‘God fulfils selfless wishes’

Practising Dharma and following the path of devotion will protect us.

Sri Ganapathi Sachchidananda Swamiji

metro india news  I Manthani/Bhupalpally

God is omnipresent and has countless names and forms. Devotees who worship Him in any form will receive His blessings and have their selfless wishes fulfilled, said Avadhuta Datta Peeth head Sri Ganapathi Sachchidananda Swamiji. However, he advised devotees to ensure that their wishes were selfless and reasonable. He said people could achieve success in life by following the path of devotion and practising Dharma. He urged them to believe that service to humanity was service to God and follow the path of non-violence.

On Sunday, at the invitation of State IT and Industries Minister Duddilla Sridhar Babu, the Swamiji participated in spiritual programmes at Dhanwada in Kataram mandal of Jayashankar Bhupalpally district and Manthani in Peddapalli district. He delivered spiritual discourses to devotees at both places.

The Swamiji arrived at Dhanwada from Hyderabad by helicopter, where Minister Sridhar Babu accorded him a warm welcome at the helipad. He later visited the Minister's residence and participated in the Maha Purnahuti Yagna conducted for the welfare of the world at the Dattatreya Swamy temple in Dhanwada. After performing special prayers, he addressed devotees.

The Swamiji said God did not reside somewhere far away but was present in everyone's heart. Devotees offer flowers and food as part of worship, and God accepts offerings made with sincere devotion in a subtle form. God does not need victory, but blesses those who have faith in Him with success, he said. He advised devotees to consider God a member of their family and worship Him wholeheartedly. Whatever difficulties they faced, they should never lose faith in God and must continue following Dharma. To explain the divine power of God, the Swamiji narrated an incident from Tirupati during British rule. A British Collector had suspected that priests were consuming the food offerings meant for Lord Venkateswara.

To dispel his doubts, the chief priest and other priests offered the food in the Collector's presence. After the rituals, the Collector noticed a difference between the food originally offered and the offering brought back. Realising the divine significance of the ritual, he appreciated the priests, the Swamiji said. After completing the programme at Dhanwada, the Swamiji travelled by road to Manthani. He gave darshan and delivered a spiritual discourse to devotees at Shivarajan Gardens. Thousands of devotees from different places gathered to seek his blessings, lending a spiritual atmosphere to the town.

Metro India chairman C L Rajam and Metro India Managing Director C Vijaya Rajam felicitated the Swamiji at Manthani.

‘Manthani, abode of Vedic scholars’

State IT and Industries Minister Duddilla Sridhar Babu said the region had been sanctified by the divine presence of Sri Sri Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji.

He said it was a matter of great happiness that the people of the region had received the divine blessings of the Swamiji, who established the Datta Peetham in Mysuru and is revered as an incarnation of Lord Dattatreya.

Sridhar Babu expressed his gratitude to the Swamiji for responding to the people's request to visit the region and offer them his blessings. Recalling his earlier visits to Mysuru, the Minister said he had once waited three to four days for an opportunity to have the Swamiji's darshan. He said he had been overwhelmed with joy when he finally received the opportunity. Millions of devotees had been blessed by the Swamiji's darshan, he said, adding that his mother and family members visited him every year to seek his blessings.

Describing Manthani as a centre of Vedic scholars, the Minister said the region had prospered for thousands of years through their prayers, rituals and yagnas. He recalled that Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and the Endowments Department were making special efforts to develop temples across the State. The government was working towards the development of prominent temples, including Basara, Dharmapuri, Vemulawada, Kaleshwaram and Bhadrachalam.

He said the government was also according special importance to the upcoming Godavari and Krishna Pushkarams and would undertake development works worth thousands of crores of rupees to provide better facilities to devotees. Sridhar Babu said the Police Commissioner and other officials had attended the programme to welcome the Swamiji on behalf of the State government.

Several Vedic scholars, Government Whip Vijaya Ramana Rao, Ramagundam MLA Makkan Singh Raj Thakur, State Revenue and Endowments Commissioner Shailaja Ramaiyer, Director Hanumantha Rao, Ramagundam Police Commissioner Amber Kishore Jha and several public representatives and Congress leaders attended the programme.