Speeches of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji – April 30, 2020
Sookti
Compiled by: Parimala Eshwarla
Mitradruhaḥ kŗtaghnasya, strīghnasya piśunasya ca
Caturṇāmapi caiteṣāṃ niṣkŗtiḥ naiva dŗṣyate ǁ
Cheating a friend, forgetting the help received from others, harming or killing women and covetousness are four sins that have absolutely no expiation.
Every deed has its own consequence. A good deed showers good results while a bad deed showers bad results. It is incorrect to presume that only our actions have good or bad consequences. Even our thoughts, words have similar consequences as our deeds have. The good or bad results that arise due to our actions can manifest immediately in this birth or can carry over to a future birth.
The first sin is mitradroha i.e. cheating a friend. He who forever seeks our wellbeing is addressed as a friend. A true friend always seeks the wellbeing of those he loves. Therefore, he always encourages us towards good deeds. He will never allow us to get into bad company or develop bad addictions. It is our duty to reciprocate this friendship and maintain respect for that friend who seeks our wellbeing. Under no circumstances should we think of harming him. We must never cheat or backstab him. The person who cheats his friend will reside permanently in hell. Even during his life on earth he will experience physical and mental agony.
The second sin is ingratitude. He who forgets the help received is called krtaghnata. The quality of being humane is called manavatvam. He who lacks virtues is a demon. He who has compassion, kindness, love and affection and who is benevolent can alone be addressed as a human. Helping others with some hidden selfish intent cannot be addressed as true help. Being ungrateful for the help received from others or abusing those who have helped us in the past is called krtaghnata. Such people face the repercussions of their actions in this birth in the form of troubles and their troubles are carried forward to their subsequent birth too.
Most sinful is condemning the teacher who has bestowed us with knowledge. Insulting the teacher is equivalent of murdering a Brahmin. In case the student is totally vexed up with his teacher’s behaviour, he can stay aloof while mentally bowing down to him every day. In this, there is no sin.
The third sin is disrespecting/ killing women. We come from a tradition wherein women are valued and respected. In every woman the man sees his mother. Abala is another name for woman. Abala also means weak. Merely because of this, women should not be looked down as weak or incapable. Abala means she who lacks the wickedness that arises from arrogance. Such negative energies are missing in her. A woman is a treasure house of virtues such as compassion, forgiveness, affection, warmth and love. These qualities are her inherent ornaments that beautify her. In devotion, women hold a high position. Sadly, some men give in to animal tendencies and insult, misbehave, torture women and even kill them. Those who trouble women have to pay heavily for this sin both in this world and during their stay in hell. They undergo inexplicable sufferings in hell.
The fourth are those who want to covet everything they see. They can never enjoy their wealth and prosperity. Neither do they enjoy their wealth nor do they provide for the needs of their spouse and children. Even the thought of giving away some wealth in charity does not arise in them. Although living, they are as good as corpses.
None of the four types of people mentioned above have any expiation for their sin. They pay for their sins in this birth and in the subsequent ones too. Suffering with terrible painful diseases, being subjected to insults by all families and neighbours, they suffer every single day and die in pitiable conditions.
Message in Bhakti TV Program telecast on April 30, 2020
Compiled by: Jaya Akkanapragada
Śrī mahāgańapatayé namaha
Śrī sarasvatyé namaha
Śrī pādavallabha narasimha sarasvati
Śri guru dattātréyāya namaha
Jaya Guru Datta
We are talking about navavidha bhakti. There are 9 forms of worshipping the divine. For each form of bhakti, there is one devotee who stands out. If we learn about each of them, we can also learn how to worship the Divine.
Śrimad Bhāgavatam begins with the story of Parīkśit. While hunting, he became thirsty and went in search of water. He reached the ashram of a Rishi who was doing tapas. Usually King Parīkśit is known to be a nice person, but maybe it was the effect of kali that made him do something unthinkable. He picked up a dead snake with his bow and threw it around the neck of Shamīka Maharśi who was deep in penance. He was angry that the Maharśi did not notice the arrival of a king. The Maharśi was lost in dhyāna, how could he know what was happening in the world outside? What would be the point of dhyāna if he knew?
When Mahātmās perform puja, they are so absorbed in their worship of Paramātma, that you cannot expect them to notice your arrival. We must never be upset that the Guru did not see us or notice us.
When the Maharśi’s son came and saw the dead snake, he was enraged and declared that in the next one week, the person who had insulted his father should die of a snake bite. Hearing the ruckus, Shamīka Maharśi came out of his dhyāna. Realizing what had happened, the Maharśi sent word to Parikśit that since he only had a week to live, he must save himself and make his life worthy. King Parīkśit went in search of a Guru who could grant him liberation in a week.
Śuka Maharśi was known to only be in a place for as long as a cow could be milked. Such a Maharśi preached Bhāgavatam to Parīkśit for seven days! Parīkśit heard the discourse with such involvement, that he attained mokśa in one week.
You may wonder why I am narrating this story now in the time of Corona. Parīkśit was obviously very blessed to receive initiation from a Guru who never stayed in a place for more than a few minutes. Even though he was so blessed, he had made a mistake and was cursed.
We have also made a huge mistake. We have wronged Mother Earth by polluting the air, skies and rivers. Even in springtime, when nature should be at her best, you have seen how spring has been the past few years. Trees had lost their colour and everything looked so dull and weary. Look at spring now. Trees are so green and rich with fruit! Birds which have never been seen before have finally come out of their hiding. Animals are happily roaming around on the roads. When we took over their territory and built roads and buildings, they were deeply saddened. Rivers, lakes and even the oceans have been polluted. We could never see the clouds in the sky, there was only smoke. Now, in this one month, Mother Nature is so happy!
Earth day is supposed to be celebrated with everyone following a complete shutdown of all factories, and stopping all vehicular traffic in the skies, seas and roads for one full day. But who follows all this? The last time I saw such clear skies and so many stars twinkling in the night sky was so many decades ago when there was fear of war breaking out. We have poisoned and hurt nature just for our selfish gains. Now we realize why nature and all the beings did not seem happy before.
I want to thank the television channels for showing us how the rivers, mountains and nature look now. Everyone is so scared for their lives. There have been no festivals or celebrations. Look at how simple weddings have become now. Why could this not be done earlier? So much money could have been saved. I am happy that engagements are happening online, and weddings are being conducted at home with just five family members present – all sitting at a distance from each other. Weddings used to be such a noisy affair before with so much noise and air pollution. Scientists used to lament saying we must completely shut down all factories and vehicles for one day, otherwise earthquakes and tsunamis would not stop. Now we realize that whatever is happening is our own doing.
King Parīkśit also made a mistake and therefore had to face the consequences. Because of his mistake, Srimad Bhāgavatam was given as a blessing to everyone. Because of our mistake, nature is at peace today. If you observe, big houses which have a lot of garden space, will always be very clean because of the trees and flowers. Whoever loves and respects nature will always be happy. Many of us live in apartments, so we do not have space to plant trees, but we can at least have a few potted plants in our balcony.
In your free time, you should visit parks and gardens. But instead you want to go to malls and theatres and restaurants and eat the same rubbish again and again! Go to a park, and water the plants there. Do not pluck the flowers, just spend time admiring nature and doing some seva there.
Just like Parīkśit who gained mōkśa by listening to Bhāgavata saptāham, we must also develop śravana bhakti. We must develop the power to listen to good things being said. Most people nowadays are so busy on their phones, they have no time to listen! Some people are so engrossed in their phones, they would not even know if someone stole their bags at the airport. Even if a donkey kicks them, they will still look at videos or chat with someone on the phone.
We must learn to sit in a place and listen. The mind should be able to focus on a topic without wandering in all directions. This lockdown has taught us all to sit in one place, now we must learn to listen. You must all listen to the mūla bhāgavatam given by Swamiji. Perform this as a vratam.
Śuka Maharśi was initiated into Bhāgavatam by Vyāsa Maharśi. While listening, Śuka Maharśi was so involved, that he would remember the stories even while going to sleep. He would narrate the stories to everyone around him. Twice while explaining Bhāgavatam, Śuka Maharśi attained samādhi. He lost all sense of his body and was transported to the places described in the story. When we listen to Ramayana, we must also be that involved in the story. Śuka Maharśi epitomized Kīrtana bhakti.
The third is smarańa bhakti. Prahlāda is the best example of this. While in the womb, he heard Nārada Maharśi teaching about Nārāyana. This is why I constantly advise expecting mothers to listen to good music and avoid all quarrels with family members. One must not tell lies or steal. Only good deeds must be done and good books must be read because after five months, the baby inside the womb picks up on everything that is happening outside.
I shall tell the story of Prahlāda in more detail another time. Prahlāda’s mother would wait for when her husband was not around, and tell her son whatever stories she knew about SriHari. No one in the kingdom dared to speak about SriHari since Hiranyakaśipu had declared himself god. No matter how many perils he faced, Prahlāda never stopped chanting the Lord’s name. His stubborn courage prevailed.
We must also practice stubborn courage at this time. There are many people who are hungry and in need of food. While we are trying to provide them with supplies, you must develop the habit of managing with whatever you have. During World War II, do you think people ate fancy food everyday for seven years? Kanji or starch – twice a day is all our ancestors survived on everyday. when people are donating rice and provisions, there are people who are asking for vegetables and ingredients to prepare masala dosa. The ones who are donating can only donate what is available. We must learn to adjust and make do with bare essentials to survive. If you have only rice, you can prepare starch and add a little salt to it and drink it. Rice starch has so much energy and protein. We can easily survive on this.
In North India, the Sikhs are making and distributing crores of rotis (flatbread). May they be blessed for this wonderful service. One can easily survive on roti and water. Now is not the time to ask for side dishes and alu parathas! We must make it a habit to drink kanji. Many Americans go camping in forests and pitch tents and live there for a few days. It teaches them survival skills.
Like Prahlāda, we must learn to face any adversity. Narasimha Swāmi loves being addressed as Prahlāda varadā – Prahlāda’s blessing. This is the greatness of smarańa bhakti. When Prahlāda was made to fast and given kanji, he refused saying Swami’s nāmasmarańa was all he needed.
Jaya Guru Datta
Sri Guru Datta