The Essence of Shivaratri- The Vision of Non-Duality

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body consciousness. Mahadeva, the Supreme Lord, is clothed in an elephant’s

skin, the waters of the Ganga surging through His matted hair. He is the

Supreme Purifier; devoid of duality; unborn; eternal; the cause of all causes;

the Fourth state of being; beyond darkness and without beginning or end. When

we pray to Him we commune with God in all these aspects. Significance of

Shivarathri and the Impersonal Shiva The night of Shiva or the

Shivarathri, occurring this month can be understood by

contemplating on Shiva as more than just the Personal aspect of God; He is also

the Impersonal aspect or the Supreme Brahman. Swami is likewise understood and

worshipped by millions of His devotees in both these aspects. Swami has clearly

explained this transcendental nature which is none other than the Shiva of the

Vedantists and the Narayana of the Upanishads. He said, “Brahma, Vishnu and

Maheshwara, are like the Heads of three departments in an organization,

(Creation, Preservation and Destruction) who report to the Chief, the

Transcendental aspect of God or Brahman. You can approach the Chief (Me)

directly by the heart to heart connection, by love to love, without having to

go through the departmental heads!” In one of His discourses, Swami made an

historic declaration- “This Divine Manifestation (of Swami) is one where all

the names of God, and all the forms of God, ascribed by man to God, through the

ages are present in full!” It is here, namely in Sai, that the followers of

Shiva, Vishnu and all seekers arrive at a common goal, namely the Oneness of

God and His transcendental nature. The Transcendental Aspect of Shiva by Adi

Shankara Adi Shankara’s 6 stanzas in his treatise on the “Nirvana Shatakam”,

give a view of this transcendental aspect of Shiva. He ends each stanza with

the refrain - “Chidananda Rupam, Shivoham, Shivoham” - that is; “I am the soul

of Knowledge and Bliss, I am Shiva, I am Shiva.” The reader can also apply the

following stanzas to the inner reality of his true Self and contemplate thus.

The first 2 stanzas of the Nirvana Shatakam indicate the “Neti Neti”

principle of discrimination as applicable to the Jiva. “I am not the mind,

intellect, thought or ego Nor the five senses, or the five elements, Nor the

Pranas, or the five sheaths, or the five organs of action.” The jiva is bound

by these limiting adjuncts. Shankara points out that jivahood is a relative

state of existence and illusory - maya. In the next 3 stanzas, Shankara,

transcending all thoughts on body-consciousness and concepts of duality,

declares most emphatically- “I have no duty or purpose, no desire, nor

freedom, no virtue, nor vice, pleasure nor pain, nor sacred word,

pilgrimage, Veda or sacrifice, nor fear, nor death, nor caste distinction, no

father no mother, no friend or relation, no master or disciple, etc.” In a

shattering of previous earthly conditioning, all names, forms and attachments

which bind the jiva are eschewed. Every other identification with duality at

the mental, vital and psychic level is rejected by the process of elimination

and the jiva “dives” into the ocean of Satchitananda (being-awareness-bliss) to

merge with the Transcendental Non-Dual One. He experiences Advaitha Darshanam

Gyanam. Thus Swami’s statements “A dual mind is half-blind” and “Happiness is

union with God” become realized

within. Swami in the 80th Birthday Discourse… Shankara tells us that “The Jiva

is not different from Brahman” in other words our true nature is not different

from God. In the 80th birthday discourse Swami exhorted us “Who is God? In

fact, you yourself are God. Everyone should develop the firm conviction, ‘I am

God.’” At first glance these statements may appear contradictory to Shankara’s

expressions in the Nirvana Shatakam above. There is no contradiction

whatsoever. The jiva is one with Brahman, on shedding its limitations caused by

wrongful identification, ignorance and attachment to mana (mind), buddhi

(intellect), chitha (thoughts) and ahankara (ego). The Atman is none of these.

In the last stanza, Shankara triumphantly and resoundingly declares: “I am

changeless, formless, all pervading and omnipresent, free from all attachments,

and the knowable. I am the soul of Knowledge and Bliss - I am Shiva, I am

Shiva!” It is the declaration of self-realisation that all seekers are

reaching for as their goal and it is grand vision of non-duality that Shankara

expounds throughout. Rise to Our True Nature The rishis and seers of yore,

who were selfless and thought about the good of humanity, made very bold and

in-depth statements for our benefit, which literally blow our breath away. The

knowledge of the immortal Self has made them utterly fearless, while their

compassion for suffering humanity makes

them speak out the One Truth in various telling expressions. Recently, a senior

office-bearer of the Sathya Sai Organisation mentioned in the Divine Presence,

that he once asked Swami if he could view the world through Swami’s eyes.

Swami replied “If you were to do that, you would give up your job, your wife

and children” for such is the purifying knowledge of Immortality, the Non-Dual,

the Fourth State, “It is Paripoorna Prema” or “Love in totality” - Swami. A

Beautiful Example From Swami… Swami, the Divine Mother, familiarises us, His

children, with these great truths by means of simple anecdotes, and analogies

so as not to shock the novice out of his wits and shy him away. The Mother

makes the truth more palatable and acceptable. This is to drive away the

child’s

fear of that which gives freedom from all fear! As an example, Swami tells the

story of a lion cub who grew among a flock of sheep and mistook itself for one

of them. “This lion cub, who had lost its mother, and was reared by a

sheep, would take itself to be a sheep and was very timid, subdued and fearful.

It would move about with the sheep, eat grass, etc. One day a full grown lion

chanced upon them and all the sheep along with the cub tried to flee. The lion

was perplexed to see the cub flee from him. So he caught hold of the cub and

asked him as to why he was behaving thus. The cub full of fear and trembling,

said ‘Please don’t eat me up.’ The lion out of pity took him to a pond and made

him look at his reflection, and said ‘You are a lion. You are one of us. See!

You look just like me. Now stop this nonsense and roar like me!’ The cub,

still trembling, tried to roar, but could only bleat. After several tries, he

roared successfully. He was surprised and happy. He was freed from all fear! He

now moved among the lions happily as one of them." The analogy is obvious - the

Lion symbolizes the Atman, while the sheep symbolizes body-consciousness, the

latter keeping us far away from awareness of our true nature. The wakeful

state (in which the reader is now in) constitutes the entire gamut of worldly

sense experiences, body consciousness, the state of duality, subject-object

relationship, mixture of joy-sorrow, the three gunas, etc. ‘Denial of the

world’, which at first impression may appear a negative action, is rather a

rising above this relative state of consciousness into a higher state of

awareness – to be who we really are. “When Truth is known, where then is this

world?”- Adi Shankara “When Truth is known, where then is this

world?”- Adi Shankara. Perceptions which are body and jiva-related, and which

appear very real in the waking state, lose their meaning. The world then

appears before our eyes as: Shadows, or As experiences in a dream, or As

the sport and play of consciousness. We are thus, not affected, activated or

driven by desires and fears for “The thirst of

the man in a dream cannot be quenched by the waking state water”. We are free.

The seeker then becomes the Awakened One! He is Non-Dual. He enjoys supreme

Bliss. His Heart is One with the Heart of the Universe. He has attained to the

state of “Constant Integrated Awareness.” We can pray to Lord Shiva-Sai to

grant us this state of consciousness, most auspiciously on Shivarathri - for it

is our birthright. Swami Vivekananda’s Hymn to Lord Shiva Salutation to

Shiva! Whose gloryIs immeasurable, Who resembles skyIn clearness, to Whom are

attributedThe phenomena of all creation, The preservation and dissolutionOf the

universe! May the devotion, The burning

devotion of this my lifeAttach itself to Him, to Shiva, Who, While being Lord of

all, transcends Himself. In whom Lordship is ever established, Who causes

annihilation of delusion, Whose most surpassing love, made manifest,Has crowned

Him with a Name above all names, The Name of "Mahadeva", the Great God! Whose

warm embrace, of Love personified, Displays, within the heart, that all powerIs

but a semblance and a passing show. In which the tempest of the whole past

blows, Past Samskaras, stirring the energiesWith violence, like water lashed to

waves;In which the dual consciousness of "I" and "Thou"Plays on: I salute that

mind unstable, Centered in Shiva, the abode of calm! Where the ideas of parent

and produced, Purified thoughts and endless varied forms, Merge in the Real one;

where the existence

endsOf such conceptions as "within", "without"--The wind of modification being

stilled--That Hara I worship, the suppressionOf movements of the mind. Shiva I

hail! From Whom all gloom and darkness have dispersed; That radiant Light,

white, beautifulAs bloom of lotus white is beautiful; Whose laughter loud sheds

knowledge luminous; Who, by undivided meditation, Is realized in the

self-controlled heart: May that Lordly Swan of the limpid lakeOf my mind, guard

me, prostrate before Him! Him, the Master-remover of evil, Who wipes the dark

stain of this Iron Age; Whom Daksha's Daughter gave Her coveted hand; Who, like

the charming water-lily white, Is beautiful; who is ready everTo part with life

for others' good, whose gazeIs on the humble fixed; whose neck is blue With the

poison swallowed: Him, we salute! Suresh Rao and

the Heart2Heart Team (Sharing With Sai Love) Ram.Chugani Vol 4

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Sai Ram, Ramchand,

 

Thank you so much for this article on Shivarathri. Our Sai Center is going to

present an evening of Mahashivaratri at a local church where many of us attend

on Feb. 25th, the object being for all to learn about one another, respect

other's religions, etc., aiming toward Oneness. The local Hari Krishnas will

be working with us in this endeavor and maybe some other traditions.

 

In Oneness of Sai,

Susan Michaels