AvadhootaDatta Peetham

Sri Maha Ganapate Namaha

Sri Sarasvatyai Namaha

Sri Padavallabha Narasimha Sarasvati

Sri Guru Dattatreyaya Namaha

The time has now come for me to talk to you. Today, we restored a very ancient temple in Pamapuram, four hours away from here. It is said that the temple was so dilapidated, that photographs could not capture the snake that had wrapped itself around the statue of Lord Shiva and Goddess Bhramarambika. Lord Shiva in this temple is known as Rameshwara. A Datta devotee not only restored the temple, but also the villages around the temple. He laid roads and gave them water supply. He even set up a small hospital and a wedding hall. He built a small platform on river Krishna and installed Lord Shiva in the middle of that platform in such a way that water falls on the Lord’s head. He improved the conditions in the village and beautified it so it attracts tourists. This Datta devotee, Surender Reddy, has been praying to Swamiji for a long time to visit his village of Pamapuram. I told him I would visit when we have the Venkata Ramana Swamy temple in Induru.

Accordingly, I went to Pamapuram from Kurnool this morning after consecrating the spectacular Sun Temple that was under construction for four years. After completing the consecration and Ratha Saptami festivities in Kurnool, I consecrated the temple of Lord Shiva and Goddess Bhramarambika in Pamapuram.

The Lord drew me here and you attracted me with your devotion for this program. The combined strength of the Lord and the strength of your devotion has paved way for Swamiji’s body (incarnation). I do not travel anywhere. I am everywhere. The Atman is everywhere. Therefore, it cannot be said that Swamiji has come here for the consecration. He has always been here.  Even before the inauguration, it was ordained when the earth was born, that this temple would be established here in this place. This was not planned when we bought the land and gathered the funds for this temple.  All that is happening now is only a drama.  The Lord had ordained that this place would be his abode a long time ago.  I had a similar feeling at Pamapuram today, where, for many centuries, there was an intent to restore the temple. That temple is also very ancient with a very unique form of Lord Shiva that does not look like a regular Shiva Linga.  All these activities were decreed when the earth was born. Just as Lord Yajna Varaha protected the earth, just as the Vedas were protected, devotion is now being protected. Because we so direly need the Lord’s protection in this Kaliyuga, He appeared to as Venkata Ramana Swamy even despite the other forms of divinity. The Lord comes running when you merely think of him and call out to Him chanting, “Govinda”. We are all in the kingdom of devotion.

Induru is very fortunate to have the consecration of Venkata Ramana Swamy here.  You are all very fortunate. You all served in your own small way pouring out all your strength into the service of the Lord. Each of you served in a different way. Sure, those who have the means get the temple constructed. But cleaning the floors is a service. Serving drinking water is a service. Picking up the plates after devotees eat is a service. Sweeping the floors is also a service. The Lord removes your sins by blessing you with the ability and the opportunity to serve

We have a karma body that is always ridden with disease. We complain of pain in different parts of the body. This worldly existence (samsara) is always drowning in grief. There is no trace of a smile. It is rife with grief, quarrels and fights, and buzzing with worried conversations about court cases and fights and hospital visits. Peace seems to evade this samsara. Even the occasional smile has grief embedded in it. It is very hard to cross this massive ocean of samsara. When combined with extended family and relatives, the tree of samsara is humongous, always filled with sorrow, and deprived of happiness.  Anxiety, fear, discontentment rule. No amount of possessions seem to be bring contentment. Faces are wiped of smiles and radiance. Our face does not reflect radiance when the heart is drowned in anxiety. The eyes reveal the state of your mind.  What we experience as diseases are the sins we commit in this world that is replete with attachments.

That is why the easiest way out, is the chanting of divine names. To have the Darshan of Venkata Ramana Swamy, people chant the name of Lord Govinda, toiling with their body as they climb up the hill, while contemplating on the Lord with their mind, standing for hours on end in the Darshan queue and finally having darshan of the Lord with great satisfaction. The Lord who gives Darshan there (in Tirupati) has now come here to Induru saying,“Why do you want to go that far to Tirupati? You will have difficulty visiting the crowded Tirupati”. You have difficulty leaving your house unattended for too long. You lack patience and the ability to travel that far. Even thinking of the present moment, we are already trying to rush things because we are a half hour late. How then can we frequent the Lord of the seven hills with this state of affairs?  We can however frequent this temple. We can serve at this temple. That same Lord of the Hills is giving Darshan here. The same rituals are used for consecration here. The same Lord is attracted to this temple.  He is visible in different forms. The Lord has many aspects. For our benefit, He blessed us with his many rays of grace and divine aspects because we are all karma beings. Because we have accrued karma, we are experiencing in the form of this body and in the form of grief. We are continuing to take birth after birth. Many of our ancestors passed away on our watch. We will pass away on our children’s watch. Everyone has to leave this world. No one can escape. The human birth is the greatest of all births. We have taken birth as various species in various different wombs. The final form in our evolution is that of a human. As a human, again, we take eight million births. To reduce the number of births we take, we need to do good karma. Otherwise, we will need to continue taking more and more births.  To avoid endless rebirths, we should always support Truth and Dharma in thought word and deed and always follow the ancient practices of Sanatana Dharma. Learn the ancient practices and also teach your children. You must follow the exalted path of spirituality. To help us follow the right path, we need a temple in every pilgrim place, every town and every household. That is why, when we build our house, we build a small shrine. These days, we only have a small shelf in the kitchen for God. The food that is being cooked is automatically considered as the offering to God (Naivedyam) before everyone feasts on it. The house is beautifully built with a bedroom for each child, a guest room and a swimming pool, but the owners quote Vastu in defense of not building a prayer room. They justify it saying they have a small shelf in the kitchen with two photos of god.

There should be a separate room for God.  Sacred books and scriptures should be placed in the room. When the mind is troubled, sit in the prayer room and meditate.  Pick up your preferred holy book and read. Now that we have tapes, we can play a bhajan we like. That is what we need the prayer room for. Close the door and pour out all your grief to God. Humans may make fun of you when they learn of your problems and secrets. But sharing with God lightens the burden of the mind. That is why, in every village, our elders built temples where we can offer all our sorrows to God. The sorrows will definitely be removed.

All Datta devotees came together in Induru to establish this temple.  Many are serving in this temple.  Everyone should serve according to your ability.  Do not stay home these 5-6 days because you feel you do not have time. You never know when God will summon you. God will not wait for you just because you do not have time. The Lord will not listen even if you said, “Please wait, I will come after I get married” or “I will come after I eat”.  When the time is up, you have to go right away. Therefore, during these seven days, stay here in Induru with people you know, and participate in all programs.

Witnessing a consecration (Kumbhahishekam) is equivalent to seeing ten kumbha melas. All sins are destroyed. So, participate in all programs. You will not get this opportunity again for another 12 years. Who knows if we will be here for 12 more years? We should therefore make use of the opportunity we have now with firm determination. Do not miss this program. Take part in all programs.

This temple looks beautiful.  I feels as if I am restoring an ancient temple. Because this place did not have a Venkata Ramana Swamy temple, we are consecrating one here now. Participate in all the programs here tomorrow onwards. Let us conclude today’s program now. You all are continuing to sit here out of love for me. I deliberately delayed the program by an hour. I wanted to see how many of you would patiently wait. Swamiji doles out tough tests. Prasadi reminded me four times at 7pm, 7:30, 8pm and 8:30pm that we should come to the program. Each time I dismissed the notion that it was getting late. Prasadi asked me if I would keep pushing it off until 10pm. I dismissed that too.  I might delay until 10pm, you never know. The time for me to talk to you has to come.  Once that time arrives, nothing can stop it from happening. I wait for that strong auspicious time. It was preordained that I talk to you at a certain time. I will not talk to you earlier than that or later than that. Jaya Guru Datta. Sri Guru Datta.