On the 25th of December, on the auspicious occasion of Geeta Jayanti, which falls on the day of Vaikuntha Ekadashi, & is also the day of Tapovan Jayanti, Swami Swatmanada ji conducted two online satsang, through zoom; which were attended by over 150 people.
The morning session was held between 11.00 am to 12.30 pm, in which Swamiji did satsang on pujya Swami Tapovanji, after which pooja of Srimad Bhagavad Geeta & Param Guru Swami Tapovanji maharaj was done by him.
Swamiji began with the invocation prayer and explained how it was on the auspicious day of Gita Jayanti when Sri Krishna gave the knowledge of Gitaji to Arjun. Bhagwan gave this on the day of Mokshada Ekadashi also known as Vaikuntha Ekadashi, when the gates of Vaikuntha are thrown open.
Swamiji said, it is often asked whether Geeta is relevant to and to this his reply is that after so many years, the mind is the same; long ago what happened during the days of the Mahabharata is also happening today, there is the same greed, corruption violence etc. There is a Dhritrashtra still inside us attached blindly to family, a Duryodhan seeking power, a Shakuni who is a manipulator and a confused Arjuna. The battle of the Kauravas and the Pandavas continues within us and outside us even today.
Swamiji explained that we must master and live the Geeta by making one shloka or even one line our favourite and live by its true meaning.
Geeta is the song sung by the lord himself, we must aim for Geeta to Sugeeta, sing the ballad with bhav, emotions; that touch our heart.
Sri Krishna asks Arjun to fight as it is his duty not to take revenge or gain wealth but instead work to remove hatred from his heart.
The auspicious day being also the jayanti of our paramguru, Swami Tapovanji Maharaj, Swami Swatmananda ji spoke about him saying that he is known as Himavit Vibhuti. He worshipped the Ganga like a Son worships a Mother, to him Ganga was not just a river, but Brahman flowing in liquid form. Tapovan ji Maharaj was a great intellectual Master, an embodiment of renunciation, of tyaga and sanyas. After 8 years of karma yoga, of service to his family he went up to the Himalayas, never to come down again. Tapovan ji Maharaj left us with many ideals to emulate. Our dynamic pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayanandaji said - “In whom I became silent. Keep Him in your heart and let Him Purify you”. We are proud to belong to this great Parampara of Tapovan Maharaj. It is said that he was like a Lion not afraid, like the wind ever free and like a rhinoceros, ever alone.
Swamiji next conducted the pooja of Mother Geeta and pujyaTapovan ji Maharaj, invoking their grace along with the blessings of Sri Krishna. He performed the shodasopchar pooja. Mother Geeta was worshipped and there was chanting of 108 names of Geetaji followed by108 names of pujya Tapovan ji Maharaj, followed by the arti.
Suhasini Lohia