Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji – Sachchidananda Satya Sandesha – weekly message in Prajavani, Kannada daily – May 22, 2021
Compiled by: Soumyalatha
Buddha who won over people’s minds
A lot has been said about the creation of the world by many Indian visionaries. Many have defined it in their own ways. This has created in India, a world of mystical intrigue about the birth and death of beings. Why does a being take birth? Why does it die? What happens to the being after its death? Who is the Lord guarding the countless stars – celestial bodies in the myriad of horizons? Does the individual soul merge with the Supreme Soul? Or not? Such thoughts about life after death have been discussed continuously over hundreds of years. But till date the actual truth about after-life has not yet been found. This is because the Universe is a magical place. Here truth becomes false and falsity seems like verity. In this Universe created by Brahma, it is not easy to detect verity-falsity. It requires knowledge of Lord. To acquire such knowledge, man has to undergo churning in the ocean of spiritual knowledge. It is not an easy task. There is illusion at each and every step. Wisdom is required to overcome this to attain Shiva-Shakti.
Even after crossing all hurdles, the churning can make man dull-witted. During this process, heart will feel empty. When man keeps his mind at peace and his illusion under control, the darkness of the spell of illusion will get dissolved and we can find HIM in the oneness of our being.
Prince Siddhartha, son of King Shuddhodana and Queen Mayadevi, was happily leading his life till suffering and death motivated him to become Buddha. Why are there difficulties in the Lord’s creation? Why is happiness not distributed equally to everyone? Why is there discrimination? Why does suffering and grief afflict the beings? He set out in the middle of the night to find the answers. While the whole world was sleeping without any such worries, He woke up. He sat under the Bodhi tree, meditated for years, and visualized the light of knowledge. Holding this lamp, He expelled the darkness in the minds of all beings and enlightened them. He shared with them, his wisdom about life and its course.
The simple message by Buddha, “Desires cause sorrow” holds a great message. Desires are the cause of all miseries we are facing today. The underlying reason for the emergence of a virus like Corona all over the world also points to excessive desires. These desires are causing misery to the mankind. A man immersed in his selfish world filled attachment and greed, is unable to grasp the wisdom in Buddha’s message. Only unselfish minds filled with ‘Sachchidanada’ can grasp the essence of Buddha’s principles can blossom joyously.
Jaya Guru Datta