Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji – Bhajan session in the evening – July 13, 2018 – Toronto, Canada
Compiled by Archana Penukonda
This is the second day of Bhajans. Tradition stipulates that we do not give up the ritual on the second day. So, we are continuing Bhajans today. These are not just Bhajans, or simple songs in praise of God. These compositions are replete with spiritual advice. Simultaneously, these are healing tunes too. Swamiji selected specific healing tunes for these compositions. If you study the Bhajans, you will find powerful meaning in them. The bhajans are available in so many languages, no just Telugu and Sanskrit. Ganapati bhajans are especially composed in different ragas (scales). Nowadays, Swamiji’s bhajans have become even more popular in India with many reputed musicians singing and playing these compositions on their instruments on TV and radio, especially in South India. In the North too, people are singing the Hindi bhajans composed by Swamiji. These Bhajans are very powerful. Each Bhajan is like an Upanishad or a Purana. It has so much knowledge delivered through so many stories. They may look ordinary, but some Bhajans are tough. We call those “keertanas” and “tattvas”. Tattvas give (spiritual) advice. There are different kinds of Bhajans. Swamiji has composed thousands of such Bhajans, especially compositions on Lord Ganapati in all languages,. The Bhajans have a specific scale and rhythm. The musicians singing these Bhajans often select Ghana ragas (grand music scales) that they very much like.
This is a new Bhajan I have sung many times.
Bhajan: Om Namaste Ganapataye
Bhajan: Dum Dum Durga
The complete history of Mother Goddess is in this Bhajan. Swamiji conducts Nava Avarana (literally meaning nine enclosures) worship during Devi Navaratri festival. This composition corresponds to one of the nine enclosures. The worship for each of the enclosures is different. Many people sing Swamiji’s Nava Avarana compositions. These compositions contain powerful mantras and seed letters. This bhajan is also like that. Swamiji composed this song 30 years ago in Kumbakonam in the temple of Mother Goddess.
The next one is a Datta Bhajan.
Bhajan: Datta Digambara Jaya Jaya Datta
This bhajan has the complete history of Lord Dattatreya. This Bhajan is sung daily in Maharashtrian households in India. They will not eat or go to bed without singing bhajans. That is their penance. They compulsorily do bhajans with family. Sometimes those who do not join the Bhajans may even be deprived of dinner. So many accomplished, well-placed peole come together to sing Bhajans. They tighten a cloth around their waist, play the cymbals and sing with abandon, regardless of their age. They have to sing at least one bhajan each day. Otherwise, they feel too guilty to go to bed. You get to see all this in rural Maharashtra, not in the big city of Mumbai, which is corrupted and more like America these days. There are barely any Maharashtrians in Mumbai. In rural India, you will hear the constant chanting of Lord Datta’s name in every household.
If they have time, they also do Guru Gita. They pick one verse and read the meaning. They train their children like this too. This is why Dharma is still alive. We should also follow that Dharma by practicing this in our households. But we are too lazy to do this. We are overcome with depression, disappointment, hunger, thirst, sleep, anger, fights and ego. Every family member has ego; there is no devotion. All our energy is diverted to eating and partying. There are no morals. You must learn morals and practice spirituality. Discuss Bhagavad Gita, talk about Sadguru and God. You can pursue worldly jobs and success, but you must practice morality too. We need that moral foundation. Why should we forsake God and spirituality for higher studies and jobs? Every household should practice this for at least a half hour each day. You have no time to do it for hours together. You sit and watch TV, you quarrel and you gladly spend 2-3 hours eating at a table during a party. You are wasting time. You waste at least 3-4 hours daily. Yet, people keep saying, they are very busy and have no time at all whatsoever. They say they have no time to breathe even. You would have been dead if you were not breathing. Yesterday Sheri (a devotee) and I were talking about heart beats. How many times does the heart beat in a day? Doctors, please stand up and speak. About 100,000.
Bhajan: Kasi pate
Close your eyes and meditate. Chant Namah Shivaya internally. Your heart beats 100,000 times each day. You can chant Om Namaha Shiva 100,000 times each day too. That is real penance.
My father in his final days, for three years after taking Sannyasa, would chant the Om Namaha Shivaya 100,000 times each day. He would chant with each heartbeat. Even when he was sleeping, he would keep chanting. He practiced this for 2 years. After 2 years, he was able to chant effortlessly at all times regardless of whether he was eating, sleeping, talking or walking. You must practice chanting with your breath. Teach your breath to take the chanting with it. Wherever you are, you will then be able to chant the mantra. Chant Gam Ganapataye or Om Namaha Shiva or Om Namo Narayanaya or Om Aim Hreem Shreem Lalita Parameshvaryai Namaha or any other mantra. Our breath itself will learn to chant. This is called “Ajapa japa” (nonstop effortless chanting). This should go on at all times regardless of what activity we are engaged in. Some chant the mantra with each blink of the eye. People that practice in this manner practice with such discipline that they can set the count of the mantra based on the number of blinks or heartbeats. Their heart will not want to stop beating. Those who practice chanting the mantra with each heart beat will not have a heart attack. They will die in a different way. Sages in the Himalayas are practicing chanting like that. One must practice chanting the mantra along with the heartbeat.
Bhajan: Vaikuntha Vasa Nama Om
Bhajan: Jai Kapisa.
This is Trinidad Bhajan. This was composed many years ago in Trinidad.
Bhajan: Amba Bhavani Sarade
Kagada Arati: Matra Pramanam Mantraika Vedyam
Vijayawada Subbaiah Choudhary was a dear devotee. Not satisfied with hearing this song once, he requested me to sing this again when we were traveling in a car. This was a new composition back then. He heard this composition so many times after. It was recorded on his tape. Swamiji had done many hours of speeches, Vedanta and Atma Vilasa (Bliss of the inner self) in Vijayawada. He recorded all of those and gave that huge collection to Swamiji before he left. Swamiji has already given the future generations what they need through those tapes.