AvadhootaDatta Peetham

Discourse on Sivananda Lahari

Day 11, August 8

Jaya Guru Datta

Sri Ganesaya Namaha
Sri Saraswatyai Namaha
Sripada Vallabha
Narasimha Saraswati
Sri Guru Dattatreyaya Namaha

Sri Ganapati Sachchidananda Sadgurubhyo Namaha

asato ma sadgamaya
tamaso ma jyotirgamaya
mrityor ma amrtam gamaya
Om Santissantissantihi

Please lead me from untruth to Truth, from darkness to light, from death to immortality. May there be peace.

Today is a very special day. Pavitrotsava began today at Sri Datta Venkateswara Temple. I just commenced the event which will continue for three days. Please have darshan and participate in the event. This is an annual program. On Sunday the Lord will be decorated with Pavitras. Please have darshan of the unique alankara.

Sri Swamiji has given us darshan at Varalakshmi Vratam. May Mother bless all devotees.

Tomorrow the Bengaluru Bhajana Mandali will perform Bhajan Seva. We will join them. We will also try to have a short discourse.

Bhajan: Varanasya vakratunda ..

Verse 20:
Sadā mohātavyām carati yuvatheenām kucha-girou
Nata tyāśā-śākhā-svatati jhatiti swairamabhitah
Kapaalin bhiksho me hridaya-kapi-matyanta-capalam
Dridam bhakthyā bhaddhā shiva bhavad dheenām kuru vibho

Yesterday while praying to the Lord, Sri Bhagavatpada said, we are all fulfilled. Brahma is your devotee and you favor him. We are also your devotees. Hence, you will certainly favor us also. There is no need for you to change our destiny. You refuse to do it out of respect for Brahma, and I understand that.

He is now presenting a new method for offering prayers. Sadguru never presents anything unfamiliar. He introduces relevant current events to draw our attention. This stotra is very important in this modern day.

Where women are honored the gods will shower blessings. Women these days are treated horribly. Demons are better compared to the men of today. Ravana took Sita but never touched her. There may be several reasons for that.

We must inculcate the fear of sin in people. People have become fearless of sin and its punishment. Daily do Satsang at home. Discuss Swamiji’s Life History. Discuss good points from the Ramayana and the Bhagavatam. Repeatedly this must be done.

These days we are glued to the Television. The criminals these days are youngsters. Do not be discouraged saying how can we change anything. Do not place the entire blame and responsibility on the government and the police department. You must develop awareness in all the people around you of the consequences of committing sin.
Sadguru goes from town to town, from home to home to teach good things and give moral instruction.

Children will listen to you if you teach them properly. Entice them to you with friendliness.

An atrocity occurred in our Capital city. We read also about a teacher who abused a student and a father who confined his daughter in a room and physically (sexually) abused her. How to remedy this situation? We depend on the police to control the situation. Excessive *** and excessive greed amongst people must be curbed. In the olden days there were discourses in temples. Even now there are discourses. But who attends them? Aged women come and they are busy preparing lamp wicks. Off and on they lift their faces and look up. The speaker thinks that they are paying attention. No. They look up only to take rest in their chore. The speakers get discouraged. I tell them, Siva is listening. Give the discourse for His pleasure. I tell the cinema and drama people to include a beneficial message in their story themes. In the villages also these messages should be spread.

I am happy by your grace, O Lord Siva.
In youth, amongst the teenagers, passion runs wild.
Sri Bhagavatpada gives this message to them.
This is a very interesting presentation of the topic.

O Lord Siva, you are a great yogi. But you work so hard to beg for alms. Who will give you alms, looking at your frightening form and your begging bowl which is a skull? People will only accept your blessings and gifts. They will never give you anything in return.

If one day God stretches His hand and actually eats the food that you offer during worship, the next day you will stop offering Him food. The food will go straight to the dining table, bypassing the altar.

You are ever in a peaceful state of mind, O Lord. If people offer you anything you accept it. If nothing is given to you, you simply move on. I will give you a great idea on how to attract people and receive more alms.

In the olden days, beggars used to bring bears and other animals to attract and entertain children, giving them rides on the animal. The animals are badly tormented.

My mind is a monkey, no, it is Godzilla. It cannot be controlled or captured. It runs wild in the jungle. Even a monkey in a zoo cannot be caught by us. This jungle is none other than ‘Illusion’. Even Bandipur or Amazon forests have boundaries. But this jungle called illusion has no boundaries. No one can control this mind from chasing after women with a bad intention. It hops from one branch of temptation to another, like a monkey. It does not even pause to eat its food properly. It eats, but it will not allow other monkeys to eat. It is very possessive. It wants everything for itself. It moves faster than the eye can cope. Even lightning can be seen but this monkey mind moves faster than a flash of lightning. Mind never rests in one spot. The heart is an unsteady monkey. How does it help you to know this? Siva, what is your name? You have very strange names. Kapaali is one name. You carry the skull of Brahma in your hand. You wear a garland of skulls.

We offer a piece of dosa or chapati for some creature to eat. Earlier we used to offer it to fire. These days the stove will go out if we do it.

You have Ananda, Bliss with you. Please give that to me. You are a beggar. If you simply ask for alms, no one will give you anything. The householders will keep offering excuses. You should attract the children of the household to you. Then the elders will come and give you alms.

Once a monkey is tied up by men with a rope, other monkeys will sense the scent of humans and will not accept that monkey again in their group, should it ever return. Similarly, a devotee or a spiritual person, when he goes back to the common crowd of people, will never get accepted as a part of their group in the world. He has to return to the group of devotees, back to spirituality.

A monkey ran away with a cap. The man, to make it throw it down, will toss a stone, then a pen, then a banana. The monkey will simply take the items, but will not throw down the cap. Water flows down a slope. But the mind will not flow like that. You have to deliberately grab my monkey mind.

Swamiji said give me your sins. I sometimes redistribute them amongst you. Be careful.

This stotram/hymn is very powerful. It contains the essence of all the Sastras.

Tie tightly my monkey mind to your foot with the rope called devotion. You make the monkey dance and do acrobatics. Then the children will gather around you in glee. Small children need entertainment. The parents are busy watching TV serials and have no time to play with them. If someone else comes to keep the children busy, they feel very relieved and happy to get a respite. You then accept the sins of the family as your bhiksha.

Sri Bhagavatpada is great enough to tempt even Siva. Please take me under your control. You have to do it on your own initiative. A monkey will never ask to be captured. You must do it. Please use my mind. May my mind become your servant. I cannot give it to you. I have no power to do it. You must grab it and control it.

A constant prayer like this will reduce the restlessness of the mind. You offer a fruit or treat to attract a monkey. Nama Sankeertana or Mantra chanting (deep pondering), Nama Lekhana (writing the name of God or mantra) are good methods to slow down the restless mind.

The rosary’s purpose is to keep the mind in control. Sometimes the mind gets so absorbed in the mantra that people forget to turn the rosary. Do not fall asleep. That is very important. Sleep comes only when stress is removed. Bhajans calm the mind. How to pray to God is shown by Sri Bhagavatpada.

Mantra siddhi has to be achieved to earn God’s blessings.

Bhajan: Jyotirlingakara …

Verse 21:
Dhruti-sthambhā-dhārām drida guna nibhaddhām sagamanām,
Vichitrām padmādhyām prathi-divasa-sanmārga-gatithām
Smarāre macchethah-sphuta-pata-kutīm prāpya vishadhām
Jaya swāmin shakthyā saha shiva ganai samsevitha vibho

Now the topic shifts from monkey to house.

I have given you an idea as to how to effectively earn your Bhiksha. Once you have collected it, where will you sit to eat your meal? Kailasa is filled with snow. It is extremely cold. You do not even have proper clothing to keep you warm.

God has created this egg-shaped Universe with 14 worlds in it. Ganga came through a *** in the egg shell. Brahma collected the water in his water *** and washed the feet of God.

I will show a fine tent in which you can take shelter. This cottage/tent is tied with strong ropes. How can I bear the thought of you eating your meal like a homeless destitute? This beautiful and strong mobile home will go with your wherever you go. It can be easily transported. It protects from the chill and it is attractive. It is nicely painted with different colors. How can you sit under a tree or in a temple to eat your Bhiksha?

A small box was shown in a video. Out of it emerged a house with all the required rooms. It was a wonder.

Devotion makes it possible to build a home even for Siva. God is all-pervasive. And yet, a devotee can build Him a home.

When you go to the Himalayas, to Manasarovar, you see tents with a central support pillar over which the tarpaulin is stretched. The beam that is used here is courage, intelligence. The body rests on such a beam. When I prayed that you possess this monkey mind of mine, at once, this mind became a suitable home for you to reside in. It is tied to you with a strong rope. The three Gunas make it easily transportable. It is very strange, this house, as strange as the mind.

In Japan where there are earthquakes and volcanoes, the homes are very simply constructed and are mobile. The people can easily dismantle the house and carry it away on a bicycle.

If it is just dusty and not attractive, what is the use? This mind-home looks like a lotus when viewed from above, like a Nagalinga Pushpa/flower. Where there is a lotus, Siva lives there. It does not remain in one location. Just as you keep wandering constantly, this home also is easy to move and is mobile. It is placed always in a suitable and good location where it is not stinking. You are the enemy of Manmatha, the god of desire/***. Smaraare.

God of desire makes us forget discretion. So Siva burned him to ashes.
Many subtle different meaning are there for the different words to den
ote mind. Sanskrit is a very versatile language. We only say kidney, liver, or lungs. But in Sanskrit there are many words to describe each organ. For the science of Spirituality there are many specific words. In English you only have mind and heart. There is no exact word for antahkarana. Unconscious and subconscious do not exactly convey the sense.

Do not think that this home is small. It is a huge mansion. I wish to see you seated in this mansion as its Lord. Grihapravesa/ house warming is not done in solitude. You need a huge gathering. Please come, not by yourself, but with your consort and the entire entourage. Fill the entire mansion, not leaving room for anyone else. My ‘mana’/mind must become your ‘mane’ (home in Kannada). He is inviting Lord Siva the way we invite Sri Swamiji for a house visit to our home.

O Lord, you rule this world. I am not worthy of offering you a home. You create and sustain this Creation, and withdraw this into yourself.

We will continue tomorrow. Tomorrow is Sravana Sanivara/Saturday. Please have the darshan of Sri Datta Venkateswara.

It is Varalakshmi Vratam today. We remember Mother Goddess.

Bhajan: Amba Vandanam…

Victory to Mother Varalakshmi.

Sri Guru Datta