SURRENDER OF PERSONALITY
(H.H. SRI SWAMI SIVANANDAJI MAHARAJ)
Lord Siva is “Ashutosha”, “the quickly pleased.” The Shatarudriya Mantras and the Chamakas represent Him as the Cosmic Body or the Virat or the Universal Being. He is the Supreme appearing in the form in which He is immediately connected with the created beings in the universe.
Man is a part of this Virat, and so he has immediate relations with Him. The Lord, as Siva, is easily pleased with man because he is the causal aggregate of the essence of which man’s individuality is made. The Lord takes up the role of the compassionate protector even uncalled for by man and does the needful at once.
In the Drona Parva of the Mahabharata we are given a detailed account of how Lord Siva invisibly worked the destruction of the evil Kaurava forces, for the good of the Pandavas, though the latter were unconscious of this fact until Sage Vyasa brought it to their notice. He works invisibly. How kind is the Lord! He does not want the glory of winning victory in the battlefield. Let the glory go to the Pandavas. But he will do all that is needed, without being noticed by anybody. He will give us strength, knowledge and all joy, but no one will be aware of His ways. Siva and Vishnu are one. It was really the omnipotent Krishna and Siva, the Yogeshvara and Yogishvara, that redressed the earth of the burden of evil, though this work of theirs lies even now a secret. Vyasa alone knew it, as no one bereft of the eye of wisdom can comprehend the law of the Infinite functioning everywhere. God is known not through human powers but the deeper Spirit that is in man and in all reveals itself as Him.
The worship of Lord Siva, therefore, is also the worship of Lord Vishnu: “Of Siva Vishnu is the heart, and of Vishnu Siva is the heart.” They are the one Eternal Purusha governing the universe by way of preservation and transformation. All Jivas here are so many limbs of the great Lord and they have to abide by His rule of justice supreme.
Life is a continuous divine worship. It is an unceasing struggle to know the Father of creation, the Cause of all causes, the Atman of everything. The body, senses and mind are to be dedicated to this Source of all life consciousness, and only then it is that one’s existence here is said to be meaningful. The Jiva should be in tune with Siva, and Siva is the Brahman, the root of the tree of Samsara.
Man, in his ignorance, lets himself adrift in the ocean of worldly life and there is seen by his blinded eyes, nothing beyond this show of the senses on this earth-plane. He refuses to think when he excludes from his notion of life the all-important principle the eternal. The Seers of yore with their far-reaching spiritual vision, have provided man with the viaticum of knowledge in his quest for that Presence which is his aim and blissful abode. They have foreseen the inability of the common man to apply himself fully and perfectly to Sadhana for God-realisation. Beside the daily duties which he has to discharge as a human being, he has also to answer the eternal call of the Divine Truth which is hidden in him. To this end, the Rishis direct man by calling upon him to devote himself fully to such worship on days which are psychologically and astronomically conducive to his—as per his tradition—spiritual growth. One of such blessed days in a year is the holy occasion of the worship of Siva, called Maha Sivaratri, the greatness and glory of which is hymned in the Puranas.
Fasting and vigil throughout the day and night on this occasion, the aspirant, the devotee gives himself upto the grace of the Lord and has his body, speech and mind are offered to Him. There is nothing of man left in him; he has surrendered his personality to Lord Siva, in the form of devout service. This divine worship is a ritual for the body, a discipline for speech and a meditation for the mind. With this as unfailing aids, the soul traverses beyond itself and seeks to gain ingress to the haven of peace and bliss.
Sadhaks bold! Make the utmost use of this golden opportunity to purify yourselves and to unfold the divine spark that is in you. Let there be a sincere effort towards this, and let this be done with the knowledge of the means and the end. Have a determination not to allow yourselves to slip into the old ruts of worldly business that day. Make a resolve to sit up the whole night and repeat the Mantra of the Lord. Pray and meditate. This is the time when you should strengthen your will and sharpen your discrimination. Rise above the lower nature at least now and be fresh when you invite the Sovereign Spirit to indwell your being. Let all barriers and divisions which life has created be off. Try to melt in the Love of the universe, in the Love of the only God who is the reigning consciousness in the universe and beyond. Let us sing in the spirit of Srimad Bhagavata:
“May our tongue be devoted to the
utterance
Of Thy glories, our ears to hearing
Thy stories
Our hands to Thy service, our mind to
meditation
On Thy feet, our heads to bowing to
Thy Abode,
And our sight to seeing the wise
And the good who are Thy body!”
The surrender should be unreserved, though you may find it difficult to maintain it for long. Through trials and failures the surrender has to gain firm ground. Even a moment of unrestricted surrender of the self to God is more valuable than protracted outward devotion with several reservations within. It is quality and not quantity that matters in Sadhana. Be pure in your feelings, unshaken in your resolution and be contented with the Lord; seek not anything else. When you behold God and obtain God-consciousness, you have obtained everything. May the sacred Sivaratri mark an epoch in your upward march on the spiritual path! May the grace of Lord Siva be upon you all! OM TAT SAT!
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God is infinite, pure, bliss, peace and beauty. He who realises Him becomes desireless. All his desires are gratified in Him. God is the immortal sat that is not touched by sin, that is free from delusion and moha. Desire is a denial of perfection; desire is born of imperfection. Because you feel a want, you desire to attain an external object. Practise japa, meditation, vichara; purify your heart through selfless service. Practise upasana for steadying your mind. There is a mighty power in the Lord’s name. Just think of the power that an ordinary word has. When you say to someone, ‘Maharaj! Ayiye’, he is greatly pleased. He feels flattered. He is ready to do whatever you want. Even the mere utterance of word rasagulla makes your mouth water. Your mind assumes the form of rasagulla at that time. When such is the power in ordinary words, what must be the power in the Lord’s name!
—Swami Sivananda
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