Maha Shivarathri - Divine Messages from the Discourses of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba

[Guest guest]

Today is Sivarathri, meaning auspicious night. Siva symbolises the breathing

process 'Soham', that takes place in every man. This is referred to as Hamsa

Gayatri. '(A) Ham' refers to 'I' and 'So' means 'That' (God). This message of

'I am God' is conveyed through this breathing process - 21,600 times a day.

Such teachings have been propagated and practised since ancient times.

Love is your greatest asset. Develop love and always speak the Truth. Under all

circumstances follow the path of Truth. In case the utterance of Truth is

likely to lead to some danger, remain silent. Therefore it is said, Truth is

the life of the tongue. Righteousness is the life of hands. Non-violence is the

life of the heart. Sivarathri is celebrated to teach man the significance of

these values. Siva also stands for humility. A person with humility is one of

Sivam (auspiciousness). On the other hand, a person with ego is verily a Savam

(corpse).

What is the significance of Lingodbhava? God is known as Hiranyagarbha (one

having a golden womb). The golden Rasa (essence) present in His womb undergoes

a vigorous churning process and assumes the shape of a Linga. Linga means a

symbol or a sign. (Showing the golden Linga that He created in the beginning of

His Discourse) Bhagavan said - As you can see, it has no distinctive features

like eyes, face, etc. It has neither feet nor head. It can be placed in any

manner. It symbolises the formless Divinity.

Leeyathe Gamyathe Ithi Lingaha It is the basis of everything. The golden Rasa

after assuming the shape of a Linga emerges out. You need fire in order to melt

gold. Similarly, the fire within melts the gold and moulds it into the shape of

a Linga. Hence, the difficulty at the time of its emergence. It has to assume

the form of a Linga and come out. You feel Swami is put to a lot of Badha

(suffering) at the time of Lingodbhava. It is not really a Badha (suffering)

but a Bodha (teaching) for you. Is it not natural for a mother to undergo

labour pains while giving birth to a child? Will any mother curse her child

just because she is put to a lot of suffering? She always prays for the

well-being of the child. In the same manner, Swami does not feel any pain at

the time of the emergence of Linga. I don't consider it a Badha. I am happy

that I am imparting a significant Bodha to so many of you. God has absolutely

no suffering, no worries and no difficulties

whatsoever. But you feel that Swami is undergoing a great pain and suffering.

Divine Discourse: Mar 12, 2002Divine Discourse: Mar 13, 2002

Today is the very auspicious day of Sivarathri. Siva stands for auspiciousness.

What is so special and auspicious about Sivarathri? Mind has 16 aspects, of

which 15 are merged on this night and only one is remaining. Make proper use of

this holy night by undertaking Sadhana with devotion and steadfastness. What

sort of Sadhana you must undertake? Cleans your heart of all evil qualities.

Evil qualities arise in you because of the misuse of the senses. It is the root

cause of all sins. Sadhana does not mean doing Japa and meditation. You should

develop pure and Divine feelings in you. Consider everyone as Divine. Respect

them. "All are Mine and I belong to everybody." Once you have such firm

conviction, you can enjoy immense happiness in life. There will be no trace of

worry in your life.

Today is a very holy day. The time at 6 o'clock is highly sacred. At that time,

the Atma Lingam will be manifested. God is sometimes called the Hiranyagarbha.

The golden Lingas emerge from Hiranyagarbha itself. Don't conclude that only

Swami is Hiranyagarbha. All of you are manifestations of Hiranyagarbha. You are

also eternal and self-effulgent. Hold this truth firmly in your heart. Keep this

awareness firm.

Divine Discourse: Feb 21, 2001

Why is Sivarathri considered auspicious? The reason is this. The moon has 16

Kalas (aspects) and so too the mind. On the day of Sivarathri, 15 are merged

and only one remains. If the 16th aspect is also merged, one attains Divinity.

This total merger will take place only when one chants the Divine name

continuously and wholeheartedly.

Divine Discourse: Feb 22, 2001

The nights you experience on other days are ordinary nights. They are nights of

darkness. But Sivaratri is an auspicious night. How is it auspicious? There are

sixteen aspects for the mind. The moon is the presiding deity of the mind. Of

the sixteen aspects of the moon, today, fifteen are absent. The remaining one

aspect can be merged in the Divine by diverting the mind towards God. If you

sing his Glory throughout the night wholeheartedly, even the remaining one

aspect can also be merged with the Divine. On this day it is possible to get

full control over the mind by contemplating on God. Hence it is considered as

an auspicious day. Unfortunately, in this Kali Age, people observe the vigil of

Sivaratri by seeing cinema shows all through the night or playing cards. This

cannot be called Sivaratri. Every moment of the night should be devoted to the

thoughts of God and chant His name wholeheartedly.

God has thousands of names. Of all those names, 'Satchitananda' is the most

important and significant. 'Sath' stands for the changeless eternal principle

and 'chith' denotes total awareness. The former can be compared to sugar and

the latter to water. When sugar and water are mixed, what results is syrup.

Likewise the combination of 'Sath' and 'Chith' results in Ananada. Fill your

heart with love and chant the Divine name. Only then can you attain Divinity.

Perform all your activities with love. Love would originate from the source,

i.e. the heart and not by force. Today people chant the Divine name, not from

source, but out of force. No benefit accrues from chanting the Divine name

unless it is done wholeheartedly. Chant His name wholeheartedly at least for

half a minute, that is enough. One teaspoon of cow's milk is better than

barrels of donkey's milk. God is interested in quality, not in quantity.

Divine Discourse: Mar 4, 2000

What is the significance of Sivarathri? Siva stands for auspiciousness. You

should sanctify your life with pious feelings on this day. You did Bhajan

throughout the night. It has given you happiness. But it is confined to the

external activity of listening and chanting only. The happiness should be felt

in the innermost recesses of the heart.

What is the use if you involve in positive and constructive activities with

negative thoughts in your mind? Get rid of negative thoughts first. Fill your

mind with positive thoughts. Then the entire world will flourish; the society

will flourish; your village will flourish and your home will flourish. Social

service should expand from the individual to the society and from the society

to the entire nation. Do not observe any differences while doing service. It

can be any organization. It does not matter. You go and participate. Service is

your aim; sacrifice is your aim. Nurture pious and divine feelings. Only then

will your life find fulfillment.

Divine Discourse: Mar 5, 2000

You will be observing Sivarathri in the true spirit of the term only when you

give up bad qualities and cultivate divine love. Merely observing vigil on

Sivarathri is not sufficient. You have to contemplate on God incessantly. Most

people claim that they have observed Jaagarana (vigil) on Sivarathri night by

playing cards. The fisherman goes on watching intently so as to trap the fish

in the net. Can this be termed meditation? If one abstains from taking food on

account of difference of opinion with his wife, can it be called fasting? No.

Similarly, observance of sacred vigil on Sivarathri night is not achieved by

playing cards the whole night. You should spend this night by chanting the name

of God, using the time in doing good deeds.

You will be immensely benefited if you keep awake and sing the glory of God at

least on this night. The Moon is the presiding deity of the mind. The Moon has

16 Kalas (phases). On this Sivarathri 15 Kalas have already merged in God and

only one remains. By constant remembrance of God, even the 16th phase merges in

God. Can you not spend a single night in the whole year singing the glory of

God? So sanctify this night by participating in Bhajan. The bliss that you get

from Bhajan, the sweetness in the divine name, the happiness derived from

visualizing the divine form cannot be obtained elsewhere. Everything is

possible only through love. So, cultivate love and sanctify your life.

Past is past, future is uncertain, only present is in our hands. It is the

foremost duty of man to live in the present and share his joy with his fellow

beings. Truly speaking, the human being is the most fortunate one among all the

living beings. Compared to the entire cosmos, man is very small like an atom,

yet he is able to comprehend the magnitude and vastness of creation, which is

very startling indeed. He attains immortality by understanding the unity

between the microcosm and macrocosm. As mentioned by Me yesterday, whosoever

reaps the harvest of love in the field of his heart is a true Christian, a true

Sikh, a true Hindu and a true Muslim. In fact he is the true human being on

earth. Man cannot exist without love. This Principle of Love is Hiranyagarbha.

This Hiranyagarbha is situated on the right side of the human body and the

physical heart is on the left. The physical heart on the left side has to be

left one day or the other

in some circumstance or the other. Hiranyagarbha located on the right side of

the human body is always right. It is immortal, eternal and all encompassing.

It is present not only in human beings, but also in birds, beasts and all other

living beings. The Vedas declare: "Eswara Sarvabhoothanaam", God is present in

all the beings, "Isavaasyam Idam Jagat", God pervades the entire cosmos. It is

love that originates out of this Hiranya. The three principles of reaction,

resound and reflection have originated from Hiranyagarbha. Unable to recognize

his true identity man is wasting his life in the pursuit of temporary fleeting,

transient and ephemeral pleasures.

Divine Discourse: Feb 15, 1999Divine Discourse: Feb 14, 1999

Today we are celebrating Sivarathri. "Sivarathri" means "Auspicious darkness".

At least on this day one should chant Siva's name all through the night. At

least on one day in a year chant the name of the Lord. Devotees are expected to

keep awake this night by chanting the sacred name of Siva. Keeping awake in any

other way is purposeless. Spending the night reciting the Lord's name

sanctifies one's life.

Divine Discourse: Feb 25, 1998

The lesson of Sivarathri is that devotees should foster good and sacred

thoughts. They should be filled with godly thoughts. They should seek to become

one with the Divine by reflecting on their inherent divinity. If you constantly

chant the name of God, God realization will come in due course.

Whatever other things they may possess, men suffer from lack of peace and bliss.

These two can be got only from God. It is for these two that men should pray to

God and not for anything else, because God alone can give them. When these are

secured, all other things will come of their own accord by the grace of God.

People should yearn for God. All other desires are worthless.

Divine Discourse: Feb 26, 1998

Sivarathri has a variety of meanings. "Rathri" implies the darkness of night.

But "Sivarathri" connotes not darkness but the special sacredness of this

night. There is darkness in this night also. But this darkness is invested with

auspiciousness. The reason is on this Chathurdasi day (l4th day after the Full

Moon), the moon, who is the presiding deity for the mind, has shed fifteen of

his sixteen digits. This is an auspicious time for having proximity to God.

The Upanishads refer to the attributes of the Divine as "Sathyam, Sivam,

Sundaram". Plato regarded Truth, Goodness and Beauty as the attributes of the

Divine. "Sivam" represents the principle of auspiciousness. It is associated

with Truth on the one side and beauty on the other.

This is the primary message of Sivarathri. I am giving you three maxims which

you have to bear in mind: "Seva, Seva, Seva". Never forget the duty to serve.

For this you have to develop love. To develop love, you have to promote the

spirit of sacrifice. Service will become meaningful when it manifests love that

issues from sacrifice. Consider service as conducive to your own spiritual

development. "Be good, do good".

Divine Discourse: Mar 7, 1997

The terms Siva or Sankara mean Auspicious. Sam means Chitaananda (Blissful

Awareness). Kara means the one who causes it. Sankara means the One who causes

blissful awareness. Sankara is the One who confers Chitaananda on those who

take refuge in Him or adore Him.

The secret of creation is evident from the description of the form of Siva. The

crescent moon on Siva's head symbolizes the consciousness in human beings, the

Ganga symbolizes the Life Force and the snakes on Siva's body represent the

myriad of living beings. He resides on a silver mountain. His dearest friend is

Kubera, the Lord of Wealth. Despite being endowed with all these, why was He

obliged to carry the begging bowl? To demonstrate to the world that every kind

of wealth is a hindrance to spiritual advancement, Siva renounced everything.

It is through renunciation Siva became the eternal embodiment of supreme bliss.

 

The three eyes of Siva represent the three worlds (lokas). Siva's trident is

symbolic of the Past, the Present, and the Future, the three aspects of Time.

The three gunas (Satwa, Rajas, Thamas) are images of the Trinity - Brahma,

Vishnu, and Siva. The three worlds, the triune aspect of Time, the three gunas

(qualities) are the manifestations of the Easwara Principle. When the Divine is

installed in the heart in this manner, man can raise himself to the level of the

Divine.

Divine Discourse: Feb 23, 1990

The day when man is able to experience the divine state of Sat-Chit-Ananda

(Being-Awareness-Bliss) is really the holy day of Sivarathri. Till then, he is

in perpetual darkness. Until a fruit ripens in a tree, its juice is not sweet.

When the fruit is fully ripe, it drops from the tree. Attachment to the tree is

gone. Likewise when a man achieves spiritual maturity he acquires automatically

Vairagya (detachment). Man has to endeavour to reach this level of maturity by

spiritual practices for transforming his consciousness.

Turn your minds towards the Divine. Repetition of the Names of the Lord has been

prescribed as a spiritual discipline to turn your mind away from the things of

the world. If you devote the whole of this night to thoughts about the Lord,

your minds will be transformed, even if you are not able to reach the highest

state of "Over-Mind". Ever bearing in mind the triple characteristics of the

Divine- Sathyam, Jnaanam, Anantham Brahma - strive to achieve the supreme goal

of Man.

Divine Discourse: Feb 16, 1988

Shivarathri is a very auspicious day for all. It is the fourteenth day of the

lunar fortnight when the moon is waning and the sun is in the sign of Aquarius.

The festival is however related to the moon rather than the sun. Unlike other

nights, this particular night is the night of consecration, of dedication and

of 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 day and continues waning until

on this night he is left with just one sixteenth of his power. The waned moon

may be taken to stand for the mind with all its wild fancies and waywardness

reduced after it has been conquered by spiritual discipline. On this night

there is just a minute part more 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 symbolic of

divesting the senses of the pleasures for which they crave. The nightlong

devotional singing is significant of the life long consciousness of the Divine

Presence that every one should cultivate. The rites and vows laid down for

Shivarathri being absent on other nights of the year, their observance on this

day comes as a reminder that they are useful.

Divine Discourse: Mar 7, 1978

Swami holding the Linga that He materialized on March 4, 2000

 

Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online