March 2010
- Swamiji's Message to Devotees in Viswamandiram, Guntur, March 16th 2010
- Swamiji conveys His Divine Blessings to all on the ocassion of Ugadi, March 16th 2010
- Swamiji conveys His Divine Blessings on the ocassion of Milad-un-nabi, February 27th 2010
- Swamiji conveys His Divine Blessings to all on the ocassion of Holi, March 1st 2010
Sri Rama Navami, March 24 2010
Swamiji conveys His Divine Blessings to all on the ocassion of Sri Rama Navami, March 24 2010.
Sri Rama was virtuous and of manly strength. He was the Lord of the mind and the senses. Brave and valiant, and inspite of all this he was gentle and modest. He was a sage in counsel, kind and sweet in speech, and most courteous and handsome in appearance. He was the master of all the divine weapons, and a great warrior. Ever devoted to the good and prosperity of His kingdom and His subjects, He was a defender of the weak and the protector of the righteous. Endowed with numerous wondrous powers of the mind, He was well versed in all sciences--in science of war as well as the science of the Self and in short ideal for the entire humanity. He was an ideal son, husband, father and king. The way he led his life should be an ideal for all of us. Adherence to truth and Dharma(Righteousness) is what Sri Rama's life teaches us. He put into practise the concept of one word, one arrow and one wife.
The life of Sri Rama teaches two lessons the value of detachment and the need to become aware of the Divine in every being. Faith in God and detachment from objective pursuits are the keys for human liberation. Give up sense objects, and you gain Rama. Sita gave up the luxuries of Ayodhya so she could be with Rama during His exile. When she cast longing eyes on the golden deer and craved for it, she lost Rama's presence. Renunciation leads to joy; attachment brings about grief. Be in the world, but not of it.
To pray to, and worship Lord Rama is not enough, what is needed is for us to make him as our ideal and walk in his footsteps. Perfect humanity like what Sri Rama had will give us the strength to kill the demon like Ravana.
Ramayana, Rama's life has become a part of day to day life of everyone in India. Ramayana is also popular in parts of Russia, where they enact stories from Ramayana, and try to follow the ideals set in it.
Swamiji has conveyed His Hearty Divine Blessings to all on this auspicious day.
Swamiji's Message to Devotees in Viswamandiram, Guntur, Ugadi, March 16 2010
Swamiji gave a beautiful discourse in which He explained that Panchanga Sravanam as well as tasting of Ugadi pachchadi (a chutney composed of six different tastes representing different types of experiences in life) are both traditions to be followed on Ugadi day. He mentioned that it is important for us to know our traditions and follow them sincerely. Traditions help establish our identity. We win respect from outsiders if and only if we understand and follow our own traditions. At this point He has commended the Governor of Andhra Pradesh and his wife because they followed the Ugadi traditions very religiously today in the Raj Bhavan and became great role models for the people of this state.
Swamiji then said that even though Pandits are predicting some ill effects because of the positions of planets this year, there is no need for us to be afraid. There are Mantras to rectify each of those bad effects. By constantly chanting the right Mantras with utmost focus and devotion, it is possible to nullify them and energize ourselves by tapping into the divine energy.
In particular He said prayers like Aditya Hridayam and Gayatri Mantra have great potency to cure planetary ill effects. Then He mentioned that if one doesn't know these Mantras or does not feel comfortable chanting them, then simply chanting the divine Mantra "Om Sri Sai Ram Guru Devadatta" can give the most powerful results. Also surrendering to your Guru with unshaken faith will make Him absorb all the ill effects that may be possible and provide you with immense positive energy and good results.
So there is no need to fear anything, as long as you have devotion and faith. Simply cultivate love. Prema, Prema Prema - that is the cure for all evils, said Swamiji.
In the end Swamiji ended His speech by leading the chant " Om Sri Sai Ram Guru Deva Datta" musically and then gave Pada Namaskaram and blessings to all the devotees who have gathered at His feet this evening.
My hearty Divine Blessings to all on the ocassion of Ugadi, Vikriti Nama Samvatsara.On this ocassion there is a need to have connection with mind of Guru and have the power of Guru flow into ourselves and gain strength to face the adverse situations in life. It is very important to maintain balance between the five elements of nature, by not polluting them. Imbalance between the five elements is the reason for natural disasters.
The name "Ugadi" came from Yuga + Aadi which means "Beginning of a New age.
Ugadi should not be treated merely as a festive occasion. It must be regarded as a day dedicated to the Divine. The ugadi reminds man to express gratitude to the Divine for all the grace received from God.
Hence,one should fill every moment with pure thoughts, with pure feelings and pure actions. Every moment one should try to get rid of bad thoughts and fill the mind with good thoughts and thereby strengthen oneself.
In fact every day of life should be a ugadi and one should strive to attain all the five strengths namely physical strength, mental strength, social strength, financial strength and spiritual and be a strong individual in all aspects.
My divine blessings on this Ugadi and I bless you to enjoy bliss of devotion and overcome pain and sorrow by getting rid of ignorance and cultivating right knowledge, use the knowledge so gained for the good of society, and working together make this world an abode of peace.
Sri Sri Sri Viswayogi Viswamjee Maharaj
HOLI, March 1st 2010
My Divine Blessings to all on the ocassion of Holi, the festival of colors.
According to a legend, Goddess Sati, the daughter of Daksha Prajapati, one of the first sons of Lord Brahma, married Lord Shiva against the wishes of her father. Thus, Daksha did not invite her and her husband to a grand yagna arranged by him. When Sati came to know about the event in her father's house, she thought it to be a slip of mind and proceeded to participate in the event despite the warnings of her husband. But once she reached there, she realized her fault and was infuriated by the insult of her husband. As a penance for her disobedience, she entered the fire. When Lord Shiva came to know of her sudden demise, he was furious. Enraged at the insult and the injury, Shiva through Veerabhadra, destroyed Daksha's sacrifice, cut off Daksha's head and replaced it with that of a goat, as he restored him to life. Still crazed with grief, he picked up the remains of Sati's body, and danced the dance of destruction throughout the Universe. The other gods intervened to stop this dance, and the disk of Vishnu cut through the corpse of Sati, whose various parts of the body fell at several spots all through the Indian subcontinent and formed the sites of what are known as Shakti Peethas today.
Even after he controlled his anger, he started a severe meditation and renounced all work. The world's balance soon crumbled in his absence. Sati took rebirth as Goddess Parvati, the daughter of Mountain King Himavan, to try and win Lord Shiva's heart and wake him up from his trance. She tried all ways to get the attention of Shiva. When Lord Siva is not moved by her penance and devotion, the Gods invoked the help of Kamadava, who agreed to help in the cause of the world despite the risks involved. He shot his love-arrow on Shiva's heart. Disturbed in his trance, Lord Shiva opened his third eye that fired anger and instantly incinerated Kamadeva. It is said that it was on the day of Holi that Kamadeva had sacrificed himself for the good of all beings. Later, when Lord Shiva realized his mistake, he granted Kamadeva immortality in invisible form.
This day of Kaama Dahana is celebrated as Holi. This signifies that when the third eye or the eye of knowledge is opened the all the impurities of the mind are destroyed.
According to another legend, It was on this day that Holika, the sister of the demon king Hiranyakasyapu, who tried to kill the child devotee Prahlad by taking him on her lap and sitting on a pyre of wood which was set ablaze. Holika was burnt to ashes while Prahlad remained unscathed!
Holi also means "sacrifice". Burn all the impurities of the mind, such as egoism, vanity and lust, through the fire of devotion and knowledge. Ignite cosmic love, mercy, generosity, selflessness, truthfulness and purity through the fire of Yogic practice. This is the real spirit of Holi. Rise from the mire of stupidity and absurdity and dive deep into the ocean of divinity.
The call of Holi is to always keep ablaze the light of God-love shining in your heart. Inner illumination is the real Holi.
The fire of purity and divinity which we light on Holi must burn continuously in our hearts throughout the year. We must have an ever-burning bonfire of impurity, so that we are continuously renewed, continuously purified and continuously rejuvenated.
May the joyful colors of Holi bring joy, peace and prosperity to India and the world and inspire people to tread the righteous path.
With Divine Blessings
Sri Sri Sri Viswayogi Viswamjee Maharaj