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Oṁ Uḍī Śrī Śaṅkar Bolānājī Kī Chāyā, Himālayan Siddhā Avatār Śrī Alagpurjī Mahārāj Kī Chāyā, Deva Dī Dev, Śiv Avatār, Deva Īśvar Mahādeva Kī Chāyā, Bhagavān Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇ Mahāprabhujī Kī Chāyā, Hindu Dharm Samrāṭ, Satguru Svāmī Śrī Madhavānandapurījī Mahārāj Kī Chāyā, Viśvaguru Mahāmaṇḍaleśvar, Paramātmā Svāmī Śrī Maiśvarānandapurījī Gurudeva Kī Chāyā, Mahādri Pārśve Chhāṭate Ramantam Sampu Jamanam Satatam Unindreha Surah Surah Erekṣa Mahuram Gadyaiha Kedāram Īśam Śivame Kāṁide Kedāram Īśam Śivame Kāṁide. Salutation to the Eternal Divine Light of Śiva's Consciousness. Adoration to the Guru Lineage of Śrī Alāpurjī Siddhapītā Guru Paramparā, which is related to Lord Śiva. Humble praṇām to the lotus feet of our master. Respected Swami Jasrāj Purījī, dear Gurus, brothers and sisters. This mantra was the Kedārnāth śloka of the Dvādaśa Jyotirliṅga Stotram composed by Śrī Ādi Guru Śaṅkarācārya. It says, "O Lord, who is residing in the mighty Himalayas, you are worshipped by all—the saints, the hermits, the gods and the demons, the humans and yakṣas—and I am worshipping you also." Kedarnath is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas. There are twelve special Śivaliṅgas throughout all of India. The most east is the Vaiśvanāth in Jharkhand. The southernmost is Rāmeśvara in Tamil Nadu. The most westwards is Somnāth in Gujarat, and the most northwards is Kedārnāth in the Himalayas, at a height of 3,500 meters above sea level. It is, after Mount Kailash, the second most venerated abode of Lord Śiva. Our Śiva Mandir in Jādam Āśram is related to the Kedārnāth Temple. Its origin goes to the time of the end of the Mahābhārata, when the Pāṇḍavas received darśan of Lord Śiva at this place. We know from the teachings of our master that our lineage is also connected to this place. Ālak Purījī is also today living in his subtle body somewhere between Kedārnāth and Badrīnāth. There is also the place where Devpurījī, Ālakpurījī's disciple, was doing his tapasyā; there is Devpurījī's cave. From the Himalayas, Devpurījī brought the teaching of yoga of Lord Śiva down to the plains of Rajasthan, and so we come to Śiv Mandir in Jadana Ashram. There is one special stone lying outside. It is actually a Śiva Liṅgam, and on it is written, "Bhagavān Śrī Kedārnāthjī." By its shape, it is similar to the nature of the Śiva Liṅgam which is in the Kedārnāth Mandir in the Himalayas. There is one specific quality of these natures of Śiva Liṅgams: they symbolize the Pūrṇa, the completeness of God. His infinity has no beginning and no end. Many of you would know the origin of this stone. It was at the Kumbh Melā in Haridwar in 2010, when Swamiji was taking a holy dip along with hundreds of his disciples. This holy stone was found, and hundreds of disciples performed the Guru Caraṇakamal Pūjā over that stone. Now we have it outside of the Śiva Mandir, symbolizing Kedārnāth. Let us return to Jhadan and step inside the Mandir. The center position, as in any other Śiva Mandir, is the Śiva Liṅgam. In the front stands the statue of Nandi. Behind the Śiva Liṅgam, we can find Gaṇeśa. On the left side, in the small wall altar, is Lord Kārttikeya. On the opposite side, in the side mandir on the right, there is Mātā Pārvatī Jī. For us, as disciples of the Guru Lineage, the altar is actually even more important. For a sincere devotee, the lamp which is on the top could stand as a symbol of Śrī Alakpurījī, because all we know about him is that he has the body of light. Below that is the Śiva Avatār Śrī Deveśwar Mahādev, his successor, the majestic photo of Bhagavān Śrī Narendra Mahāprabhujī. On his right hand side is our beloved Holy Gurujī. On the other side is our master Paramahaṁsvāmī Maheśvarānandajī. Let us now take it systematically, one by one, mūrti, and speak a little about their symbolism. In the literature about the Hindu deities, there is a great variety of explanations of their symbols. The greatness is that these different explanations are not contradictory, but complementary. One can choose that which he feels is somehow the biggest revelation for him. We start with Nandi, the bull, the vehicle of Lord Śiva. In the Hindu pantheon, every deity has their own animal vehicle, or mount. For Lord Śiva, it is the Nandi, the bull, because it is said that no other animal is able to carry the greatness of Lord Śiva. But he is not any ordinary bull; he is the embodiment of Dharma, the dharmadevatā. It is mentioned in the Purāṇas that once, in ancient times, the dharmadevatā approached Lord Śiva. "O Lord, what will happen when Mahāpralaya comes? Everything will be destroyed. The end of the world will come. Will all of us die?" Lord Śiva answered, "Do not worry. Become my sincere devotee. All my devotees will remain with me as long as eternity lasts. You can take upon yourself the form of the bull and become my vehicle." And so it is said that Lord Śiva is the protector of Dharma. He is riding on the Dharma. Dharma is the principle. The principle of Ahimsa needs four strong pillars, four strong legs. That is Prem (love), Santoṣa (contentment), Satya (truth), and Dharma itself, which means righteous thinking and righteous acting. Nandījī is a symbol for a yoga disciple of Guru Bhakti. There are many beautiful stories about it. One is that Swāmījī often told us about the churning of the ocean by the devatās and the rākṣasas. Before the amṛta, the first thing that came out of the ocean was the poison. All the devatās and the rākṣasas were afraid and stepped backward. They requested Lord Śiva, the Lord of elements and tattvas, to solve this problem. Śivajī went forward and started to drink the poison. A few drops of that deadly poison dropped on the ground. All were perplexed: what will happen now? This will contaminate the whole earth. But as Śivajī kept drinking, Nandījī could see that poison. He went there and licked it off the ground. All were afraid, "What a terrible death Nandījī is going to face?" But Lord Śiva consoled them, "Don't worry, Nandī is my very devoted disciple. He has all my protection and all my qualities. Nothing will happen to him." What an example for us, the disciples. Look at his āsana. He does not move an inch. He is always just focused on his Master. Often you may see when Indian devotees are coming to the Śiva Mandir, they first approach Nandījī to get his blessing, and often they are whispering something into Nandījī's ears. It is actually their wish or their saṅkalpa, which they would like to get fulfilled. Because Lord Śiva is usually immersed in samādhi, they use Nandījī as the medium. They tell him, and they expect that the same Nandī will tell his master. We continue, and on the back side of the Śiva Liṅgam there is a statue of Śrī Gaṇeśjī. Gaṇeśa is the most favorite deity of all Hindus. Everybody is worshipping Gaṇeśa; it doesn't matter to which denomination of Hinduism he or she belongs, because he is the Lord of obstacles. By worshipping him, our enterprises become successful. So before starting any business, any new work, new study, marriage, shifting to a new house, everyone worships Lord Gaṇeśa. It doesn't matter if we start a new business, build a new house, or are about to get married, we always turn to Gaṇeśa before such events. We know him under many names: Gaṇapati, Gaṇādhipa, Vināyaka, or Vighneśvara. Vighneśvara means the Lord of obstacles. One of his names is also Budhipriya, the husband of intelligence, and so he is the Iṣṭadevatā of scientists, and he is the embodiment of knowledge. His mount, or vehicle, is a mouse. There are many explanations, many symbolics, why it is a mouse. Also, a question: how can such a small animal carry such a big Gaṇeśa here and there? But it can, because it is so active. Have you ever seen a mouse resting somewhere, in some corner, just sleeping? No. The mouse is always very active, running to the cupboard, to the storeroom, looking for food here and looking for what can be eaten there. This is the vehicle which is necessary for knowledge. It doesn't matter if we have the knowledge of a doctor, of an engineer, of a mechanic, or of a spiritual teacher. It is valid only at that time if it is used for the service of society. It needs to be utilized, to be moved quickly here and there, and that's why there is a mouse. A saint who heard the hymn writes in his book that Gaṇeśa can be found in the Mūlādhāra cakra, our karma, or let's say, operating our karma by proper timing of events. Because Gaṇeśa is not only removing obstacles, but he is also expressing them, letting them happen, because that's necessary for our spiritual growth, that we go through the path of obstacles. Most often, Gaṇeśa is supposed to be the second son of Lord Śiva and Mātā Pārvatī. The first one is Lord Kārtikeya. So we are going to this side, the mandir on the left, up. He also has many names, like Skanda, Murugan, Subramunia. He is most worshipped in South India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Southeast Asia. This is his golden statue near Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. In his hand, he is holding a spear or a lance, which is a symbol of his spiritual insight, his power of discrimination. He was the first sannyāsī, and he is a warrior. He was the senāpati, the general of Shiva's army. He was purposely born to kill the Rākṣasa Tārakāsura, because it was said that this Rākṣasa, who was making atrocities in the whole cosmos, could be killed only by the son of Lord Śiva. From here comes the root of Kārtikeya Jī's symbolism. He symbolizes the purification of the demonic qualities in the human. He is seated in the Maṇipūra Cakra, and there a disciple or a yoga aspirant comes with his consciousness when he manages to come over the bad qualities of the Mūlādhāra and Svādhiṣṭhāna, mainly the karma, the anger, Kāma (the passion), Krodha (the anger), Mada (the ego), Lobha (the selfishness), Moha (the attachment), and Matsarya, or Īrṣā (the jealousy). These are the six main enemies of humans. For this reason, Kārtikeya Jī is often depicted with six heads. Sometimes it symbolizes that he is the master of the five senses and the mind. Well, it seems that our Mūrti has only five heads, but actually it does not matter, because once the Prāṇa Pratiṣṭhā was done—it means the inauguration of the Śivamandir—and the prāṇa, the life, was infused into the deities, then the tattva is there; it doesn't matter if it has five or seven heads. The Grand Pratiṣṭhā of our Śivamandir was done during the Mahārudra Yajña in January 1995. It was a nine-day festival devoted to the worship of Lord Śiva. You see our master himself doing the Abhiṣeka of the Śivaliṅgam. Here is another divine picture: Lord Kārtikeya is getting the holy bath from the hands of Lord Maheśvara. Here it is already after the inauguration; the Shiva Liṅgam is in its place. So it is already 17 years of constant worship, constant morning and evening prayer. We continue in our parikramā inside of the Śiva Mandir. There on the wall, in a small mandir, is the statue of Mātā Pārvatī Jī. She is the embodiment of the Ādi Paraśakti, the primary energy, the primary power of the universe. If there is no Pārvatī Jī, then nothing will move in the living beings. We won't be able to practice yoga, but also we won't be able to walk, speak, eat, drink, see, hear, inhale, or exhale. All this happens through the Śakti, through Mātā Pārvatī. She has many other names, like Umā, Satī, Gaurī, Kālī, Bhavānī, Lālitā, and so on. One of her names is Dakṣāyaṇī. She was the daughter of King Dakṣa and married Lord Śiva as his first wife, Umā. Once, King Dakṣa was organizing a great sacrifice, and he invited everybody in the universe, but he did not invite his daughter, which means Satī, and her husband, Lord Śiva. Umā, or Satī, said, "No, no... They just did not do it because it's formality. Of course we can go." So she decided she was going to see the sacrifice of her father. But during that ceremony, King Dakṣa was publicly humiliating Lord Śiva. During the ceremony, King Daksha publicly began to slander Lord Śiva. Umā could not bear this insult, and so she jumped into the Yajña fire and immolated herself. For that, she is known under the name of Satī. She was born again to the king Himavat, the Himalayas, and from that comes her name, Parvati, which means "she of the mountain." She soon recollected the memory of her previous life and wanted again to reunite with her beloved husband, Lord Śiva. So she started to do immense tapasyā and daily worship Lord Śiva. Of course, Lord Śiva is aware of each and every devotee in this world, but he put Pārvatī Jī to the most severe tests. Finally, Pārvatī Jī won his heart, and she married Lord Śiva a second time. This is the great symbolism for the yoga aspirants. When we get a bit awakened from our dream of ignorance and start to tread the path of spirituality, then it is Mātā Pārvatī, which is in the form of Kuṇḍalinī Śakti, that starts to raise up, one by one, chakra. Once she reaches Sahasrāra, she will marry Lord Śiva again there, and that will be our realization. Pārvatī Jī is seated in the heart. She is the symbol of both the great asceticism, the tapasyā, and of the householder ideal. She is the excellent mother of her sons, and all our feelings of love and compassion are coming from the heart from Pārvatī. Pārvatī wants to marry Lord Śiva, which we have symbolized by the Śiva Liṅgam. What is the Śiva Liṅgam, Śivaliṅgam? That's a bit of a mystery, because actually the essence of Lord Śiva is formless. He is the eternal, pure consciousness. Just by His grace, He did manifest Himself into the form of the Śivaliṅgam so that He can be worshipped by the devotees. In the Vedas, the word Śivaliṅgam is actually not mentioned there, but the same type of worship is described as worshipping the skambha or stambha, which means the pillar. They were such rounded stone pillars, as we could see, for example, in our Kedārnāth stone. What is the explanation of that? We get to know later in the Purāṇas, in the Mahāśiva Purāṇa, Kūrma Purāṇa, and Vāyu Purāṇa. There is a narrated story of Lord Brahmā having a dialogue with Lord Viṣṇu. They were discussing who out of them was the actual creator of the world, and they could not find consent. Their discussion was lasting. Out of a sudden, the ground in front of them opened, and a pillar of flames, a pillar of fire, pierced the ground till the sky. They were astonished. What is that? They decided to find out. So one of them went down to seek the root of that, and one of them went up to seek the top of that. But after many days, they met at the same point and humbly had to accept that they did not find it. It has no beginning and no end. Then Lord Śiva emerged out of that pillar of fire, that pillar of light, and he explained that he is the Svayambhū, who is beginningless, and who is the actual creator of this universe. Because his first expressed tattva is the fire, from them comes the type of worship; most often we worship Lord Śiva with the jala abhiṣeka, with the offering of water, because the water is soothing the fire. For the practical reason of draining that water which is being offered, which is being poured on the Śiva Liṅgam, people started to build a platform below the Śivaliṅgam, which was draining the water away. Later, this platform started to emerge. After the Puranic era, people started to explain that this platform actually symbolizes Pārvatī. All that liṅgam and that platform is an abstract form of the creation of the universe. It means the union of the eternal consciousness and the creative śakti. It was only in the last centuries, as our consciousness as humankind is going down and down, that people started to interpret it as a connection of the men and women's reproductive organs. But that's pure nonsense, because it has no root in the śāstras, in the old scriptures. Let us see a few examples of śivaliṅgams which are documenting this evolution. First, these were the śambhas, such a natural stone śivaliṅgam. Another type is the famous Amarṇājī. This is also from a natural stone, and then around it is made the base platform for draining the water. This is the same principle, just a bit more modern arrangement. Another old variation, again documenting the same principle. And another one. Often above the Śivaliṅgam, there is the kalaśa. Kalash is either a brass, copper, or stainless steel vessel from which the water is constantly dripping on the śivaliṅgam, so that the worshipping, the puja, the Jal Abhiṣek is running for 24 hours. Abhisheka means generally applying different substances on the Shiva Liṅgam. Most often, it is either water, milk, yoghurt, ghee, honey, or the sandal paste, the sugarcane juice, the coconut water, or the vibhūti (the sacred ash), or bilpatras (the leaves of the bilva tree), which we can see on our Śivaliṅga. There is the nāga, the snake over the Śivaliṅga. It has also many, many different symbolics, many different explanations. Personally, I most like that one, that this is a symbol of the Jīvātmā, of the individual soul, because it doesn't matter how much ignorance we have, still, our very existence is dependent on the consciousness of God, of Lord Śiva. Now on the right we are seeing another symbol: this is the triśūl. This is the weapon of Lord Śiva with three peaks, which stand for the three guṇas: sattva, rajas, and tamas. Lord Śiva is the master of them. Another explanation is that it is standing for his powers: the Kriyā Śakti, Icchā Śakti, and Jñāna Śakti. In the pictures, Lord Śiva is usually holding the triśūla in his right hand, and in the left one, he is holding the ḍamaru. Damaru means that symbol of the drum, that sand watch which is fixed horizontally under the triśūl. By turning, moving the Ḍamaru, Lord Śiva is creating the sound of Oṁ in the universe. From the sound of the Aum, all other Sanskrit letters and all languages are created. So it is also called the Śabdabrahman, the Lord of the Words, the Lord of the Languages. Our Śiva Mandir is the place of great worship. As Holy Gurujī is singing, "Jai Jai Śrī Deveśwar Mahādev," it means, "Glory to Lord Deveśwar, glory to Lord Śiva." From India, as well as from all around the world, the devotees are coming in hundreds and thousands, worshipping and reaping the benefit of the blessing of Lord Śiva. So, dear brothers and sisters, know that in the Jadan Shiva Mandir, Lord Śiva is residing. He is radiating the brilliant light, and the disciples come here and they rest upon his shoulders. In his right hand, he holds the triśūl, and with that, he is, step by step and day by day, removing the negative qualities from the disciples. So it is on us; it is our choice to become the Nandī, to become the faithful disciple who is always concentrated on the Master. Then we can approach Lord Gaṇeśa, request him to remove all obstacles from our spiritual journey. Then we proceed to Lord Kārttikeya, that he helps us to kill all the demonic qualities within us. He will heal all the demonic qualities within us, and to wake up his mother Pārvatījī in the Anāhata. When she will climb up to the Sahasrāra, then we will achieve our aim. We will merge with our Divine Master. Hey, Shambu.