The Sivam Night

A tree can be trained to stand up straight; 
A stone can be chipped to charming form; 
A mind? can it be so chipped and trained? 
Answer if you can—the need is true.

Embodiments of love!

This day is reckoned holy all over this land. It is named Mahashivaratri. 'Ratri' means 'darkness-filled'. Of every twenty-four hours, we are experiencing this half the time. But this night is Shiva Night, the Night of Shiva, the Night that grants Mangala, the Boon of Blessedness. And, the Mangala or Shiva is announced as Maha, great, unlimited. Maha or limitless Blessedness can be conferred only by the Divine Source; it cannot be acquired from worldly achievements and triumphs. It is dependent on the Immutable Triad, on 'Satyam, Sivam, Sundaram'.

It assumes all forms, this shantam! 
It assumes all names, this Sivam! 
It is Sat Chit Ananda, this Only One! 
It is Satyam Sivam Sundaram.

The mountain peaks we see are rocks; the ground on which we stand is soil; the trees are wood; our bodies are flesh and bone. But, man manages to deal with these by attaching the labels of names and imposing understandable forms on them. Really speaking, they are all only permutations of the five fundamental Elements—Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Sky. Everything and being is but a formation, a transformation, a Vikara. But, at the very Central Core of every entity, Sivam is present as Effulgence.

The tragedy is, as Karunyananda said, all are sunk in the sea of Samsara, of flux and fear, of conflict and discontent. The world appears dual according to our likes and dislikes. If we like a thing, it is good for us; if we dislike it, it is bad. When you like a person, everything he does, even the bad, is pleasing; when you dislike him, even the good he does strikes you as bad. So, the sages advise that you can trek alone through a dark jungle and come out safe. They dissuade you from braving the same journey if you have someone whom you do not like as your companion. No one can determine who is likable or when. You may be bothered by fear when you go alone in the dark, but a person who dislikes you or whom you dislike is to be avoided.

Harmful tendencies and thoughts multiply fast in the mind of man, as fast as white ants, unless he establishes himself in his Satyam Sivam Sundaram essence. Then, no one can dislike you nor can you dislike any other. Even those who injure and insult you have to be forgiven and loved, for, love alone can shower Ananda. The spring of love is in one’s own core. The source of Ananda is the innermost reality. But, like the man who searched everywhere for his glasses and found them at last on his own nose, man too becomes aware of the truth that the search has to proceed in the inward direction.

While describing the benefits of group bhajan, Karunyananda said that its effect is like keeping banana bunches packed inside a smoke-filled room to make them yellow, ripe, and sweet. But only the mature bunches can ripen and sweeten. The rest might change color but their taste will be the same. Spoiled milk cannot become good yogurt. Every individual of the group has to sing sincerely and with a longing to visualize God. Bhajan should not be imitative, mechanical, or forced. Then only can bhajan expand the heart, reveal the Truth, and arouse the springs of Love.

The entire cosmos is composed, according to the sages, only of five Elements. The first of these is what we call earth. Though it appears dull and inert, it is resonant with consciousness, Chaitanya, Energy. The second is water. It is vibrant with vitality, Prajna. For example, when one is prostrate with thirst or weakness and is apparently unable even to react to his surroundings a cup of cold water can restore him to activity. The third element is fire. Fire is luminous with vigilance, warning, wakefulness, attention (Jagrata). The fourth is air. Air carries the life principle, the anima, the Prana. Air is not needed when there is no life in a thing. Prana is the image of the air principle. The last is space (akasha). It is the expression of Om, the Pranava sound.

Every being has all these elements in its composition. This is the reason why the sages asserted, "Ishvara-Sarva-bhutanam." So every being has to manifest activity, vitality, vigilance, watchfulness, and the awareness of the Om in outer and inner space. Man has the unique capacity to know his destiny and destination. He should not fall into the whirlpool of desires and be carried down into the depths of grief. As breath starts to gasp, hair turns grey, teeth begin to drop and eyes grow dim, man’s greed to quench the clamor of the senses increases instead of decreasing! Satsang alone is the remedy to make man live as man. Cruelty, jealousy, egotism, ingratitude—these should not emanate from the crown of creation. Mutual help and compassion, these should serve man as his two eyes. Do not entangle yourselves in kinship that lasts only for a day or two, a span of months or years. Attach yourselves to God who is your closest kin, today, tomorrow, and always.

Embodiments of love! Where exactly are you now? Reflect on that. Even here, each one will secure only what is proportionate to what one has renounced however long or however near you might be. Ticks attach themselves to the udder which is full of sweet nourishing milk. But the ticks secure only the blood of the cow, not the milk. The calf which comes skipping from afar drinks the milk and avoids the blood. You have to be like the calves, like children of God seeking Grace. Do not become ticks that cling close but do not long for milk.

Near, nearer, nearer! That does not help. Become dear, dearer, dearer. That is the proper Sadhana.

The situation in India and in the world today is: “_Evariki Vare, Yamuna Tire_” (Each for each on Yamuna beach). The fingers of one hand do not feel the sense of belonging. The four members of a single home trudge along four separate tracks. There is no togetherness. How happy can man be if he develops togetherness! Can you eat a meal with a single finger? When the five fingers work in unison, your stomach is filled in five minutes! When ten men work together, the task is done in ten minutes. A single person, all by himself, may leave it unfinished, though he struggles for ten years! "Mutual help hastens Moksha," says the proverb. We have in India seven hundred million people. When these millions are regarded and respected as 'I plus you, plus you, plus you, plus you, plus you,' including every one of them, even the 'impossible' can be achieved. The highest Ananda can be won. But, now, look at the state of affairs: Father son, Husband wife, Guru pupil, all relations are minus, and not plus at all. Minus always involves 'mindless' state.

Hold on to God, first, the world, next, and I, last. Let the last be lost. Leave off the present holds—I first, the World next, and God, last, almost lost! Under present conditions, why celebrate Mahashivaratri and Mahanavarathri? You cannot advance spiritually even a single inch, however grand your celebration. Rural folk while celebrating Muharram hold the 'tabiz' and to the beat of drum and the noise of pipe and bugle march one foot forward (saying Hassan) and one foot backward (saying Hussain). They do not make any progress. You too do not move forward in Sadhana, for what you gain in one step you lose in the second. While in the shrine or while in Dhyana, you gain a little and when you go out or get up, you lose that little. The plus is canceled by an equal minus, and the total gain is zero. You must examine yourselves and educate yourselves, without fear or favor. "Know thyself" is the prescription. Know that you are Divine and all thoughts and feelings and impulses arising in this body are prompted by the God within. Dwell in this awareness always. Your senses, your vital airs, the physical, mental, intellectual, and other sheaths are all activated by the Divine, the Primal cause and Energy. Explore within and discover this Truth.

You have been involved in Sadhana, you are engaged in bhajan sessions, for years and years. But, I know you have not attained the target of peace and joy, you have set your mind upon. Remember, whatever you do ordering yourself, let it be with the full approval of the heart. Try to understand the purpose of God, the Divine plan, and straighten your thought, word, and deed accordingly. Never stray from that goal.

A seed planted in the soil, fed with manure and water, sprouts and comes up as a sapling breathing air and basking in the sun. It benefits from the soil, but persists in its own nature.

It assimilates the manure and water but does not become either; nor does it merge in air or sunlight. It is true to its self and its reality. An aircraft emerges from the mind of an engineer, the designer. He may ride in the craft but the craft was in him. That is the truth, discoverable by reason. For one who observes outer things, he is seen seated in it but for one who examines the inner process and project, the aircraft was originally inside the mind of the person now riding in it. Knowledge sees the two as separate; wisdom pictures the one in the other. There are two other levels of awareness beyond Vijnana (knowledge), and prajna (wisdom). They are sujnana (intuitionary vision) and Atmajnana (Awareness of Unity).

Reflect on this Truth implanted in your heart. Recite the names of the Revealer of these facts of Truth, throughout this holy night. Win His grace and thereby merge in Him. My Blessings are on you.

Prasanthi Nilayam, Mahashivaratri, 22-2-82