September 6, 2013
Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji (highlights) – September 6, 2013 - Vijayawada
If you do japa 24/7, all difficulties will dissolve. Artificially prepared crystal diamonds made from glass have been used in the ornament placed on Mother Goddess today. It reflects 1000 times the sounds of the names of Goddess that we chant in Her presence. She will give us blessings multiplied 1000s of times. Just as the facets of a diamond make the brilliance multiply a thousand-fold, the diamond (although synthetic) shield of Mother Goddess, Ganapati, and Datta will multiply their radiance a thousand-fold. When we chant the 108 or 1000 names in the presence of a deity adorned with such an ornament, our sounds of the sacred chants also get amplified a thousand-fold for the deity's ears. Our benefits also multiply correspondingly.
Don't compare prices of services offered to God. Don't criticize. Don't estimate the value of deities, temples, or ornaments offered to God. Those who do, are the most foolish in the world. Don't boast about gifts you give to Swamiji. It is very wrong to offer food and boast about your generous nature and patronizingly encourage to eat more. You must never insult others or put others down. Only Guru has the right to correct others. Other human beings do not have such a right to criticize or correct others.
Have you studied the Guru Gita? What is the use? Use the pages to make paper sacks. Are you listening to it? Or, are you listening only to movie songs? You criticize that Guru got angry. You are looking at me. No. Look deep inside your own heart. Recognize your own wrongs. Don't make curious inquiries. Instead of encouraging and praising artists you comment and criticize everyone. You are constantly discontented. You build a new house and instead of enjoying it, you wish you had built it on a different site. Is this ours? Do we own anything? Practice contentment. Ponder over Guru's past teachings instead of asking for more and more discourses. From Navaratri or Datta Jayanti, listen daily to Guru Gita for one whole year. Perhaps by listening to the detailed commentary by Swamiji as given on TV programs, I hope that you will improve yourselves. You will give excuses that you cannot wake up at 6 am or you have not electricity.
You listen with your mind, not with your ears, you listen to your own echo of what was spoken at home, to your own quarrels, and you listen to all the bad things that happened to you. Hence, you must gather all your senses together and awaken your mind.
You must never tell Swamiji that you are offering Him a very valuable gift of an item that you bought for yourself. It implies that you will look for it later. If I were to be insulted earlier, I would have thrown the offering at your face. Now, I will accept and ask you to give me even more.
Only Guru has the right to break another’s pride or ego. You don’t have that right. Guru can shatter and crumble your pride to bits. Why is your applause so weak? Should I not do that? Should I always be only praising you? You must praise Guru to His face, not behind His back. If you criticize that Swamiji is being critical, that means that you have not lost your ignorance. You must never brag to Guru’s face that you have made a big charity to Him. You must never interrogate about the value of things offered to God.
Performers require applause and encouragement. You deprive them of that. It is a big deficiency in our people.
You remain discontented about every single subject, including marriage, children, clothes, home, you name it. Is this body our own home? We have to leave this and go. Practice contentment. Don’t keep asking Swamiji to keep giving advice. I have given endless advice. Did you pay attention? Have you thoroughly studied the Guru Gita? In the greatest detail Swamiji has explained the meaning of Guru Gita.
Guru Gita is practical Life History of Guru. Swamiji Himself is telling His own story. Listen to Swamiji’s Life History. It is different when Swamiji tells the story of Lord Dattatreya. Rama felt anguish as He listened to His story being rendered by his twin sons, Lava and Kusa. He had tears in His eyes. He left for a few minutes and returned with a smile on his face. Mother Kausaly asked for the reason. Rama explained that He was now happy that His own story is filled with all the 64 arts and is most comprehensive.
Listen and then always spend time in mulling over the subject. After you listen, you must deeply churn inside the mind. While reading or listening, you cannot deeply churn the matter. You look at the number of pages, and you mechanically read. Like a tape recorder you read or play back but don't earn any merit. You gain no benefit whatsoever when you do that. You chant the Lalita Sahasranama and impatiently count the verses left to finish. You get impatient when the priest is chanting prayers in a temple. How will earn any merit if that is your approach, if you keep looking at the clock and calculate the time? It is a great sin when you become impatient during worship or prayer.
The mind, the sense organs, the intellect, (Some problem with a bus. Note of Smt. Hira Duvvuri: I am attending to that - 10:51 am central time USA) - must be pure mind, speech, action. Swamiji is now busy with birds. Swamiji was recording the Guru Gita 3 days ago. A boy brought a bird. Swamiji scolded him for interrupting the recording. It was a white bird, like a swan. The bird was crying. If it sees you, it will be all right. It sat on my shoulder. Why man falls, how Guru uplifts him, what envelops the man, this is a significant story - why does man falls into illusion and obsessions, what could be the cause? arrogance, delusion, he was explaining the reasons for repeated births. Suddenly I said, I forgot the word. The bird said, "Raga". I was looking exactly for that word, in ragadwesha - like and dislike. Birds have more knowledge than man. Why are men ignorant. Another bird was brought. I was speaking about Guru's teachings, whatever he teaches, must be accepted, even if he says, 'buffalo'.
I asked the bird, "What do you say?"
It said promptly, "Thathaji"
"Why? What has he taught you?
It said, "Datta".
Who is better? An intelligent human being, or a bird with Guru’s grace?
Rama, in a parrot form landed on Hanuman’s shoulder. That is because only Hanuman chants the name of Rama. Rama came to listen to the chanting of His own name. Hanuman has now made other parrots also chant the name of Rama.
In this age, only Hanuman will say Rama Rama, others do not, said Sage Narada to Rama. Hanuman is encouraging the chanting of God's names now. Come and see Appaji's parrots in Mysore, one is lacking feet, another is lacking eyes. How can I discard them? Birds are our ancestors. We were birds once. Don't you wish to fly away also? I do. In the USA they had a show with cars growing wings and flying away.
If you could get wings at will, would you come to Mysore? Yes? That is why Swamiji has arranged so that you don't grow wings at will. Swamiji scolded everyone, canceled this trip many times, and finally came here, enduring much difficulty.
Sri Guru Datta