Category: shiva

Senses, Sadhus, and Sanyāsīs

Q: “Guruji, in the fight between viveka (discrimination) and mana (heart), does mana always win?”

Guruji: “You can say in the conflict of heart and mind, the heart always wins. Viveka is but a part of the mind.”

Q: “Isn’t mana (heart) a servant of the senses?”

Guruji: “No, it’s the commander.”

Q: “Then why do people say that it got entangled in senses?”

Guruji: “Those people now look like idiots to me. You are a computer specialist. Tell me this: There are so many buttons on a computer. Are they all useless? When god made senses, why did he make them? Truth is that people are not able to command the machinery of the body, or master it, that’s why they keep complaining. They are scared about what will happen if the wrong button gets pushed. That’s why should learn control of the entire body, how to use it. These are useless talks about senses and mana, etc. Ultimately it’s the mind which is working. When you wiggle your toes, does it wiggle by itself or is it by a command from your brain?

“Let me tell you an incident: A sadhu came to visit here. As soon as he entered, he saw dīdī [Guruji’s sister – Mataji] and covered his eyes. We later found out that doesn’t look at women. Everywhere he goes, women are first removed from his path, then only he proceeds further. I told him never to come back. Instead of removing women from your sight, why don’t you just gouge your eyes out.

“In this fervor to not ever look at any woman, he must have developed a negative attachment towards them. He must be careful all the time that he doesn’t accidently look at any woman. He will never be normal again. And it’s not like his father gave birth to him! And let’s say even if he did not see the face of a woman his entire life, what did he really accomplish with that? He wouldn’t even realize what he lost. It’s the height of stupidity. Now he’ll claim ‘I have controlled my senses since I haven’t seen any woman.’ So what? There are many blind people who don’t see them.

“I feel that all the later religions, which formed world over after the so-called dark period, they all somehow went into negation. Judeo-Christians say you are born in sin, so everybody is filled with guilt all the time. Or some say you should have non-attachment. If you are not attached to anything, then what’s the point of doing anything? The old vedic way of life was very natural. We should be totally down to earth.

“I have also seen some idiots – I was going to use a heavier curse word but there are people sitting here – some idiots who even quarreled with their mothers saying ‘You are
māyā (illusion). You’ve destroyed me by giving birth to me!’ This is all stupidity and nothing else. If there were no senses, man would go insane.

“It’s just a part of business. First create confusion among people, and then preach them their entire lives. If you don’t create confusion, nobody will ask how to get out of it. Eventually you’ll be in an important position, since you can teach people how to get out of confusion, and so on. Then will come saints and bishops and mahaṁtas (abbots). And the common man, who was leading a simple life, these people twist and bend and shred his life into a thousand pieces and drain it down the toilet. Generally people are happy before meeting sadhus and
sanyāsīs (renunciates).

“That’s why Lahiri Mahasaya used to advise people to stay away from sadhus. Also, as I’ve discussed this many times, sanyāsīs remain expelled from śmaśāna (cremation grounds). Śmaśāna is Shiva and Shakti’s place, and only a worldly man has entry. Sanyāsīs are either drowned in rivers or buried in earth. And those who are not allowed in śmaśāna, what’s the guarantee that they’ll achieve emancipation or not? Actually it’s a fact that they don’t. If Shiva-ji has refused them entry in His house, how can they be free? The become ghosts and wander around. I’ve seen hundreds of ghosts of sadhus in Rishikesh and Vrindavan. Those sadhus who are buried usually become ghosts.

“Always remember Ghalib’s words:
जन्नत का राज़ कुछ और है ग़ालिब, खुदा की बात कुछ अफवाह सी नज़र आती है |
(‘The secret of heaven is something else. The god concept now feels like made up.’)”

[20100711-2]

Ashwatthama, Mahabharata, Pandava’s Great Escape

Q: “Guruji, I couldn’t find the passage in Shiva Purana about Ashwatthama being a Rudra incarnation.”

Guruji: “They deleted that section in the edition of Gita Press, Gorakhpur. See, here’s another example of sectarian fanaticism: since they are vaishnava and since Ashwatthama is considered a villain by vaishnavas, they deleted that passage from the text. Find the original full text; the one published by Chowkhamba is good.”

Q: “Did they make modifications in Mahabharata as well?”

Guruji: “There have been some modifications, but not a whole lot. In the 4th chapter, Ashwatthama’s physical description is given – after Karna’s death when Duryodhan goes to him. It’s an amazing description! Sitting in Himalayas in his camp, body is like gold, Dronacharya got him after a long penance of lord Shiva, his eyes and shoulder and voice were like Shiva’s vehicle, Nandi, has curly hair, all the knowledge of vedas, etc. And his experience when he’s about to kill the Pandavas in their camp: it’s an amazing description. Just imagine, he’s still alive today!

“All incarnations of Rudra are immortal, which is a strange thing. Well, who can kill him who is everybody’s death.

“Have I told you about the end of Pandavas? Since you’ve now touched on Mahabharata, listen to this as well:
Pandavas had a major feud with Ashwatthama. Krishna also took Ashwatthama’s gem from his forehead after Vyas-ji told him to give it. The enmity that developed as a result of that gemstone was so fierce that first of all all Yadavs died. And Krishna’s death is also a mystery. One who’s entire family has died in front of his eyes, do you think he would go take a stroll in the woods? And what kind of a stupid hunter would confuse a human foot with the mouth of a deer?? It’s not possible. And then, someone who was able to tolerate such horrifying missiles and weapons (astra shastra), could he die with a simple arrow wound to his foot? It is also a mystery how he died; he was just found dead in the woods.

“Also see the calamity on Pandavas’ family and Krishna’s family: nobody was left alive after enmity developed with Ashwatthama. When Arjuna reached home after cremating all family member of Krishna he must have been terrified. Even on the way home the punishment had started: the wives of Krishna were looted by the tribal. The Pandavas were so terrified after seeing all this that as soon as they reached Indraprastha, they immediately took off. And the manner in which they left is really strange! They got rid of all their clothes, all their royal signs and paraphernalia, and put a pebble in their mouths and took off. Nowhere in the old scriptures it is mentioned that one should leave like this to die. The chapter is called “Mahaprasthanik Parva”, and if literally translated in English, it would be called, “The Great Escape”.

“After their flight, not for one instance they ever looked back. Dhristhadhumna’s death was still clear in their minds, who Ashwatthama had kicked to death and didn’t use even a single weapon to kill him; he was killed like a dog. And they ran so terrified that they didn’t even stop for water and not even to cremate the body when they started falling one by one. As a Hindu you know that without cremation or last rites, there’s no transition (gati) of the soul to the next level. And we have the proof of that: when Yudhishthir went to heaven – that must have been due to the effect of Ashwatthama’s gemstone -, he saw that all his brothers and wife were in hell.

“And look at their family: Parikshit was cursed to die by snakebite. He took all precautions and did all due diligence, even read Maha Bhagvat, but ultimately died by snakebite. And people who die by snakebite are not cremated, so even he didn’t transition over after he died. And if he had been liberated as people claim – think of this as our deduction and I’m Sherlock Holmes and you are Dr. Watson -, his son, Janmajeya, must have celebrated. Instead, he did a big yajna (sacrificial rite) to take revenge on snakes and killed thousands of them. And even then he couldn’t kill Takshak snake who had bitten Parikshit. Parikshit was also killed in the womb by Ashwatthama, he was just living on borrowed time, and ultimately died of snakebite only.

“After Janmajeya, nobody knows what happened to that family. I’ve seen people with Kaurava surname, but not with Pandava surname.

“See what happens when you pick a fight with an immortal! Lord Krishna suffered calamity because of Ashwatthama’s gemstone. First he got a bad name stealing Syamantak stone and also had a quarrel with lord Balarama because of it, and then after Ashwatthama’s gemstone both families got wiped off.

“For an incarnation of Rudra, snakes will always be under his command. And according to Astrology, after killing a snake, the person’s astrology is also afflicted with Kalsarpa Yoga, which means extreme dejection and poor conditions which bring complete destruction. And if somebody has killed thousands of snakes, you can imagine what would happen to them.

“This is like reading between the lines. Facts are clear; you can derive you own conclusions. The whole psychology of Pandavas is pure terror: they won’t stop for anything, not even to help if one of them fell. Terror of Ashwatthama was in their minds. Ashwatthama’s revenge was also very thorough. If you read Mahabharata with this perspective, you’ll realize more truths. These are called Vyaskoots (Vyas’s puzzles). It is said that he has left such secrets in Mahabharata that only wise can understand. There are also some couplets which are difficult to understand; they are also called Vyaskoot.

“Guruji used to say that if you want to worship, worship immortals. Why worship mortals? It is absolutely right. He was indicating towards Shiva, versus incarnations of Vishnu, since Shiva-ji’s incarnations are all immortal. That’s why it is said that jiva (soul) is Shiva – it is immortal. Only body dies.”

Q: “Guruji, is there a difference between Shiva and Rudra?”

Guruji: “There’s no difference. Rudra is his name. It’s definition is also given in the fourth chapter, somewhere in the end of Drona Parva: ‘rooh dukkham tat drayanti sa rudrah’ – ‘From great (ru-h) sorrow who liberates (dra-yanti) is Rudra’. Also, Shiva-ji’s worship, abhishek (anointment, consecration), is known as Rudrābhiṣeka, not Shivābhiṣeka.”

[20110324-3] Dated: Jan 2002

Guru Gorakhnath, Shrinath-ji, and Datta Guru

Q: “Guruji, I’ve read that old yogis always lived or roamed around in solitude.”

Guruji: “They used to, and to accumulate energy also followed celibacy for a particular duration. But nobody knows what happened to them afterwards. For instance, Matsyendranath was trapped in the Triya kingdom because of Hanuman-ji’s instructions, and then Gorakhnath freed him. But happened afterwards? There’s no story of them after that; there’s total silence. Then suddenly Shankar-ji’s stories start, that he’s doing penance in the Himalayas and is a very accomplished yogi, then Daksha Prajapati gave him his daughter, then Himalaya later. Why did all these start at Lord Rama’s time, and not before that? Could it be that it was a continuation of guru Gorakhnath’s story? Shankar-ji also has Nath get-up, and in ‘Skanda Purana’ and ‘Shiva Purana’, Shankar-ji is saying he is Gorakhnath himself.”

Q: “But Guruji, Shiva-ji is also Adinath, the first Nath?”

Guruji: “Yes, is it also said that Adinath first came in the form of Gorakhnath. It’s very complicated. and And only he is always doing meditation.”

Q: “Who is he meditating upon?”

Guruji: “Well, the simple answer is that since his devotees are meditating upon him, he is meditating upon his devotees. But the actual thing could be entirely different. To understand it the mind has to reach that level. An immortal being, who is all-powerful, and the entire creation and all the spirits are his parts in a way, how to understand what is he meditating upon?? In a religious sense people say he is meditating upon Krishna or someone else but I don’t believe that. When we meet with him we’ll ask him, no other way to find out (laughs).”

Q: “I found that Agrawals history also has references to Guru Gorakhnath.”

Guruji: “The impact of Gorakhnath on Agrawals is clear. They hail from Agroha/Rajasthan where everybody believes in Gorakhnath. 22 states in Rajasthan recognize Guru Gorakhnath and other Naths as their official gurus. Who is Punjab doesn’t bow to them? The honorific “guru” is associated with only these two – Dattatreya (Datta Guru) and Gorakhnath (Guru Gorakhnath). And ‘Guru Purnima’ is his birthday. He was born on that day, and later Vyas-ji was born on that day as well. Mysteries are increasing. ”

Q: “Am not sure if the solutions will come.”

Guruji: “We are only equipping ourselves better over time. In the beginning I had no idea but these things have revealed themselves over time. At least I’m sharing all this with you guys. When I was your age, I didn’t have any idea about these things. Only after finding their natural marks (Shivalinga and Devi’s breasts and vagina) that my attention was drawn towards Shiva and Shakti. Finding these symbols also means that they have a direct blessing on me.

“Earlier I only bothered about yoga – used to sit in practice day and night, till 3am. Got tremendous results from that. Powers, or should rather say, abilities also developed. Wrote the commentaries in Gita, Yoga Darshan, etc, and only after all that and after starting to live in Smashan (cremation grounds) these signs came. That means Nature has tuned with me. Another remarkable thing is we never found any other gods’ marks, except Shiva and Shakti.”

* * * * * *

[About Shrinath-ji, who is the presiding deity at Nathdwara. There’s confusion about who he really is, since Shrinath is also a name of Lord Krishna, Guru Gorakhnath, as well as Shri Matsyendranath]

Guruji: “People say that Lord Krishna is Shrinath-ji, since he’s the swami of Shri-ji, -Radha-ji. But that’s not really true. Somehow there’s a mystery behind how these cults started. Badrinath temple deity looks exactly like Babaji sitting in padmasana. It seems like they went into backdrop over time and something else came forward. The city itself became Nathdwara – ‘Home of Naths’ – when he went there. There are some obvious facts that are getting ignored due to sectarian fanaticism.”

Q: “Guruji, what’s the relationship between Datta Guru and Guru Gorakhnath?”

Guruji: “It is said that Datta Guru started the Nath cult. He is the giver of magical powers and immortality as well. There’s a Siddha cult who can do miracles with the help of Mercury and Sulphur. That too was started by Dattatreya Maharaj. He always guides from the backdrop. He is the one who gave Kapalika get-up to Lord Shiva, and also established the Aghora path. Aghora means ‘pure beauty’, not ‘terrible’ as is generally understood. It is completely opposite of that. If one is immortal, there will be no fear for him. and For fearless, there’s only beauty and nothing’s horrible. A strange point of view will develop.”

[20110324-3] Recorded: Jan 2002

Jivatma, Shiva and Shakti

Q: “Guruji, it is said that Brahma is Providence and governs us with the laws of karma. To which state does it continue?”

Guruji: “Brahma’s domain is only till the physical world. Nobody has any dominion over the real spirits in the spiritual world, except Shiva and Shakti. The spirits, bhuta, around Shiva-ji are so powerful that even Brahma and Vishnu are scared of them. They are only jivatmas – spirits in the purest form. They have gone beyond all bodies – physical or astral. People call them bhuta, preta, pischacha and they all stay around Shiva-ji. And they are all immortal.

“Jiva is Shiva, and atma is Shakti. It’s a very subtle point. We are all ardhanarishwara (male and female) in a way, as both jiva and atma are in us. Atma is all female powers, like consciousness which is also a form of shakti. Atma and all such powers belong to the domain of Devi – Aadi Shakti. And jiva since it is a form of Shiva belongs to the domain of Shiva-ji. Even science says the same – we are half male and half female. The only difference is of a chromosome! All these things reflect on the physical plane to some degree, whether we can understand them or not.”

Q: “So Guruji when we say I, who do I identify with, jiva or atma?”

Guruji: “That’s what the whole effort is for, to understand who I am. It’s a matter of realization what our true nature is, who we are. Plainly speaking I’m Shiva, I’m also Shakti, I’m male, I’m female, I’m both. Our body has so much information recorded that if could decode all that we’ll become super knowledgeable. The entire history of human race, infact the history of entire physical creation is in it. As the old books say, ‘yat pinde tat brahmande‘. It’s a very profound statement. That means once you know yourself in entirety, and not just that ‘I’m Brahma’, etc, but also your body as well, that will be something! It’ll be a shocking realization. The data of the entire universe will become available to you. It’s a wonderful thing!

“That’s why the old yogis have said, ‘Go inside’. And only yogis have said that. Others only worshiped hypothetical gods whose name they cannot even pronounce. Here’s another horrible truth: We read that the devil is after your soul. Now soul is your immortal substance. Everybody’s after that immortal substance, whether you offer it to a hypothetical god or to the devil. In Christianity, for example, there’s description of the creation but who created the souls is not even described in the Bible.

“The soul must have some substance that even gods are after it. May be it makes them powerful – if immortals start worshiping you, you’ll also become immortal. That’s why the earthly plane becomes important, because that the only place where the soul forgets its true nature and get imprisoned in the body. At that time it’s easy to fool it. See why there are so many religions, so many cults on Earth? Because if you can influence the soul, you can do anything.

“Look at Shiva-ji instead. A yogi attains Shivatva (Shivahood). Shiva-ji doesn’t dominate. He’s a guru, and you become Him. Because jiva is already Shiva – immortal. The entire theory is different but that’s only in yoga.

“No other gods are like that. You don’t attain Brahmahood or Vishnuhood, or in Christianity become God or in Islam become Khuda. That is kufra (blasphemy) according to them. Mansoor used to say ‘anahalak’ – I’m He, so king Aurangajeb got him decapitated. According to them, nobody can become god, you can only become devotees. Only in yoga it is said that you can become Shiva. What’s bigger than that? And this way is open for everyone.

“Read that section in Mahabharata vol 6 where Upamanyu rishi is rebuking Indra, saying, ‘O fool! Don’t try to fool me with sweet words. Who is worshiped by all the gods? Nobody is born with a conch-shell or chakra, but with linga or yoni. But every male in the universe is stamped with Shiva’s symbol and every female with Shakti’s. It’s a universal phenomena, from a bacteria to an elephant, ant, or even human. That biggest evidence that the entire creation is Shiva’s and Shakti’s, that this creation is Maheshwari.’ And every man has the potential to gain Shivatva and every woman Shakitva (Shakti-hood).

“That book, History of the World, has a picture of a thousands of years old statue of a naked female. It represents the female principle of the Earth. Despite all their sweet-talking, people have only been suggesting to avoid our fundamental nature. Isn’t that contrary to what should be? Suppression is not realization. As I have written in Gita, these symbols are not just from somebody’s imagination. They are hints, left by the first people out of their compassion for the future generation, for those who are able to understand. That’s also why even from the ancient times renunciation has never been encouraged, because then you’ll never get blessings from Shiva.”

[20110324-3] Recorded: Jan, 2002

Mahakala, Vibhishan, and the Seven Immortals

Q: “Guruji, I read that in the war with Banasura, Lord Krishna defeated Lord Shiva as well. Is that true?”

Guruji: “Actually Shiva-ji told Krishna to use jambhastra on Him so he that couldn’t help Banasura. And Lord Krishna didn’t kill Banasura, only defeated him and cut all of his 1000 arms but 4. It’s interesting what happened to Banasura. After the battle, Nandi suggested him to dance for Shiva. So in this amputated state he did Tandava for Shiva! After that Shiva-ji made him Mahakala. Mahakala is Banasura only. It might have been a test for him, to see if he could still perform in this condition. The description of the dance is wonderful! He danced his eyebrows, produced different sounds, and all this while fully covered in blood! You’ll find this story in Shiva Purana, Harivansha Purana, as well as Mahabharata.

“I have read about two Mahakalas: Banasura who even Shri Ved Vyas has referred to with great respect in Mahabharata, calling him Sriman Mahakala. One more Mahakala is a brahmin named Mante in Skanda Purana, who became Mahakala with his penance.

“Ved Vyas has also said that Sukracharya and Brahaspati (Jupiter) are one and the same.”

* * * * * *

Guruji: “You know why Hanuman-ji contacted Vibhishan when he went to Lanka? Vibhishan was chanting ‘Rama Rama..’, so Hanuman-ji immediately knew that he would get his brothers killed (laughs). Obviously, if somebody’s chanting the name of their brother’s enemy then clearly they are looking to get their brother killed. He eventually became the king of Lanka, and took his sister-in-law, Mandodari, as his wife. That means his intentions were always bad. If he had not done so, and had not taken his elder brother’s wife whom he should have respected like his mother….

“Vibhishan is also immortal. Maybe Shiva-ji made him immortal to set an example that a brother should not be like this. He’s a antithesis of how a brother should be.

“All traits are represented by the seven immortals. A son should be like Ashwatthama, who left no stone unturned to avenge his father. A donor should be like King Bali, who gave away the three worlds! A man of knowledge should be like Vyas-ji who classified the vedas and created the puranas. A brother shouldn’t be like Vibhishan who got his own family killed and dared to take his mother-like sister-in-law as his wife. An uncle should be like Kripacharya, who had the secret of immortality and who supported his nephew and made him immortal as well. A devotee and a hero should be like Hanuman-ji, who went beyond possible to fulfill his duty. Kartum – what is possible, akartum – what is impossible to do, and anyatha kartum – if there’s anything beyond possible and impossible, he did all three. And a guru should be like Parashuram, who established discipline as well as an immortal tradition, with stalwarts like Drona, Ashwatthama, in his lineage.

“The next hierarchy of gods is going to be permanent. Hanuman-ji is the new Brahma. Wow we are entering actual Sat yuga. Also, Vibhishan is under Hanuman-ji’s control so all the rakshasas are under control. It might have been part of the deal with Vibhishan, ‘whatever you are doing at home with your sister-in-law, don’t create any disturbances in the creation’ (laughs).”

[20110108-2] Recorded: Dec 24, 2003

Kali, The Highest Love, Trailanga Swami, Sacrifices

Guruji: “[About Vimalananda] It’s rare to have such a combination: practice of aghora, intellectuality, as well as a sense of humor. Most so-called aghoris just sit around with a frustrated look on their faces. A touch of humor is rare. Or you can say that humor probably comes only after a certain level, after you are past the periods of frustration and toil. He can afford to laugh who has achieved something. Or rather than achievement, you can say someone who’s resolved all his questions. Then they don’t care what kind of image is being conveyed. Such a person would talk honestly, in forthright manner, and they can share a joke as well! Robert Svaboda should be considered lucky. Among all the books I’ve read, his experience is among the most interesting.

“One should also remember that Kali is basically the goddess of Tantra. She is the primary presiding deity for all black magic and other such rituals. Her universal form, etc, was later developed by philosophers. All forms of black magic rituals, hexes, death spells, human and animal sacrifices, etc, are sworn in the name of Kali. Isn’t Bengal’s black magic famous? And she is most worshiped there. Kali’s rituals prescribe eating rice and fish in the night before repeating her mantras, and you can see that rice and fish are totally inscribed in Bengali culture.”

Q: “Guruji, why do gods require sacrifices?”

Guruji: “It is directly related to the game of power. Whichever animal you are sacrificing, you gain control over its spirit. These are just means to become powerful in the astral world. Whether it’s the ashwamedha yagna, or human sacrifice, or lamb sacrifice, you are able to control their life-force, in a way. If you want to gain control over a spirit, why go through the trouble of looking for a spirit? Do a human sacrifice and catch the released spirit! Many tantrics and aghoris used to do that. Ultimately what’s the result? Nothing. Impress the world, get your petty things done, and gain a little feeling of power. But I’ve seen such tantrics meet very pathetic ends.”

Q: “So gods and goddesses don’t get appeased with sacrifices?”

Guruji: “Who will be appeased by a sacrifice? Their appeasement or provocation depends entirely on the intent and motivation of the person. Most sacrifices are offered to fulfill a desire or after it has been fulfilled. It’s purely a worldly matter.

“Why is there no sacrifices offered to Shiva? Sacrifices are never offered to Shiva. Only abhishek (sacred anointment, ablution). He doesn’t like sacrifices. The purest form of worship is only Shiva’s – even the priest needs to be completely vegetarian.”

Q: “Guruji, why is Shiva offered the pyre ash?”

Guruji: “Only in Ujjain Mahakala, nowhere else. The story is this: when Devi Sati immolated herself in Daksha yagna, Shiva took the ash from Her half-burned body and applied it on His body. Because he loved her so much, he carried her body on his shoulder throughout the world and rubbed her ash on himself and made a garland of her bones which he wore himself, and then removed himself into solitary meditation! That was, I think, the highest form of love expressed, ever!”

[about Trailanga Swami]

Q: “Read somewhere that Trailanga Swami worshiped Shiva-linga with his own excrements.”

Guruji: “Never heard of that, though I’ve read about him eating his own excrements. That was a famous incident: Once he got arrested due to ‘indecent exposure’. Some English memsahibs came for a stroll where he was sitting naked on the grass. Looking at him, they were shocked! ‘How horrible! Such a grotesque man is lying around naked! Arrest him.’ they cried. On their complaint, the collector put him behind bars. Now as he was walking in his prison cell, he casually ‘walked-out’ of his prison cell without getting ‘barred’ by the prison bars. It caused such a pandemonium! Sometimes he was seen strolling on the roof, sometimes outside the prison. They were not able to contain him.

“On the day of his hearing in front of the collector for ‘indecent exposure’, when the collector asked him about it, he simply said: ‘We are children of God. Children go about naked, so I’m naked. What’s the problem? Indecent or decent lies in the eye of the beholder.’
The collector asked him: ‘Do you consider everybody as equal?’.
He said: ‘Yes, everybody is equal’.
‘In that case, will you be able to eat what we eat?’ They ate beef, etc, so the collector thought that that would get the naked madman back on line.
He said: ‘Sure, if you can can eat what I eat, than I’ll eat what you eat’ . The collector thought he’s just a vegetarian Hindu, what’s the worse that could happen. So he said: ‘Yes, I’m ready’. Hearing this, Trailanga Swami shat,then and there in the courtroom, and ate it! (laughs). He was immediately released. Because even when they had imprisoned him, he was casually walking out of his cell. Nobody was able to restrain them.

“His siddhis were so powerful! Actually people’s devotion only start only with display of power; nobody cares for saintliness. Take the miracles out of Lahiri Mahasaya’s life, who would have gone to him then? Only when Trailanga Swami took him into his arms and said that ‘this man has accomplished everything without giving up anything, which I have sought by renouncing everything including my loin cloth!’ Only after his recognition Lahiri Mahasaya became famous in Banaras.

“But Trailanga Swami was a great man, there’s no doubt about that. He was one of the greatest aghoris of all time.”

Q: “It’s interesting that there were so many great people living around the same time.”

Guruji: “That’s true. There are a lot of famous people from around that time – Ramakrishna Paramahansa, Lahiri Mahasaya, Trailanga Swami, Bhaskarananda, Balananda, Totapuri, etc. But the thing is, how many contemporary people knew them? Only after people who came later read their stories that they became famous.”

[20090802-2] Recorded: July 2003

Mother Earth is Death Herself!

[Guruji recounting a dream]

Guruji: “It’s an old dream, very terrifying. I saw large number of people doing parikrama (circumambulation of the sacred Goverdhan mountain). I was standing with a very tall man; I was barely reaching his waistline. He was totally black and looked extremely horrifying, with no hair, and his teeth and nails about 4-5 feet long! And behind us, there were millions of funeral pyres burning.

“We were merrily talking. Just then, I saw him casually pick up a passing man, using his nails as forks, and start roasting him on the funeral pyre behind us, all the while talking to me. The man he picked up started crying loudly due to the pain. I asked, ‘if you want to kill him then kill him; why are torturing him like this?’. He answered that until the man’s blood boils in his veins and turns blue, it won’t bring out the flavor! After some time, he ate him and picked up another man the same way!”

“It was a very strange dream. Its still very vivid in my memory. Later when I discussed this with people, I found out that when you heat up the blood to a certain temperature, it actually turns blue. And the most terrifying thing was what he said about blood and developing flavor! It means that in future a lot of people will die out of some blood disease. Their blood will turn blue due to this disease and the torture will lead to their death.”

Q: “Guruji, did such dreams help you give some direction in real life, or were some sort of premonition of events to unfold?”

Guruji: “Yes it does give direction in life. And you also get to know about coming events, in a different way. The black man I saw in my dream could have been anybody. Goverdhan is known as kala devata (black deity). Yamaraj (lord of death) is also black, and the Kaal of Yamaraj is black too. One thing is clear is that the next century is going to be soaked in blood, much more compared to the 20th century! And the next 20-22 years are going to be be very significant.”

Q: “What do you mean by ‘Kaal of Yamaraj”?
Guruji: “Yamaraj is the god of death, and Kaal is a special messenger of Yamaraj; he is death only. Kaal is the one who carries the noose, is totally black, and always remains naked; his description is very terrifying. I feel the man I saw could be Kaal.

“Kaal has other meanings as well. One is Time in Its entirety. Other is, when they say ‘his time has come’ – the moment of death. When we read about Kaal, it’s actually description of the ‘moment of death’ personified – black, with a noose in his hands, etc. I saw this dream around four years back.”

Q: “Guruji, in Mahabharata, death has been described as a lady who prays to lord Brahma that she didn’t want to kill anybody.”

Guruji: “Yes, and she is very beautiful! There is no difference between death and Mother Earth. That is why we also call Earth as mrityuloka, the domain of death. And she is the most beautiful lady in the universe. When she prayed that she didn’t want to kill anybody, Brahma’s blessing to her was that she will never be blamed for anybody’s death. So nobody blames her for anything, they simply cannot. Mind it, Earth is death herself!
“We also know that whenever a person dies, the cause is always something else. They’ll say it was an accident, or drowned in water, or brain hemorrhage, or snake bite, etc. Have you heard anybody ever say that a person died because death arrived? Even if a people dies when a building falls, people don’t say it was Earth who killed him. For them it was the building that killed. If drought strikes some place, they say people died because of hunger.

“Think about it. It is very important. Mother Earth is death herself. As they say, death always walks alongside a person, which is true because we are living on it. And see what happens after we die, we get mixed up in Earth only. We go back to Earth only.”

Q: “How are Yamaraj and Kaal involved in this?”

Guruji: “There are two things here. Our souls have come out of the Void (shunyata), which is also carrying Earth. It is a form of Shiva only, that’s why jiva1 is also called Shiva. Now when the union of Shiva and Earth takes place, multiple life forms are produced. But the soul in a life-form is coming from Void only. The domain of the soul coming out of the Void is that of Yamaraj. He has no concern with the earthly matters. But what a soul learns, experiences, and gains out of its contact with Earth is definitely his concern.”

Q: “And what goes back to Earth?”

Guruji: “All parthivta, all that is made of earth. The five elements belong to Earth only, and they dissolve back in Earth. But the eternal substance inside us, one that is the form of Shiva, which is formless, unmanifest, and eternal goes somewhere else. This is where the domain of Yamaraj starts from. The ‘otherworldly’, which is completely separate from the material world.

“These are some stunning revelations. Until now, we were just hunched over Earth, but there has to be purpose to it too. Until now we’ve been thinking about the consciousness of Matter (chaitanya padartha). Now we are gradually moving towards the consciousness of the Void (chaitanya shunyata).


“Then we’ll move to the consciousness of Time. It is beyond even the Void. It is ever present, and yet ever beyond. Remember the movie ‘Matrix’, the scene where the Agent caught Morpheus and was saying to him: ‘I hate this place. I need the code to get out of this place, and the code is in this mind. Give me the code’.
The whole deal is get this code. Once we get this code, we’ll be able to get out of this ‘Matrix’ (laughs). “

[20090802] Conversation recorded on: [..]

Notes:

  1. jiva is immortal substance in all living being

Shiva Shankar Bholenath

Guruji: “Om is Shiva Himself.”

Q: “Guruji, are Shivji and Shankarji different or one and the same?”

Guruji: “Shankarji is the kailashpati rudra (ruler of Kailash). He lives on Mount Kailash and is the foremost of all rudras. In fact, Kaal Bhairav is also known as Shankar. Shiva is kaal (death, Time) Himself – that’s the description we find in the texts as well. He called Shankar His own personification. They are one and the same. One is formless (Shiva) and the other one is with form (Shankar). That’s why we say in India, ‘Shiva Shankar Bholenath’. And shivalinga is the seat of Shiva. “



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