Spiritual Significance of Sivarathri

Embodiments of Love!

As long as one is proud, men will not like him. Only when he suppresses his pride will he be liked by one and all. "Krodham hithvaa na sochathi". The man filled with anger will have no happiness. He will be immersed in misery. When he subdues his anger, he will be free from grief. "Kaamam hithvaa arthavaan bhavathi". When a man has insatiable desires he will never feel contented. When he controls his desires, he will be truly rich. "Lobham hithvaa sukhi bhavathi". A miserly person will never feel happy. When he gives up greed he will realize happiness.

Embodiments of Love!

Divinity is not easily perceived or realized. It is easy to talk about the Divine. It is easy to comment on the miracles and sports of the Divine. But to understand them in their fullness is very difficult. To look at something evil and shout about it like crows is not a good thing. It is better to sing like the cuckoo over something good. Tastes differ from person to person. One man's sweet is another man's poison. With such diverse tendencies, how can men recognize the Divine? The ancient sages of Bharat carried out many spiritual investigations and through the study of the scriptures proclaimed their experience of the Divine. The Upanishads declared: "Raso vai saha". That is, the Divine is present in all things as their essence like sugar in sugarcane and butter in milk. God is present both in the good and the bad, in truth and untruth, in merit and sin. That being the case, how is one to determine what is false and what is unrighteous? The Gita declares: "My Spirit is the indwelling spirit in all beings". The individual who realizes this truth will experience equal mindedness(samatvam).

But, for people living in the mundane world and concerned with worldly affairs, right and wrong, truth and untruth and similar opposites are unavoidable. Hence, as long as one is involved in leading a worldly life one cannot escape from duality. One's peace and security have to be found in the context of pleasure and pain. One's joy is linked with suffering. Pleasure is an interval between two pains. Life is a combination of light and shadow. Without sorrow there can be no happiness. Only when you walk in the hot sun can you experience the pleasure of a shady place. In such a life, it is not possible to experience pleasure alone all the time.

The entire cosmos is governed by three states: creation, sustenance and dissolution(srishti, sthithi and layam). The truth of this is beyond dispute by anyone at any time. A Divine truth is conveyed by this concept. "Srishti"(creation) is the expression of the will of God (Easwara Sankalpa). It is called Prakriti (Nature). Every object in creation should have the characteristics of Nature. Man has come into existence to manifest the powers of Nature. The powers of Nature are not present in all in equal measure. The man who is conscious only of the physical has a perverted view of these powers. The spiritually oriented person sees their benign nature. Nature (Prakriti) and Spirit (Chaitanya) are one. But in accordance with their varied feelings and attitudes, things appear good or bad to men.

"Loka" is one of the names applied to the world. "Loka" is that which has the power of thought ("aalochana"). In this assembly there are a large number of persons. They are all gathered in one place. But each lives in a world of his own. What is the reason? One will be thinking about an educational problem. Another will be thinking about a job. Yet another may be worried about his business. Another may be concerned about agriculture. Others may be thinking about some scientific problem. All these different realms of thought are all exercises of the mind.

Thus the cosmic process (srishti) creation, (sthithi) sustenance and (layam) dissolution goes on in every human being. Creation (srishti) is the outcome of thought (sankalpa). "Sthithi' (sustenance) is protection of creation. "Layam" is the merger of creation in its source. Srishti, Sthithi and Layam are also identified with the three qualities Sathva, Rajas and Thamas. Man is the embodiment of the three gunas. The three gunas represent the Trinity (Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswara). The Trinity represent the three worlds (Trilokas). The three worlds and the Trinity are present in every human being. The three are to be regarded as one and worshipped as "Sivam". What is "Sivam"? It is the embodiment of auspiciousness. When man recognizes the unified form of the Trinity his humanness acquires auspiciousness. In a government there are different departments like education, finance etc... Likewise in the spiritual field also there are different departments. They are: Srishti, Sthithi and Layam. Each department has a head. Each head has to govern his department on right lines. There is an overlord presiding over all departments. He is like the Prime Minister in a Cabinet. He is God. He is called Allah. By attributing different names and forms to God, Divinity is fragmented in various ways. The one Divine is responsible for the threefold cosmic process. This three aspects-of God can be seen in the English word GOD. G represents generation (Srishti). O represents Organization (Sthithi). D reperesents Dissolution (Layam). GOD represents the unity of the three aspects.

All the phenomena in Nature proclaim the glory of the Divine. Why foster religious differences? Let everyone carry out the dictates of the Divine, who governs the universe. (Swami sang a poem in Telugu to convey this message). Everything that happens is by the will of God.

The principal teaching of the Vedas is that all men should strive together in harmony and share their joys together in amity. Through unity humanity can achieve purity, leading to divinity. The three great enemies of man are: lust or desire, anger and greed. These have to be eliminated. The greatest quality in man is love. Love is God. Live in love.

Bharat has been hailed as the teacher for all lands. It is the country which regarded God as one and recognized the unity that underlies all diversity. God is one, the goal is one and all life is one. This unity underlies all diversity. This basic Divine unity is missed in the perception of diversity.

You have to develop fraternal feelings towards everyone. Here is an example from the Ramayana. Once the four brothers as young lads were playing a game with a ball. After the game Rama ran to Kausalya and rested on her lap. He was full of joy. When Kausalya asked him why he was feeling so happy, Rama said that Bharata had won in the game that day and that made him so happy. Kausalya remarked that an elder brother rejoicing in the success of his younger brother is a great example of brotherly love. Shortly thereafter Bharata came to Kausalya with a sad look. Kauslaya asked him why he was feeling sad when he had won in the game. Bharata said: "When I was about to lose the game, Rama managed to lose the game and made me the winner. I am feeling unhappy because of the defeat of my elder brother. Is it not sad that on my account my elder brother should lose the game?" What an example of fraternal love! The elder brother should rejoice in the success of the younger, even by losing the game himself. This is the lesson taught by the Ramayana. In those days the four brothers were in a supreme state of fraternal love. Today brothers go to the Supreme Court for settling their disputes! This is not proper. Brothers should be united and live in amity. The ideal of fraternal unity upheld in the Ramayana should inspire the people today. Students! Strive for the welfare of society as a whole. Experience God through love.

[Bhagavan concluded His discourse with the bhajan, "Prema muditha maanase Kaho! RamalRanm!Ram"]