The festival of Maha Shivaratri, the "Night of Shiva', is celebrated throughout India and the world by sincere devotees of Shiva.
In Oregon (Pacific Coast Time), we will privately celebrate Maha Shivaratri, according to the Kashmiri calendar, on Saturday evening, February 14. Please note: this is one day earlier than the rest of India, which follows the Vedic calendar.
Swamiji suggested spending the night meditating as long as one wishes, followed by a light meal before retiring to bed.
Wishing you a happy Maha Shivaratri!
Swami Lakshmanjoo – 23 Feb 1990
(This recording was made on the day after Shiva Ratri)
śaivādīni rahasyāni pūrvamāsan-mahātmanām |
ṛiṣīṇāṃ vaktra kuhare teṣvevānugraha-kriyā || 107 ||
Somānanda’s Śivadṛṣṭi – 7.107 (not recited)
. . . mahātmanam, the rahāsya, ‘the secret of Shaivism’ – in the beginning of Kālī Yuga – pūrvam āsana mahātmanaṁ ṛiṣīnaṁ, vaktra kuhare, the secret of Shaivism was residing in their heart; teṣveva-anugraha, they would explain it without writing it, they didn’t write the theory of Shaivism at all. It was in their brain. They would explain it bas! And it would penetrate those to whom it was explained, and they were the same.
And there is another śloka of how great is Lord Śiva:
dhyāyennityaṁ maheśaṁ rajatagirinibaṁ
chārucandrāvātaṁsaṁ /
ratnā kalpojjvalāngaṁ parāśu mṛiga varā-
bhītihastaṁ prasannam //
padmāsīnam samantāt stutam amaraganair
vyāgra kṛittiṁ vasānaṁ /
viśvardhyaṁ viśva vandhyaṁ nikhilabhayaharam
pañcha vaktraṁ trinetram // (not recited)
Dhyāyet, you should concentrate, dhyāyet nityam, you should concentrate, nityam, ‘always’; i.e., when you are likely to meditate and when you are not meditating; when you are sleeping, when you are snoring, when you are walking, when you are talking – nityam means that!
Always you should . . .
DEVOTEE: Everywhere.
SWAMIJI: Yes.
. . . dhyāyet, you should concentrate on that.
Maheśam, who is the Lord of Lords – Lord of Lords is Maheśam. And he is rajata-giri-nibam, he is so big, you can’t imagine how big he is; his body is so big, he is just like the mountain, a big mountain of silver-white silver. The big mountain of white silver, it is his body, from Kalāgni-rudra to śāntātītā kalā.
He is so big!
What can ordinary people do before him? They are nothing.
And you should recite that dhyāyet nityaṁ maheśaṁ rajata-girinibaṁ.
And chāru-candra avātaṁsam, and chāru means very beautiful, candra means the candra kala [crescent moon], is avātaṁsam, is on his forehead, it is decorated on his forehead. And that candrama is called meye-candrama, i.e., the objective world. All objective world, whatever is existing, whatever is not existing – that is objective world – this whole objective world is candra (moon).
And he has put that on his forehead. It is his avātaṁsam (avātaṁsam means crown, just like a crown). So he has accepted this whole universe as his own crown. So it is not separated from his Being.
dhyāyet-nityaṁ maheśaṁ rajata-girinibaṁ chāru-candrāvātaṁsaṁ /
ratnā kalpojjvalāngaṁ . . .
Ujjvalāngam, his body is ujjvala ‘shining, glittering’; this white body, just like his body, it is glittering with sparks . . . with sparks shining from that whiteness.
You know Sparks?
DEVOTEE: Yes.
SWAMIJI: It is sparkling all-round – “shh . . . shh . . . shh . . . shh . . .” like this.
Rajata-girinibaṁ chāru-candra-avātaṁsaṁ . . .
Ratnā kalpojjvalāngaṁ, all ratnās, ‘all jewelry’ is shining, is producing from that, i.e., from that body.
You should think of Lord Śiva like this!
Ratnā kalpo jjvalāngaṁ . . .
Parāśu mṛiga varābhīti-hastaṁ, in hand, he has got parāśu; parāśu means hatchet (axe). The hatchet is for those who are sinners, cut them into two, finish them altogether – parāśu.
Mṛiga (deer), and he has got mṛiga; mṛiga means temptation. He has created temptation also for those (aspirants), just to see if they are tempted or not. Or if they remain in their own position.
But some don’t remain in their own position; they are tempted. He has created temptation also in this world.
That is mṛiga; mṛiga means temptation.
Mṛiga is that deer. Deer is very beautiful . . .
DENISE: Like Sītā.
SWAMIJI: . . . just like Sītā.
Because Sītā was tempted, and this temptation was just a trial in which she didn’t succeed . . . She was tempted. So, temptation should not be accepted.
In [Patañjali’s] Yoga Darśaṇa, it is also said:
sthānyupanimantraṇe saṅ gasmayākaraṇaṁ punaraniṣṭaprasaṅ gāt || 3.51 ||
If one goes in samādhi – perfect samādhi – and all God and goddesses come before him, and pay their respects before him, and offer him . . . “This you have obtained by your samādhi, please accept this; please accept this offering, please accept our offering . . . please accept.”
. . . saṁga sunyākaraṇa, you should think, one should think at that time:
“No! I won’t accept it, it is only temptation, I should not have this!” He should remain in that consciousness of Lord Śiva. If he does not do that, pūrṇare pṛiṣṭa saṁgata, he will fall again. So, this is a test for him; from that test, he must come out.
DENISE: What kind of things do the gods and the goddesses offer that person?
SWAMIJI: They offer, “This is a beautiful plane, it needs no petrol, you can fly anywhere in this world. You have obtained it by your samādhi.
You should not accept it!
I can go by thought only! Why should I accept this . . . this kind of machinery!
Pūrṇare pṛiṣṭa saṁgata he will fall again in this world.
DENISE: Of māyā . . . right?
SWAMIJI:
dhyāyennityaṁ maheśaṁ rajatagirinibaṁ
chārucandrāvātaṁsaṁ /
ratnā kalpojjvalāngaṁ parāśu mṛiga varā-
bhītihastaṁ [tṛinetram] prasannam //
He [Lord Shiva] has got three eyes; three eyes [means]: one is objective, one is subjective, and one is cognitive. This whole cognitive world, this whole objective cognitive world, and this whole subjective world, are his three eyes; They are not separated from each other.
Object, subject, and cognition are the same – Lord Śiva is residing equally in these. Object is not inferior, and subjective consciousness is not superior – they are on the same level – in that supreme God consciousness where I reside . . . understand?
What have I explained?
DENISE: Objective, subjective, and cognitive being, the same.
SWAMIJI: Yes.
DENISE: Objective, subjective, and cognitive being, the same.
DEVOTEE: The three eyes.
SWAMIJI: Trinetram.
. . . maheśaṁ rajatagirinibaṁ chārucandrāvātaṁsaṁ ratnā kalpojjvalāngaṁ
parāśu mṛiga varābhītihastaṁ . . . padmāsīnam.
He is padmāsīnam, i.e., he is in padmā [āsana]. Padmāsīnam means he is in lotus . . . in lotus he is . . . he is seated in lotus; lotus from below and another lotus above, from this way. He is residing in that lotus.
One lotus is Kalāgni-rudra and another lotus is śāntātītā kala – he is there seated; one lotus is from above . . . how great is he!
What can these demons do before him?
Padmāsīnam samantāt stutam amaraganair, samantāt stutam amaraganair,
all those who are immortals; immortals means gods, goddesses – Indra, Śiva, Narāyana – all those, stutam amaraganair, they all pray [sing] the songs of this great Being – Parābhairava.
Padmāsīnam samantāt stutam amaraganair . . . vyāgra kṛittiṁ vasānaṁ;
vyāgra kṛittiṁ vasānaṁ, he has a loincloth of vyāgra (vyāgra means this lion skin, petticoat). He has a petticoat of lion skin. It means he is the “lion of lions!”
Nobody can tolerate that. And you know the measurement of that body? The measurement of the body of Lord Śiva is from Kalāgni-rudra to Śāntātītā kala – so great.
What is America, and what is Srinagar, and what is there?
It is all there . . . it is nothing!
And this is the definition of Lord Śiva’s form, which is formless.
Bas . . . ?
JOHN: So, what is the meaning of Śiva rātrī [the night of Shiva]?
SWAMIJI: Śiva rātrī is very inferior!
JOHN: What is the importance of that in terms of Lord Śiva?
SWAMIJI: Rātrī . . . ivarātrī, it is white night, it is not dark night!
Śiva rātrī means Śiva is white, rātrī means night. It is that night which is bright night. It is white night, it is not dark night. It is not black night.
Śiva rātrī means white night, where there is glamour, where there is light! Actually, at night you feel darkness. Śiva rātrī is not that!
Śiva rātrī is where this night is white, brilliant, glittering, all things are visible. There is no need of torch, there is no need of lamps, bulbs, or voltage lamps . . . or whatever you can try. It is more than that.
And in other words, it is Śiva rātrī . . . Śiva rātrī means that night where you are ‘graced’ with the śāktipāta of Lord Śiva. On that night, he bestows śāktipāta; tivra-tivra śāktipāta [supreme intense grace] is bestowed to the one who deserves.
So this is today’s lecture . . . right!
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