Reporter:
Namaskar friends. Today is the auspicious day of Akshaya Tritiya, but Gurudev refuses to acknowledge it as such. He says, "When so many young lives are being lost, I can never call this auspicious." He also says that he cannot accept the garland that was given to him. Gurudev, please tell us your thoughts on this.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
No, no, it cannot be accepted. I cannot wear this garland. When so many people are dying, it is not a time for celebration. This is not the time to be joyful; it shouldn't be done.
Reporter:
A large number of devotees have gathered here today, which is why many brought garlands for Gurudev.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
I'm not worried about that. I am asking everyone not to come. COVID is spreading here. Just now, news arrived that four COVID cases will be reported by 8:00 PM tonight. I feel very bad about this.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
I feel terrible myself. The government just informed us that four COVID cases were found here, so you all must leave. You cannot stay past 8:00 PM because we will be closing the doors. I am worried. I have never seen so many deaths in my life.
Reporter:
You are repeatedly calling this auspicious day inauspicious.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
No, it is not auspicious. It is an inauspicious day. This is a bad day, an inauspicious day. People are dying one after another. They aren't getting oxygen or medicine. People are dying on the streets and in their homes. Who will look after them? Where is anyone to look into this?
Reporter:
Not only is there black marketing of oxygen, but it's even happening at the crematoriums for dead bodies. It is because of these things that you are so burdened and protesting repeatedly.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
It's natural to feel this way because I am seeing it with my own eyes. A person is dying for lack of oxygen. In a country like India, people are dying because of a lack of oxygen, medicine, and doctors. This is an unfortunate country. I call this an unfortunate country. I feel that being born in this country is futile.
Reporter:
Sitting beside Gurudev is a close disciple who is like a daughter to him, the respected Gargidi. Gargidi, Gurudev just said he couldn't accept the garland. What do you have to say about this?
Gargidi:
Definitely. With the sound of souls crying all around during such a massive pandemic, how could he sit there wearing a garland? Does it suit him? To celebrate and wear a garland while there is so much grief around would not be appropriate for him. He thinks about everyone; he doesn't just focus on his own happiness. He has compassion; he is a child of Mahamaya. He isn't the kind of monk who hides away in the forest. His life is one of action. He is here for world peace and human welfare. In my humble opinion, it wouldn't be right for him to sit with a garland while seeing everyone suffer. He has done the right thing.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
I am saying it again: you call it "Auspicious Akshaya Tritiya," but I call it "Inauspicious Akshaya Tritiya." I can hear crying every moment. Day and night, the phone is filled with the sound of grief. It is mentally painful. One person says they have COVID and no money for the hospital, asking, "Gurudev, please help." Another describes a different tragedy. They ask, "Gurudev, what should I do? Please help, please pray to the Mother." These calls are coming every moment—not just from India, but from abroad as well. I have become overwhelmed and embarrassed. I don't want to stay here anymore. But where would I go? I thought of going to the Narmada River, but I heard the situation is the same there. I received news that bodies are floating in the Narmada.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
I had planned to take a train there, but an eyewitness told me, "Gurudev, cancel your plans for now. Go later, because bodies are floating in the Narmada too." The very air has become poisoned. During the "Churning of the Ocean," poison emerged and Lord Shiva drank it. But who will drink the poison this time? Who will take in the poison of this earth? There could be a pandemic, there could be a famine. This year, 2021, is a terrible year. I see no foundation for this country. We are doing our work, people are coming in the name of the Mother, and we look after them—that's all fine. But there is no peace, not a single moment of peace. It's restless.
Reporter:
We saw that today when you took off the garland and said you couldn't wear it.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
What is the point of a garland? I might not even be here tomorrow. I could catch COVID myself. What good is a garland then? So many young lives are being lost. Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist—it doesn't matter; everyone is dying. And we are just sitting here watching. This is our misfortune. Once, spiritual people had the power to serve or save people, but this time, it seems impossible.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
I said it before; I calculated that 2021 would be a terrible year. As for helping people, I have already raised my hands in resignation. Yet people keep coming. Since this morning, they have arrived in flocks. I have looked into their matters, but I don't like it anymore. It has become unbearable.
Reporter:
You heard him, friends. Gurudev is very upset today for one reason: this procession of death. He cannot bear it. Today, he rejected the auspiciousness of Akshaya Tritiya. As his followers, we are forced to accept this. There's nothing to be done. I will still hope for Akshaya Tritiya to be auspicious, but from Gurudev's lips, it is "Inauspicious Akshaya Tritiya." Gurudev, my pranams to you.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Yes.