Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji in the morning – Sankranti Day 2 & Birthday of Sri HH Sri Datta Vijayananda Teertha Swamiji – January 14, 2019 – Mysore
Compiled by Archana Penukonda
Sri Maha Ganapataye Namaha
Sri Sarasvatyai Namaha
Sri Padavallabha Narasimha Sarasvati
Sri Guru Dattatreyaya Namaha
Pujya Swamiji’s Srimad Bhagavatam narration that ran for three years on the ETV television channel concluded a couple days ago. It was my desire of many years to do the Bhagavatam series. Now, ETV is telecasting Pujya Swamiji’s explanation of Sri Sankara Bhagavadpada’s Prashnottara Ratnamalika (Prashnottara Ratnamalika = precious necklace of questions and answers) where the great sage poses concise spiritual question such as “Who am I?”, “What is my duty?” etc., and provides the answer. But the sage does not directly answer those questions. He answers in a way that it prompts more questions. To let Knowledge rise in the disciple’s mind, the sage has generously poured supreme wisdom in the form of questions and answers. One can infer based on this work that it is more important for Knowledge to be born within one’s own mind than to simply gain Knowledge from other sources.
Normally, seekers say they are in search of truth. Are you searching for the person called truth or is truth available for purchase in stores? If the Guru tells the disciple what Truth is, that will not be the end of the disciple’s quest. Questions will keep springing to the disciple’s mind as he keeps receiving answers. So, if you go in search of the one truth, you will get hundreds of answers. We need those answers because we have hundreds of problems. We solve one problem, and another crops up. We even suspect new problems and seeks solutions for them just in case they crop up in the future. To preempt such situations and to prevent random questions from arising in the disciple’s mind, Sri Sankara Bhagavadpada has composed these questions in a unique manner such that each answer prompts only a couple fixed questions. There is no room for a third question. Swamiji is explaining this amazing Prashnottara Ratnamalika that is telecast on ETV.
We are observing Sankranti festival today and tomorrow. The Sun’s movement changes today. That is why it is called Sankranti – it is Sun’s day. As the Sun’s movement changes, man’s life changes too. The wheel of man’s life changes every 12 years. That is what astrology is based on. With that change in man’s life changes man’s mind as well. We need to keep correcting course once in a while. Therefore, we need to understand the meaning of this festival. It is not enough to decorate the house, throw a feast and celebrate. We need to understand the meaning of the festival, the intent, the tradition and the reason for the traditional practices during the festival.
There are forbidden practices too such as killing of goats and chicken and eating of meat that happen on this festival. These actions are based in violence. God never encourages or supports violence. He is always of the form of non-violence. He wants all beings to be happy. It is very wrong to eat meat even when you are not the one killing the animal. The killer and the consumer will both incur sin equally. It is said that even the one who hears of these actions incurs sin. The real festival is when you adopt the vow of non-violence. That is the festival when you connect with your true inner self. People say they eat egg because they need protein. Think a little about food that does not have protein. Even grass has good protein. Do not cows eat grass and give us nutritious milk? There is a lot of protein in grass. We cannot eat grass, but we can eat rice, millets and other healthy grains that grow from different kinds of grass and plants. The cows eat grass and give us nectar like milk. We can eat the grains that come from grass and plants and be strong and healthy. Yet, we mercilessly kill animals that are pleading for their life. Why not kill the infants in your home instead? Have you no compassion for animals? Are not those animals like your children? You quote age-old tradition in support of killing animals. If there was an age-old tradition to eat their own infants, may be these demonic people would have.
It is such a terrible sin to cite tradition in support of violence. You can quote non-violence as a tradition, but how can you quote violence as a tradition? If there is violence, it cannot be tradition. It is a very cruel practice. I am saying this today because on the occasion of Sankranti, there are a lot of cockfights and killing of chicken. That is terrible. Why do you need to inflict violence for sport? You can have sports without violence. There is no requirement to eat the animals that have been violently. It defeats the purpose of celebrating a festival. Festivals should be based in non-violence. Vedas never support violence. Our scriptures never ask us to kill animals or eat meat and eggs. When we all adopt the vow of non-violence, the world will be a happy place.
Remember what happened in Nepal? They killed three lakh buffaloes there at a major event in the name of animal sacrifice. That event went viral and the people were proud of it. What happened 40 days after that? There was a huge earthquake at exactly that place. Many people died a tragic death as a result of that disaster. All the people that killed the animals died. The place where the ghastly ritual took place was destroyed. They did not even care to clear the butchered bodies. They would kill the animals and just toss them aside during the ritual. So many people died. India and other countries rushed to provide disaster relief. What help can you provide then? All you could do was extricate the butchered animals from the rubble and throw them away. There may be some survivors as you dig through the rubble. I was as sad to see the people die as I was to see the buffaloes die. The real criminals that killed the animals were few in number, but a lot more innocent people that witnessed the ritual died. It was a saving grace that those who heard of the sacrifice did not get killed in the earthquake. Perhaps we should not even hear of such violent rituals. Tradition should always be free from violence. We should refrain from eating animals. Dharma is always Dharma. God is always watching. Every festival, we should only follow traditions of non-violence. Practices steeped in violence, even if they are age-old, should be stopped.
I was once traveling in French Guyana. I was going to consecrate a temple of Mother Goddess. The temple officials were keen on Pujya Swamiji doing the consecration. When I inquired about the activities at the temple, the committee told me that they sacrificed two goats at the temple each day. The next day, I went to see the temple committee and a few village folks that I had asked to gather in one place. They again requested that I perform the temple consecration. I said I would come do so on the condition that they stop the forbidden practice of sacrificing goats. Not only were they unwilling to give up the practice because it was tradition, they were hoping that I sacrifice a goat with my own hands when I went to the temple. I told them if they wanted me to visit the temple, they needed to stop sacrificing the goats. Some of the people present had attended Swamiji’s programs before and had become devotees. Their minds had already transformed. They were insistent that Swamiji alone do the consecration. I insisted that I would do so only if they stopped sacrificing animals. They asked for two days’ time to think about it. When they came back to Swamiji, they promised to stop all animal sacrifices. This is not a made-up story. Murali was the priest and driver and the coordinator for the program. It was a wonderful Mother Goddess temple with a beautiful Mother Goddess idol. It was very sad that all the sacrifices took place in front of the Goddess’ shrine. Upon my instructions, they removed all sacrificial altars and items leaving no trace of sacrificial rituals before my visit in the evening. Now, they have more people than ever before visiting this peaceful temple. I was very happy that thousands of animals have been saved from dying in their rituals.
I convey Sankranti wishes to you all. Today is Bala Swamiji’s birthday. Happy birthday to Bala Swamiji. I had decided that Pujya Bala Swamiji would be the successor even before he was born. I was here in Mysuru worshiping Lord Shiva when he was born. It was the transition time from Dakshinayanam (six-month period between summer solstice and winter solstice) to Uttarayanam (the other six-month period between winter solstice and summer solstice). His mother who was nine months pregnant with Bala Swamiji came to me and said she did not want the baby. I said she had no right to drop the baby because it was Swamiji’s child. She said she would drink some potion to drop the baby. Swamiji said that the child would be born regardless of whether she consumed poison or liquid glass. I instructed that she have a normal delivery at home, instead of in a hospital. I laid down a few conditions including that no one else but the grandmother was to touch the baby. The grandmother would deliver the baby in the school run by Swamiji’s maternal aunt (Pujya Jayalakshmi Mata’s younger sister). Swamiji’s other maternal aunt (Pujya Jayalakshmi Mata’s older sister) would be the only other person present. Bala Swamiji was born when I was offering worship to Lord Shiva. I told Bala Swamiji’s mother that she would give birth to a child who would make her very happy. I named him Harsha (Harsha= pure joy). That was on Sankranti at transition time from Dakshinayanam to Uttarayanam. I had determined well before Bala Swamiji was born that he would be the blessing of Lord Datta who would serve mankind. It was a comfortable delivery. He was born smiling. That is why I named him Harsha. The child never cried. I bless Bala Swamiji.
So, observe festivals without violence. Second, there is a tradition to donate pumpkin on this festival. If I were in Andhra Pradesh now, there would be four truckloads of pumpkins sent to me. God’s compassion is great. There is a story about two poverty-stricken Brahmins – Rājādīna (Rājādīna = one under the king’s control) and Daivādīna (Daivādīna = one under God’s control). Rājādīna was very clever. He went to the king and praised the king saying he was at the mercy of the king, not at the mercy of God. The king was very happy and showered him a lot of gifts. Daivādīna also came to beg for alms and said he was at the mercy of God. The king angrily sent him away empty handed and taunted him to get alms from God himself. Daivādīna would beg for alms while praising God and chanting that everyone was at the mercy of God. Those who believed in God gave him alms, those who did not, turned him away. Had he said he was the mercy of the person he was begging from, he would have gotten some charity in return. There were some fools who would tell him off and taunt him saying God or Guru should help him since he is at the mercy of God. This is akin to people that mock devotees saying, “You run after Swamiji, let him help you”. Some devotees back off and weep while some others roar confidently that it is indeed Swamiji who has given them everything. These brave people are the real devotees. The others that back off are unsure. Their faith is wobbly. Your faith should be firm. You should confidently say that you are alive today because of Swamiji. What kind of devotion do you have if you let doubts creep in? If you ate your meals, confidently say so. Why are you tentative in your answer? Similarly, if you are experiencing the grace of Guru, confidently say so. Daivādīna would always come back empty handed whereas Rājādīna would come back with his bag full.
Rājādīna advised Daivādīna to change his ways and to praise the king as the only refuge. “You will live happily if you praise the king, otherwise you will die without anything. You will not have a penny on you. Why are you praising God? Give it up. This is Kaliyuga, not some ancient yuga. You must change with times. If you praise people, they will help you. Praise them even when they are wrong, and they will help you. The world is such. You must change your ways. Heed my advice. Start praising the king”. Daivādīna was firm, “Even if my life were at stake, I would have no doubt that it is God who is protecting you, me and everyone else. If I am to die due to starvation, so be it. That is God’s will. My life is at his mercy. But I will not change my ways. God is everything. I am devoted only to God.” He refused to listen to Rājādīna’s advice.
Sankranti festival arrived. The king was very happy. He wanted to give his friend Rājādīna plenty of gifts. He took a massive pumpkin, cut out the top and took out all the flesh inside and filled it with gold, gems and precious stones and placed the top back. He wanted Rājādīna to be happy and to never again beg for alms. Rājādīna arrived dressed well for the occasion, decorating every inch of his body. Daivādīna had no clothes worthy of the name. Rājādīna went to the king. The king gave that pumpkin and placed a rupee on top as per tradition. Rājādīna took the pumpkin but was grossly unhappy to see the one rupee on the pumpkin. Even after praising the king so much and after spending so long in front of the mirror getting dressed and walking so far to the king’s court, he only got a pumpkin and a rupee. “Rather than get a piece of gold, I got only a rupee”. Disappointed at receiving the measly gift on the auspicious day of Sankranti, he cursed the king under his breath. “I praised him so much. What do I do with this pumpkin?” Desolate, he left the palace.
On his way, he found a miserly businessman crying because he wanted to donate a pumpkin as per tradition but did not want to buy the expensive pumpkins in the market. When he saw Rājādīna with a massive pumpkin, he asked if he would sell him the pumpkin. Rājādīna asked for Rs. 5 in exchange for the pumpkin. The businessman negotiated down to Rs. 3. Rājādīna agreed and gave him the pumpkin in exchange for Rs. 3. Just then as Daivādīna arrived chanting praises of God, the businessman called him, placed some insignificant loose change on the pumpkin and gave it to Daivādīna. The emaciated Daivādīna found the pumpkin very heavy to carry. He blessed the businessman and his business whole heartedly and took the pumpkin home to his hungry family. When he cut open the pumpkin at home, he was floored seeing the gold and precious gems that were in the pumpkin. His house was filled with that sudden windfall. He blessed the generosity of the businessman profusely again and again wishing that the businessman get Indra’s kingdom and beget a hundred sons. The wife was very surprised. “Who is this businessman? Is it that miserly man? He does not part with even a trinket. This Kaliyuga is strange indeed. He deserves our prostrations”.
Next day, Rājādīna went to the king as usual chanting praises of the king saying “Rājādīna” (“at the mercy of the king”). The surprised king was disgusted that Rājādīna was back even after being showered with so many riches. The king questioned him about the pumpkin. Rājādīna said he cooked a delicious feast with it, the aroma from which even drew the neighbors in. He praised the king for giving him such a wonderful pumpkin. The king threatened to punish him if he did not tell the truth. Rājādīna confessed that he sold the pumpkin to a businessman. The king was surprised that he sold such a large pumpkin for only Rs. 3. The king summoned the miserly businessman and found out that he donated the pumpkin to Daivādīna. The king summoned Daivādīna who praised the businessman profusely and said that contrary to the general perception in the town, the businessman was very generous. Even though the king never gave him anything, the business man was very generous with him. Imagine what went through the king’s mind as the story unfolded.
So, God always helps those who seek refuge in him. You must have so much faith in God that you only see God in the people that help you. Things happen per destiny. That is God’s miracle and greatness. We do not know what our destiny is. So, from today onwards, let us also say Daivādīna – that God is our only refuge.
Going forward, you do not need to do 40 circumambulations to Hanuman temple when you tie Poornaphala. You can circumambulate 16 times. You do not need to tie Poornaphala only for fulfillment of desires. You can tie the Poornaphala for any reason – for Swamiji’s health, for your health, to have Darshan of Swamiji, on the occasion of a celebration at home, on any auspicious occasion, to remove sorrow, for success in your tasks etc. You have problems at home that you are crying over. You must make time and tie Poornaphala. If you want success in your tasks, tie Poornaphala and circumambulate 16 times and on the 16th day, untie the coconut (or let the priest take care of it). It is very powerful practice. Those who have experienced the results know the power. You need to have time and devotion. Make time. Have faith. Have faith in Hanuman Chalisa. Tying the Poornaphala will be good for you. Try it out yourself. It bestows much auspiciousness. If your wish is not fulfilled, tie the Poornaphala again. The Lord will definitely help. We have millions of miracles, especially in the Bengaluru Hanuman Temple. Tie Poornaphala for all desires. Tie Poornaphala for happiness, for miracles, for Swamiji’s health etc. Tie Poornaphala for Swamiji smile, for Swamiji’s Darshan, or because you had a christening ceremony or a housewarming ceremony or because there was a wedding in the family or because there is grief in the house or because you gained relief from grief. Tying the Poornaphala is right for any occasion. Tie Poornaphala because you are wearing new clothes or because you bought something new. Tie Poornaphala because Swamiji spoke to you nicely today or because Swamiji smiled at you or because Swamiji enquired about your well-being. Do not tie the Poornaphala just to get exercise. Get on a treadmill if you want a walk. Tie the Poornaphala and circumambulate 16 times. If you cannot circumambulate on the day you are tying the coconut, do it on any one of the 16 days.