Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji – Maha Shivaratri message in the early morning hours after Jagaran – March 12, 2021 – Mysore
Compiled by: Archana Penukonda
Om Namaha Shivaya
Om Namaha Shivaya
Some of you are wondering what happened to Swamiji. Swamiji is perfectly fine. Since the last three days, we have been talking about Lord Vishnu describing the glories of Lord Shiva during the conversation between Bhishma and Dharmaraja, in the Mahabharata. Sage Upamanyu was the first devotee of Lord Shiva and he described the glory of Lord Shiva to Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu then did penance to earn the grace of Lord Shiva and therefore started chanting the Shiva Sahasranama in praise of the Lord.
Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu are the one Parabrahman. Even though one, He appeared as Rudra, Shiva, Vishnu and myriad other forms since He took on a body to uplift the worlds. Vishnu Sahasranama too describes the innerable forms of Lord Vishnu. Sage Veda Vyasa taught us that Shiva and Kesava are one. There are even Shankara Narayana temples to remind us of the oneness of the two. So, if any one even merely hears of the difference between Shiva and Kesava, that is itself a sin. Many great souls even after taking birth on earth created differences between followers of Shiva and Vishnu.
Lord Shiva’s devotees seldom oppose Lord Vishnu, but Lord Vishnu’s devotees oppose Lord Shiva. That is why the world is in the throes of so many difficulties. Sri Mahabharatam says that one should not even glance at those who create such differences.
Shiva and Parvati are the primeval couple that have come to us to protect the world. We kept night vigil on the occasion of Shivaratri. You all sat here and did the night vigil, while I did it with my eyes closed, watching you all keep the vigil. If you look at my eyes closely, you will know that these are not sleepy eyes. I was completely immersed in Shiva. Yesterday too, while doing the Shiva Sahasranama, I left my body completely. The children took me inside and somehow had me recline. I was not in this world at all since then. I am just about coming back to this world. I was in Kailasa, having darshan and doing Abhishkeam to Lord Shiva and praying to Him to remove the difficulties in this world. Then, I remembered you were all here, so I quickly finished my bath and my morning rituals and came here to you to see you.
There is no reason for us to fear coronavirus. There have been worse diseases – plague, cholera and other diseases that claimed many more lives. Our grandparents and great grandparents saw those pandemics that wiped out entire family lines. There were no medicines for all those diseases back then. That led to an admixture of castes and family traditions were somewhat lost. Yet, it is good that we are all still devotees. We all stand today as Hindus in the Indian tradition. All gods are one, we do not oppose anyone. We see our favorite deity in all gods. Our Datta devotees definitely have this approach. We see our Guru in all Gurus, but we do not create differences. We surrender everything to Datta, but respect and salute all Gurus. Datta is everything, we are all in Datta’s world. May Lord Datta protect us. We committed some sins that we and our children are paying for. Do not be afraid. Get vaccinated. I did too.
Wear fresh clean masks. Masks are cheap, you can wear a new mask each week. Wash your old masks and donate them to the poor. Be careful, do not act as you please assuming the pandemic has subsided. If you wear a mask, I will definitely spot you as a Datta devotee wherever you are. Wherever you go, even if you go to weddings, wear a mask, do not be embarrassed because others are not wearing it. Some devotees were negligent and did not listen to me and unfortunately lost their lives. Now, people understand what I was saying all along. Those who were infected are now understanding what their mistake is. I never said to stop wearing a mask. The coronavirus puts the infected through a lot of suffering. God alone can help. But asking god for forgiveness after willfully being negligent is futile. Wear a mask at all times. When you are home, you are okay, but wear a mask as soon as you step out. You never know where the infection is lurking. Many people do not take vaccines. How many are drinking the potion I told you about? Only some of you are drinking it.
It is so easy to make that potion – 4-5 neem leaves, 2 black pepper corns, a pinch of turmeric, camphor and a couple leaves of holy basil should be boiled thoroughly and filtered. Drink this every morning. Drink this potion before you drink coffee or tea. Once you get used to this potion, you will want it every day. You will not even feel the bitterness in the potion. It will keep diabetes away and will keep diabetes in control for those who already have it.
Always wear a mask. Wash your hands thoroughly when you return home. You can store the potion in a spray bottle and sanitize your hands with it. You can also add this potion to your bath water, it keeps the bacteria away. Change bedsheets every three or four days. Do not sleep on the same bedsheet from birth until death.
Listen to Sri Mahabharatam daily. I am happy that you are listening daily. Share the message with your friends, let everyone listen. It is almost coming to an end. Shanti Parva is full of Vedanta taught through stories. The Mahabharata discourses will be completed in about 25 days. Your Swamiji did a magnificent Yajna. Some great souls must have narrated Mahabharata sometime during our history, but now Swamiji did the entire Mahabharata without leaving out a single letter. ETV channel will broadcast the Mahabharata daily for 4 years, that is how much content Swamiji has created. Listen to the Mahabharata 18 times. Write quotes from the Mahabharata as much as you can. Have your children write quotes too, it will bestow Jnana on you. Each quote can be about 3-5 lines long. A quote is a small saying of wisdom. Mahabharata is full of moral and wise sayings in the 100s of 1000s. Listen to the Mahabharata from the beginning.
Also write short questions and answers from Mahabharata. What is the Dharmaraja’s father’s name? Who is Arjuna’s father? Who is Arjuna’s first wife? Whose great Darshan did Bhima have when he went to fetch special flowers for Draupadi. What flowers was Bhima going to fetch for Draupadi? If you write all this, it will be like writing all of the Mahabharata. How was King Santanu born? Who are the five Pandavas? Who is their sixth brother? Write from the beginning about the genealogy. Write a small line about each. Who was the wicked one who disrobed Draupadi, what is his name? When you read these questions and answers, it will be like reading the entire Mahabharata. There are many teachers and professors here. You can give them some dakshina (fees) and request them to write it. So, write not just quotes, but also questions and answers. Children will really like it. The best set of Questions and Answers will be published as a book. We have all done many diverse deeds in life, now let us do this good deed. Everyone should do this. It does not matter whether we pass or fail in this effort, Swamiji will read them, that is enough.