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Part 1: The Three Types of Persons and the Immolation of Kāmadeva In the Rudra Saṁhitā, it is said that in this world there are three types of persons. The first is the great one who knows many things and is ever eager to learn more, yet always thinks, “I know nothing.” Whether a Sādhu, a Mahātma, or a Siddha Puruṣa, he bows his head and remains ready to receive new knowledge. He is the true jñānī. The second type has only a little knowledge, but constantly claims, “I know everything.” Even a little knowledge can be dangerous. A half-trained doctor who prescribes medicine will send you straight to Yama Loka. This is the person with scant learning who boasts of great wisdom. The third type knows nothing at all, and does not even realize that he needs to learn. This is called Suṣupta. Thus, there are three kinds of people: the jñānī, the Suṣupta, and the Madhyastha. And Śiva always teaches that your knowledge is never enough; you must go on learning. Life is for learning. Even Kṛṣṇa Bhagavān, Viṣṇu Bhagavān, and Śiva themselves sit in meditation to gain deeper knowledge. We can never claim to know everything. It is impossible to have read all the scriptures. Knowledge updates itself from moment to moment, day to day, from era to era. We see how many new things appear. You cannot explain it simply. In this Śiva Purāṇa too, merely knowing the story is not the knowledge, as I often mention. The story can be learned in any manner, but the real thing is the divine knowledge dwelling in the Self. Today we are going to speak about Kāmadeva. But before that, for our Hindi listeners who are waiting, let me explain a little in Hindi. Namaskār. “Siddha Puruṣa, Siddha Puruṣa… Sūrya Sūrya… Siddhārthī bante rahe to dūsrā hai ki suṣupta person jo jñānī, thodā baut jñāna hai ki mene sab jān liyā to boltā hai me baut jñānī hū̃. To tīsrā hai ki thodā jñāna hotā hai lekin usko jñāna hokar bhī. Aisā, usko kabhī knowledge nahī̃ ātā hai, to suṣupta bolte haiṁ. Isīlie ham bhī har dam jñānī ke pāsa, satpuruṣ ke bāta meṁ, satguru ke pāsa meṁ calte rahte haiṁ. Nahī̃ to ham kaccā vaide ko mātra, kaccā vaide ke yātrā, kaccā vaide ke mātra yampurī ko yātrā ho jāte haiṁ. Isliye āye ki āj ke Śiva Purāṇa meṁ Śiva jī bolte haiṁ. Kī jñāna ke liye āp sadā tattva par rahate ho, to kabhī Brahmā ke liye bhī aur meditation ke liye bījte haiṁ, kabhī Viśvarūpa ke liye. Siddhāsana mein aur Pādmasana mein, yogī āsana mein yogī kā kām hai ki anabhrat rūp mein dhyāna prāpta karnā, jñāna prāpta karnā hai. He Akhaṇḍa jñāna kī śṛṅkhalā kabhī khatam nahīṁ hotī hai. To āj Kāmadeva kā bhasma kā kāraṇa aur Kāmadeva kī Ratī kā bina. And after that, what is Mahādeva’s lineage? Whose disciple is Mahādeva? And is Mahādeva primordial and beginningless or not? And about that, when he was residing in the home of the Himalayan mountains, he was asked about his lineage. This is what we talk about. Along with this, in our Dharma Śāstra, is Brahman, is Jāti, is Jāti written or not? And in that, what does the modern theory, the Western theory, the Western philosophy say? We talk about that. Jai Boleśā Bhagavān Kī Jai.” So today I would like to explain about Kāmadeva. We know from yesterday, so everyone is already familiar with Kāmadeva. And who is the father of Kāmadeva? Can you say? Brahmā. Yes, good. We normally say Brahmā. It is bra plus ma plus ha. Not just Brahma, not B-R-A-M-M-A, but B-R-H-M-A. The correct pronunciation is Brahmā. Brahmā is the connection of Brahma-randhra and the divine power. And Brahmā’s son is Kāmadeva. When Kāmadeva came into being, he began to live with Rati, with the blessings of Śiva, Viṣṇu, and Brahmā. Then one day, let me draw back the story: when Satyādevī had died in the holy fire, Śivajī started to travel the world and began to meditate. He lost all interest in material gold and worldly pleasure. He went into meditation, almost gave up the world, and acted like a retired person. But what happened was an imbalance in Sṛṣṭi. If one element is lacking, nothing can function – just like with neutron, proton, and electron. Without the electron, or in the absence of the proton, matter cannot move or function. In the same way, Śiva had departed, he had become isolated. Then Brahmā and Viṣṇu, indeed all of creation, were in trouble. At that time, the demons began to stir. Similarly, in our own body, if one element is missing, we fall sick. If truth departs, demonic thoughts enter the mind. That is why my Guru used to say when I was young, “You have two dogs inside your body. One is the dog of Rāma, the other is the dog of Rāvaṇa, and they are fighting each other.” I would ask, “Which dog will win?” And he would say, “Whichever dog you feed more.” In the same way, whatever food you give to Rāvaṇa’s dog or Rāma’s dog, whichever gets more nourishment wins. Just so, when Śiva is absent from your body, demonic and evil energies become active. When Śiva began to meditate all the time, Tārakāsura, the daitya, started to fight and kill the gods. He wanted to harm all the goddesses, purity, and dharma. He roamed through earth, heaven, and Triloka, slaying Devatās, creating obstacles for Yajñas, and all the goddesses became fearful. “What shall we do? Mahādeva is just sitting in meditation.” Then Tārakāsura thought, “Mahādevī is not going to marry again because Satyadevī has died, and he is meditating. He is no longer interested in material gold and pleasure. Perhaps it is better to meditate and appeal to Brahmā.” So Tārakāsura, the daitya, started to meditate. “Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya, Oṁ Brahmadevatāya Namaḥ,” in that way. He meditated for a very long time, and Brahmā became very happy. Brahmā said, “Ask whatever you want.” Tārakāsura was shrewd and witty. He thought that Śivajī would never return from his meditation. He said, “Brahmājī, if you wish to give me something, give me a beautiful boon: that I may live forever.” Omnipresent, death cannot touch me. Brahmā replied, “That is not possible. In this creation, everyone has to go. But I can give you a specific manner of death, how death will touch you. I cannot grant you eternal life. You are not the eternal, and it goes against Sṛṣṭi, against creation.” Then Tārakāsura asked, “If you really want to grant such a blessing, then let only a son of Śiva be able to kill me; otherwise, no one can kill me.” He asked for this because Śiva was not going to marry. If he did not marry, he would have no children, and no child could kill him. He reasoned in this way and said, “Only Śiva’s children can kill me, otherwise no one; please bless me.” And Brahmā said, “Tathāstu.” So when Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśa were approached with cries of “Trahi mām, trahi mām,” Śivajī was doing tapasyā, having left Satyadevī. He was in meditation, in vairāgya; no desire for the world remained. But at that very moment, the daitya Tārakāsura meditated and received Brahmā’s blessing. As soon as a demon gets a boon, what do they do? They take advantage, like with the Apsarās. So Tārakāsura, empowered, started to harass everyone. Woḥī Bardhan Lekar Tārakāsura Hokar Aur Sabko haṭāyā, hiṁsā meṁ lagne lagā, to isī samay meṁ kyā ho gayā ki Brahmā or Viṣṇu sab bichalit ho gaye, Tārakāsura daintya. So when the demon Tārakāsura became active, he began destroying everywhere. The sacrifice and the Brahmins, the saints, the Mahāpuruṣas could no longer stay in their āśramas; they were always targeted by Tārakāsura Dānava. At that time, Viṣṇu and Brahmā went to Śiva and requested him, but Śiva did not give up his meditation, his sādhanā. Then they decided on a trick. What to do? A trick. Sometimes for a good reason, for dharma, if you cannot act directly, then, as the Purāṇas and Śāstras always say, you must proceed from a twisted idea. But it must be for a good reason. If you do something for a good reason, it is exempted. For example, if your child is about to fall into a pond or a lake, you rush and grab him, forcefully dragging him out. That force may hurt the child, but still, it is for a good reason. Similarly, here people might ask why Brahmā needed to disguise, why Viṣṇu had to trick, why Viṣṇu needed to betray many people. Yet there are reasons to protect Dharma. They may incur karma, but it is for a good reason. Just as we mentioned yesterday: Rāma hiding behind a tree and shooting an arrow at Bāli. That is not supposed to be done by a God, by a person of Dharma; you should fight face to face, not hiding. But Bālī had a blessing from Brahmā: whenever an enemy comes and fights face to face, half of the enemy’s power goes to Bālī. So Rāma had to hide. That was for a good reason, even though he incurred bad karma and had to face consequences in the next era. That is the beauty of scripture: if you do something good, it should not be involved with vested interest; it must be total. That is the protection of dharma. In the same way, Mahādeva was meditating in Kailāśa, having stopped even bhaṅg, totally detached, in deep tapasyā. At that time, many things were lacking in the world, Tārakāsura was disturbing everywhere, and Dharma was in crisis. When dharma is in crisis, there always needs to be some trick. That is why it is said in the Bhagavad Gītā: “Paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām, dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge.” Whenever there is a problem for dharma, the divine must descend. God will trick, and in any form He will appear to save dharma. On this earth, dharma will always remain; there is no time without dharma. Atrocity and sin are temporary, but dharma is permanent. So it is said that if we do something for dharma, it is all right, though it may not be purely dharma. At that juncture, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, all the Gaurīs and deities meditated and devised a trick. How to bring Śivajī back? They thought, “There is Kāmadeva.” Kāmadeva is the god of desire, the god of love, the god of sex. If Kāmadeva disturbs Śiva, Śiva will become interested. He will want to marry, he will have children, and then Tārakāsura will be killed. So Brahmā and Viṣṇu meditated and found Kāmadeva, and requested him: “O Kāmadeva, you are the son of Brahmā, you help in creation. Now we are in a crisis; can you please help us?” Kāmadeva said, “What must I do? Please order me, my Lord.” Then Brahmā said, “O Kāmadeva, this is the time to perform your highest duty. Take the challenge. Go and shoot your arrow at Mahādeva.” To shoot the arrow does not mean a literal arrow; it means go and awaken Mahādeva’s desire for material things, for conjugal life. That is your duty now. Kāmadeva was afraid. “I cannot do this to Mahādeva. Mahādeva is the only one who can defeat Kāmadeva.” This is why Mahādeva signifies meditation. When a yogī meditates, desire goes away. The only way to remove desire is concentration, connection with the divine. Once that connection is made, Kāmadeva departs. That is why brahmacarya is undertaken. You can see that in celibacy there is immense power. If someone truly maintains celibacy, it is said that the sexual energy evolves and converts into creativity. That power, that energy, never finishes. Science says energy changes from one form to another but is never destroyed. So the hormones and energy we produce, if not utilized in one way, transform into another form of creation. That is why in brahmacarya and sannyāsa, though desire exists, if you maintain celibacy, the Bīrya, the Śukra, is converted into creativity and connection with the divine. That is the formula, and only Śiva can do that. Śiva means the meditative yogī. So the meditative yogī can defeat Kāmadeva, and Kāmadeva knew that Śiva had always defeated him. He said, “If something happens, what can I do?” Brahmā replied, “My son, this is the moment. You need to contribute to creation. This is the high time.” When Tārakāsura created such turmoil, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśa turned to Kāmadeva. Kāmadeva was told, “You have work now. Mahādeva is in dhyāna, free of worldly desire. Go and rain upon him the rain of action. By that rain, he will rise, and his interest and enthusiasm will arise in the world. Then we can continue.” So Kāmadeva went to Śiva, first offering his salutations. Śiva was meditating. Kāmadeva stood before him and shot his arrows of desire – arrows of sex, arrows of love, but made of flowers. He shot six times. Each time, Śiva’s mind was disturbed, and suddenly he opened his eyes. “Oh, what has happened to me?” He saw Kāmadeva standing there. “You are disturbing my meditation! I am sitting in deep meditation, and you have come and poisoned me. I cannot tolerate this; I must finish you.” Then he opened his third eye, and from it a huge flame of fire burst forth. The flame began to burn Kāmadeva. Kāmadeva cried out, and all the gods and deities started to cry and tremble. An amazing commotion took place. It was not Kāmadeva’s own desire; he had been ordered by Brahmā and Viṣṇu. Yet innocently, Kāmadeva was entirely burnt. He was reduced to ash and dust. Rati, Kāmadeva’s wife, wept, “Oh my lord, what has happened? He was so innocent; he did not act deliberately. How can I survive without Kāmadeva?” She wept, and Kāmadeva came to an end. The moral of this story is: what can we learn? Śiva can finish Kāmadeva. Desire, kāma, can be extinguished through the Śiva element. And this speaks of profound psychological truths. In our own body, the body is earth. In earth there is water, flesh, and bone is stone. Śiva is the yogī who can locate the Śaiva Tattva. There are Iḍā, Piṅgalā, Suṣumṇā – three elements in our nāḍī, in the sixth energy center. It rises from the Mūlādhāra Cakra, the root energy center, and reaches toward the pituitary gland, the third eye. When the third eye opens, all knowledge converges, and kāma, desire, is witnessed. That is why a yogī, when you truly sit for dhyāna and complete your meditation, can attain a state where desire is transmuted. Only a yogī can do this. The yogī is Śiva. One may also see that Pārvatī is the daughter of the Himalayas. The Himalayas are the high mountains, and Pārvatī is connected to the mountain, the king of the earth. So the earth, from ocean to mountain, corresponds to our body. When you meditate, you become Śiva. Entering that transcendental stage, you can finish Kāmadeva. It is a beautiful combination in our anatomy. Part 2: The Story of Kāmadeva’s Immolation, Śiva’s Marriage, and the Truth of Caste You can convert that knowledge, and spiritually, you can know what is going to happen. And Kāmadeva, that happens, he died. But Kāmadeva died, and his wife is crying and crying, crying, “Oh Mahādeva, why did you do this?” And he was totally innocent, that please do something, I cannot live without him. So she is crying, and then she appealed, she pleaded to everyone, the deity, God, and Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Brahmā, Viṣṇu also, “Oh, we have to request Mahādeva.” Mahādeva is a very merciful person. He is not that rude, and he is not that strong or stubborn a person. We must go and pray again, and we need to tell him the reality. At the same time, when Kāmadeva shoots six times and his sperm drops down on the ocean, on the river. And in the sixth son that was created from the river Gaṅgā, six sons. And later on, what happened? The sixth son—six kids—they merged together. Śivaputra. Six kids later on Morshu as Kārtikeya. That’s why Kārttikeya is the son of Śiva, so that’s why only Kārttikeya can kill Tārakāsura. And Tārakāsura is a demon, and that demon’s story will come later on. So, but we come to know that anything happens for a reason in this world. So, anything happens for a reason, for something and some reason; there is nothing, and it doesn’t go in vain. And then Brahmā and Viṣṇu started to appeal and plead to Śivajī. Oh, Śivajī, please do something. Kāmadeva is innocent, and Rati is crying, and all the Gauraṅga Gauras are now in mourning. So we need to help her, otherwise it will be terrible. The sṛṣṭi will have the difficulties, and then Śivajī was meditating. Everyone came, and they started to appease Śivājī. To appease Śivajī, it’s easy. Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya. Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya. Adhyātmik arth mein yeh hai ki, jab Kāmadeva ko bhasma kar diya Śrī Bhagavān ne, kī uskā kāraṇ thā. Jab Śivjī dhyānast the, to Tārakāsura daitya kā jag jagī baḍh gayā, to usko niyantraṇ karne ke liye Śivjī ke putra hone kā hī jarūrī thā. Therefore, on the orders of Brahmā and Viṣṇu, Kāmadeva shot six arrows. However, due to those arrows, what happened was that Śiva’s semen fell into the ocean. After that, six children were born, and after six children, they joined and became Kārttikeya. And Kārttikeya only killed Tārakāsura later. So, if anything happens in the world, then there is some reason. That’s why Śivjī was a meditator. But there, it happened that Rati fell alone. And because Rati was alone, then in the meditation of Śivjī, they all went to pray to Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Devādhi Deva. Hey Dev, Kāmadeva is innocent. Please do a favor for him. And at that time, when Brahmā and Viṣṇu, everyone, they meditated on Śiva, and Śiva said, Well, I’m happy that all of you requested, but at this time I cannot do anything. I will suggest something, however. What is that? From now until the Dvāpar Yuga, until Kṛṣṇa arrives, until that time, Kāmadeva will be invisible. Kāmadeva will remain invisible. And when Kṛṣṇa will marry Rukmiṇī, and Rukmiṇī is from the Rukmiṇī, the Kāmadeva will come in the name of Pradyumna. What is the name? Pradyumna. And at that time, Rati and Pradyumna will live together. So in Dvāpara Yuga, when Kṛṣṇa married Rukmiṇī, after that Kāmadeva came. But until then, that Kāmadeva needs to stay invisible. So that’s what Śivājī said. And at that time, everyone is still crying, “Oh, okay, that’s alright, at least something is good.” Then, in the Dvāpara Yuga, Kāmadeva will come, but still the Devatās are not happy. And Devatā said, “Oh, please, please,... if you can, please at this time, otherwise Rati is alone anyway.” She is in a bodily form. Kāmadeva is invisible. How can they match each other? And all the Godhead started to plead. And at that time, Mahādeva said, “Well, in that case, I will grace you one more time.” Kāma Deva will reside in all of your mind and all of your body. He can sit whenever you want. He blesses. That’s why everyone in this world, whoever is born, comes with Kāma Deva. That’s with the energy that comes with that desire. That’s why karma is everywhere in the Sṛṣṭi. And so it cannot be free. Only that, the Kāma Deva, you can be free from the Kāma Deva if you meditate, if you connect with God, if you do sādhanā, if you do connectivity. Otherwise, there is always that desire; Kāma Deva is reciting, and all the goddesses, deities, all the creations. And now we would like to go towards another session. The Mahādeva told that Pradyumna will come, and now we go to the end of the session. Rati is a little bit happy, but not completely happy, and Viṣṇu advised Rati. Well, Rati, Mahādeva told that. He will come in Dvāpar Yuga, not this era: Satya, Tretā, Dvāpar. So in Dvāpar Yuga, Kṛṣṇa arrives, and Kṛṣṇa is also the form of Viṣṇu. And Viṣṇu said, “Well, I will come in Dvāpar Yuga.” That’s a different case. But you need to always keep one thing in mind. What is that, my Lord? You always need to keep the Ss, you know the Rākhī? Sīs, the powder of the Kāmadeva. Whenever he was born, at that time, the powder, the S, he’s a body. The leftover, the leftover of fire. He needs to collect that one. And please collect. One day, it might work. And one day, who knows, Śivājī is very happy. From there, your husband will be alive. Then keep it that way, secretly and safely. And this Viṣṇu Bhagavān advises Rati Devī. And Rati was waiting that day, that beautiful day, and with her husband, just powder. What a beautiful, isn’t it? Nowadays, if the husband does that, what will happen? They go to the court, where is the will? Then, first we need to transfer property. But in ancient times, that means the moral history, it is not a test. We always connect prakṛti and puruṣa. Rati is the conjugal life’s happiness, and Kāmadeva is desire. So it cannot remain; it should remain together. Otherwise, it will not be perfect. And Rati will be alone, and Kāmadeva will be alone. So this has a great message for civilization as well. So, until that time, you have to remain as a waitress, and until the time Pradyumna does not come, Kāmadeva will remain in his invisible form. Then the Devatās started crying, and after that, Śrī Bhūle Bhāle Mahādev said, “Okay, if this is the case, then Kāmadeva will live in your mind and heart.” Then again, Viśvām said, “Hey, Ratī Devī, don’t worry.” So, you see in your body that there are seven cakras from Mūlādhāra to Brahma Randa, and in Brahma Randa you see that there are Iḍā, Piṅgalā, Suṣumṇā. And in Iḍā, Piṅgalā, Suṣumṇā, in every cakra, in... The form of a snake, the Agnya Chakra will go, and when you reach the Gyān Chakra, then that power will be obtained. Sapti Prapto hone se aapko ye isile, ye saare vijñāna samādhi, Śiva Kathā to sab bacche bhi jānte hain, jān ke abhyāsa karnā hī. Āmāre śāstra lekha hai Vedavyāsa ṛṣi muni ne, isī ne lekha hai. Har cīz kiske lie ājātā hai? Kāraṇ bas ho jātā hai. Isīle paropakār ke lie juṭ lenā. Paropakār puṇyāya pāpāya parapīrṇanam. Aṣṭādaśa purāṇālaśya, Vyāsa śraddhā vacanam. Even after writing eighteen Purāṇas, Vyāsa has said two words: if you do good, then it will be good; if you give pain to others, then it will be a sin. That is why the Daitya people are working to hurt others. What is that? That is the difference between Dharma. So for the establishment of Dharma, we have to play all kinds of games. Jai Bholī Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān Kī, Jai Brahmā Viṣṇu Maheśvara Kī. So, after finishing, after completing all 18 Purāṇas—that’s Śiva Purāṇa, Devī Purāṇa, Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, all the Purāṇas—how many Purāṇas are there? Eighteen. After completing the eighteen Purāṇas, Vedavyāsa is not happy. Then he creates two verses. One verse says, “Paropakāra puṇyāya, pāpāya parapīḍanam.” The other is, “Aṣṭādaśa purāṇasya, vyāsa sādhu vyācakṣaṇam.” He gave these two statements. So there is one verse after eighteen verses he wrote, after eighteen Purāṇas he wrote verses that he says, “If you hurt anyone, that is pāpa; if you help, save a little for anyone, that is dharma.” He defined it that way. No matter if you don’t get the chance to read all the 18 Purāṇas, just remember two things. If you hurt anyone, that’s a path. And if you love, if you share your love, kindness, and help with other people, that is the dharma. That’s the summarization of the 18 Purāṇas. Now, have you completed the 18 Purāṇas? Not yet, yeah? Okay, alright, so now we’re going to do another section of the Rudra Saṁhitā. In the Rudra Saṁhitā, it says that when Mahādeva is ready, he wakes up and he has the desire now to get married. And he already blessed Parvati yesterday, the daughter of the Himalayas, Parvati, he married. But there is still that story repeated here. When he went to Mahādeva’s house, that is, Himālaya Pārvatī’s house, at that time Mahādeva was a little bit, you know, that Mahādeva’s form. Mahādeva appears, looks like that’s ugly, but inside it’s a beauty. It’s like a coconut with hair. That’s why we always worship in Lota. We put a coconut there in the lota. That meaning is the coconut is ugly. There’s a lot of hair. But inside, if you break the coconut, what will happen? There is a very sweet nectar, water, and a very soft part. So Mahādeva is like that. Jaṭā, the matted hair, is there. That’s why you should never judge a book by its cover, isn’t it? So that’s why you should never just compare envelopes, just read the letters, to see what is inside. But Mahādeva is like that. And Mahādeva went with Nandī, Bhṛṅgī, Chotu Ṣaṣṭī, Yoginī, and all the gods and goddesses to Himālaya Parvat’s house to ask for Pārvatī’s hand. But what happened at that time? Menakā, the mother of Pārvatī, said, “Where is Mahādeva?” Where is Mahādeva? He must be the very handsome guy. He must be a beautiful person. And he looks around, and all are beautiful. Viṣṇu is handsome, Brahmā is handsome, all gods are handsome, but Mahādev appears with the asses, ḍamaru, triśūla, bull, and there’s a skin, there’s tiger skin. He looks like the clumsy boy. And Menaka said, “Oh, he is the Mahādev.” Oh my God, my daughter is beautiful. I cannot, I do not agree to marry her. So no matter what you do, I want to cancel this marriage. I am not happy. I thought like Mahādev is a very handsome and a very nice person. He said, “Look at this ugly.” And even his snake, he is hanging his snake around his neck. Oh my yucky. So she started to cry, Menakā. And then Mahādeva, everyone said that Nārada and everyone, they discussed what is going to happen now, she’s not happy. And then they requested to Mahādeva, “Oh Mahādeva, look at this. I think you need to change your form, as she is not happy.” And before going to the wedding maṇḍap, I think, can you show the real form of your beautiful form? And Mahādeva became happy, and he saw the beautiful, most handsome person. And then Renukā is happy, Pārvatī’s mother is happy. And they started to marry. In the marrying time, one thing happened. That’s the important thing, lessons, lessons for the civilization. Lessons for the modern philosophy, and what happened is, normally in the Sanātana marriage, there is, when you are going to be saṅkalpa, kanyādāna, intention, giving the hand, that time the husband, the bride and groom need to tell their lineage. Name, the guru’s name, the clan’s name, the gotra. And at that time, Himālaya Prabhupāda asked Mahādeva, “Who is your Guru? Where is your lineage? And which caste are you?” And can you please tell? Because in the saṅkalpa we need to tell there, we need to tell the name. There should be an explanation of Gotra, your clan name. It’s not a surname, it’s Gotra. Like for example, my Gotra is Kauṇinya, somebody else’s Gotra is Kaśyapa. They came, whatever the lineage, the ṛṣis, they started, their generation started. So at that time, Śiva was omnipresent. He is the first person of this world, and he doesn’t have any father. He is the guru of the guru. He is the god of the god. And how come he has got the lineage? And, but at that time, that Himālaya Prabhupāda asked, “What is your caste?” Without your caste, how can I give? So at that time, what happened? Many people started to discuss with each other. Himālaya Parvat kī patnī ne bolā ki aisā bhūle bhāle ke sāth me merī betī kī śādī nahīṁ ho saktā hai, to kyōṁki vo bahut sundar nahīṁ hai. Isliye merī betī to bahut sundar hai, unke sāth me nahīṁ ho saktā hai. Jab unhōṁ ne dṛṛh kiyā, to dṛṛh karne se Nārada Bhagavān aur sāre ne kyā sallā kiyā. “Ki Prabhu, aap apnā aslī rūp dekhā? Ye tab usne aslī rūp dikhānā paṛā, lekin kanyādān ke prasaṅga meṁ yā hai ki aur jab kanyādān hone lagā, Vibhā ke saṅkalpa ke samay ā gayā, to us samay meṁ Himālaya parbat ne pūchā, ‘Āp kā kaun guru hai? Āp kā jāt kyā hai? Āp kahāṁ se āye?’ Pūchne lage. Dekhiye, ab kyā hotā hai?” Jo sansār kī sṛṣṭi kartā hai, kuch patā nahīṁ hai. Jo ādī rūp hai, ādī svarūp, ādī yogī hai, uskā kyā jāt rahegā? To isī lie jo bhī Śiva bhakta hai, vo kisī kā jāt nahīṁ māntā hai. Jāt to ek hī hai, Śiva jāt hai. Jāti pāti na pūche koī, jāti pāti na pūche koī. Isle kyā hai ki jāt pāt kuch bhī nahīṁ hai. If he is a devotee of Śiva, then his caste will be Śiva, and in this, there is no caste or lineage. Only the Śiva Purāṇa does not say this; you go to the Bhagavad Gītā. In the Bhagavad Gītā’s fourth chapter and fifth chapter, it is written: “Cāturvarṇyaṃ mayā sṛṣṭaṃ guṇakarmavibhāgaśaḥ.” Tasyākartāram Apimāṃ Vidyākartāram Amyam. In your religion, there is casteism; that is why the process of converting is also increasing. But this is a wrong message. From everywhere, from the Akhāṛā, every saint, sage, man, scholar, and learned person should give this real knowledge: that you have decided for yourself, “I am elder, I am...” Scholar, I am a great scholar, you should not say like this, because there is no casteism, there is casteism, whose is it? One is the demon caste, one is the God caste. When there is a feeling of difference in your mind, you are of the demon caste. And when you feel like a true man, everyone looks like each other, not big or small, everyone looks like Brahmā, then you are of Bhagavān, of Devatā. That is why we say, “Brahma jāyati brāhmaṇaḥ, janmanā jāyati śūdraḥ, karmaṇā dvijo ucyate.” By karma, one becomes strong. So, if we take any kind of caste in Sanātana Dharma, then that is not the knowledge of our Sanātana Dharma. That is why caste is nothing. Since you have known this, you will never be able to say that I am of a big caste. This is the nature of a saint. This is the nature of a saint. Haradām, o kyā hai ke saral rate haiṅ keval Bhagavān ke jāt he sadvichār ke jāt he? To isliye chatur varṇamayā sṛiṣhṭam guṇakarma vyavasāya usī se āyā he. Agra o bhī nahīṅ he to āp pardh lījhe, pañcham adhyāya Bhagavad Gītā: “Vidyābhīne sampanne brāhmaṇe gavī hastinī śunichai vaśopake chāpannitā.” Samadarśī, jab āpa pannita aur gyānī bolte hain, to āpa duniya ko sabko samadarśī chāṇḍāla ho, kutta ho, gai ho, sabko ek hī dekh liyete hain. Tab āpa brahman, tab āpa uche jāti ke hain. Nain to kyā hai ki āpa pakhan nī kar rahe hain jāt ke nām par? Hamāre sanātana dharma ke viruddha chalke bhaḍkāo lekar ā rahe hain. Our Sanātana Dharma never says that all are equal, so therefore, we are all children of God. So, the parts of God are never considered big or small. Therefore, Sant Gyānīpurījī, in today’s context, brings this very message. But in practice, when we speak of big and small, then division arises there. Divisiveness is a demonic trait. Because of that, in the world, our religion is being viewed with suspicion. Taking this matter, if we all proceed, then Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s words and Śrī Śiva’s words are the same. Hain, to Śivjī kā bhī koī gotra nahīṁ hain. Nārada jī bolte hain, jo anādi dev hī uskā gotra kyā batāeṁ? Vah to sṛṣṭi kartā hain. Jai bolīye Bhūle Bābā kī. Jai. So, just I would like to explain to you here, when Nārada asks the verse, the gotra. Of Śivajī, Śivajī is the Ādidev, Devādidev. He doesn’t have any guru, he doesn’t have any disciple. He has got disciples, he is not generated by anyone. He is the omnipresent, Svayaṃbhu, Svayaṃbhu, self-generated person, so he doesn’t. He has any gotra, not caste; he is the equal. If you are a follower of Śiva, there is no difference yet. You are not the higher caste. There is no division of higher caste and lower caste. So in the Bhagavad Gītā, it says in the Pañcam Adhyāya, that Kṛṣṇa himself manifested, saying, “I just divide the caste according to your karma, your actions.” Sometimes, early in the morning, what do you do? You clean your house. At that time, you are a Śūdra. And when you wake up, you do sādhanā, you do the Brahma sādhanā, study, dhyāna, tapā; that time you are a Brahmā, Brahman. And when you go to work as a salesman or businessman, you are the Vaiśya. And when you protect your family, at that time you are a Kṣatriya. Jo kṣetra ko pālan kartā hai, vohī kṣetrīya hai. Jab aap gyāna vidyā meṁ chalte haiṁ, tab bhī Brahman ban jāte haiṁ. And whenever you started to give knowledge, meditate, you are doing the Brahmā karma. So there is no division of caste, and if there is somebody saying there is a caste division, then he is not carrying the actual spiritual meaning, the actual meaning of the Sanātana Dharma or our scriptures. Shiva is the equal. Shiva never says, so that’s why. Pada Rahando Gyān, Pada Rahando Mīān, Kabīr Ke Bānī, Bhīme Bhī Yahī Batāte Hain, Ki If You Show Any Saint, Monk, Any Funny One, Don’t Ask Where He’s Come From, And Don’t Ask How Beautiful Necklace He’s Wearing, Don’t Ask So. Your origination? Just ask what knowledge and wisdom is with him. And we need to concern ourselves with the knowledge, not with the caste, color, nationality, group, or origination. Part 3: Lessons from the Śivapurāṇa: Quenching the Fire of Anger with Water and Observation Shiva is omnipresent. This is the divine message from this Purāṇa: Nārada replied that Shiva is casteless, formless, and motherless. He is himself, Śambhu. That is why, when he explained the Himālaya Parvat, he became happy, and he got the chance to marry Pārvatī. And when they got married, they came back to Kailāśa Parvat, and at Kailāśa Parvat they began to remain there for a very long time. And whenever there is a problem with the Sṛṣṭi Devatās, they all go to Mahādeva to appeal. In another section, chapters twenty to twenty-one, it is said that when that flame of Śiva appeared… Brahmājī went to Kāmadeva to burn him. The flame kept spreading continuously; it did not stop when Śiva opened his third eye. The fire’s flame spread throughout the world, and it started to burn everywhere across the three worlds. At that time, it was a terrible situation. Brahmā was scared, thinking, “Oh my God, what will happen?” The fire spread like a bush fire. He conceived an idea, and within that idea, the fire ran like a horse—a rampant horse. It ran here and there, and Brahmā went everywhere asking for help. He went to the ocean. When Brahmā stood on the ocean shore, the ocean appeared in the form of a very beautiful person, a sādhu, a saint. He asked, “How can I help you, Brahmā? Why have you come here?” Brahmā told him, “You need to help. Now your help is essential. What is the problem? What help can I provide you, my Lord? Because the krodha, the anger—the fire of anger—is spreading now. We need to stop it. So, can you do this?” In this story, it is also said that in your home, if anger is going on, one person should be like fire, while another needs to be water. The remedy for fire is water; that is why water is the antidote for anger. Water means kindness, purity, emotion, nurturing, mother nature. Fire is aggression. And only emotions, only kindness, can solve anger. This is the element I wish to explain. Brahmājī said, “Let’s go, let’s pray to the ocean.” The ocean appeared as a beautiful sādhu and saint, and he said, “Oh Brahmā, I am ready to help, but what will happen with Śivajī? What will I tell Śivajī? If I stop this, Śivajī might be unhappy with me.” Brahmā replied, “Do not worry. When the time comes, the horse—the fire horse—will come. At that time, I will be with you.” That is why Brahmā remains in the water. So if you have anger, go and immerse yourself. If you are having difficulty, go and take a shower. Water possesses that healing power. It can wash away not only the dust of your body, not only your troubles and impurities, but also pain. That is why, when you meditate, there is another method: if you have a wound and are in severe pain, and the pain intensifies, you can heal through meditation or hypnotherapy. In many places, not only in the Western world, hypnotism is gaining ground for healing. Just close your eyes and imagine you are in the shower, water flowing from your head onto your wound, and slowly, slowly the pain goes away. Just feel that, and afterwards you will feel relaxed. While you meditate in that way, the pain will go away. So this is also a psychological treatment, and water is the solution, as we already mentioned. Water has healing power. That is why, whatever the problem, you go and immerse yourself in water. That is why many people celebrate the Kumbha Melā—and not only the Kumbha Melā but any pilgrimage—and visit the holy Gaṅgā just to bathe. This means that whatever the condition in your body, it will be healed. The fire will be healed, the negativity will be healed. That is why whenever we are in pain, we touch water. So whenever we begin a prayer, we sprinkle water for purity. And not only in our ancient Vedic tradition, but for many of you from Australia as well: if you go to the native Australians, you are not allowed to go directly into their village. They will come and first sprinkle water on your body and give you some smoke, so that no external spirit will enter their village. That is why here also we have āratī. Āratī means the light for the Guru, saint, or any person. Normally, not only for the Guru but for anyone coming into your home—the Vedic tradition was first to perform āratī: first water and then āratī. The āratī flame, in relation to the seven layers of our body—you might already know about them—the external layer may carry negativity and spirits. And when you perform the fire, the āratī, all spirits go away and a pure body can enter. That is the provision, and that is why samudra snāna, going and bathing there, is a different practice. Knowing the Purāṇa is one thing, but knowing all the philosophies and histories, and blending, adjusting, and bringing out the essence of the Purāṇa is the best idea. As the story continues, Brahmā started going to different places, walking on and on. All the hākārs got mixed up. So what did Brahmājī do? To save his sādhanā sṛṣṭi, he ran to the shore of the ocean and said, “O God of the ocean, stop this fire, or else all three worlds will be destroyed.” To save the three worlds, he prayed, and the ocean accepted his plea. Jab Śivajī kā agni rūpī, krodh kā ghoṛā āyegā, to maiṁ pānī meṁ rahūṅgā. Isliye hum jal meṁ, kalaś meṁ Brahmā kā nivās bolke, Viṣṇu ke nivās bolke prārthanā karte haiṁ. “Kalaśasya mukhe Viṣṇuḥ, kaṇṭhe Rudraḥ samāśritaḥ” bolke pūjan karte haiṁ. To jal meṁ kyā hai, ki Brahmā Viṣṇu ke vās rahtā hai. Therefore, we worship water. Before worship, what do we do? We sprinkle water, saying “śānti, śānti, śānti.” We also worship water by saying “Drekṣi guṇa śānti.” When we go to a pilgrimage site, we also bathe with water. And what is in water? Dimāg kā agni bhī śānta karne kī kṣamatā rakhtā hai. It has the healing power, so that all the time we go and take bath in pilgrimage sites, in the holy river Gaṅgā, and the ocean as well. To Gaṅgā meṁ kyā hotā hai ki hamāre śarīra, mana, aur kāya ke śuddha karne kī kṣamatā nihita rahtī hai. Therefore, in our Śrī Hindu Sanātana Dharma, and indeed in all the rules of the Devadhī Deva, in other areas, in other castes, in other sects as well, this is the rule: water bath and purification with water. He, Īśvarīya niyam, is our ancient, supreme scientific discipline that begins worship by touching water. When commencing an auspicious deed, the body has seven layers. Within those seven layers, any feeling that enters the first layer, any negativity or impurity, is removed. That is why the tradition of āratī has come about: before any work, before a guest comes home, what do we do? We perform āratī. Due to that āratī, in our body… You know that anger cannot be suppressed. Suppressing is not the solution. So if you also have anger—obviously, every human has it—now we come to know there is karma. So there is karma energy, there is anger energy; we have all these energies. But the balancing energy is wisdom and discernment. Otherwise, there is energy that always wants fulfillment. Sensational desire always wants to pull you toward itself. But if you create balance, then you can be a pure yogī. And always tathāstā, tathāstā… tathāstā. Moving on, it is saying, Tāṭa Samudra: “Jab Sāgar kī bāt sunsār, Bhagavān Śaṅkarismān karke, lūkā hith ke dhyān rakhte hue, usne Praśānta Prabhu kaha, kī Samudra le, Tāṭa Samudra.” So, “Alright, I can do that, Brahmā. I can control the fire of Śiva.” So Samudra was ready there to extinguish the fire of Śiva’s anger. That is why anger, if you fuel it, spreads. And the best way with anger is to try to limit it. If there is a fire in your home or on any land, what can we do? Better to give it limited space. That is why in places where there are more bushfires, like Australia and other countries, they deliberately do controlled burns. Control means they make a border and burn that area, so that later if there is a wildfire, it cannot enter. In the same way, controlling anger—and with anger, controlling is not suppressing—the solution is observing the anger. When anger comes, just observe your body. And if you remember things correctly, you will definitely win. When anger comes, you are very unhappy and upset; at that time, your energy leaves. If you laugh or smile, you will gain energy. If you are angry, the energy will go. That is why you just remember: those people who are short-tempered become very weak. Test yourself. After you have been very angry, try to lift something and you will find you cannot after the anger has passed. You become weak; your hands shake, your eyes turn red, your breathing quickens, doesn’t it? So anger is indeed difficult, and to control anger, the way is not suppression; to control karma, the path is not suppression but simply observation. That is why when you observe, today just observe, “Oh, this is anger.” Observe it, and slowly it will disappear. The next time you are in a temper, just observe. And if you forget, recognize, “Oh, that was anger.” In the same way, whenever any negativity comes into your mind, just observe. The science says, the Bhagavad Gītā says, follow Vītarāga. It is the one unique word in this world that we find in the Bhagavad Gītā: Vītarāga. What is it? Vītarāga. In Sanskrit, Vītarāga means dispassion, indifference—Vīta tathā. Indifference means neither rāga (attachment) nor vairāgya (aversion). Vairāgya also is running away—running from the subject, running from the object. And rāga, attachment, is being connected with the object. So either vairāgya or rāga, both are connections with the object. But tathāstā is not connected. So if you have something you desire, for example coffee: if you feel that without coffee you cannot pass your day or morning, that is your attachment. And if you say, “Well, if there is coffee, all right, I’ll drink it. If there isn’t, still all right,” that doesn’t create any difficulty. If you find it, all right; if you don’t, all right. So if you find it, you’ll consume it, but it won’t become an addiction. That is why it is said that a yogī should remain in the world like a lotus leaf in water: sansār meṁ yogī jaisā rahe, jaisā rahtā hai kamal pānī meṁ. Just remain like a lotus leaf; even though it stays in water, it doesn’t get wet. It remains dry after being in water. In the same way, living in the world, you remain like a lotus leaf. If you get something, all right, enjoy it. If you don’t get it, still enjoy. These are the insights on how to control anger. Just be observant, and you can do anything. And always, you gain positive energy. The key to gaining positive energy is one thing you always carry with you: a smile. Can you smile now? Yes, good, wonderful. When you give a smile, that is a wonderful way of gaining energy. One man went to ask Swamījī, “Gurujī, Gurujī, I am a really poor person. Can you give me some idea, please?” Swamījī replied, “What’s the idea?” The man said, “Well, I’m very poor and I don’t have anything.” The Gurujī said, “Well, so you are not giving to other people. Give to others, and you will be given to.” He protested, “I don’t have anything to give. How can I give? I don’t have money. I don’t have property. I don’t have any assets. How can I give?” “Well, you have got many things. You have got many things, but you are very stingy. You are not giving. And what have you got, you ask? Smile. God has given you beautiful lips and teeth. If they have fallen, do not worry. Even then you can smile. Share that beauty, and when you share it, the other person will have to give back to you. Whatever you give, that you will be given.” That is why there is a story about a bet. Two men made a bet: one said, “The Prime Minister will salute me.” The other said, “How can he salute you? I don’t believe you.” The first said, “If you bet me, I’ll show you.” They placed a bet of a thousand dollars and went to the Prime Minister’s place. The man simply said, “Hello, Prime Minister, good morning,” and saluted. The Prime Minister responded, “Good morning,” and saluted back. The man said, “See, the Prime Minister saluted me.” So in the same way, if you give respect to others, you will get respect back. If you think, “Oh, I’m a great person, I’m a priest, I’m a saint, I’m a jñānī,” and you don’t want to bow your head, don’t want to listen to others, don’t want to give care or attention—people are equal. It is not about standing at a height and saying, “I am great.” No. A donkey sometimes goes up a mountain and stands on top; the donkey does not become great by being at a height. Staying high does not make one great. You just need your heart to be great. No matter where you stay, you are great if you have greatness in your heart. Isliye pahāṛ ke ūpar chaḍhne se koī baḍā nahīṁ hotā hai. Kabhī kabhī gadhe bhī pahāṛ ke ūpar ghās khāne ke liye jāte haiṁ. To ūṁcāī meṁ chaḍhne se koī baḍā nahīṁ hotā hai. To man ke baḍā hī baḍā hai, aur jñān ke baḍā hī baḍā hai. Aur jab hum kisī ko dete haiṁ tab vah respect dete haiṁ, sammān dete haiṁ. To sammān āpko vāpas ā jātā hai. Yeh vidhān hamāre Bhāgavata meṁ, hamāre Śāstroṁ meṁ hai, ki āp jitne baḍe haiṁ, utne hī āpkā kyā hai? Ki baḍappan nahīṁ, jhukāv jyādā ātā hai. Aur jo phal nahīṁ dene vālā hotā hai… Whatever tree gives fruit, its branches bow down. And whatever tree does not bear fruit, its branches always stay upright. That is why bending signifies flexibility. When a flood comes, the tree that can bend goes down with it, and when the flood is over, it rises again. If the trees don’t know how to bend, the wind comes and breaks them. So we should be people who are always bending. And in bending, there is an amazing science. When you bend, the two thumbs go towards your Ājñā Chakra. When you bend, that means your energy is coming to me. It is not just saluting you; your energy is coming towards me, towards the Ājñā Chakra, opening my eyes. So there are many benefits. Bringing your hands together means connecting your heart center, and your thumbs work like an antenna. Your energy is coming here. And bowing to the feet of great gurus and others—every human being has a south pole and north pole magnet in the body, isn’t it? When you touch the feet, you receive energy; and the other person may think, “Oh, I’m great, he’s bowing his head,” but the benefit is going to the one who bends. Psychologically and physiologically, bending brings humility. That is why those who can cut off their ego, who can seize it, can bow; otherwise, they always remain stiff. These are the connections between fire and water. And when Samudra, the ocean god, was pleased, Śivajī’s fire horse stopped, and Sṛṣṭi remained happy. Jai Bhole Bhagavad Gītā kī, Jai Jai Bhole Brahmā, Viśvamaheśvara kī, Jai Jai Bhole Śivapurāṇa kī, Jai. In the next stage we will go to the Pāṇini, but now one bhajan. And anyone can participate by clapping your hands. Clapping your hands is wonderful. From time to time, that clap energizes. For instance, when you make juice, if you add sugar and forget to stir, what happens? It doesn’t dissolve properly. That is why clapping is like stirring while holding something; it goes inside, energizing you. Okay, starting Hari Om. Jai Bholē Bholē Bābā kī Jai. So in the Śivapurāṇa, it conveys not merely the story but the art of life, the art of how to survive happily. Fire means purity. You may know that before Rāma went to the forest, he surrendered Sītā Mātā to the fire god. You might have already heard the story. Sītā went to take shelter with the fire god. That signifies purity. The Sītā who was kidnapped by Rāvaṇa was the fake Sītā. Because later, back to Rāvaṇa, Rāma asked, “Oh fire god, now the Līlā is finished. Please send Sītā.” That is why, if you read the Rāmāyaṇa, Sītā had no weapons, but when she lifts one stick, it turns to fire and no one can cross inside—that is the fire. That is the story, but what is the divine meaning? The divine meaning is that Sītā is the ātmā, purity, and purity never gets spoiled. Fire always burns negative things; fire burns everything and always maintains purity. Part 4: The Fire of Purity, Karma, and Divine Grace That is why the fire was invoked, and Sītā was taken by Agnideva, the fire god. Before departing for the forest, at this moment, it was determined: “Sītā, you and I must separate. Because only in fire, O God, will you be safe. Fire is purity, and so Sītā was entrusted to the fire. From birth to death, fire manages everything; it is our abode.” There is also a fire within our body. Do you know where that fire is? Yes, good; someone points here. When we are angry, it emanates from here. Among the seven types of fire—there are seven fires—one resides in our stomach: Jāṭharāgni. What is it called? Jāṭharāgni. It is a variety of Agni. The final fire is Citāgni, the fire of the funeral pyre. And the principal fire we can observe is Jāṭharāgni, the Agni within. We add nothing; that is the wonder. At birth, fire enters our body. If you eat ice cream an hour before or after, what happens? That fire melts and processes it. We do nothing. You do not feed it coal, yet it maintains its temperature. That is why you see fire here—we put no petrol, no gas, no oven. How does it happen? Behold this astonishing creativity of the universe. The universe has fire within, and fire is purity itself. From birth to death, we continually engage with fire and remain near it. When you perform a Havan, fire is present, and we use it. With fire, we always offer the word “Svāhā.” Svāhā means: that is the offering, hum. It signifies—you are there, I am here, yet we are one. Svāhā. When you utter Svāhā, you relinquish negativity and invite auspiciousness. You give up negativity and draw in what is auspicious. That is why we always say Svāhā. From birth, for purification, fire is required—for your Paśnī ceremony and then your baby’s naming ceremony. As you grow, every auspicious occasion calls for Havan, the fire ritual; thus you need fire. In marriage too, you need the sacred fire, the holy fire. While you are alive, fire is within you. When that fire leaves the body, that day marks our end; we depart from this body. Thus, fire is purity. Hence we always worship Agnideva, the fire god. If we misuse it, that power becomes a devastator, a destroyer. But when we use fire properly, it becomes a helper, an assistant, or a medicine. Śrī Śivajī, among the many deities, Agnideva is also one of the gods. That is why we invoke fire: to receive its manifold benefits. Fire is a god, and we gain immense energy from it. Similarly, we depend on water, so it is Jala Devatā, the water god. We draw our breath from the air, so it is Vāyu Devatā, the air god. And we receive vitamin D freely, at no cost, from the Sun—that is Sūrya Devatā. We think, “Oh, I am offering a beautiful mango to God,” or “I am giving these fine clothes to God,” or “I am donating a large sum to God and performing grand pūjā.” But are you really performing pūjā? No. The universe has given you those things merely for you to offer them. In truth, the universe is performing pūjā for the human being. Nature is the giver. Consider these beautiful mangoes, bananas, watermelons—they are given to us freely. Yet you think you are taking from one place and giving to another; you are merely transferring, yet you say, “I am giving.” So it is said: “Āpne hī diyā hai, yeh sansāra, ham kyā pūjā kar sakte hai?” (You have already given this world; what worship can we offer?) When you take something without offering thanks, you are accumulating bad karma. One day you will have to repay it. No karma in this universe can be resolved without being paid off. The process of meditation and rituals is itself a repayment for all that you receive. Thus, we cannot truly perform pūjā; we have nothing of our own to offer. For example, your father gives you a hundred dollars. You ask, “Dad, give me a hundred dollars.” Then you go to the market, put ninety dollars in your pocket, buy a gift with ten dollars, and present it to your father, saying, “Dad, look, I give you a gift.” In reality, that money was your father’s; the gift is not truly yours. In the same way, nothing in this universe is ours—it all comes from the universe. Yet we say, “I gave this,” and we even feel proud enough to inscribe our name on it. Visit a temple, and you might see a small fan operating; on it are three generations’ names—his son, his daughter—and he has donated this ceiling fan. Observe: he is pursuing a name, not the spirit of donation. As Swamiji says, there is only one nation, not two. Similarly, we must always be mindful of our actions. We must be careful with karma. It is better not to carry bad karma constantly. What you speak, what you suggest, what you do—all must be aligned. That is why we perform karma in a way that does not burden us with further karma. With every step we take, with every word we utter, a thought arises; thus we must be vigilant not to become victims of bad karma. It can arise at any moment. This human body is attained after 8.4 million births, after countless lifetimes of karma. “To nikalne ke liye hai, to isī liye kyā hai, ki” —therefore, what must be done? Be always careful with ego. See yourself as an ordinary person, a simple person, and know that you are nothing. When you embed this in your mind, you will be freed from karmic bondage. The moment you think, “I am a great person,” you begin to expect respect from others. If someone does not show respect, you feel hurt. That hurt destabilizes the mind, and instability invites bad karma. Therefore, always remain positive and stay connected with God. If someone speaks ill of you, in God’s presence, it is nothing. No matter what is said, simply smile. That is perfection, as we discussed yesterday. Always be truthful. Let me share a story—the story of Akbar and Birbal. Once there was Akbar and Birbal in India. A very intellectual man arrived from overseas. At that time, India had many states; from a neighboring kingdom, a learned man came. He could speak thirteen languages. Everyone would ask, “Where are you from?” He would reply, “I speak thirteen languages. You can guess where I am from. If you can discern it from my accent or otherwise, then you are wise. It is not my duty to tell you.” This scholar, the one who came, was very learned and spoke thirteen languages. Everyone questioned him. He would say with pride, “I know thirteen languages. You tell me where I am from; that is your task. Find out.” Thus, he carried pride. True knowledge diminishes pride. Therefore, if you possess knowledge, you never declare, “I know this.” No. The Gyanīs never claim to know. Only the ignorant, who have not reached the heights of Gyāna, proclaim themselves to be Gyānīs, asserting that they know. “Maiṁ ā gayā, to phir maiṁ maiṁ... bakrī kī tāl ho gayā, ‘merā hai, merā hai,... merā hai,’ aur bakrī ko kyā hai, ‘merā hai, merā...’ Hai karte karte, kasāī ne usko gardan me red detā hai, lalu terā hai, merā hai, kyā hai? Ghaman hai, ahaṅkār hai.” (I came, then I, I… became like a goat: “It’s mine, mine, mine…” And what does the goat say? “Mine, mine…” Doing this repeatedly, the butcher slits its throat. “Lalu, is it yours? Is it mine? What is it? It is arrogance, it is ego.”) Just like that, this Pandit was proud, saying, “I am a great person; I speak thirteen languages. Guess where I am from!” Akbar said to Birbal, “Birbal, you are always clever and wise. Do you have any idea? This man is very proud—how can we humble him? How can we discover his origin?” Birbal, a witty person, devised a brilliant plan. He said, “Mahārāj, I will find out, not today, but definitely tomorrow. Please arrange for me to stay in the same building as him.” Akbar arranged that they stay in the same building, next door. Birbal stayed next door, and the Pandit was in the other room. When night fell and both had gone to sleep, Birbal quietly entered the Pandit’s room with a small bird’s feather. He gently placed the feather inside the Pandit’s ear, where it would slowly move during the night. The Pandit was sleeping, and in a half-sleep state, he began to yell, “Oh, who is this? Where did he come from? Who is this guy?” You see, when people are in a subconscious state and feel the need to curse, they curse in their native language. No matter what you believe, when you speak intimately to your partner, you use your own words. Thus, only one language emerged. At that moment, the Pandit uttered, “Abadip Ashram.” The next day, Birbal recognized the abusive word as belonging to the Abadi language, and he deduced the man was from Abadpur. In the court gathering, Birbal announced, “Oh, you are from… I know where you come from.” “Where?” “You are from Abadpur.” The Pandit was astonished. Similarly, every pride is humbled. Look at how many stories exist! The Śiva Purāṇa contains more than 354 stories. In each one, the pattern is: first, a character is poor or weak, then gains power, misuses it, and ultimately Śivajī arrives to set things right. It is always so. For example, Tārakāsura, the demon. He was originally a very ordinary demon. Later, what did he do? He meditated intensely. He meditated and meditated, and he attained great power. “Brahmā ke tapasyā kiyā usne.” (He performed severe penance directed at Brahmā.) “Amarta ke āśīrbād se kyā māṅgā usne kī, ‘Maiṁ sadā bahār is saṁsār meṁ jī sakūṁ, aur koī kisī mere ko nahīṁ mār sakay, aur maiṁ sadā amar rahūṁ.’” (With the blessing of immortality, what did he ask? He said: “May I live ever fresh in this world; let no one be able to kill me; may I be immortal forever.”) So he meditated, and he obtained the boon from Brahmā. But he misused it. He also stipulated that none of Śivjī’s sons could deceive him. So ultimately, what happened? There is always a clue, a loophole. God never grants a boon unconditionally. You will not simply be told, “You will live forever.” You will live, but there is always a “but,” an “although,” or a “though.” A condition always accompanies the blessing. In the Śiva Purāṇa, the Tārakāsura episode unfolds similarly. He overlooked the condition, and later, Śiva had to marry. After the marriage, Kārttikeya was born, and Kārttikeya killed Tripurāsura. “Guru Daitya kā bhī hotā hai, binā guru nāve gyān. Daitya guru Śukrācārya thī, usko Śivjī ne, Nandīśvara ne kaisā abhar karnā paḍā. Is bāre me saṅkṣipta carchā karte ve. Āj Pāṇini ke sūtra usme bhī ham praveś karte hain. Jai Bholē Bābā kī. Jai.” (The Guru of the Daityas also exists; without a guru, knowledge does not come. The Daitya guru was Śukrācārya. To deal with him, Śivjī, through Nandīśvara, had to accomplish a kidnapping. Let us briefly discuss this. Today we also enter into the Sūtras of Pāṇini. Glory to Bholē Bābā!) We are now almost at the end of this section. We are covering Rudra Saṁhitā, chapters 44 to 47. At this point, I will explain how the Daitya Guru, Śukrācārya, was kidnapped by Nandīśvara (Nandī plus Īśvara). Why did Nandīśvara kidnap Śukrācārya? What was the purpose? That is what I shall now explain. There was a great war between the demons and the gods. Always, there is war. Similarly, within our body, thoughts war. When good thoughts arise, that is Devatattā (divine quality). When bad thoughts arise, that is Dhanavatattā (demonic quality). When they fight, if you have Śiva, through meditation, knowledge can defeat negativity. The Devatās. In the same way, a battle raged between the Devatās and Dānavas. Whenever the Dānavas were suffering or in difficulty, they would all take shelter with Śukrācārya. “Śukrācārya ke pās mein jā rahe the, jab bhī dānav, jab jo bhī ghāil hote hai, jo bhī kaṣṭeṁ, kaṭhināī mein hote hai, toh Śukrācārya ke śaraṇ mein jāte haiṁ. A Śukrācārya, Śukrācārya, śraddhā gat dharma kī rakṣā.” (They would go to Śukrācārya; whenever a demon was wounded or in distress, they took refuge in Śukrācārya. Śukrācārya, with faith, protected dharma.) “Śraddhā gat, śraddhā gat karnā hī ek dharma hai. Vohī samaske. Śukrācārya kyā hai kī rakṣā kartāte de dānav ko, aur mantra se amṛtamai mantra se kyā hai. Unko fir jaga dete the, lekin devatā ke tarap se kuch nahī ho pā rahā thā.” (Having faith itself is a dharma. That is the essence. What does Śukrācārya do? He protects the demons, and with divine mantras of immortality, he revives them. But on the side of the gods, nothing could be done.) “Isliye devatā ne kyā kyā? Nandiśor ko Nandiśūr marpa? Śivjī bhūle bābā ko kyā kyā? Prārthanā kyā? Bhūle bābā kyā hai? Bhūle bhale har dharme, vah koī bhī prārthanā se khuś ho jāte hain. Toh kya hai, ki sare devādidev, Nandiśūr ke sāth me, Śivjī ke darbār me Kailāś parbat pahun̄c gaye, prārthanā karne lage, bhūle bābā kuch upāya kar lījī, kyunki Sudaitya rāj, Śukrācārya, toh sare dānav ko jīvit kar rahā hai. Jai bhūle bhūle bābā kī, jai.” (Therefore, what did the Devatās do? They approached Nandīśvara and Śivjī, the innocent Bābā, in prayer. Who is the innocent Bābā? He is innocent and good in every way; he is pleased by any prayer. So all the Devatās, led by Nandīśvara, reached Śivjī’s court on Mount Kailāśa and began to pray: O innocent Bābā, please find a solution, because Śukrācārya, under the demon king, is reviving all the demons. Glory to the innocent Bābā!) So when the demons were slain, yet some survived, they would again take shelter with their Guru, Śukrācārya. The Daitya Guru is Śukrācārya. He would sprinkle holy water, chant the divine Mahāmṛtyuñjaya mantra, and they would always be revived. “Mahāprabhujī Karatā Mahāprabhujī Karatā He Kevalam Nandi.” You can go and kidnap Śukrācārya. Sometimes, to protect Dharma, Nandīśvara had to go and kidnap Śukrācārya. As you know, in the Rāmāyaṇa, Hanumānjī had to kidnap Dhanvantari, Rāvaṇa’s physician, when they needed him. To protect Dharma, sometimes one must act and even bend the rules. When Śivajī acts, it is always for the greater good. Now we turn to the story of a saint, Pāṇini. He was not intellectually gifted; he was rather dull-minded. Pāṇini was a student with limited intelligence, studying in a Gurukul. It is said that he had the least knowledge among the students and was not thought capable of further study. Everyone mocked him. At that time, Guru Mātā said, “Pāṇini, what are they all doing to you? Go and perform tapasyā, please Lord Śiva, and you will return as a jñānī.” So Guru Mātā advised Pāṇini: “O Pāṇini, do not worry that you are a dull boy and everyone mocks you. Do not worry; there is always a solution. Where there is a problem, a solution exists. Where there is illness, medicine exists. Where there are difficulties, a solution exists. So do not worry. Seek the solution, and the source of all solutions is Śivajī, through meditation.” Meditation is sādhanā. Sādhanā means closely connecting with God and Guru. When you connect with God and Guru, nothing is impossible; you can accomplish anything. You only need blessings. The first requirement is purity. Through continuous sādhanā and purity, you receive blessings and grace from your connection with God and Guru. With those blessings, your spiritual level elevates, power increases, and you can uplift all situations and move in positive directions. In the same way, here Pāṇini found the path. Guru Mātā said, “Go and meditate. Pāṇini, go to the Himalayas and meditate.” Then what happens? As you acquire knowledge, you truly learn. After receiving the blessing, he went to meditate. Later, Pāṇini became one of the founders of Sanskrit phonetics, known for the fourteen Maheśvara Sūtras. If you study Sanskrit, you likely know them. How many of you know Pāṇini’s Sūtras? Yes, wonderful—they are unique. Pāṇini entered deep meditation. He meditated for many years with great dedication and devotion. In those days, meditation was prolonged; it was not a quick fix. Liberation required sustained effort. Pāṇini meditated, yet many times he did not receive the darśana of Śivajī. He became almost despondent. But it is said that even at the last moment, you must keep seeking the solution. Do not give up. At the final point, luck may be waiting. That is why, before leaving, lock the door—but perhaps the lock is waiting outside. When you are about to close the door, the lock remains outside. Similarly, Pāṇini was on the verge of giving up his meditation. At that moment, Nārada came. Nārada represents communication, sañcār—the cosmic message, the divine voice from the universe. Nārada arrived and said, “O Pāṇini, do not worry, do not be afraid. There is always a solution. Keep meditating, so that one day you will fulfill your sādhanā.” The Śiva Purāṇa teaches us: whatever sādhanā you are performing, do not give up, do not block your path. Keep moving continuously forward until you reach the goal. Once you attain the goal, everything is gained. So until you reach the final stage, keep on with your work. Part 5: Śiva’s Ḍamaru and the Birth of Sanskrit Grammar Pāṇini also continued to abide in meditation. One day, Śiva came. Pāṇini was asking for knowledge, not for any boon, not for any blessing. Śiva is very merciful, and when he arrived, he played the ḍamaru. The ḍamaru is the small cosmic drum, and the cosmic drum moves from here to here. You may have seen it already—the cosmic drum here, especially in many temples, Śiva temples; in Śivalā there are many drums. And how many times did he play it? Fourteen times. He played the cosmic drum fourteen times. And the sounds that came forth from those fourteen times became the formula, the foundation of the Sanskrit Ṛg Veda. That is called the Māheśvarī Sūtrāṇi. What is it called? Māheśvarī Sūtrāṇi. When Pāṇini’s meditation was completed, Śiva Bholā Bhagavān came but did not say anything. He came, stood up and played the ḍamaru. So what is the ḍamaru? How many times did he play it? He played it fourteen times, and in those fourteen times, the ḍamaru produced fourteen sūtras. The basis of Sanskrit came forth. From that basis alone, Pāṇini made the fourteen sūtras. We call them Pāṇini Sūtra, Sanskrit Sūtra. And what was not there in the Ṛg Veda, as it is said, Pāṇini ko Maheśvarāṇī sūtrāṇi santi. Where does it begin? It begins with A, that is why A, U, M—Oṃ, which is the first letter of Sṛṣṭi, and Śivjī also used it in the Sanskrit language: A, U, M. Thus, Pāṇini’s sūtras unfolded. Jai Bholē Bholē Bābā Kī Jai. From the cosmic drum, he generated the formula. What a creative idea, what an intellectual person. And the first was Ai Un—that is, a i u ṇ. Then the second, Ṛḷk—ṛ ḷ k. The third, Evaṅg—e o ṅ. Fourth, Ai Aus—ai au c. Fifth, Hai Warat—ha ya va ra ṭ. Sixth, Laṃ—la ṇ. Seventh, Gaṇanam—ña ma ṅa ṇa na m. And then Jhabhañ, Ghaḍhadhaṣ, Jabagaḍadaś, Khaphachaṭhathacaṭatav, Kapay, Śaṣasar Hal. That was fourteen formulas. That is Kramta Damaru: a i u ṇ, ṛ ḷ k, e o ṅ, ai au c, ha ya va ra ṭ, la ṇ, ña ma ṅa ṇa na m, jha bha ñ, gha ḍha dha ṣ, ja ba ga ḍa da ś, kha pha cha ṭha tha ca ṭa ta v, ka pa y, śa ṣa sa r, ha l. Yes, fourteen formulas. And when you chant that properly, it is said to be a healing mantra, a healing path. And yoga of your tongue, yoga for your throat. That is why it was the fourteen formulas. If you chant that properly, and when you stretch your body, what happens? Stretching means you are giving strength to your nervous system. In the same way, when you stretch your tongue, that is phonetic yoga. And that is a healing yoga. It is a Vedic mantra designed to heal, not only for worshipping or just for the sake of praying to God. That is the healing power. That is why, always, every word, if you chant properly, if you recite any Sanskrit mantra properly, it will work as a treatment in your body, not just for God’s request, not just to make God happy; it works for the treatment of the body as well. That is why mantra has vibrational, activational energy; it has been already explored, experienced, and taken into practice for thousands and thousands of years. It has been experimented upon. So, mantras, if you chant properly: mantra is mana plus tantra—man ke yantra, tan ke yantra. So, manasā—whatever you chant, that can be healed. So, śa, ṣa, sa. There are three different pronunciations of Sa: śa inside, ṣa, and sa. Śa, ṣa, sa. So that was the formula Pāṇini received. Look at this—Śiva’s ḍamaru also. What a beautiful… look at this. What a beautiful formula he created for the human being. What a beautiful thing that is for our linguistic civilization. And all the ancient scriptures have been written in Sanskrit. The Ṛg Veda is the oldest Sanskrit scripture. The normal Sanskrit may not always include that formula, but mostly all Sanskrit has it. And if you practice that, it will definitely become part of you. Jai Bholē Bholē Bābā Kī Jai. Now we would like to go on chanting one bhajan, and then we will go ahead. You sit in a meditative form, and always that energizing style is clapping. Clapping is supporting and energizing your body as well. Jai Bholi Śiva Bhagavān Kī. Now we start the bhajans. Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya. Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya. Mere tan meṁ Śiva hai, mere man meṁ Śiva. Mere tan meṁ Śiva hai, mere man meṁ Śiva. Mere rom rom ye Śiva kā nām hai. Mere rom rom ye Śiva kā nām hai. Mere tan meṁ Śiva hai, mere man meṁ Śiva hai. Mere tan meṁ Śiva hai, mere oṁ oṁ Śiva kā nām hai. Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya, Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya, Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya. Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya, Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya, Bholo Namaḥ Śivāya, Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya, Bholo Namaḥ Śivāya, Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya. Mere tan meṁ Śiv hai, mere man meṁ Śiv hai, mere man meṁ Śiv hai, mere tan meṁ Śiv hai. Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya, Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya,… Bolo Namaḥ Śivāya. Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya, Bolo Namaḥ Śivāya, Mere Rom Rom Me Śiva Kā Nām Hai. Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya, Bolo Namaḥ Śivāya, Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya, Bolo Namaḥ Śivāya, Har Har Bholā. Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya… Meditation is the status of mind, the transcendental mind, coming closer towards Śiva, coming closer towards the truth. There might be obstacles that come—many obstacles come—but you need to keep doing and keep doing and keep doing. As I mentioned to you, positivity brings you amazing awareness. I would just like to add one more story from South America. In South America, there is a group of people called Sinhwa. And the Sinhwa people, in their 300‑year history of civilization, have never fought each other. They have had no violent incidents. They have no divisions—caste, culture, or anything. There was this amazing, unique civilization, and people went to research there. What is the reason for that utmost positivity? People went there and found out that they had cultivated positivity. They always practiced positivity from day to morning. And when the scientists went there, they carried out research, many questionnaires. The villagers and the members of the society told them: well, there is one cause why we went—and why we maintain this continuous positivity. When they wake up early in the morning, they gather under the tree in the village. And when they gather under the tree, the old person, the senior man of the village, starts to listen to what you dreamt last night. Everyone wants to share a dream, don’t they? Sometimes you also want to share dreams. And dreams, they had amazing signs as well. So one person shares a dream, and the senior person listens. “Well, I saw a buffalo at night.” “Oh, I saw a snake at night in my dream.” “Oh, I saw this thing.” “I was being chased by a tiger.” “I had some bitter experience in my dream.” And the old man, the senior man, would interpret: “Well, if you have seen those things, you finish your negativity. Now is the time to turn towards positivity. You finish your difficulties and danger; that is why you saw them.” Danger in your dream? Don’t worry—he used to interpret in that way. And whatever positive things you see—sometimes you see, “Oh, I saw Brahmā,” or “I see the Guru”—and so that is the asking. So always, well, you finish the negativity, then I will turn to the positivity. That is how you start positive thinking and positive dreams. You always interpret in that way, and people are very happy. They started their day with a smile and positive thoughts. Well, we have got some hope, we have got energy, and life is energy and motivation, isn’t it? If you have the motivation, if you have the energy, if you have the good qualities, if you have the grace of God and Guru, you can definitely go ahead, and nothing can obstruct you—not a ghost, not a spirit, not any obstacle. That is why it is said that if you are in a problem, if you are on a cliff, if you are in danger, you always connect with the eternal; you will not be alone. And the Guru and God will bless you through their blessings, through their vibe. It doesn’t necessarily mean you need to be close, you need to be in the āśram all the time. You need to be close to your guru or God all the time. There might be the energy, and that energy helps you, not even in this world. If you ever travel in space, if you are traveling on the moon as well, there are always blessings. There is always that energy. Energy is protecting you, and that is Śiva. That is why Śiva says: Don’t worry, whenever you… If you don’t believe me, if you want to see in saguṇa, saguṇa rūp me aap dekhna chāhte ho, Bhagavān Śiva ko aap kyā hai ki pratyakṣet dekhna chāhte ho, aur aapko dhyānast ho kar Paramātmā ke aapke ājñā cakram me. Aapko either piṅgalā or suṣumnā ke bīch meṁ rakar jñāna cakram meṁ, Śivjī ko tattva jñāna nayā ātā hai, to aap saguṇa rūp meṁ dhyāna kar sakte haiṁ. Saguṇa bhakti karne ke liye, Śivjī ne Śiva liṅga kī racanā kī hai, aur Śiva liṅga ko aap dhyāna kar sakte haiṁ, jaisā Brahmā, Viṣṇu ne, Śiva. To anusvāna dhana karne ke liye, jo kiyā thā, kabhī bhī unko nahī̃ milā, lekin dhyānas to hote hote, Śivjī kā darśana mil gayā thā, vaisā hī karke hī, āpa śiva liṅga ko saguṇa rūpa meṁ pūjā kar sakte haiṁ. So you can just meditate. The inside, your inside, is beauty. That beauty will come. And you don’t need anything. As I mentioned before, what you need to meditate, what you need to perform your devotion, your duty—you just need two things. Yes? So what are they? They are your mind and body. That’s two things. You just need two things. You don’t need money. You don’t need anything. You say, “I am poor.” You say, “I don’t have any Satguru.” You can say, “I am not in a good place.” You are far away. No, no. You don’t need anything. You just need two things for devotion: one is mind, and one is body. You just need two things. When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. When the disciple is ready, the guru appears in any form. That is why you just need to be ready. When the disciple is ready, the Guru comes in many forms. When the Guru is blessed, he calls you. That is why in Sada Sarvata, in devotion, you just need to put faith. That is why it is said in our scripture: if you have faith in anything, if you have faith 100%, then you will get the outcomes, whatever you are expecting. That is why you just need to change your mind and vision. Then you will have everything; it will come. My pleasure, thank you very much. And I would just like to continue today’s topic from the Rudra Saṁhitā. The things here: when Brahmā created all the elements, he created water, he created directions, he created fire, energy, all the energies he created. That means if that is created by Brahmā, if that came from Brahmā and Viṣṇu, there must be some good things there. And we need to honor everything—each and every element, each and every jīva. Ahiṃsā paramo dharmaḥ. So then, when you start to respect all those things, then you are worshipping. That is why you don’t need the golden temple. You don’t need the golden statue of Śiva. You don’t need the golden Śivaliṅga. You can see that Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa—they worship Śiva. They collect sand and make a holy Śivaliṅga, and they worship there. And Śiva appeared. So it is just channeling. The mūrti is nothing. The mūrti is not everything. The statue is not everything. Mūrti sab thuk nahī ye. And the most important thing is devotion. If you have devotion, then you will get Gaṇeśa in Govardhana. If you have devotion, then you can establish a Śivaliṅga anywhere. In every stone, you can see the presence of the Devatās. Dhṛṣṭi jo hotā hai, dhṛṣṭi jo hotā hai,… Dhṛṣṭi. No, there might be many spirits, the spirit of the Guru, the spirit of the holy man, saint, or monks, or many people from the past life also, they are staying here. But we are so limited only to that, the daśendriya. We are limited to the five karmendriya and the five jñānendriya. We cannot go out of it. When you are yogashtva and you attain paramtattva, then you can go out of it. Otherwise, you cannot see the spirit in this hall. You cannot see the spirit. You cannot read the x-ray with your eyes. You cannot read the x-ray. Mahāprabhujī kī Karatā Mahāprabhujī kī Karatā… See it. So we cannot simply say, “Oh, there is no God.” Oh, we cannot say that anything. That presence, obviously. That is why it is saying that if you do Rāmāyaṇa Kathā, there is presence of Hanumān. When you do the Śiva Purāṇa, you have devotion; Śiva is there. So that is why Śiva is here in the form. So we might not see. We are very, very limited persons. So we have five sensational organs, five organs for actions—Karmendriya and Jñānendriya. They are so limited we cannot even read an X-ray. And even if there is a fly that comes and sits behind your head, you cannot see that. But the jīva has got amazing power, that’s why jīva kīlīya śiva, śiva for jīva—they are connected. So when the jīva comes, then the jīva starts to protect in this universe. Since anādi kāla, until now, the process of creation has been ongoing. Therefore, in this creation, Śivajī’s existence was there before, is there now, and will remain afterwards. If you debate attentively with full devotion, if you worship God, Jīva, then you… you will get the blessings. Jīva is wonderful. And that is why he created, and here he is saying why he has got the ḍamaru and the trident, triśūla, and also he always remains in symmetry. And just I would like to add one story: there was a saint who had a small heart. Kamandalu, Triśūla, Chimṭā, Chor Kambaḷ, He Kevalaṁ Mahāprabhudīpa Karatā, Mahāprabhudīpa Karatā. And the thief robbed the blanket; they took it away. And the villagers became unhappy. The poor sādhū, he has got only one blanket, and that too was stolen. So now it is time to chase the robber, and we need to follow the thief. And everyone requests the Mahānta. And Mahānta told, “Well, I don’t need it, that’s okay.” But the villagers said, “No, no… We have to find him and give him punishment.” And he could not—the Mahānta could not ignore them. And everyone followed the sādhū, that Mahātma. And Mahātma took them in the name of finding the thief, and he took them to the symmetry. And they asked, “Why to the symmetry?” And he told, this is the last point. No one can run away from here. One day he will come here, so let’s wait for him there. So that is the moral story: that symmetry is the last point of this physical body. No matter how many kilometers you run faster, or wherever you are running, whatever money you are making, wherever you are doing, that is the last point. From that, beyond that border, you cannot cross it. So, that is in the Śiva Purāṇa also. It wants to give you this moral story: that material pleasure, a material goal, will always remain here. You can enjoy the material goals, you can buy, you can enjoy, you can sing, you can earn money, you can go, you can dance, but always put in your mind the connection of the eternal, the truth, the eternal goal. And that is Śiva. And Śiva appears when you ask him to come. So without calling, even a dog doesn’t come. Is it? No. So, if you go sometimes to Europe or to some Western world, the trained dog, if you give food, it doesn’t come and eat. They are already trained. You need to call them. You need to invite them. That is why, Jīvo Hi Īśvaraḥ. So for today, we will rest here. We will move forward. And for tomorrow, for us, it is even better in the evening. The great penance of Śukrācārya, how it fell. Ho gayā, aur usme Sukrācārya jaisā guru, taitā guru bhī Śivjī ke ghaṇḍ se jo phaṇḍā me, kinna me pad gayā the, usse kaisā hai? Isse ham kyā jñāna le sakte hain abhī ke duniyā me? Abhī ham jo bhī hain, hamāre samāj me jo bhī. Vikṛtiyā hai, jo bhī hamāre samāj meṁ kaṭhināī hai, o jīvan ko param sundar banāne ke liye, Śiva Kathā, Amṛt Bānī, kaisā madat kartā hai, ham bād meṁ carcā karte haiṁ. After this, in the next session, we will talk about Śukrācārya. He was also the Guru, but no matter—the Guru or saint—if people do something wrong, they are also liable to be punished in the court of God. So that will be tonight’s story. And definitely, you might have already read the Mahābhārata Kathā, and in the Mahābhārata Kathā also, when Arjuna asks, “Droṇācārya is my guru, how can I attack him?” But Kṛṣṇa told that, in time, the Guru is Guru until he follows the good things. And the Śukra, the Kikar means to the Arjuna. But we know that we always respect the divinity, the eternity that comes from the Sadguru. And we respect, and we will find the Jñāna. That is why it is saying that. Andha Agyāna Timiraṁ Dāsya Gyānāñjana Śalākayā Cakṣurūn Militam Ena Tasme Gurave Namaha Hari Om Tassa Jai Bolesi Bhagavān Kī Jai. Om Pūrṇamada Pūrṇamidaṁ Pūrṇaṁ Pūrṇam Udakṣyate Pūrṇasya Pūrṇamādāya Pūrṇameva Vaśiṣyate. Om Sarvāvai Pūrṇahāsva Patampu svāmī bhalam jalam niveditam sanayvedyam tadgihandu kampaya avanam najanami najanami tavarchanam pūjā chaivanajanami kṣamāsaparameśvarī anyathāśaraṇam nāsti tamevaṁśaraṇam tasmātkāruṇyabhāvena Rakṣāmam Parameśvara, Karacaraṇakṛtaṁ vā, Karabhajana Samānaṁ vā, Nayanajaṁ vā, Manasaṁ vā Paradhāṁ, Bhītaṁ Bhītaṁ vā, Sarameta Dākṣyam aśva, Jaya Jaya Karuṇābde, Śrī Mahādeva Śambho, Hari Om. [The standard verses in their correct form are: Agyāna timirāndhasya jñānāñjana śalākayā, cakṣur unmīlitaṁ yena tasmai śrī gurave namaḥ. Om pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idam pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate, pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate. And the concluding prayer: Karacaraṇakṛtaṁ vā karma kāyajaṁ vā, śravaṇanayanajaṁ vā mānasaṁ vāparādhaṁ, vihitamavihitaṁ vā sarvametat kṣamasva, jaya jaya karuṇābdhe śrī mahādeva śambho. Hari Om.] Thus we close.