GANESH CHATURTHI – 2004 - DIVINE DISCOURSE

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GANESH CHATURTHI – 2004 - DIVINE DISCOURSE

OBTAIN DIVINE GRACE BY OBEYING YOUR PARENTS

The moon illumines the world at night and the sun during the day.

Righteousness illumines the three worlds, and a virtuous son illumines his entire lineage.

(Telugu Poem)

Embodiments of Love!

A virtuous son is greater than even those who have acquired Jnana (knowledge),

Vijnana (wisdom), Sujnana and Prajnana (constant integrated awareness). Lord

Vinayaka is such a virtuous son. Every individual has a Guru. But, Vinayaka has

no Guru at all. He is the Guru of Gurus and the leader of leaders. He is called

by the name “Vinayaka” since He has no leader above Him and He is the leader

for all.

Embodiments of Love!

Whenever a new task is undertaken, it is customary to perform Puja to Lord

Vinayaka to invoke His blessings for the successful completion of the task.

Even while starting a musical concert, the singers pray to Lord Vinayaka with

the Kirtan, “Vinayaka Nannu Brovara” (Oh! Lord Vinayaka! Please come to my

help). It is only when you thus pray to Lord Vinayaka and seek His blessings,

will all your task meet with success.

Lord Vinayaka has an elephant’s head and trunk. It denotes that Vinayaka can be

compared to an elephant in intelligence, which always thinks twice before

setting its foot forward. Similarly, it is only after intelligent

discrimination that Vinayaka moves forward. The four letters in the word

Ganapathi (ga, na, pa and ti) denote that Lord Vinayaka is full of Vijnana,

Sujnana and Prajnana. People today forget the underlying meaning in the name

‘Ganapathi’ and engage themselves in mere rituals. You may not perform any

rituals, but, never give up worshipping Lord Vinayaka. Especially, it is the

foremost duty of the students to come under the leadership of Vinayaka, who is

a leader unto Himself. You would not find a parallel to Lord Vinayaka. When you

take such a Lord as your ideal and pursue your studies, you will be able to

master all branches of education. Vinayaka has a big tummy, which is full of

Jnana (wisdom). That wisdom is His power. We should worship such a powerful

Lord. No one can comprehend the true nature of Lord Vinayaka, fully.

Lord Vinayaka is the leader for one and all. He is the divine father and mother

to everybody. In accordance with the prayer Twameva Matha cha Pitha Twameva,

Twameva Bandhuscha Sakha Twameva, Twameva Vidya Dravinam Twameva (He alone is

the father and mother, friend and relation, wisdom and wealth to every

individual). No one else can be compared to Lord Vinayaka in terms of power and

prowess in this world. The world is unable to recognise the true nature of such

a divine leader. We are, today, prepared to accept the leadership of ordinary

mortals. This is an unfortunate situation.

Today is the holy day commemorating the birth of Lord Vinayaka. In fact, He has

no birth at all. He created the entire universe. All the Vedas are the result

of the divine Sankalpa of Lord Vinayaka. All forms of knowledge have originated

from Vinayaka.

Embodiments of Love!

Lord Vinayaka does not know what anger is. He is the embodiment of love. Where

there is love, bad qualities like anger, passion, conceit etc., cannot gain

entry. You might have witnessed the facial features of Vinayaka. Did His face

ever reflect anger? No. He will always be smiling. Vinayaka is omnipresent.

People attribute a particular place as the birthplace of God and consider it as

a Kshetra (a sacred place of pilgrimage). But, no single place can be ascribed

as the birthplace of God. He is Swayambhu (Self-emergent). There is no specific

place which can be ascribed as place of birth, place of upbringing, etc., for

God. He is omnipresent. God will manifest in such a place where people get rid

of their bad qualities and sincerely pray to Him with devotion. He is

Gunatheetha (beyond attributes). He is Nirgunam,

Niranjanam, Sanathanam, Niketanam, Nitya, Shuddha, Buddha, Mukta, Nirmala

Swarupinam (God is attributeless, pure, final abode, eternal, unsullied,

enlightened, free and embodiment of sacredness).

God appears to be angry at times. But, that is not real anger. In order to put

the devotees on the right path, He pretends to be angry. If He does not pretend

so, there is no chance for the devotees to change their behavior. His pretending

to be angry is just a drama. God has no trace of anger in Him. When we commit

mistakes or tread the wrong path, we are afraid that God will be angry with us.

But, God only pretends to be angry on such occasions so that you become aware of

your own faults and deficiencies. For example, when Swami keeps Himself away

from you, you feel very sad and think that Swami is not talking to you because

He is angry with you. In fact, Swami does not know what anger is. He is the

embodiment of love. He is full of love. However, on some rare occasions when He

speaks harshly, it might be misconstrued

that He is angry. This is quite natural even in our day-to-day life. When you

call somebody, “Son! Please come here,” it sounds that you are calling him with

love. But, if the same words are uttered with a raised voice (in an angry mood),

it looks as though you are angry. Therefore, all these are variations in

expression and nothing else. The same was the case with Sage Durvasa, whose

expressions revealed anger and thus became synonymous for anger. But in fact,

Sage Durvasa had no anger at all!

During the Mahabharata war, Aswatthama, the son of Dronacharya, took a terrible

vow to annihilate all the Pandavas. Having come to know of this, Draupadi

prayed to Krishna to save the Pandavas. The Leelas of the Lord are not only

wonderful but also mysterious. God enacts dramas and even changes the scenes in

His play for the welfare and safety of His devotees. In this instance, the Lord

saved the Pandavas with a delicate touch that He alone is capable of.

He went to Sage Durvasa. He was immensely delighted to receive Krishna. The sage

asked, “Lord, what brought You to my humble ashram?” Krishna smiled and said, “I

have a small job for you.” The sage was happy and said, “I am at Your service.

You just have to command.” Krishna then said, “Good! Tonight, you have to save

the Pandavas.” Durvasa was puzzled and asked, “Lord, it is You who protect

everything in creation. Who am I to do that job?” Krishna replied, “That is a

different matter. But for this job, you will be My instrument. I extend

protection in many different ways. On this occasion, you have to do something

specific as per My instructions.” Durvasa wanted to know what it was and

Krishna continued, “Dig a pit, ask the Pandavas to hide themselves in

it, cover it with planks, grass and mud, and then take your seat on the shelter

so prepared. The enemies of the Pandavas may come and ask you about the

whereabouts of the Pandavas. They may say, “You know the past, present and

future. Please tell us where the Pandavas are hiding.” Durvasa intervened and

said, “Lord, I cannot tell a lie.” Krishna countered, “Did I ask you to utter

falsehood? I am Myself the Embodiment of Truth, and I will always ask you to

speak only the truth. However, you are at liberty to change your voice suitably

to achieve the desired result. I am sure you understand.” The sage nodded and

smiled.

Some time later, after the Pandavas were hidden, Aswatthama came there, exactly

as Krishna had foretold. Durvasa was sitting with his eyes closed. Bowing to

the sage, Aswatthama enquired, in a most humble manner, about the whereabouts

of the Pandavas. Durvasa slowly opened his eyes; which were like flame. Angrily

he roared, “Yes, the Pandavas are here, right below me.” Aswatthama was

frightened because the sage was well known for his bad temper and his

propensity to curse those whom he is angry with. Promptly, he fled from the

scene, and the Pandavas were duly saved. All Avatars employ such techniques,

and Swami

too does the same when required.

The sages and saints, yogis and jnanis for ages have been providing rakshana

(protection) and sikshana (correction) and make people tread the right path.

Sage Durvasa did the same thing. Ignorant people accuse him of being one of

anger in spite of being a great tapasvin. But, those people who are able to

understand the real intention behind his apparent anger realise the truth. God

has no anger. In fact, one who has anger is not fit to be called God at all!

Once Mother Parvati and Easwara called Vinayaka and His younger brother

Subrahmanya, and advised them to go round the world. They also told them that

whoever came first would be given a phala (fruit) as reward. This competition

was intended to demonstrate the greatness of Vinayaka to the world. The younger

brother Subrahmanya immediately plunged into action. He mounted His vehicle, the

peacock, to fly round the world. But, Vinayaka did not move and sat in His own

place. Easwara then enquired, “My dear son! Why did You not start on Your

journey round the world?” Vinayaka laughed at this question and replied “Oh!

Father! I need not go anywhere. The fruit of all My journey round the world is

right in front of me.” So saying, Vinayaka made a Pradakshina

(circumambulation) round His father and mother (Lord Easwara and Mother

Parvati) and sat down calmly. He claimed victory in the race. In the meanwhile,

Subrahmanya came there, after completing His journey round the world. He was

very much tired and reported to His father about His successful completion of

the task. Lord Easwara then declared Vinayaka as the winner in the race and

handed over the fruit to Him. The place where this episode took place is called

Palani, in the State of Tamil Nadu.

The underlying meaning in this story is that the parents are the very embodiment

of divinity and it is enough if one does pradakshina to them in reverence. That

would be tantamount to the Punya (merit) acquired by visiting all the holy

shrines in the world. Without the parents, there can be no son at all! If

children are to be virtuous, it is the parents who have to take care of them.

The parents are responsible for the success of their children in all the

endeavors.

It is common practice for students to visit temples during examination time and

pray for success in the examinations. They offer coconuts in the temples with

the pocket money given by their parents. These are all external practices,

which have little to do with sincere devotion. If they really wish to achieve

success in their endeavor, it is enough if they please their parents and obtain

their blessings. If they are satisfied, you are sure to succeed. In order to

drive home the point that children should strive to please and satisfy their

parents first, Lord Easwara and Mother Parvati arranged this competition of

going round the world for Lord Vinayaka and Lord Subrahmanya. If you want to

obtain the grace of God, it is enough if you obey the command of your parents

lovingly. There is no greater divinity than the parents

who are present right in front of your eyes. They have struggled hard in several

ways to bring you up to the present state. They made a lot of sacrifice, so that

you may come up in life. No parent would ever like to displease his children.

They appear to be angry sometimes and may even give some punishment, but that

is only outward. In their heart of hearts, they have abundant love for you.

Even if they pretend to be angry, it is for your own good. The stream of

infinite love ever flows in their hearts. Here is a small example: When the

child does some mischief, the mother gives a beating. But, how? The beating

merely produces sound but does not cause any pain to the child. Her anger is

borne out of love only. On certain occasions, they may show anger, but it is

only temporary. It is never permanent. You may think that your parents are

angry with you. But, that is your own misunderstanding; you may not be able to

understand their love, which is lying dormant. Even if they show anger

and say “chee” (an expression in Telugu to indicate one’s disapproval), it is

only out of love. Students shall, therefore, try to understand the real nature

of their parents.

In fact, one’s anger is his own enemy, and happiness, his heaven. One should

always be happy. A person with anger and irritable temperament can never

achieve anything. Vinayaka is one who always obeyed his parents’ command. That

is why it is said that there is no leader above Him. Students sometimes ask for

money from their parents to go to a cinema. When parents refuse, they think that

the parents are angry. These are trivial issues. The parents, especially the

mother, will be even ready to sacrifice her life, in order to save her children

in times of danger. Unfortunately, today there are sons who even go to a court

of law against their mothers. It is, therefore, essential that they change

their attitude towards their parents and realise that they are verily

embodiments of love.

Any number of diversions or silly thoughts may arise in children, but the

parents’ love towards their children remains unwavering. There are several sons

in the world who are angry with their parents, but relationship of the parents

and their children is one of love only. Whatever differences that may arise

between them are only temporary. The relationship between parents and their

children is one of love, nothing else. Lord Vinayaka is the embodiment of love.

He always showers love only. When He was acting as a scribe to write the

Mahabharata to the dictation of Sage Vyasa, he displayed the same attitude of

love. Since He was the embodiment of Love, Vyasa selected Him particularly to

undertake the duty of a scribe. Throughout the period of writing the

Mahabharata, Vinayaka displayed this quality of pure love. That is why

you do not find even a single mistake in the Mahabharata. Since He was flawless,

His word was also flawless. You do not find the bad qualities of anger,

jealousy, envy or pride in Vinayaka. They are the qualities of a human being

devoid of noble qualities.

Dear students! From today onwards, you give up whatever little anger you have

towards your parents and cultivate pure love towards them. Love begets love.

Receive love from your parents in abundance and prosper in life.

Today is the festival of Vinayaka Chaturthi. It is a very important festival.

There is a custom in some families to invite the newly married son-in-law for

the festival. Therefore, do not hesitate to go to your in-law’s house to spend

some time happily with them.

Oh newly married bridegroom, visit your in-laws’ house,

Come, spend your time in fun and frolic with your brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law,

The entire household and the neighborhood will honour you with love and affection.

(Telugu song)

When a son-in-law visits his spouses parents’ house, the entire household gets

into a festive mood. One is sure to feel happy and mentally relaxed. There are,

however, some stone-hearted sons-in-law, who cultivate ill-feelings towards

their in-laws and do not visit their house. Such ill-feelings are the result of

food. As is the food, so is the head. The feelings of the heart reflect the

thought in the head (mind). Therefore, we must take the right food. You should

never take such food as would kindle the flames of anger and envy in you. Since

ancient times, sages in India

have observed strict diet regulations. They always made it a point to consume

sattwic food, not rajasic food. By consuming rajasic food, anger is generated.

On the other hand, if you consume thamasic food, you will feel sleepy even

while you eat. Therefore, both rajasic and thamasic types of food must be

avoided. Only sattwic food must be taken. Excess of chillies, salt and sour

items must be avoided in food. Before you take food, never forget to offer your

prayers:

Brahmarpanam Brahma Havir

Brahmagnou Brahmanahutam

Brahmaiva Thena Ganthavyam

Brahma Karma Samadhina.

(Brahman is the ladle as well as the oblation. He is the sacrificial fire as

also the sacrificer. And finally, Brahman is the goal of one who is engaged in

the act of sacrifice.)

When you pray in this manner before you partake of your food, God immediately responds thus:

Aham Vaishvanaro BhutvaPraninam DehamasritahPranapana SamayuktaPachamyannam Chaturvidham.

(I am present in all beings in the form of digestive fire. United with the

Prana (exhalation) and Apana (inhalation), it is I who consume the four kinds

of food.)

While taking food, you must always ensure that you take only such items which

you can easily digest. Never consume food which you cannot digest. Just as you

sit down happily for taking food, so also when you get up after taking your

food, you must feel happy and light. Some people sit for food with a light

stomach and get up with a heavy stomach after eating bellyful. This is not the

proper method of taking food.

Always take light food. These are the habits you must cultivate at least from

this auspicious day of Vinayaka Chaturthi. If you cultivate these good habits

and qualities you can become as great as Lord Vinayaka.

(Bhagawan concluded His discourse with the Bhajan, “Prema Muditha Manase

Kaho…”)Source:

http://www.sssbpt.org/Pages/Prasanthi_Nilayam/Ganesh_Chaturthi_Discourse.htm

 

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