Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi  

Mumbai, India
29 February 1976  

I told you about creation first because on the day of Shivratri when we have to talk about Shiv ji, then it begins with creation therefore He is the beginning. When the first form of God Almighty manifests when He become resplendent with Brahma, He is called Sada Shiva. That’s why Shiv is considered to be the beginning. One can understand that before a tree take its complete form, one has to look at it in its form as a seed. Therefore Shiv ji has great importance. After His manifestation, His own Shakti assumes its form and is then known as Adi Shakti. Then this Adi Shakti enlightens the three forms of the God Almighty (Parmatma) separately, that you know of. They are Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh meaning Shiv Shankar…that is the 3 aspects of the same diamond. Adi Shakti knows this. During the time of ultimate destruction, when all the created creation, all the manufactured world dissolves and incarnates as the Brahma, even then Sada Shiva remains unaffected. He is related to that part of God Almighty that never incarnates, that who is a non-being. All the powers of God that incarnate are from His being, the ones that don’t, are from the non-being that stay with Him. In all this, the postion of Sada Shiv is the same as that of a diamond that even when broken into many small pieces, remains resplendent, whose sheen never diminishes. This is what Sada Shiv’s state is.

Sada Shiva gives the ‘sthiti’ -preservation or state, and in the world, if there is no presevation, there can be no creation. First the sustenance has to be developed. Existence has to be strengthened. Everything exists because of the shakti of Sada Shiv. Due to this, in the creation His contribution is the same as that of a foundation in a huge palace or house, which can’t be seen. The foundation doesn’t show but without it, no building can stand. In the same way, Sada Shiv resides in our heart in the form of our spirit. Till He resides in our hearts as spirit, only till then our lives continue in this world. The day He closes his eyes, that day we cease to exist. We leave this world and our state passes on to the other world (Paraloka).

Shiv ji, as you know resides in our Chandra nadi (moon channel), and whilst sitting in our Chandra nadi, He performs the task of our preservation within us. He also maintains the state of our ‘pran’ (life). Our lives can’t continue without Shiv ji. These are all detailed conversations. I have clarified in my book in a detailed way. By nature, Shiv ji is a great ascetic (sanyasi). Like its an aspect of the God Almighty, that from within He is an ascetic. He doesn’t create for a reason. There is a no reason. He does it from His whim, for His joy. If He wants, He creates, otherwise He destroys.

He is symbolic of an ascetic man who lives in the world. I donot mean asceticism to be the way it’s considered in the world. You all know asceticism should be where a man has reached a state where he is in a witness state (sakshi). He is an ascetic from within. From outside, he lives in the world, but from within he can be a great ascetic. He doesn’t have to say that I am an ascetic, ‘sanyasi’, I have taken ‘sanyaas’ but he has taken ‘sanyaas’ from within. The one who takes ‘sanyaas’ from within, is a manifestation of Shiv. The world we live in and work in, the world that we enjoy, that enjoyment comes from the Vishnu form of the God Almightly, that’s why in the form of Vishnu, He is the enjoyer; in the form of Shiv, He is the ascetic, and in the form of Brahma, He is the creator that creates.

Looking at this ascetic, one sees this strange thing that His body is blue in colour. Thats because He is sitting on the line of ‘Chandrama’, the moon. There are snakes around His neck and arms. His whole decoration is with snakes. Snakes are cooling and peaceful. They drink away any heat. He keeps all these snakes on his body symbolising that all the wicked, horrible, poisonous and powerful things that are trying to destroy this world, He is holding them all on His being. He has drunk all the poison of the world. You know he has already drunk the poison in the beginning. He drinks all the poison that is in the world to keep the world cool and give joy to the creation. All that dies, gets destroyed, goes and settles down in His kingdom. By the dust of His feet, the prisons of all the useless people, evil people get shut down. By Shiv ji’s grace, they become prisoners. On His head, resides ‘Chandrama’, the moon. Chandrama Himself is the brother is Lakshmi, that’s why it’s said that He is got his brother in law on His head. The poets have descibed Him in a weird way, and some time very beautifully. He has got the load of Ganga on His head as if He removes the pride of all beings. He has tied even the proud Ganga in His dredlocks. His high dredlocks are tremendous. He sucks away all the ego from human beings, and this way He protects the people from egostical people. He is incomparable, He can’t be described in words, but He has a very remarkable, extraordinary power which no other god has, is the power of forgiveness. He can forgive even the most evil. Those who can’t be forgiven even by Shri Ganesh or Yeshu, Sada Shiva can forgive even them. That’s why, when one has to ask for forgiveness, one has to ask Him because there are some things that Shri Ganesh can not forgive at all such as sin against the Mother. Shri Ganesh can never forgive all sex related sins. It’s very difficult to pacify Him. Jesus Christ also can’t forgive…ever. Only Mahadev is capable of forgiving. Even these two can’t understand him, therefore He must be worshipped.

It’s a strange thing that people fast on this day. I don’t understand on what basis this custom was made. May be some crooked people have written this in the ‘shastras’ (old religious texts). On this day, he drank the poison. Today you are allowed to eat anything…even if you drink poison. You have started fasting on this day. I can feel such a strain on my heart chakra today. Any sahajyogi who has fasted today, is straining my heart chakra today. Sahaj yogis should not act blindly. One should understand that this is a day of celebration when Shiv ji drank all the poison to become victorious in this world. It is a such a grand occasion today…who said one has to starve to death on this day? When a person is happy, he eats more on such a day. Today is a day to eat two extra chapatis and everyone’s fasting! That’s why Shiv ji is cross with everyone as He can also not forgive such a thing. So now you people will be emancipated? That’s why all these big devotees of Shiva, get heart attacks.

Today is a day of rejoicing. He drank all the poison of the world. All that was not benevolent, all the sins, all the evil that was spread in the world, he sucked it all. On this day of this great festival, we should not do something so inauspicious. If we fast on the day of someone’s birthday, so will we eat on the day he dies? All this reverse business happens here. When someone dies, all the brahmins sit down and eat. When some one is born, all the family sit down and fast. How can this be explained? Which shastra says so? And even in the shastras, the idiotic people have filled in such things. Wherever you see, they have filled all the religious texts with all sorts of wrong stuff. One must keep some sense. What is the sense in fasting today? Everyone should eat sweets because in the temples all the people want to eat sweets, so sweets should be offered. Now throughout the night, they will consume ‘bhang’ (an intoxicating drink) and ‘charas’ and then they will say Shiv ji used to have it, so we are having ‘charas’ and ‘bhang’.

Shiv ji used to have ‘charas’ and ‘bhang’, because if one has to go into the sub-conscious, one has to eat it. He can eat anything, it doesn’t mean anything to Him. You can understand if there is an aeroplane and you have to go somewhere, then you have to be a pilot first. Lips that have drunk ‘bhang’, eaten ‘charas’, can’t become Shiv ji. It is only Shiv ji, who has drunk the bhang from all over the world and is consuming it, otherwise, how else can it be finished? All these things were filled inside Him because He is the state (sthiti) Himself. Now everyone is trying to copy Him by drinking ‘bhang’. You think you are becoming Shivji by drinking bhang? How many of you here are even worth the dust of Shiv ji’s feet? He drinks it because all the store is inside Him. There is bhang in this world. There are rakshasas and evil people. Where can they be kept? Inside the house? If you have something like this, then you also have to make arrangements to store it. Shiv ji said ‘ ok bring me, I will drink the poison of the world’. Thats why these things are stored in Him. You people, who are consuming charas and bhang in His name are the greatest morons.

Sahaj yogis should think that we haven’t felt vibrations yet. You don’t know what this ‘kumbha’ is? What is this flowing from inside you? What is thing inside you that is so new, tremendous and remarkable? Then the thoughts should change, habits should change. I don’t understand why we make everything the opposite of what it should be and with every such thing, Shiv ji will leave this world and then it will be very difficult to make him settle down and if he stays standing for too long, he will start his ‘taandav’ (dance of destruction). He is unpredictable. So you should be thoguhtful of this.

Today is His very great day. You must promise me today that the next Shiv Ratri will be a huge celebration. He will be praised. He doesn’t like ornaments like Vishnu ji. He has different decorations. Get ‘babhoot’ for him. You can offer him ashes from across the world. He is ready for all this. But if you try to fast for Him, then I am not sure. The word ‘vrat’ has changed. It now has become fasting. You should fast when, for example, Shri Ram Chandra ji went into exile in the forests. When there is a repentance, then its understandable. What are you repenting for? Because He has drunk poison? One must think. All the hardships of the world, all bad habits, all the poison of the world, He drank on this great day, that’s why its called Maha Shiv Ratri. He took the whole dark night into Himself. He has absorbed all the darkness of the world inside Him. I can’t force you, but you should try it out. You should decide that at the next Maha Shiv Ratri, we will not fast and see how strongly the vibrations flow. And ask for forgiveness.