God, the Source of Good

In this stellar Divine discourse, Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba explains the significance of Shivaratri, the consummate holy day of merger with the Divine.

Shivaratri [night of Shiva] is a very auspicious day for all. It is the 14th day of the lunar fortnight, when the moon is waning and the sun is in the sign of Aquarius. The festival is related to the moon rather than the sun hence the name Shivaratri. Unlike others, this particular night is one of consecration, dedication, and illumination.

The mind is intimately associated with the moon. Chandra (the deity of the moon) is the presiding deity of the mind. He loses one sixteenth of his brilliance every day after the full moon and continues waning until he is left with just one sixteenth of his power on this special night. The waned moon represents the mind, conquered by sadhana [spiritual discipline], with all its vagaries and waywardness reduced. On this night, just a minute part of the mind is left to be conquered and that can be done by keeping vigil and dwelling on the glory of God.

The vigil that is prescribed is symbolic of the eternal vigil one has to observe, while the rite of fasting is done to divest the senses of the pleasures for which they crave. The nightlong bhajan (congregational singing of devotional songs) is significant as it represents the lifelong consciousness of divine presence that everyone should cultivate.

Thoughts shape our nature

There are three types of men: the multi-centered, uni-centered, and non-centered. The first, a very large group, is comprised of people who allow their senses, mind, and intelligence to wander where they will. The third group is also large and consists of people who flit from one object to another, and from one thing to another in listless flippancy. The second group however, consists of people with concentration and single-pointedness; the festival of Shivaratri is very propitious for developing these characteristics. The bhajans, the ceaseless flow of kirtans (songs), and namasmarana (remembering God’s name) on this occasion all help in becoming single-pointed.

You must realize that bhajan, namasmarana, and puja (ritualistic worship) are not to please or propitiate God, but for our own spiritual progress. Frequently, people flatter the rich and powerful—especially when they are in their employment or are beholden to them for some reason—in order to induce them to shower gifts on them. But God does not shower His grace on people because they sing His praises, nor does He show His displeasure because they do not deify Him. Recitation of divine attributes only enables us to dwell on elevating ideals and helps us to realize the divinity that is our nature.

We become what we contemplate. When we fix our thoughts all the time on the evil that others do, evil pollutes our mind. On the contrary, when we fix our minds on the virtues or well-being of others, our minds are cleansed of wrong and entertain only good thoughts. No evil thought can penetrate the mind of a person wholly given to love and compassion. The thoughts we indulge in shape our nature. For example, when a flash is used to photograph someone, his face is lit; but so too, to a certain extent, is the face of the photographer.

Cannot avoid effects of thought

When a municipal truck full of garbage passes by, you are affected by the odor even though you may be standing far away. Similarly, a thought may be momentary and trivial, yet its effect on the mind cannot be avoided. The ancient sages knew this important truth, so they declared: “He who knows Brahman [the supreme Self] becomes Brahman.” The only way to become Brahman is to be immersed always in the contemplation of Brahman. With a lump of salt on one’s tongue, how can anyone relish the sweetness of honey or fruits? With a lump of candy on the tongue, how can the taste of salt and spices be known?

Immerse your mind in good thoughts and the world will be good; soak it in bad thoughts and the world will be bad for you. So, recollect, think, plan, do, speak, and act only good. Then, you will approximate God, the source of all goodness. This is the message of Shivaratri.

Significance of cosmic dance

According to numerology, the first three syllables of the word Shivaratri—shi, va, and ra—connote the numbers 5, 4, and 2, and the fourth syllable, tri, means ‘three.’ Five, four and two make a composite picture of the eleven rudras. Rudra means, “The one who makes man weep.”

The eleven rudras are: the five senses of perception, the five senses of action, and the mind. By leading him astray in pursuit of trivial and transitory pleasures, these rudras can ruin a man, and make him weep. But if one relies on it, the atman (super soul) can shed its rays on these eleven entities, and make them meaningful partners in the progress toward self-realization. The atman illumines the intelligence, the illumined intelligence alerts the mind, and the alerted mind gets control of the senses, making the path clear for the person to proceed through knowledge to wisdom.

Another significance of Shivaratri is this: Shiva, or the Paramapurusha (the highest eternal person), in His desire to attract prakriti (nature or the objective world), engages Himself in the tandava (the cosmic dance). The dance is a divine plan to attract material creation; indeed, the purpose of all divine miracles like those of Rama (He who pleases and delights) and Krishna (He who attracts) are to draw people to the divine presence in order to correct or cleanse them, confirm their faith, and then lead them to the sadhana of service so that they may merge in the source of all ecstasy. Thus, chamatkara (miracle) results in samskara (tendency), leading to paropakara (helping others) and finally conferring sakshatkara (direct vision of truth).

The tandava dance is so fast and generates so much heat that fire emanates from Shiva’s body. In order to cool Shiva and comfort Him, Parvati His consort, places the [river] Ganga on His head, makes the crescent moon rest amidst the coils of His hair, applies cold sandalwood paste all over His body, and winds cold-blooded snakes around the joints of His hands and feet. Finally, since she herself is the daughter of the Himalayas (the mountains with eternal snow), she sits on His lap and becomes a part of Him. Then both the Purusha [highest being] and Prakriti [nature] dance together to the immense delight of the Gods and of all the creation. According to the Puranas [Hindu scriptures], this happens, on Shivaratri day.

Spiritual path has no shortcuts

The day, an occasion of such holy significance, is being celebrated through a routine of meaningless and even harmful pastimes. Because a vigil is prescribed for Shivaratri, some people spend the night watching films or playing cards. Can a person, who is restless because he cannot not sleep claim that he is observing a vigil? Can a stork, standing on one foot on the bank of a stream to catch a fish, claim that it is practicing meditation? Can a person who refuses to eat his lunch because he has had a quarrel with his wife claim that he is observing a fast? The spiritual path has no shortcuts or tricks.

A story

Shivaratri is celebrated in all Shiva temples, and in particular at the famous temple of Srisailam. The story goes that there was a nine-year-old boy called Bala Ramanna who attended primary school in a village at the foot of the Srisailam range of hills. His friends at school told him that their sisters and brothers-in-law were visiting in order to attend the Shivaratri celebrations on the Srisailam hills.

Ramanna came home and asked his mother to send his sister and brother-in-law to the festival as well. His mother told him that he had no sister and, therefore, no brother-in-law, but Bala would not listen. He insisted that he must have a sister and a brother-in-law just like his friends. To quieten him, his mother said, “You have a sister and a brother-in-law, but they are in the temple in Srisailam. Their names are Bhramaramba and Mallikarjuna.” She gave him the names by which Shiva and His consort are known—Bhramaramba meaning a ‘bee’ and Mallikarjuna meaning the ‘white jasmine.’ These names are very apt because the consort draws inspiration, instruction, and wisdom from the Lord even as the bee draws its sustenance from jasmine flowers.

When told that his sister was in the Srisailam temple, Ramanna insisted that he would go and invite his sister and brother-in-law to visit and stay for some time. He wanted to take some presents for them, but his mother said that they were far too rich and that younger members of the family should not present anything to the elders. The mother sent the boy to the temple with a neighbor who was going to see the festival.

Ramanna hastened up the hill and rushed into the temple, crying “sister… brother-in-law!” He ell at the feet of the idols of Bhramaramba and Mallikarjuna, and tried to drag them out with him.  The priests at the temple thought he was mentally disturbed and drove him away.

Shiva and His consort appear

In despair, Ramanna climbed a high rock and threatened to jump unless his sister and her husband came home with him. Just then, he heard a loud voice from the temple “Brother-in-law! … Ramanna! …. Don’t jump, we are coming with you.” Soon Lord Shiva and His consort came out and accompanied Ramanna to his cottage in the valley below. The mother and son were so overwhelmed with divine bliss that they merged in the Divine phenomenon and were seen no more. In highlighting the simple powerful faith of a village boy, this story has added to the sanctity of the shrine of Bhramaramba and Mallikarjuna at Srisailam.

In days past, children and elders had innocent minds, simple hearts, and high ideals. Now, cynicism and disbelief have become rampant, and a wave of negligence and sloth has swept over our people. They ascribe ten meanings to every word uttered, but not one of them is correct. They argue constantly about any and all subjects, and in the dust that is raised, the truth is ignored. Their lives are largely artificial, and their ideals are shallow such that divinity is beyond their reach.

As Bala Ramanna had unadulterated faith, he was able to dedicate himself to the Lord and reach the goal. He believed the stone image to be God but did not bring God down to the level of a stone image. You may worship a picture as God, but you should not posit God to be a picture. Wood, stone, or mud may be assumed to be divine, but divinity should not be limited to wood, stone, or mud.

Give up dual attitudes

Have high ideals. Strive to elevate yourselves and aspire for the highest goal—God. Do not be disheartened by the obstacles or opposition you may encounter. Give up the animal qualities in you, stabilize yourselves in human virtues, and proceed boldly toward divinity. Do not waver between bhakti (devotion) and sensual gratification.

When everything is successful, you are devoted but when something goes wrong, you are filled with despair. When discipline is enforced, you start holding back but when love is showered, you are in front. This dual attitude must be given up.

The very divine principle that seekers strive to visualize through years of asceticism and renunciation, japa (recitation of holy names) and tapas (penance) is before you here and now; realize the good fortune with which you are endowed. On this holy day of Shivaratri, I have granted pardon for all the errors you have committed knowingly or unknowingly, up until now. Have auspicious thoughts, speak auspicious words, and do auspicious deeds. And as a result of this, attain the embodiment of mangala (auspiciousness)—Shiva Himself.

Source: Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 14