Parama Pujya Appaji’s speech in UPH on Sankastahara Chaturthi day
You must sit where where Swamiji can see you. You must not sit in some corner, out of guilt. You must sit in front of Sadguru. If you sit behind columns or on the side where you are not visible to Swamiji, you will not get the fruit, instead you will incur sin. It is okay to not reap the fruits also but you will incur sin. Give up your laziness and sit in a way you are visible to Swamiji.
Today is Sankastahara Chaturthi - all sankasta (troubles) will be removed. This Ganapati vrata has been followed since many Kalpas and Yugas. The first letter is in the form of Omkara. Sound is of the form of Akasha (ether). It is also related to Agni tattva and Jala tattva. Ganapati is the basis of the sound that is generated from the throat which comprises Akasha tattva - an admixture of the other two tattvas. Different seekers call Ganapati with different names. Some call him Vishvaksena, some call him Pillayar and so on. He is an embodiment of Omkara.
Many wonder why Sankastahara Puja must be each month. The Devatas suffered a lot due to fighting with demons. Having lost heaven, they fled to various places and had no choice but to assume the forms of various birds and animals. They did not know what to do. Even Vishnu suffered. All Gods except Ganapati suffered and had to hide.
When all the deities prayed to Mother Goddess, they were asked to do the Japa of Omkara to get rid of the obstacles before setting out for battle. The form of Omkara is none other than Ganapati. Jaganmata said, “Chant the name of Ganapati who is the form of Omkara, offer worship, do Dhyana and then proceed further to the fight. Success will be yours.” This was Mother’s order. That day was Sankastahara Chaturthi - a day to get rid of all troubles.
The Puranas elaborate the same in great detail. All the 333 crores Devatas gave their energy to Ganapati as their offering. Ganapati’s weapons, his small, focused eyes, and elephant-faced trunk are symbolic of the forms of Shiva, Vishnu and Mother Goddess. What is the form of Ganapati? He sometimes becomes formless. Where is he? He pervades the entire Akasha. He hurled his weapon goad (Ankusha) in some place. Perhaps, I can tell you where he hurled his goad, for the time has come to reveal that. There where he had thrown his goad, many other beings exist. We are not the only creatures on Earth. The other beings keep visiting Earth once in a while. They also send signals once in a while. Their energy is transferred here and there. Sometimes, that energy is good and at times, it is bad. Either tomorrow or day after tomorrow or some other day in the upcoming year or in the upcoming century, or in the next 500 years, we will find out about those aliens. We will certainly see them. They are very strange beings. Their appearance is not as shown in the movies. Their form is very much different. You may wonder, “What is the connection between Ganapati and these beings?” They not only cause harm to the Earth but also to the many other planets like Earth. Scattering their energy on Earth, they are consuming the energy from Earth. That is like food for them. This is a different subject. So, let me leave this topic for now.
It is not my nature to scare people by predicting the future. Since the time has come, I am saying all this. Henceforth, we will know all this. We are facing many bad effects on Earth because of those beings. As a result of the ill effects, Agni pralaya (wildfires and other conflagrations), Tsunami, Bhu pralaya (earthquakes), and a lot of Jala pralayas will happen. Many changes will be seen even in oceans. It is alright. We must face everything. The fight between the Devatas and the demons is still going on, which started many eons ago. It has not yet stopped. Who can prevent all these difficulties? Ganapati alone can prevent it.
Hence we must transform our way of living. We must spend our time in good activities like meditation etc We must not waste the time by getting engrossed in worldly affairs. The life that we have is a wonderful one. We are losing it and letting it lead to our downfall. We must try to rise. So, we should not waste time sitting on the couch, spending time here and there, sipping coffee, eating something, driving, gossiping etc. We waste lakhs of breaths (hamsas) by doing all this. We create good and bad things in our mind and waste time. We imagine good things very rarely. We only imagine bad things most of the time.
Why did Ganapati hurl his goad? The goad itself will become the cause of the death for those beings. We do not even have to pray, for it will happen on its own. However, I am talking about this for the first time in my life. I never speak like this despite knowing it because it is my Divine Mother’s order that I should not reveal anything. I can reveal some matters since I have crossed the age of 80 years. Hence, I am telling all this now.
So, wherever you are - whether at home, or in a monastery or at work, you must lead a dharmic life. Everyone must inculcate the mindset to work and serve righteously. Everyday in the morning, Balaswamiji is discoursing on good topics in the Ashrama. How many come to listen? How many attend Srichakra puja? But you get to reap all the benefits from Ashrama. You can be eating in your room, but you got the money - what you call as your own - from Swamiji. You liberally use resources like electricity, water etc. in the Ashram. You may not come to Annapurna Mandira and eat. You may be working in any place. But you must serve faithfully to make your life fruitful. Only then will we be saved in the future. Frightening times are impending. We will not be spared at all. If we accumulate good things now, it will be of some use in the future. You will realize much later in the future that your Swamiji had cautioned you - “Swamiji had advised me to lead a righteous life even if I am deprived of money. Swamiji had asked me to be disciplined. That is all Swamiji had said. But, we did not follow.” Then, you will suffer. But, I will not be there amidst you. You cannot see me either. I will only be seen by some and not by all. That is when you will realize.
All you need to do is just come to Prayer hall for ten minutes as a mark of your attendance. It is true that you are engaged in another department of Ashrama. So, you can come, offer namaskara and run back to work. You do not have to stand and listen to the discourse happening in the Prayer hall because we should get back to our seva. You must not let injustice happen to your seva also. Offering namaskara in the prayer hall is like accumulating your personal assets. The seva you do in a specific department of Ashrama is a duty. It is a duty for you to lead your life in Ashrama. But, leading your life is not just your salvation. You must increase your bank balance by doing Puja etc.
I cautioned someone yesterday, "You do not even pay for Samishti Homa which is a very nominal fee. But you come to me and ask me about your big problems. Do you not feel ashamed?" If you participate in the seva, you will be considered in my list. I do not reap any benefit with your mere 300 Rupees. The prasada I give does not satisfy your hunger either. But, it will protect you. We must at least offer a mustard seed and ask for a pumpkin. But, if we do not even offer a mustard seed, we will not get a pumpkin for certain. Remember this very well! We must offer a flower and seek immense energy. Pleased with our little seva, Lord Venkateshwara Swamy, the deity of this Kali Yuga, blesses us immensely. We only offer 11 Rupees in the Hundi. But, we reap 20 times, 30 times or even 50 times of what we have offered. Remember this! By offering a few grains of rice to a crow, we are getting food continuously for seven births. If you do not even do this, your bank balance will deplete.
Due to the merit from some birth, you got Swamiji now. You must continue this relationship. You should not say, “I have Swamiji with me and that is enough. I do not need anything.” You must not think like this. You must do karma and increase your bank balance. You must continue this. If there is no amount in your account, the bank manager cannot give you any money. Your merit alone has brought you to Swamiji. Otherwise it is not possible. The fruits of your merit or your parent’s merit or the good karma from your past has made you attain Swamiji today. You must not get complacent. Do not be lazy. You must enhance this. Do Japa, chant Lalitha Sahasranama or Vishnu Sahasranama. You must offer physical seva and puja as much as possible. You must have a system of worship at home. You must decorate the photo of a deity.
I tell this to everyone - do not give up good karma. If you give up good karma, your bank balance depletes. Hence, all of a sudden, Swamiji will leave you. Swamiji will not talk to you. When your bank balance was good, Swamiji spoke lovingly with you. Gradually, you gave up your austerities and good karma. You became lazy, started becoming dubious of yourself and lost faith.
Mother Yashoda also could not understand Krishna despite calling him Krishna and Paramatma. She understood that Krishna was Paramatman only after Kamsa was slayed. Only then, the cowherd men and women realized who Krishna was. Assuming that the slaying of the other demons was a mere coincidence, they just warded off the evil eye for Krishna. Is it possible for a little baby to slay demons coincidentally? Those around Krishna were so foolish! They could understand only after Kamsa was slayed, as Bhagavatam says. Yashoda also did not realize that he was Paramatma.
You will understand Swamiji much later in the future. Now, many people who saw me in my childhood come and say that they never knew about Swamiji’s energy in his childhood. They invite me to their houses and seek apologies for mocking Swamiji in the past. What is the use? It is okay for them to say whatever but they realize only today. It is not that we should realize when we see but instead we must ask our own heart.
This is for all the Ashrama inmates - Be as frugal as possible with using electricity. You may have a sub-meter and submit the details for the same. But, when more electricity is used, the cost tier changes and hence we need to pay more. Switch off the lights where they are not required. This is your Ashrama. Pick up garbage and maintain cleanliness because this is our Ashrama. Do not expect to be told what to do; do not entertain thoughts against doing a certain kind of work in the Ashrama. We cannot employ daily wagers for everything. Infact, we are also like daily wagers.
I am telling you all this while sitting on this Peetham, in front of Mother Goddess - I really like to clean the washroom. But, you feel that is unpleasant. I do not feel so. I really like to do small chores. It will be a good exercise and the mind remains active too. I will be satisfied that I completed my work by myself. I wonder why you also do not get this bent of mind. If you get that, it is very good for you. You must consider the Ashrama yours. You should not say, “Oh! This is not my department. So, I don't care!”
Remember! Everyone needs every department of Ashrama. You must take everything on your shoulders. You must be ever ready to do anything. This is the unity of Datta Peetham. It is good only if we remain united. You must not say that you are not concerned. Do not think that you do not belong to the department of garbage in Ashrama. Keep track of time and work for an hour or so. Serving in the Annapurna Mandira and cleaning the dirty plates after eating is also our job. No one needs to ask you to do it; everyone is a volunteer. Everyone serves. No one is big and no one is smalll. If there is anyone like that, you can let me know. Everyone is the same including Swamiji and Bala Swamiji. Everyone is small in the view of Jaganmata. All of us are servants and volunteers. We must not entertain the thought that we are big. We must strive to attain a good name. Even if someone blames you, just accept happily, thank the other person and reply that you will correct yourself. That is it! If the one who blames you assumes himself to be great, then let it be so. He will slowly realize. Thus, we must not have any mental agitation. No one is now engaged in physical disputes now but we must not even have mental disputes either. Remember this! We must do our duty.
We had a lot of work during the 80th birthday celebrations. I must not praise you all. Everyone did their part and hence the celebrations went very peacefully and silently, It is because everyone had love for Swamiji. Such love for Swamiji makes you win. We have mutual love towards each other. Hence there were no confusions or fights in the programs.
Before the birthdays, we calculated everything. We had spent all the money that we had. Except for the fixed deposits (FDs) that feed us, we had no other funds left. If we touch the FDs, then we will suffer a lot. We spent all the funds for repairs, Nada Mantapa renovation etc. Then we contemplated on how to celebrate the birthdays. So, we took a big loan from Canara bank. Starting from Yagnas and Yaagas, all award ceremonies, Vastra daana, Annadana and all programs went wonderfully well. We will be free from debt very soon. It will happen by itself. Someone has given one crore rupees already because they did not want me to have outstanding debt. We have much more to repay.
In this manner, you must not waste anything. You must regard everything as yours and Swamiji’s. You must not bring every small thing to Swamiji's notice. You must adjust amongst yourselves. If you keep bringing up all small matters to me, I will get irritated and I will want to abandon you all. That should not happen. I will not blame you or tell you anything but I will take it mentally and I will get ready to leave you all. That should not happen. Even my mind also should not feel so because you will incur the sin. Why should that happen? Swamiji is the King and the owner. If Swamiji feels bad, then the blame is ours.
I am going abroad for two months. It is not possible for me not to go because we have a major event - Dvisahasragala Bhagavadgita chanting. I should also give medals to many people in the USA. Some consecrations also are there. Hence it will take two months of time. I do not wish to be away for so long, leaving the birds behind, but I have no alternative. My mind also got agitated. I can come back to Mysore and go again but it will cost a lot. The travel charges can be used for some other useful project.
All of you are efficient because even in Swamiji’s physical absence, you have invited the President and bid farewell to him nicely. Such is your capability! This is the ability of the children of Mysore Ashrama. There are many who are ready for great responsibilities. If everyone does their respective duties quietly, then it will be very good. All the Ashrama inmates must keep your phones on. You never know when I will call you. If your phone is switched off, then I will break your phone and throw it in the sewage drain right in front of you. Perhaps you can get back your phone from the sewage drain also. So, I will crush your phone like a chutney and throw it in the drain. Then, you cannot get back the phone.
Swamiji will call and ask about your matters. We always have some problems - hospital problems etc. Let no such emergency occur that I should call you. May it be so! Why should such a situation arise? We have Swamiji in our mind.
Chaturmasya will also take place in Mysore Ashrama. You must attend the programs everyday. You do not have to sit for any program. Just come and give your attendance and leave. Everyone must attend the Nada programs in the evening which would happen for a full 365 days. Do not think that you don’t need that or that the musicians are not great. What greatness do you have to determine who is great and who is not? You act like you know music.
Once a King asked his Minister, “I want to listen to the music of a great musician.” The Minister said, “O King! You do not know anything about music. Why don’t you just forget this matter?” The Minister and King shared good friendship. The King replied, “Why do you say so? Music is great!” After some time, a great musician came to the kingdom. Someone told him that the King is a music lover and a great musician himself. Just before the musician arrived, the King called his minister and asked, “I do not know anything about raagas. So, teach me some of them. Just tell me the names of the raagas.” The Minister promptly told the King the names of three raagas - Kambhoji, Kalyani and Mohana. While singing, the musician asked which raaga the King wished to listen to. The King replied that he wants Mohana raaga. The musician was fooled that the King had great knowledge about music. After Mohana raaga, when the musician once again asked, the King replied that he wished to listen to Kambhoji raaga. After that was done, the King asked for Kalyani raaga. Again, the musician posed the same question to the King. However, the King was aware of only three raagas. He just closed his eyes and spoke to himself, “I only learned the names of three raagas. I do not know another.” Then, he looked at the Minister when the latter was exactly slapping his thigh to drive away a mosquito stinging himHaving misunderstood the gesture of the Minister, the King asked the musician to sing thigh raaga.
So, whether you know music or not, encourage the artists. All Ashramates must attend the Nada event. We are spending money for these daily events. They are not coming free of cost. It will be exactly for an hour - 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm. They will not be here for even a minute after. You can sit for sometime, sing Kakada Arati and leave after.
All those who work in your respective departments must take care of the work faithfully. Let someone be there in the prayer hall. Be vigilant. Although we have security guards taking care, once in a while, you also must keep vigil. Radhakrishna (Swami Manasa) used to stay awake the whole night singing bhajans. I never found another boy like him. He was truly a great person. Radhakrishna was a true Avadhoota.
I need two or three cheerful boys and girls in the Ashrama, who are always smiling and also bring smiles on others' faces. I like it if they are all rounders. They must give up fear in the mind. You must understand in your mind that Appaji is yours.
I see the kadabu (sweet) and I feel like eating it. Do not just eat, roam and sit. Do justice to what you have to do. Do justice to your life. Attend the Ashrama prayers without fail and serve your bit. Ashrama should be clean. Remember this! We may not have anything but Ashrama must be clean. Ensure that there is no garbage anywhere. I love sweeping and picking up garbage. I keep cleaning the unseen garbage of everyone, you must clean the physical garbage. You pick up the visible garbage and I will clean the invisible garbage.
Despite Covid, the birthday celebrations went very well. We somehow managed everything. We had different cooks. We ate well and some of us had to run to hospitals. But, we were all happy. Attend the Chaturmasya programs. Come to prayer, bhajans and attend the evening program. Spend less electricity and water. Brush your teeth and only then open the water faucet. Do not leave the tap open for no good reason. This is not a municipality. The more water we spend, the more difficult it is for us. You must protest if electricity is getting wasted. Do not serve excess food on your plat and waste it. If you want to eat more, you can go back for more servings. Even the cooks also keep shouting to take less food.
Do not miss the Yoga programs on June 21st. You must come at 7:30 am itself. You must eat here and go. I will take two classes - one in the morning and another at noon. Do not mumble about dress code. The Yoga performers will sit in the front row. You can occupy the back seats. You must listen to Appaji’s words about what Yoga is and why we need Yoga. You can also witness the Yoga asanas that the children will do. Many teachers who are teaching in several remote villages are all attending the programs. Do not give the excuse that you are busy. Jaya Guru Datta!