Video details
Lord Shiva
A discourse on the dual aspects of Lord Śiva and the principles of meditation.
"Śiva is the first one in the universe, called Swayambhū. Śiva means liberation."
"Meditation should be with devotion. If there is no devotion, the meditation is not successful."
On a Monday, dedicated to Lord Śiva, the speaker explores Śiva's two primary forms: as the liberating consciousness within the Trinity alongside Brahmā and Viṣṇu, and as the formless universal consciousness whose first manifestation is the sacred sound Oṃ. He emphasizes that true meditation requires devotion and the repetition of a Guru-given mantra, citing a story where Viṣṇu declares His presence is with devotees who sing His name. The talk concludes by reconciling different devotional paths, stating that at the highest level, all distinctions merge into the one ultimate truth.
Recording location: Czech Republic, Strilky, Seminar
Oṃ Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇ Bhagavān Kī. Dev Puruṣa Mahādev Kī Dharma Samrāṭ Satgurū Swāmī Mādhavānandajī Gurudev Kī. Good morning to everybody.
Today is Monday, the day of Lord Śiva. Yesterday we spoke about Hanumānjī; Hanumānjī was the incarnation of Lord Śiva. Hanumānjī is Śiva, Śiva is Hanumānjī, and so today is his day. All kinds of spiritual sciences, all knowledge, mantras, and all that we humans have is a blessing of Lord Śiva. All mantras, yantras, and tantras are created by one Lord, and that is Lord Śiva.
We see Śiva in two forms. One is in the Trinity. In the Trinity, there is Brahmā, who is the manifestor or creator. The creatures are created by Brahmā; this world is created by Brahmā. Brahmā is the heavenly architect. We have this beautiful body; we are thankful to Lord Brahmā. It is his work, great work; no one can do this work. There was never anyone, and I do not think there will be another one like that. So we have the direct blessing of Lord Brahmā to have this beautiful body, to have this healthy body, to lead life comfortably, sustainably, and independently. It means you can walk independently, you can see independently, you can work independently, you can hear independently, everything. This means God did not make us dependent on Him; He made us independent and beautiful.
Then there is Viṣṇu, who is in the form of the ātmā, or in the form of the prāṇa, or in the form of the fire element, which takes care, like a housemaster takes care of the house. Similarly, Viṣṇu takes care of our being, so that we have everything and we are protected. In this Trinity, there is the coming Śiva. Śiva means consciousness, that cosmic consciousness. Śiva is the first one in the universe, called Swayambhū. Swayambhū is Śiva; Śiva means liberation. And so, in the Trinity, Śiva is there for giving liberation. It is He who destroys the negative powers or energy and leads us to the positive energy, to paramānanda, the supreme bliss of liberation, mokṣa, or brahmajñāna. So this is one form of Śiva, which we see as a part of the Trinity, acting to remove the negative energy and support us, giving positive energy through which His blessing, liberation, takes place.
The second form of Śiva is the universal consciousness, which has no form. The first appearance of Him, the first manifestation of His divine body, you may say, is the sound Oṃ. And therefore, where there is Śiva, there is always Oṃ. "Oṃ kāra bindu saṁyuktaṁ nityaṁ dāyanti yoginaṁ kāmaṁ mokṣaṁ caiva oṃ kārayaṇaṁ oṃ namaḥ." That Oṃ kāra, akāra, the form of Oṃ, with that bindu, the dot. On this, every day the yogī is meditating. Meditation should be with devotion. If there is no devotion, the meditation is not successful. If there is no Gurū bhakti mantra, your meditation is not successful.
It is said, Nārada Ṛṣi asked Viṣṇu once, "Lord, where are you residing mostly, where are you?" And God Viṣṇu said, "Neither am I in Vaikuṇṭha, I am not in Vaikuṇṭha, nor in the heart of the yogīs' meditation, where yogīs are meditating for Me. I live there in the heart and consciousness where My bhaktas sing My name, sing My glory with bhakti, with love, with devotion." That means God is there where you have your mantra. When you repeat your mantra in your meditation, then Mahāprabhujī is with you. And when Mahāprabhujī's God is with us, then we do not worry about anything. We are in safe hands. So meditation on that divine form of Oṃ is meditation on the divine consciousness of Lord Śiva.
So Śiva means pure; "Satyam Śivam Sundaram." Satyam, truth; Śiva is the truth. What we call the ultimate truth, the final truth, the highest truth, that is called Śiva. Satyam, Śivam, that liberation, that consciousness. Satyam, Śivam, Sundaram, the beauty. What is the beauty of the truth? Pure is pure; there are no more words in it. Truth is truth, beauty is beauty, love is love. So Śiva is that our consciousness; Śiva is constantly with us, and therefore mostly yogīs meditate on Lord Śiva, because they know Śiva is the salvation, Śiva is the way.
Of course, there are different paths also. The Vaiṣṇavas, who believe only in Viṣṇu, they say that Viṣṇu is everything; the rest is nothing. These are then discussions; argument is called Tarka. But Viṣṇu meditates on Śiva. The Īṣṭa Devatā of Viṣṇu is Śiva. And the Īṣṭa Devatā of Śiva is Viṣṇu. They do not make differences. Differences are in people's minds. After a certain level, then there are no differences, no forms. There is only one, and that is truth. And that truth is Almighty God, what we call. So therefore, the yogīs and yoga practitioners should be aware of these principles of Śiva, and that is why one should have a fasting day on Monday.
Recording location: Czech Republic, Strilky, Seminar
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