Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji – Sookti – April 3, 2020 – Mysore
Compiled by Parimala Eshwarla
Udārasya tŗṇam vittaṃ, śūrasya maraṇaṃ tŗnam
Viraktasya tŗṇaṃ bhāryā, nippŗuhasya tŗṇam jagat ǁ
A large-hearted donor who is always engaged in giving charities does not attach much importance to wealth. A true hero considers death in a battle-field as insignificant. A dispassionate person does not attach much importance to spouse, children and relatives. He, who has obtained absolute dispassion and who has conquered all desires and attachments, considers the universe itself as insignificant!
In common understanding, tṛṇa means something as insignificant as a blade of grass. In other words, it is worthless and useless.
There are many in this world who consider wealth to be more important than even their life! In their effort to safeguard their wealth, they are ready to lay down their lives. However the large-hearted and broad-minded people, use their wealth only for the right purposes. At times of necessity, they give away their wealth to protect their life and respect. To them, wealth is nothing more than a blade of grass.
Those who are agonized at the sufferings of others in society are also broad-minded. Such people eagerly wait for an opportunity to donate. ‘How much wealth do I possess? For what purpose should it be used?’- without even a second thought about this, they eagerly rush to help others who are in need. Seeing the smile on those happy faces, they are elated. They are eternally busy in performing meritorious and charitable deeds. To them, wealth is nothing more than a blade of grass.
They believe that they have been showered with wealth only for helping others! Wealth obtains completeness only when it is used for the wellbeing of others. When utilized for own needs, then it is classified as selfishness.
A true valiant warrior is ever-ready to lay down his life for the protection of his motherland. Protecting his motherland is, in his opinion, his primary duty. He considers his life as unimportant. He considers his bodily injuries, obtained as a result of fighting for his motherland, as ornamentation for his body.
Dispassion (detachment) means to not have attachment towards desires. A striking difference exists between the desires pertaining to the body vis-à-vis those pertaining to the mind. Reducing bodily wants is not considered detachment. To restrict mental desires is real detachment!
To a person who has attained detachment, spouse and children are immaterial. In this context, spouse represents worldly bondages i.e. consisting of blood-relations, other relations, money and other forms of wealth etc. There are some who, by birth, are detached. Some attain it through diligent practice. In some cases, due to fulfilling the same desire again and again for a very long period of time, such detachment arises.
In the region close to Rishikesh, there lived a saint. Although he was totally unattached towards any object, he still continued to love 2 varieties of sweets. Due to this intense craving for sweets, he could not focus on his meditation and other spiritual pursuits. Many a time his Guru reprimanded him for it. Every time the saint begged to be excused.
Fed up with this, one day the Guru bought 2 kgs of a particular sweet and forced him to eat it all at one go. In great eagerness, the student began to eat. He ate 1 kg of sweet. He then said it was enough. The Guru did not relent. He forced the student to continue eating. The student ate another ½ kg more and then suddenly threw up. The Master asked him to gather that vomit and drink it up. The student tried to drink, but then vomited again. Due to repeated vomiting he fell down weak and tired. From then on, he never even cast a glance towards sweets. Even the smell of that sweet would make him sick. This is a true incident. From this we understand that this is yet another technique to obtain dispassion. For such a dispassionate person, spouse, children and home appear immaterial.
Eternally being soaked in feelings of detachment is the highest stage. Such person lacks awareness of this world. He is unattached with any object or happening here. He has no inclination towards anything. There is not even a thought about worldly objects in his mind. To such a supreme person, this entire world appears immaterial and insignificant.