Oct 14, 2012
Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji – Mahalaya Amavasya - Mysore - October 14, 2012
Jaya Guru Datta
Om Aim Hreem Shreem Shiva Rama Anagha Dattaya Namah. Today is Mahalaya Amavasya. It is a day that is special for the ancestral spirits. From eleven or noon till 2 PM you have a chance to bathe in the Saptarshi Sarovara. The water also will not be too cold. Take a dip wishing well and praying for your ancestors.
Today the Navaratri celebrations begin. These ten days are also called Dasara. On the last day we conclude by bidding farewell to the deity, the Mother Goddess after decorating her fully as Rajarajeswari. On Vijaya Dashami day we pray for conquest over our ignorance. Arjuna represents spiritual ignorance. Mother Goddess gives them the weapons during this time so that they can destroy their ignorance and their six inner enemies. That is the spiritual significance. This is the spiritual aspect of the Mahabharata. Here the Mother Goddess represents the energy that resides in all the yoga chakras, beginning with the Mooladhara. That is why we refer to these as the nine layers or veils. Our body also has these nine layers that are related to these chakras. The Yogi crosses these barriers that correspond to the chakras and obtains Supreme Bliss.
Many claim that they have raised their energy from the Mooladhara and have raised it up and up and up. We listen to such talk with amusement. The real Yogi who has attained bliss does not engage in such talk. When people boast of such things, it is as if some infection has occurred, causing those inner noises. No such noises are heard. No such visions occur. Only lords of yoga who have strayed and fallen from the path speak like that.
We refer to the Lord as ghora and aghora, having a fierce form and a gentle form. We describe him as one who resides in the Soul and as one who resides in a cremation or burial ground. Does it mean that we are comparing the Soul with a cremation ground? Whatever one places in the cremation ground turns to ash. It loses all its attributes. It becomes free from all features and attributes, it becomes nirguna. Hence, a cremation ground denotes the formless Supreme Lord. That is why Kashi is referred to as the great cremation ground. We mistakenly think that Smashaana, a cremation or burial ground is where you find a lot of corpses. That is not the meaning here. It is where Siva appears in His formless state. It is a place where the body that is stuck to the soul is discarded. It is a place where the sense organs that are stuck to the body merge with the earth and the other elements. They lose their form. What is Smashaana Shanti? Smashaana is not a bad word. It is not a disgusting word. It refers to a place that is peaceful, where one is freed from form and features. Smashaana refers to a place that resembles the sky or space.
When it is said that all great yogis gather at the Maha Smashana, it does not mean that they all congregate in a cremation ground. It means that they are all merging in the space element that is featureless and formless. We do not know the meaning of certain words. We use them carelessly. For ease of understanding sometimes no other words are substituted for them. There is no substitute word for this. Hence, the same word is used. Peace of mind, ‘Manasshanti’ has no substitute. Nemmadi, calmness, does not give the same meaning. For ‘Annam’ there is no substitute word. Bhojanam includes different items used to fill the stomach. But Annam is in a category by itself. Prana, Jeeva are some other words that have no words in English. Smashaanam and Samadhi are also like that. Sanskrit has specific words that have no substitutes in other languages. Batuku, Bona, Pinda, and other words mean something different than Annam.
Sanskrit is the language of the Gods. It is the celestials, who have taken forms as human beings who have invented this language and many intricate sciences as well. We make fun of the language and the knowledge that they have given us because we do not understand them. They are really divine in their nature. You recognize it in some people and you exclaim that there is some divine aspect in them. When Swamiji speaks, sometimes he deviates from the written script, because he finds a better way to explain the subject.
Take training on how to register for Facebook and how to download music from flipkart. There are counters with computers where assistance is being given. Please utilize the service.
Also write Om Namo Hanumate Namaha. Place your signatures and names of friends and relatives on the cloth that will be left at the Gandhamadana Mountain after the consecration of Lord Hanuman. The time is fast approaching. Please join Datta Seva for social service projects, adopt Bonsai plants and take photographs with Swamiji. The pictures will be given to you in digital form.
Volunteer your time and do some work. Volunteers will be given a badge and will be given work to do. Daily much cleaning needs to be done in the Nada Mantapam and in the kitchen. Unless you wear a uniform, the volunteers will throw you out.
Sri Guru Datta