NARRATOR:
Salutations to Shri Shri Guptasadhak Shyama Khapa. Greetings. Paying our respects to Gurudev Guptasadhak Shri Shri Shyama Khapa, we begin this program from Shantipunja. Let us all listen to the invaluable words of Gurudev.
HOST:
Pranam (Salutations), Gurudev.
GURU-JI:
Blessings, my child. Tell me.
HOST:
Today, we would like to hear your thoughts on three things: Respect, Devotion, and Love.
GURU-JI:
Ah, these are very important things. But they have become "antiques" now; they have vanished from the market. Respect has vanished, devotion has vanished, and love has also left this world. These are antiques; even asking about them feels like asking about something that no longer exists. Perhaps we saw these things 40 or 50 years ago, but what I see now is the complete opposite.
GURU-JI:
Regarding Respect (Shraddha), our Gita says: "Shraddhavan labhate jnyanam"—meaning, only those who have respect and faith can attain knowledge. But we no longer follow this. We do not respect people anymore. Nowadays, we see people slapping doctors and hitting the police with sticks—it’s visible right before our eyes. The way people talk now is hopeless.
GURU-JI:
However, the Gita says that everyone has equal rights and we should offer respect and devotion to all. Respect comes first; one must learn to respect. But do you know what happens now? Parents don't even teach their children to bow down to them. When boys go to take an exam, they don't offer pranam to their parents.
GURU-JI:
They might take a flower offered to a deity and leave, but they don't bow to their parents. This isn't taught anymore. In our time, we had to offer pranam to everyone in the house before leaving for an exam. Even if there were 20 people in the house, we had to bow our heads to each one. Now, that's all gone.
GURU-JI:
Now, a mother comes to me and says, "Father, please bless this pen." What will blessing a pen do? She says, "If you bless the pen, my son will write better and do well in the exam." This is unscientific. If he hasn't studied all year, how will a "blessed pen" help? Yet, because some people have faith, they ask me to touch the pen or place it at the feet of the Mother (Goddess). This practice of chanting over water, oil, or pens has become a daily ritual now.
GURU-JI:
Anyway, people come and ask, so I do it. But a truly "wise" person is one who has respect—one who knows how to respect. Without respect, there is no value in knowledge, no matter how much you have.
GURU-JI:
Now let's talk about Devotion (Bhakti). Devotion has become superficial. I remember during the lockdown, many people lit candles. They did it like a festival because the Prime Minister asked them to. But what was the purpose of lighting that light? You were supposed to pray for the people dying of COVID and pray that the virus stops spreading. It was meant to be a form of worship. But people just treated it as a command to "light a light" without the prayer. They were supposed to sit quietly for nine minutes and think of the welfare of the world. Instead, I saw people bursting firecrackers.
GURU-JI:
There is a story about a "respectable" man who bought a new pair of shoes. He went to a temple to visit the Goddess, but he left his shoes outside. His mind was entirely on his shoes, thinking, "If I leave them here, they will be stolen." He stood before the Mother, but his heart was with his shoes. He offered a quick pranam, but his mind was elsewhere. If devotion is like this—void and superficial—it has no value. It doesn't matter if you go to Kalighat or Tarapith; if your devotion is not from within, it’s useless.
GURU-JI:
True devotion involves "Kaya, Mana, Vakya"—aligning the Body, the Mind, and the Speech. When I go to see God, my body, my soul, and my words must all be focused on Him. But that has disappeared from the market. Now, people just go for the sake of it. "Hey, do you want to go to Tarapith? Want to go to Kalighat?" It's like a picnic. They buy a garland, throw it at the Goddess, and that’s it.
HOST:
The journey itself becomes the main goal.
GURU-JI:
Exactly. It's just an outing, a chance to chat with family and "see" the Mother as a side task. Then they brag, "I gave the Mother a garland of 108 hibiscus flowers," or "I even hugged the Mother!" I wonder what kind of merit they think they have to touch the Goddess like that. They do it with money. It’s not that the Mother called them or showed them affection; they bought that access with money. That is what devotion has turned into.
GURU-JI:
And Love (Bhalobasha)... I went to a wedding recently. They said it was a "love marriage." Very well. During the ceremony, there is a ritual called Subho Drishti (the first auspicious gaze). I told the priest, "What's the point of this ritual now? They’ve already looked at each other a hundred thousand times before today!" Why waste time?
GURU-JI:
Love should be an unbreakable bond, but people don't know how to value it anymore. One day they love one person, and the next day they move on to someone else. If the money is there, they "love" for a few days, travel together, and then find someone new.
GURU-JI:
Every day, people come to me saying, "Father, my son/daughter has fallen in love with someone, but that person is not good. Please 'cut' this relationship." I tell them, "If I have to cut it, I’ll need a machete. Did you bring one?"
GURU-JI:
This is the state of respect, devotion, and love—they are antiques. Everything is fake. Love disappears the moment there is a conflict of interest. Parents say, "The boy is good, go ahead," and two days later, they are filing for divorce. Then they come to me asking me to ensure they get the settlement money. It’s painful to see. I never expected to see respect, devotion, and love become so superficial and driven by money.
GURU-JI:
People have no real goal or destination anymore. They just go where the wind blows. This is an ominous sign for society. I don't know where we are headed. People come to me to "cut" their children's relationships, and I just ask if they brought the machete.
GURU-JI:
I sit here and hundreds of people come by, but many don't even raise their hands to salute the Mother (the deity). They come straight to me. "Is Father here?" They don't care about the deity; they think they won't get anything from the statue, but they might get something from me. I have to remind them, "Did you offer your respects to the Mother first?" Only then do they go. This is the state of things. Don't ask me more about this; it ruins my mood.
HOST:
Everything is based on money now.
GURU-JI:
Absolutely. Love, respect, devotion—it’s all about money. If you have money, you can "hug" the Goddess. If you have money, people respect you. It’s a sad state for society.
HOST:
Friends, we just heard from Gurudev about respect, devotion, and love. Please subscribe to the Guptasadhak Shyama Khapa YouTube channel, like the videos, and leave your comments. Pranam, Gurudev.
GURU-JI:
Blessings.
NARRATOR:
You were listening to the words of Gurudev Guptasadhak Shri Shri Shyama Khapa. Let us know how you felt. To hear more, subscribe and share the channel. To contact Gurudev, please WhatsApp your name, location, and phone number between 10:00 AM and 6:00 PM. Gurudev will call you back as soon as possible. The WhatsApp number is 8080539595.
NARRATOR:
Wishing you all the blessings and welfare of Gurudev, we end today's program here. Stay well. Namaskar.