April 10, 2016
Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji - Bhajan session - April 10, 2016 - Hyderabad
Compiled by Archana Penukonda
Sri Maha Ganapataye Namah
Sri Saraswatyai Namah
Sri Padavallabha Narasimha Saraswati
Sri Guru Dattatreyaya Namah
Jai Veera Hanuman ki…Jai
Pavan Suta Veera Hanuman ki…Jai
How many of you offered Poorna Phala, raise your hand? It’s good to offer Poorna Phala this year. Make time for it. There’ll never be enough leisure, but you should make time for it. There’ll often be crowds, go regardless. It’s something we have to do. Jai Datta.
Those who have the energy can make 16 circumambulations. Older people that cannot, can close their eyes and do Atma Pradakshina (going around the inner self). Be committed to Hanuman and do this, it is good for you as well as for this place. Hanuman will be happy, because we are worshiping him in this Kaliyuga. Everyone must tie the Purna Phala. You will see the results for yourself. Everyone make use of this good opportunity. We get many opportunities in this world, but it’s hard to get good opportunities. That’s why, when we devotees are blessed with good opportunities, we should make use of them. Don’t let go of them. We are often faced with obstacles in pursuing those opportunities. Not every one of the opportunities goes smoothly. But the Guru shows us the goal to help us.
We should follow the path of Sadhana (spiritual practice) to that goal. That is when we will be victorious.
Jayalakshmi Mata, the Mother Goddess, the primordial supreme power will bless us. We all want Jayalakshmi (goddess of victory). Jayamu Jayamu ninnave Jayalaskhamamma. We need that victory, in every instance, even while breathing.
Sometimes, we can’t breathe very well. Therefore, we should pray to Mother Goddess - Dhairya Lakshmi (goddess of courage), Dhanya Lakshmi (goddess of food and nourishment), Dhana Lakshmi (goddess of wealth and prosperity), Santana Lakshmi (goddess who grants children). We should develop good habits to attain victory.
In the olden days, those habits were called vows and there were rules for the vows. If we practice those vows, we can achieve anything. We don’t follow those rules. We practice rigorously for two days in the beginning. The laundry man puts all his energy into washing and ironing even a ragged mat, but over time, doesn’t even pay attention to washing expensive silk clothing because he knows that this customers have no other option but to go to him. Now-a-days, however, that is not the case. We have washing machines. But even then, it’s difficult sometimes.
When there’s too much electric power, it almost destroys the clothes and when there’s very little electricity, the machine barely works. We use analogies in understanding rules. When we lead our life by understanding such examples, we are able to better fulfill our lives.
This bhajan is from 2 years ago.
Bhajan: Jayaho Jayaho Laksmhi Ma…
This is a Navavarana song. It describes the form that the Mother has in the Navavarana. It describes the Mother’s form in the six chakras. It describes the form of the Mother of all worlds, the supreme Mother, the Mother who protects us. All the 333 crore Gods worship the mother. Mother is not just Lakshmi, not sure Adi Parashakti, not just Saraswati, she is actually Mother to all of them. She is beyond all energy. She is Chit Shakti Chetana Rupini.
The Mother is the energy watching the entire world. She knows which world needs to be dissolved and where there needs to be new creation. She is the Mother who appears in all forms. She is all-pervading and she pervades all “avaranas” of the Sri Chakra. She is not only the energy in our body – from Mooladhara to Sahasrara, the Vishnu Granthi, Shiva Granti, Brahma Granti etc – but she goes beyond all that and appears in her cosmic form. She is in every being and in every state. That is why Lakshmi, Saraswati and Maha Durga worship the Divine Mother. That is why she is Sri Chakra Bindu Rupini. So, she is like the little dot that cannot be seen by the eye. The Sumeru Bindu cannot be seen with the eye. We have given in a shape, as the Mother’s form, but that dot cannot be seen even with a microscope. Such a Mother sometimes takes on a form and protects the world. Such is Adi Parashakti – the primordial supreme mother. There are shrines and images of the form of Adi Parashakti, but that is not Adi Parashakti. She has only assumed that form.
The Mother is formless and is beyond all attributes. She is our veins and she is also the blood that flows in them.
You may wonder why we have problems with our red and white blood cells count if that is the case. Even though she is the blood, we need to take care of it for it to be in equilibrium. The Mother has given us the power to take care of it. When we don’t nourish them well, they will not function properly. When that happens, our kidneys fail and we need dialysis so that we can keep purifying our own blood. So, the things that happen in our body are all linked to the Divine Mother. Therefore, when we have a problem in the body, we say “Amma!” (mother). We are not referring to our birth mother. It’s the unknown mother. Even our mothers can’t do anything much except help to the extent they can. The pain can only be relieved by the Divine Mother. That is why every person whether young or old, that has a problem – whether it’s a headache or a problem with any of the Indriyas or any thing else – always thinks of the Mother. We say “amma”, “ammo” or “ammayya”. It’s only after that we call out to other Gods. Even an old man first says “amma” when he falls. So, we are always unknowingly worshiping the Divine Mother. Shiva, Brahma and Vishnu are praying to the Divine Mother. This Bhajan was composed during Navaratri in 2008. She the Mother is the energy of the Sri Chakra that encompasses everything from Mooladhara to Sahasrara
Everyone sit in Padmasana. If you can’t do it, don’t force it. The Padmasana is the Sri Chakra related to Mooladhara. We are in the form of a triangle with the apex at the head when we sit in Padmasana. The Bindu is at the Sahasrara. In order to always protect the Bindu, the Government urges people to always wear a helmet while driving. We refuse to wear a helmet. The Government imposes fines for non-compliance. We are willing to pay the fine. After 2-3 violations, your driver’s license will be confiscated. If you are ever in a bike or car accident, the doctors will first ask if there is a head injury. If you don’t have a head injury, you are safe. There is a subtle Brahma Randhra (the hole in the crown of the head through which the jeevi is said to escape at the time of death) at the top of the head that is not visible. You can’t see any of the chakras from Mooladhra to Sahasrara.
They are called plexuses and appear as a bundle of nerves. In Yoga, they are called energy centers – Mooladhara, Swaadhistaana and so on. All these are described in the Bhajan we just sang. If anything impacts that invisible energy, the mind will die. We cannot do anything. We’ll be in coma. If we are alive, we’ll become a vegetable.
Someone always will to keep taking care of us because of our disability. Nobody will want to serve us. That is why, remind your husbands, your siblings, your children to always wear a helmet. You should all support each other.
Whatever it is, insist on them wearing a helmet. It’s okay if it gets very not under the helmet and you feel like you are losing your hair, at least your life will be saved. You can wash your hair once a day. If you are a man, you can just chop your hair off. Why do you need so much hair? The shaved head is easier to maintain. Women don’t have the luxury. Because I am neither man, nor woman, I always have that luxury. I am Ardhanareeshwra (the divine form that is half man and half woman). If you look at my body, half of me appears as a woman and half appears as a man. I am Ardhanareeshwra. So, both Siva and Parvati are in me. Lakshmi and Narayana are in me. I have more of a motherly nature because there is a little more female in me than the male. That is the case with Siva-Parvati and Lakshmi-Narayana as well. There is more Parvati than Siva, more Laskhmi than Narayana in their Ardhanareeshwara forms. That is why the Mother is always next to the Lord. So, you men can easily shave your heads. This summer, you can offer your hair to the Lord in Tirupati. You can then relax for 3 years.
These musicians and percussionist have so much difficulty maintaining long hair. When they play their instrument, they want their hair to dance along. With the hair over their face, it’s like a cat that drinks milk with its eyes closed. A North Indian musician once told me, “Swamiji, pardon me for saying this, but they don’t provide fans for our fellow musicians. So, when our hair flies, it gives them some cool air”.
Bhajan: Datta Deva Datta Deva Pahimam
In this song, the entire life history of Lord Datta is summarized in just 4-5 stanzas.
Bhajan: Vande Shankara Mariharam
Bhajan: Valadayya Srihari Valadu Valadu
This is a very beautiful bhajan. It’s like an Upanishad, full of Vedanta. It’s filled with dispassion. It has wonderful meaning. Don’t miss this bhajan. You can listen once again on Yogasangeeta. If you have any Telugu friends, you can ask them for the meaning. It’s a very powerful bhajan.
Bhajan: Venkatarama Sankataharana Kinkarapaala Govinda
Bhajan: Hanumantudu Vachchaadu Anandamu Techchaadu
Bhajan: Datta Suguna Gataguna Saguna
The Chennai bhajan group is expert at picking beautiful bhajans. They pick melodious bhajans. Our Andhra people pick fast-paced bhajans. We should pick melodious bhajans and intersperse them with some fast-paced bhajans.
There’s a method to setting the sequence of songs. You can ask Jayaprada and find out. The way we set the tunes and sequence of bhajans should be good. You shouldn’t sing whatever you please. Each subsequent bhajan should be different. Jaitra and team, you should develop a few sets of bhajans that we can pick up and sing at short notice.
We have a couple of announcements we made yesterday. Since there are new people today, we will repeat them. First, Chant Hanuman Chalisa and take it to every town and village as well. Many school children, even Christian and Muslim school children are chanting the Chalisa. I wanted 100,000 individual video recordings of Hanuman Chalisa.
We already have 50-60K. Please accelerate the pace. We should reach the goal before Swamiji goes to Trinidad.
Swamiji will stop in the US enroute to Trinidad and make preparations. These videos will be placed on a private server and after a year, sent to the sky so it circulates in the sky for about 40 yeas. So, those who haven’t yet recorded, please do so soon. Your photo and your chant will be circulating in the skies for 40 years. You won’t be able to see it, but Swamiji will. Those 100k faces and their voices will be in the skies. We need 55K more recordings. We received 100k recordings, but the good ones that are selected are only 45k in number. We need to pick good ones. We removed the ones that had wrong pronunciation. You can ask Pramod if your video was selected by sending your address and your photo. If it wasn’t selected, you can learn properly and record again. You have 4-5 months more. So, please do it quickly. Your voice will go to Hanuman’s Loka (world) and will always be there. Of course, we are all already in Hanuman Loka. But there’s another world called Gow Loka, we should go there. Our voice should be there forever. If it’s there for 40 years, it’ll reverberate for another 40 years. So, it’ll continue with that progression and eternally be there. There is a calculation for that. That is why, everyone please record.
The second announcement is regarding Ashrama maintenance and Guru Nilayam maintenance. If the garden here looks so good in such heat, there’s a lot of maintenance that goes into it. That is why, those who support and serve Guru Nilayam, don’t lose that opportunity. Also, the shrines and the scheduled Pujas need support. You can join that group to support with whatever your means permit you to donate each month. Every time you come, offer Purnaphala.
Try to visit every Sunday as if Swamiji were here. You never know when I show up on Skype. You never know when I show up in person either. Once when 8000 people were doing Anagha Vratam, Swamiji, unbeknownst to anyone came and stood there in the Begumpet Ashram. How many of you remember? You can never forget that. That may happen here as well. Come every Sunday and do bhajans. Spread the word door to door. If you visit every Sunday, some expenses will be reduced. The only expense would the travel to and fro. You will get good behavior. You will have avoided garbage movies on TV. We go to the parks to *** time. It is so hard to find time, don’t *** time unfairly. We should not even talk of it, “We somehow want to pass time”. Is it so hard to live? We should not waste even a single second.
Imagine that you are at ***’s door every second. That’s the Bhajan/Abhang I’m going to sing. This is the song that Jnanadev is singing. It is said as soon as we do a single chant, we are at ***’s door. We get four kinds of liberation. Dharma Artha Kama, Moskha can all be crossed. All three bodies can be left behind and we can attain liberation says Jnanadev. Never waste a single second. We should be happy we are alive and not lament this birth.
Never be listless. This life is not ours. *** has given us this gift. Don’t spoil it. It is inevitable that our life end one day, but why wait for it from now. Do good things.
Third announcement - we are going to lay sheets on the top of the Ashram structure. Cooling sheets are now available. The cement sheets that are there now are very old and need to be replaced. Swamiji got it constructed like this so we don’t get the radiation. A lot of you came forward to donate for the sheets yesterday. We got about Rs 10-12 lacs. Please donate if you have pledged.
I didn’t mention this before – as soon as you come to Mysore Ashrama, go to the office and get an ID card. ID card is the only way you can stay overnight at the Ashram. If you are making a day trip to the Ashram, you are okay. If you lose your ID, you can get a new one at the office. Keep it in your pocket or around your neck. We do this because we’ve had instances where some people fell and got injured or fainted. We had a difficult time since we didn’t know where they came from. The Ashrama doctors weren’t sure what treatment to give, because there was no one from the devotee’s family that was available to sign off (on the treatment). So, you need to put your address, name and phone number in the register and get an ID card. Even if you are a senior devotee, you need to do this. Also, include information on any ailments that we need to know of. For example, if you are diabetic, please mention so that we know what treatment to give you if necessary. Better yet, you can include your blood group and mention that you have a sugar complaint. These two pieces of information are enough. Doctors can easily recognize the treatment. Otherwise, they’ll have to do blood tests and stuff.
If you are going to stay at the Ashram 4 days, please bring 4 sets of clothes. Don’t waste water in the Ashram by washing your clothes there. There’s scarcity of water in the Ashram. Your water supply might suddenly stop. You let the water run while you wash your clothes. The water is getting wasted. That is very wrong. It might seem funny in the beginning, but the owner will be very unhappy seeing this. Regardless of how the owner feels, we’ll run out of water if we do this. If you open the faucet, but there’s no water, remember to turn the faucet off before you walk away. You walk away in anger. Who are you angry with? The entire tank is emptied due to your negligence. That’s not good.
Also, when you are eating Prasadam, get moderate servings. Don’t keep asking for more out of greed and then waste the food. We are drawn to the aroma of the seasoning in the food and we ask for more and more to be served in the first go around. After we eat two morsels, we don’t really like the taste and we throw away the food. So, get moderate servings. If you like the food, come back in line to get more. They will gladly serve you more, they will not refuse. You are wasting too much food. That is not good. If you continue to do that, I will have to hang around when the food is served.
If you use the restrooms, you don’t clean properly after yourself. It feels like I need to be there for that as well for the mistake I made of providing restrooms. So, some such mistakes are happening in Mysore. They should not happen. If you are staying in the Ashram for a few days, you must take up some volunteer activity. Water the trees or pick the leaves, or sweep the premises. Mysore was recognized for its cleanliness. I laughed to myself. I said that Prime Minister Modi was in the Ashram for a long time, so he may have mistaken the entire city to be like the Ashram. If he spent some time in Mysore city, it would never probably have got the recognition. Now, the city is doing something to keep up the recognition.
We should also try to be clean. The garbage on our streets in pushed to each other’s front yards. What’s the use? We need to step on the garbage to enter the house. We get the infection. So, we should observe all this. There is a way to live. Devotion alone is not enough. You must learn these things too. Even if you don’t have devotion, at least learn these things. Devotion will automatically come. If we think these are unnecessary, *** will not come to our unclean houses despite our devotion. A lot of people wonder why Swamiji doesn’t appear in their dreams. One reason is your deep slumber. The second reason is the impurity in your mind. If you are snoring in your deep slumber, I will run away scared from there. Or, the mind may be impure because we go to bed with dozens of thoughts. Then, why would Swamiji appear in your dreams? He won’t. He won’t come to your home.
I was talking about this Bhajan all this while. This Abhang (devotional poetry in praise of Lord Vithala) talks about the benefits you get by thinking of *** for just one second.
Bhajan: Devyachiye dwaari
No one knows or can measure the merit one gains by chanting the divine name of ***, “Hari”, “Vithala”, just once. It is impossible to measure. Who knows? Not even Sri Hari knows. That’s how much merit one gets.
Whatever we do in this world from the moment we are born is guided by the Vedas and scriptures. But, to attain liberation, we need to understand not only what the scriptures say, but also chant the name of the Lord. That’s the purpose of life. We are suffering due to lack of understanding of the truth. We have no respect for the Vedas and the scriptures. We don’t listen to the Upanishads. But, greater than all that is the chanting of the divine name.
Since you cannot do Sadhana in a disciplined way, you are always engaged in nourishing and protecting your life. Only if you sacrifice your life a little will the truth of Vedas and Upanishads be revealed to you. Even if you don’t have faith in them, at least respect them. Whatever merit you get, will be immeasurable.
Therefore, our mouth is the doorway to ***. Go to the temple and sing the names of ***. Don’t be shy. Go to the Hanuman temple and chant “Jai Hanuman” or go to the Datt temple and shout, “Guru Datta” or go the Shiva temple and say “Shankara Shankara” or “Namah Shivaya loudly”. Go to Lord Rama’s temple and chant “Sri Raghu Ram” or chant the Rama Taraka Mantra go to Mother Goddess’ shrine and chant her divine names. We are all shy because we wonder what people will say about us. People are shy to even chant slogans of victory. People are shy to wear the mark on the forehead and to shout slogans of victory to ***. When we lose everything, we are not shy about shouting or lamenting. Therefore, before all that happens, chant the divine names without being shy.
Those whistling (in the audience) don’t whistle out of key when the bhajan is in progress.
Swamiji plays the Happy Tune.
Our volunteers have worked very hard. They did great service braving the scorching heat. It is not just devotion, but devotion filled with love that led them to so much service. Devotion and love follow each other, like Paramatman and Jeevatman. Love and devotion occur in pairs like the two arms, the two limbs, the two eyes, the two ears, the two intestines. It is this love and devotion that led great souls like Surdas, Kanakadas, Meera Bai to liberation. Jnanadev, Namdev and souls like them attained liberation with knowledge.
There was a devotee in Vijayawda who was in the last moments of her life. When Swamiji was about to go to Vijayawada, the family prayed to him to come a day in advance and bless the devotee, since she was almost going to die. I went straight to their house. She was laid on the bed. She was motionless and almost dead. Addressing her, Swamiji said, “Get me some water”. She immediately got up and got me water. I said, “You are sleeping? You don’t have any regard to get up and come when I’m visiting”. She apologized. You may not believe, but she lived many days after that. She wanted to offer something to Swamiji. With the funds she offered, we built the Ashrama kitchen. So, that love and devotion can make even a departed soul come back.
Swamiji’s maternal grandmother loved Bhajans. Chikkamma – Jayalakshmi Mata’s sister notified me of grandmother’s last moments. They used to live in Kesare. Grandmother’s final desire was to see Swamiji. She was the grandmother who cradled me in her arms when I was born. She was extremely fond of Swamiji. Swamiji was *** to her. Chikkamma had a message sent to Swamiji to let Him know that the grandmother was in the final moments and that it would be nice if Swamiji could visit one last time. As soon as I heard the news I ran. It didn’t matter how the news was delivered, I went immediately…since she was the last “mother” I had. When I went, they had already placed her outside. When I asked, they said that since she was in her final moments, they placed her outside. Swamiji asked for her to be placed inside the house since she was still alive. Swamiji went and sat inside. I used to address her as “Atike” or “sister-in-law” and not “grandmother” because I used to hear her sisters-law and brothers in-law address her that way when I was little. I said, “Atike, why are you sleeping?” Chikkamma responded saying she was sleeping so she could see Swamiji. I asked Chikkamma to let grandmother speak since I was talking to her. Each person should eat the food served to them. Grandmother got up from the bed smiling. She used to always laugh when she was with me. “Who told you, you were dying? You need to be alive till Vaikuntha Ekadasi” I said. Chikkamma said Vaikuntha Ekadasi was 3 months away. “Why, you can’t take care of her till then?”, asked Swamiji. “I can take her with me”. She was alive till Vaikuntha Ekadasi. She expressed a desire to listen to the Bhagavatam from me. I told her that would take a long time. She felt that I could say it within a half hour. Swamiji told her the Bhagavatam in a half hour and she listened. On Vaikuntha Ekadasi, she passed away. Like that, many people that were almost passing away came back to life. A lot of those old people like Bhajans. Yesterday, a lot of old devotees were here.
They are very fond of Swamiji. One day, you will also get old. Let’s see how you are then. I will always be in you. I will not go anywhere. If you close your eyes, you will see that I am singing with you, I am talking to you, I am laughing along with you, I am chiding you. You can test it if you wish. Have you ever tried closing your eyes and seeing Swamiji. A lot of you see Swamiji chiding you when you close your eyes. It is so nice when Swamiji chides.
All our sins should get wiped away, isn’t it? Each time Swamiji chides you, you should be happy that one sin has been destroyed. You don’t understand. Listen to the Bhagavatam that Appaji is explaining. When the book is released, read the book as well. ETV is broadcasting Bhagavatam episodes each day. Currently, Swamiji is talking about the Yadu clan in those episodes. Yesterday’s episode was very nice. Each episode lasts 10-12 minutes. Listen to it without fail. Many people in Vijayawada record it. Swamiji is explaining the main Bhagavatam in very simple language without too many slokas. He is giving us all the important episodes without causing us confusing. Listen to it. Also, the life history is being published in Andhra Prabha’s Chintana column. It’ll be published starting 12 or 15th of this month, do read it.
Come visit during Brahmotsavas in May. I will not call them birthday celebrations. They are Brahmotsavas for me. There will be some heat, but pray to *** to give you the ability to withstand it. I am going to Chennai tomorrow and from there going to Canaries Island – it’s an island of birds. It’s a place that is named for the birds. Those birds always sing music.
Jaya Guru Datta.