Sep 16, 2012
Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji during Global Gita Conference - Birmingham- September 16, 2012
Now we are giving Lord Krishna’s blessing to the volunteers, the cameramen, decorators, organizers and others who are very important for the program, for this conference in Great Britain. I am very happy. This has been very successful. 2 days are not enough. At least 5 or 7 long sessions should be held. Summer camps and special discussions should be conducted, including the Upanishads, the Ramayana, Life History of Swamiji, and the Bhagavad Gita. Question and answer sessions only. Questions are always brief. Answers are difficult.
Youngsters are always asking why there are so many scriptures; 108 Upanishads, and so many different Puranas. How can we follow? Who is the right teacher? My question to the youngsters is, “Do you already follow some books or Upanishads? If you do not, then why do you ask?
You go to some candy shop and you see so many types of sweets. You get confused as to which ones to taste. All have sugar inside them. You know that and the shop keeper also knows it. Different tastes occur with different ways of mixing the ingredients. All the books deal with the subject of the Soul, Parabrahman, and Atman. It is the same subject in all the books. Silence and OM are discussed in all the books. Only each gives a different taste. When you have money, you can fly to London. In the olden days, people took ships, and in even more ancient times, they were swimming, or only walking. This ocean was one and this land mass was one in Krita Yuga and Treta Yuga. Jamboo Dveepa means Sumeru; only one land mass. Now people are flying and using different methods of travel. All books are good, no confusion. You choose. Begin with a study. In candy stores, they have a bowl with tasters. Some people only taste and hop to another shop. You can do that only for a few days, only eating the free samples. After that the shop keeper fights.
Begin your study. Only 5 or 6 days it takes to read. Finish this and go to another book. This is creation. You must know about the 5 elements, learn about that. What is it? It is a big subject. Today my job is prize distribution for the behind the camera people. I recognize the volunteers and give them lord Krishna’s prasadam. Yes to the home ministry also, wife and family. Their support is essential.
Sri Guru Datta