Speech of HH Sri Datta Vijayananda Teertha Swamiji – Corona Satsangam – April 23 , 2020 – Mysore
Compiled by Jaya Akkanapragada
Śrī Gańéśāya namaha
Śrī Sarasvatyé namaha
Śrī pādavallabha nrsimha Sarasvati
Śri Guru Dattātréyāya namaha
Śri Gańapati Sacchidānanda Sadgurubhyō namaha
Jaya Guru Datta. Sri Guru Datta.
Offering My humble prostrations at the lotus feet of Sri Swamiji. Today is Thursday, the day for Guru. As Sri Swamiji said, we have all lost track of what day of the week, date or month it is. Every Thursday and Sunday, it is good to do Satsanga. Sri Swamiji has been doing so for many years now. Today, let us understand the significance of satsanga, and how Guru protects and cares for His devotees and disciples.
In yogvāsiśtam it is mentioned that there are 4 doorways to mōkša – liberation. Of these 4 pillars, satsanga has a prime place.
Mōkšadvāré dvārapālāha
Catvāraf parikīrtitāha
Śamō vicāra santōśaha
caturthaha sadhu sangaha
There are 4 watchmen guarding the entrance to mōkša. The first 3 are śamaha – peace of mind brought by bringing the mind under one’s control, vicāraha – contemplating on the words of Guru and what the scriptures say, and santōśaha – being content with whatever we have.
Many people are used to eating street food, and when the lockdown began, they struggled to stay at home. But now they are used to eating home food. We must learn to be happy with whatever is available and eat whatever is prepared at home. I feel maybe the mothers at home have too much work now. At least before, they would have some respite from cooking when they went for a get-together or to a restaurant. Now they have to prepare all three meals for so many people since everyone has now come back home. You must help them.
Ānanda is what we experience spiritually. Santōśa is being happy and satisfied in the context of worldy experiences. When we see someone doing a good job, praising or encouraging them gives us immense happiness. On the other hand, holding a grudge, jealousy, envy and hatred – these cannot give us happiness. Instead of focusing on negativities, if we can be content with what we have, and spend time contemplating on Guru’s words and think about how much He is doing tirelessly for everyone – that will give us happiness – santōśaha.
Udārā caritā nāntu vasudaika kutumbakam
We must learn from Swamiji. When He is providing food or serving people, He does not discriminate saying “I won’t feed this person. I will feed that person.” He sees everyone as equal and takes care of everyone as His own children. And through us also, He does séva. Across all our āshramas, help is being extended to those in need. You can see all the updates on Facebook. You must also do whatever you can to support these initiatives. Séva never comes in search of us, we must go in search of it. We must constantly try to find ways to do séva.
Today Appaji has taken a vow to provide food supplies to people who are not able to earn money or feed their families. This includes auto drivers and priests who perform rituals. They only eat when they earn money. So today Appaji has made arrangements to provide food supplies for 250 such families. Across all countries, Datta devotees are doing séva to provide food. In Dindigul ashrama, they pack and distribute 4000 packets of food every day. It is a great commitment on their part. What we experience when we participate in such sévā programs is santõśaha.
We are earning money, but it is only when we put it to good use will it give us santōśa. If we lock it up in a box, it is not going to multiply. It will only rot. There are only 3 options – dāna (charity), bhōga (enjoyment) or nāśaha (ruin). If you do not donate or enjoy the money, it is just going to go to waste.
Satpātra dāna is providing what is needed to the person who needs it at the right time. If you give food to a hungry person, they will not waste it. We felyt very happy receiving videos from families of recipients who said they are extremely happy after receiving food supplies. If they are happy now and not going hungr, how much happiness does it give us! That happiness is santōśa.
The fourth one is satsanga – sādhu sangaha. In this sloka, Sage Vasishta and Valmiki Maharśi are both of the opinion here that even if śama, vicāra and santōśa are not there, the fourth one sādhu sangama is easy to obtain. And when you practice sādhu sangama, you will gain the remaining 3 as well. Sādhu sangama is that important. Every day, we must spend time reading a good book. Inculcate the reading habit in children as well.
When we have heard from Guru and elders that something is very beneficial, then we should read and learn more about it. That act of finding out more by reading books which bestow knowledge on the subject is sat grantha pathanam. We should not read books which ruin our intellect. While reading itself, we can figure out if the book is good or bad for our buddhi. Avoiding such unnecessary books, one must read good books. A book which inspires us, makes us happy, calms our mind and takes us further on the spiritual path – such books should be read.
If you start reading Mahabharata, you can spend a lifetime poring over it and gleaning so much knowledge. Not only is it a very big book but it also has so much useful content. Maybe someday we will request Appaji to tell us the complete Mahabharata.
There is no story in the world which does not feature in Ramayana. There are so many great books like this – Purāńās, Datta Darshanam, Swamiji’s Life History. Reading such books is equivalent to doing satsangam.
Sadvicārana: Contemplate on all the sūktīs which Appaji has given us so far and see which one appeals the most to you. You must have already made notes so go through them. If not, you can always look up recordings.
We must really appreciate technology at this point for advancements like mobile phones and facebook Live. Otherwise can you imagine Appaji’s message reaching us like this every day for the past one month? In the past, we would have to record the message, send it to a TV channel, and wait for them to telecast it. Now you can sit in the comfort of your home and see Appaji every day. Appaji made sure there is no void, because He understands it is not easy for us to do satsang everyday at home by ourselves. So, He decided to come every day on Live, and have satsanga with all of us. We should really thank the scientists who have given this technology. The entire world is connected.
There is no dearth of opportunities for satsanga. The only limitation is in our own minds. If we put our mind to it, we can have satsanga anywhere any time. This is why if we are on the spiritual path, we must spend time talking and interacting with those who will strengthen our resolve and help us move forward on this path. This is important. Nowadays no one questions, because they do not listen enough. I wanted to have a Q&A, since it is Thursday, but maybe we will have it another time.
When the lockdown is lifted, go to the ashrama or temple closest to you, and arrange a music program or harikatha program there. This is not just satsanga, but also a way of keeping the art form alive. We must not just arrange, but also sit there and listen to the performance.
Satsangatvé nissangatvam
Nissangatvé nirmōhatvam
Nirmōhatvé niścalatvam
Niścalatvé jīvan muktihi
When we do satsanga, in that moment we are free of joy and sorrow. This is because while we are in satsanga, no matter how rich or poor we are, we set aside all this, and find whatever place we can and quickly sit on the floor and listen to Appaji. When I was a young boy, there was a gentleman who was very well-to-do, and did a lot of séva for the ashrama, but when satsanga happened, he would just sit in one corner on the floor and listen. He was so simple. Now of course he is very old, but Appaji has spoken about his simplicity so many times.
While we are sitting on the floor singing bhajans with Appaji, or waiting to have His darshan, or when we are undertaking a pilgrimage, we may have some discomfort and back pain or knee pain. But we forget all about the aches and pains, and are completely focused in the satsanga at that moment. That is nissangatvam. As we keep doing sādhana, this feeling of nissangatvam will increase in us. When we experience this, our ignorance also slowly starts disappearing. It is to dispel the darkness of ignorance from our hearts that Appaji performed Deepa Lakshmi puja yesterday and today.
This time we had amāvāsya – no moon occuring on two consecutive days. This is known as vruddhi since it repeats for consecutive days. This is not considered very good according to astrology. Therefore Appaji performed the puja on both days so as to dispel the darkness within us.
When the ignorance and doubts disappear, the mind becomes still – niścalatattvam. It will be still like the water in mānasarōvar. If you drop a stone or any heavy object into still water, the mud at the bottom comes to the surface. Similarly, if the mind is not still, all the murkiness within us comes to the surface. But if the water is still, the lake will be crystal clear. This purity of mind increases with satsanga.
We must do satsanga in whatever way we can. Sometimes we can do satsanga alone, sometimes with 2, 4, 10 people or even the entire world like we are doing now. I am talking to you even though I cannot see you in the hope that you are listening. You are listening in the hope that I will keep telling you more. This is satsanga. Like this, we can do satsanga in many ways. When the mind becomes still, jīvan mukti will happen. What is greater than this!
If you see, there is a connection between these 2 slokas. The first sloka talks about the importance of sādhu sangaha – which is the last word in the sloka. While the second sloka begins with the word satsanga. We must realise the connection between these 2 slokas. If we want to go in a door, we must know at least one of the 4 door keepers, and establish a connection with them to be able to enter.
Many people think they have to die in order to attain mōkša. And they are not ready to leave the world just yet. This is not true. If you can be happy wherever you are, that is jīvan muktihi. This is what we all want – to experience mōkša while we are alive. This can only be achieved through satsanga. Every day we must practice satsanga. Appaji is teaching us the importance of satsanga by spending time with us and engaging us all so well. We must also learn and imbibe these traits from Swamiji – the intelligence, cleverness, the way He teaches, His compassion as well as kindness.
I consider Myself very fortunate to be part of these satsangas for the next few days.
We must all pray for the safety and well-being of doctors and nurses and people on the frontline. They are doing so much and working so tirelessly and facing so much difficulty so bravely. Yesterday, I told you all that we must think of this as Paraméśvara’s dream. But I know it is not easy for people who are in difficulty to think of it this way. But even then, we must all religiously follow certain rules. We must wash our hands regularly and practice good hygiene.
In the olden days, the grandmothers and other elders would constantly scold. There was an elderly gentleman here at the ashrama – Bhagavatar garu. If he saw any of the children unnecessary touching their ear or nose or putting a finger in their mouth, he would immediately scold them. I have seen him scolding many children, so I was very careful in front of him. He was scolding us because it is only when we maintain personal hygiene, will we be healthy.
I sometimes feel that Maharśīs have written so much about the importance of cleanliness because maybe something like this had happened back then as well. They must have felt that in the future, people may not believe that such incidents had happened, and so they said “This is dharma. If you do not follow it, you will experience hell. But if you do follow it, you will attain heaven.” When they linked everything to dharma, many people felt “oh! They are so rule-bound! They are mad. They do not know anything.”
But these Maharśīs have also documented history. They have explained all these in detail in the stories in Ramayana and Mahabharata. Purāńās are more ancient, and we may not be keen to read these, but we can definitely refer to the epics. When someone did something wrong unknowingly, they would fall sick. But instead of showing it as a disease, they depicted it as a curse. They tell stories of how someone did not follow the guidelines laid down and faced many difficulties. When we read these stories, we connect the difficulty faced with a curse, and later forget the story.
In those days also, there were times like this when the entire society suffered. Take the stories of triśanku and others who suffered in spite of being in great positions. We must learn from their mistakes and avoid letting something like this happen again. Look at us now. We have sent people to the moon, but now we are unable to leave our homes.
To make sure that something like this never repeats again, we must follow these rules in every home. Now if you see, people across the world are practicing ācāram and madi – rules laid down in the scriptures which must be followed. If we objectively analyse any of these, we will understand why they have been mentioned in the scriptures.
When someone passes away, the scriptures say that for 14 days the people in that family should not touch or visit other people’s homes. When the people who go to perform the last rites return, no one should touch them, and they must not cook their own food. Someone from outside the family will cook and bring food for them. This is quarantine, isn’t it? Now they are asking everyone to quarantine themselves for 14 days, because that is the time taken to determine whether someone has contracted the virus or not.
There is so much intelligence in the śāstrās. They were not just written to benefit a few, but to be followed by everyone so that the world at large would be well. We must realize how powerful the scriptures are and practice these traditions.
This reminds me of a joke. When someone was applying for a job, the interviewer asked why the applicant did not mention his accomplishments in 2020 in the resumé. The applicant replied “I was washing my hands.”
We must always maintain this level of cleanliness no matter what. These practices of washing our hands regularly, not touching our face and not touching others should become automatic habits. We should do them as effortlessly as breathing. Following ācāram will bestow good health – ārōgya on all of us. Just the way we leave our footwear outside before entering the house, we must make all these practices a habit.
Every day on Bhakti TV, Appaji is talking about various traditions to be followed. He is also telling us about āyurvéda and its benefits. We must not just listen to it and forget about it. Satsanga means whatever we listen, must enter through our ear and go to our heart. We must internalize what Swamiji is saying and practice it. Then we will always be healthy.
I feel if God had to give us a beating, this is how it would look. When a normal person hits us, we may not feel a thing. But if someone who is well-built hits us, it will hurt quite a bit. When God hits, it will be like the Corona. That does not mean we should be angry with God. That would be foolish.
I sometimes wonder people are praying “Oh God! Please remove my difficulties. I am suffering so much!” God must be thinking “What difficulties are you facing? You are happily sitting at home, and spending time with your family, and eating well. You don’t have to go to work or expend any energy toiling at that job right now.”
Of course, there are many who are struggling because they have no means of earning a living. That is a different matter. But now they can take rest. If someone can provide them food supplies, and they don’t have to worry about food, they can enjoy the break from work.
Instead we are praying “Please remove my difficulty.” If God questions us what difficulty we have right now, we don’t have an actual answer. But still we pray. This is because we are now suddenly having to adapt to a lifestyle which we are not used to. We have become used to roaming around, so we are not able to sit quietly in one place.
I have seen so many people commute very long distances to get from their home to their workplace. I felt they should be spared this because there is so much fuel consumption, time wasted commuting, traffic and unnecessary pollution and emissions. The government must do something about this. If people can live within a 2-3 km radius of their workplace, they will have time to come home and do some sādhana as well as spend time with their families.
Once a person moved into the ashrama, and one day said he is unable to sleep. He wanted to go to Bangalore for one day and come back. We found this very strange, because the ashrama is so peaceful and quiet. We couldn’t understand why he wanted to go to the traffic riddled city. He returned with a stereo and an audio cassette. He had recorded various traffic sounds, and played the tape every night before going to sleep. He told us he found the quiet after all that noise very unsettling and could not sleep. The recorded traffic sounds was his healing music!
Right now, there is pin drop silence in the ashrama. If I stop talking now, you will hear the silence. We should be able to follow this even after the lockdown. Because we are so used to a routine, we are finding this change difficult. But if we make an attempt, we will certainly win. We must win. If we make an effort, and do sādhana, there is nothing we cannot achieve.
Vihāya pauruśam yō hī
Daivam ālambaté svayam
Prāsāda simhavattasyā
Mūrdhani tiśthanti vāyasā
The one who without making an effort, expects God or Guru to take care of everything is leaving everything to fate. Whereas the one who makes an effort, has faith in God and Guru, and keeps up his sādhana will always succeed. Even fate will not be able to do anything to him. The former is like a dummy lion in front of the palace. Even a crow will come and crap on it. We must not be like that person.
Today we discussed about Satsanga. We can achieve everything by doing Satsanga. Swamiji is teaching all of us to regularly practice Satsanga. Since the week starts on Sunday, we must have Satsanga on that day. Satsanga means being in guru’s thoughts and thinking about Sadguru. When we place our mind at His feet, our mind and thoughts become pure.
There is a very beautiful subhāśita.
santaptāyasi patitasya payasaha nāmāpi nasśrūyaté
If water is poured onto a hot pan, it will evaporate.
When a raindrop falls on a lotus leaf, it looks like a pearl.
If a drop of water falls into the sea and reaches an oyster shell on the day when Svāti nakśatra is ruling, it will become a pearl.
This is how we should understand Satsanga.
If you are surrounded by bad company – adhama, you will disappear like the water on a hot pan.
If we surround ourselves with okay people who are good sometimes and bad sometimes – madhyamās, then we will look like a pearl, but never become a pearl.
But if you surround yourself with good thoughts, follow the teachings of Sri Swamiji and keep thinking about His words, interact with good people and read good books – uttama – then you will become a pearl. This is the greatness of Satsanga.
antassāgara śukti madhya patitam tan mauktin jāyaté
prāyéńādhama madhyamōttama jušām evam vidhāya vruttayahā
we must distance ourselves from bad thoughts, bad deeds and bad discussions. Do not even seek the company of madhyamās. If you try to be with good people always, you will become a pearl.
Jai Bolo Sri Sacchidānanda Swamiji ki Jai!