Question & Answer sessions with HH Sri Datta Vijayananda Teertha Swamiji – 2015
Garland
Question :
When a devotee gives a garland to Appaji (Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji), sometimes He wears it, sometimes He puts it at His feet, sometimes He keeps it on the chair, and sometimes He wears it on His left or right shoulder. What is the meaning of all these different gestures?
Answer :
A good question. Perhaps Appaji should be asked this question. I will try to answer it according to my knowledge. Sometimes Swamiji wears the flower garland. Sometimes He keeps it at His feet, sometimes wears it on a shoulder, and sometimes places it on His head. What does it mean?
It depends on the level of devotion with which the garland is given. Whether He wears it or not, if He accepts it, or even if He glances at it, it is equivalent to His wearing it. If He says, “I have seen it, that is enough”, or if He says, “I have no time today. I have other things to attend to. I am sending volunteers. You may give your garlands and other offerings to them. Or, you may give your offerings at the Datta Temple or Sri Venkateswara Temple”, it means that Swamiji has accepted them Himself as Lord Datta or Lord Venkateswara.
What is important is whether or not Swamiji has accepted your offering. Some people wish to see Swamiji wearing the garland they have offered. Sometimes He wears the garland. It is important to follow certain rules while offering a flower garland to Swamiji. We have some bad habits. Our hands may be contaminated with saliva. It causes many infections. One must clean the body before any ritual. In our tradition we do not shake hands with people because we are not sure whether they are clean or not. In this day of epidemics like Swine Flu, we are discouraged from shaking hands. Even touching currency notes spreads infections. Some people count the currency bills with fingers moistened with saliva. It is wrong. It should not be done. Mother Goddess Saraswati (in the form of paper containing letters) should never be touched with fingers dirty with saliva. While turning the pages of a book one should not use saliva to wet the finger. If you touch money with soiled hands, how will Goddess Lakshmi come to you? She will not come. You weep that you lack the blessings of Lakshmi. Many times we dirty objects and ourselves with saliva. It should not be done. One should wash hands frequently or apply sanitizer. I do not suggest that you become obsessive and bathe every now and then. Whatever you touch, it is better to wash your hands with water.
One does not know what type of water the florist has sprinkled on the flowers. You purchase the garland, stuff it in a cover and bring it. When you take it out, it drips with water. You expect Swamiji to wear it. How will he wear it? It smells bad. We call it devotion. What we are giving is ten rupees worth of material. Swamiji would prefer it if you put the ten rupees in the hundi. You may prepare a small, clean garland and offer it, as in the olden days. Instead of spending money on flower garlands, you may give towards Swamiji’s projects of educating poor children or feeding the hungry. In your name, meritorious charities will be conducted.
The flower vendors have to live. But they have to be told to make proper garlands. See how beautifully these are done. What we give is not important as how we present it. This question gives me a chance to mention this. Even if the object is broken, if that is all you have got, package it nicely, and label it “with love” when you gift it.
Once, during the Navaratri festival, Swamiji got 104 degrees fever. He could not stop the rituals. The doctors found the source of the infection as the flower garlands. They advised Him to stop receiving them. Swamiji refused to heed their advice. He said that if His devotees give Him offerings with love, He has to accept them even if it makes him sick. When He is so loving towards us, how intensely devotional we ought to be. He liked it. He took it and kept it to a side. He wished to see it adorning Datta. So He sent it there. It is His wish. Regardless of what He does with what you have offered, His acceptance of it is what matters. We should not differentiate on the value of offering according to how he treats it. We should not think that the garland placed on His head is of a higher value. The one placed at the feet has greater value because the feet require protection. The feet are kept soft and cozy. How fortunate that flower garland is! “No. How fortunate I am for having given that garland!” is how one should think. That is important.