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Parvatis sacrifice Ramayana

A discourse on the story of Satī from the Rāmāyaṇa, focusing on her sorrow and the consequences of doubt.

"Lord, at the house of my father, there is a big festival. If you permit me, Lord Merciful One, I may go there with great respect to see that festival."

"Therefore, that Lord Śiva, who has on his forehead the shining moon, she called him in her heart and said, 'I will give up my life now here.'"

The speaker narrates the episode where Satī, despite Lord Śiva's warnings, insists on attending her father Dakṣa's grand yajña to which she was not invited. Śiva explains the snub stems from Dakṣa's enmity and advises against going, but Satī's attachment prevails. He kindly sends bodyguards with her. At the yajña, she is met with coldness and sees no offering place for Śiva, realizing her mistake and the grave insult to her lord. Overwhelmed with anger and sorrow, she immolates herself through yogic power, causing turmoil. The discourse includes explanations of yajña rituals and draws parallels to stories like the Pāṇḍavas protecting Duryodhana.

Filming location: Strilky, Cz.

DVD 168b

We are proceeding with our Rāmāyaṇa. As you have heard everything. Das liye muni boli sabh, karna lage badh jag, nevate sadhara sakal sura, je pavat mak bhag, Siyavar machandra ki jai. King Dakṣa organized a very grand yajña. He invited all the devas and all others with great respect. To whom did he invite all? On behalf of Dakṣa, an invitation was sent. All went to him—the Kinnaras, the Nāgas, the Siddhas, the Gandharvas, all Devas. They were all invited with their whole families, but Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śiva did not go there because they were not invited. Sati viloke vyoma vimāna jat chale sundar viddhināna sur sundarī kar hī kāl gāna sunat śravana sut hī muni dhyāna. Satyajī was very sad, you know why. Sometimes looking at the sky, sometimes at the stars, sometimes at the rivers, sometimes at the forests and mountains. When she gazed at the sky, she saw a beautiful procession. Many, many goddesses and gods were all going to Dakṣa's yajña. It was beautiful. Mortal beings walk on the earth, but the astral beings and the devas walk in the sky, in the air. This is different. It is said the devas, the sattvas, who have all these powers, even if they walk on the earth, you won't see their footprints. Also, they do not cast a shadow. Satī saw all this. How beautiful it was. There were many beautiful girls singing beautiful songs, such nice melodies and rāgas. Even the great munis or yogīs would come out of their meditation to listen to their voices. Satyajī asked the devas who were passing by in the sky. Then Śiva told her everything. When she heard that her father had organized such a big festival and yajña, she was happy for some time, for she was going through some tapasyā. Many of you don't know this; only those who were here last week know, and I am not going to repeat it all. When she heard that her father had organized a nice yajña and invited so many devas, she began to think, "If God Śiva grants me a little more life and if he permits me to go, then I will be very happy to go to my father's house. That will be for me a chance to go to my father's house and spend some more time there." But she didn't dare to ask Śiva. Now she doesn't ask anything; she is more careful because she is afraid, and she is very sad that Śiva has renounced her. That pain is unbearable, and because she knew it was her mistake, not Śiva's, she was afraid to ask anything. But at last, she made her nerves strong, though still a little scared, her voice full of fear. She asked; she spoke very nice, sweet words to him. She went to Śiva and made her request. Pīṭha bhavan utsava param, jo Prabhu āyasu hoi, to mein jāū. Kṛipāyatan sadar dekhan joy Sīyāvar Rām Chandra kī jai, bhavan suta Hanumān kī jai. Om. "Lord, at the house of my father, there is a big festival. If you permit me, Lord Merciful One, I may go there with great respect to see that festival." Śiva said, "What you have told is good; your question is good. You have the right to go there. First, you have the right, your father's house, any time, with great respect. Not only that respect, but you have your rights to go there. You have told me, which is good. I like your opinion or your decision. But why didn't they send you the invitation? When he sent the invitation to all, how is it possible that he forgets his dear daughter? He sent invitations to all his other daughters. Perhaps he has some kind of enmity with me, and due to this, he didn't invite you also. Once, in the meeting, in the audience of Brahmā, your father was unhappy with us. Something he didn't like, and now he takes revenge for that. He is disobeying, and he doesn't respect you, and that's why, as revenge, he didn't invite you. If you go without invitation now, then there will not be good. There will be no respect for you there. There is no invitation, no warm welcoming for you. I think it's not advisable to go." But still, love for the father and love for the mother is strong. It doesn't matter how it is, but at certain times you would like to see them or go there. The principle says one should not hesitate to go to the house of friends, the house of the Swami, the house of your father, mother, or the guru. One should go there without invitation, even without calling. But if there is someone who is against you, if there is something against you, and someone is against you, then going there, entering that place, is not good. Your friend, your father, your master—if they have nothing against you but have merely forgotten you, you may go, you should go. But purposely, when they didn't invite you to go there, it's not advisable. Bhāti aneka-sambhu-samujāvā, bhāvibhasna-jñānu-urāvā, kah prabhu-jāhu jobi nahi bolāye, nahi bhalli bāta hamāre bhāye. Lord Śiva tried in many ways to explain to her. But what has to happen, happens. Destiny. Again, in the heart of Satyajī, that wisdom didn't wake up. Again, there were some doubts in Śiva's words. Like before, last week we heard that she had doubts about Viṣṇu, wondering if that could be Viṣṇu and how he could be like that. The consequences of her doubt made her suffer, and now again the moha came out—attachment—and she doesn't want to listen to this; she doesn't accept it. She thinks this is not right. Right is what she thinks, and therefore that knowledge didn't appear in her heart. But still, the Lord says, "If you go without invitation, in my opinion, it isn't good." The Lord tried in many ways to explain to her, but she didn't accept. He wanted to stop her from going, but she packed her things. I don't know what she had to pack, but she had something to do. Merciful Lord Śiva sent with her his own bodyguards for her protection and to look after her. You see how kind he is? Still very kind. Still he looks after her. He does care about her, but she doesn't. That's it. Still she has doubts. A person who has a doubt has no more śraddhā, no more bhakti. And when this is lost, everything is lost. Sometimes, out of emotion or attachment, we do things without thinking. We don't use our vivekā. Pita bhavan jab gayi Bhavānī, rāṣṭras kā hūn sanmanī. Sadar bhale milī ek mātā, bhaṅginī milī bahut mushkila. Off she went, and she reached her father's house. As soon as she arrived there, all were afraid of King Dakṣa to welcome her or to speak with her. All were afraid of her father. No one looked at her. No one said hello. No one said, "How are you?" No one said, "Welcome." Can you imagine? You enter like a lonely deer, a lost and lonely deer, suddenly in some stranger's forest, all looking at you: "What are you doing here?" But was there anyone who met her with love? That was her mother. Māta bhavatinā kumātā—a mother can never be a bad mother. So her mother met her, embraced her, and then some sisters came and smiled and asked her, "How are you?" At least something diplomatic. But still the situation is very tense; the situation is not relaxed. Darśana kāśapu sī kusalatā sati hī vilokī jare, sabha gata satya jāī dekhau, tabha jagā katahū dikha sambhu karbhaga. Dakṣa didn't ask her anything, didn't speak, didn't ask, "How are you, my daughter?" When he saw Satyajī, the limbs of Dakṣa's body were full of anger. It seems that every muscle was vibrating, full of nervousness, anger, and revenge. "Why is she here?" Satyajī gently moved to the other side and saw the yajña place, to go to the yajña. When you perform yajña ceremonies, there is something which is very interesting, you should know. Some of you have heard, some of you have seen yajña. Yajña is done on certain occasions or for something. When you make the yajña, you invite all the devas. There is a center place for Brahmā, a place for Viṣṇu, a place for Śiva, a place for Śakti, a place for the Rudras, the Aruṇas. For all, there is a place. All are invited respectfully, and all are welcomed respectfully. Invited and welcomed. Welcome them, and then there is a ceremony. All have to be worshipped. You tell them, "Please, all come with your full powers here and protect my yajña or my ceremonies. You are all cordially invited, and please protect against all obstacles, so that I or we can fulfill our saṅkalpa after this ceremony and yajña is over." There is a pūrṇā āhuti, a final last ceremony, and saying goodbye. You have to give them some presents and tell them, "Please go back to your place. We are connected, united as good friends, and whenever I need, please help me, come to help me." Similarly, it is also done for house-building ceremonies, what they speak about in Vāstu Śāstra. When you make the first earth-breaking ceremony, there is a particular constellation, Murata, according to your horoscope, the horoscope of that village, the horoscope of that ground, all the constellations, then facing the corner of east-south, north-east... yes, north-east. And then, with a particular mantra, the first earth-breaking takes place, the digging. You invite all the goddesses, and then the foundation stone is laid. For that, you call all the different goddesses. When the house is finished, then you make yajña, and you give everyone food and presents. All goddesses whom you invited—it is symbolical: this is the place for Śiva, this is for Brahmā, this for Viṣṇu, and so on. And then, with folded hands, you tell them, "You may go now, please, and protect us." That's called a housewarming party. Then you live in that house. There will be harmony, peace, understanding, love, good health, and so on. It is a science. Every element is known as one God: Fire God, Water God, Air God, Mother Earth. All of them have their place; otherwise, there can be difficulties. If you don't invite the Water God, He will come as a flood and pull your house down, or the Fire God, or the Air Wind God. So, like this, everyone has their place. She saw there was no Śiva's place. There was no part for Śiva left. If someone can't come, you still invite them, or if you have forgotten, it is still your duty to keep a portion for them. At Christmas, if some child is not there or some friend, you keep the present and afterward send it to them. It is the same. The system is the same; it is a Vedic system. And she realized again what Śiva had told her before. Now she understood. Before, she had said, "No, that's not correct, I will go." But now when she saw there's no place for them at all, she realized, and she knew that she had insulted her Lord. Again, her heart was full of fire. Her heart was burning out of sadness. The heart was burning so strongly it was turning into coal because she had insulted him again. She had the pain that Śiva had renounced her, that he had separated her from him. As much fear and sadness as she had from before, she got another sadness again. She was very, very sad again. This happens in good families sometimes, because in bad families it doesn't happen—it is already there, continuously. It is already here, there. But in good families, sometimes it happens. In this world, there are many kinds of troubles, many kinds of sorrows and sufferings, but the biggest suffering is when someone insults you on a certain particular occasion. To endure such an insult is very difficult. Because if you are injured by a knife, that wound may heal. But if you are injured by an insult, that will not grow together; that wound will remain always. Satyajī was very angry, very, very angry. Her mother at least tried to calm her down. I think it was, "No hope, no help," she says. "Shiva, up, Manu, no joy." So here, they... She tried to understand her mother. She tried to forgive all, but still she couldn't, because that was the insult of Śiva, and she couldn't see this. She didn't want her husband to be insulted here. Therefore, in her heart, mercy couldn't come, love couldn't come. She was angry and shouted at all who were sitting there. With the pull of the anger, she was saying something. All were sitting and looking, and Satī was angry. What she was saying, in that whole gathering, all munis were listening. She said to all munis, "Listen to me. Those who have insulted Śiva here, listen to me. They will get their fruits very soon back. And they will be sure, like my father, Dakṣa, is also sure about that." Can we close the windows on this side today? Thank you. Where there is a saint, there is Śivjī. There is a Lakṣmīpati, Bhagavān Viṣṇu. And it is said, those who are criticizing a saint, a Śiva, Lakṣmīpati, Bhagavān Viṣṇu—it is said that you cut their tongue away if it is in your hands, but don't listen and don't let them talk bad about them. If you can't cut their tongue away, then close your ears. But never listen to the bad criticizing. She said, "Jagadātmā Maheśa Purārī, Jagat Janaka Sabhake Hitkārī, Pitāmanda Mati Nindate Hi Daśa-Śukra-Sambhavāya Dehi." "The killer of all Rākṣasas, the Tripurdityas, Lord Śiva, killer of all Rākṣasas, the Ātmā of the whole world, the Holy Father, the Father of our world, He is the doer of good things for all. But my father, the foolish one, he lost his intellect, and out of his ignorance, he is criticizing Śiva. I know that I am his daughter. It is a shame for me that I am his daughter. Sorry." Taj yahu turant dehte hi hetu urdhvāri-candra-mauḷi-vṛṣa-ketu aska hi yoga-agni taju-jara-tanu-jara bhaiyau sakala-mukha-hāhākāra. Therefore, that Lord Śiva, who has on his forehead the shining moon, she called him in her heart and said, "I will give up my life now here." And Satyajī, with the power of her yoga siddhi, called Agnidev, the fire, and her whole body burned there. In the whole meeting and gathering, there was restlessness. All were very sad. Nobody knew what to do now. What to do? What will be the consequences? What a great pity! Sati-maraṇu śuni Śambhu gaṅgā-lage karnā makhkhis yajña-vidhās vilokī Bhṛgu. As soon as Śiva came to know that Satī had given up her life, and there were obstacles now in the yajña—the yajña was having many obstacles—but there was a great saint, Muni Bharguṛṣi. He tried to save the situation. He tried to balance everyone. What happened has happened. Now, what should we do? What should we not do? And on the other side, Śiva is receiving this news. Perhaps there is something between Śiva and Satī, but he doesn't want the third one, which is between. Maybe there is something between you and your father or mother, but who is the third one who comes between? There was a big fight between the Pāṇḍavas and the Kauravas, Duryodhana and the five Pāṇḍavas. They were each other's greatest enemy. But once when Duryodhana was caught by some Rākṣasas, Dharmarāja Yudhiṣṭhira asked Bhīma and Arjuna to go and help Duryodhana. They were surprised. Arjuna and Bhīma were surprised. "Brother, you ask us to go and help that Duryodhana? He's our enemy. To this crusade? No. This fighting is between us, a family fighting. If the third one would like to interfere with something and try to harm one of us, our prime duty is to protect them. Go and fight and protect Duryodhana." And they went, and they protected him. Now, similarly, though it was between Satī and Śiva, it does not mean that someone can do something or something can happen to Satī. And now, what is Śiva going to do? Śrī Rām Jaya Rām Jaya Jaya Rām Śrī Rām Jaya Rām Jaya Jaya Śrī Rām Jaya Rām Jaya Jaya Rām

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

The text contains hyperlinks in bold to three authoritative books on yoga, written by humans, to clarify the context of the lecture:

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