SB 4.24.30 – Shiva-ratri

Giriraj Swami: 

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

We read from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Four, Chapter Twenty-Four, “Chanting the Song Sung by Lord Śiva.” The background to this verse is that in the course of discussing the succession of saintly kings, Srila Śukadeva Gosvami came to King Barhiṣat who had ten sons known as the Pracetās. The King wanted to retire from his duties as a ruler, and he wanted his sons to take charge. But before taking charge, he wanted them to qualify themselves by performing austerities, which would teach them discipline, and by engaging in devotional service, which would purify their consciousness. Because without discipline and without purity, no one can rule properly, and especially amidst all the royal opulence and facilities for sense gratification and self-aggrandizement, without that discipline and purity, one could succumb to the lower impulses to enjoy and exploit. So, the ten sons were completely obedient to their father. In fact, the same point comes again later, in the Fourth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Of course, the father was not a mundane father, but he was a devotee himself. And the ten sons were very friendly with each other. And this point also comes later, that the Supreme Lord was pleased with both their obedience to their father, and their friendly relations with each other.

Now, the Lord, understanding that these boys were surrendered unto Him, wanted to help them by sending an instructor. And so, within the heart of Lord Shiva, the Supreme Lord Krishna inspired Lord Shiva to go to the place where the Pracetās were going to perform their austerities and devotional service. And Lord Shiva was very affectionate towards them because they were devotees of Krishna. Actually, many people with a little knowledge, or so-called knowledge, do not understand the actual position of Lord Krishna or Vishnu and Lord Shiva and the other demigods, and the living entities in general. But to give a simple example, the King is the supreme authority in the state, but he has ministers who are actually loyal and faithful servants of the King, whom the King entrusts with different responsibilities within the kingdom. So, in the same way, the Supreme Lord Krishna, or Vishnu, He also assigns different duties in the management of the universe to different pious and powerful living entities. So, Lord Brahma is the secondary creator, the original creator is Vishnu, and Indra is in charge of rainfall, Vayu is in charge of the winds, Varuna is in charge of the waters, Sarasvati is in charge of learning and culture. So, they have different responsibilities, or duties, and some are placed in charge of different planets. There is the sun god, the moon god, and so on.

Now, Lord Shiva is a very special category, he is actually in his own category. He is not viṣṇu-tattva, he is not shakti-tattva, he is not jīva-tattva, but he is in his own category, shiva-tattva. He is almost the same as Vishnu, but he is not the same. The Brahma-saṁhitā gives the example that if you take milk and introduce the contact of some souring agent, the milk will become yogurt. So, in a way, the yogurt is the same as milk, but it is also different. Milk can become yogurt, but yogurt cannot become milk. So, Lord Vishnu, when he contacts the material energy, he does not contact the material energy directly, but he glances upon the material energy, and that glance of Lord Vishnu is Lord Shiva. And Lord Shiva, of course, is associated with Parvati, or Durga, the material energy. But ultimately, Lord Shiva and every living being is a devotee of Krishna, and it is his desire that everyone should become a devotee of Krishna, and it happens. And I can cite specific cases from my own experience. If a person worships Lord Shiva, not for any material benefit but just thinking that Shiva is the Supreme, then Shiva will arrange for that person to come to Krishna and become a devotee of Krishna. Chetan, do you know anyone in that category?

Devotee: It is closer than you think. [laughter]

Giriraj Swami: Well, we will let him think about that. There are many. Not that many because not that many people just want the absolute truth without desiring anything material in exchange for their worship. But if someone does worship Lord Shiva with the idea that he is the Supreme, but not to get something material in return, Shiva will arrange for that person to come to Krishna. But in this case, the Pracetās were in no ignorance about the relative positions of the Supreme Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva. They knew that Lord Shiva is a devotee of Krishna, and they were delighted when he appeared from the lake where they had gone to perform their austerities because they recognized him as a devotee of Krishna, and he was also delighted to see them because he knew from the beginning that they are surrendered souls, they are also devotees of Lord Krishna.

So, now, we shall read today’s verse. It is part of a series of many beautiful verses, but we will focus on one today. So, this is,

TEXT 30

atha bhāgavatā yūyaṁ

priyāḥ stha bhagavān yathā

na mad bhāgavatānāṁ ca

preyān anyo ‘sti karhicit

TRANSLATION

You are all devotees of the Lord, and as such I appreciate that you are as respectable as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. I know in this way that the devotees also respect me and that I am dear to them. Thus no one can be as dear to the devotees as I am.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

It is said, vaiṣṇavānāṁ yathā śambhuḥ: Lord Śiva is the best of all devotees. Therefore, all devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa are also devotees of Lord Śiva.

COMMENT

In the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Srila Rupa Gosvami defines uttamā-bhakti, or pure devotional service, and he says that pure devotional service can be applied only to Krishna. But he also further defines Krishna to include Krishna, His expansions, His name, His form, His qualities, His activities, and His pure devotees. So, being a devotee of Krishna also includes being a devotee of Krishna’s devotees, and among them, Lord Shiva is foremost. Therefore, Srila Prabhupada writes that being a devotee of Krishna means that one is also a devotee of Krishna’s devotees, which includes Lord Shiva.

PURPORT (continued)

In Vṛndāvana there is Lord Śiva’s temple called.

COMMENT

Who knows the temple of Lord Shiva in Vrindavan?

Devotee: Gopisvara.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, my dear devotees, yes.

PURPORT (continued)

In Vṛndāvana there is Lord Śiva’s temple called Gopīśvara. The gopīs used to worship not only Lord Śiva but Kātyāyanī, or Durgā, as well, but their aim was to attain the favor of Lord Kṛṣṇa. A devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa does not disrespect Lord Śiva, but worships Lord Śiva as the most exalted devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Consequently, whenever a devotee worships Lord Śiva, he prays to Lord Śiva to achieve the favor of Kṛṣṇa, and he does not request material profit. In the Bhagavad-gītā (7.20) it is said that generally people worship demigods for some material profit (kāmais tais tair hṛta-jñānāḥ). Driven by material lust, they worship demigods. But a devotee never does so, for he is never driven by material lust. That is the difference between a devotee’s respect for Lord Śiva and an asura’s respect for him. The asura worships Lord Śiva, takes some benediction from him, misuses the benediction, and ultimately is killed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who awards him liberation.

COMMENT

Here Srila Prabhupada is indirectly referring to a pastime described at the end of the Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam about a devotee of Lord Shiva who wanted to get some boon from Lord Shiva. But Lord Shiva was not really impressed with the so-called devotee, and so, he didn’t respond to the devotee’s worship. Then the devotee, he is actually so demonic, he started to cut chunks of his own flesh, and put it into the sacrificial fire. And then, Lord Shiva appeared. And Srila Prabhupada explains that it is not that Lord Shiva was actually pleased by this devotee’s worship, but any decent person, if he sees someone is about to commit suicide, will try to intervene, that is just sort of natural humanity, or compassion. So, this demon, he asked Lord Shiva for the boon, that whosoever had he touched, that head would crack. So okay, Lord Shiva came and so, he granted the boon.

And then, the demon started to look with lusty eyes at Parvati, like he wanted to enjoy Parvati, and he thought that Lord Shiva was in the way. So he thought, Well, I will touch the head of Lord Shiva and dispose of him, and then, I can enjoy Parvati. So, Lord Shiva began to flee, and in order to save the situation, Lord Krishna appeared in a disguised form as a brahman. And because demons are always very preoccupied with their bodies, so he appealed to the demon’s body consciousness, and he said, “Why are you running so fast? It is not good for you, you should relax, slow down, relax. What is the matter?” So, then he described the situation, and then, Lord Krishna in the guise of the brahman, He laughed. He said, “Oh, you believe in Lord Shiva’s boons? Everyone knows that Lord Shiva, since the. . .” It is a reference to another pastime but, “ever since the Dakṣa-yajña, Lord Shiva’s mind has been very disturbed, and therefore, no sane person puts any faith in Lord Shiva’s words. He has fooled you. What I suggest is that you touch your own head, and when it is proved that Lord Shiva cheated you, then you can capture him, and punish him.” So, the demon touched his head, and his head broke in two. But because he got the association of Lord Vishnu, he was liberated, not the way devotees are liberated, but in a different way that demons are liberated by merging. Generally, they merge and become one with Krishna’s brahman effulgence. But there are other examples. So, sometimes Krishna chides Lord Shiva that he should be more careful about the boons he gives; he should be more cautious and discriminating before just giving boons. So, “The asura worships Lord Śiva, takes some benediction from him, misuses the benediction, and ultimately is killed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who awards him liberation.” Now, the next point is very important.

PURPORT (continued)

Because Lord Śiva is a great devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he loves all the devotees of the Supreme Lord.

COMMENT

So, the Pracetās were devotees, so they loved Lord Shiva, but he, as a great devotee, also loved them because they were also devotees. And this is the mutual love among devotees. It is not that Lord Shiva thought, Well, I am a great devotee, so yes, of course they should love me. But love is really reciprocal, and he also loved them. And also, devotee is humble, he doesn’t think that he is a great devotee, he thinks that the others are devotees, and he loves them.

PURPORT (continued)

Lord Śiva was not only kind and merciful to the Pracetās; anyone who is a devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is very dear to Lord Śiva. Not only are the devotees dear to Lord Śiva, but he respects them as much as he respects the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Similarly, devotees of the Supreme Lord also worship Lord Śiva as the most dear devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

COMMENT

Now, in India especially, although it could be anywhere, but we met many people who were Saivites who thought that Lord Shiva was supreme. And in South India especially, there is a tradition of debate between the Saivites and Vaishnavites. And as Srila Prabhupada wrote, of course, the Vaishnavites always win. But when I visited Madras, I found there was an intellectual class, I guess probably most of them were born brahmans, who thought that ultimately, God is impersonal, and that this debating, Shiva is supreme or Vishnu is supreme, is childish, it is just so silly because they are just different forms of the same impersonal one. So of course, they are also described in the Bhagavad-gītā as less intelligent. But anyway, there was a group of them.

And when I was in Madras, a number of people I met suggested I meet a person named Mr. Rama Krishna, who was supposed to be a very religious man and people said, “He will definitely be happy to meet you, and he will be very pleased with your activities.” So, I did meet him. And it turned out that he was a Saivite, and not only a Shaivite, but he had a very volatile personality. So, it didn’t take very long before he got angry, and I also got angry. [laughter] And he raised his voice, and I raised my voice. [laughter] And it was like an explosion. But anyway, India people, there is some culture, so we were civil at the end and parted ways.

So then, I kept meeting people, they kept saying this, “Oh, you have to meet Mr. Rama Krishna, he is so pious, he is so religious.” And I imagine that he was also meeting people saying, “Oh, you have to meet the Hare Krishna devotee, they are doing such good work, you will like them.” So, I thought, Okay, so many people are saying that I should try again. So I made an appointment, he very readily agreed to meet me, and we both tried to be more controlled, but eventually, things started to escalate, just like the first time. And then, fortunately, I got an idea, and I said, “You know, I am just a student, but my guru is coming to Madras, you should meet my guru, and you should discuss this topic with my guru, not with me.” So, he thought that was a very good idea because he could get to meet Srila Prabhupada, and at the same time, we could avoid another explosion.

So, eventually, Prabhupada came, and I invited Mr. Rama Krishna to meet him. And Mr. Rama Krishna, he said, “I have been discussing with your disciple Giriraj, and we’ve had this debate, who is supreme, Shiva or Vishnu, Vishnu or Krishna. And Srila Prabhupada answered the question in such a tactful way that he took the whole emphasis away from whether Krishna is supreme or Shiva is supreme, but he put it on the mode of worship, of the worshipper. And he said that there are two words, puja and sevā, or bhakti. And that in puja, one worships the superior to get some personal benefit, whereas in sevā, or bhakti, one worships only for the sake of pleasing the person. So, he said that generally, devotees worship Shiva to get something in return, and devotees serve Krishna only for the sake of Krishna’s pleasure. And therefore, sevā or bhakti, is superior to puja.

Then, Mr. Rama Krishna said, “Well, what if a devotee worshipped Lord Shiva without any desire for personal benefit?” And Prabhupada said, “Well, that is generally not the case. It is like if someone goes to a liquor shop, generally, it is to buy liquor, but there could be another reason. But generally, if someone goes to a liquor shop, it is to purchase liquor. But if someone were to worship Lord Shiva in that mood, then that would also count as sevā or bhakti.” And so, what Srila Prabhupada said besides really avoiding the controversy as the question was originally framed, is he made a very profound point that if one worships Lord Shiva in the mood of sevā, it is the same as bhakti, and Shiva will bring one to become a devotee of Krishna, or Vishnu. But because people generally do worship Shiva, or any demigod, for material benefit, we, as devotees of Krishna, do not generally worship Lord Shiva, or observe Shiva-ratri, because people will misunderstand.

And there was another program in Madras, a very wealthy man was opening a temple, dedicating a temple in his home, and he invited Srila Prabhupada and the devotees and many dignitaries and prominent people from Madras. And the temple room was not large enough to accommodate all of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples, but Srila Prabhupada was there, of course, he was most highly respected, and other dignitaries of the city. And the main deity was a shiva-lingam. And we were all looking from outside through the doorway to see what Srila Prabhupada would do. So, the man had some priest reciting mantras, and then he had distributed flowers, and everyone offered their flowers to Lord Shiva, to the shiva-lingam. So, we are watching Srila Prabhupada what he would do as the acharya, and he threw his flowers in the corner. So okay, then, when all the dignitaries came out, so we went in to see, and we saw, in the corner, there was a little deity of Lord Vishnu. And so, Srila Prabhupada had offered his flowers to Lord Vishnu to set the example. But still, if one understands properly, one can worship Lord Shiva, devotees do worship Gopisvara in Vrindavan, devotees of Krishna, to get Lord Shiva’s blessings to serve Krishna. And similarly, the gopīs also observe Kātyāyanī-vrata, which comes at the end of Kartik, worshiping the goddess Katyayani who is Durga, for the sake of the opportunity to serve Krishna. So, Lord Shiva is important to us, he can be.

One of my godbrothers, His Holiness Sacinandana Gosvami, he was so intensely desirous of knowing what Srila Prabhupada would want him to do, that he made a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash, to the abode of Lord Shiva because Lord Shiva is in charge of false ego. In fact, because he is the glance of Lord Vishnu who makes contact with the material energy and agitates the material energy, and then, the living entities are placed within the material energy. But the living entity by nature is the eternal servant of Krishna, jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya — kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’. So, he cannot enjoy the material world, or try to enjoy the material world, if he is conscious that he is the eternal servant of Krishna, it doesn’t work. The material world is a facility for people who want to take the place of Krishna, not to serve Krishna. If you want to serve Krishna, then be in the spiritual world.

So, the first thing the living entities need when they come into the material world is a different sense of identity, or in other words, a false ego. Real ego is, “I am the eternal servant of Krishna.” But when they come into the material world, they get the false ego. Now, “I am the enjoyer, I am the controller, I am the proprietor, I am the body.” And that is awarded by Lord Shiva. Because at that stage in the creation, Lord Shiva is really the only person who is active. So, His Holiness Sacinandana Swami made a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash to perform austerity, so that Lord Shiva would free him of any trace of false ego, so that he would be open to understanding what Srila Prabhupada really wanted of him. And he has a very dramatic story about what happened there. And after that, he did get some inspiration as to the type of services Srila Prabhupada wanted him to do.

So, as devotees of Krishna who have received knowledge from a proper source, from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam received through Srila Prabhupada and paramparā, we can appreciate the value of Lord Shiva for devotees of Krishna, and we can pray to him, as even the gopīs did, to be blessed with intimate loving service to Lord Krishna. Otherwise, because we are public figures, people see us, they know we represent ISKCON, we represent Srila Prabhupada, so we have to be careful of the example we set. Otherwise, people might think, Oh, they also worship Lord Shiva, I can also worship Lord Shiva. It becomes a hodgepodge. But still, on this occasion especially, auspicious occasion, we pray to him to purify us of false ego, and bless us with intimate loving service to Lord Krishna, Sri Sri Radha-Kalachandji. Hare Krishna.

Devotees: Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: So, are there any questions or comments? Yes?

Devotee: Hare Krishna, guru Maharaja. [Unintelligible 00:45:37].

Giriraj Swami: You were watching what?

Devotee: Discovery Channel.

Giriraj Swami: Oh, he was watching the Discovery Channel, and on the Discovery Channel, he saw there was a temple of Lord Shiva, and people, or devotees, with white skin were not allowed to enter the temple.

Yes, well, this is one of those anomalies. It is true not only of Shiva temples, but there are even temples of Vishnu that will not allow foreigners to enter. One example is the temple of Lord Jagannatha in Puri. But the rule is that anyone who is a Vaishnava should be allowed into any temple. And the people who prevent Vaishnavas from entering either do not know the rule, or they do not know how to recognize the Vaishnava. So what to do? But the situation is changing. Sometimes, Srila Prabhupada would meet trustees of prominent temples in India, and he would request them to remove that restriction. And I have seen over the years a number of the temples have lifted that restriction, but not all.

I don’t remember the exact year but maybe 1999, I led a group of devotees to the South Indian state of Kerala, and the main temple there is of Guruvayarappan in a holy town called Guruvayur. So, it was all arranged, and the whole group went. We were expecting darshan, to have audience of the deity, and we were stopped at the gate, some of us, because we aren’t Hindu. So, “Okay, what do we have to do?” “Well, you have to go to the Arya Samaj in. . .” I forgot the name of that town, it was a few hours’ drive, maybe Calicut. “And you have to be converted to be Hindus.” [laughter] “And they will give you a certificate, and then when you come back with the certificate, we will let you in the temple.” “All right.” So we drove. . .

Jaya Sri Sri Radha-Kalachandji ki jaya!

Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai ki jaya!

Sri Jagannatha Baladeva Subhadra ki jaya!

Here there is no restriction. [laughter] So, I will make it very short. So, we went to the Arya Samaj. And so, they wanted us to fill in forms, and take a new name, a Hindu name, and then they would do a fire sacrifice, and then, after the fire sacrifice, they would officially give us our names, and then we would be Hindus, and they would give us a certificate. So we went, and they knew that we are super Hindus, we are more Hindu than they are. So they said, “Look, we know that you are better Hindus than we are, so let us just skip the fire ceremony, it is not necessary, just fill in the forms, and we will give you the certificate. [laughter] Of course, we will take the fee. [laughter] “We will save on the yajña, but we will take the fee, and we will give you the certificate.” So, then we went back with our certificates and we were allowed to enter.

But here, Srila Prabhupada follows the proper injunction. And Jagannatha, the Lord of the universe, the Lord of everyone. So, he allows everyone in his temples, he allows everyone, if they are qualified to be initiated as brahmans and to worship the deities, to be initiated as sannyasis, everything, if they are qualified or qualified enough.

Thank you very much, Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

His Holiness Giriraj Maharaja ki jaya! [applause]