Hari om and welcome to all.
You have just heard that today is Swami Sivananda’s birthday. I think almost everyone present here must be familiar with his story. For those who have not heard about him, let me give you a short introduction.
Swami Sivananda was a person who played his role in life very beautifully, with complete balance, dedication, devotion and enthusiasm, and finally reached the path of divinity. He was from Pattamadai in Tamil Nadu which is in the South of India.
Oh! From the South of India. The terrible situation in Kerala just flashed before my eyes. Water everywhere. Everyone is trying to fight against the flood. And that too in Kerala – one of the states where people are highly educated. They too suffer from such situations.
Have you ever thought why we are suffering from trouble with water everywhere? Water is a very important element which has the ability to create as well as destroy life. It is an element which god has given us to fulfil our needs of life.
How can water destroy human life? How can it harm us if god has created this element? Have you ever thought about it?
There is a quotation which goes something like this: ‘Giving is the way to achieve. If you harm someone, you will be harmed by others. If you spread goodness, you will receive goodness’. This simple quotation holds the answer. It clarifies all the questions.
When we harm water, pollute water, how can we be safe? All the problems we suffer from are our own doing. There is a short kirtan composed by our grandfather guru, Swami Sivananda, and the words of that kirtan are beautiful. It is a message from him to help us solve our water problem. The words of the kirtan are:
Eat a little, drink a little,
Talk a little, sleep a little.
Mix a little, move a little,
Serve a little, rest a little.
Study a little, worship a little.
Do asana a little, pranayama a little,
Reflect a little, meditate a little.
Do japa a little, do kirtan a little,
Write mantra a little, have satsang a little.
These lines mean that you should use only as much as you need. All our natural resources are not to satisfy our greed! Therefore, today on this special occasion of Swami Sivananda’s birthday, let us take a sankalpa, that from today and now onwards we will not waste water, we will not pollute the beautiful gift of god. Set a chart of water usage and use it according to that. Do not cheat! Stick to the chart, because . . .
Water is life,
Turned into strife.
If it had a voice it would say:
The essence I truly am,
Giving the promise of life, I can.
The element which holds you tight.
That’s me!
Don’t you ever take me lightly.
I know who you truly are.
Don’t create a deep scar.
I know your story.
I am your memory.
If I am gone, then so are you.
Care for me, be fully true.
Hold me tight, hold me right.
With love, I can be bright.
I am born to be free.
Save me now or I shall flee.
Then where will you be!
8 September 2018, Sri Lakshmi-Narayana Mahayajna, Paduka Darshan