The Voice of Shiva

The following discourse was given by Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba on Mahashivaratri day in 1974 just before the emergence of the lingam. He has explained in His own inimitable way the significance of vibhuti, the various rites and rituals, and the meaning of Shivoham.

Shivoham, Shivoham—was the exclamation that rose from the souls that knew the truth in a flash of illumination, after long years of cleansing the mind through the process of tapas (penance). I am Shiva; Shiva am I—Though denoted by many names and recognized in many forms, the Divine principle is One, without a second. It is Shivam, and it is latent in each being, including man. Holy days are to be spent in the contemplation of this truth and in special exercises to make oneself fully conscious of one’s divinity.

God is the seed which has expressed itself as all this. But this fact so deeply implanted in the hearts of every Indian for centuries has been overlaid by veils of doubt. And man has lost the courage and the energy that faith had given him for so long. This was the very core of Indian culture, but children of India have neglected and very nearly lost this precious heritage. The fascination for Western fashions of thought has weakened the belief in one’s religion; this has led to giving up of the disciplines that shaped one’s daily life. This in turn led to deterioration in moral standards, which has bred misery, disunity, hatred, and disgrace. It is time to open one’s eyes to the tragedy and retrace the steps.

Delve deep

The saints and seers of this land never spoke lightly or acted irrelevantly. They always had in view the good of the generations. When they invested some places as holy and named some days as sacred, they also prescribed the rules and ceremonials that pilgrims and sadhakas (spiritual aspirants) should observe. This is so that time, expense, and effort could be used for the expansion of love and the education of instincts and impulses. The object of every rule was to bring the realization of the atma (individualized godhead) as one’s reality a few steps nearer. For, the atma in the individual is the atma in all; Shivoham is the truth; and the truth alone can make man free and full of bliss.

Take one prescription, the worship of the snake. Those afflicted with barrenness or serious illness or skin diseases of virulent types vow to proceed on pilgrimage to shrines of Subrahmanya (conceived in the form of a snake). People laugh at this practice. “Indians offer adoration to snakes because, in their opinion, they have poison in their fangs!” The truth is quite otherwise. The inner meaning of snake worship is quite different. The spinal column of man ending with the ‘thousand-petalled lotus’ in the brain is very much like a serpent poised on its tail with its hood widely spread.

In the science of Kundalini Yoga, the vital energy of man lying dormant like a coiled snake lies at the bottom of this column in the lowest part, Muladhara Chakra (the Basal Plexus). It is awakened and aroused so that it courses up through six more wheels centers of superior consciousness) until it reaches the Sahasrara (thousand-petalled lotus energy center) at the very top of the skull. The passage for the Kundalini is through the Sushumna nerve in the center of the spinal column. The worship of the snake, ridiculed as superstition, is the symbolic counterpart of this great yogic sadhana that confers vigor and vitality.

Take the demarcation of Tirupati (in South India) as a holy place of pilgrimage. Lord Venkateshwara, the deity worshipped there, is called the Lord of the Seven Hills, for seven hills have to be climbed before the temple is reached. Obviously the six chakras (energy centers) and the Sahasrara are indicated here, for in Rajayoga, the supreme is revealed only when the individual raises the vital energy—the Kundalini Shakti—up to the seventh stage. One of the hills is named Seshagiri, meaning ‘Snake Hill’. From the plains, the range gives the appearance of a snake with a raised hood.

What exactly does ‘Subrahmanya’ mean? Spend a little thought on that. It means, ‘He who has attained the realization of Brahman, the Universal Absolute, the Primal Cause, the Cosmic Consciousness.’ Every appellation of God has deep significance. In the Vedas, Vishnu, for example, is named Parama. It means Paramanu, the atom. He is as omnipresent as the atom, found as the substance and substratum of the universe. Vishnu is the cause as well as the effect, for there was nothing else when time began. The One became many; the many disappear, the One remains. Cattle are different from horses, true. But when four-footed animals are considered, they are both the same. Under ‘animals’ a vast variety of beings are included. Thus it goes on, until only One is.

Ocean and wave

To teach the unity behind the appearance of multiplicity, which is to help realize the advaita (non-dual nature of existence), Shankara—the greatest expounder of that school of thought—established four seats of practical philosophy called Mutts in the four regions of India. The very first step in the endeavor to realize this unity was, according to him, upasana or worship of the concrete symbol of God, which gives one the experience of the ecstasy of union.

One day, Shankara was seated in meditation on the banks of the Ganga River. Suddenly, he exclaimed, “Lord! I am yours; but, surely, you are not mine.” His pupil, Throtakacharya, was by his side then. He was astonished at this statement, which, he felt, went against the advaitik stand. So, he asked him how he could ever declare any distinction between ‘I’ and ‘you.’ Shankara replied, “The waves belong to the ocean; but the ocean does not belong to the wave. The wave is the ocean, but, the ocean is not the wave.” The main point here is the elimination of the ego, the elimination of the identification with the body and its needs, satisfiable through the senses. You get joy when these needs are fulfilled, grief when they are not, and anger when something comes in the way, pride when you win over that opposition.

To eliminate the ego, strengthen the belief that all objects belong to God, and that you are holding them on trust. This would prevent pride; it is also the truth. Then, when you lose a thing, you would not grieve. God gave; God took away. Of course you hear almost all talking in this strain and advising this reaction. But very few follow that advice themselves. This is the sin of all sins; saying one thing and acting quite the opposite, denying in practice what you assert as precept.

The many names

Shiva is also known as Easwara, the repository of all the resources essential for prosperity. The most important resource is jnana (spiritual wisdom). Three kinds of jnana are demarcated: jivaprajna (concerning the individualized divine), Easwaraprajna (concerning the cosmic-manifestation of the divine) and the atmaprajna (concerning the Universal Absolute of which the individual is the temporary particular). This is also mentioned in some other texts as deha-prajna, jiva-prajna, and atma-prajna, but the meaning of the words is the same as in the other list. Easwara confers the aiswarya (illumination?) of jnana. Shiva is eternally auspicious; He does not come embodied in other forms with other names as often as Vishnu does. He is not described as Sri Shiva or Sri Shankara or Sri Easwara. Sri is inherent in His very person and so it is superfluous to add Sri to His name.

When you realize Shivoham (I am Shiva), then you have all the happiness, all the auspiciousness that there is. Siva is not to be sought on the peak of a distant range of mountains or in some other special place. You must have heard that sin and merit are inherent in the acts that men do. So, too, Shiva is inherent in every thought, word, and deed, for He is the energy, the power, the intelligence that is behind each of them.

Shivoham

All energy, power, and intelligence are in you; you need not search for them outside yourselves. God, who is manifesting as time, space, and causation, is in you; why then do you feel weak and helpless? Man is tossed about by his ambitions and the craving to fulfill them. But he must first know where he stands and where he should decide to reach. Now his efforts are wanton and wasteful. He is an expert in mathematics, but unable to do a small sum in arithmetic. He has mastered algebra, but unable to measure the area of his home. He knows botany, with all its Latin names; but ask him about the uses to which the common Tulsi plant and its leaves can be put, he has no answer. He has mastered all the physical exercises taught to him; but he is helpless when asked to sit in padmasana (lotus pose). He can talk loud and long on moksha (liberation) and of its being the final goal; but he does not know that he is already free; he imagines himself as bound and behaves as such.

Attachments to illusory objects bind him. When the illusory nature of the objects is revealed, the attachment falls off and he is free. These attachments persuade him to tarnish the acts of worship — ; he prays to God for granting him trivial boons. Pray to God for God; do not use truth to achieve untruth. Have the inner vision, not the outer. Do not be attracted by the objective world; concentrate on the subjective world.

You do not scatter seeds on the surface; you plant them deep enough for the roots to get a foothold. Do not dig the seeds into the soil too deep. Follow the middle path. Do not tighten the strings of the violin too much; nor leave them loose. Do not get too bound with the world; do not also give it up.

Vibhuti

The Shivaratri festival, as celebrated here, is an example for you. You might ask, “Swami has often declared that all days are holy days, that there is no special rite or ritual that has to be observed on any single day. But Swami Himself is pouring vibhuti (holy ash) on the idol and calling it abhisheka (anointing the idol). Is this right?” Swami is doing so to teach you a lesson.

The vibhuti abhisheka has a potent inner meaning that Swami wants you to grasp. The vibhuti is the most precious object in the truly spiritual sense. You know that Shiva burnt the God of desire, or Kama, called Manmatha (for he agitates the mind and confounds the confusion already existing there) into a heap of ashes. Shiva adorned Himself with that ash, and thus He shone in His glory as the conqueror of desire. When Kama was destroyed, prema (love) reigned supreme. When there is no desire to warp the mind, love could be true and full. What greater offering can you give God to glorify Him than the ash signifying your triumph over tantalizing desire?

Ash is the ultimate condition of things; it cannot undergo any further change. The abhisheka with vibhuti is done to inspire you to give up desire and offer Shiva the ashes of its destruction as the most valuable of all the articles you have earned. Ash cannot fade as flowers do in a day or two; it does not dry and disappear or get soiled and unpotable as water does; it will not lose color, as leaves do, in a few hours; it does not rot as fruits do in a few days. Ash is ash forever and ever. So, burn your vices and your bad habits; worship Shiva, rendering yourselves pure in thought and word and deed.

Damaging Tales

Shiva is worshipped with the three-leaved bilva (leaf), for He is immanent in the three worlds, in the three phases of time, in the three attributes of nature. He removes the three types of grief; He has no basis outside Him; He is the source of bliss; He is the embodiment of the sweetness and efficacy of nectar. Since every being is Shiva-swarupa (of the nature of Shiva)—for without Shiva, it is mere ‘shava’ (corpse)—man has to live up to that divine status.

Swami Karunyananda spoke now of the episode where Brahma became jealous of Krishna and stole the cows and cowherds from Him in order to bring discomfiture on Him. He said that Krishna created the same number of cows and cowherds, every one exactly the same and thus foiled Brahma’s conspiracy. People who hear such tales will naturally wonder how Gods can be envious of each other just like human beings. Their faith in the Divine will be undermined thereby. These scholars are more intent on exhibiting their textual scholarship, than revealing the glory of God. They do not mind the damage they cause to the very cause they are pleading for.

Some years ago there was an old woman in a village.. She sold a patch of land that she owned, and with the money she had four gold bangles made, two for each arm. She wore them with great joy and went along the streets very proud of her new acquisition. But she was disappointed because no one in the village turned aside and looked at her bangles; she could as well have not worn them. She tried various means to attract their attention toward the bangles, but without success. One night she could not sleep at all, for this neglect pained her much. At last she got a brilliant idea which, she decided, must succeed; the villagers must be drawn to notice the bangles.

Next day after sunrise she set fire to her own house! When the flames rose and commotion ensued, the villagers rushed toward her, sitting and wailing in front of the burning house. She shook her hands pathetically at the faces of the frightened villagers, causing the bangles to jingle and shine in the red light of the high flames, and cried out, “Alas! My house is on fire.” “O, pity my fate.” “God, don’t you see my plight?” Every time she shouted a sentence, she put out her arms vigorously at some one, so that she or he could not miss sighting the bangles. The pity of it! She was so anxious to exhibit her bangles that she did not care for her house itself; the house was on fire but she was happy her bangles were noticed. The scholars who are lost in admiration of their own cleverness are as foolish as this old woman.

Do not say or do anything that will bring Indian culture into disrepute, or that will undermine the faith of people in goodness and in God. Do not claim to be orthodox and encourage heterodoxy or heresy. Cast aside the desire for happiness and prosperity, do not moan that you do not secure heaven. It does not matter, if you are smothered by difficulties. Stand up boldly in defense of the honor of your country. That will bring you all happiness and prosperity, all the grace you yearn for.

Love, love, love

Indian culture teaches that all beings are actuated by the self-same divine power, blessed by the self-same divine grace. So, love all. Do not develop jealousy or hatred. There are many sadhakas (spiritual aspirants) who enjoy perfect calmness and equanimity while sitting in dhyana (meditation) or while in the puja (worship) room before the shrine. But once they rise and come out into the open, they behave like demons.

The Gita says, Sathatham yoginah—”Be in Yoga (union), always.” Be immersed in love, with no trace of pride or envy. This is the highest sadhana (spiritual practice). Today, all grades and groups of people the world over resort to violence and hatred to satisfy their desires and demands, bringing about fear, anxiety, panic, and revolution. The gains through such tactics are not much; the gains will be greater and more lasting if the path of love, tolerance, and peace is followed.

Love brings people together; hatred drives them apart. You cannot be happy, when you cause misery to others. God showers grace when the nine steps of bhakti (devotion) are observed. Masters or rulers can be won over by the same means—sacrifice, love, devotion, dedication in the path of duty. When success is achieved by means of unrest and violence, it has to be preserved and prolonged only by further unrest and violence.

Therefore, let this be the lesson of Shivaratri for you: Shiva is in all beings and all things. He is the inner motivator. Be aware of this always; do not cause pain to anyone, do not harm or injure anyone, or hurt one’s self-respect. Love all alike, cultivate tolerance and spread brotherliness.

Source: Sanathana Sarathi, April 1974