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Part 1: The Glory of Mahādeva and the Śivarātri Vrata With countless Rudras, accompanied by countless Rudras… When you sit to listen to the Bhāgavata Kathā and begin to worship Mahādeva, anyone who is hearing or witnessing this should know that certainly some auspiciousness, goodness, and well-being will manifest in their life. The month of Śrāvaṇa and today’s episode of Mahādeva is about how Bhagavān Bhūtanātha Bholēśaṅkara and Dhardānī… Bhagavān Mahādeva gave His Sudarśana Cakra to Viṣṇu Bhagavān. This Purāṇa is a treasure of the Mahāśiva Purāṇa. This is the sacred month of Śrāvaṇa. The narration takes place between Vedavyāsa, who tells the story to Sūtajī, and Sūtajī in turn narrates it to Śaunaka. It is a very beautiful narrative, and the Mahādeva who appeared is called Harīśvara Mahādeva, the Mahādeva of Hari. There is only one Mahādeva, after all. By His name great wonders happen; it is the natural nature of Mahādeva, Lord Śiva. This one note is divided into twelve parts. Suppose you begin devotion, bhakti, to Mahādeva and to our Svāmī Jñāneśvarajī. Mahādeva’s tapasyā begins… Śrī Gopāleśvara Mahādeva, Gopāleśvara Mahādeva… Go—Viṣṇu Bhagavān is none other than a part of Mahādeva. He is Viṣṇu. When the devas and Brahmā became troubled by the asuras and approached Viṣṇu Bhagavān, Viṣṇu Bhagavān thought, “My weapons are not able to rescue from the asuras.” So Viṣṇu Bhagavān undertook a long vrata. Within the Śiva Purāṇa, there is the Śiva Sahasranāma, the thousand names of Lord Śiva. We can chant it if we have patience. Just as there is the Viṣṇu Sahasranāma and the Gopāla Sahasranāma, similarly there is the Śiva Sahasranāma, spoken by Bhagavān Viṣṇu. The Viṣṇu Sahasranāma was spoken by Viṣṇu Pitarāma; the Gopāla Sahasranāma—when I used to offer flowers to Viṣṇu, I used to offer one new name each time. Two Mahādevas and one opening lotus—like all masters, Mahādeva took even one exam, one test. What did He do? He made a lotus flower disappear. He used to do this with similar flowers. See, you write “Rāma” on a bilva leaf and offer that bilva leaf to Mahādeva. How do we offer? We tear off one piece, two pieces, torn but still offered and kept. You say that you give cloth of the same size and the same kind to someone, right? Even if dyed, you tear a piece. You say, “I will offer one thousand leaves of the same size and the same color to Mahādeva and write ‘Rāma’ on each of them.” The entire month will be spent in this, but these pūjās truly take place in our lives when we begin to love Bhagavān. How will love arise? Love will arise when you serve Him with your mind, words, and actions. When will you serve? When there is love. When will there be love? When you serve. In other words, they are two sides of the same coin. If there is love there will be service, and if there is no love then… The more love is born after birth, the more love increases for the child. Similarly, when you practice bhakti and your bhakti begins to bear fruit, you develop greater love for your iṣṭa deva. This is the story of bhakti, the devotion to Lord Viṣṇu. So one day Lord Sadāśiva, Bhagavān Mahādeva, took an exam of Bhagavān Viṣṇu when he was busy in the worship of Bhagavān Śiva. He was accustomed to it; this was a rule of the pūjā, that every day he offered one thousand lotuses. Lotuses, lotuses… Viṣṇu Bhagavān was born in Kāśī; the horse people troubled him greatly and they did not die easily from one weapon to another. So please give a good remedy that destroys darkness and clears the path for godlike beings. Bhagavān gave the Sudarśana Cakra, which was in His hand, to Viṣṇu Bhagavān. And here, Bhagavān Viṣṇu, through one Viṣṇu, chanted the thousand names of Mahādeva, and these thousand names are mentioned in the Koṭi Rudra Saṃhitā within the Mahāśiva Purāṇa. Since due to time constraints we cannot recite all of them for you, those who are Śiva-Vaiṣṇavas also recite the Sudarśana Kavacha. Just as the Brahmāstra, Pāśupatāstra, and Sudarśanāstra are mentioned, there is a very beautiful narrative in the Mahāśiva Purāṇa about which vows please Bhagavān Śiva. The second chapter is very beautiful and helpful for all the devotees of Bhagavān Śiva. Sūtajī is narrating this story to Śaunakādi and the 88,000 ṛṣis. Please tell us how to perform the worship of Lord Śiva and how many fasts to observe. Like today is the Ekādaśī and tomorrow the Dvādaśī. Our Hindu month is divided into two fortnights of fifteen days each, which is a very beautiful arrangement. Bhagavān Śiva himself has given this teaching. The greatest vow of Bhagavān Śiva is the Śivarātri vow that falls in the month of Phālguna. On Śivarātri, one remains fasting; this is how Bhagavān Śiva is pleased. What means of practice should I tell you? Speak, the four methods of Sadāśiva Bhagavān are: worship of Bhagavān Śiva, chanting of Rudra mantras, offering pūjā in Śiva temples, and dying in Kāśī. These four things are very important for the devotees of Bhagavān Śiva, especially in relation to the vow of Mokṣā Śivarātri. The fast of Mahāśivarātri is very important for all the devotees of Lord Śiva. According to the English calendar, it falls in February or March, when the moon is in the Dhaniṣṭhā Nakṣatra, in the Capricorn sign. When the Moon enters Capricorn, we perform this at night. There is also an ancient story that on the night of Śivarātri, Bhagavān married His Umā, married Mother Pārvatī. This is also why it is done, even if we do not have offerings, by joining the five fingers together. It is indeed vibrant and colorful… There is a method by which we can offer enjoyment to Bhagavān. The method of Bhagavān is through the sixteen upacāras and the five upacāras. We can offer to Lord Śiva five things or sixteen things. Five elements exist within us: earth, water, fire, sky, and air. The world is created from these five elements, so we offer these five things to Bhagavān. This sixteen-step pūjā is performed for Sadāśiva Bhagavān. If we do not perform the morning viśeṣa, then what is the significance? In the sixteen or five-step pūjā, what do we do? We offer light, that is, pāvaka agni, we light the dīpaka, and we offer dhūpa. So, what is the quality of dhūpa? The pañcopacāra pūjā involves the five elements: earth (pṛthvī), water (jala), fire (pāvaka), air (vāyu), and sky (ākāśa). These elements are used, and what is the ṣoḍaśopacāra pūjā? It is that through it, a person attains dharma, artha, kāma, and mokṣa within themselves, and the four puruṣārthas are fulfilled. That is why ṣoḍaśopacāra pūjā is performed. We invoke, “O Bhagavān, please come,” we invoke āsana, āsana. When someone comes to your home, this is what you do: first, āvāhana, āsana, pādya—you wash their feet. Then what do you do? Mukhe āsñāniya. We offer water in the mouth—put water in the mouth and clean it, become a little fresh. Then… sarvāṅge snāna, we take a bath and bathe Bhagavān. We behave with Bhagavān just as we do with a guest. We behave with God just like we behave with our nearest guest. This is about the water ritual you perform. You know, earlier our country had this culture. Earlier, when someone came to the house, they were offered madhuparka—that is, curd and honey. This is the ancient tradition of India: when somebody comes home, the household host offers yogurt and honey. And we know yogurt is very helpful if we are going to a new place. If you eat curd when you go outside somewhere else… even if you eat with enthusiasm, your stomach will not get upset. Come, take the name of Bhagavān for two minutes. Say, Sadāśiva Bhagavān kī… How to observe the Mahāśivarātri fast, how to perform its pūjā, the method has been explained by Mahārāja. This method is very beautiful. On the night of Śivarātri, if one observes a fast for just one day dedicated to Mahādeva, then later it should be celebrated accordingly. The practice of fourteen years has been described for the Śivarātri vrata by Devadeva Mahādeva. O Vedeśa, surrounded by many, please show mercy. Pray to Mahādeva, saying: O Mahādeva, I wish to worship You; please show me the way. So, the first rule of the pūjā worship is to pray to Mahādeva and request Him: O Mahādeva, please let us know how we can begin Your pūjā, and You will give us strength or power so we can complete Your pūjā, we can perform Your pūjā, please help us, we want to do Your pūjā. When Mahādeva is pleased, only by His grace will we be able to perform the pūjā; without the grace of Hari, no one receives anything. Without satsaṅga there is no discrimination, and without the grace of Rāma nothing becomes easy. We all know that satsaṅga, the company of truth, involvement with the masters, is helpful for progress. But this only happens when direct existence blesses us. So, you meet the guru, you meet the guru, you meet the guru… if unknowingly, by chance, somebody is not eating and not sleeping, if unknowingly… Just accept this—devotion to Mahādeva will arise. What is the fruit of that? Even unknowingly, when one accepts knowingly, there is great fruit. What happened unknowingly was that in a previous life, there was a hunter. It was Śivarātri that day. This hunter had children, and his parents and wife were hungry, so he, being the family’s provider, went into the forest to hunt. One story related to Mahāśivarātri: there was a hunter family, and one evening, by chance, it was Mahāśivarātri, a very auspicious day. The hunter went to the forest for hunting and sat on the tree of the bilvapatra. Bilvapatra is a very auspicious tree of Lord Śiva, and this is also a form of Lord Śiva. It is said that merely by seeing the bilva leaf, Bhagavān Śiva is pleased. So he went and sat on one of its branches nearby, right there by a pond and a door. And see the misfortune—good people make it from wood to drink water, while wicked hunters even take life. He aimed precisely there, and by chance, there was a Śivaliṅga beneath that tree. Some people even say that there was a stone under the tree—a round stone, like the Śivaliṅga of Mahādeva. And as we know, every stone is Bhagavān. So he was sitting on the tree and waiting for the animals, and suddenly a female deer came. The female deer came and she started drinking water. To speak of the vyāghra khaṇḍa… Speaking for My Home, that doe said to that hunter, that tiger-like Bhīla, “Let me go home once, I will return. I have the responsibility of my children, my husband, and I also have a sister who lives there; I will come back after seeing her.” It was evening because Sam had left the house, so… It will be very good for you. That day was Śivarātri, and that day Barkha was ill; she had not eaten anything. And the hunter was sitting on the leaf of a tree. Then compassion arose in the heart, and when he moved, a leaf fell. Near him, a voice said to drink water, “If you do not come back, you tell me.” So what will I do? Then the doe says, if I do not come, you tell Bhagavān, you tell this creation, you tell the Mālik, you tell Bhagavān Śiva that may I receive the very sins that others have received, the same sins may befall me. If I come back, then do ask, ask to… Female deer, how I believe you will come back, then the female deer requests the hunter, I will come back definitely, otherwise I will be gone in the next life. Nature will punish me if I do not commit to my commitments, if I do not fulfill my commitments, if I do not come, and this will be the work. Big sin, big bad work. Now if I will not come, excuse me. If guilty, I will come definitely. Believe me, otherwise I am your guilty. Lord Śiva will punish me if I do not come. I am telling you on this auspicious day, auspicious night, I will just go to my house and entrust the responsibility of my children to my husband, and then I will definitely come. This is my commitment. If you are coming towards it, then I am coming. When you are coming, I am coming. And the doe, the deer—the Hindi name, Vishwād have seen—and if you are coming towards it, then if you are coming towards it, then the doe, the deer, the Hindi—and when the good time comes, people forget the commitment. The hunter thought that in bad times, a person makes many promises. Difficult times remind everyone of Bhagavān, but when good times come, people forget the Guru, Bhagavān, and everyone else. Today, I have given him the gift of prāṇa; he did not believe that by doing this, he would last two more hours and survive the night. Between ten and twelve o’clock, a sister of that doe came, and the hunter said, “Now I will kill her.” To understand the hunter’s nature, observe this: the hunter does not move or stir until the prey arrives. And as soon as the prey comes, he makes a slight attempt to draw the bow. A hen came, and… The hen saw this and thought, “He is killing me even before I drink water, or is he killing her husband?” I live in their house, I have also come from that same doe’s house, I have come to drink water. When I return, then kill me. The hunter said, “That is a very good thing, I will not kill you.” “Why won’t you kill me? Tell me this, why are you like this?” A person who, despite being a devotee of Bhagavān Śiva and Viṣṇu, criticizes Śiva, may I receive the very punishment that person deserves. Between ten p.m. to twelve p.m., in the dead of night, another female deer came near that pond, and the hunter wanted to kill her, then… She also requests the hunter, “Please let me go, I will come back. I want to say my last goodbye to my sister and her children and attend to some responsibilities. If I do not return, I swear by God, I swear by God Viṣṇu, I will definitely come. If I do not come, Lord…” Viṣṇu, Lord Mahādeva will punish me as a criticizer, because in the Sanātana Dharma, in the Hindu Dharma, if somebody criticizes Lord Śiva, he is like Dakṣa, King Dakṣa, and he will be punishable, he will receive severe punishment, and he will go to hell. He spoke such things, yes, a kind of coming naturally into the hungry mind, and you also left like that, sending it away, and then the mind began to contemplate: it is twelve at night, is there anyone hungry at home, am I also hungry, what should I do, someone… There is no remedy, no mantra or sūtra was even practiced; he just sat there. Between twelve and two o’clock, a deer came, and he began to kill that deer. These three had left their homes hungry, and that deer—oh, that is a sin. The person who indulges in ramaṇa during sāma, the person who becomes engrossed in sensual pleasures and desires during sāma… In Hindu Dharma, in Sanātana Dharma, this has been very clearly stated—in the Bhāgavata, in the Śiva Purāṇa, in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa—that if someone takes on the sin of another, the sin should be transferred to me. For this, there is also a provision of punishment here in our scriptures. Apart from this, all my merit should be transferred to others’ hearts. The one who causes sorrow incurs sin, and those who worship Bhagavān Śiva do so especially on Śivarātri. So, just for a few minutes, let me explain in another language: This is the rule in Śivarātri pūjā — we worship Lord Śiva four times. There are twelve hours, each divided into three hours, three hours… and three hours, during which we perform four pūjās. So, this midnight time is between 12 to 2 a.m., Mahākāla rātrī. A male deer comes near the lake, near the ponds, to drink water, and that hunter again tries to kill him. The request, as before, is from two women here. This time the deer is a stag. The deer requests, “O hunter, please don’t kill me. What happened today, we don’t know. We haven’t eaten today, and even now, at midnight, we just saw this water pond. I want to drink and then go home to meet my wife and children. After that, I will come back and surrender myself to you. Then kill me and eat me.” He said, “This is the third time now.” The deer went away, so I let it go, and now I have let this go as well. How then will I satisfy my hunger and the hunger of my children? What will happen to the hunger of my parents? The hunter thinks in his mind, if I do not kill this deer, my wife, my parents, my children will be hungry, because this is my job, this is my profession, and this is the family occupation. My father and my grandfather were all accustomed to doing this work of killing animals, and we ate them. But this dear request is made very forcefully that God will punish me if I do not come. Mahādeva will punish me if I do not come. I will be held accountable as one who does not meditate in the evening, who does not engage in art during the evening hours. It is a great sin to meditate in the evening; it is a great sin to meditate in the evening… Prāṇa, prāṇa… So, O hunter, please do not kill me. I will return. If I do not come back, Bhagavān will punish me just as He punishes those who wrongfully possess others’ property, and then nature enacts its justice upon them. All my welfare, all my good karmas will continue only if I fulfill my commitment, if I come. So, I will definitely come. Please leave me alone for a few hours. I will return. Before sunrise, at two o’clock at night, it says, “I will come before the sun rises.” The hunter thought, now today I have become so hungry. He moved, took a bilva leaf and water, and then left. So what is happening? Three times, when the hunter made a little big shake, one bilva leaf, the auspicious leaves, three leaves, like Śiva, because Śiva is the Trinetra, the bilvapatra with the three leaves. Automatically, on the deity’s door, the Śiva liṅga was a stone looking like a Śivaliṅga and a water drop of the water going into the Śivaliṅga which is already on the floor in the forest. And this was not a big temple or stone; every wall, every river, sun, moon, whole existence is the Ājñā. God, we can worship God everywhere. We can see Him in the sun, we can see Him in the river, we can see Him everywhere. We can feel Him. So this is the glory, this is the pūjā. Take it without any chance. This hunter, being three pūjās and three times kindness coming into his heart three times, not eating… Part 2: The Awakening of Śivarātri: Compassion, Nonduality, and Self-Realization And the ninth killing, now the fourth pūjā, the last pūjā between 2 AM to 4 AM in the morning, all the deer in the forest start thinking, "Oh, we have given our commitment; we will give our bodies to that hunter." All the deer, all the children began to think that they had given their promise to that hunter to offer their bodies. The person who breaks a promise is the biggest liar in the world, a great sinner. We should offer our body completely. Then the deer said, the stag said, "I will give it, I am a human." Children cannot live without their mother, so the mother said, and the doe said,"No, no, what is life without the husband?" The children said, "What is life without mother and father?" Then the little doe, who lived as a servant in their home, said, "I will go too." So the last pūjā happened with very miraculous things; all the deer and their families, the children thinking at home, committed to the hunter, saying, "We will give..." Our body belongs to him, so we should go there. The male deer decided that he would go alone and offer his body. Then the female deer pleaded, "No, there is no life without the husband, there is no life without the life partner. I will also offer my body to the hunter." Then the children requested their parents, "No, no, we will also offer ourselves. Without our parents, how will we survive? You are our Bhagavān." So the children and the deer all gather near the lake and the Shiva temple, and they plead with the hunter, "O hunter, please kill us." When the hunter saw this scene—so many sacrificing their bodies for one deer—an immense wave of compassion and kindness arose within him. In his mind, and suddenly he transformed. Transformation happened—rūpāṁ traṇa ghaṭe tubā. Within him arose an extraordinary devotion, and it is said that at that very moment, Mādēv manifested there. Say, O gods, the Ādi Deva, Mahā Deva. Everyone was hungry, the deer was also hungry, the hunter was hungry, the hunter’s family was also hungry—everyone was fasting unknowingly. But the hunter also felt compassion. When someone’s heart feels compassion for another living being, O Maharaj, this too is devotion to Mahāprabhujī. Worship is not merely offering something to God. When we show kindness to other creatures, to other life forms, to animals, to human beings, this is the true bhakti of Sadāśiva. So Lord Sadāśiva came there and bestowed His blessings. This hunter became a friend of Lord Shri Ram. By the grace of Mahādeva, he became a friend of Bhagavān Shri Ram and went to Srangaver Pur. When Ram Ji went into exile, this Bhīl welcomed Ram Ji, and Ram Ji stayed at his place. In that very birth, he attained such great devotion, and having had the darśana of Rāma, does he not attain mokṣa? I always tell you that when Bhagavān Śiva is pleased, what does he grant? Viṣṇu grants, Rāma grants; and when Bhagavān Rāma is pleased, Śiva grants. So here, Bhagavān was pleased with the worship of that night, and being pleased, He granted the friendship of Rāma. And this person will see Rāma in the Rāmāyaṇa of Bālmī. If devotees and disciples are happy for Śiva, then that is good. And something good is for Śiva. Śiva... Ram is good for that. So he is a gift for Ram. A gift for devotion to Ram. And if Bhagavān Vishnu between Ram and Shiva, Hari and Har, they are one, so duality, the dualism is the barrier in the sādhana, in the meditation, dvaita is what it is, the duality in the mind, this is Vaishṇava, this is... Service is the essence; it is for those who worship Shiva, it is for those who revere Vishṇu. Compassion is the root of dharma, and the root of sin is disrespect. The eighteen ancient sūtras of Vyāsa teach that the words of siddhi are for the welfare of others, for merit, not for sin; for alleviating suffering, not for causing pain. True dharma is selfless; there is no brotherhood in causing pain to others, nor is there any virtue in cruelty. The greatest welfare is to help others, and the greatest pāpa, the greatest sin, is to cause pain to others. So if you wish to please the Divine existence, please, please make others happy. And remember, do not disturb anyone’s life, do not disturb anyone’s consciousness, whether physically or mentally. This is the great Dharma. This is the essence of the Sanātana Dharma. Help others. Speak of Bhagavān, O members, speak of Sadguru Maharāj. Come, let us spend a moment at the feet of Sadguru Maharāj, offering our prayers, and then move forward. Let us become the dust beneath the feet; awaken by hearing the word Swāmī. Become the dust beneath the feet of Gurujī. O Sadgurū, please make me realize that I am the Svāmī. How beautiful is the word Svāmī! Who is the master? Bhagavān. If we look at the rāṭ between Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna, it seems as if we have made Bhagavān the driver who pulls the rāṭ. Is Bhagavān the driver who is driving the rāṭ? Is Arjuna the master? No, that is not the case. Look closely, if the Ātman is in the hands of Paramātmā, then you will win the battle. And this battle is not of any ordinary thing; it is the battle of duality, the battle of darkness, the battle of ego, the battle of bondage. To be free from bondage, O Gurū... Aspire for greatness, become a thread of silk, but the Guru is like a roaring lion reminding us that you are indeed a lion. The story of Aṣṭāvakra tells King Janaka that a lion, whose mother has died, is no longer a lion and forgets itself, then it begins to live among sheep and wolves. Now, even his behavior became like that of a sheep despite being a lion. Whenever a lion came into the forest, he would forget that he was a lion; instead, he would run like a deer or a wolf. Once he grew up, when the lion came, his roar would be louder than that of a sheep. Though he was a lion, he would meow and bleat like a sheep. It is there, but the sound of the deer is being made; it behaves like a deer. The lion came, and everyone ran away. It was a tiger; it saw and wondered, what has happened? Where is the child running? He said, "Leave me, I am ’I’."Then he said, "You were not born for ’I, I’."He said, "Just look at me."He said, "Leave me, leave me."He said, "What should I leave you for? Do you even know what you are?"Then he said, "Now speak in my voice, in a voice like mine."So he also spoke in that voice. The roar that was heard is the roar of a sanyā swāmī, the roar of one who is the master of this world. I am the master of this world, not a slave. I am not a football to be kicked here and there. We are kings; we were born as kings, not as slaves. The lord of lords, the owner, the master of the cosmos resides within us, so... We are not slaves, we are not weak—this declaration, this realization is the eternal, sanātana dharma. This is sanātana, the unique, eternal, immortal. This is sanātana, this is sanātana... Is Our Insight Then We Are Not Weak. We are not subject to death; we were never born to die, and in fact, we were never born at all. Listen to this truth: We Never Born, We Never Died. We are indeed unborn. Swāmījī, please utter the word that will awaken me. But this awakening will come from You, O Master. Because I am still not awakened, I am a lion but behaving like a goat or a sheep. And which lake is it that we will see? That is why here, for a mahant, it is said: when love becomes infinite, when every fiber becomes saintly, when it becomes Vṛndāvana, only then does the body and mind become a mahant. When the mind becomes great, then this is the story of Śivarātri, the story of the vow of Śivarātri, the story of awakening in all four times. Wake up, the method of the night has been explained to become awake. People keep sleeping all the time; if you count a person’s life, what a miserable state it is. They say, how much time is left, Where has the initial youth gone? You say you want to study, then you run after wealth. They say like this: childhood is like play and blood, youth is like the blood of a young tree, and adulthood is filled with worries. The mercury of the divine becomes agitated. Chant Bhaja Govindam, chant—your own desires are the ones driving you. The cause of all corruption is the person himself, no one else. The region of corruption lies in our lust, in our confusion. And when knowledge enters the mind, we realize that we too are the region of darkness. You can dispel this darkness right now. But as soon as we get involved with some of our ambitions, some desires, some expectations, this ego becomes the main barrier. That is why here the emphasis is on awakening, whether it is Navarātri or Sivarātri, it is about waking up. Even the Śivapurāṇa and the Rāmāyaṇa are meant for awakening. Bhāgavat is also an opportunity to awaken, and the Upaniṣad is also an opportunity to awaken. He is seated, he does not get disturbed by the world, and you see the family of Mahādeva: he is riding Nandi, the bull; Nandi is the bull, and the bel leaf; and Māta Pārvatī is riding on the lion. Both of them are fierce; the lion wants to kill the enemies of Lord Śiva. The elder son of Mahādeva is riding a peacock, and the... Servant of Lord Gaṇeś riding on the mouse, first enjoy the essence of Hindi. One day, Baba said, "I feel like going to meet my wife. I have been deeply absorbed in samādhi for a long time, very deeply absorbed in samādhi."Bhagavān said, "Come, let me take care of your wife."First, they went to meet the mother, Umā, the Bhagavatī, Jagadambā, Parāmbā, Bhavānī. As soon as... There, in the palace, after a long conversation, Nandī, with his horns, said, "Come on, Baba, let’s go."He asked, "Why?"Nandī replied, "Just wait for two minutes. This is your dharma wife, my mother Pārvatī. He is standing below her, not letting me meet my wife. So what happened then? He said, ’Let me meet the elder son,’and Mallikārjun proceeded." Yes, Bhagavān Śaṅkara went, and said, "Son Kārtik, how are you?"There was a snake around his neck, hissing softly. He said, "Bābā, come quickly, there is a snake here too, Mahādeva’s.""Get out of here,"he said. Bhagavān Śaṅkara said, "Come, I made Ganeś the first to be worshipped in this world. I made Ganeś the most universally revered and famous in this world." So, I go to meet my son Ganeś, and when I arrive there, the mice start squeaking and say, "Drive them away quickly." I asked why, and they said, "My father has come to visit."Then the mouse says, "Go quickly, go quickly."Mahādeva said, "Until now, it was never Nandi speaking to me like this, sometimes Mahā..." The truth is, happiness is not found in the household; in the household, no one truly likes anyone else. This is the nature of the world—someone likes something, someone else does not. Even five fingers are not the same. We ourselves say, "You don’t have fingers."So, within one family, there is trust, trust... Do not keep the vessel of faith empty; fill it with love. Then no sound will come, because the vessel is empty. If the vessel is empty, a sound will come. So fill the vessel with water, fill it with love, fill it with nectar. Then no sound will come. This is the greatest fruit of the abhiṣeka of Mahādeva—I will tell you. What is the fruit of devotion to Mahādeva? I have shared this with you partly in jest. The greatest fruit of devotion to Mahādeva is that even beings of opposing natures begin to live together peacefully in one place. Wherever the abhiṣeka takes place, there Mahādeva is present. Even opponents sometimes come into the realm of possibility; this is the result of Mādeva’s abhiṣeka. Therefore, the abhiṣeka of Mādeva and devotion to Mādeva should be performed with great reverence. I have seen some people who, when given a Śivalinga or asked to keep a Śivalinga at home, are unable to keep it in their house. They say, how can we keep Mādevjī’s śivalinga in our home? I do not forcibly tell anyone that you must do this, but I do earnestly request you to consider—what place is there where Mādev is not present? First, tell me, is there any place where Mādev is not? Mādev is seated everywhere. We are living by the grace of Mādeva, we are residing in Mādeva, we are indeed dwelling in Mādeva. So this feeling of Mādeva— we are devotees of Viṣṇu, do we not hold Mādeva? This is ignorance, a petty mentality, and nothing beyond that. Even Rāma himself says, "One who is hostile to Śiva is called Mamadāsa,"Rāma says. They say someone is a rebel against Shiva, and my servant says, I went to Kailāsa with my wife Jāmbavantī during the Dvāpara Yuga and worshipped Bhagavān Shiva. Because Jāmbavantī was unable to have a child, she wanted a beautiful child. Jāmbavantī was tribal, an indigenous woman. Actually, we are all adivāsīs in this world. Those who live in the forest are called vanavāsīs; they are the forest dwellers. We are all adivāsīs because we have been here since the beginning of time. To worship Bhagavān Śaṅkara, one prays, "O Bhagavān, please bless us with beautiful, beautiful children." If there is anyone more beautiful than Maheśvara, please tell me. How beautiful are the words Satyaṃ Śivaṃ Sundaraṃ, because they carry fragrance. A person who abuses others also has a dirty face. You must have never seen, nor even thought, that someone who quarrels and abuses can be beautiful. He alone will be beautiful who harbors good feelings towards others and who lives life with truth; such a person does not even need deodorant or good soap, for a unique divine radiance will emerge from within. Those who put on makeup externally, like Jamvantī, Jamvantī... When Jāman Jī incarnated, when he came in the form of Vāman, I was young; now I have grown old. Where in the Satya Yuga, during Bali’s time—Jāman Jī is present in every age. The story of Kāga Busandī and Jāman Jī continues at Mahādeva’s place, on the Nīla Parvata, Kailāsa. Inside, by the grace of Pārvatī, Sāmbh was born; he will be yours. And listen, this Sāmbh is indeed a part of Bhagavān Sūrya. Once, the sages cursed Sūrya that he would be born among humans, so he became your son. Pārvatī says, "O Vāsudeva, I am pleased by your tapas." Yes, so what do you want? Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa says that may both of you have my grace, and I will always honor the brāhmaṇas, and in my heart, the devotees of Bhagavān Śiva—this boon Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa asked from Mā Pārvatī. You might ask, what is the need for us to know that Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa requested this boon? He is telling us to ask this from Bhagavān. Maybe Lord Krishna does not need this blessing because he is already God, created by Lord Shiva, the reincarnation of Vishnu Narayan. And Krishna appealed to Mā Pārvatī, requesting, "O Mahāprabhujī, give me this blessing, I want it." To always remain in the joint family, Mahāprabhujī, please bless me and all my generations. Respect to all the masters, all the sīkhās, all the monks, all the brāhmaṇas. Grant me this blessing, for me and all my generations, all. My son, all my near and dear, respect to guests, respect to Brahman and respect their parents. If we honor our devatās, if we honor our ancestors, if we honor our ṛṣis, if we honor our ancestors... if we honor our ancestors, we can get everything. By pleasing the devatā, the ṛṣi, and Brahman, we can attain anything; by pleasing the guests, we can also receive anything. Here it is said that Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa practiced the devotion of Mahādeva. Now see, here there is a description of hell. There are 27 types of hell mentioned, 27 types of naraka are described. And it even explains that what is the root of sin—we say kāyik, vācik, mānasik; physically, verbally, mentally we do some wrong which is not fruitful for future life. Verbally, we commit some sinful actions through our tongue, through our speech. Yes, we tell lies, we speak untruths, we criticize others falsely, we praise someone falsely, we just make what we want... Some rich people and we have some selfishness inside, we... Start by making others happy, and when we see some weak people, and if we want to help them, we often start to criticize. So, two complexes are always operating within us: the superiority complex and the attraction towards others, or ignorance. We begin to ignore others, we avoid others. So this is a twofold problem in our mentality. Don’t do this. This is what is said. If you do this, becoming excessively attracted to someone or excessively repelled by someone, it is also a kind of deficiency, an obstacle in your sādhanā. This is a very sinful action, a very binding karma. These spiritual journeys and all such things lead us to hell, and to avoid these hells, and the path that leads to these hells... A greater egotist has been described, like in the Garuḍa Purāṇa—do not think that there is any best friend here, who will be useful later. Nothing is of any use; everything is left behind. Everything remains right here. Even this body does not come along; let alone that, the body itself is left here. Therefore, how much—this is the limit of our email. Twenty-eight types of hells and, through the actions of five kinds of sins, a total of 140 hells have been described. Maharaj, if you listen to this, you will be afraid and understand that all these are indeed sins, because we all commit those sins knowingly and unknowingly, Maharaj. And one should daily perform the remedies for the various types of hells; otherwise, a great amount of sin accumulates. And by giving various types of donations, we can be saved from these sins; we can come out of these sins. So I say to you, this is my duty: only a few people can enter the temple, or they just sit in front of Mahādeva and in front of the Mahāśivapurāṇa. So this is my moral responsibility. I don’t want to instill fear in you regarding duty. I just want to share some positive things with you about what to do, what good deeds to perform. So, these Śiva Mahāpurāṇas today talk about water harvesting, about saving the rainwater, and they say to create from water. Make the pond or lake and save the rainwater. This has been said by Śiva Purāṇa thousands and thousands of years ago. Today, meteorological departments and big organizations like NASA are contemplating how to solve the problems of the earth. Forget the earth, even the universe and... The solution to the problems of the universe is already written; some may act upon it, and those who are destined will act. Part 3: The Supreme Tapasya of Truth: Insights from the Śiva Purāṇa’s Umā Saṃhitā Mahārāj Pūjya Sadguru Swami Maheśvarānanda Jī Mahārāj, for the past forty years, has been traveling across the entire earth with the message of the Mahāśiva Purāṇa and the Upaniṣads for the welfare of the world. You are journeying and guiding people. Śāstra says that the person who creates a pond, who creates a reservoir, is a participant in great virtuous deeds; that well, that pond, and that reservoir wash away a person’s sins. So now, the Śiva Purāṇa and the Umā Saṃhitā are providing information about true welfare work and good deeds. What is puṇya karma? Is making a pond and saving rainwater considered dharma in our country? This country is declared to rest on dharma; this is the religion: if you save rainwater, if you worship water, if you plant many trees—the cow, the brāhmaṇa, and the sādhus—whoever drinks water from that well, whoever drinks water from that source, even that person’s past lives are redeemed, not just for that person but for this person as well. Very friendly—what we call eco-friendly, they say eco-friendly. We should understand nature as our mother, not just behave with nature as a friend. Nature is our mother, Prakṛti Mātā. If we understand Prakṛti as our mother, how much this beautiful message is needed by today’s generation. How can we make the PhD understand that these scriptures are not meant for singing or playing music for Kali; through these scriptures, we can transform this earth into heaven. One line carries many meanings, and all those meanings are very beneficial for human beings. Digging ponds, planting trees, conducting yajñas—these are indeed the duties of a brāhmaṇa. The supreme state is truth, the earth is truth, everything is established in truth, the sacrificial offerings are truth, the mantras are truth, the goddess Sarasvatī spoke the truth—truth of Bhagavān, truth of Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān, truth of the eternal dharma. What has been said encompasses the entire essence of the Vedas, distilled perfectly in the Umā Saṃhitā, like the essence of the Vedas and Upaniṣads. Why is the name of this Umā Saṃhitā? Because this is the discussion between Bhagavān Śiva and Umā, Mā Pārvatī. So before the conversation between Bhagavān Vedavyāsa Jī and Sūta Jī, Nārada Jī and Brahmā Jī, Umā Sahitā, Umā Sahitā… Truth alone is tapasyā. There is no yoga, no technique for enlightenment, only the truth. Just believe in the truth. Truth alone is the highest yajña. And there is no action, no yajñas—only truth is the yajña. If you say so, then truth alone is the ultimate. So we should never speak a lie in our life, and I earnestly request you, mothers and brothers, truthfulness is very difficult. Just raise your hand and tell me, anyone, just raise your hand and tell me, do we live in truthfulness for even twenty-four hours? That in twenty-four hours, we have not once thought a lie, spoken a lie, or done a lie? No, that can never happen. Within twenty-four hours, something or the other will definitely happen. In our mind, the wife will leave us, has left, or will leave us. And if we speak to our friend, what is going on in his mind about his actions or his behavior? Many times, we speak one thing and think another. We speak lies; life itself has become a lie. The entire business of the world runs on lies, and you will be surprised—innocent babies, innocent children born on this earth, and nobody teaching them how to speak live, but automatically, without any school, without any tuition, without any book, just start speaking lies. Who is teaching him? We are teaching him. The society is teaching him. Children are very receptive. When they see our face, they receive everything. You all know about children, and parents always complain to them, saying, “Son, don’t lie.” But when the parents themselves lie, where will the children go? No child is born deceitful, no child is born a criminal, no child is born with lust or desire; it is we who, by observing them, instill these habits. So here, walking with multiple truths—one being the pāramārthika truth, another the vyāvahārika truth, and yet another the truth of reality—is the greatest and most difficult tapasyā of this age. Therefore, the first verse of Śrīmad Bhāgavata is true, the last verse is also true, and if anyone asks about the explanation of Bhagavān Śiva, what will you say? You will say, satyaṃ śivaṃ sundaram—Bhagavān Śiva is truth, Śiva is the Lord, Śiva is the root, Śiva is everywhere, every time. But when we start practicing, you get the truth, then you can be able to… The cause of the lie, the cause of the many faces in our mind, many types of behavior in our life—we cannot see the real truth. Now see, make a resolve today itself that tomorrow is the last Monday of Śrāvaṇa and also Pradoṣa; on that day, we will not tell a lie. There is only one solution to this: if a daughter-in-law speaks to her mother-in-law, she inevitably has to tell a lie. What to do? How can a daughter-in-law speak the truth to her mother-in-law? The mother-in-law simply shuts down. The mother-in-law has such a vast hand—wherever it reaches, the little one lies down, the little one is restrained. We lose the ultimate, we lose the divine; a small lie snatches away the supreme truth from us. It is very difficult, Mahārāj, to truly live in the truth. That is why our Bhagavān’s name is Satya Nārāyaṇa. But if you speak the truth—Mahātmā Gāndhī has written in his book about his practice of truth in our Bīkāner. Many years ago, about thirty-five years back, Nirañjan Dev Jī was like the great Ādi Śaṅkarācārya of India. During his cāturmāsa, he told the people one thing: if you have a fever, he said, “Stop speaking lies, and your fever will cease. As long as you keep speaking lies, you will continue to have fever.” If you stop speaking lies, no fever will come into your life. When you are angry, automatically the digestive power weakens. When you are in lust, your breathing changes. And when you are happy, breathing changes. So, what are we? We are nothing but our mind. When something happens in the mind, the breathing changes. And when you speak a lie, the police department conducts a narco test. When someone speaks a lie, the eyes change, the ākhyā changes, the heartbeat changes, and the breathing changes. Or a lot of dust we offer to our soul, a lot of mud we offer to our soul. We cover our soul with mud and dust when we tell lies, and it is from that very soul that Paramātmā is connected. Why do we fear the truth when it is empty? We think, “If we speak the truth, our stomachs won’t be filled, we will remain hungry.” I say, we suffer because we speak untruth; therefore, speak the truth and do not cast blame on Mādev Jī. I say, speak only the truth and nothing else. Live in truth, rise in truth, walk in the company of truth. A restless, wandering mind—worship Rādhe Śyām, engage in tapas, yajña, and puṇya. Your devarṣi and pitṛ will also be pleased. They go to embrace the truth with such strength, so today make this vow that even if you are born in falsehood, when the funeral pyre is lit, the truth will be with us. It doesn’t matter if there is no crowd, but the truth will be with you. When you go home, take a glass and look into your own eyes with your own eyes. But if by paying the price of truth one attains Bhagavān, then this is what is called sacrificing everything. Even if one attains Hari, it is considered cheap; even if one attains the Guru, it is considered cheap. This is the reality we speak of in life. This is the reality of the Guru. Darkness means we behave with other people in a different way, we behave differently with our relatives, and differently with others; this is precisely falsehood. And what is falsehood? When the boat was set afloat in the water and steered amidst the storm… Remember this, those who are called defeated actually find their enemy; Bali gave his head, King Bali gave it, and he attained it. So losing here is winning. It is also said, what is the use of crossing over when you have given up the desire for pleasure? When you start the sādhanā, you start… The yoga, and practicing the yoga, then forget the luxury, and begin your sādhana. Set forth on the path of struggle—then what are flowers or embers to you? What is fragrance or foul odor? What is a flower or its scent? Where dying itself is a blessing, then this very life is as insignificant as a blade of grass. To soar in the battlefield is the work of the bird; only on the wind… It is rest; birds do not have a home. They are resting in the air, resting in the sky. The sky itself is their nest; then what is near and what is far? When you are flying in the sky in ecstasy, then there is neither nearness nor distance, because you are looking at the horizon, you are seeing the chitīj, you are seeing the sky, the chitīj where the earth and the sky meet. We have made the heart simple by drinking the bitter poison of the world. After drinking the poison of the world, we have become simple. Some say, “This man is very simple.” Becoming simple is not easy, brother. Some are struck from the outside, some from within. One becomes simple only when one takes the form of Śaṅkara. When one becomes the form of Śaṅkara, then what is ash, what is adornment? Now, having become Mādevī, one applies ash like this… The one who became a viṣapāyī was Meera, the one who became a viṣapāyī was Śaṅkara, what was cut became a diamond, what was pierced became a pearl. So if we truly want to liberate our life, then really we are sincere about our mokṣa, stand firm on yoga: yama, niyama, āsana, prāṇāyāma, pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā, dhyāna, samādhi. In the state of established practice, through the instrument of the fruit of action, Patañjali says: When you live the truth, when every breath you take is the truth, then you receive the fruit of the action even before the action itself; there is no need to perform the action. This is called siddhi. One says, “This is accomplished, this thought has manifested.” Why does it happen? Because one lives in truth. One says, namaś-śivāya. Chanting the Hari nāma is the abode of bliss; in this world, life is but two days. Chanting the Hari nāma is the abode of bliss in this world. Speak of the grace of Sadguru Mahārāj, it is the blessing of a moment’s meeting with the venerable Mahāśvaraṇānanda Jī. Regarding the Śiva Purāṇa, if one were to grasp its essence as written by Śāradā, it would eternally lead one to the qualities of the Father. Like the dark mountain of Asita, the problem is like kohl; filling the ocean vessel, it would turn the entire ocean into ink. And make paper from all the mountains, make paper from the entire earth, and sit Mā Sarasvatī down to write. O Śaṃbhū, even your virtues cannot be fully sung; you are so vast, O Bhagavān. What power does a human have to describe Mahādeva? That Mahādeva, about that Mahādeva, but our hand will… Be empty, because we cannot explain that ultimate truth. There is no way to explain; we can only realize and experience it by the grace of Bhagavān, by the grace of Sadguru. This Śiva Purāṇa is also singing the glories of Mahādeva’s divine plays, recounting the stories of Mahādeva, in which today the truth is revealed in the Umā Saṃhitā—that He is Bhagavān Satya. Mahārāj, there is immense power in truth; in this world, there is no greater power than truth. Yes, forget the past life, forget the past life, maybe in ignorance, maybe in darkness, we committed some kind of impure karma, accept that we have done bad deeds, that we have committed sinful actions, start your new life from… This moment, make this decision, make up your mind: We Will Never Speak a Lie. We will not tell falsehood. Even by saying this much, the speech becomes established. By saying this much, a person’s resolve becomes firm that I will not speak falsehood. Such is the power of satya. Mahārāj, there is great power in truth. You will ask, What is the definition of satya? Satya is the mother of God. How? Is God born from satya? Yes, because Bhagavān is present everywhere, but the truth is not awakened everywhere. Wherever the truth is practiced, there Bhagavān manifests. Elsewhere, He remains dormant, the truth is not realized. There, Ṭhākurjī rests, goes to sleep. If you desire beauty, if you want… If you want a solution to any problem in your life, come into the truth; what can be said about the glory of such truth? Tolstoy’s story is about two women who claim a boy as their own; one says, “This is my son,” and the other says, “He is my son.” Tolstoy was a Russian author. The story goes that a judge in court had a case where two mothers claimed the same child as theirs. The original story does not include this detail, but that is the story. In our chapter, we read in childhood but do not understand it; in the third or fourth grade, it used to come first—Guru and Govind both stand there. I am grateful, Guru, for showing your Govind. A person may even win a Nobel Prize and pursue PhD advanced studies, yet only afterward does one understand the essence of the Guru. Perhaps it still won’t be understood because to understand the guru, one must first dispel their own darkness. Just as in a house where a woman lives, and there is also a maidservant in the house, the maidservant becomes more attached to the child, and one day the maidservant claims that this child is hers… It is mine, and the child finds it difficult to express that his mother reads in books, speaks, this is the truth, people give knowledge, vāsāṁsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya, oh, on the body, our body is like a garment over the ātman, nainaṃ chindanti śastrāṇi nainaṃ dahati pāvaka, na cainam kledayanty āpo na śoṣayati mārutaḥ, such is… There is a scratch on the vehicle, which is still dangerous. First, a person dies when he feels as if a hundred scorpions are stinging him. The pain of death is very intense and extremely painful, like being bitten by hundreds of scorpions and snakes biting our body. And another pain is when you are giving birth to children. The woman knows this; it is very dangerous. In earlier times, the mother in the village used to say, “Son, this is what science calls labor pain; put her in the labor room.” They say, a child is about to be born; nowadays, they even perform cesarean sections. But even in this pain, there are many kinds of pain, just as there are many kinds of death. It becomes a hard death. We have read the Jīlā Charita, the Jīlā Charita of Swāmī Mahiṣṇanan Jī in that book, where he writes that you make us your disciple. Look, call me Svāmījī and awaken me. If you do not accept me, then this body is useless. It would be better to die, so that devotion, mokṣa, Paramātmā, home, everything—all in one package—can be attained. Some dakṣiṇā, some food, some clothes; such a great deal is nowhere else available, so inexpensive. Even petrol has become so expensive, Bhagavān. And the Guru is so humble, that one simply pours a loṭā of water, and everyone says, “I have built this temple.” How did this happen? Is this the truth? The greatest pen is to give birth to your own soul, because right now we are the body, right now we are the mind, right now we are thoughts. Until the birth of the soul occurs, and from that soul the birth of Paramātmā takes place—that is— The fundamental spiritual pain is: Who am I? Where have I come from? Where will I go? Who are my relatives? What is this? This is spiritual. The Sāṅkhya philosophy has given an answer to this; Kapila Muni provides the answer. However, one day I myself worshipped and said, “I do not know the method; I have come empty-handed.” By which method can one please Him? All methods work if there is a thirst for Him, but without thirst, even performing thousands of yajñas and treatments will not bring Him. First of all, ask yourself whether you have a thirst for Paramātmā or not. First, there must be a desire, then patience, and then its fulfillment. So first, have the desire, brother—the first desire for… The truth will come, then you will have the desire for the truth, there will be waiting, initiation, desire, waiting, initiation, then there will be darśana, then there will be liberation. These are the steps of sādhanā, the stages of sādhanā, and for these we need patience. We need patience not for just one or two days, nor for one or two years. We need endless patience. Patience is a part of the sādhanā. And before patience, we need the desire for the truth, the desire for the master—desire, icchā, pratikṣā, patience. Then we will receive initiation from the master, dīkṣā; these three things will open the gate to the truth, open the gate to the ultimate divine truth. And if you don’t have the desire for the divine, the desire for the dīpam, then please observe this world and the problems of this world, and the fatality of action, the fleeting nature of life’s moments, and become somewhat detached—become uninvolved with all karma, uninvolved with the world, become detached. This is what is called udāsīna. Then slowly, slowly, by the grace of the Gurus and the Satsang, definitely one day we will come upon that path which is called by Ṛṣi Mahājano as gata sapantha. Where the great ones go, and who are the great ones? Who are the great people for whom all efforts are made towards God, all efforts for that truth, the ultimate truth? Because where have we come from, who we are, who am I, from which place, and where will we go—this is the simple question. And this question begins our spiritual journey, and one day, by the grace of Mahādeva, we will attain the true master. We all, including you, are indeed very fortunate. We are sitting before the great Mahāvatāra, Dīpa Purī Jī Mahārāj, Dīpa Nārāyaṇa Jī Mahārāj, Mādhvanandajī Mahārāj, Maheśvarānandajī Mahārāj. So just remember all your gurus, your master, and your Iṣṭadevatā, remember your gurus, remember your Iṣṭadeva. And in this evening, after chanting Om twice, in the āratī, you will be introduced to tomorrow’s story along with Umā Saṃhitā and other Saṃhitās in the Vaivasvata Saṃhitā. Chant the sound of Om three times with me. Keep your eyes closed and remain silent for two seconds. Simply close your eyes, no movement in the body, just sitting quietly, nothing to do, evening time, the time of blessing.