Speeches of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji – Datta Kshetra Yatra 2025 – SGS Ashrama, Vijayawada, AP – January 3, 2025
Certificates and medal distribution – Bhagavad Gita Exam
śrī gaṇeśāya namaḥ। śrī sarasvatyai namaḥ। śrī pāda vallabha narasiṃhasarasvati śrī guru dattātreyāya namaḥ।
Jaya Guru Datta. The problems and difficult questions in our mind get resolved with the Bhagavad Gita. We who used to live near Sindhu river became Hindus.
There used to be four varnas before, but for convenience everyone else too was brought in and we became Hindus. All other faiths were born afterwards.
Instead of following our dharma, there was intermingling of castes and mixing with mlechchas (outsiders), and other faiths came about as a result. Krishna says that it is better to die in one’s own faith than to change dharma.
Everyone in India is Hindu. Many fashionably change faith like they change parents. That is wrong. Many are converting to other faiths because they are poor and helpless and looked down upon. Swamiji has devotees who are laborers and janitors. They were ready to convert to Christianity.
I asked them why they were converting. They said most Swamis consider them untouchable and they are not allowed near God. They felt disenfranchised. I told them I would come to them and they could touch Me. They wanted a temple in their neighborhood. All over Karnataka, Swamiji built 22 temples for them with help from Datta devotees. They had no Jagadguru, so they considered Swamiji their Jagadguru. They vowed that they would live and die by this religion. They are also learning Bhagavad Gita.
They did a large procession, seating Swamiji in a big chariot. I told them I did not want it, considering all the dust and traffic. They insisted, they wanted to show their Jagadguru to everyone. We should protect our dharma and help such people.
Right now I’m remembering that Shloka where Krishna spoke about staying true to one’s faith.
Gita alone is enough. It is armor for our family. If we do it along with our children, we’ll have better memory.
Everyone must learn and teach children as well.
Even a school in the UAE teaches the Gita, I’m told. Gita teaches humanity. It doesn’t promote Hinduism. It prescribes that one stays true to the faith one is born into.
It’s disappointing that most students are getting only certificates and not gold medals. That doesn’t motivate Me. In other countries, it’s the opposite, and I’m enthused. I was eating idli and when I heard most students were certificate holders, I didn’t feel like eating anymore. Everyone must try to get a gold medal.
You know that students have a lot of extracurricular activities, they don’t put much time into studying. But now, children are all gold medalists. And adults are also studying the Gita.
In this Peetham, in the presence of Marakata Raja Rajeshwari Mata, on the occasion of consecration of Shiva, Datta, Subrahmanya Swamy (who removes all diseases) you are receiving certificates. After this event, you can chant the rest of the 9 Gita chapters.
Later, the Chief Minister will visit. He has a lot of love for Swamiji.
Inauguration of Sri Datta Kshetra Nada Yatra by Hon’ble Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh,
Shri. N. Chandra Babu Naidu
śrī gaṇeśāya namaḥ। śrī sarasvatyai namaḥ। śrī pāda vallabha narasiṃhasarasvati śrī guru dattātreyāya namaḥ।
Normally, in the Vedas and Upanishads, we are told: Today is a good day, today’s star is good, today’s karana is good, etc. Moreover, Gangadhara Shiva, Datta and Anagha have been consecrated today.
This Ashrama has been known for a long time in Patamata. Those who lived here have been serving this Ashrama. We also consecrated Marakata Raja Rajeshwari and Hanuman here.
Many Divya Nama Sankeertanas, Spiritual conferences, plenty of donations during Covid and other disasters have taken place here. God is pleased when we feed the hungry, rather than only offer Naivedyam to God.
The Chief Minister changed the face of Hyderabad. 6000 devotees from Hyderabad live abroad now. He has many desires to see Andhra Pradesh grow.
We have Datta Mukti Kshetra in Rajahmundry at the banks of Godavari. Upon the CM’s arrival, I feel motivated to do this yatra.
Annadana is very important in our Peethams.
God has given us a good Karma Yogi as leader again. What Mother wants Him to do, may all that happen with public support and with God’s grace. May this government have a good future ahead. May Andhra Pradesh become golden “Swarna Andhra”.
I am traveling everywhere without regard to age. To the CM, to his team, may God give unselfish seva shakti.
We are doing Gita Prachara everywhere. I pray to Gita Mata and to Marakata Raja Rajeshwari for his vision to be victorious. May this government be a good government.
May there be peace and happiness in Andhra Pradesh. I am very happy. May God bless him.
This yajna shala here was started by Sr N T Rama Rao ji. Sri Chandrababu Naidu is here like a family member, not like a CM. May all his sankalpas come true. May people be safe.
Things do not happen instantly. When Sri Rama went back to Ayodhya, it took 5 years for people to see results. Good things take time.
We will all support the good initiatives by the government. He is doing a big yajna. He has big plans in his mind. I am happy that Amaravati is going to be the capital of Andhra Pradesh. It is like Indra Loka. The CM saw that vision and is about to work on it.
I did yajna several times in the ashrama and didn’t want to send the prasadam through someone else. So, I brought that prasadam here myself.
Divya Nama Sankeertana
śrī mahāganapate namaḥ। śrī sarasvatyai namaḥ। śrī pāda vallabha narasiṃhasarasvati śrī guru dattātreyāya namaḥ।
Malayalam and Tamil speakers sing Telugu bhajans so well. We too should learn to sing Tamil/Malayalam/Hindi bhajans. They are not shy to sing our bhajans. We must learn to sing bhajans in all languages.
Second, the beejaksharas (seed letters) are very good for us to sing. So, don’t think you don’t need to sing bhajans in other languages. You must learn to sing bhajans in all languages. The raga and the meanings are the same, only the letters are slightly different. Initially, it might feel strange, but you’ll get used to it.
Today, we did the full Bhagavad Gita Parayana. About 120 Vijayawada devotees received gold medals and certificates. More people should join the Gita program. Adults must learn to read fluently, that will inspire children to learn. If you are afraid, children will be too.
Bhagavad Gita is very important; it is verily the upadesha by the Lord. Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum. It is since His time that we have been observing Ugadi, about 5110 years, give or take a few years.
Hinduism was born first and then came the rest of the faiths. We used to live by Sindhu river and were later called Bindu vasis (that means devotees of Mother) and then we came to be called Hindus. Secondly, Dravidians, Aryans are all one. After the Mahabharata war, everyone came together.
We are all Sattvic beings. Over time, repeatedly, people from other countries joined us for business and then slowly changed our faith and, like sheep and cattle, we transacted ourselves. They bought a lot of women then. In Kurukshetra, after the battle in which so many men attained heavens, a lot of women were left and were bought and their offspring belonged to those faiths they were bought into. This is our history. There is a lot of history, I am only touching on it slightly.
We are singing about Krishna Tattva from our history as Bhagavad Gita in this Patamata ashrama. May we be blessed with this good fortune once in a while.
How should Dānam (charity) be? Who should it be done to? We will talk about this.
Bhajan ID 24
To one without ego, with dharmic shraddha, with compassion, the Guru grants superior Jñāna.
We will learn about this through an Upanishadic story.
Once, there was a kingdom ruled by king Jānashruti. The king used to generously donate cows and other valuables and would often donate food and build a lot of infrastructure for the people. He did not have any feelings of doership whatsoever. (Many people take a lot of credit for doing some projects, even for doing a poor excuse of a project, but this king did not). We should not boast about Annadana done to 10 people, we should be ashamed we didn’t do it for 20 people.
Over time, the news of his dharmic shraddha and his service to the needy and his compassion reached the Devatas.
When we do some donation, we do it with expectation. We negotiate with God and say if we find success, we will offer God a sari. That is wrong. We should do puja without desires.
But this king had no feeling of doership whatsoever. He just wanted to serve God. He was happy to serve. The gods felt he was ripe for earning Jñāna. Each person has a Devata protecting him/her. Each star has a Devata. Each person is born on a particular Nakshatra and that Nakshatra is their guardian angel. Foreigners worship that angel before they go to bed. We should also learn to do that.
One day, due to a lot of heat during the day, the king could not fall asleep at night. The king went to the terrace. The Devatas took the form of Hamsas (swans).
Sometimes, you’ll see birds in the sky flying in a beautiful pattern, they maintain the pattern whichever direction they move in. They all seem to be in perfect unison. We humans do not have that unity.
God’s creation is so wonderful.
The Hamsas were all flying in the sky. One Hamsa spoke: King Jānashruti has done many social welfare projects. His radiance, fame, etc., has spread to Dviloka (this is Bhuviloka – earth, and that is Dviloka) as well. His fame is like the radiance of the sun. Another Hamsa said: Keep quiet. This king is inferior. His punya is nothing. We should not even talk about him. It would be sinful even. Look over there, a physically disabled man being pushed in a cart there. That Raikva is greater. There is no one greater than him. Even if you combine thousands of such kings’ punya, it won’t even match the dust on Raikya’s feet. He is a great jnani. Let us all change our direction and behold the effulgence of Raikva. Merely thinking of him will bestow jñāna on us. This king is no match.
King Jānashruti heard this conversation and could not sleep. His mind was filled with unrest. Am I a sinner, am I a fool? Why did they talk about me? Who is Raikva?
The king sat up grieving not knowing what to do. It was Brāhmi Muhurtham. Who here knows what Brahmi Muhurtham is?
One should not be in bed after 6:42am (after sunrise at the place). This is very bad. They will not be able to achieve their goals. Those who wake up before sunrise will earn Guru’s grace and accomplish what they wish. They will pass the tests in life and will get married per plans. They will be healthy.
Brāhmi Muhurtam (before sunrise) set in and the king’s mind was still turbulent. The panegyrists sang praises of the king. The king felt that Raikva was the right person to sing praises of. He wanted to see Raikva. He immediately summoned his charioteer and told him what happened. He informed the charioteer that Raikva would be seen near a cart (as the birds have spoken of).
The charioteer had men sent in all directions including rivers, forests, etc., to find Raikva. It is hard to find a small cart. The men all came back with no information about him. The charioteer then set out to search on his own. He came upon a deserted place where he found Raikva (Raikva in Sanskrit/Chandogya Upanishad/a poor, unknown cart-rider/kind of mystic/beggar). He had never seen such effulgence before. It was as if he was in possession of some magic. However, Raikva was dirty and his clothes reeked of sweat and dirt. His clothes were likely never washed since the time they were made.
We have so many clothes that we do not wash. We think because it’s some synthetic fabric, we don’t need to wash it. We should only wear clean, washed clothes.
Raikva’s body was filled with sores that oozed pus and blood. He was sound asleep during the day. Due to itching, he had scratched his entire body. His body reeked, but he had immense effulgence in his eyes. The charioteer approached him and asked if he was Raikva. Upon confirmation, the charioteer was very happy and ran back to inform the king.
The king did not ask that Raikva be brought to him. Kings usually order like that. But this king was a wise man. He took gold ornaments, 600 cows, gems, and sumptuous delicacies with him to Raikva and presented them to him. He prostrated to Raikva and prayed for jñāna.
Those days a person went to a guru, served with brahmacharya, then got jñāna, and only then got married. These days, one marries at 18, divorces at 20, remarries at 22…like that; no brahmacharya till marriage at right age, etc.
One can get jñāna from Guru in three ways per the Shastras:
1) Serving Guru with Brahmacharya and getting Jñāna is one way. Even if married, one can follow brahmacharya and serve the Guru. The Guru may give Jnana later when the time is right.
2) Offering our vidya to the Guru and receiving his Jñāna. Whatever vidya or skill we have (there are 64 kinds) we offer that to Guru and gain Jnana in return.
3) Offering Dakshina and receiving Jñāna in return.
The king adopted the third path since that is what he was able to. He was too old for Brahmacharya and had no Vidya to present.
That is why he took all the Dakshina with Him to the Guru. He prostrated to Raikva and prayed for Jñāna.
Raikva saw all that was presented and gently said he did not need any of it. Who would take care of all that wealth? Who would tend to the cows? He did not want any of it. Further, the king was unhappy and discontented. The one in grief is said to be inferior to humans.
Raikva said: You are in grief, so you are inferior to humans. I cannot accept the charity given by one who is in grief.
The king was a good man, no doubt, but fell into grief ever since he heard the words of the hamsas. Giving charity in grief is not charity. You must give with happiness.
When you give charity, praying for removal of difficulty, that is not charity. So, one giving charity should have no grief. This is what Krishna taught us in Bhagavad Gita as well.
In every instance, sadhaka must only think of duty, but not experience grief. The mind should never grieve for what is being given. If you give it in happiness, what you give will be doubled.
The king realized his mistake, abandoned his grief and gained dispassion. He bathed the saint and decorated him with love. He gave away his kingdom to the saint. Raikva, who had no legs, ruled the kingdom. The king became a great jnani. Over time, due to intense sadhana, he attained liberation and divinity.
The summary of this story is that – By Guru’s grace, one with Dāna guna (charitable nature), dharmic shraddha (faith in Dharma), compassion, will also have divine help. Worldly matters will not be a hindrance. Grief will not come to such people. Jñāna will surely fill their hearts.
So, we should not have grief; we should not do charity or donate anything in grief. That bears no fruit and will not bestow Jñāna.
Bhajan ID 8533
Bhajan ID 1567
Bhajan ID 305
HH gives instructions to devotees about coming and attending tomorrow’s program. To bring their own water, and there will be some donor who would be giving away small water bottles. To have food that is not too spicy and hot spicy. To have only idly dosa like that. Jokingly tells that some devotees have this chance to take head-bath nicely with shampoo etc., so that they will come clean and NOT smelling! Also, their lice and dirt only will go off and not the dye in their hair!