Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji in the morning after Guru Gita chanting – November 24, 2018 – KSHT, Dallas
Compiled by Archana Penukonda
Sri Maha Ganapate Namaha
Sri Sarasvatyai Namaha
Sri Padavallabha Narasimha Sarasvati
Sri Guru Dattatreyaya Namaha
You chanted the Guru Gita so far. It will be very beneficial if you chant this great mantra once a day. It is the most important of all mantras. It is the most important of all Gitas, even more important than Bhagavad Gita. It is very powerful. It enables liberation and drives away sins. It removes anger and dualities. It protects us and puts us on the right path. Everyone must practice the Guru Gita. Interestingly, Europeans like the Guru Gita very much. Hundreds of Swamiji’s devotees in Europe including Switzerland, Holland, Germany Denmark etc sing the Guru Gita. The European group is about double the size of the crowd chanting today. They do not even speak English. But they learned the Guru Gita and sang in the presence of Swamiji.
Swamiji conducted Guru Gita classes in Europe. Thousands of people gathered to listen to Swamiji with delight. We did the classes on a beach in Denmark. Hundreds of people on the beach let go of all modesty and shame and wander the beach without clothes. They do not heed the Government’ orders. No respectable person goes to that beach. There is a nice hall on the beach with an expansive garden. Swamiji said He would do Guru Gita in that hall. The devotees cautioned that the place would be filled with scantily clad people in the mornings and afternoons. Swamiji insisted that he would do the classes there.
The first time our spiritually inclined students wandered the area and the sounds of Omkara and bhajans filled the atmosphere, the beach goers stopped coming. I then began enjoying daily walks on the beach. The beach itself is very picturesque with mountains in view. That is why those beach goers selected that beach and that is why I selected that location to drive those people away. The devotees would sing Guru Gita at the beginning of Vedanta classes. Once the sounds filled the air, those beach goers stopped coming. I did a class again two years later to make sure those people didn’t come back. Now, that place has become a favorable get away for spiritual classes and penance.
We are literally witnessing the greatness of Guru Gita in this Kaliyuga. The Guru Gita transforms lives. Children’s future will be good. The power of Guru Gita lets you easily conquer grief. Even playing the Guru Gita at home everyday is good. If you learn the meaning, that is even better. Your devotion towards Guru will strengthen. You will learn who Guru is. You will learn how to conduct yourself in the presence of Guru, how to approach Him, how to physically serve the Guru, what gifts to offer to Him etc. Aparigraha is the practice of not accepting gifts, but Guru alone is capable of truly receiving gifts. In fact, some scriptures stipulate that gifts must be offered only the Guru. Normally, there are some dos and do-nots for what you can give as gifts, but it is said that you can give whatever you please to the Guru. All this greatness is described in the Guru Gita. Guru’s words and instructions are immensely powerful.
There once used to be a great devotee called Upamanyu. He was a Rigveda scholar and disciple of Sage Dhaumya. Upamanyu would strictly abide by the Guru Principle and always follow Guru Dhaumya’s words. Dhaumya once wanted to test Upamanyu. Funnily, it is those with great devotion that encounter more difficulties. The rest seem to attain greater prosperity. But devotees should never waver in the face of difficulties. The Lord deliberately throws some difficulties your way. You must get stronger. You should never change your nature by mimicking others. You have divine nature, they have demonic nature. You should be strong enough to win over any situation. The reason for difficulties is that God is showering His love on devotees that are dear to Him The rest of the people simply get destroyed at the end of their lives. But when it comes to devotees, the Lord is cleaning us up through those difficulties.
We care for a piece of silk with great care when it is new. We store it carefully and spray beautiful scents on it and handle it gently. After sometime, we dry wash the cloth. Do we refrain from washing because the cloth will be hurt? A dry wash includes cleaning agents and heat in the process of cleaning. Is it fair to subject the valuable silk cloth to such harsh treatment to clean it? But if they don’t, the dirt will not go away. In the old days, they would beat the clothes on a hard surface in the process of washing it.
When you shower, if you barely use the soap on your body, can you remove the dirt? No. You need to scrub the skin. Is the physical abrasion and “violence” acceptable in these cases? Do we still need to wash container of milk if the container is made of gold or silver? But if you do not, the milk will get spoiled. Whether it is gold or silver or silk or our skin, we scrub and wash it to keep it clean. Similarly, God is cleaning us through those tests and difficulties. He gives us one test after another only for our benefit. A true devotee will take these tests head on and win. The fake devotee falls from grace and turns demonic. Our path is different from those on the demonic path. We sought refuge with the Guru. We took a step forward towards the Guru. We are engaged in spiritual practices as home. We are practicing Sattvic way of living. We should not change that path. We should be strong in following those divine practices. Gradually, as we surrender the mind completely to the Lord, we will feel no pain during difficulties. Our mind is fully surrendered to God/Guru. We will see Him everywhere. We are immersed in His thoughts. We experience His presence everywhere in this creation. We need nothing else. We ignore all difficulties. We have no attachment or desires. There is neither elation nor dejection due to winning or losing.
We live through each day of this God-given life in spiritual pursuit and happiness as we count down our days in this birth. We are walking closer to God. We have to disappear one day, but we need to spend our time wisely. You will learn to spend time wisely if you read the Guru Gita. What I said is not at all easy to follow. Study the Guru Gita everyday, learn the meaning and it might help you a little. It will help you slowly gain dispassion. You must first let go of all hankering after children, grandchildren, bodily pains, money and other matters. Surrender everything to God and be fearless. Lip service is not enough. You must live it practically.
The Guru wanted to test Upamanyu. After a lot of thinking, he hands over to him the responsibility of caring for one thousand cows. In those days, the number of cows one had was an indicator of one’s merit and prosperity. Upamanyu would happily take the cows to graze and bring them back the end of the day. He would eat his meals before handing over the cows to the Guru. One day, the Guru instructed that Upamanyu not eat his meals. He could only care for the cows, but he was not allowed to eat his meal. Upamanyu stopped eating his meals. However, he continued to be happy and healthy. Upon inquiry, the Guru learned that Upamanyu was drink cow’s milk. The Guru ordered that Upamanyu stop drinking cow’s milk either. Upamanyu still looked quite healthy doing his job caring for the cows. The Guru then learned that Upamanyu was eating the leaves and fruits that fell from the tree. The Guru then ordered that he not eat those leaves and fruits either. So, Upamanyu gave those up as well. He still continued to look healthy. When the Guru learned from Upamanyu that he was surviving on drinking water from the river, the Guru forbade him to drink water.
He then began drinking the juice of a poisonous tree. The innocent little boy who was all of 8-9 years of age mistook the juice to be milk. He lost his sight and fell into a well.
The Guru went in search of Upamanyu calling out to him in the darkness of the night. When the Guru found out that Upamanyu hadn’t returned for the day, the Guru himself set out in search for Upamanyu calling out his name in the darkness of the night.
Upamanyu had grown up in poverty, often being served water mixed with rice flour because the mother could not afford milk. That was why he mistook the white sap/juice to be milk. This is a story that really took place. The Guru finally finds him in a well. The Guru learns that Upamanyu drank the juice from the tree unable to withstand hunger and thirst. Sage Dhaumya was very pleased with Upamanyu’s devotion. The Guru restored his sight with just a touch. Upamanyu then went on to master the Rigveda.
That is how devotion to Guru should be. There should be no questions and no second guessing. If the Guru asks you to clean up after people eat, don’t ask how many people are going to eat. Just do what the Guru asked you to. Don’t ask the Guru how deep the well is if he asks you to jump in.
When we understand these stories, we learn the principle of Guru. I was very happy to see you chant the Guru Gita. Everyone should learn the Guru Gita. I like all of you to memorize the Guru Gita. Thousands of you must come together to chant the Guru Gita in one voice. It is said that it is more powerful that Bhagavad Gita. Guru Gita contains the entire Vedanta. It contains the principle of Guru. The Guru Gita is the dialogue between Lord Shiva and Mother Parvati. The Mother beseeched the Lord to initiate her into Guru Tattva. That is how Guru Gita was born. You must study Guru Gita everyday. You must learn the meaning. Your life will be healthy and prosperous. If you listen everyday for 2-3 months, you will easily memorize. I am very happy to hear you collectively chant the Guru Gita. I remembered Upamanyu today. He is often cited as an example of devotion towards Guru. He is referred to as the primordial disciple. You should all be like him. Don’t worry, I won’t send you to the forests with cows. We don’t even have those kind of cows these days. I will test you a little here and there if you are fortunate. I am very happy.
Jaya Guru Datta.