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Part 1: The Śiva Purāṇa: Ego, Desire, and the Story of Satī Thank you very much for coming, and welcome to all of you who are attending here in person for this Śiva Purāṇa. I also extend my welcome to all the devotees and disciples who are watching us directly or indirectly through videos and webcasting. This is a very auspicious time. We are at the Kumbh Melā in Siprā, on the riverbank of the Siprā in Ujjain, India—a holy pilgrimage place. Listening to this wonderful and amazing Śiva Purāṇa in this divine place, you can feel the divine energy. This is a golden opportunity to uplift our spiritual involvement, our spiritual elevation, and the goodness and purity of our mind. Whoever listens to the Śiva Purāṇa completely can uplift not only themselves but also gain material pleasure and are able to attain salvation. That is why this is a very important Mahāpurāṇa. Śiva himself said that those who listen to this Mahāśivapurāṇa can easily uplift their soul and find purity in their heart and mind. So, before starting, we will chant "Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya" eleven times, then have a bhajan kīrtan, and then proceed. Everyone, please participate in this "Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya," the Pañcākṣara mantra. It contains five letters, which, as I mentioned before, address the five elements within our body through this mantra: Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya... Now we will start another Śiva bhajan. Please be seated in a meditative posture and enjoy these Śiva bhajans, which will bring you a good spiritual environment. Welcome back, everyone. In this Śiva Purāṇa, we are going to continue. This morning we talked about how creation started, how Brahmā and Viṣṇu debated each other, and finally how the solution came from Śivajī. Now, who was the first person in this universe to start conjugal life, and who were they? How did creation begin? What is the spiritual meaning of the Śiva Purāṇa? How can we gain from it? What are the things we need to learn from this Śiva Purāṇa? We are going to mention these in this session. As we know, there are 24,000 verses in the latest version of the Śiva Purāṇa. In it, the first chapter is the Videśvarī Saṁhitā. The Videśvarī Saṁhitā contains 24 different sections. In these 24 sections, a variety of stories, creation, and eternal truth are mentioned. Saunaka Sūtajī, the Bhāṣyajī, is asking questions, and Sūtajī is narrating. There is a dialogue between Sūta and Śaunaka Ṛṣi. In this session, I am going to explain to you how Śivajī created the Śivaliṅga and how Viṣṇu and Brahmā were debating about it. They were debating who is the great person, who is the first person of this universe. At that time, Śiva said, "Do not worry, Brahmā and Viṣṇu. When you meditate, you will find the truth." Both of them started meditating and again attained the higher eternal truth, the purpose of life, and all the mysteries of this universe. Before Brahmā himself manifested, he was the self-generated person. Kṛṣṇa also claimed the same thing. But later on, Śivajī found the solution, and they found the truth. When Śiva came into this universe and manifested himself, this creation and the solution were finished. When you meditate, that means your ego will finish, and you will not say, "Who is the big person? I am not the big person." When "I" comes, that means ego. That is why the "I am" needs to be finished in many ways—through meditation and other means. One day, a disciple went to Swāmījī’s place and said, "Swāmījī, can you guide me, please? I want peace. I want to have peace in my life." Swāmījī told the disciple, "Well, you have to cut off two words in your sentence. What are they? That is, 'I want.' When you cut 'I' and 'want,' then only say 'peace,' then you will get it. Otherwise, 'I' means ego, and 'want' means desire. So ego will not go. If you have ego, that pride, you will not get peace." Always, you will see the better thing in this world, and you always see that I am the better, I am the best, I am the great, I am the learned person, I am the senior person. That always makes you restless. And "I am," that "I want." That "want" means desire, and desire is the main cause of suffering in any philosophy—not only in the Vedas, not in the Qur’ān, not in the Bible. Everywhere you can see desire is the main source of sufferings. So first you need to cut off "I," the ego. Second is the desire. When you cut off ego and desire, then you say, if you ask anyone for peace, you will get peace. Swāmījī told the same thing: "Well, if you ask me for peace, then you will get peace." He did, and he practiced peace. It means the ego will not lead you anywhere. So Brahmā and Viṣṇu were also debating, and Śiva came and saw the truth. And truth came through meditation. Meditation means attaining the truth through yourself, within yourself—the eternal truth. You are finding the truth not from the outside, not from the sensational organs, not from the organs for actions. Peace comes within yourself through meditating, knowing yourself, concentration, and focusing on the truth. Here, in the morning, we mentioned who was the first person of this universe as a human who wanted to marry and start conjugal life. He was Manu. And the first woman, obviously, who started conjugal life and began to help Brahmā continue this creation, was Satarūpā. Who is she? Satarūpā and Manu, when they started their conjugal life, there is sṛṣṭi, the queries, the questions, and all creation began. They had two sons and three daughters—Manu and Satarūpā. After that, Brahmā had already created many sages and many putras (sons), many sages, and many elements of this universe. The earth was very good. There was a lot of greens, cows and animals, trees, fruits, all the elements, and they had śabda and rūpa. Sparśa, gandha, śabda—the word, there was a word—and rūpa, that’s a frame, that’s a size, form, śabda, rūpa, and also that’s a smell, gandha, and also sparśa, touch, feelings. Everything was on earth when Brahmā created everything, but there was no multiplying system. Then Satarūpā and Manu agreed to marry, and they started the sṛṣṭi, the creation. Later on, Prajāpati, Nārada, and all those others came, and they started to help Brahmā as well. Dakṣa Prajāpati, the Prajāpati, was the leader of that land, the earth, king of the earth. He started to think, "Well, I must need to help my father, Brahmā." To help him, he started to give birth to many girls. He had 24 girls. Look at this. Among the Prajāpati, if you remember, Pārvatī, Satī Devī, was one of the girls of Dakṣa Prajāpati. Because Pārvatī, Satī Devī, had promised to Brahmā, "I will be born as a daughter of the Prajāpati to continue to help your creation." Now we go to the Prajāpati. The Prajāpati had 24 daughters. In ancient Vedic times, we need to give not only the dowry but all the saṃskāras from birth to death—the spiritual rituals, all the Vedic rituals. Dakṣa Prajāpati arranged all the Vedic rituals and, bit by bit, arranged their marriages. In that marriage, what happened is that Dakṣa Prajāpati’s daughter, Satī Devī, from the beginning of her life, from childhood, was a very nice devotee of Śiva. She always worshipped Śiva and always meditated on Śiva: "Oṁ namaḥ śivāya, oṁ namaḥ śivāya, oṁ namaḥ śivāya." She was a very nice girl, offering prayers and worshipping Śiva, God, and meditating all the time. That means, by birth, Satī Devī was wonderful. Having Mahādeva as a god or guru is a great opportunity. To find the real god and real guru is a great opportunity. So in this human life, Satī Devī knew everything. She came in a human form as the daughter of the Prajāpati, but she knew that she was going to marry Mahādeva. When she married later on, Dakṣa Prajāpati arranged all the ceremonies, and she got married. Here, in the Saṁhitā, it is said that marriage was auspicious, and all 24 daughters married various sages, saints, and Mahāpuruṣas. After that, she also married Śivajī, but there were so many long stories in this marriage because that marriage was not very easy. Prajāpati first accepted the marriage with Śiva, but later on, Viṣṇu helped to arrange it. When they got married, they started to live in Kailāśa. Śiva and Satyadevī lived in Kailāśa. Later on, one day, the Saunakādi Ṛṣis arranged a yajña. Yajña is the Havan, sacrifice. Yajña is where all sages and saints gather together, like here in Ujjain in this Kumbha Melā. All saints, all the Mahāpuruṣas, all the knowledgeable persons, all the enlightened seekers are gathering here. That means you have got the good energy here as well, in the same way. The Ṛṣi Saunaka and many other ṛṣis—that is the name, "Saunakādi Ṛṣi"—all the sages gathered in one place, and they meditated and arranged a yajña, an āhuti. In this Yajña, Śivajī was also there, and all—Brahmā, Viṣṇu, all the deities, God and Gaṇeśa—all were there attending the Mahāyajña. In that Mahāyajña, Śiva was sitting, and the late Prajāpati arrived. Prajāpati, who had a little bit of ego, thought, "I am the boss of this universe. I am the king of this universe." The story tells all the time about ego and pride and all those things because this is directly related to human beings. No matter where we are, we are constantly suffering from ego and pride and difficulties. That is the main part, the main thing that is the barrier to our salvation and liberation. That is why all the time many stories come, and there is a solution as well. Many stories carry the problems and give the solution as well. So here as well, Prajāpati arrived late in this area, and everyone stood up—like when a guest comes, everyone stands. When Prajāpati entered the hall, everyone stood and welcomed Prajāpati, but Lord Śiva was there and did not feel so good and comfortable. When Prajāpati entered inside, he did not stand up. Prajāpati noticed that deliberately. "Oh, why is he not standing? I am the boss of this universe, and he is..." Lord Śiva is a naked person. Prajāpati did not have that much dignity towards Śivajī and had some negative thoughts about him. He took revenge, thinking, "Oh, Śiva, why are you not standing? I am the boss and king of this universe. You are supposed to respect me, as everyone is respected in this hall." He had some bit of ego. But Śiva remained silent. Knowledgeable people always remain silent, even though some people give you bad words or scolding or cursing; they do not react instantly; they just wait. But Nandi, there was Nandi, Śiva’s armed guard, the safety guard, security guard. He could not tolerate it, and he stood up and replied, "Oh, Prajāpati, why are you telling that? Mahādeva, Mahādeva means the devatā of devatā, king of the devatā." He kept telling and yelling, "Oh, Nandi, you didn’t know that I am the boss. He needs to stand up to respect me." Mahādeva just smiled. Later on, Prajāpati started to curse and yell so many things. He said, "Oh, Mahādeva, one day I’ll arrange a big yajña, and I’ll not invite you. The way you insult me, I will take revenge." He said that. At that time, Nandi also replied with many things. After that, Prajāpati one day arranged one big yajña, the oven yajña. In it, Prajāpati invited many sages, many saints, many gods from around the universe. At that time, Prajāpati was arranging it with his family, friends, guru, and God. All those guests and delegates arrived, and everyone was ready to perform the Ājyam. But it is said that Bhrigu Ṛṣi was supporting Prajāpati. Some of the sages and Brahmā and Viṣṇu asked Prajāpati, "Oh Prajāpati, Mahādev is the great person, Śiva, Śiva is the divine god, and he is the main god. Why are you not inviting him? Without him, how can you complete your yajña? This ceremony, this holy ceremony." They were asking, and Prajāpati said, "No, I don’t want to invite him because he is not eligible to come here. Prajāpati Śiva always stays in the cremation ground, and he always stays naked. He has got that ugly face and matted hair, and also ornaments with the serpent. How come he is suitable here?" He kept telling and trying to take revenge, saying so many negative words and putting his anger towards Śrī Mahādeva. Later on, all those sages were about to start. But at that time, Nārada—Nārada is one of the persons who can travel everywhere, from heaven to hell, everywhere he can travel without any obstacles—Nārada went and advised Satī Devī, "Oh, Satī Devī, don’t you know that in your home there is a great holy ceremony being organized? So, you are here. What are you doing here?" He just gossiped and passed the information to Satyādevī. Satyādevī then went to Mahādeva. "Mahādeva, Śrī Swāmī, hey Swāmī, hey Mahādev, oh the Divine Lord Mahādev, there is a big ceremony in my father’s place. Why is he not inviting us? I would like to go there." But Śiva Mahādeva said, "Please don’t worry. If he doesn’t invite, that’s okay. We can enjoy here, we can sit here." He kept telling this to Satī Devī, but Satī Devī did not agree. Sometimes, when the husband wants to share something, the wife says continuously, and later on, he just needs to smile. The husband needs to smile. So, in the same way, Mahādev kept telling, "Oh, Satī Devī, don’t worry about that. We can say this is not a good time, and you cannot go." He had a lot of red signs in his eyes. The red signs in the eyes of Mahādeva mean that is not a good symbol. So, it is saying that husband and wife need to communicate not only verbally but non-verbally. Without words also, we need to communicate so that we can understand one’s sufferings and exchange one’s pain with the other person. That is why Mahādeva did not speak that much, but just he showed something red in his eyes. Pārvatī, Satī Devī, could not read that properly because she was so desperate to attend the holy place, the holy ceremony in her father’s place. At that time, Satī Devī said, "Well, Mahādev, I have to go there at any cost because I can’t stay here. I have to tell something to my dad. Why is Mahādeva not invited to this holy ceremony?" She finally left the place and went to Dakṣaprajāpati’s father’s place. Jai Boli Bhagwan Śivājī Kī. Jai. At that time, Śivajī was in Kailāsa. Śivajī told all the security guards, safeguards, Nandī, Bṛṅgī, and Sāstī Yoginī, "Please take her to, don’t leave her alone." All the Nandī and Bṛṅgī went together to Dakṣa Prajāpati’s house with Satī Devī. Satī Devī went there, and there was a big organization, and a lot of people were there standing and were ready to offer āhuti. They had already prayed. The deities, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, were also there, but there was one seat empty for Mahādeva. There wasn’t one. She didn’t feel right, and she asked the reason why Mahādeva was not invited. She asked her dad, "Why are you not inviting the great person? Without him, he is the Deva di Dev Mahā Dev, the king, the greatest Deva, divine God. So why are you not inviting him?" He started to tell so many bad things about Śiva. "He is not... he doesn’t... He deserves to come here. He is not the best person. He lives in the cemetery, and he has got a naked body, and he always uses the skin of a tiger. Look, your husband is not that much of an eligible person to come here. This is the place for the great person to come." At that time, she could not listen. She closed her eyes. So sometimes, what does it call? That means when you are listening to something bad, then it’s better not to listen. So that is it. It is saying that listen only to good things, think only good, and act only good. When you listen also, that makes your energy polluted. That’s why it’s saying don’t listen. Even if somebody is used to fighting, they have so many words, abusive words, and they have got a lot of vocabulary, but if somebody is quiet and they don’t know how to fight, they have got a limited number of those words. That’s why it is saying not to involve in that fight and all those negative things. If you don’t want to involve, just leave it and stay far away. That’s the symbolization of this story. Pārvatī just closed her ears. Satī Devī closed her ears, and she didn’t want to listen to whatever Prajāpati said, but she was asking, "Oh, my dad, in this divine place, in this holy place without Mahādeva, how can you complete this yajña? The holy place?" She was repeatedly asking her father, "Dad?" But he was not agreeing to accept, and he said, "This is the main reason. We organized to insult Mahādeva." He was not able to listen to whatever Pārvatī said. Pārvatī thought, "My ear is now polluted. Up to now, I never heard such bad words about my husband, so that’s why my ear is polluted with this polluted body. I cannot live here. I always respect my husband, my Swāmījī, and he’s the greatest person of this universe, and he can bless. He’s the remover of obstacles. He’s the... I cannot tolerate. So my body is polluted. That’s why it’s better not to live." She decided that. But before dying, before leaving this body, she just put some water in her hand and chanted, "Oh, Namaśivāya, I’m going to die. I’m jumping into this holy fire, but my dad, one day you will need to regret it." She started to chant, "Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya, Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya, Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya." Pārvatī started that chanting, and that was the time, you know, that all the universe started to shake. Oh, what is happening here? The wind was also blowing strongly, and the clouds were also moving. So everywhere, the surrounding atmosphere was showing that indication: there is something going on, something dangerous is going to happen. At the same time, Pārvatī took Śivajī’s name and jumped into the holy fire, the Agnikuṇḍa. That was amazing. Everyone was crying, screaming, "Oh, whatever happened, this is not to be happened. This is not the auspicious thing. The auspicious time, auspicious things need to happen, but it could not be happened." Everyone was crying and running here and there. At that time, Nandi and Braṅgī, the safeguard, the bodyguard, who were sent by Śiva Mahādeva, Śivajī, were around there. They could not tolerate and started to attack all of Dakṣa Prajāpati’s volunteers and all the persons. But what happened is, Bhrigu Ṛṣi meditated and meditated and created some army, the holy army, and they started to fight with the army, the Śiva Gaṇa. Śiva Gaṇa means the army of Śiva, the bodyguards of Śiva. They were fighting each other, and finally, Bhṛgu Ṛṣi’s senā defeated all the Nandī and all the senā, the Śiva Gaṇa. They were crying, weeping, "Oh, my God. How come we can’t go? How can we go back to Kailāśa Parvata without Satī Devī? We came with her, and what will we say to Mahādeva? What will we tell Śivajī? Parvatījī has committed suicide." All the Śivagaṇas started crying. "What are we going to tell the people? And what are we going to say to Mahādeva as well? So, where is Satī Devī?" They started saying in great fear, "We are in great fear!" They were running, and they went to Kailāś Parbat. They meditated and put their head to the lotus feet of Mahādeva and told him, "Oh Śiva, please protect us. Some dangerous things happened that we cannot explain." And Śivajī, you know that Śiva, with his māyā, makes everything happen that can happen. He already knew these things. Śiva is the Trikāla Darśī. He knows everything of this universe. He already manifested those things, but he just acted like he didn’t know anything. He asked the Śiva Gaṇa, "Oh Śiva Gaṇa, what happened? What’s your message? Why are you afraid? Where is Satī?" Śiva was asking, and the Śiva Gaṇa were crying. "How can we say, Prabhu, how can we tell you that we don’t have any good news with us? How can we tell you this sad news? Parvatī jī was there in the Yajña Kuṇḍa. That’s where she got distracted." Then Prajāpati... Śivajī is asking, and Nandi and Bhṛṅgi are telling Mahādeva, "Hey Mahādeva, please forgive us. That was our mistake. We could not protect her." Look at this. They didn’t show the fault of other people, Prajāpati or any other person. They accepted, "This is our fault. We could not protect Māta, our mother, Holy Mother, Satī Devī. We could not protect. Sorry." They were asking forgiveness in front of Mahādeva. Mahādeva just meditated, and with his Dībya Dṛṣṭi, his divine eyes, he saw that Pārvatī was in a Yajña Kuṇḍa and she was already burnt, and she finished her physical form. Mahādeva came in a furious way. But Mahādeva invited at that time Balabhadra, Balabhadra Mahākālī. Balabhadra is the brave person who is the Mahāṅkāla, the death of the death, the great, the death of the death. That’s why he invited Balabhadra Mahāṅkāla. Jai Mahāṅkāl Bhagavān kī, Jai Brahmā Viṣṇu. Jai. So Mahāṅkāl appeared there. So Śivjī, kyā ārādhanā karne se Mahāṅkāl āge aur bolne lage, "Prabhujī, hamārā kyā sevā hai? Ham kaisā sevā kar sakte haiṅ?" Then Mahāṅkāl asked Śivjī, "Oh Śiva, please order me. I am in front of you. There is nothing I cannot do. If you order, I can do anything. I can move the mountains, I can drive the ocean, I can do anything. I just need your order, what I need to do." Śiva told him, "You go there and just have a look at the holy ceremony and just destroy the place, because that is not a holy place anymore. Now Satī has already died." He got the message from Śiva. The minute he got the message, he showed that fury—strange and scary forms of his scary forms—and he went to Prajāpati’s house. Prajāpati was crying, and all the deities were there. Some of them had already left the place, as it was no more a holy place. Part 2: The Perils of Anger and the Path of Truth Now, he still wanted to complete the yajña, but he was not allowed. He fought everyone and defeated everyone, and finally was running here and there. "Oh my God, please save me, oh protect me," he was running, going here and there. When people make mistakes, what happens? Everything in your body starts to shake, you get red eyes, and you cannot stabilize your mind. Mentally, you are imbalanced. That is a symbolization of anger. In anger, you are not in the right place. You are not in your place, which is why it is said that you should do everything in a conscious state. There is one story from Japan. I borrowed it from Japan. There is a guru in Japan, and somebody killed the guru. There is a system that if somebody kills the guru, the disciple needs to take revenge. The disciple committed to this: "Okay, my guru was killed by someone, so I have to go and kill the person who killed my guru." He chased after the murderer. He tried and tried to find him. He could not find him. Days passed, months passed, years passed. Finally, one day, he grabbed the person. When he grabbed him, the person spat in his mouth. When he spat, the disciple became angry and was about to kill him, but he left. He just went a little bit far away, and the murderer was surprised. "Oh my God, you grabbed me and now you left me. How did that happen?" The disciple said, "My guru told me that when you are angry, do not take any action. I grabbed you, and this is the right time to kill you, but I have to follow my guru's orders. In anger, I cannot do anything." Then he left and waited for another moment, which is the conscious time. So, that is that. In anger, you can do anything; you are like an animal. In our mind, there is a lot of poisonous chemical, and only later can we regret. That is why in a time of anger we cannot do anything; we cannot, we do not know what to do. In the same way, that is Dakṣa Prajāpati. First, he was so angered, lost, and what he did, he did not know. This time, no one is protecting him, and he is running from the many sages and Bṛgu and all the sages. Finally, he went to Viṣṇu. "Oh Viṣṇu, please protect me! Vīrabhadra is after me, and he is going to kill me. Please protect me. You are the protector of this universe." Viṣṇu said, you know what he said? "Well, Dakṣa Prajāpati, whoever does an action needs to be liable to receive the karma. No one is free from karma. I can suggest only one thing to you: better you worship Śivajī. If you worship Śiva, he is the merciful person, he will forgive you, and he might be the protector at this time. I cannot protect you, sorry," that Viṣṇu said. Later on, Dakṣa Prajāpati is running here and there, but he still has not realized that he lost. His ego is not gone. He does not want to ask for forgiveness in front of Śivajī, and he is trying to hide here and there while running. Later on, Vīrabhadra grabbed him. Later on, Vīrabhadra snatched his head and put it in the holy fire, and the holy fire burned his head. Everyone started crying, and Vīrabhadra reverted all those people. Later on, Vīrabhadra went to Śiva. "Oh Śiva, I destroyed all of Dakṣa Prajāpati's yajñas, and there is no more any yajña or anything." That is the result. When he insulted Mahādeva, that was the result. So, anyone who did not respect Mahādeva, the results came like this. Śiva is knowledge, enlightenment, truth. If somebody ignores the truth, ultimately, finally, the consequences come in this way. That is why this is the moral lesson: anyone, the truth, we cannot ignore. It is said that if you walk on the highway of truth, you will be alone. There will be little crowd. If you walk to another place, there is a lot of crowd. But the highway of truth is empty, almost. Only a couple of people are walking, so it is easy to walk. So Dakṣa Prajāpati's head is burned in the fire, and Mahādeva is there, and everyone is crying. Dakṣa Prajāpati's wife is crying there. She is asking everyone, "God, please help me and help me..." Later on, Śivajī came. When Śivajī came there to the Havān Kuṇḍa, Satī Devī, the daughter, was also born there, and also the father's head was gone there. Dakṣa Prajāpati was lying somewhere else, and Dakṣa Prajāpati's wife was crying. She came. The minute Śivajī came there, Dakṣa Prajāpati's wife came and said, "Oh, Mahādeva, sorry for that, forgive us. Please give him life, and please bring him back. His life is back." She is crying and putting her head to the lotus feet of Mahādeva, crying and crying. All the time she asked, "Oh Śiva, please forgive me." When somebody forgives, when somebody asks that, in our Purāṇas, Devī, Devatā, all are ready to forgive, to excuse. In the same way, Mahādeva is also very merciful. When the lady comes and touches the feet, and asks, and cries and cries, he cannot stand without giving any blessings. "Well, your husband did something wrong, that is why it happens, but okay. So, if you really want, then I can give him life. But his head will be the goat head, because he has got the buddhi, the wisdom, is like a goat-like animal. That is why he deserved to be a goat-headed man." She was crying, "No, no... Prabhu, please, take him back as normal." Mahādeva is telling that he cannot do anything. That is not because of him. That was the reason for existence. That is why whatever happened in this universe, there is some reason. Without reason, nothing happened here. So, sometimes we feel, oh, why has it happened? But we do not know the things now. Later on, the reason comes. In the same way, why has it happened? Because while Prajāpati was debating with Nandi, at that time, Nandi was cursed by Prajāpati: "You should be animal-like, like an animal, one day." So he needed to live to cross the karma, and with this curse, that I cannot change anything, so that is why you need to accept the goat-headed husband. And he found a goat. When the goat... they gave the life. Mahādeva gave him the life, and Dakṣa Prajāpati changed the head. Then he came to bow his head to Śivajī. "Oh Śivajī, thank you very much. I got it now. Thank you, sorry, forgive me, and excuse me. I had bad things in your mind." And he forgave. Śivajī gave him blessings, and from that time, Dakṣa Prajāpati, with goat head and wife, spent their life praying to Śivajī. How can we interpret this story in this modern time? How can people believe that one person can replace their head with surgery? Now, if you go to modern science, nowadays if somebody died, they can change their head as well. That is experimented in many universities as well, so they can change the head. If the body is as usual, the body functions properly, they can change the head. So you can imagine that, if in case your husband changes head, what will happen? We cannot recognize. The wife changes head, that we cannot recognize. Surprising, isn't it? But that surgery, that modern surgery, what is started already there nowadays, we claim that that is a great surgery we can do, but Śiva already did that surgery, so he was able to do that at that time. That is why you always remember that there is another moral story. That means in modern times, we can understand that when people have some ignorance or ego, then you become an animal. And when you meditate, then you will regain the purity, the purity of the mind. Śivajī was there, meaning when you meditate and meditate and meditate, you have got pure body and mind, and you find the purity that came, the Śiva. When the purity comes, then you can do anything. In the same way, in the story, you heard that Gaṇeśa Bhagavān, you know Gaṇeśa. Gaṇeśa is beholding the head of an elephant, so that means Gaṇeśa had got some ego, and he does not allow Śivajī to enter. At that time in the story, Śivajī slaughtered his head, Gaṇeśa's head, and later on when Pārvatī said, "He is my son, why did you kill? Why did you cut off the head?" Later on, he brings the elephant's head and then joins Gaṇeśa's head. So that means, it is not... you can understand spiritually that when you have an ego and anger, then meditate. When somebody, Śiva came with the Śiva's touching, you can change your mind, and you will find the purity. It does not necessarily need to change your whole head, but you will change your mind. So, the energy of mind, when you change your energy of mind, you are again the pure person, the divine person. In the same way, here Dakṣa Prajāpati had got the goat, a goat that head, you know that, and then he started like a goat, like this, so he could not speak properly. So that was his karma, and he needed to spend it in that way. After that, Śivajī gave the blessings to Dakṣa Prajāpati's wife. The wife does not have any mistakes, so whoever did a mistake, they need to be liable in this universe. So no matter if you came as a husband or wife, or brother or sister, whoever has got the good karma, that you do not need to share, you do not need to give the will for your daughter or son. So if you have the good karma, you will take it yourself. It does not need to divide. And if you have bad karma, no one can share it, and you cannot sell it. So you need to be liable to that, confront it, and the punishment you will have. So that is why this karmic connection. Jay Bholī Śrī Bhagavān, Śrī Bhagavān. Kī Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvarakī. Now we meditate with Śivajī, with his name, various names: "Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya, Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya... Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya." Nīlakaṇṭhāya rudrāya oṁ namaḥ śivāya. Oṁ namaḥ śivāya bhūle bhūle. Oṁ namaḥ śivāya. Oṁ namaḥ śivāya... Nīlakaṇṭhāya Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya, Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya... Nīlakaṇṭhāya Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya, Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya... Mahārudrāya Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya... Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya. Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya... Bolo Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya, Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya,... Oṁ Mahādevāya. Oṁ Mahārudrāya. Oṁ Mahādevāya. Oṁ Mahārudrāya. Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya. Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya.... Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya. Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya. Jai Bholē Bholē Bhavakī. Jai. So in this auspicious time, we are listening to Śiva Purāṇa. As we mentioned, today is one of the auspicious days, and we started this Śiva Purāṇa. You know that every time, everything happens in a good time for a good reason. Here also, Śiva Purāṇa started at a good time. As the Kumbha Melā started in a good time, so how many of you know the Kumbha Melā's story? Many of you know, yeah? Good, yes. So many of our familiar before you coming, maybe you googled about the Kumbh Melā, googled about and everything. So nowadays we are relying just for the Google, and Google is relying back to the scripture and many of the information. It is incomplete, and when you contact with the guru, sadguru, and God and the scriptures, you will find the such in the satsaṅg, the real meaning. Obviously, in the Kumbha Melā, you know that Kumbha is the water. Kumbha Melā kis kā hai? Kī jal kā, jal Kumbha kā melā hai. Aur yahā pe, this is the auspicious place of this planet and universe. Ye pṛthvī ke sansār ke sabse achche jagā hai, jahā pe devī devtā ne kisī din dhyān kiyā thā. Dhyān kiyā thā, to āj wahī sthān par hame ākar yahā pe baiṭh rahe hai, aisā pune. Iṣṭhān me āne kā būṭ bāḍā saubhāgya honā cāhiye. In this holy place, that we will get the great fortune to come, as you know that every three years in a different place there is a Kumbha Melā, and here, Ujjain, every 12 years, and you know that. Why does it happen in Kumbha Melā? We all know the story that when Dhanava, the demons, and Devatā, God, they churned the ocean, at that time the nectar came from the ocean. Who was the person who brought the nectar? Yeah, Dhanvantari. Dhanvantari brings the nectar, Kalaśikumba. And all the demons and the gods were chasing each other, fighting to snatch the Amṛt. But at that time, the Amṛt, the drop of the Amṛt, dropped down in four different places: Haridwara, Nasika, the Prayaga, and Ujjain. This place is the holy place, and not only the drop, that the amṛta, you can see the Gaṅgā, holy Gaṅgā is here. Three Gaṅgā is there, and Ramagad, the ancient time, the Rāma was here, and he, he took his son, he took bath in this Ramagad. This is the holy place. That is the story. Every three years and every twelve years, in different places, there is a Kumbha Melā. Here, astrologically, how can we prove, and what is the benefit? And is that just the conservative story, or how can we trust, how can we benefit? It is saying that astrologically, when the sun goes to the Aries sign, you know that sun, the planet, when it is entered the Aries sign, there is a lot of power. The sun has got power, and Jupiter also finishes its movement in its arbitrary axis in 12 years. When it enters into Leo, then Jupiter is in Leo and the sun is in Aries from the sky. That gives you amazing spiritual energy, and that energy comes in different places. This is the vibration that comes in Ujjain at this time. So at this time, Jupiter is in the Leo sign, the Leo zodiac sign, and the Sun is in Aries. From when the Sun started in Aries, just a couple of days before that. A couple of days before, if you go to the lunar calendar, Baisāk, Jeṣṭha, then Āṣāṛha, Śrāvaṇa, from the every 30 days the sun transfers from one sign to another sign. If you go deeper into astronomy, our Earth is round. Do you know what the diameter of the Earth is? What is the diameter of any circle? Who is good in science? Yes, 360 degrees, isn't it? So every circle has 360 degrees. The Earth is also round, so it has got 360 degrees. In our astronomy, our sages divided this Earth into 12 imaginary lines, so 12 imaginary lines, 12 parts of this universe. That means 12, 360 multiplied by 12 is equal to 30 degrees. So each and every zodiac sign has got 30 degrees of space. So the first 30 degrees is Aries, the second 30 degrees (60 degrees) is Taurus, the third 90 degrees is Gemini. The fourth 120 degrees is Cancer, and similarly, that 150 degrees is Leo. So that is why when Leo comes at 130 degrees of this universe, Jupiter comes at 130 degrees of this universe. Then, when the sun comes into the first 30 degrees of Aries, that combination brings amazing celestial energy to this planet. And that energy we can enjoy. We are so lucky. Every 12 years, that energy moves from one place to another place. That is a great combination. You might ask, "Oh, that is maybe still we are not convinced. How can we prove?" You can prove. If you have a broken bone, if you have a backbone broken from an accident or anything that happens, and there is a rainy day, you might feel more pain, isn't it? If you have some difficult back pain, that day you will feel more pain. What is the reason? Because that day, the cloud stops all the energy from the sky, so that is why you are not receiving the energy that you are supposed to receive. That is why you have got pain in your body, and you start to aching there. Another example, if you are living close by the ocean, you just grow in the ocean. On the new moon day or full moon day, you can see high tide and low tide. On the new moon day, new moon time, you will see the low tide, and full moon day there is a high tide in Australia. That is the many, the forecaster weather. Forecasters, they forecast according to the moon cycle. So that means that when the full moon comes, there is a lot of energy, and it can change the shape of the ocean. The shape of the ocean, the water changes. In the new moon time, it is because of the gravity, the moon's gravity, the level, the size is also changed. In the same way, in our body also, there is 75 percent water, liquid in our body. When the planet, your favorable planets come, then your fluctuation, there is a liquid fluctuation in your body as well. That is why sometimes you are very angry, you want to fight for nothing, and sometimes you are so happy, enjoying, you are singing in the toilet also, yes. So sometimes you are in a happy mood, sometimes you are crazy moods. So it is saying that it is not because of the environment, but because of the celestial energy, the planets' energy. This is, you can see this science in front of your eyes. You just go on a full moon day to the ocean and enjoy the high tide and go in the new moon time, then see the low tide. In the same way, there is the energy. So many things we do not know. The more you know, that is less you. You have knowledge, you will know there is so many things to know in the same. When Jupiter is in Leo, it is very powerful, exalting. That is amazing power that comes, and their power with the Sun is balancing. When that is balancing in the southern hemisphere, especially in this place, the good energy comes. We are northern hemisphere and then northern hemisphere, that is amazing energy comes especially in this Ujjain place. That is why the sages, they send, they manifest this. No matter whatever the story is, whether you believe a story or not, whether the science or the modern world accepts this story widely or not, but if you follow the science, you will see the reality. That is why we are so lucky to explore this spiritual energy in this pilgrimage spot, and in this pilgrimage with the holy Gaṅgā, you can take bath at that time. You might ask that the nectar was dropped thousands and thousands of years before, it might not be now. How come you take bath and you will be pure? People might ask you, the river is polluted, how come you will be? You are happy and healthy, but still you can see the celestial energy still there. The celestial energy, the cosmic energy, can purify energy, upliftment, and only a few people can get this opportunity. Not only this, when you come here you will see the great saints, not only our Guruji, that Paramahaṃsa, the Pīṭhādhis, Mysurananda Swāmījī, not only all the Maṇḍalādhis, not all the Swāmījīs, the many Swāmījīs sent around the world, they came here. You know that when the Swāmījī comes, they do not come with their physical body, they come with Holy Spirit. That is why in the Buddha's time, if there is a fight in a village, if there is a negative disease or sickness in any village, they used to go with thousands and thousands of saints, and they used to go. They do not do anything, just meditate, and after a couple of days, the place will be purified, and the village will be happy. The villagers will be happy. That was the system in the Buddha's time as well. Not only Buddha's time, if you go back to the date of the Naimiṣāraṇya jungle, similarly. Here also, you can meet many holy persons. For those holy persons, if you want to see them, if you want to meet them personally some other time, you need to find the location, you need to find the place, you need to go, you need to make an appointment, and whether you will get the chance to meet them or not, whether you will chance to see them or not, not sure. But this is the Kumbha Melā. You can see thousands and thousands of holy persons with a great spirit. You do not need to even listen, or you do not need to even go closer. The environment, the spirit, is here. This is the best place, and we are so lucky. On top of that, we are having this Śiva Purāṇa chanting, the names of Śiva, and listening to "Śiva, Śiva." That is amazing, you know? Śiva has got amazing blessings for everyone, even for demons, even for those silly persons. Even the notorious person, if he surrenders to Shiva's lotus feet, he always gets the boon. In the last minute also, it is very important. This is the greatest point of our life. Many of us, we might not see in 12 years' time; many of us, we might need to say goodbye from this planet, so who knows that? But in this time, we are here. This is the wonderful thing. You need to keep in your mind, in Ujjain, the Sun is now in the Aries sign, and Jupiter is in Leo. Leo, it means in Hindi, Siṁha Rāśi. So Bṛhaspati, Siṁha Rāśi. Me, he isi liye ham kya hai simhasta kahate he. This Leo means simha, that is why this kumbha is simhasta. Similarly, if you go to the other place, Nāsikā, in Nāsikā that time the sun comes in Leo or Cancer, and similarly Jupiter is in also Leo there. Is there another celestial energy that comes in Nasik? Similarly, if you go to Prayag, you know Prayag, where is Prayag? Obviously, there is also, in Prayag also, if you go there, Jupiter is in Taurus. When Jupiter comes in Taurus, then the sun comes in Capricorn. The sun is in Capricorn, and at that time, the amazing energy comes and the Kumbh Mela happens. That is why in Prayāg, Nāsik, and Ujjain, whenever there is a good energy of Bṛhaspati and the sun, and similarly, Haridwār. So the gate of Hari, Haridwar. So when the sun comes in Aries, the energy comes, and it is powerful energy. Similarly, Jupiter in Aquarius. That combination brings amazing spiritual energy, and the Kumbh Mela happens. No matter if you go and take a bath or not. If you take a bath, that is amazing because every energy remains in the water. There was a research in Canada that I would like to explain in this good time, in this opportunity, that why Hindu people, they always have the pilgrimage in front of the Ganges or the ocean bank, river bank. Why do people go in front of the Ganges? Why is the temple there? Because there is one reason. In the experiment, it shows that in the water, there is an amazing capacity, that it can hold the memory of the universe for thousands and thousands and thousands of years: memory, energy as well. That is why in ancient times, many sages came and meditated. They went from this universe, but still the blessing, the energy, is still in that river, still in the river bank in the form of that celestial, that microscopic celestial energy. That is why we can enjoy this one. That is why wherever you can see around the world, they first find out the place, river or water, and you can see the temple. So that is the main reason. Another thing is, water is the life, the Sṛṣṭi. The world is started from the beginning of the water. In our body also, there is more than 75% water. When the Viṣṇu Bhagavān first started his incarnation, he was the first incarnation of the Viṣṇu Bhagavān, Matsya, the fish. He came as a form of fish from the water. In this universe also, the portion of water is higher than the land. That is why the water is important. Water is life. That is why we put in the kumbha. Kumbha means kalaś. In Lota, what we do is we add water. Water is the most important thing in life. We use water from birth to death. There is more than 75% water in the body. There is more water in the world. That is why there is God's presence in the water. That is why we say Jaladevatā. That means the water goddess. Sometimes people ask me in Australia, "Oh, people are living now on the planet Mars, and they are going easily to the moon. How come you are saluting the sun God, air God, water God, everywhere God? The God should be one. How come you have got that 33 million gods there?" So it is not the silly things they ask me sometimes. The same thing when you see, when you see around the universe, that if you take something to live, if you take something for free, you need to show the gratitude towards them. You cannot take something for free because God has given. Part 3: The Gratitude of Being Thank your eyes, your hands, your mouth, and your senses. You should not drink even water without offering thanks. If you drink water somewhere, you must thank. If you are able to pay, you pay. If not, you simply give thanks. You should not take anything for free. The holy person, the normal human being—they cannot take anything without gratitude. This is the principle of our very breath: we are also taking breath from this universe, and that is why we are constantly thanking, saying, "Oṃ, by you, devatā namaha." Similarly, without water we cannot survive. We say thank you to the water, and so we need to drink water from time to time, is it not so? Holy water. That is why water is very important in our life, and why we give thanks to the universe. Whatever we bring, we take from this universe. Our thanking is a way of showing gratitude, and that is why we honor the many devatās. So, when you see with good eyes toward everyone, you will see the divine God, for God is everywhere. Thus it is said in the Bhagavad Gītā, Chapter 4 and also Chapter 5, that if you are a paṇḍit, a priest, or a holy person, you must see each and every person as like a god or goddess. If you fail to see this, if you see discrimination, if you see color or form, if you see rich and poor, if you see a lot of discrimination, then according to the Bhagavad Gītā, you are no more a holy person. You are no more a paṇḍit, a priest, a sādhu, or a guru. You are just a layman. So, when you have that divinity, then that Īśvara Sarvabhūtānām... So, Īśvara ko jab koī bhī dekhtā hai ki sab ke man meṁ mastiṣkā meṁ Bhagavān ke rūp meṁ tab hu paṇḍit ho saktā hai. Sab sādhu, sant aur siddha puruṣa... First, you need to see all as like God. We are all equal human beings. The animals, all the senses—they deserve to live here happily. We are human, so we should not think that because we are strong, we can kill. Should we kill everyone? Not all dogs and cows and goats and all animals. When you see with godly vision, when you have the godly vision, then you become like God and Patañjali. That is why the holy saint Kabīrjī said in a Dohā: many people read books, many holy books. They memorize stories, they know many ślokas, but when the time comes for love, they always discriminate, and they are no more the holy person, no more the priest. Kabīr said that to become a paṇḍit, a priest, it does not matter if you do not know a single letter of scripture. It does not matter if you do not know even a single verse of any Grantha, any scripture. But if you know the two-and-a-half-letter word—Prem, love—then you are the person, the holy person. So, when you read these two and a half letters of prem, then you will be the paṇḍit. I would like to add one story. In a certain time, there was a man; he was a priest, a holy man. He himself said, "I am the great guru, I am a great saint." He was supposed to cross a river. At that time, there was a small little boat, and a fisherman, who played the hero, rowed the boat. While he was rowing, the paṇḍit asked all the men, the fishermen, "Do you know this? Why do the people not know? Do you know the Rāmāyaṇa? Do you know the Bhagavad Gītā? Do you know the Śivapurāṇa?" He kept asking. The boatman was a layman. He said, "Oh, well, Mahārāj, I don’t know anything. I don’t know anything." The priest asked, "Do you know the Bhāgavata? Do you know the Gītā? Do you know this? Do you know that?" But the boatman who was rowing kept saying, "I don’t know anything." After that, the boatman said, "Well, I don’t know anything. I am an illiterate person. I just know how to row a boat. I am surviving, and this is my bread-earning profession. I know only these things. I don’t know anything." The paṇḍit said, "Well, if you don’t know anything, if you don’t know even a single śloka, verses, if you don’t know any knowledge, then half of your life is wasted." Later on, the boatman asked again, "Well, my life is wasted. What can I do? I cannot do anything, so I am an illiterate person." The Paṇḍit asked again, "Do you know something about the Bhagavad Gītā?" Again he said, "No, I don’t know anything. Sorry, Mahārāj Jī, I don’t know anything." Then the Paṇḍit told him, "Well, then your third quarter of life is wasted." Later on, what happened was a big flood came, a big wind came. At that time, the boat started shaking, the wind came, and all kinds of amazing difficulties arose. At that time, the boatman asked the Pandit, "Pandit Jī, do you know how to swim?" He said, "No, I don’t know how to swim." Then the boatman said, "Your whole life is wasted now." The wind came, and the boatman swam and came out. The Pandit did not come out. This means that when the time comes for practicality, if we do not know practical knowledge, if you do not show dharma in our practical life, then no matter if you know the whole scripture, the whole verses, and we are wearing the tikkā, mala, dhoti, long topi—this needness, this appearance, is not worthwhile. That needs to be in practical life. When you go back to your home, then everyone can see you smile and say, "Oh, what a change you are from the retreat, oh my god." Someone says you’re always smiling, and you’re controlling your senses, and you’re balancing your life, and always have noble behavior. That’s the holy thing in our life. That’s what we need. Śiva wants that, and Śiva does not want external appearance. Śiva is nirguṇa and saguṇa. Those who want to pray to saguṇa can go and pray to Śiva’s statue. Those who want nirguṇa can meditate as a yogī, finding that inside you. That’s the great thing of this universe. Somebody asked me also this morning, similarly, that each and everything, there is some reason why we arrange things, and we cannot simply say that it might be conservative or traditional. There is some special meaning we might not know, but we cannot ignore it. Islīye koī bhī cīz meṁ koī bhī tīrthasthān kā mahattva hai. Koī bhī kām karte haiṁ to hamko kyā karnā paḍtā hai ki usko galat honā nahīṁ cāhie. There is one poem that Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the former Prime Minister and leader of India, recited. It means that no matter wherever you are, whatever you are doing, if you are fulfilling your best duty, whatever fruits come, accept them happily. That’s the enjoyment. If you start to react, then you cannot enjoy the fruits of your karmas. So always acceptance, happy acceptance, is your success in spirituality. No matter whatever situation comes, don’t lose, don’t change your path. When you find the good God guru, the good guru, sadguru, when you find the good path, then remain there and continue your path, and that will lead towards liberation. When your mind is unstable and changeable, then you will not reach. Either this direction or another direction, always indulging—that’s why strong devotion is necessary in this universe. Maintaining happiness all the time is very hard because our mind is like a monkey mind, going here and there. So, when the monkey mind acts up, when the time comes, just remember your breathing. When the mind goes here and there, just chant "Oṃ Namaḥ Śivāya." When the mind goes here and there, just feel that you are the person who is following the so'haṁ. That is the main principle of the Śiva Purāṇa. Now we come to the main story of the Śiva Purāṇa. In the Śiva Purāṇa, when Śivajī gave the boon and Dakṣa Prajāpati was made alive again, and he got his life back, Śiva at that time became lost. He was so attached to Pārvatī, to Satī Devī. Śiva did not want to sit there while she was lying on the holy fire. Śiva Bhagavān lifted Satī Devī and put her on his shoulder, and he started to walk to many places. He was in great tragedy, for Satī was one of the dearest persons in his life. How can we interpret this in modern life? How can Śiva have attachment to Satī Devī? He is the master and supreme God. But when you understand in spirituality, then you will understand. Otherwise, the story has a depth of meaning: it means Prakṛti and Puruṣa, the earth and sky, cannot be separate; they need to be joined together. That’s why Shiva and Parvati are always together, they wait together, they are together, they will be together always. Nature and the sentient being, the jīva, are together; prakṛti and puruṣa are together. When Sati died, when she left her physical body, then Mahādeva lifted her, carried her, and traveled around the world with Satī Devī on his shoulder. Mahādeva is traveling around the world. It is amazing: when Śivājī left, when the boss left the house, what will happen? That’s an imbalanced house, is it not? Many rats come, and pests, and maybe cockroaches, many things happen in the home. In the same way, when Mahādev left and went on a long journey, so many imbalances happened in this universe. Everyone was scared. Brahmā and Viṣṇu started to gather in one place and they talked. "Well, Śivajī went with Satī Devī. How can we bring him back? Mahādev went away, keeping Satī Devī in his arms." Now, when Śrī Mahādev went away, then what is there in the world? There was sorrow, there were ups and downs. When the owner of the house goes away, what happens in the house? Everyone has a problem. So that’s why everyone was in sorrow and everyone was shouting. What did Brahmā and Viṣṇu do? They did a yukti, they did a remedy. After doing the remedy, what did they do? They started planning to make Mahādeva and Satī Devī fall. So that means when Brahmā and Viṣṇu gathered, all the deities, all the gods, held a meeting and said, "Oh, if Mahādev is not there, how can we continue this creation? How can we give continuity to this universe? Then we need to bring him back. Without his presence, this world will be empty, incomplete." That’s why they made a plan. Viṣṇu and Brahmā decided. "Well, I have got one idea," Brahmā said. Then Viṣṇu said, "What’s the idea?" "I have got Sudarśana Cakra. I will send the Sudarśana Cakra that can cut the pieces of Satī Devī’s dead body. And then, when the pieces are finished, Satī Devī will be finished, and Mahādev will come back because his attachment will finish." Why did Viṣṇu and Brahmā decide to send the Sudarśana Cakra? The Sudarśana Cakra started to cut off Satī Devī’s body, bit by bit. When it cut off her body, it fell in twelve places in this world. Where Satī Devī’s body fell, it became a pīṭha, so Satī Devī’s pīṭha became a mandir. The place where Gaurī Mā’s stuti was done, we call Mātā Pārvatī. So how come we call Mātā Pārvatī? How come we call Mātā Lakṣmī? Lakṣmī did not give any birth, but still we say Mata. So, Mata means one who has love like a mother towards other people. Those deserve to be Mata. So that’s why, don’t worry if you have a child or not. If you still can share your love, you can extend your love and purity towards another person, like Mother Nature. Then you deserve to be a mātā. That’s why we also call Satī Devī Mātā. She always looked upon all the universe as her children for protection. So Sudarśana Cakra was sent, and Viṣṇu sent it, and slowly, slowly, bit by bit—how many pieces? Fifty-two, but in twelve parts. There is a variety of places. The organs of Sādhyabī are dropped down, and nowadays also we receive them as Vidyā Pīṭh, Śakti Pīṭh. Jai Bali Bhagavān Kī. Jai Brahma Vishnu Maheśvarī kī. Similarly, when Pārvatī—when Satī Devī’s organs fell down, Śiva became empty, and he slowly, slowly started to forget that incident. That’s why the spiritual meaning is this: if you have any grief, any difficulties, then it is going to be finished soon; don’t worry. Every pain, every gain, every happiness will remain only for 42 or 52, and maximum 72 hours. After 72 hours, you’ll have a different mind. So that’s why, just be a witness of every incident in your life. Just for 72 hours, if you are able to witness those 72 hours without any reaction, then you are the pure yogī, and you are maintaining your mind constantly, neither very happy nor in pain, neither excited nor depressed. That’s the wonderful thing. That’s why in the Bhagavad Gītā it says that the sthita prajñā... sthita prajñā hai. Jab bhī dukh ā jāyegā, āp dekhte raho, 72 ghaṇṭe tak āp dekhte raho. Uske bād meṁ koī dukh nahīṁ rahegā duniyā meṁ, 72 ghaṇṭe ke bād meṁ. Time can heal any pain and any sorrows. That’s why time can heal. We might have had many people. We might have lost our parents, or a son, or a daughter, or beloved ones. That day was a very hard time for us. But now, time has changed. In the same way, time can heal. That means the Śiva Purāṇa wants to give this universe the knowledge that you should not panic in any situation. Every pain, every gain has to go. That’s why pain has to go. Sorrow has to go. Just be a witness of every change in your life. Do not enjoy the situation. Do not indulge. Just be a witness. Anything happens. If you have some great achievements, then just be a witness. Oh, that happiness will also go away. I would like to tell you one statement right now. There is a very popular story in India of Akbar and Birbal. Akbar was king, and Birbal was the minister, the prime minister nowadays. The main minister, Akbar, always used to ask Birbal to know something about life. If he wanted to know something deeply, Akbar always asked Birbal, and Birbal always had the solution. He’s like a ṛṣi, the advisor; he always has something to say. One day, Akbar asked, "Well, Birbal, I have got so many tensions nowadays. So, do you know one word that you can write in front of my door, and whenever I come inside or go outside, I can read the sentence so that I can manage my mind? Constable, I will not be in pain, I will not be in any stress. Do you know any such words?" And Birbal said, "Well, Mahārāj, I have got that thing." Akbar asked Birbal if there is any such word that will make you happy, then tell me so I will give you blessings. "Write on my door so that when my pain comes and happiness comes, I will read it and I will be happy." When Akbar said, "What will be that sentence?" Birbal wrote: "Everything has to go. It will go away." So if you want to write it down in your diary, that’s alright. If you want to write it down in your wallet, that’s also good, and you can write it down on your hand as well. So whenever you are in big pain, then just remember the Śiva Purāṇa: everything has to go, don’t worry. Just seventy-two hours, just wait, and every pain will go, every gain will go. So that’s why this is the yogic kriyā, the maintaining. In the Bhagavad Gītā, it is saying: don’t be attached, don’t be detached. Detachment, vairāgya, total vairāgya is also not good, and total attachment, moha, is also not good. You need to be in difference. In a bīṭha rāga, bīṭha rāga is sthita prajña. Sthita prajña is the only word in this universe we can hear in this scripture. Bīṭha rāga: rāga means attachment, bīṭha means level. In difference, just be with this. So in this way, time can heal. The Sudarśana Cakra divided all parts of the body of Satyadevī and Mahādeva. After some time, he came to a normal position, and when he comes, then all—Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśa, Nandī, Bhṛṅgī, Chattū, Śāstrī, Yoginī—came and worshiped, "Oh Mahādeva, please bless us and don’t leave us, please. Remain here. Without Shiva, the world is like a dark place. Śiva ke binā sansār andherā hai. To isliye, hey Śivajī, āp yahīṁ rahiye." What he started was that Śivajī always wants to bless them, and he retired in Kailāsa, but he told them that, well... The Pārvatī, the Satī Devī died on the Yogī Śālā. That was my Māyā, my Līlā. She will be born as Pārvatī, a daughter of the Himālayan, and I will marry her. And at that time again, there will be the continuation of this Kailāśa. Without a queen, the king will be alone, and all the... Nandī, Vṛṅgī were worried, and when they heard these things, they became so happy. After that, Nandī, Vṛṅgī, Chattū, Ṣaṣṭī, Yoginī, they remained happy, and Śivajī retired in Kailāśa. The continuation of the universe goes ahead. It is saying that, so whenever you feel good or bad, just be in indifference, temporarily. If you go to meditation also, just observe your sensation. It is saying: don’t indulge with the sensation. Just be a witness of the sensation. When you meditate, you feel, oh, there is sweating. When you start to wipe off the sweating, your mind goes there. Then you divert it. Just observe there. Oh, sweating comes. Let’s see how long it will remain. The sweating comes and disappears. And when you start to meditate, you feel scratching in your head. Just observe that. Okay, I’ll just wait. How long will I feel this scratching? Then, when you start that observing, after a while it will go away. So, in the same way, every sensation... Everything in this universe is temporary; nothing is permanent, and only Śiva is permanent. That was His before, now, and later—always there. That’s why we just need to know the impermanency of life, and the Śiva Purāṇa tells us the purity, impermanency, and attaining. The material pleasure, the worldly pleasure, and salvation—the method of salvation—that is the main thing we need to learn in the Śiva Purāṇa. There are hundreds and hundreds of stories in the Śiva Purāṇa, but we are going to recite this bit by bit in the next stage. And here it is saying, "How can we worship the Śiva Liṅga?" So what is the Śiva Liṅga? And where can we place the Śiva Liṅga? That is mentioned here. Isn’t it very useful for us? Wonderful. The Śiva Liṅga is that the person, whoever they are, they just believe in Śiva. And Śiva is the only supreme master. And when you worship that, the energy, that’s the Śiva Liṅga. And Liṅga is the creator, creativity. And you can see the Śiva Liṅga in stone or anything. If you have love, you can make the Śiva Liṅga with mud or sand. Anything, the Śiva vibration is there. People can ask many times, even you might face those questions, and I have been asked, "Śiva Liṅga is like a stone. Why are you worshipping a stone?" Even that the stone is a liṅga form, and isn’t it the same fullness? People sometimes ask, and you know that. The Śiva Liṅga, you do not see the Liṅga as a god. The Śiva Liṅga is a channeling. When you see the television, inside the television there is no one there, no one dancing inside the television. There are no little people dancing there, and no one speaking or making announcements. That is only a channel; that is somewhere there. It is people and broadcasting, and you are receiving that thing from the channel. In the same way, Śiva is omnipresent everywhere. When you trust in one object, one thing, then the vibration is there, and with that vibration you receive the spiritual energy, and you have the devotion. That is why any statue, anything that comes from the energy, is only the channel. So that’s why God says, "Don’t worship only the statue. Worship me through the statue." That’s why a statue is not merely God, but this is the channeling towards God. Some people just worship the statue, and they forget the omnipresentness, the celestial body as God. That’s why we have that problem. Many people worship from birth to death. They are telling that, "Oh, we have been worshiping for many years. I am the great person. I learned this Śiva Purāṇa a thousand times. In my home, that’s ten times. In pilgrimages, that’s twenty times." But still, before ten years, whatever greediness he had, he has got now the same level of greediness. Before ten years, whatever anger he had, the same level of anger remains. Before ten years, whatever panic he had, the man is even more panicked. How come the panic, anger, and loss did not reduce? He did a lot of prayers, a lot of worship? There must be something lacking, either lacking in the prayer process or the process of learning, because he worshiped a lot, he prayed a lot, but still the ego is there, the pride is still there. That is not spiritual involvement. Only ego’s involvement. That’s why it is saying that attaining a master’s degree or university degrees is good for your profession, not for spiritual elevation. That is good for bread, but for spiritual involvement, you need to know this divine knowledge. That’s why we always say that the educated person is one who is physically fit. Physically fit means one who knows yoga. If you know yoga, you know how to become fit, and what to eat, what not to eat, what time you need to eat. That is physically fit and mentally strong: physically fit, mentally strong, spiritually elevated, based in morality. Those people are called educated persons. Otherwise, having a master’s degree, having a PhD from the university, is not being an educated person. That education is only ego’s ego: "Oh, I’m the master’s degree holder, oh, I teach in the university. I’ve got the Ph.D. certificate." And that doesn’t help society, only the ego. That doesn’t give peace. So the main education is this. That’s why you always trust the universe and learn the divine knowledge. When you have divine knowledge, a divine habit, then you will know the real habit of life. So you will know the real nectar of life. Then you don’t need to rely on any addiction for happiness or enjoyment. You will have a good addiction. You have got a good enjoyment with the divine knowledge. So whatever enjoyment you can achieve from the divine, you cannot get from wine. So if you know that if you drink the liquid of the divine, you don’t find it necessary to drink wine. So, it says, like, there is a lot of nectar in this world. There is a lot of addiction in this world. But we don’t know what to drink, what to make addiction, what to give up. That’s why it is saying: if you want to drink, then drink the divine. Make the habit of devotion. Make the habit of meditation, and you can always enjoy. You don’t need to go to a bar, a seminar, any pub, or any party. You can attend there, but still, you can enjoy your mind with God and Guru. Jai Bhole Bhagwan Ki, Brahma Vishnu Maheśvara Ki. One bhajan, okay? So we will start. Hariko bhaje to Hariko hoi, Jaat paat puche nahi koi. Hari ko puche tu, Hari ko hoi. Jangal me sadhu bastaye, Jangal me sadhu bastaye. Kabhi rota hai, kabhi hastaye, Kabhi rota hai, kabhi hastaye. In the jungle, a sadhu resides, sometimes crying, sometimes laughing. Sometimes crying, sometimes laughing. In the jungle, a sadhu resides. Jai Bhole! Victory to the eternal dharma of Bhagavān Viṣṇu and Maheśvara.