – Guru Purnima – July 27, 2018 – Trinidad
Compiled by Archana Penukonda
Speech in the morning
Sri Maha Ganapate Namaha
Sri Saraswatyai Namaha
Sri Padavallabha Narasimha Saraswati
Sri Guru Dattatreyaya Namaha
All our Puranas and scriptures including Bhagavatam say Lord Krishna is Jagadguru. Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum. There is only one Jagadguru. All others are Gurus. That great Lord Krishna gave us the Bhagavad Gita. In the Bhagavatam, he showed so many different leelas (miracles/plays). Those miracles cannot be explained. Not even Adi Sesha who is constantly singing the praises of Lord Krishna with his million heads can explain the glories of Lord Krishna. A million years are not enough to sing the glories of Lord Krishna. Lord Krishna’s glories are such. Study Bhagavatam and you may understand Lord Krishna a little.
So today is Vyasa Purnima. Sage Vyasa wrote so many Puranas. He authored the Mahabharata, and the many Upanishads. He was still left unhappy. Sage Vyasa was not an ordinary human being. He was Lord Narayana who took on a human form. Unhappy, he was one day sitting by river Ganges and crying. Sage Narada asked him why he was upset. “You wrote so many scriptures. You have given the scholars and this world in general, such great knowledge. I marvel at the supremacy of the knowledge. Why are you unhappy? What happened? You are seeing Lord Maha Vishnu, Lord Shiva, Goddess Durgi Shakti every day. The whole world is in your stomach. Your intellect is like a never-ending nectar. You are the creator Brahma. But why are you still unhappy?” Vyasa Bhagavan said, “I want to give something to this world. I have not given anything“. Sage Narada says, “I know why you are upset. Through your intellect, you gave so much knowledge to this world. But you did not understand Paramatman. You did not write about Paramatman. You wrote so many scriptures but did not write about Paramatman. It is Krishna’s illusion/maya that you did not write his story”.
Realization dawned upon Sage Vyasa and he started writing the Bhagavatam. After that, he was very happy. It is the complete story of Lord Krishna. The Sage knew Lord Krishna was the Jagadguru, but did not write about Krishna earlier. He wrote so many great scriptures, but it was after writing the Bhagavatam that he was very happy. Although was very knowledgeable, it was after the Bhagavatam that he attained Atman Jnana (self-realization). At that time he said, “Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum”.
If you keep Sadguru in your heart, he will give you Knowledge. We need Knowledge. You make so much money with your intellect. You made millions of dollars. You know how to attain name and fame. You know how to control your health, wealth and all the worldly things around you. But you are not controlling your ego and ignorance. You have plenty of ego and ignorance. Sage Vyasa similarly had the ego that he had written so many scriptures. Ignorance took shape in him missing the reality and experience of God. That is why Sage Narada advised that writing about Lord Krishna would give him everything. Sage Vyasa was very happy. He attained Jnana.
Sage Vyasa says that in Kaliyuga, you get everything if you have a Sadguru. If you have a Sadguru in your life, never let go. Hold on carefully. Getting a Sadguru is not an easy task. Once you get a Sadguru, do not let go. Be careful. Do not think about silly things. Do not judge Sadguru by your successes. You must experience your karma and try again. There is no link between Sadguru and your problems. Your problems are a result of your karma. Try again and you will achieve. Sadguru is verily knowledge. He is with us through all our lives. The rest are worldly things. Whether successful or not, do not let go of Sadguru. Sadguru is Jnana/Knowledge. You may blame God, but never the Sadguru. You may blame, parents, teacher, yourself and your own stupidity, but never the Sadguru. This Jnana is our best friend. Sadguru is our best friend and security. Having a Sadguru is a precious treasure. You need Knowledge, not money. You can make money easily. Lies, untruth, trickery can all bring you money, but they cannot bring you Sadguru. Money is unimportant. Health is very important. You are capable of maintaining your own health. But ignorance cannot be controlled. Ego and ignorance can be controlled only by Sadguru. So, Sadguru is very important in our life. That is why Vyasa Bhagvan says, Krishnam Vande Jagadguru.
There is an important shloka in Bhagavatam
Pujya Swamiji recites the Bhagavatam shloka (shloka will be added soon)
This is like an Upadesam/initiation. The Lord arouses happiness. He is always happy. He is an incarnation of bliss. In the Bhagavatam, the Lord came down to this world. He had parents, friends, relatives, brothers in Gokula. People would refer to him as Uncle or Brother or Brother-in-law or Friend or Boyfriend. Arjuna referred to him as brother-in-law. So many billions of Gopikas, Pandavas, Kaurvas had personal relationship with Sadguru Krishna, but there was only one Krishna. It is wrong to think that Lord Krishna had 16,000 wives. Uddhava also had this question, “How did he maintain sixteen thousand wives?” Lord Krishna was always available at home whenever anyone went to see him. How did he maintain that many wives then?
A person who incidentally had the name “Krishna” questioned why he could not have six wives if Lord Krishna could have sixteen thousand wives. But, there were sixteen thousand Krishnas at a time in all the houses – one for each wife. This man realized his foolishness and sought forgiveness. He acknowledged the energy and the miracle of Lord Krishna, “I said many bad things to you, please forgive me. I surrender to you”.
Lord Krishna is capable of being everywhere. He is verily Paramatman. The Lord alone can be omni-present. Other Gods like Indra cannot. Lord Krishna, like our Guru, is omnipresent. That is why you can worship Jagadguru through our Sadguru. Our Guru is also Jagadguru. You should believe that Swamiji is everywhere. So, I bless Trinidad this Guru Purnima. The Guru Purnima message is already published in the newspaper, on the Internet as well as on the Facebook page. Read it four or five times to understand the message. Trinidad and Tobago is very lucky. We have a wonderful Guru Purnima here. I am also very happy.
My mother is my Guru. My Lord Krishna is also my Guru. Vyasa Bhagavan is also my Guru. So is Sankara Bhagavatpada. All Gods are my guru. You have only one Guru. Swamiji ki Jai. If you believe and worship Swamiji, all deities are worshiped. All Gods are in Swamiji, they are not separate. We do not want the confusion. I bless you and your family. I bless your children. You need good health, good wealth and Jnana. I bless you once again. Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum.
Speech in the evening
Sri Mahaganapate Namaha
Sri Saraswatyai Namaha
Sri Padavallabha Narasimha Saraswati
Sri Guru Dattatreyaya Namaha
One of the Kakada Arati songs is Guru caranam namata muda. The meaning of the bhajan conveys the complete meaning of Guru Purnima.
You all know about Guru Pournima. Swamiji has published the Guru Pournami message to the newspaper and also posted to the Internet. We are caught in this wheel of birth and death. All saints, sages and all seekers wish to stop this wheel of karma because they are afraid of this cycle of birth and death. A true human being is afraid because he does not want birth and death again and again. These sorrows, confusions, lust, desire, anger, separations, karma will continue to haunt as long as there is birth. Eventually, there is no father, no mother – everything is maya. We know that it is maya, yet we love maya. That is the big problem. Everyone knows about this darkness of maya/illusion, but we are attracted to it. Some insects are attracted to light. What happens after? They die. They do not realize that, that light is death god for them. Fish also like the bait the fishermen uses. The fish knows, yet it is drawn to the bait. There are so many different kinds of worms in the ocean. Yet the fish is drawn to the worm in the bait. What happens? The fish dies.
Our qualities are sometimes like those of insects, sometimes like the fish and sometimes like the deer. The deer is also drawn to sounds. That draws it to the claws of death. All these qualities are also visible at the human level. We like these kinds of qualities. We know what causes problems, yet we live in the throngs of those problems. Once the problem starts, it is very difficult to get out of it. So, slowly identify and learn about problems and maya. This bhajan gives that meaning.
I like this bhajan. Parashurama, Kartaveeryarjuna, Pingala Naga and Vishnu Datta are all singing bhajans with the same meaning. If you read Datta Darsanam, you will know who these people are. Datta Darsanam is a beautiful story. Trinidad people should also study the book. It is a beautiful story of Lord Dattatreya. So, we want to sing this bhajan.
Bhajan: Guru caranam namata muda
This bhajan alone is enough for Guru Purnima day. The entire Guru Gita and the entire Guru Samhita is in the seven verses of this bhajan. Swamiji gave various deities’ stories, Upanishads, and all spiritual advice (Tattva bodha) through bhajans, setting each to wonderful catchy tunes. Each bhajan has only 2-3 verses. Indian scholars like these bhajans. They use these in their discussion forums. They are discussing and debating Vedanta using these bhajans as the foundation. The bhajans are in many languages including Telugu, Hindi and Sanskrit, Tamil and even translated in Malayalam. We have a few Gujarati bhajans too. Telugu people are moved singing these songs. Devotees do folk dance, Bharatanatyam and other classical dance forms on some of these songs. Scholars discuss a single bhajan for 2-3 hours. These bhajans have such multi-dimensional aspects and energy.
The bhajan book is equivalent to the Upanishads. Some people call it the fifth Veda. You are all memorizing and beautifully singing these bhajans with beautiful tunes. I had tears of joy the day before yesterday hearing you sing. The Trinidad people sing bhajans so well. I have seen bhajans in Chennai and in rural areas of Andhra Pradesh like Srikakulam. They do not know how to pronounce Sanskrit words. Their Telugu also is different. Yet, they sing these bhajans easily and up to 50 members join together and dance to them. They have interest in bhajans and love and affection for Swamiji. That automatically enales them to sing these bhajans. If you have no love, you will not be able to sing the bhajans. Swamiji set thousands of bhajans to easy tunes. Even music composers for movies say these tunes are so easy, they want to use them in the movies. Some are already using it, especially in Telugu movies.
This (next) Devi bhajan is full of Vedanta. How was the world created? How did Devi take form?
Bhajan: Jvalalanduna Janmamettina
In Lalita Sahasra Namam, there is a line that says, cidagni kunda sambhuta, deva karya samudyata. This line corresponds to the line in the bhajan, “jvalalanduna janmamettina…” This bhajan was composed in Jwala temple in the Himalayas where miracles abound 24 hours a day. If you fervently chanted Radhe Shyam for example, the fire dances. The temple is in a big cave. There is no idol in the temple. It only has lamps. There are six lamps with fire coming out the ground. Many Nawab rulers wanted to test if there was a gas station underneath. One Nawab wanted to dig and find out. The same night, the Nawab’s daughter lost her eyes and the wife caught fire. The Nawab then begged forgiveness from Mother Goddess and offered Her his crown and his kingdom. Now, the Nawab is also worshiped. So, this bhajan was composed in that temple in front of the Mother Goddess.
This composition talks about Mother Durga and about creation. How did this creation start? How is this creation sustained? What is this creation? How did this world get created? Where do we go after death? What is our address? All this is covered in this bhajan. One great Vedanta scholar Kumara Swamy wrote about the meaning of this bhajan alongside commentary in his book Bhajan Vivrtti. 90% of the words are in Sanskrit. Only 10% are in Telugu. It is very nice.
(Line from bhajan) Jeevasaarame budidainanu vutti budilo mokka molicenu. What a wonderful meaning this has. If you read the book (Bhajan Vivrtti) you will understand. There was also an English translation to it. Next, I will sing my Guru bhajan.
Bhajan: Jayalakshmi Talli Janani Mahamaye
Bhajan: Yamuna Tat Par Tujh Sang Mein Bhi Naachoo
Addition to compilation:
Now close eyes and meditate, turn off lights. (Swamiji played meditation music)
Now new chant I am giving: SHIVAAYA RUDRAAYA NAMAHA chant for one and a half years to different tunes , different rhythms, to different people. You count numbers and give up the count. This is leading to Maha Rudra Yagna. Chant for 10 minutes, then you can sing one bhajan, then chant again. Calculate the chant, go to all the temples. One Saturday to a different temple and one Sunday here. When people come to Datta Yoga Centre and by Hanuman, they can chant Shivaaya Rudraaya Namaha. Easy tune (Sri Swamiji demonstrates…La la la la la la la la la). You can chant for hours and send to Avadhoota Peetha website. There will be 11 homa kunds. Put banner here also. Swamiji wants billions of mantras.
Guru Purnima message on ETV
Compiled by Parimala Eshwarla
Kāmenabhaktotgati
Meaning of the verse: With the deep desire that His devotees should reach the ultimate state and with the anger that He should shred into smithereens their distresses, Guru Datta is deeply immersed in this mundane existence (samsāra) pertaining to all the three worlds. He is the only samsāri with such vast responsibility! Yet, at the same time, He remains untouched by it. I glorify such Datta Guru.
Sadguru only seeks implicit faith from the devotee. He graces those who have accepted Him as their Sadguru and who have placed implicit faith upon Him by ensuring perfect accomplishment of their tasks. He showers them with expertise in their chosen field.
Unmindful of all the difficulties He faces, undergoing enormous sufferings and while withstanding insults heaped upon Him, like a whirlwind Sadguru travels all across the globe uplifting people. He does this solely seeking the well-being of the universe. He makes sure the devotee accomplishes his desired goals and causes him/her to reign in that field. Sadguru thus showers multitudes of boons upon His devotees. This is the supreme help that Sadguru offers to this world.
Many reasons could be attributed for the mental tensions and agitations experienced by people, irrespective of whether they are leading a material or spiritual life. They are faced with many ups and downs. Unable to distinguish truth from untruth there are many who get trapped into endless difficulties and undergo resultant suffering. Guru is the only solace to such people. If they seek shelter under a Sadguru, they can surely overcome their miseries.
Guru is a Pratyaksha-daivam (visible manifestation of God). Making himself visible to the eyes, at first he dispels the inner fears of the devotee. Through courteous words he instils courage in the person. By causing new positive enthusiasm to sprout in the devotees, He causes them to develop maturity in their field thereby turning them into resources useful to the society. For this reason it is imperative that the holy association with Sadguru should never be discarded.
Sadguru ensures that our mind remains pure and that our inclination towards dharmic subjects and dharmic activities intensifies. As such, every human being is indeed in need of Sadguru’s help and grace.
The person upon whom Guru’s grace falls is blessed with single pointed concentration (ekagrata). His mind will, without any deviations remain focussed upon the goal and he will be able to complete the task on hand with absolute dedication and without any distractions. Worldly desires can no longer torment him/her.
Sadguru causes feelings of universal brotherhood to surge in devotees making them eligible for attaining Godliness. He intensifies in them the dedication to work towards their goal. At every step He teaches them ways to conquer desires and egoism. He helps them convert unfavourable conditions into favourable ones. He showers them with success and constantly strives for their well-being.
When they are overwhelmed with dejection, when ability to make positive decisions weakens and when they lose faith in their devotion, Sadguru lends a helping hand and pulls them up. Re-instilling their faith in their ability to accomplish their task, He takes them forward. By increasing qualities such as enthusiasm, courage, boldness, intelligence, energy and prowess in the devotees, He renders them eligible to earn God’s grace.
Ravana was the great grandson of Lord Brahma. Despite his limitless knowledge he failed to heed any good advice. Due to his foolishness he was totally destroyed along with his friends, acquaintances, kith and kin. Dhŗtarāshtra too pretended to obey everyone. Even after receiving meaningful advice from sages such as Nārada and Sanat-kumara, he became the cause for the destruction of his entire lineage purely due to his lack of faith and obedience in the words of his Gurus.
Egoism will be rooted out in those who diligently obey the commands of their Sadguru. Wisdom ripens in them. Feelings of equanimity and equipoise arise in them. Having turned broad-minded, they now begin to respect fellow human beings. They hold on to that path which paves the way towards liberation from these worldly bondages.
Jnānam vina muktipadam labhyate guru bhaktitah- Even where knowledge is lacking, the person who has implicit devotion towards his Guru obtains knowledge and attains liberation.
For this reason, to the person who has obtained initiation from the Sadguru and who treads on the path directed by Him, there is no sadhana greater than Guru-bhakti. This is stated in Guru Geeta.
As such, the person who has obtained Guru’s grace will readily accept any mishaps that occur during his journey of life. With calmness he accepts the transformations visible in the society due to the changing times.
On this Guru Purnima, remember your worldly teachers who were responsible for your prosperity and your spiritual Guru. Worship them and acquire blessedness. With the blessings of Adi-guru Datta may all your problems be destroyed and may your desires be fulfilled. This is my blessing to you.