Jai Guru Datta. Jai Guru Hanuman.

On behalf of the devotees across the globe, it is a rare, divine opportunity for me to welcome Sri Swamiji to Kaya Siddhi Hanuman Temple.

Let us welcome Sri Swamiji with a round of applause.

Sri Swamiji is described as Guru, Sadguru, Shiva, Sada Siva, Parama Guru, Maheshwara, Jagadguru, Ashta Siddhi, and Swamiji. We really cannot fathom or understand Sri Swamiji. But one thing is certain. Wherever Sri Swamiji is present, there we will see excitement, exuberance, enthusiasm, cheerfulness, delight, happiness, energy, optimism, radiance, warmness, and joy.

Who is this Sri Swamiji and How Can we describe Him?

Sant Kabir says that “

He is the real Sadhu, who can reveal the form of the Formless to the vision of these eyes:
Who teaches the simple way of attaining Him, that is other than rites or ceremonies:
Who does not make you close the doors,  hold the breath, and renounce the world:
Who makes you perceive the Supreme Spirit wherever the mind attaches itself:
Who teaches you to be still in the midst of all your activities.
Ever immersed in bliss, having no fear in his mind, he keeps the spirit of union in the midst of all enjoyments.
The infinite dwelling of the Infinite Being is everywhere: in the earth, water, sky, and air:
Firm as the thunderbolt, the seat of the seeker is established above the void.
He who is within is without: I see Him and none else.”

As Swamiji himself mentioned that “Sadguru is like a mirror. In an ordinary mirror, you can see your face and accordingly do the required makeup and dressing. This mirror and your use thereof serve only a physical purpose. Sadguru, as a mirror, reflects your inner personality – your hidden nature and it gets revealed to you in the course of your contact with the Sadguru. Just as we use the ordinary face-seeing mirror for makeup and dressing, we should use the ‘Sadguru-Mirror’ for discovering our hidden inside nature. This will then serve the spiritual purpose of coming into contact with the Sadguru.”

Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji voluntarily descended on this earth as Datta Avatara only to help people, guide them, counsel them, instruct them, mold them, and rekindle the divinity in them. Millions of His devotees have met him, saw him, sat with him, laughed with him, sobbed with him, soaked in His aura, received the blessings, and benefitted from His words of wisdom. Full faith in him will bring peace of mind, happiness, and enough strength to face the hurdles with ease and sometimes unknowingly.

Sadguru’s heart melts with the devotion of the devotees. As we have heard so many times, the Gods will appear to the devotees and come to their rescue. They even descended from heaven to earth to protect their devotees. Swamiji is such a Guru who comes to meet His devotees to fulfill their desires and help them to find a path to resolve their problems.

If the devotees are persistent and have full faith in the concept of Sadguru, they will be blessed with strength and determination to accomplish the un-accomplishable. Sadguru will always be alert and overlook the progress of his disciples, avoiding the impending danger and directing them to the right path. Taking full responsibility seriously in discharging one’s duty is more important to achieving the goals.

Bhakta Tukaram has written thousands of Abhangs to tell us that we cannot estimate the greatness of a Guru unless one becomes a saint himself. “Verily difficult of understanding is the greatness of a Saint. Worldly knowledge is of no use there. How so ever large the quantity of milk which a cow or she buffalo might give, can she be compared to the Milch-Cow of heaven. We can know the greatness of Saints only when we have become like them. Saints incarnate in this world only in order to uplift the unholy and to increase the happiness and devotion to God. Just as a sandal tree can make other trees fragrant, similarly, a Saint makes other people holy in this world.

Why do we need a Guru?

Sant Tukram says, “The spiritual power of Saints is indeed very great. “The sun and the lamp and the diamond show things which are visible. But the Saints show things which are invisible … Parents are the cause of birth. But the saints are the cause for cessation of birth. It is for these reasons that we should go to the Saints unmasked and cling to the feet… The Saints indeed are generous, and their treasure cannot be emptied. Those who beg will have their heart’s content, and yet a large remainder will be left for others. When a bag is filled with God, it can never be emptied. Various people have taken away the contents of the mine, and yet it has not been emptied.

                Sri Swamiji spreads happiness, joy, compassion, and love where ever his winds are spread. In fact, the very dust of his feet brings peace and tranquility. Tukram says, “Immense pleasure is derived from the feet of the Saint… The whole body becomes cool when the dust of the Saints’ feet touches one’s body.”

                All sins and sorrows depart at the sight of a holy man. No holy place has the power of taking away sin and sorrow. God Himself bows to the pollen of the Saint’s feet, and dances when performing Kirtan. The Saint indeed is indeed a boat by which one can cross the stream of existence.

                I have left off everything and clung to Thy feet. I would much rather be in the sand and pebbles in Pandharapur. Ai shall touch the feet of the Saints who go to Pandhari. I shall even be the shoes and the slippers on the feet of such Saints. I would not mind even a cat or a dog in the possession of these Saints … How shall I express my obligations to the Saints. They keep me ever awake. How shall I be able to repay their kindness? If I sacrifice my life at their feet, that would be insufficient. They speak unconsciously and yet impart great spiritual knowledge. They come to me, and love me, as the cow does the calf.

Sri Swamiji is Shiva

Sri Swamiji is none other than Sadguru, Shiva, Parama Siva, Sadasiva, Maheswara, and Jagadguru. Only Advaita's mind can see the subtle attributes of attribute less, omnipresent, unattached, unbeginning, unending, and undecaying. He is gunatheetha, kaalaa teetha and rupaatheetha or rupa varjita. In fact, Devi herself asks Lord Shiva who is that guru you consider greater than Thyself?

Bhagavan Maheswar himself said in Kularnava Tantra:

O Beloved, the Sriguru is Shiva, though he has not three eyes, Vishnu too, though he has not four arms; and Brahma also, though he has not four heads. On Bhavani, when the fruits of sin predominate, Guru appears as man, and when the fruits of virtuous acts prevail, Guru appears as Siva.

Like blind men deprived forever of seeing the sun, unfortunate jivas are unable to see the real satguru, the embodiment of Mahesvara, though He is present before their eyes. It is undoubtedly true that the guru is Deva Sadasiva Himself, for who is it who grants liberation to Sadhakas if Guru be not Siva Himself.

As Mahesvara in the human body, I secretly wander on the Earth in order to favor shishyas. As Sadasiva, I assume the modest and merciful form for the protection of sadhakas. I remain above samsara, yet I appear and act in this world as though I were a man of samsara.

O, Beloved, there is not the least difference between Deva Sadasiva and Shriguru. Whoever makes a distinction between them commits a sin. By assuming the form of a preceptor, the Gurudeva severs the multitude of bonds that bind jivas to the state of pashu (bondage) and enables them to attain the Self, Parasivam.               

Sri Swamiji knows the inner desire and capacity of his devotees and will allow the expansion of their consciousness to proceed at a rate at which they are able to handle assigned tasks.  He knows how to make his devotees accomplish the assigned tasks and also the path to traverse to achieve the best results. Therefore, the Shiva Samhita (3:14) states: "Only by the guru's favor is everything good relating to oneself obtained. So the guru ought to be served daily, else there can be nothing auspicious."

Guru is HEAVY

Osha Rajneesh composed a very powerful poem on the energy and importance of a Guru as follows:

The Guru is very heavy, he is a cloud heavy with rain,

waiting only for your thirst to pour its contents.

He is a flower full of Scent, waiting only to meet your nostrils to spread it.

Guru means heavy, very heavy,  heavy for the energy of the unknown,

heavy of the Divine, heavy like a pregnant woman.

A Guru is pregnant of God; is heavy of the Divine, he is ready to pour it.

Your mere thirst is enough,  a thirsty ground is enough.

The Guru is a ripe, heavy fruit, waiting to fall down.

If you are ready to receive him, he falls in you.

When a disciple bows down in total faith to the feet of his Guru,

something invisible for the eyes  occurs.

An energy pours down from the Guru into the disciple.

If aware enough, one can see the aura of the Guru,

his rainbow, pouring into the disciple.

The guru is full of Divine energy. 

And he has infinite of it; he can pour it into an infinite number of disciples.

He can work alone with millions of disciples.

You never dries up because he connected with the whole,

he has found the source of everything.

Through him you too can jump into that abyss.

It is difficult to surrender to God, because nobody knows where He is:

He never gave his address to anybody. 

But you can find a guru.

 Therefore, if you like to know from me what is a Guru,

 Well, a Guru is the address of God

Sri Swamiji Guides His Devotees

Sri Swamiji is a great psychologist, a dexterous doctor, and an astute mentalist all in one. His penetrating eyes pierce through your mind and body to detect the imbalance, and also dissect every part of the body, and probes the brain cells. He is a silent teacher who helps the devotees to transform themselves through his teachings, looks, personality, and silence. His help is imperative for his devotees to go through different stages and make them evolve. He takes his devotee whose mind is primitive, agitated, angry, stressed-out stage to the stage of Sachchidananda – bliss.

Sri Swamiji is a guide who can help you cross the ocean, a father who is caring for the needs of his children, a mother who is ever-loving and compassionate, a friend who helps his devotees in need, and a teacher who answers our queries to remove the darkness, a pilot who helps his devotees to navigate through their lives, and a musician who can be instrumental in healing by affecting every part of the body.

Sri Swamiji guides his disciples through verbal instructions either in the meetings or in private conversations; printed books that help the devotee to churn his mind and absorb the messages; discourses that would enable the disciple to tap the nectar of age-old stories from the scriptures and time tested traditions; a silence that touches the heart and soul of the disciple through unseen vibrations; and Music which would enable the disciple to remain peaceful, balanced and be healthy. Through WORD, Sri Swamiji communicates to his disciples not only to rise up to the task on hand but also to absorb some of the qualities of Sadguru himself. The mission of Sri Swamiji is to take them to a higher level from the mundane day-to-day hurdles that prevent on to know from themselves.

Guidance through Quotations

Now Sri Swamiji added another weapon to guide his disciple. With this abundance of compassion and continuous love for His devotees, He is offering 1008 quotes in a book called Script for Success.”

Sri Swamiji has written these quotes in English with his own handwriting covering a wide range of topics affecting the entire gamut of life. These quotes are crisp, short, concise, and precise sentences that express our scriptural knowledge and timeless wisdom to awaken motivation, inspiration, and happiness.

Sri Swamiji has written these quotes to offer direction to lead a peaceful living, offer hope for the bright future, make one see the bright side of life, open the mind to see life in a wider perspective, find solace to the disturbed mind, stabilize the wavering mind, provide a cure for procrastination, render enough courage to face the troubles, mitigate the negative thoughts, provide advice to handle the family problems, teach the importance of disciple, develop good food habits, to get rid of laziness, moderate the materialistic overreach, develop the spiritual motivation, provide realistic aspirations for successful businesses, the virtue of Nishkama karma, the richness of Bhagavad Gita, the grandeur of Hindu scriptures and the list can go on. These wisdom quotes are culled from different scriptures and are presented in a more meaningful, easy to read, easy to digest, practical to implement for one’s own life journey.

Why did Sri Swamiji write these quotes?

Sri Swamiji, the divine Avatara, realizes that people, in general, are spiritually poor, inwardly strained, outwardly stressed, spiritually weak, mentally torn, emotionally feeble, and psychologically worn out. People are directionless. In spite of all the advice and guidance we receive from all our family members and all our friends, we drive aimlessly.

His guidance is straightforward, advice is sagely, the appraisal is candid, vision is clear, clarity of thought is unambiguous, instructions are forthright, and directions are forthright. Sri Swamiji instructs, guides, and advises, in both temporal and spiritual matters, and makes them sail through the troubled waters, enabling them to achieve the goal of their life. His guidance is unfailingly provided the devotees have full faith in Him.

Respect and Obey your Sadguru

In order to either complete the task assigned to the disciples, solve the personal crises faced in private life, or to progress spiritually to get connected to a higher level, a disciple should always respect the spiritual master as a manifestation of Param Brahma. We should always remember that Sri Swamiji knows us better than we do ourselves. Being a trikalagnani who knows the past, present, and future, we should pay close attention to every word, every statement, and even deafening silence. He is here only to help us and elevate us. Make sure we obey his counsel and guidance.

Let us remember the words of Lord Krishna “I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all. But whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend, is in Me, and I am also a friend to him.” (9:2)

The importance of obeying the rules of the Shikshapatri is stated by Bhagawan Swaminarayan in verses 205 and 206: "Hence, all My disciples shall observe all the rules laid down in this Shikshapatri and shall never follow the whims of the lower instincts. Those of My disciples who shall live in accordance with the precepts laid down here shall attain all the four desired objects (Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha) on earth."

Finally let us remember that delusion, confusion, distress, agitation, stress, anxiety, and ailments are destroyed by being associated with Sri Swamiji. By being in His presence will help you forget the problems and muster enough courage to face the devil. There are numerous experiences of devotees who have documented their own experiences of miracles in life, and who have benefitted from his association and his unfailing word. Every word is loaded with a message, guidance, and strength.

                To that Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji, who is guiding us for decades, we extend our welcome to Karya Siddhi Hanuman Temple with a round of Applause.

Jai Guru Datta. Jai Guru Hanman