January 1, 2019 Speech in Vijayawada
Sri Maha Ganapate Namaha
Sri Saraswatyai Namaha
Sri Padavallabha Nrsimha Saraswati
Sri Guru Dattatreyaya Namaha
We are celebrating the Golden Jubilee of the Vijayawada Ashram. When Swamiji first came here 50 years ago, He bathed in the holy river Krishna and entered the premises. Devotees had waited 22 hours to have Darshan of Swamiji. Swamiji was traveling in one of the three Ambassador cars headed to Vijayawada. Dr. Krishnamurthy who was bringing Swamiji lost his way and accidentally turned towards Chennai from Nellore. The devotees in Vijayawada continued to wait. There were no cellphones and text messages back then. People communicated through the limited land lines where available after which they would pass on the word in person. Eventually, the retinue found its way after multiple turns and ended up near Krishna river. Many devotees continued waiting for Swamiji, who was supposed to arrive that morning. Swamiji had arrived 20 hours late. Anyway, Swamiji then bathed in the river and entered the premises. That was 50 years ago. Every year, without any obstacles, either I come here or you come to Mysuru. Vijaywada has become the most important Ashram after Mysuru. You have so much faith in Swamiji. There are good people here. See how many people presented themselves when we called for fifth generation devotees. There are many more fifth generation devotees from Vijayawada who will come to Mysuru to pick up their gold medal and certificate. It is to bring them to Mysuru that I decided to give the medals and certificates in Mysuru only going forward.
Happy English New Year to you. Ugadi is traditionally our new year. Everyone must observe Ugadi with great enthusiasm and gusto. We have to follow Dharma. Various interpretations to Dharma are given. Dharma has 10 characteristics
dhṛtiḥ kṣamā damosteyam śaucamindriya nigraham |
dhīrvidyā satyamakrodhaḥ daśakam dharma lakṣaṇam||
One can protect Dharma by following these ten principles: Courage, a forgiving nature, control of the senses, non-stealing, cleanliness, restraint of the sense organs, a sharp intellect, Knowledge, truthfulness, non-anger.
We should not debase our sense organs with reckless eating, sleeping, drinking etc. When you feel a sudden urge to eat lemon rice in the middle of bhajans or have a sudden craving for dessert, restrain the sense organs. Some people are so short-tempered that they almost peel off their skin because they are annoyed with the itching. There are some other people that never smile. They always wear a frown like they just swallowed castor oil. If we observe these ten principles of Dharma, we are implicitly following Dharma. We cannot be considered human beings if we do not follow Dharma. We would only have been born as humans, but living as animals. Human life should find greater fulfillment.
Since this is the golden jubilee year, Swamiji is giving gold medals to the fifth generation devotees. It is wonderful that Swamiji has visited this Ashram every year in the last 50 years. If Swamiji missed a year, He visited twice the following year. Swamiji has been here at least 50 times in the last 50 years. I am very happy. When we think of this Patamata Ashram, we instantly remember Kshipra Ganapati. He has become known as Ganapati that blesses vehicles. All new vehicles would get their inaugural worship done here. There used to be so many trucks coming to the Ashram back in the day. Now, the area is congested with too much population and there is no room for vehicles anymore. No problem. We consecrated Lord Ganapati here first. Swamiji used to stay in a tiny thatched room then. Now, we are all sitting in a wonderful bungalow. After Ganapati, the Navagrahas, Lord Datta, Mother Goddess, the Yajna shala, Shiva and Hanuman were consecrated, in that order.
This is not the first time we are conducting an open air event here. There is no one in this town of Vijayawada who does not know Swamiji. Swamiji used to been known as Music Swamiji and now he is known as Hanuman Swamiji. He used to be called Yajna Swamiji because Swamiji used to do Agni Puja (worship to Fire god) in the homa pit. So, people here have a title for Swamiji appropriate to the time and situation, just as we have a thousand names (sahasra nāma) for deities. Swamiji used to also be called kadiyala Swamiji and raksha Swamiji because Swamiji used to give out raksha (the sacred orange thread) as a blessing. Let us see what title Swamiji gets in the future.
Happy Golden jubilee! I bless you all and invite you to continue joining the programs here. Let us forget pain and grief and always be happy worshiping Kshipra Ganapati.
Bhajan: gaṇapati dēvuḍu māku
Bhajan: dēvī virāḍrūpa vainaṭṭi nīku
From January 17th - Ekadasi day, ETV channel will replay the 10th canto of Srimad Bhagavatam. Do not miss it. It will be telecast daily at 6:20am and will run for a year. Thousands of people like you made the request and ETV’s management has agreed to replay the 10th canto. That is your good fortune. So do not miss watching it. They are also running SGS Posts caption on the bottom of the screen. Everyone must get SGS Posts. SGS stands for Simple Good Sayings. Swamiji is sending messages in 12 languages including Sanskrit that started today. Every message has an English translation. This is great for children studying English. It is great for native Indian speakers as well to see the message in their language as well as in English. You will receive many moral and spiritual messages. You will find the answers to your questions. It takes only a couple minutes to install SGS Posts on your phone. You must install the app on your phone. Refer to the message anytime you find yourself in confusions or problems. The phone by itself is not a bad influence. You can use it for a good purpose.
Bhajan: namaḥ pārvatī patayē harahara
Close your eyes and meditate for 10 minutes every day. Chant the mantra given to you with concentration. You can establish in your mind a lamp or light or the form of your favorite deity. Maintain deep, slow breathing. If you breathe deeply, you will avoid heart problems. We do shallow breathing like dogs and that leads to diseases. We accumulate gas inside which kicks up from the bottom and affects the heart. Therefore, when you inhale, you must make sure to exhale completely. You must inhale completely and exhale completely. If you do that, you will not have heart problems or kidney problems. Our ancients have discovered and given us through Yoga Sutras, such an easy way to maintain good health. Yet, we do not want to follow. We only like to breathe shallow. That is why we have heart diseases and problems with our kidneys. The food we eat is turning into kidney stones due to the way we breathe. We should all follow these simple practices. If there is a Kriya Yoga class near you, go to the classes. Learn the right way to breathe. We all breathe only to stay alive, but in fact, we should breathe to stay healthy.
Be peaceful, do not get agitated and do not poke your nose in unnecessary issues. Sleep well and eat right. Do not eat excessively or fast excessively. Do not overdo or under-do exercises. You do all physical activity on one day and expect it to benefit you for ten days. You must exercise every day. Eat in moderation. Follow these small, easy principles to stay healthy. Do not get angry unnecessarily. You must fix your life. Today is the new year. At least starting today, adopt good habits. Resolve to give up bad habits such as smoking, chewing tobacco etc. Some people drink tea dozens of times a day. It will ruin your kidneys. Your stomach will bloat and explode. The acid will eat the insides of your stomach. You must consume tea like medicine, in very small quantities. It is better to give up coffee. It is okay to drink tea. Green tea is better. Avoid dairy milk. See, these are all easy principles to follow. All these messages are in SGS Posts, that is why I am mentioning these to you. SGS Posts is a great friend.
I will sing one more bhajan. I was not going to be here today due to a bad throat, but I am here only for you.
Bhajana: vēṅkaṭa ramaṇa saṅkaṭa haraṇa
Bhajan: hanumanta balavanta calavanta yaśavanta
kāyena vācā…