Mahashivaratri Puja (Hindi/English). Delhi (India), 9 February 1991.

ENGLISH PART BEGINS FROM TIMESTAMP: 00:50:12

Today’s lecture was quite big for all of you who are here, I’m happy that you could all come down for the Shiva Puja and now as they have requested in Europe, also we are going to have a Shiva Puja on the 17th I think in Rome.
They have never had a Shiva Puja in the West. And that’s why I have decided that we’ll have two pujas, though it is quite a difficult thing to have Shiva’s puja in such close proximity. Today I have told them how we have got four channels in our heart where Shiva resides,
and how we have to introspect ourselves and control our attention, because in Sahaja Yoga there is all freedom to be the way you are, nothing must be sacrificed or to be given up as they were told before, to go to the Himalayas,
take out all your clothes and shiver there in the cold and all sorts of things. The body, importance of the body has to be reduced. and for that you have to put your attention inward and try to find joy in everything.
To put your attention inside is very easy because you are meditative. Supposing you are going by bullock cart. If a man is used to Rolls Royce he will be all the time complaining what is this nonsense, why I have to go by a bullock cart, horrible, this that…But a child if he is in a bullock cart, he will be enjoying it,
what a nice thing, you are jumping up and down very nice, how the bullocks are arranged beautiful, you can watch everything so carefully outside. Because he is so innocent like Shiva. Like you want to have a proper bathroom, you want to have a proper bed, you want to have all these things.
But if you want to make fun out of it it’s very interesting. Once I went to Lucknow, I went to stay with a relation of mine. And there only one cot, not so rich, they’ve lost all (inaudible), they said we have only one cot, if you want you can sleep on the cot or on the ground.
I said all right, I will try this cot business. That cot was made of (inaudible) and it was all touching the ground like that, so it was just like sleeping on the ground, but it was all like this. But in the night I found lots of rats running over my body, I was watching them so the people got very much worried,
they said what’s these rats are crawling upon you and going round and round, yes I said, one of them is still here under my foot. So they said aren’t you disturbed? I said what it is to be disturbed? I’m just watching them, I’ve never seen so many rats together. Just enjoying them.
And then they said you are sleeping in this kind of a cot and you might get little pain tomorrow and I said no, no, no I’m just enjoying, this is like a nice swing here, you see nicely you can move about, it’s very nice, very interesting. and the next day I was very fresh and they were surprised how am I so fresh.
So all these discomforts of body and all that, and the way we are correcting everything and grudging about everything, complaining about everything is just a myth. Now you don’t have to go to that austerity, what you have to do…Surrender all these things into the ocean of joy, or dissolve it into the ocean of joy all these comforts. Then also the artificial norms of life that have come up – like you have to have disheveled hair, otherwise you are not in. You have to be really crazy to be in. There are many other things stupid I think very much that have come in vogue and people are following them, because they are the norms.
If you don’t do that, then you think you are not all right or others may start thinking oh, what funny man he is. That doesn’t mean you should be funny or you should be hippies or anything. But not to be so much worried about the norms. Like one day I saw one gentleman who was extremely upset, in England,
Indian gentleman. I said what happened? Why are you so upset? He said you know by mistake I used the fish knife for eating meat. So what? Everybody watched me, you see. I said it’s all right. You didn’t thrust into anyone. It doesn’t matter if you have eaten…fish knife…if you have used a fish knife for this.
so you must use fish knife first, then this, that, all nonsense. it’s not so important. then, your equanimity, then your balance. so, all these little little things can also upset us. on the contrary, I would say oh – really? I did eat ha? with the fish, very good. it is a good thing that I broke something, a big image of formal dinner it was broken. so it was good, next time everybody will do that. it may start as a fashion, possibly. if you just put your attention in such a way, that body is not for the penance, but for the Havana. is to be used for the Havana. for the YAgnya, and then you can tell your body nicely that now – please behave yourself, or say. so first you have to denounce it. all it’s demands. and then it becomes a thing that you use it for doing God’s work. I must say compared to Indians, westerners are much better in this respect, I must say that. Indians wanted first the best rooms there is, to fight for it. now gradually they are coming round a little bit but still, sometimes they are starting grudging about this grudging about that. but that way I do not know how, but I must say that in the west or even in Australia people are not so much bothered about this deal. I remember once, we had gone to Ganapatipule long time back. and there were no arrangements for sleeping,
because the empty (Inaudible), they said we will do it the next day. so many of them just went to the seashore and slept there the night. they said – Mother we enjoyed it, it was a full moon and we really enjoed among ourselves. the second part is the attachments are there, with people. we can say first of all, it’s the desire. the desire to have this, desire to have this have that. all kinds of desires. as you have seen, they were never fulfilled, and we are never satisfied with them when they are satisfied. so, what do we do with our desires? dissolve it into “Shuddha-Iccha”, into to the pure desire of kundalini. and third thing is that, we have our relations, I mean I have seen with the westerners especially when they get married, I do not know what happens to them. then suddenly they think they now married so now they have become Romeo and Juliett raised to power 108. and of course Indians are the other way round. I mean that both are just the same.
so, one has to understand that’s alright – that is an event of marrying. but the attention should not be entangled with any person whatsoever. as I have told you many times the sap of the tree has to rise vertically, to give it’s attention to all the parts of the tree and go back. if it is attached to any one of the parts the whole tree will die as well as that part will also die. so every relationship whatever you have to give whatever you have to do to your sister, to your brother, to your children, to your wife (Inaudible)… so what you will do about attachments? dissolve it in compassion. a compassion that (Inaudible)…the nature of the compassion is that fulfills all the (Inaudible), all the balance, all the defects, just (Inaudible).. a fourth one is the one which is for your ascent. then your attention is so pure that it manifests its fourth channel which blossoms (Inaudible) through your left Vishuddhi into your Sahasrara and becomes a Lotus, Lotus of fragrance. then the Sahasrara starts giving the fragrance of the heart (Inaudible) combination of the heart and (Inaudible). So this attention itself, is a power of shiva. this attention as we call it “chitti”, and this attention is spreading (Inaudible) all-pervading power “Chaitanya”. and this attention…..(Inaudible)….Chaitanya power go into action. finally, this attention is quiet. it just watches, it just sees. It doesn’t react, but you see, this attention is just watching. and they know what it is and accordingly they act. so Shiva is just spectating, watching the work of the goddess. he is the only spectator, and if he sees that human beings are not respectful to this power then he (Inaudible) and destroys the whole world, destroys the whole work of the Goddess. so, it is important that you all should join hands to work it out – the work of the goddess. so that Shiva is happy, and we create a new world of spirituality and beauty. may God bless you.