Speeches of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji – May 1, 2020
Sookti
Compiled by: Parimala Eshwarla
Sadayam hŗdayam yasya bhāṣitaṃ satyabhūṣitam
Kāyaḥ parahitē yasya kalistasya karōti kiṃ !
What can Kali-purusha do to the person whose heart overflows due to compassion for others, whose speech is pure due to always speaking the truth and whose body is ever-ready to be of service to others? Even Kali-purusha cannot harm him. He cannot cause havoc in the life of such a person.
Kali-purusha means the presiding deity of Kali-yuga. Kali-purusha does not have a separate existence. He exists in us in the form of sinful thoughts. Kali-purusha (lord of this eon/ yuga) does not have a definite form nor does he have a permanent residence and hence he resides within humans in the form of thoughts. He uses us in three ways to complete his tasks. He rules our mind. Finally he throws people into degraded levels and then rejoices.
Scriptures clearly elucidate the steps we need to follow to prevent his entry into our mind. Kali cannot enter into the man whose body is pure and clean. It is said that finding an opportune moment when King Nala was impure, Kali entered into him. He had entered home without washing his feet and this was the right opportunity for Kali to enter. His story pertains to the first eon- Krta yuga. But we, who live in Kali yuga cannot totally drive him away, can we? For this reason, in this yuga, he happily resides in every mind and rules over everyone. This sookti says that with a proper and correct way of life we can manage to keep Kali at a distance.
Primarily through actions, thoughts and words Kali shows his influence over the person. Among the three- mind is the weakest. At the same time, it can also be the strongest. Kali shows his influence over those minds that are weak. For this reason, mind should be kept strong and firm.
The person whose heart overflows with compassion, their mind is always strong and always at peace. Such a man is greatly moved when others are in trouble. Unknown to him, tears flow from his eyes. Even if he is leading a frugal life, he finds something that he can share with them. Mother Lakshmi casts her compassionate glance upon those who is always inclined towards charitable deeds. For this reason, people totally inclined towards charitable deeds never has to face poverty. His mind is as soft as butter. It melts more quickly than butter. A person whose mind is gentle cannot engage in sinful deeds and as such Kali fails to have any influence over them. The minds of the wicked are harsh like rocks. In those minds, Kali happily resides and rules.
The second area where Kali casts its influence is on speech. Words uttered by us can be classified as good and bad. Good words are filled with the riches known as affection, love, sweetness etc. Their gentle mind is reflected in their words. Wicked and bad words are filled with arrogance. Pride will make its presence known in every word uttered. Even a trace of compassion, pity and care will not be visible in their words. In such people, Kali resides permanently.
Gentle words should always be accompanied by truthfulness. The place where truthful words are eternally uttered, Kali can never make any entry there. Speech should be gentle and soft. Love and affection should be filled in the words uttered. In addition, they must be truthful.
The third area where Kali casts his influence is body. Body is filled with arrogance. It seeks comforts at every minute. It instantly forgets the help given to it. It cannot do even a single task by itself. For every task it depends upon the mind and the senses. While the body enjoys the comforts, the senses take the blame and rebuke. In order to obtain its comforts, this body forces the senses to stoop to degradable levels. It is this opportune moment for Kali to enter into the person. The body that is always eager to help others, in such a body Kali can never make an entry.
Message in Bhakti TV Program telecast on May 1, 2020
Compiled by: Jaya Akkanapragada
Śrī mahāgańapatayé namaha
Śrī sarasvatyé namaha
Śrī pādavallabha narasimha sarasvati
Śri guru dattātréyāya namaha
Jaya Guru Datta
The fourth – Pādasévana bhakti is epitomized by Goddess Lakshmi devi. Since the Goddess who is the embodiment of all wealth resides in Lord Viśnu’s heart, He is known as Srīnivāsa. But Lakshmi Devi prefers to serve at His feet. In fact She says that all the wealth is only an outcome of pādasévana. This is not an easy path. Only one devotee is blessed to receive this kind of devotion in a yuga.
The fifth – archana bhakti or pūjana bhakti is exemplified by King Prithu. He performed many yagñās and pujas for MahāViśnu. Pleased with his devotion, the Lord is said to have given the rasā (juice) obtained by squeezing the earth to king Prithu. King Prithu in turn is said to have converted all of the earth into a cow and offered the milk to the yagña. This is why earth is known as Prithvi.
The sixth is vandanam. Flowers, ingredients offered during abhiśeka – all belong to Him. We are simply offering Him what He has given. Therefore, whether we offer or not, He only accepts our bhakti. We offer flowers and milk or water as abhiśeka because we have received them, and we can offer. We must not mistake our offering for bhakti. It is only the devotion with which we serve that He accepts.
Akrūra is a great example of Vandana bhakti. When he was taking Balarāma and Krishna in his chariot, Akrūra felt very blessed at being able to serve them. while driving the chariot, as the sun began to set, Akrūra stopped the chariot to have a dip in the river. When Akrūra saw Balarāma and Krishna in the water, he was dumbfounded. How did they appear in the river when he had left them sitting in the chariot? He went back to the chariot and checked. They were sitting there. Again he went back to the river, and again he had the divine vision of both of them in the water. Realizing that Sri Krishna was Lord Nārāyańa Himself, Akrūra offered his prostrations in the water itself and sang the Lord’s praises. Bhāgavatam mentions how only Akrūra was blessed to receive such a divine vision of the Lord. On coming out of the water, he again offered his prostrations to them. Vandana bhakti became mukti mārga for Akrūra.
The seventh form of Bhakti is dāsya bhakti. It instantly reminds us of Anjaneya Swami. We can spend an entire day recounting the stories of each of these devotees, so great is their bhakti! Anjaneya Swami was so powerful, but not once was he arrogant. He only lived to serve Lord Rama.
dāsōham kōsaléndrasya – he would constantly say I am Srīrāmā’s servant. He is also known as dāsānjanéya.
Arjuna teaches us sakhya bhakti. He always saw Sri Krishna as his friend. Krishna also let Arjuna take a lot of liberties with Him, something which no one else experienced. They both are one like Nara Nārāyańa Maharśi. Arjuna worshipped Krishna all along as a friend. Sri Krishna also expounded Bhagavad Gita as a friend. When Arjuna sees the Viśvarūpa, at one point he wonders if he had been wrong to see SriKrishna as a friend. But Krishna never once minds this devotion.
Sakhya bhakti is wonderful, but sometimes when too many liberties are taken, we may tend to commit sins. So we must be careful not to take liberties with Paramātma and Sadguru. If we get too comfortable, we will say all kinds of things resulting in dōśās.
Jaya and Vijaya who were guarding the door to Lord Viśnu’s abode became very casual because of their proximity to the Lord, and ended up being cursed when they failed to recognize Sanaka sanādi Maharśī-s.
The devotees who are in close proximity to the Guru, and the chief priests who offer seva to the deity in a temple, must be extremely careful.
The ninth is ātma nivédana or śarańāgata bhakti. On the surface, Bali Chakravarti’s story seems like that of an arrogant king. But only when we delve deeper do we understand how he just completely surrendered to Lord Viśnu. Being a king, he prayed to the Lord to place the third step on his head.
By following these nine paths of devotion, all these devotees attained mokśa. The bhajan tommidi vidhamula bhakti (ID: 1832) is sung very beautifully by the children in the ashrama. One must perform tapas for so many years to attain mōkśa. If we can even follow one of these nine paths, we can also attain. If we completely surrender to Swāmi, He will definitely protect us.
Being like Bali Chakravarti or Prahlāda is not easy. dāsya bhakti must be practiced. If we are stringing garlands in the temple, or sweeping the floor, or preparing naivédyam, we must not do it because we are receiving a salary. We must undertake the work as an opportunity to serve the Lord. If salary is all you are looking for, you can work in a factory and expect a raise from time to time. You have come to serve at the temple because you are Sadguru’s devotee. Therefore, whatever seva is offered, must be done with utmost bhakti and involvement.
Amongst all the sūtrās given by Nārada Maharśi, the navavidha bhakti sūtra stands out as exemplary. Nārada Maharśi’s story is also worth recounting. Born as the son of a servant, He scaled such great heights! He also exemplified dāsya bhakti. When his mother died after being bitten by a snake, he was left orphaned. When He heard some Mahātmās teaching Bhāgavatam, He kept listening to the stories of Lord Nārāyańa. In every lifetime, he kept going in search of such Mahātmās and listening to these stories until He became a great Viśnu bhakta. He came to be known as Nārada, He was immortal and blessed by all the gods.
Dattatreya Swami keeps teaching us all these things. We must listen (śravańa) to Dattaiśvaryam. Pathana or reading may be difficult, but one must at least listen. Manana – recollecting what has been taught and mathana – sharing what has been taught with others are also very important. Singing the glories of Datta is known as gānam. When we sing Digambara Datta digambara, digambara does not mean one who is not wearing any clothes. This is wrong. Diga ambara means one who is all-pervading from top to bottom like the sky.
Smarańa means constantly remembering the Lord’s name in our minds. When we keep chanting the mantra given by Guru, it is dhyāna.
Pāda sévana to Datta does not mean going and touching His feet. Cleaning the entire temple or ashrama which is His very body is pāda sevana. Mantrās help us converse with God to tell Him we are offering flowers or abhiśeka.
Like Akrūra, we must keep offering our prostrations. We must always strive to be a sévaka, and never aspire for the post of a manager. Only when you develop all these qualities, will Sadguru befriend you.
Just because a person says he has a lot of contacts or influence in some hotel, you will not allow them into the operation theatre. Only a very qualified and experienced surgeon is allowed to perform surgeries since it is a matter of life and death, and only a doctor can save the patient’s life. In the same way, one must be qualified to become a sakhya bhakta. You cannot say “Oh, I cannot prostrate, I cannot perform puja. I cannot be a servant. I shall be God’s friend.” You will receive a tight slap. Only when you pass as a devotee in all categories, can you qualify for sakhya bhakti.
There are people who try to cheat and bribe God saying ‘Oh Swami, I will give you this much if you make this happen.” After their wish is fulfilled, they say “Oh Swami, I do not have the money now, I shall offer it later.” God is watching. He knows how to extract what is due. If you do not fulfil your promise, He knows how to bankrupt you and take what is due.
Paramātma keeps reminding us that this is only a rented house, and that we must vacate soon. We get fevers and cancers, but we keep postponing vacating the house by running off to foreign countries to get a fancy surgery. Paramātma knows how to make you vacate. He has to allot the space to His other children who are waiting. This is His only work. We keep thinking all this is ours. We can’t even live for hundred years.
Just the way we are offering what we see externally to Him, should we not also offer what is inside? That is ātma nivédana. We must never think whether to offer or not. We should just completely surrender.
Jaya Guru Datta
Sri Guru Datta