Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji – Sri Devi Navaratri Festival – Day 5 – Bhagyanagaram, Hyderabad – Panchami – October 7, 2024
The fifth day of Devi Navaratri is over. We have only days 6-9 left. Day 10 is the day of grandeur and celebration.
If this event took place in Mysuru, each person would have spent at least Rs. 10,000 for travel expenses to Mysuru, and then some amount for Puja and sevas. Now that you saved that amount, you can render some sevas with it.
Everyone is spreading the news that Swamiji’s health is not good. You must always believe Swamiji will be well. Let us say Swamiji is not well, what can you do? You must never say Swamiji is not well. That is inauspicious. Such words should never be uttered. It is all Mother, you must believe.
Do not keep lamenting that Swamiji is unwell. Will you forgo Prasadam or blessing or Darshan because Swamiji is unwell? You will not. Yet you keep paying lip service saying Swamiji is unwell. I do not like it.
You do not sacrifice what you want, but you keep saying, “Swamiji is unwell, Swamiji is unwell”.
In Devi Bhagavatam, as well as, in the Srimad Bhagavatam and the Puranas, Devatas talk about stories and impart Vedantic wisdom through them. Those mutual dialogues between the Devatas or saints are for our benefit. Guru Gita, for example, is Shiva’s upadesha to Parvati. Mother does not need it; it is for us. Does Mother need Bhagavatam? She Herself is Bhagavatam. But She asked for that Upadesha for our sake.
Dharmaraja sought upadesha from grandsire Bheeshma. He did not need it; it was for us. Maha Vishnu and Uddhava had a conversation, the latter was already enlightened, it was for us that they had the conversation. Same with Vidura Neeti.
Rasa kreeda, (it’s not Raasa kreeda), is filled with Vedanta and was undertaken to grant Salvation to the Gopis who were great saints in their prior births. They took birth as Gopis only for Krishna’s sake and to get the blessing of the divine embrace.
The wicked evil minds claim that Krishna sported with 16,000 wives. Would that actually be possible? Try having 4 wives and see for yourself! You will not be able to handle it.
Those people claim: If Krishna could have 16000 wives, can’t I have two? Sure, go for it; the Gopis attained Salvation, you will attain the hospital bed.
Not having devotion to God leads to destruction. That is the biggest mistake people make – not having devotion to God.
Of course, those who have devotion also have to suffer, but they never give up devotion, nor do they blame God. They may be angry with God for a day or two, but will never let go of their devotion to God. That is their nature.
It is our nature and our tapas and our Guru’s grace that we think of God. We should further improve on it. We should not compare with others without faith and degrade ourselves.
This is like the story I narrated a couple days ago about the doctor who cured cancer who finally got cancer himself. Mother too appears in manifold forms to devotees. With those virtues that devotees think of, She appears. Her original nature is not visible to us. We think the form we see is eternal, but the secret remains hidden. That secret is invisible.
We worship that Jaganmata, that Mother Nature. There is no one big or small in this realm, everyone is a devotee of Mother. Some have good health, some do not. Some have learned something, some have not. It is okay, we are all traveling in the boat. You are all witnessing Mother’s Puja, you are so fortunate.
There are crores of people in Hyderabad, but Mother picked only you. It is like the good flowers you use in puja that might have begotten you good fortune. Elders sometimes say: You did such good puja, that is why you got a good husband.
You worshiped with your right hand, so you found auspiciousness. In the West, there is not as much distinction between worshiping with the right hand or left. In the right hand, there is Devata Shakti. 1) Head to heart gives jnana. 2) Heart to stomach is Vishnu loka, we need to eat so we can get energy. 3) Naraka loka – stomach down. That means the food is digested so we can get energy in our body.
Vishnu takes care of the energy supply to the rest of the body. He supplies to the world above – Brahma loka and the world below – Naraka loka. Vishnu is managing well. Similarly, it is important to have good management at home. If the lady of the house cannot manage the house well, it gets difficult.
So, first learn to live well like a human being, this is more important than academic education. The left hand side is Shiva’s side and is considered the administrative side.
We have 10 fingers, each associated with a part of the body. How God is associated with every part of the body is described in our scriptures. When the practitioner does Gayathri Japam, every part of the body is touched and a distinct name of Vishnu chanted as that the deity associated with that part of the body. God is in the entire body. This body is a Kshetra. This body is Narayana Nagaram (nagaram = city).
The nerves in the body are akin to the rivers. In every river flows nectar. If the flow diminishes in a river, energy goes down. That is why we do Nadi Shuddhi. It is not easy to do this, but Swamiji does this regardless.
Mother’s grace gives us health, prosperity and, importantly, Jnana. May mother grant us the strength to withstand everything.
In today’s teaching, Mother advises to always be happy.
O Mother! Parātpari (greater than the greatest)! Parvati! You protect those who offer salutations to You. Of course, She protects everyone, but those who offer salutations to Her are protected very closely, like they are in Mother’s lap. She grants them intelligence. She is the one who all three worlds seek refuge in.
Bearing three eyes, consort of Shiva, or Trishakti Svarupini, O Kamakshi, Parashakti, please let Your cool glances flow on to me.
Mother protects, nurtures, and finally lets us merge into Her. This is the truth. There is no doubt. Some, She will merge into Her immediately, others She will test over and over to purify them and then merge them into Her. She will first purify you and then give you Salvation.
You cannot do evil deeds and expect Salvation. She will give you punishment, give you suffering and only after, She will see.
Divinity is in the form of Atman in all beings. Without divinity, not even a blade of grass can move. Man is always able to act only due to Adi Parashakti’s energy.
Man does not realize this due to delusion/moha. The reason for Moha is Aviveka (lack of discernment). When Aviveka is destroyed, we can see the truth. Then we know what is real and what is unreal. This is only possible when the mind is pure. When the mind is fickle, this cannot be comprehended. The pure one who is Sattvic has faith in God and knows God is doing everything. He will gladly accept all suffering as punishment for his wrong doing. He will keep doing his duty, knowing it is all divine will. Such a person will never fall into suffering. He will think: My suffering is due to my own doing in the past. I will gladly bear it.
The one whose intellect is not pure will blame God and even forget God. He will believe he is the owner and doer of everything. This brings untold suffering. A story in Bhagavatam clearly explains this.
A yogi used to live in the woods, following all the rules. He would go out and come back to his small hermitage at stipulated times.
Our ashrama is big and has all amenities and electricity and food. It is not like ashrama, it’s a glorious hotel. Back in the 60s, we had a very simple hermitage. We used to fetch water from the well, snakes would crawl around, mosquito bites galore, we would have to walk far away for nature’s calls. That is the real Ashrama. The place used to have cows, deer, and other animals. Music, Homa, Vedas all reverberated in the Ashram. It was like the Ashrama illustrated in the old Chandamama story books. Now, what we have is a modern hotel. I have to take care of you and feed you and let you sleep well. We had to do this.
The yogi used to live near a forest and would subsist on fruits and water. He had no desires and was submerged in Dhyana. The King saw him and observed his radiance. He was surprised. He approached the yogi and saluted him saying: You are a great man. You live in this wilderness. Why go through this suffering? It is my duty to take care of you since you are in my Kingdom. Please live happily in my palace, I will take great care of you and afford you all royal comforts. Why are you living alone here? I will even get you married, well, you are old but still I would get you married to a nice wife.
The yogi was angry and refused and said: I do not need anything. I have no problems. I am happy.
Today, a devotee came to Swamiji. I asked him to marry, but he said he did not want to get married. He was happy. I had another devotee who was 50 years old and was weeping about not getting married. Why do you want to get married at 55 years of age? Once marriageable age has passed, you must forget about it.
The married people are envious of the single people and want to make sure they are married too.
The yogi said: God kept me here by His command. It is by God’s command that fire burns, that sun shines, that water flows. Without His command, nothing happens. God will protect me. If the cruel beasts around did not harm me, is it not God who is protecting me? If I come to the palace, someone has to take care of me. You have attendants by you. But God is taking care of me. He has given me protection, I am happy and content. I have no desires. I am not worried about anyone taking my bed or food or clothes, because I have none. I have what I wear and one set that is getting washed. I eat fruits in the wild. The fruits keep me healthy and disease-free. I drink the pure spring water. I have no worries about electricity, fans, etc. I have no worry about spouse or children. I am happy, I have faith in God. So, tell me, is there more happiness near you, or here?
The King realized the yogi had more happiness.
So, we should be content with what God has given us and learn to be happy.
You want a big house. What will you do with it? When you die, the body turns to ashes. You have no more address. Instead, think of God.
So, give up the feeling that you are earning and it is your money that nourishes the family. It is God who is running everything. You think you made the big mansions. See the truth. It is divinity that is running everything. Mother is. Mother does everything.
Do not fall into Moha/delusion. If you do not, you will be free from grief and difficulties. May moha be driven away, may you gain discernment, may you realize you are nimitta mātra (limited/mortal/instrument).