Aug 29, Sivananda
Discourse on Sivananda Lahari
Day 28, August 29
Jaya Guru Datta
Sri Ganesaya Namaha
Sri Saraswatyai Namaha
Sripada Vallabha
Narasimha Saraswati
Sri Guru Dattatreyaya Namaha
Sri Ganapati Sachchidananda Sadgurubhyo Namaha
Bhajan: Ajam nirvikalpam
Bhajan: Gam gam Ganapati
Bhajan: Balaka priyane
We must remember the 32 forms of Ganapati and offer prayers to Him.
There are 12 Ganapati names that are powerful.
Today it is Ganapati festival. Bhakti is being taught to us by Sri Bhagavatpada. Swamiji is in Vijayawada in Sri Kshipra Ganapati sannidhi/proximity, performing Satsang. We are also doing Satsang here. We will visualize Sadgurudeva in our hearts and will have the Satsang in our hearts with Him.
Ganapati is the son of Siva. But the sloka on Ganapati says: Suklambaradharam Vishnum. Vishnum means fair.
Verse 60:
Rodha stōya hruth śramena pathika sschāyām, taror vrishtita,
Bheetah swastha gruham gruhasthamathithi deena prabhum dharmikam,
Dheepam santhamasaakulasscha shikhinam shheetha vruthastham thadha,
Chethassarva bhayapaham vruja sukham Shambho padambhoruham
Hold the feet of Siva with the fervor as a man caught in a flood seeks the shore, like a man seeking shade in severely hot summer, like a man In getting drenched in the rain rushing home, like a starving man seeks a donor, a home, a householder’s home where he will be given some food, like an impoverished man runs to seek the grace of the king, like a man in darkness seeking light frantically, or one who is freezing in the cold seeks a fireplace, seek Siva, who will dispel all fears and troubles, destroy all sins, and grant all comforts. O mind, please seek the lotus feet of Siva with great fervency. O mind, please listen to me. Please register this firmly in your mind. You are unnecessarily wasting your life. How to hold the feet? Sri Bhagavatpada is teaching us how to approach God’s lotus feet with genuine devotion.
Many people pretend to be holy persons having graduated from the stage of being devotees. They claim that Swamiji has told them in their dreams that they have also become equal to Swamiji. They give all kinds of justification to confirm their claim. They are very arrogance and show off their fake holiness. They say that the wife comes and prostrates to his feet every morning.
Perhaps she is afraid that he will hit her if she does not do so. We get deceived that dressing like a devout person is devotion. We are misled into thinking that boasting about being devoted is true devotion. We mistakenly believe that being diplomatic and speaking to impress others is devotion. We all pretend to be devoted. It is said that with devotion liberation may be attained. How is it possible? It is also said that only Jnana/spiritual enlightenment gives liberation. If that be the case, then how can bhakti/devotion grant liberation?
All the scriptures, Narada Bhakti sutras, the Bhagavatam, and including the Bhakti sutras in the Shandily Upanishad, everywhere it is said that devotion is the path to liberation. What actually is devotion? Sri Bhagavatpada is giving us a definition for devotion. This is a divine explanation. If we understand just this one sloka/verse that is enough to know truly what devotion is. Can it be called devotion if you call out to God in despair because you are in difficulty? Is it devotion to randomly remember God once in a while when the mood strikes? What is devotion? Like in everything else there are gradations in devotion also, as inferior, mediocre, and superior. How do we progress from inferior type of devotion to superior quality devotion? How to recognize true devotion? What is genuine devotion? Here, Sri Bhagavatpada lists the qualities of devotion and says: This is devotion. This is so we can pray to God to grant us bhakti/devotion.
Everyone thinks that in Sivananda Lahari one offers praises to God. Great souls begin any discourse of work by first attracting the attention of the audience. Thereafter, they proceed to give us instructions on what they aim to teach us. That is how they express their compassion towards us.
61st verse:
Ankolaṃ nijabeeja santati rayaskkantopalam soochikā,
Sādhvī naija vibhum latā kshithiruham sindhussaridvallabham,
Prapnothiha yatha thatha pasupateh pādāra sindhu dwaiyam,
Chetho vruthi roopetya thishtati sadā saa bhakthirithy uchyathe
That is what is called devotion. What?
The staff held by Dattatreya is a staff from the Ankola tree. It has lots of thorns. The thorns are not removed. Only Datta in Avadhoota Sampradaya/tradition holds it with the thorns, It is very challenging. There is a town by that name in Karnataka. Only some fallen seeds turn into trees, not taking root in the ground, but the seeds fly up and stick to the trunk of the tree and take root. It has to be researched by botanists.
Like a magnet attracts iron pieces or how a needle seeks a magnet and sticks to it. The needles, although, inert, speedily move towards the magnet. The magnet is ready to attract like God. We must allow the mind to run towards God. How Sita Mahalakshmi is ever attached to Rama, like a chaste wife, whatever he speaks is the gospel from the Veda. The way a creeper adheres to a tree, like the creeper winding tightly around the Mallikarjuna tree, like that we must seek God, with one-pointed focus.
Siva Mahimna Stotram is a wonderful work. There the poet says, you are like the ocean to the rivers; in Poompuhar, Kaveri reaches the ocean. Krishna river was born at Mahabaleswari; Pancha Ganga kshetram It is my favorite center in Maharashtra. It finally reaches the sea at Hamsaladeevi in Andhra. The Ocean attracts the rivers. Our mind must yearn strongly to reach God. The heart must melt and flow. The heart cannot flow towards the head of God, but can flow down only towards the feet, flow downward.
See all the examples: objects reaching their final destination. Siva’s lotus feet are our final destination. Pasupati and Raghupati are one and the same. We do Pasupati dhyana in the evening with Sivananda Lahari and Raghupati dhyana in the morning with Yoga Vasishtha.
Our heart must merge in the feet of God. The heart must melt and flow down to the feet of the Lord. As the river feels the powerful attraction of the ocean pulling it towards it, we must feel the magnetic pull of the Lord, drawing us towards Him.
Our mind must run towards the feet of the lord. Only then we are true devotees. Constantly we must be focused on God. That is devotion. That is the definition of devotion, where there is absolutely no distinction between us and God, no separation. Sita is always thinking of Rama. Will she turn into Rama? Hanuman got an idea. Rama thinks of Sita and becomes Sita. Till both Rama and Sita will be there. This verse explains what devotion is. If we experience this type of intensity, then we can call ourselves devotees. Otherwise we are not eligible to call ourselves devotees. We are only on the path of developing devotion. We are only seeking devotion.
In bhajans, in Stotras we learn valuable lessons. There are very special words used. We have to recognize them and understand the inner meaning. We think that decoration and outward show is devotion. But true devotion is not that.
Bilvatree, Shami tree, Ankola tree, rose all have thorns. Where there is value, there is difficulty to reach it. It is like the road leading to Ganagapura, such a massage trip. One has to go through that experience. We really pray for the journey to end. It is such a bumpy road. A journey that should take half an hour takes four hours. After that trip, the car has to be given for repairs.
Namadharaka keeps falling on the way, it is said in the Guru Charitra.
Ankola tree is filled with thorns. The seeds fall to the ground and they jump up and stick to the trunk. I wish someone would take a video so that we can see it happening. Only rarely the seeds sprout where they fall. In Karnataka and Maharashtra only they have these trees. It is not easy to find those trees. Ankola is also a family name. They belong to the Datta tradition.
What life force do the seeds have, to move on their own? Yet, they travel towards the tree trunk.
Devotion is like a mother who protects her child ever.
Bhajan: Sri Kshipravarala Ganapati Sachchidananda
62nd verse:
ānandāśrubhi rāta noti pulakam nairmalyata schādanam,
Vācha śankha mukhe sthitaischa jatharā poortim charithrāmrutai,
Rudrakshai rbhasitena deva vapuśo rakshām bavad bhavanā
Paryankhe viniveśya bakthi janani bhakthārbhakam rakshati
Bhakti/devotion is mother. Jnana/knowledge is father.
Devotion takes care of a devotee as a mother protects her helpless infant.
By their protection and guidance, we gain salvation. An infant is helpless and mother alone takes care of it. He can only cry. He cannot take care of himself.
Sri Bhagavatpada took Sanyasa at the age of 8 and left home. Still, he remembers the tender loving care received from his mother. Swamiji tells us all the time about the care he received from Sri Jayalakshmi Mata.
In the Swamiji’s Life History I became speechless to speak about Sri Jayalakshmi Mata. Similarly, now I am lost in the emotion expressed in this verse. It is difficult to speak.
The baby cries loudly, and pitifully. How does the mother pacify the child? With tears of joy the mother looks at the child, remembering the this child remained inside her *** for nine months; and the tear drop falls on the baby from the tip of the mother’s nose.
Tears of joy are not salty. They are sweet like rose water, says Tukaram. You go to the temple and return with tears of joy in your eyes.
Devotion, as mother gives us such thrilling joy.
The baby feels that tear drop fall on it and is thrilled with joy; and the child gets goose bumps. Its hair stands on end. That is how thrilled the baby feels. It stops crying. It keeps looking at the mother.
When that sensation comes, all diseases get cured. It detoxifies the system. The muscles become free. When the hair stands on end, it has a healing and curing capacity. When the mother holds the baby in her arms and drops that tear of joy on the child, the child feels overjoyed and stops crying. It is only possible for the mother to bring about this change in the baby.
What else does devotion do as a mother? Even the poorest of mothers gives her best cloth to cover the baby. She fully covers the baby including the ears, to protect from cold air and carefully observes to see that the baby is well protected from insects, and the changes in temperatures. The mother is so protective of the child. If by morning the face is bitten by mosquitoes, the mother cannot bear it.
When we sing bhajans or chants, we get purified. The toxins leave our body. Devotion builds a shield around us. The way the mosquito net placed around a baby protects the child from mosquito bites, we get protected from the bites of some mosquito-like people who surround us sometimes, stinging us with foolish questions like: Why do you need devotion? Why do you visit temples and ashramas? Such people are like mosquitoes.
Brush them aside. Consider them as insane people.
The story of Guru or Paramatma is used by the devotion-mother to fill the ‘Uggu ginne’, the small container resembling a tiny conch shell, used to feed small babies. She fills that vessel with the nourishment called stories of God. The mother adds some rock candy to protect the child from indigestion and sore throat.
Now our misfortune is that babies are fed with formula milk. We heard the story of the misfortunes suffered by the Kali Yuga Krishna. No wonder Krishna chose not to be born in Kali Yuga. With the container, we have to hold the container and feed the baby carefully. The bottle is simply put in the baby’s mouth and is left. It is unfortunate. Sankha is next best container to use, to feed the baby with nourishing food, after mother’s *** milk.
Deva means self-effulgent. The mother is always worried about the health of the baby. She goes to the doctor and gives treatment. It is difficult to diagnose the problems of children. Pediatricians have a hard time. Mother removes Drishti. She places vibhooti and the black sacred ash from homa. Wearing vibhooti is very advantageous to everyone. She offers special prayers. She places a Raksha on the baby for protection of God. She chants the names of God and places the child in a cradle to comfort it. She gently swings the cradle called contemplation of God. She thus protects the child. Mother does not leave the side of the child. She sleeps on the floor, right beside the child. There is no life without mother or devotion-mother.
By your dhyana in the form of a cradle, she puts you to restful sleep. Such is devotion-mother.
Once devotion fills our heart, it is like being in the presence of mother. It gives great security. The moment one reaches home, the first word uttered is Mother.
This is a beautiful verse.
Bhajan: Palaya Gananatha
In the next verse, the story of the devotee, Kannappa, also Thinnudu in Telugu, is remembered. He is associated with the pilgrimage center Sri Kalahasti. At Srisailam, Sri B is remembering Thinnu.
Kannappa was a mere hunter. But his devotion was extraordinary.
Someone must have questioned Sri Bhagavatpada about devotion. That is why he gave the example of Kannappa, the lowliest amongst people, but the greatest amongst devotees.
Ganapati Laddu is given to Subba Rao who has donated the laddu and also has offered one lakh rupees for it. Ganapati has tasted it. Please distribute it to all the devotees.