AvadhootaDatta Peetham

Pustakasthā tu yā vidyā, parahastagataṃ dhanaṃ
kāryakālē samutpannē, na sā vidyā na tatdhanaṃ ǁ

Knowledge that has not been memorized and one’s own wealth which is in others’ custody – both of them fail to be of use at times of real necessity.

From the Sanskrit root ‘Vid jnāṇe’ the word ‘Vidya’ has emerged. As such, vidya is the form of knowledge! The presiding deity for knowledge is Mother Saraswati. Knowledge should be stored in the cave called intellect. It must not be stored in the pages of books.

Ignorance is all-pervading. It exists both within and outside of us. On the contrary, knowledge cannot exist outside. It exists only in our intellect. For this reason, our ancient Maharishis carefully stored their learning in their intellect. This sookti teaches that knowledge stored in books (and not in the intellect) is a sheer waste!

Wealth, by nature, is very fickle. It does not remain steadily at any one place. To ensure it remains steady is a herculean task. Only those who have mastered absolute sense control have total command over wealth. On the contrary, the ordinary people store wealth. In other words, they store and hoard wealth and ultimately, due to it, land in troubles. I shall narrate a small example to drive home the point.

In the past, there lived a goldsmith who coveted gold. He would, through sly words and techniques, secretively steal gold from all those who visited him. Fearing his wealth will get diminished, he would not even provide proper food to his wife and children and would instead provide them with thin gruel to fill their stomachs. He too survived only on gruel. Tired of his miserliness, his wife and children left him and went away. The miserly goldsmith was very happy with their departure as it would reduce his expenses. He now began to reside in a thatched hut which did not even have the proper roof. With the wealth that he had stored, he made two gigantic golden bricks. Fearing that dacoits may steal these bricks, he dug a deep pit under a tree outside the village and hid them therein.

Every morning, unnoticed by others, he would walk to that tree, see those golden bricks and rejoice. A thief observed this daily routine. Finding a suitable time, the thief dug up the pit, stole the golden bricks and escaped. The next morning, the goldsmith went to check his gold. He slumped there and let out loud wails. Upon not finding those bricks, he was shattered.

Exactly at that moment a saint happened to pass by. He asked the goldsmith the reason for this uncontainable sorrow. The goldsmith narrated his woes. ‘If you could afford to make such huge golden bricks, then obviously you must be living in a luxurious home. Go home and work hard again to earn back this wealth’- said the saint. ‘I do not own any home. I live in a thatched hut’- said the goldsmith.

‘Never mind. Even if it is a thatched hut, go home and live happily with your family and work hard to earn the wealth again’- said the saint. ‘Unable to tolerate my miserliness, my family abandoned me’- he replied.

Immediately the saint picked two large stones and handing them to him said, ‘consider them to be your golden bricks. Store them in this pit and daily admire them’. Saying this, he went away. In other words, the wealth that cannot be enjoyed is equivalent to stones.

Therefore, this sookti says that- wealth which cannot come to use when necessary and knowledge that is stored only in books- both are a sheer waste.

Today, we will sing a bhajan that you all know. Swamiji has been singing this Bhajan for several years. Now, this song is what we need. This Bhajan is coming in useful now. Someone asked me why Swamiji wrote about the three Doshas (bioenergies) in the body while singing the glory of Mother goddess. You will probably understand now.

ūrdhva loka pradātrī ca, hāni vrddhi vivarjita

vātsalya bhāva śrī mātā, varadā parirakśatu

Bhajan: śrītripurā – bhāsurā siddhāmbā sā - māṁ pātu

Did you understand the bhajan? Look at the second stanza – vāta pitta kapha rūpā vyādhīnāṁ śamanī, pan̄ca kōśagā sudhiyāṁ mōhanāśadātrī. Today, we are seeing the terrible demon that seizes us with vāta pitta and kapha. Swamiji subtly hinted at this a long time ago. He indicated there would be a disease affecting the five sheaths and the three bioenergies (three Doshas - vāta pitta and kapha).

So, what is one supposed to do? śrītripurā – bhāsurā siddhāmbā sā - māṁ pātu

If we sing the glory of Mother Goddess Sri Tripura everyday, these kinds of diseases related to vāta pitta and kapha will not occur. Diseases show most effect on vāta pitta and kapha. The Coronavirus disease is like that too. “Corona” means crown. Of course, one day, we will conquer the disease. Anything that goes up has to come down. Nevertheless, we are now suffering due to the disease. People asked Swamiji what one should do. Sing this bhajan of Mother Goddess. It is so beautiful.

May the resplendent Mother Tripura protect me. The oneness of the Mother in the mixture of gross and subtle elements in the seventh chakra is being hinted at here. In other words, vāta pitta and kapha are all Her forms. We can say that they are verily God. In the form of vāta pitta and kapha, even though Mother Goddess, makes us diseased, she eliminates devotees’ diseases through phlegm, cough etc.

Residing in the five sheaths, she removes the delusion of the pious. The eight Vagdevatas (forms of Mother Goddess) including Vasini in this Chakara are always praising the Mother with hymns like Lalita Sahasra nama. The Mother who resides in Lord Shiva is in the aṣtakona (eight-angled) chakra. Mother Goddess likes humor. It does not mean we should always be giggling. We should lead life with laughter, not with sorrow and disease. We should learn to see humor in everything around us. The more you laugh, the more oxygen you get. Many do not laugh. They sit glum like an owl. Many secret yoginis worship Mother Goddess. May the Mother bestow good speech on us.

The Mother who is the consort of Lord Shiva holds the sarva khecara mudra. This the Mother, the daughter of Mountain, who resides in the sarva roga hara chakra.  The beatific radiance of Her face overpowers the radiance emanating from the lotus. It is her grace that gives the light of Sachchidanda.

That is why there is no need for us to fear any disease. We should increase our immunity and resistance with the right food. Our elders have made known many things to us, besides the science of Ayurveda.

Gooseberry

Elders advise we eat one or two Gooseberries everyday. It is very good for us. It is bitter in the beginning, but sweet later. It can help us withstand many diseases. When you cannot get fresh gooseberries, mix a half spoon of Gooseberry powder with a spoon of honey and consume it. It helps develop better resistance to diseases.

Amrutaballi (Kannada) or Tippa teega (Telugu) or Guduci or Tinospora cordifolia 

Amrutaballi is Ayurvedic nectar. It is very powerful shrub used in many ayurvedic medicines. You can eat one the leaf twice a day or consume the powder. The heart shaped leaf protects the heart. You can consume one spoon of the juice with one spoon of honey twice a day. This shrub can grow anywhere easily. Where do you find diamonds? They grow in the earth. We think diamonds are found in showrooms, but they are placed there only after they are mined from the earth. Like that, this shrub too grows in the earth easily. You may mix with honey and consume.

Neem leaves

Chew and swallow 3-4 Neem leaves and drink warm water. Practice doing this daily. I used to do that as a child. This gets rid of phlegm.

Ginger

Consume half spoon ginger juice with a half spoon honey. Or, consume 2-4 pinches of ginger powder with honey. You can also consume ginger as is.

Holy basil

Consume half spoon holy basil juice with one spoon honey. Or, just chew and eat 6-8 fresh leaves of holy basil each day.

Turmeric powder

Take two small pinches of turmeric powder with warm milk at bedtime. A tiny cup of milk is enough. You can also simply consume 2-4 small pinches of turmeric by itself or mix it with water. It may not have a pleasing taste, but drink it up. I used to drink turmeric with water when I was a little boy. This is very good for you. It is very beneficial for people suffering from psoriasis or other skin problems.

Garlic

I am not necessarily fond of talking about garlic, but it has medicinal value. So, I cannot be too shy to talk about it. Can you be shy talking about your health issues with your doctor? You must not hide health issues from your doctor, nor should you hide the truth from your lawyer. Similarly, when you talk to the Guru, speak from the heart. Remember these three things - that you should not lie to a lawyer, a doctor and Guru. Before going to bed, consume one clove of garlic. If you rub garlic on your hands, you will not even need a hand sanitizer. Not even corona’s father can tolerate the smell. Elders used to consume garlic everyday to prevent heart blockages. People who are overweight can eat this like a chutney. It has a strong odor, so eat at night only as a medicine rather than during the day.

Please remember that all this is not a cure for Coronavirus disease. These things will help strengthen our resistance power and immunity. These ingredients have been used in our cooking since ancient times. Everyone knows about the medicinal benefits of these items. Please do not assume this is medicine for Corona. Follow the Government’s health instructions and use the medicines they give you. Eat this for strengthening your immunity and developing greater resistance to ailments. May Corona be removed soon That is the reason I sang this Bhajan today, to get rid of Corona soon.

Let us chant Shiva naama today. We chanted Rama naama yesterday.

Swmaiji leads chanting of Namah shivayom