Category: Speech_excerpts

How did Shiva become a pāṣāṇa or linga?

Let us recount from different Puranas:

Once, while walking through the Daruka vana, Shiva brought trouble for all the saints who were involved in intense austerities in that forest. Shiva is far more handsome than Vishnu. For this reason He is called Sudaresha. Vishnu is not addressed as Sundaresha but as Mohanānga. It is said that Parvati is dark complexioned. None of the 33 crore Devatas can match Shiva in beauty.

The greatest saints who were meditating in Dāruka vana were fascinated by His beauty. We are talking of those saints who were of the highest calibre! They had undertaken penance for many many yugas and were masters in all forms of knowledge! Such was their penance that their matted locks touched the ground. They had totally abstained from food for long periods of time. Penance which is done without harming the body and without harming others is true penance.

Such saints were captivated by His beauty! Krishna’s beauty only attracted woman. But Shiva’s beauty captivated not only women but also men! For a little time these men believed that they had transformed into women and getting up from their seats they began to follow Shiva!

The wives of these saints were responsible for maintaining the holy fire within the house. It was their duty to ensure that fire eternally burned in the house without dying down. When these dutiful chaste wives saw their husbands leaving them and going along with Shiva, they cried loudly in grief.

“Hey Shiva, You may be handsome, no doubt, but You can never create such feelings of love in us as we are extremely chaste woman. Let go off our husbands for without them we cannot survive. We have given up our parental homes and are here only to dutifully serve our husbands. We have been serving our husbands devotedly for the past thousands of years. To us husband is God”.

In Krishna’s sports, the mothers of the Gopikas go and beg him to set the girls free. It sounds morally correct. But here Shiva was unaware that thousands of saints were following Him as he moved about in the forest!

As these saints walked, the many demons on the path were dying unable to withstand the intensity of their penance!

Shiva, the ever-compassionate Supreme Lord, observed the demons dying and was unhappy. He pondered over the reason. He concluded that the intensity of the penance of the saints who were following Him led to the death of these demons who were predominantly of tamasic traits. ‘Oh, a terrible calamity is about to take place. The wives of these saints are bound to curse me now’.

Even as He was thinking, Arundhati and other chaste women, who were the wives of the saints, cursed Shiva. They cursed that He should turn into a pāśāṇa or linga. With this curse He transformed into a linga. All the saints then bathed the Lord with abhishekam and decorated Him beautifully. Even to this day saints perform these rituals, and while chanting the Rudra, Namaka and Camaka, continue to call Him.

Then the saints addressed their wives and said, “Due to your curse our dear God has transformed into a linga. Please go away. Please do not come near us. We want to remain here with Him.”The wives replied, “We will stay along with you here and worship Him”.

  • Shivaratri 2016

 

Another story:

Once, an argument ensued between Brahma and Vishnu which turned into a great dispute. With an intention of bringing about a settlement between them, Shiva entered into the scene. Absorbing both of them into Him, he took on the form of a huge, endless pillar of fire.

To figure out the origin of this pillar of fire, Lord Brahma in the form of a swan flew into space. With the same intent, Lord Vishnu in the form of varaha (wild boar) went deep into Patala (hell). No matter how far they travelled in space, neither the beginning nor the end of this pillar could be traced. No matter how much they searched, Lord Shiva could not be seen. It was then that they realized the greatness and infinity of Shiva.

At that point the ever-compassionate Lord Shiva, took on the form of a small Jyotirlinga (pillar of light, a small linga) and appeared before them. Only that idol (moorti) which manifests during Ardra nakshatra (star Betelgeuse) is considered as the Lingodbhava moorti. This is how the Lord Shiva has been referred to as the pillar of fire.

  • (Bhaktimala 83,92)

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What is non-violence (ahimsa)?

One of the very important disciplines to be practiced by a spiritual aspirant is Ahimsa or non-violence. It is to be practised at all 3 levels: verbal, physical and mental.

Verbal non-violence: The aspirant should not utter lies either for his own benefit, for the benefit of others, for the purposes of profession, for protecting righteousness (dharma) or for his freedom. Only those who possess pure minds, who speak lovingly to others and who do not entertain feelings of anger reach heaven. Abusing others is prohibited! This is called vācika ahimsa dharma.

Mental non-violence: Mind should be freed from impurities. He should be content with what he possesses. Never be jealous when others prosper. Learn to enjoy their prosperity and share their happiness. This is Yogam. It is your luck to be bestowed with that yogam. A teacher should never be envious when his student prospers and becomes more famous than him!

He should be compassionate towards all forms of life and should not have feelings of enmity towards any living entity. More importantly, he should not seek any result from any good or bad deed performed. Only such persons are eligible to reach heaven! This is mānasika ahimsa dharma.

Physical non-violence: this is called kāyaka ahimsa dharma. He should strictly abstain from sinful activities and should not physically harm other living beings. The longevity of the person who abuses others gets shortened. Even after undergoing unimaginable punishments in hell when such sinner is reborn on earth his life will serve no purpose. This is because he will have a very short lifespan. Very short lifespan indicates that he has harmed other living entities in his past life.

Only that person, who while performing auspicious deeds, strictly abstains from using weapons, speaks lovingly to others and practices non-violence reaches heaven.

 

 

  • Shivaratri Feb 2017

Permanent link to this article: https://puttugam.com/what-is-non-violence-ahimsa/

Disciplines that enable spiritual aspirant to reach heaven

Brahma-purāṇa contains a conversation between Shiva and Mother Goddess Uma. Shiva explains:

  • “Humans who seek to obtain the ultimate state should develop deep inclination as well as dedication towards truthfulness (satya) and righteousness (dharma). Be truthful at all times.
  • They should be peace-loving. Both at mental and physical plane they should be at peace. There are many who appear irritable and take pride in the fact that they are short-tempered. It is wrong! In no way it is an admirable trait! ‘If I get angry I will act like a lion. I will be as wicked as a fox’- people who make such statements need to be treated properly. Perhaps they are exhibiting the traits of their earlier births when they were born as lions or foxes.
  • They should refrain from injuring any living entity in the universe either physically, mentally or verbally. Ahimsa (non-violence) is a must! Try to drive away mosquitoes using repellents. Do not kill them. Instead we take great pride in killing the mosquito that sits on our hand. It is wrong! Only when an animal is harming other innocent animals we have the right to kill it. Not otherwise. For instance when a rat eats away small innocent birds it can be killed. As this is done to protect other living entities Shiva the witness takes over the sin. This is dharma. However going to the rat-hole, dragging the rat and killing it is unacceptable! Never deliberately harm other living entities.
  • They should not have attachments of any sort. Practice dispassion. Learn to see defects (dosham) in attachments and desires. Never entertain desires.

Don’t even demand talismans from Swamiji. He gives per His discretion. Why do we need talismans, pendants or Rudrakshas when He resides in our hearts? ‘Why should I seek tiny rocks from the mountain when the mountain itself is with me? It is enough if You are with me Swamiji’- this should be our prayer. But when He calls you specifically and gives you a talisman, do not refuse. It is a medication He is giving you. On your part never demand or desire.

  • They should develop feelings of equal-mindedness in every aspect.

Only that person, who while performing auspicious deeds, strictly abstains from using weapons, speaks lovingly to others and practices non-violence reaches heaven.

 

 

  • Shivaratri Feb 2017

Permanent link to this article: https://puttugam.com/what-are-disciplines-that-enable-spiritual-aspirant-to-reach-heaven/

Can we escape experiencing the results of our past actions (karma)?

No. No one can escape experiencing the results of past actions (karma), not even God!

Didn’t Lord Dhanvantri (God of medicine) suffer? Krishna had to face severe stomach ache once. Shiva suffered. Vishnu had to take on an incarnation for that. Once a body is taken, all afflictions will come. We have to suffer for our past bad actions. There is no escape.

Many are wondering how Swamiji could get severe unbearable tooth trouble. Even I wondered. The pain was so unbearable that it was difficult even to smile. But how could I stop smiling when I see people? Can I say- I can’t smile because I have a tooth ache. But I smiled for them and I smiled with them. In this process I forgot my pain.

Slowly I recollected that as a child I had troubled many snakes. I had sinned. Many may be surprised. They may doubt- how could Swamiji sin? But yes, as a child Swamiji used to catch snakes, pull out their poisonous tooth and then set them free. The intention was good but the act was not. Once it so happened that a girl died due to snakebite. As a small boy Swamiji was extremely angry at the snake and vowed to remove the poisonous tooth from a 1000 snakes. My aunts Gowramma and Chikkamma were a witness to this. I am suffering because of that.

I advise you all not to mistreat animals. It is a sin. Do not kill even ants or cockroaches or rats. Use mechanisms to prevent their entry. If at all they come in, catch them and leave them at a far away place. Prevention is better than killing. Many take pride in killing mosquitoes. But they do not realize that even the dead mosquito has relatives like a mother or grandmother waiting for it. Use mosquito repellents.

I could not remember my childhood actions. Even then the sins had to be paid for. Sin is the root cause of all diseases. Our sins get wiped out when we suffer. You should not get scared of suffering. Finish it.

  • Bhaktimala Sep and Oct 2002.

Permanent link to this article: https://puttugam.com/can-we-escape-experiencing-the-results-of-our-past-actions-karma/

Why do we need to undertake spiritual practices?

If you throw a pebble into a pond, it creates small bubbles. If you throw a small stone, it will cause ripples.  A bigger stone will cause bigger ripples. If you throw a huge boulder with all your might into the pond, not only the water but also the dirt and mud beneath splash on your face. Remember all this happened in the otherwise calm pond that was without any movement. Frankly, we don’t need stones to cause the movement in the lake. Even if a tiny leaf falls in the water or there is a small wind, the water moves.

There is no rule or guarantee that you and your surroundings will always remain calm. A stone may fall from any direction. Stones like bad company, bad habits etc. can fall anytime! The mind that has been calm so far will get disturbed and the dirt called ashanti (absence of calmness) will splash on it. To prevent such dirt from splashing or to clean the dirt that is already there in the mind, mantra chanting and spiritual practices are very important!

All of you who have received initiation into mantra should not neglect your spiritual practices. Only this can give you the mental peace. It will also keep your surroundings clean.

—Bhaktimala June 06

Permanent link to this article: https://puttugam.com/why-do-we-need-to-undertake-spiritual-practices/

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