Speeches of HH Sri Datta Vijayananda Teertha Swamiji – Hyderabad- November 11, 2012
Speech in morning
Sri Ganesaya namah
Sri Saraswatyai namaha
Sri Pada Vallabha
Narasimha Saraswati
Sri Guru Dattatreyaya namah!
Sri Ganapathi Sachindananda Sadgurubhyo Namo Namah!
Happy Deepavali to all!
Celebrations start today for all of us. Tomorrow is Dhana Trayodasi. Today is Dwadasi, Sunday, all the stars aligned for us. Swamiji must be playing Deva Mani Raga Sagara concert in USA as we speak here. We performed Srichakrarchana, Tailabhisheka and Rama Taraka Homa here at the same time! Very happy.
This Hyderabad trip is unplanned. It has become customary to go to Warangal for Deepavali every year. Last year was an exception. This time, Warangal people wouldn’t leave me if I don’t go there. So on the way I covered Nellore, Karappah, proddutur, Karnulu, Pamidi, Kadiri… and then I couldn’t just drive past Hyderabad. I felt like seeing you all. Today we gathered for a small congregation here, like Swamiji calls it “family event” sometimes. We have many celebrations at our homes such as weddings, naming our kids etc. These are mostly only attended by close family. Today, we’re having an event for the good of all worlds. So all our Datta family gathered here. It is very joyful and blissful to spend time with the God and Sadguru atleast once a week, or once a month, once a year – or atleast once in a lifetime. The result of that is amazing – We face many tests, running around, tough times, rough times – we forget them all at once and joyfully recharge ourselves. The energy that is available here is great. This is not entertainment – but we do get entertained in a way, unknowingly. This is the best entertainment one can get. If you know the taste of this entertainment, you’ll forget all other ways of attaining it. Ofcourse, those who don’t know this would be confused. They say “Why would these people run around Ashram and Swamiji?” – that’s because they don’t know the taste. Some kids don’t like butter, some other kids hate sugar, some don’t like milk, some hate honey as well. Only until they know the taste. Once they know it, they’ll want it everyday. Same applies to us too. Some even think that we’re wasting an entire Sunday here! Infact, Their Sunday is being wasted. Ours is being utilized in the best way. For them, it is a Weak-end. For us, it’s a week-end. Once a week we can come here, get free food at Annapurna mandiram. No need to cook, no spending on gas. Ofcourse, that’s not the only reason we come here. When gather here and watch all the sacred programs, spend here peacefully, an unknown joy, bliss and energy get filled within us. Just how you need to charge any cellphone, whichever plan it is on. Even the best mobile, with the most unlimited plan with the best provider is useless when it runs out of battery. It needs to be charged first. Similarly, even when everything is fine in our lives, we cannot be happy and successful if we lose that inner peace and joy. That’s why Sadguru is the giver of inner peace and energy. How is that possible? Some of us might like puja, some might like a vratam, some might like abhishekam, some others might like discourses, everyone likes nama sankeertana. We all have tastes. Since we’re all His children, Sadguru gives each one what they prefer and serves the spiritual food everyday. We’re here to take that food. That’s why this is not entertainment. This is energizing your mind. It is as important as exercise to body.
Even though we exercise, if we don’t get enough sunlight (or sometimes moonlight), we don’t get the right amount energy. Moonlight is important too. If we lock ourselves in a room, we get mental depression. Just as we take energy from nature, we get inner energy from Sadguru.
In that path, we witnessed Tailabhishekam today. Tailabhishekam signifies the uninterrupted flow of happiness on you just as the flow of oil on Datta goes. That is one interpretation. Tailam (oil) means grease. It also signifies bonding –the bonding of friendship. Some people dear to us stick to us in all times like grease would, to your body. Sometimes enemies, sometimes overly loving friends. They get attached to you like grease. The prayer we do for the grease like sadness and tough times to leave us is also Tailabhishekam. The planetary defects that stay with us all our life like grease will be removed. Another secret here- We also pray that we will stick to our Sadguru like grease! Similarly we also pray our Sadguru to hold on to us like grease! This is also signified in this process. We’re only using the word grease for simplicity. The real word here is love. May Sadguru fix our minds and hearts to be fully attached to Him. Today we prayed so to the Lord. This evening we have the festival of a million lights. Swamiji blessed us with Manikya Nageshwara Shiva Lingam. It is an extra-ordinary shiva lingam. Only very few people know its power. All Siva lingas in all temples have same kind of energy. God never exists differently in different places. However, some places are extra-ordinary. Because it is installed by Sadguru, He left a very special power at the place. This Lingam remained in Swamiji’s personal meditation room for several years. Having darhsan of this Siva Lingam is equivalent to having darshan of Siva Lingam in Sri Kala Hasti. Murthy, Shankar family has done a lot of service here. After deepotsavam(festival of lights) today, we proceed to special program for Karthika month. Last year they did a small program here in the same month, it was good. This time, there’s a lot of places to visit, so I’m not able to stay in Hyderabad for the month of Karthika. But you’re all staying here- so please make use of all the programs just announced. Not just Mondays or Saturdays. It is said that the entire month of Karthika is same as Shivaratri. Every second, every minute in this month is equivalent to one shivaratri. The rituals of this month go way back in to the past than Shivaratri itself. You should all perform Abisheka to Shiva here during this month. Swamiji has made arrangements for that. With the grace of Sivha, may there be light in your houses forever. May your lives filled with light.
Inquire about special programs in Karthika month and take part in all of those, as much as you can. This evening we are going to witness something special. While performing homa here, the fire took forms of various deities. We will see the slide show of those pictures. It is very nice. We shall witness that, then perform deepotsavam and proceed to the next program. Tomorrow I leave to Warangal for deepavali. You should celebrate it in a grand way too. Remember, its not Diwali, it is Deepavali. Not Diwali, which sounds like Diwala (means going bankrupt). Infact celebrating Deepavali gives you the exact opposite of bankruptcy. Mother Lakshmi herself dances in your homes. Light atleast one lamp that day. Deepa danam is very powerful. Also, give away clothes to poor people. Either new or used, Its ok. Winter is here, poor people will need clothes. The homeless sleep on the street, shivering from cold. Don’t just pass them by and say “When will develop?”. If you say that, India will always remain as a developing country. We should change, we should go and put a blanket on the shivering homeless guy. Then, India will start to develop. Say Swamiji’s name – Say that “In the name of my Sadguru Sri Ganapathi Sachidananda Swamiji, I cover thisd person with a blanket”. You will get the good karma for a 1000 blankets. That is the real duty of a Datta devotee.
This Karthika month, do spiritual and social service. May you all be blessed with prosperity In Sirituality, business, job, discipline, education and so on by our Sadguru.
Jai Guru Datta!
Sri Guru Datta!
Avadhoota chintana – Sri Gurudeva Datta.
Bolo Sadgurunath Mahraj ki Jai!
Speech in evening
Jai Bolo Datta Guru Murti ki Jai!!
Jai Bolo Datta Sena ki Jai!!
Our Datta seva volunteers, SDHS are no mediocre people. They’re no less than Hanuman. I’m very happy to hear what they’re doing. Today we’ve seen two kinds of pictures on display. One is the kind that moves your heart. Your heart melts to that. The other kind are the ones that light up your heart.
Burning orphaned dead bodies – a great seva. We are afraid to even think of those words or to say or hear them. To see the act is also frightening. I was afraid too. Going into the field, actually doing the seva is by no means a mediocre act. It is only possible for a few Datta devotees. This seva is Jayalakshmi Mata’s favorite. Also Sri Swamiji’s favorite service. We hear about “sarpa doshas”. If we face the curse of snakes, we might be affected by some skin diseases, some nervous diseases, some mental disorders, bone disorders or disorders related to child birth. We might face a lot of health problems. When do snakes curse us? When we knowingly or unknowingly hurt one. This world is filled by snakes. We use the earth as we like. The Earth is filled with snakes. They are everywhere, even underground. Unknowingly we dig the ground with poclainers etc. We don’t know how many snakes and other beings get killed in digging. We shouldn’t hurt any being, particularly snakes. Snake is a very important being, a favorite of Subramanya Swami. Everybody is afraid of snakes, so stay away from them. That’s it. Don’t hurt it out of fear. If you killed one by accident or out of necessity, please burn its dead body per vedic rituals. That body needs some ritual. Don’t leave its body to rot. If you do so, the atman that was in the snake’s body so long would be hurt. It was that being’s home for a while. If proper ritual is done, the atman’s journey to the other worlds will be safe and sound. If that journey does not happen, the snake curses it’s killer. It feels bad for the irresponsibility shown. We should not be cursed by a snake. We hear about snake’s curses here and there. If you do the ritual, snake will bless us.
Similarly, burning orphaned human dead bodies. I’ve seen some people myself, belonging to our own Datta Peetham, I won’t reveal names though – some Datta devotees in the country who have dedicated their entire lives for this service. By doing so, some have attained liberation directly. Since when has this service started? Sage Agastya started it for the first time. We come across a scene in Ramayana.
How was this forest named Dandakaranya formed? Someone named Shweta does penance in that forest. He reaches heaven. However, he comes down to earth on a special plane, eats a dead body and goes back.
This seems very weird to listen to; Maybe very disgusting. But we need to listen. If we run away from it, we’ll never learn the moral about duties we need to perform. A medicine student has to open a body and learn about every part. If the student is afraid of it, he cannot be a good doctor. We need to know what is inside us. That same disgusting stuff is inside us. Whatever we eat becomes fecal waste. Not nectar. If we don’t understand things about it, we need to analyze and learn. Only then, Bhakti will grow. I’m not asking you to put it all over your body. Just stay aware of it, don’t be disgusted about it. We need to know how to clean it, that’s all.
So this person eats a dead body. Sage Agastya gives Rama an ornament. Rama denies. Agastya pleads that Rama has to accept it. Rama agrees and takes it. He asks Agastya how He got the ornament. Sage explains that there is a certain saint who comes from heaven and eats a dead body and goes back and that Sage got this ornament from that saint. Rama asks for the complete story.
Agastya explains that the saint has done a lot of penance but never given anything to or fed anyone for once. Even though many in need have approached him, but he never helped anyone even when he had stuff. His penance has gotten him entry into heaven, but unlike other heavenly beings that never feel hungry, this saint is hungry in heaven too. Saint asks Lord Bramha for a solution to this situation. Lord Bramha shows the saint his own dead body lying on earth, without being burnt by a ritual. Bramha says to the saint “Look, you never helped anyone. Now there isn’t one person left to burn your dead body or do the rituals. You’re still hungry because the rituals didn’t happen. Now that there is nobody to do it, go do it yourself. So whenever you’re hungry, go to Earth, eat a piece of your own body and go back to heaven. This will go on for several thousand years. That’s your story.” So the saint asks “When shall I get liberation?”. Lord Bramha replies “Sage Agastya will come one day and do the rituals and burn your body per vedic rules. Then, you will get liberation”. So the saint keeps coming down to earth to eat His own body then on. One day Sage Agastya sees it and asks the saint why He would come from heaven and eat a dead body. The Saint is surprised that someone has come all the way into the deep forest and has seen the act of this eating. Just by seeing Sage Agastya, the dead body is burned properly. Saint Shweta gets liberation. The Saint gifts Sage Agastya with the ornament.
It is said that whoever does rituals and burns orphaned dead bodies and those who support the ones who do that will get permanent place in Bramha Loka. Today I remembered this story. Apparently the bodies burned by our SDHS Volunteers were lying unattended for months now. Imagine how deeply hurt the atmas that were in the bodies must be. We feel bad when we get cold, fever or some minor disorder in our body. Imagine someone left his body and it had not been left to rot. That’s why burning it with proper ritual, even if we may not have the guts to do it, we should support such an act. Our Datta volunteers have done a great service. Yesterday they have had to burn 80 bodies. They were in doubt – “Swamiji arrives today. Should we be there to see Him? Or finish this job first?”. I told them “you got the good karma of seeing Swamiji a hundred times. No problem, go ahead with your job.”
There are many similar services going on. This one didn’t need to be announced, but it was, because you should all know. There are many such activities. Support all of them. We should all get that benefit too. Narayanarao is doing a great job with this service.
There are several secrets in Swamiji’s life story we don’t know. In Jayalakshmi puram…. No, let’s not talk about it now. No. Let’s just say this service is very dear to Jayalakshmi Mata. When Mother Jaylakshmi left her human body, Swamiji was only 11 years old. Such a little kid had to do the ritual for His own mother. Imagine how the mental state of a 11 year old would have been then. Swamiji always wishes that such tough time should not occur in anyone’s life. So devotees who do this seva are particularly blessed by Him.
I thought of saying many other things, but there’s deepotsavam ahead as well. Rani Deekshitulu has explained us this morning about the meaning of deepotsavam, what is its benefit etc. We pray that Swamiji is always healthy, smiling and actively engaging with us. As devotees, we have a duty, a responsibility added to our prayer. The responsibility to make sure all the temples founded by Appaji are run well, all sevas, rituals, prayers etc., social service activities sponsored by the temples, Spiritual activities, our own sadhana are going on well and that they’re happening on time. When we do that, we are real devotees. Swamiji is healthy. That’s why we’re doing all these rituals today. Everybody is responsible for smooth running of their Ashrama branch and the temple associated with it.
Today is dhana trayodashi. May Mother Dhalanaksmi bless you all. We’re seeing a lap there. Here, we’re seeing the Homa pit. We see many shapes during Homa. The first form was started by Agni. Agni takes several shapes and forms. We should catch those shapes. Either the doers of Homa or watchers. The form of the deity being prayed to will be visible in the homa. Now that we have technology, we can capture that form in pictures too. If you have observed the pictures shown today, all the deities that are in this Ashram have occurred in the fire. They are all in the Homa and are protecting us. Homa, Yagna and Yaga are important acts. If we need the blessings of deities, it is possible only by Homa or Deepa. The importance of lighting a lamp for a deity has been stressed in Mahabharata, Ramayana and all ancient scriptures. Please light a lamp everyday at home during prayer. The lifetime left in our body is represented by the oil. The wick represents our body. The light is Sagduru Himself. When we light the lamp of Sadguru, our body and lifetime disappear. If we act stingy about oil, we’ll never get the light. As it is important to spend it to attain the light. Deepavali is the festival that brings such light. We’re celebrating that Deepavali today.
Happy Deepavali!