Q & A session with HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji – March 27, 2016 – Mysore
Compiled by Archana Penukonda
Question :
Do the birds of Shuka Vana prefer to be alone or do they prefer to be in groups?
Answer :
They are like human beings. Some of us are introverts, some of us are extroverts. Similarly, it’s up to each individual bird. Some like being alone, they don’t talk to anyone. Some talk to everyone, get chided by everyone and get into trouble.
Some are happy by themselves, they are not bothered by other people and their issues. Others want to know about everything that’s going on all around them, they want to know what’s happening in their neighbors’ house, they want to gossip. They are filled with envy. Birds that live in groups tend to fight with each other. We studied them and have captured videos. They fight so much that a bird dies almost every month. It’s usually the weak ones die. Even if we separate the weak ones from the flock, a stronger bird will die. That is why, it feels like it is better to live alone. At least, they’ll be alive.
Question :
Why can’t the grace of God be on me 24 hours a day?
Answer :
What are you doing at night time? You sleep. Why sleep? Don’t sleep. Constantly think of God. If you do that, you will have God’s energy and grace for 24 hours a day. But you can’t do that. Are you in a position to think of God for 24 hours, without bathing, without sleeping, without eating? God knows how much you need. He knows what to give and what not to give. It depends on each one’s karma. If you want His energy 24 hours, you must think of Him 24 hours. You have a physical body, so you should follow your karma. If you are able to think of Him for 24 hours, go live in the Himalayas and meditate. Then, maybe if your prayers are sincere, you will get His grace and energy 24 hour a day.
When we have time, we think of God. At that time God also remembers you. He is much busier than you are. If you want to get that strength and grace of God, you should put all your focus on God and forget everything else.
Question :
If you pray on behalf of your husband or your son, would they get the merit?
Answer :
Can you eat on behalf of your son or husband? Can you sleep on behalf of your son or husband ? It’s exactly the same. Each one’s karma is his/her own.
If you hire a priest to conduct some rituals, the priest gets the merit. Because the priest is visiting, you get the house cleaned. The priest does the worship and goes away. Who gets the benefit of that worship? The priest does. You sit on the couch and watch. You find time to fight 24 hours of the day. Instead, pray quietly. Instead of fighting , read the Bhagavatam, it’s the most peaceful thing to do.
Question :
How do we realize what the purpose or calling of our life is? We are born, we grow up, we get married, have children, but what really is the purpose?
Answer :
Each one should have his/her own goal. Otherwise, people just do the mundane – go to school, get good grades, get a degree find a good job, get married, have kids and then you want the kids to grow up, become competent, get married and have kids and it goes on. By the time you think of you goal, 75% of your life is over. Each one must choose his/her own goal.
That is why, right form childhood, introduce children to Sadguru. He will show them a good goal. You think everything here is forever. But truth is that nothing is permanent.
If you have chosen the Guru’s path – the Dharmic path – first, take care to not hurt those around you. You cannot pursue a great goal in life if you are constantly hurting your parents and the people around you. We should pursue our goal without bothering others. You should not do recklessly as you wish. The walls did not give birth to you. Your parents gave birth to you. Your mother and father work hard to bring you up. They have made you what you are today. It is to those parents you owe your life and your gratitude. You can’t be selfish. You can’t be reckless in your pursuit without care for anyone else. That cannot not Dharmic. It is bad not to have a good goal. Your parents have done a lot for you. It is our duty to support them. That is your true, final goal. If you do that, you will be freed from the karmic debt. If you do not repay the good you have received, you will die in debt. If a professor advises you to take up a particular subject of study, and you adamantly take up whatever you wish, you may fail.
Do not be obstinate. It’s a kind of ego. You have a right to be independent. But you should not be egoistic, stubborn and obstinate. You have to learn to live your life and achieve your goal without hurting those who have brought you up, without hurting your friends and family. This applies to both boys and girls. If you want a Dharmic life, you cannot be egoistic and obstinate. You have to think about those around you. You have come to me. You are a disciple, you are my devotee. I help you. I have extended my hand of love and friendship. You will have to stick to what I say. Dharma is the right path. Lead a life of Dharma. You cannot walk away and forget my advice. You must take my advice and live by my principles. Otherwise, our friendship has no meaning. It has no value. When I tell you to not hurt those around you, you must follow. When you don’t follow, you are rejecting my friendship. Don’t respond to anger with anger. Respond with calmness.
Question :
Why do we always ask for things from Swamiji? We approach Him selfishly. We saw Swamij coughing. Is anyone bothered that Appaji is coughing because of us. Is anybody concerned? Did anyone ask if Appaji is suffering, if He is okay? Is this our karma that we only think about ourselves?
Answer :
If you think of me as an ordinary person, the question asked is correct. But, I am fire. Therefore, whatever I take on, I have to suffer for it. Someone comes and tells me about his/her problem. I transfer that to myself and experience it. You have no medicine for me. I have medicine for you. Your medicine is only your love for Swamiji. The more you love Swamiji, the more your medicine (for me) works. Last evening, I didn’t think I could sing, because I had so much cough. But I came and sang bhajans for 2-3 hours due to your love and devotion. The new people who came yesterday may not understand – they may think people are lying about Swamiji not being able to sing due to the cough, because Swamiji looked fine. Swamij is singing only because of your love. That’s why there was no cough. If you show the same love everyday, every minute, I’ll be okay. That is my only medicine. That is the only help you can give.
If this cough were mine, I could’ve given to someone else. But this is not mine. It is someone else’s cough that I’ve taken. I’m not an ordinary friend. You cannot understand. It is my job to take on others’ suffering. I can’t sit idle. I’m fire. Why is fire always snapping, popping and roaring and turning into ash whatever is thrown into it? Does fire have to work that hard? That’s fire’s job.
Question :
We go to Vinayaka temple. We’ve been told that we should circumabulate the shrine at least 3 times. People that have the energy do it. It is said that if we circumambulate the Lord who circumabulated his parents three times, we get a lot of merit. I want to know how it is beneficial.
Answer :
There are three kinds of sleep. There are three bodies. Each of the bodies – gross, subtle and causal has sleep. We are born for a reason. We are born because of our own karma. God is not responsible. He is a silent witness. (The devotee who asked the question interrupted with her comments).
God will not curse you if you don’t circumambulate 3 times. You did not let me speak. It was a good spiritual topic, but you interrupted. Now, that topic is gone.
(The devotee interrupts again to ask another question.)
Swamiji: Some people think asking a question is the end goal. Some news reporters do this. They don’t care about the answer. They just want to ask the question and they want to make that question the headline. Many people just want to ask the question. They don’t care about the answer.
(Same devotee asks question below)
Question :
I’ve heard elders mention that offering one salutation to Lord Venkateshwara is equivalent to offering salutations 18 times. I want to know about this?
Answer :
One must have faith in what elders say. Why do you want the details – what does 18 times mean? We don’t need that. We are placing our faith in God. We should also place faith in our elders. We should take their words as gospel. If you do 3 circumambulations, it is good for you. It is good for the three bodies too. They said that offering one salutation is good. But they also said that when you get old, you can do everything internally, in your heart. You can do Atma-Pradakshina – circumambulation around your inner self. You can worship God within your heart. If you are confined to the bed, you can do all this in bed too. The mind should always be set on the Lord. Those who have energy can do 3, 5 or even more circumambulations. When you were young, you had the energy to even climb the mountain to Lord Venkateshwara. But, I can’t do that now. Can you do that now? We cannot do that at this age. So, we can offer our salutations from wherever we are.
Elders have already told us what is appropriate for each age. An ailing person has no rules. If you forbid him to eat during an eclipse, he will die. If a diabetic is not allowed to eat until 1pm in the afternoon, he will have to be admitted to the hospital at 2pm. He will soon be on his way to liberation. Protecting our life is Dharma. Killing ourselves is not. We should protect our life to the extent we can. It is an important Dharma. If you want to protect your life, it is enough to offer that one salutation to the Lord. Whether it is Lord Venkateshwara or Lord Ganapathy or Lord Subramanya Swamy, they all have the same energy. We should not consider Gods as different. They are all one.
Question :
In 2007, when I camped at Manasa Sarovar, I came out at midnight and looked towards Mt. Kalias, it was shining with different colored rays of light. Right now, scientists have determined that Kailas is the center of the earth. Therefore, because of the sun rays falling on the peak, perhaps, it was shining with 4 different colors from 4 different directions.
Secondly, the peak is shaped like a crescent moon and the peak looks like a bowl turned upside down, with an entrance in each of the four directions. 3 doors are closed, only the main door is open. People there say that Siva and Parvati reside in the inner cave. If we go around Mt. Kailas, it takes two and a half days. Many landslides may happen during that span of time it takes to go around the mountain due to which some people may lose their lives. A local tribe says that there are saints doing penance that are protecting the mountain. They say that every night, at midnight, one can hear the Damru. I request that Swamiji talk to this since He’s journeyed there many times.
Answer :
To answer all these questions, I have to write a big book. A small answer won’t suffice. There is a book called Manasa Brahma. Whatever you heard is true, it is what each person feels. The Big Ben in London looks golden from one side. From the other side, it looks like silver, from yet another it looks like brass. People argue about the material it’s made of due to the various colors it emanates. If you walked around it, you will see 4 different colors. Whatever you heard is right, but it’s hard to describe. You gave the answer to your own question. If you read Manasa Brahma (available in Ashrama book stall), you will find the answers. Going around the mountain takes at least 3 days for older people but the local Chinese and Tibetans there can do it in 1.5 days, even if they are walking on their knees. Some people even roll over while going around the mountain. They’ll either go up or down from there. Like this, stories about Mount Kailas abound. There aren’t one or two, but thousands of books on Mount Kailas. If you read all those books, you won’t even feel like going to Manasa Sarovar. One Westerner once wrote a book – I can’t remember the title of the book – but it’s in the library. He wrote very beautifully about Manasa Sarovar and Mount Kalias and surrounding places. He described Kailas wonderfully. Finally, he said that he wanted to keep the feelings he had about the place alive and that he never actually visited the place himself. He was afraid that his imagination and feelings about the place may change if he visited. A lot of singers and composers don’t listen to other’s compositions because they are afraid that their own work and style may be influenced by what they hear. Like that, it is hard to describe how each person feels about Mount Kailas. That experience stays with each person. Even if someone told you about his experience, it would be hard to believe. You must experience yourself. If you want all the experiences that place gives you, you may have to take many births. Making a single trip and reading 3-4 books will not tell you about Mount Kailas or Lord Shiva or the Ganaas. That is why, read the book Manasa Brahma once. Your question will be answered.
Question :
A person experiences karma throughout his life. I believe that we can do some Pujas to get rid of karma to some extent. Is there a remedy for all karma or do we have experience it?
Answer :
Once we take on a body, we have to experience karma. Without body, there is no karma. Because there is body, there is karma. There is no remedy. There is no escape.
Question :
It is said that God created this world and is everywhere. So, why do we get drawn to temples like Tirupati and Msyore so much as if God is in temples alone?
Answer :
Say, there are 10 girls walking by, why are you drawn to only one of them? Of course, if you were attracted to all 10, they would smack you with their shoes, but that’s not the point. Why are you drawn to only one of them?
When you eat your food, you prefer one particular curry over others and ask your mother to serve you more of that. Why is that? You like one color over others. Why? You see many people, but you want to keep seeing Appaji. So, your mind is just draw to these things. For some reason, the mind is draw to that particular curry, to that particular color. And because you are unmarried, the mind is drawn to that one girl. If you were married, your mind wouldn’t be draw to another girl, or you would receive a beating. Therefore, all this is in your mind. It’s not in Tirupati or Mysore or anywhere else. It is in your mind.
Sri Guru Datta