Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji in the beginning of the day’s Adhyatma Ramayana Discourse – Guru Poornima – July 21, 2021 – Mysore
Compiled by Girishwar Brahma Saraboji Kaveripattinam
Today is Guru Poornima. I bless you and your family. Happy Guru Poornima!
Guru is very important in our life. But… How to recognize such a Guru? That is very difficult to do. This question… well, I am not able to give the answer to it. You yourself can do Saadhana (spiritual exercises), and then you yourself can automatically find out who is your Guru. Your Atman, your Jeevaatman, then says to you that this is your Guru. Then you must follow it.
Remember, you must listen for it IN YOUR ATMAN, not in your Buddhi. Buddhi always gives and shows you different ways and different karmas to do.
So, you must wait for that answer, and then test that answer within yourself, DO NOT TEST THE GURU, and then you can decide, and then you can follow. This has to be done in that order. Because we are in darkness all the time, full of darkness, and written with full of bad experiences in our mind and in our life.
But some people… they mix-up Guru and this Samsaara – this family life. Don’t mix them up. Family life is different and Adhyatma (spiritual) life is different. For this, you perform your Dharmas, the Righteousness and Rituals. What kind of Rituals? There are Ten kinds of Rituals – that’s the Dharma. Follow those Ten kinds of Rituals, and slowly you will understand it all yourself.
You can study it yourself, first. And then test it within yourself. With your Senses.
Because, a one big mistake people are doing is ‘thinking that the Atman is this Body’. Body is not Atman. We are not Body… Not Atman. This body gives you wrong directions and wrong decisions.
Paramaatman and Jeevatman… I will explain it this way so you will understand… Jeevaatman is in friendship with your Sense Organs. Its friendship is always with Sense Organs. That Jeevaatman always says, “This is Paramaatman. This is in our Atman.”
Now, that’s a big mistake. Paramaatman is everywhere. Jeevaatman is only with and following your Sense Organs. So, people always like the Body, the Senses and Sense Organs, and sensory pleasures. They are always after happiness, they always search for it, and naturally so in the wrong directions given out by the senses.
So, I suggest you think about this. It will help you understand what is Jeevaatman, what is Paramaatman, what is Buddhi, what is Atman…
Maybe you can go find some help in Bhagavat Gita… Bhagavat Gita with good meanings correctly explained. You can also often listen to all Upadeshaas, discourses. Then you will slowly understand.
Or, you can go to Bhakthi Maarga-Way or you can go to Jnaana Maarga-Way.
But I suggest you go to only Bhakti Maarga, first. Then slowly Bhakti-Jnaana. Automatically Jnaana will come.
If you want it full of Devotion, Bhakthi, then you follow Bhaagavatam. After Bhaagavatam you can go to Mahabhaarata. It’s full of Knowledge. Full of Devotion is Bhaagavatam, and full of Knowledge is Mahabhaarata.
And full of Discipline is Raamaayana. It teaches Discipline, how to live, what kind of characteristics one has to follow… these are the things given by Raamaayana.
So, anyway, your Swamiji is giving you very special, easy methods… Swamiji gives you Bhaagavatam, or Mahabhaaratam, or any other smal small small stories… or any other stories… so many stories I have already given… your Swamiji has given. You can follow, keep on following, then you can understand slowly…
So, anyway… Today is Guru Poornima… you follow Guru… Bhakti. Bhakti… you follow, then Jnaana will automatically come… Sadguru will give it to you. And Vairaagya… that also will He give to you… slowly.
Today we have released a booklet on Bhaagavatam. This Bhaagavatam, what Swamiji has given, is of a different style. Mahaabhaaratam, given by Swamiji, is also of a different style. The full Raamaayana is not given, not yet. Slowly… Swamiji is planning to bring it out to you. But, nowadays Swamiji is givng you this Raamayanaa… this Adhyatma Ramayana. This is not full Raamaayana, it’s Adhyatma Ramayana… only.
All the conversations between Raama and any of these characters… Lakshmana, Sita, Hanumantha, Dasaratha, Kousalya… and between so many different characters. All the conversations of all characters… but only on Spirituality. That’s the uniqueness of Adhyatma Ramayana. All Sargas, all Kaandaas… they are giving a variety of different kinds of Knowledge. Because Raama is not an ordinary human being. Raama is Paramaatman. He has taken Human Avataar for a reason. He wanted to give good advice to people, to Humans… of Bhooloka… this World.
So… today… in Guru Poornima Day, we are giving discourse… Kishkindaa Kaanda. Your Swamiji is giving this lecture… on Kishkindaa Kaanda, the third Sarga. This following conversation is between Parameshwara and Paarvati. Parameshwara is telling Paarvati… Now we are going into Telugu.
(Adhyatma Ramayana discourse in Telugu is continued)