Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji – Welcome Function for Sahasragala Event – USA Tour – August 9, 2022 – KSHT Dallas TX, USA
Compiled by Archana Penukonda
(Swamiji instructs everyone to get the Bhajanamala app. There is a message in every bhajan. Everyone kindly install the app.)
Krishnam Vande Jagadguru
Jaya Guru Datta
Veera Hanuman ki Jai!
You may wonder why Swamiji speaks only in Telugu or only in Tamil. Why not English? It does not matter; I speak only in Telugu. We should not forget our mother tongue. People forget their mother tongue. You must speak your mother tongue at home. Everyone must speak in their mother tongue. The feeling communicated in that language is wonderful. Sometimes, the meaning is lost when you translate into another language and may not be true to the word. The feeling within the heart could be lost. It is when we communicate our feelings in our language that it is delightful and soothing. I am not saying English is not soothing. Just as a crow finds its baby beautiful, and a donkey does as well as a pig does, we like our mother tongue regardless. We need to love our mother tongue. Many people, especially in India, immensely love their mother tongue, which is good. However, we also need to be more inquisitive in learning other languages. We all need Deva Bhasha – Sanskrit. English and Spanish are international languages; Our international language is Sanskrit, and our second language is our mother tongue. Sanskrit is the language of the Gods.
If you learn the Bhagavad Gita, it is easy to understand and learn Sanskrit. Sanskrit is a beautiful language to speak in. It is a musical language. You can learn to converse and sing in Sanskrit. Many young children are participating in plays where they speak in Sanskrit. In Karnataka state, there is a village named Mattur, which comprises approximately 2000 houses, and everybody there converses in Sanskrit language,. That is a beautiful wonder in this world. Even the cowherds and the shepherds speak fluent Sanskrit. That is the blessing of great saints. We need a great fortune to be able to speak in Sanskrit.
We take birth, speak some language, start earning, get married, bear children, and die. What use is this birth? Inquire about the Self. That is very important in life. What is your purpose in coming here? Find out why you are here. Then, when you study the Bhagavad Gita, you will realize that is your purpose. You will find great satisfaction and will be able to sleep peacefully with contentment. What gives you such satisfaction? Money gives you temporary satisfaction. A new home, too, gives you fleeting contentment. Any object only gives you ephemeral gratification. Even a lottery of $100k gives you weeklong satisfaction, but discontentment springs up again. Contentment and happiness must come from within.
We want to be successful in life. You may find contentment due to wealth for a few days or perhaps a month. A new house may give you satisfaction for one month. Your child’s new job may give you satisfaction for some time. But you must always be satisfied. That is how we should practice and fulfill our lives. We should search search for the principle of life. Our life is fulfilled only when we search for this very principle. That is why God gave us this life. We need to fulfill the purpose of this life.
God has given us so many chances. We are losing every single one of them. Invisibly, God gives good chances over and over. But we are losers. “We have no time, we have no money, we are not God, we will see about it tomorrow” – this is our line of thinking. We procrastinate and think we can go to Swamiji on the last day of the program You will not get Swamiji on the last day. Seize the day today!
You can come to see Swamiji – it is only a few hours away to get here. When you are on the road, drive safely. If you are sleepy, pull over and rest. Do not rush because you are running out of time. Let time run out if need be. Drive carefully. Do not drive when sleepy. Sleep for 10-15 minutes once you pull over, and you will get fresh. Do not instead drive forcibly while sleepy. Set out early in the morning after a good night’s sleep. But do not drive when you are struggling to stay awake. You have a great responsibility while driving. I have a responsibility too. You are putting me through difficulty when you are not driving safely. It is 100% your responsibility as well as mine. Please be careful. I am always worried about you and your well-being. Do not make this mistake. Please follow this for Me. Please help Me, your Guru. Your cosmic power is always with you. If something happens during your negligent driving, I will get irritated. I am always worried until you reach your destination. So many vibrations keep going through my head.
When you think of me, I am verily present there. Yet, knowing all this, you think I do not know. You are all ignorant to assume that Swamiji is just human. There is nothing I can do to change this mindset. Swamiji knows everything, but He will not tell you that. However, I have decided to tell you all the truth directly today. So many do not understand Swamiji’s energy. That is why I am telling you directly. I am saying this with great sorrow. Even when you have been following Swamiji so much, you still think Swamiji only knows when someone gives him an update. Do you honestly believe that I need verbal updates from someone, or else I will be unaware? I am in all your minds. I know how each one’s mind operates over here. I am very much present. Avadhootas will not always reveal. Be careful. You must understand my actions. I will not reveal everything. I will give you more and more of the rope to hold onto, and one day I will retract. Today, I have spoken very directly. What I am revealing, too, is against the rules. Please do not think like that. It is okay if you do not respect Me, but do not commit sins. You can let go of Me, but do not commit sins because the punishment is very grave.
After following Swamiji, you think Swamiji only knows when you inform Him. How ignorant are you all to believe that I need someone to update Me? I will watch to see what you say during your update – wehther you will lie and misrepresent. Remember this always! You and your children were all my relatives in some previous life. This Avadhoota is wandering in your lives, in your families, in your homes. You all ended up here with me somehow. You are benefiting in this world and hereafter, directly and indirectly, due to your association with Swamiji. You do not understand. You must understand at least now.
One week ago, I felt it would be nice to give a Tulasi plant to everyone, but I felt it would be too late to tell the devotees to do this. But now the children are doing this. What other proof of this miracle do you need? Every day, I do Puja with the Tulasi tree in my chamber. My mind is like a Salagrama. We worship Krishna. You are all Vishnu devotees unbeknownst to you. Shiva is the first to rejoice when we become Vishnu’s devotees.
I salute you all. You have all memorized the Bhagavad Gita. You are so fortunate. Your lives are filled with merit. You are listening to and reciting the Gita daily. This is indeed a wonder! This Yajna has never been done before. Just a small word from Swamiji, and you are all doing this Yajna. Do not think this Yajna has happened before; it never has.
You are all like the Samidhas (the wooden sticks) in the Yajna. I feel like I have come here only to see you all; this brings me a lot of happiness. You are all like Maharshis. You are very lucky people. Please use it properly. From tomorrow, we will distribute gold medals. Swamiji will do Homa as well. You do not need to do anything. You are all becoming Maharshis tomorrow. This is going to be Dvisahasragala (2000 voices). I have no words to explain this.
This book set on Bhagavad Gita is my breath. The English translation will take another 8 months or so. There are 4-5 Vedanta scholars who are working on this book. You must get this book even if you cannot read Telugu. We have limited quantities of this book. We did not print this book set to make business. Swamiji is in every letter. You have many books at home, let this book also be there. There are very few copies left. Everyone rush and get these copies today.
I composed some bhajans on Bhagavad Gita. Today too, I composed some on Bhagavad Gita. The American group and the Trinidad group sang those Bhajans so beautifully. The Trinidad Bhajan group sings so well, especially the Telugu bhajans. That’s why I have requested for bhajans to be sung by you all again at the stadium where you must sing all Krishna bhajans, one bhajan on Ganapathi, one on Mother Goddess, and the last one must be a Shiva bhajan. This is because Shiva loves Krishna. I am happy today. Many devotees have come from India, West Indies, Switzerland, Malaysia, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand.
It is Lord Krishna who has restricted the visas for the United Sates. But He will release the visas for Dasa-Sahasragala (10,000 voices)! No stadium would be enough to fit ten thousand Gita chanters. Instead, we will organize it online. All my dear devotees, please buy the Bhagavad Gita books. Do not forget. Everyone has gathered here like a family. I am happy.