December 31, 2011
Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji – December 31, 2011 – Dallas TX USA
Jaya Guru Datta
"Swamiji is always sitting and twisting a thread, tying knots in it. He’s praying for you, twisting your problems to help you overcome them. You put 13 knots on the thread that you tie here as “toram” in the Hanuman temple. That represents the 13 years the Pandavas were in exile.
There’s a beautiful story in Mahabharata about the famous, Hanumanta Vrata, Hanumat Puja. Draupadi once asks Sage Narada why there was such a calamity in the family, why there was no peace. The Kauravas were not letting the Pandavas live in peace. Sage Narada advises Draupadi to perform Hanumat Vrata, a special Hanuman Puja. Draupadi, who was in Bhima’s house at that time, performed the Puja as directed. Bhima participated in the Puja. Draupadi performed the Vrata after which she tied the sacred thread around her neck as was the custom. Subsequently it was her turn to live in Arjuna's house. He asked her what the funny and ugly thread around her neck was for. Arjuna said he liked seeing a diamond necklace around her neck and wondered why she was wearing the ugly thread around her neck. Draupadi then explained that she performed Hanumat Vrata as directed by Sage Narada who was like their Guru as a result of which she tied the thread around her neck. Arjuna was very annoyed and upset on hearing Draupadi said. He said the Monkey God wasn’t really God. Arjuna went on to say that Hanuman sat on the flag flying on Arjuna’s chariot and that Hanuman was like a servant, not God. “A servant is a servant” he said. Draupadi tried several times to explain the importance of the Vratam. But, Arjuna didn’t listen; instead he threatened to abandon her if she continued to wear that thread. Draupadi then relented since she didn’t want to fight with Arjuna. Draupadi decided to reconcile with her husband. These days, we don’t want to reconcile with our spouses. But, Draupadi wasn’t like that. She was a “pativrata” (faithful and obedient wife). She obeyed Arjuna’s order and removed the thread and tied it to a tree. Hanumanta was observing all this. He was about to teach Arjuna a good lesson.
You all know what happened after that. The Pandavas were in exiled for 13 years. Slowly, Arjuna began understanding, after about 13 years. He asked his brother, Dharmaraja, why they had to go through so much hardship. Dharmaraja said he didn’tknow why and wondered whose mistake led to such hardship. At that time, Sage Narada appeared. He explained about Hanumat Vrata. Arjuna then realized his mistake. He admitted to his mistake and undertook the Hanumat Vrata himself. He prayed to Hanuman saying “You are not Monkey God, you are Parabrahma”. After that the Pandavas were victorious in the battle against the Kauravas. The Pandavas got their kingdomback. Kauravas were vanquished.
Hanumat Vrata stated in Tretayuga itself. We perform this Vrata on Hanuman Jayanti day. This Vrata is performed by many people – Tamil people, Telugu people, Gujarati people, Oriya people and Kannada people perform the Vrata. Different people in different areas perform this Vrata. Maharashtrians also perform this Vrata. Hanuman is a popular deity inIndia. Not only inIndia, but inThailand, Sumatra, some small islands around there, Japan, China, even Korea, there are so many people who are devotees of Hanuman. They believe inHanumanta. Not only Hindus. Even in Muslim countries, they say Monkey God is good; He’s protector, guide, and savior. That’s why people from so many countries viewed Shatashloki Ramayana. Because Hanuman is non religious. Hanuman story is a beautiful story - about how to serve our country, how to obey our parents, how to obey our king, very easy and valuable stories about Hanuman.
Swamiji’s childhood had wonderful experience with Hanuman. If you read Swamiji’s life history, you will understand the Swamiji Hanumanta connection from Swamiji’s childhood. My mother, father, forefather, all of them believed in Hanumanta, Lord Siva and Rama Vrata. After 20 or 25 years, I don’t know what happened, there were no Vratas, no Hanumanta Pujas in my father’s house. Later on, we understood, Hanuman Puja is not just Pujas, rituals and bhajans. It’s service to humanity. So many temples, schools and hospitals came up in Hanuman’s name. Many kinds of service including medical service. We need bhojan (food) also, just as we need bhajan. Bhajan is for our mind, bhojan is for our body. We need both.
Swamiji wants 10 million views of Shatashloki Ramayana within a certain period. After Shivratri, Swamiji is going to Ayodhya for 2 days. Before Shivratri, I want at least 25 million views of Shatashloki Ramayana. Let’s do as much as we can. There’ll be a big homa in Ayodhya. There will also be medical camps there in the name of Lord Rama. So, sooner we complete those views, the better. You are capable (of collectively reaching the desired view count), you can do it. You are lucky, you have the internet infrastructure (here in theUSA). It’s difficult to view it inIndia because the internet infrastructure is not adequate. So, Ashramas are getting laptops to view Shatashloki Ramayana since it’s not possibleto view at home (due to lack of internet). So, the top 10 list (of viewers) is very good.
But if you cannot, then it’s not necessary to be in the top 10. Just do it because Swamiji is asking you to. Every day, 2 views of Shatashloki Ramayana are enough. Tell your friends, let them also view. Swamiji is always talking aboutShatashloki Ramayana, he won’t rest till it’s done. That’s his strong sankalpam (determination). After deeksha (vow to complete the desired number of views is fulfilled), I cool down slowly. Doesn’t matter whether you listen or not. I am mad about Shatashloki Ramayana. Shatashloki Ramayana is running in my mind 24 hours a day, every day. Ramayana is like our bible, like our Bhagavad-Gita . We need Ramayana. Ramayana is not just a story. Once again, go see and viewShatashloki Ramayana. Tomorrow morning, there’s a beautiful session. Happy, happy, happy, happy new year! Tomorrow, I’ll tell you the numerological significance of the date. Traditionally, we calculate the start of the next day with the sunrise. 12 midnight is different (although the date changes), that’s just a science metric. Sunriseis what we count. I bless you all.
Don’t write your atmakatha (biography) and feelings on Facebook. You shouldn’t write. There’s no use writing such stuff. You’ll become a laughing stock. If you write like that, I’ll remove you from my friends’ list on Facebook. Be careful about what you write.
Jaya Guru Datta!
Happy,happy new year!"
Sri Guru Datta
Courtesy: Archana Penukonda