Sri Sri Sri Dr. Nirmalanandanatha Swamiji visited KSHT on Sun July 3rd,2022 morning. He spoke on the topic of “Relevance of Bhaja Govindam today”. He was welcomed by KSHT Trustees and temple volunteers and was given a tour of Temple & presented with memento of Hanuman Temple 3D model.
Sri Swamiji started the lecture with explaining the meaning of the Hanuman shloka “Buddhirbalam yashodhairyam…”. He gave the example of Manasa Sarovara being pristine and pure. The reasoning being that the inflow is pure and not contaminated. There is no possibility of the water output being contaminated when the input is pure. That’s why mind is so pure after returning from a religious place like a temple. Then when the mind gets into daily routine, it
gradually becomes contaminated. We are drawing water from 5 channels. If we are careful in allowing even our mind to focus on noble things, then it can be pure. Satsanga is one such tool to remove all pollutants and purify the mind. The results are based on the seeds sowed. He also likened Satsanga to a magnet for extracting iron from dust. Satsang is to extract ourselves from the dust of life. He mentioned about Newton’s law of each action having an equal and reaction. However, in Kaliyuga, there is compound interest. That’s why satsanga is needed so that actions in the future will be
pure.
Sri Swamiji then espoused at length on how the great Sri Adi Shankaracharya who is the proponent of Advaita philosophy composed 12 charanas out of the total 32 of Bhaja Govindam, although it mainly follows the Dvaita philosophy. He mentioned the term “Moha Mudgara” which means the delusion of mind and how it’s imperative to get rid of
this delusion for the mind to be peaceful and happy. “Atma bodha” - Adi Shankaracharya says to find out the pre-requisite before learning about it. “Tapobhihi” – You’re your own master and best person to decide if you’re peaceful inside or not. Evaluate yourself. Am I a spiritual seeker? If you have these noble qualities, then read the charanas and bhaja govindam. He quoted Krishna telling Arjuna in Bhagavadgita about even nature not working without His divine presence. “Pure absolute energy consciousness first manifests itself through beautiful mathematical formulas, physical formula as and biological symmetry.” When I want to be manifested there is support needed from nature. He explained the relevance of Omkara and its composition of akara, ukara and makara.
“Bhaja Govindham govindram bhaja muda mathe. Samprathre Sam nihithe kale…”
Sri Adi Shankaracharya said the above shloka three times, one each for Stula, Sukshma and Karana shariras(body).
- This shloka teaches us how to swim the ocean of death. Are you ready to swim when death is bearing down upon us? Pray to God to be ready for death.
- Education is of no use if it is not giving peace and happiness. Everything is from God. Share knowledge with others.
- Govinda and Shiva bhaktas are all the same.
- Samprathe sannihite kale – Swamiji explained a funny story of how a scholar tried to fool Yama. Scholar gave paisa to Yama with sleeping tablets. While Yama was fast asleep, the scholar moved himself to the bottom of the list from the top. After Yama woke up from sleep, he said that he was very impressed with the scholar and therefore decided to work from the bottom of the list instead of the top.
- Swamiji also remined of how Markandeya was spared by Yama because Markandeya was self-aware and a self-realized soul. Yama stands for fighting the inner evils.
Sri Swamiji remembered the USA Independence Day of July 4 th as also being the day when Sri Swami Vivekananda left the human body. He also remembered the tough questions that Swami Vivekananda answered admirably while he was visiting his country.
Sri Swamiji remembered Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji very fondly and with reverence. He mentioned about the recent Guinness World Records during the 80th birthday. He said, “Sri Swamiji is a very simple person, however He did so much and is so powerful”. He referred to Lord Hanuman as “Mannina Maga” since Lord Hanuman was born in the Hampi area in Karnataka. He said that he was very happy to tour the Temple. He asked all the devotees gathered to teach Kannada to kids.
His speech was followed by a Q&A session.
- How can kids concentrate? Gave example of a movie theater. Make them understand why they should sit read and concentrate.
- How do we prepare for the next pandemic? Gain Knowledge for reasoning why and how it happened. So prepared for the next one. Follow the health guidelines.
- Before sending kids to teacher, parents have their own responsibility. Prahlaad was good despite being born as a Rakshasa.
- Who am I? Light emanating from the moon is reflected from the sun. Similarly, intellect is reflecting light on the other faculties.
- Mixed emotions about staying here vs India. Kids don’t have such mixed emotions. So come back before having kids. It’s not wrong to stay here or there. Preserve culture as that is the identity.
