SB 4.24.30 – Siva-ratri—Lord Shiva’s Compassion Makes Him the Greatest Vaishnava

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna. We welcome you to our transcendental Sunday festival which was started by Srila Prabhupada when he first came to America and which was actually developed to a large extent here in Los Angeles which was Srila Prabhupada’s western world headquarters.

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

Today we will read a verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Four, Chapter Twenty-four: “Chanting the Song Sung by Lord Shiva.”

As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, vaiṣṇavānāṁ yathā śambhuḥ: Lord Shiva is the greatest Vaishnava and why he is so is explained in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam which is considered the ripened fruit of the tree of Vedic scriptures. In many, many chapters, if we were to discuss all of the glories of Lord Shiva from the page of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, it would take many days. So we are just going to focus on one verse from one chapter of one series of chapters about the glories of Lord Shiva as the greatest Vaishnava. Leading up to where we are in today’s verse, the Pracetas who were all loyal princes had been doing severe austerities and Lord Shiva came to them to offer them some benediction. And the benediction they requested was to approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vishnu. So Lord Shiva was very pleased with their request. They did not ask him for some material boon but they asked for the highest purpose of life which is eternal service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead which takes one beyond the material world of birth, death, disease, and old age.

In this verse thirty, Lord Shiva expresses his appreciation for the Pracetas as Vaishnavas, devotees of Lord Vishnu, and he also explains why Vaishnavas appreciate him.

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 Padma-Purana, Lord Shiva tells his wife devi, ārādhanānāṁ sarveṣāṁ viṣṇor ārādhanaṁ param, that of all types of worship the worship of Vishnu is the highest. Ārādhanānāṁ sarveṣāṁ viṣṇor ārādhanaṁ param tasmāt parataraṁ devi tadīyānāṁ samarcanam: but even higher than the worship of Vishnu is the worship of the devotees of Vishnu. So in that context we worship devotees, we worship the spiritual master, we worship Vaishnavas, which includes Lord Shiva.

Lord Shiva has another aspect which is of a demigod, a deva, who people approach for material boons like they approach Ganesa, Durga, and others. But we are not discussing Shiva in that inferior aspect—it is the same Shiva but he plays the part of a demigod for those whose intelligence is a little bewildered or less.

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 Bhagavad-gītā (7.20) it is said that generally people worship demigods for some material profit (kāmais tais tair hṛta-jñānāḥ prapadyante ‘nya-devatāḥ). 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.

COMMENT

Asura means “demon.”

PURPORT (continued)

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

One example is Rāvaṇa. Rāvaṇa was a devotee of Shiva and by the blessings of Lord Shiva he attained immense wealth and power, but he became so maddened with material desires and so intoxicated by his material opulence that he dared to kidnap Mother Sita and in the end he was killed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the form of Lord Ramachandra.

So we should be very careful not to approach Lord Shiva for material benefit which is actually demonic, frankly speaking. It is demonic because it means that we want to take God’s property—everything is God’s property—and enjoy it for ourselves in competition with God. Like Mother Sita, she is Lakshmi, and Lakshmi is meant to be engaged in the service of Narayana. So demons like Rāvaṇa, they want to take Lakshmi from Narayana and exploit her for their own sense gratification. So we don’t want to be like Rāvaṇa but rather we want to be like Hanuman who rescued Lakshmi (Sita) from the clutches of Rāvaṇa and returned her to Rama.

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

This is a very important characteristic of a true devotee: he loves all the other devotees. So we can sort of test what is our spiritual position by how much respect and appreciation and affection we have for the other devotees.

PURPORT (continued)

Lord Śiva told the Pracetās that because they were devotees of the Lord, he loved them very much. Lord Śiva was not kind and merciful only 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 this is a very important point. 

PURPORT (continued)

They do not worship him as a separate Personality of Godhead. It is stated in the list of nāma-aparādhas that it is an offense to think that the chanting of the name of Hari and the chanting of Hara, or Śiva, are the same. The devotees must always know that Lord Viṣṇu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that Lord Śiva is His devotee.

COMMENT

So, yes, one of the first offenses in the list of ten offenses against the holy name is to consider the names of the demigods such as Lord Shiva or Lord Brahma to be equal to or independent of the holy name of Lord Vishnu. As a devotee of Vishnu, Lord Shiva is respected, but he is not mistaken to be equal to or independent of Lord Vishnu.

In Bombay many years ago there was a. . . he was actually Austrian. Somehow he came to India and he became a sort of Saivite, impersonalist and Saivite. So there was a piece about him in the Illustrated Weekly of India which is one of the main weekly magazines like Life magazine used to be—at least in America. And Srila Prabhupada had taught us to respond if there is anything against the principles of Krishna consciousness in the press. So, I wrote a letter and the editor of the Illustrated Weekly of India then was Kushwant Singh who was a big atheist. So he ran a big spread called, “Hare Krishna versus Shiva Shiva,” in which he portrayed both of us as being very childish for arguing who is supreme.

So I wrote to Srila Prabhupada and I said that the editor did that deliberately to make us both look bad. And Srila Prabhupada said, “Yes.” That sannyasa, his name was Agenda Bharati, so Prabhupada said, “Yes, Bharati is a fool but Kushwant Singh is a demon.”

This is also a. . . we will read a little more. We will finish the purport and we will come back to these interesting incidents.

PURPORT (conclusion)

The devotees must always know that Lord Viṣṇu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that Lord Śiva is His devotee. A devotee should be offered respect on the level of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and sometimes even more respect. Indeed, Lord Rāma, the Personality of Godhead Himself, sometimes worshiped Lord Śiva. If a devotee is worshiped by the Lord, why should a devotee not be worshiped by other devotees on the same level with the Lord? This is the conclusion. From this verse it appears that Lord Śiva blesses the asuras simply for the sake of formality. Actually he loves one who is devoted to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

COMMENT

So when Lord Ramachandra was in South India, He worshiped Lord Shiva at Ramesvara and of course Lord Shiva worships Lord Rama. So this apparently contradictory behavior gives rise to speculation that Shiva is supreme. Who is supreme: is Shiva supreme or is Rama supreme? But Lord Rama’s worship of Lord Shiva is not because Lord Shiva is greater than Lord Rama, but it is because the Personality of Godhead likes to worship His devotees. For example, when Sudama Vipra visited Lord Krishna in Dvaraka, Krishna Dvarakadisa worshiped Sudama Brahman. You know the story that Dvarakadisa personally washed the feet of Sudama Brahman and Rukmini, the goddess of fortune herself, was fanning him like a menial servant. But it doesn’t mean that Sudama Vipra is supreme; it just means that the Lord is so kind and affectionate to His devotees that He takes pleasure in worshiping them and serving them. So that was the case of Lord Rama with Lord Shiva in Ramesvara.

When I was in Madras and meeting important people in the city, many of the people I met recommended that I meet a well-known religious figure named Mr. Ramakrishna. So they were advising me and I met him. And I spoke as Krishna speaks in the Bhagavad-gītā, as Sula deva Gosvami speaks in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and as we heard Srila Prabhupada speak, and he became very agitated and he was saying that Shiva is supreme. Now in a way Shiva is supreme in the material world because he is the demigod in charge of the mode ignorance (tamo-guna) and most of the material world is in the mode of ignorance. So there is some truth to that statement, but not in any absolute sense. So anyway, I was saying that Krishna is the Supreme and giving evidence from the scripture and he was getting more and more agitated and his becoming agitated, I reciprocated, and he was raising his voice and I was raising my voice, and finally we both realized this is not getting anywhere and we should just stop.

So we stopped and I left a meeting that was quite unpalatable. But I kept going around meeting people and they kept saying, “Oh, you have to meet Mr. Ramakrishna? He is such a religious man. He’ll like what you are doing.” So after a few weeks of hearing this I thought, “Well, maybe I should try again. Maybe that was just bad luck.” I phoned him and he immediately agreed. So I think people were also telling him,” Oh, you should meet the Hare Krishna devotee. They are doing such good work. You will really like.”

So I went to his home again and I was very careful and cautious, he was very careful and cautious. But eventually we came to the same point: who is supreme. And he saying Shiva and I was saying Krishna and he was getting angrier and I was getting angrier. But then fortunately I got an inspiration within my heart and I said, “Look, I’m just a student, but my teacher, my guru, Srila Prabhupada, is coming to Madras soon. So instead of our discussing, why don’t you discuss with him?” So he was very happy with that idea because he got out of the argument and he was going to have a chance to meet Srila Prabhupada.

So when Srila Prabhupada came I informed Mr. Ramakrishna and he came and he told Srila Prabhupada that, “I had a meeting. . . I had been discussing with your disciple Giriraj and we have been arguing over who is supreme, whether Krishna is supreme or Shiva is supreme. So who is supreme?” And Srila Prabhupada was so intelligent he didn’t answer the question directly, he didn’t get into that controversy, and he said that, “There are two words—bhakti or sevā and puja. In puja the worshiper wants to get some result from his worship but in bhakti the devotee wants only to please the deity, Krishna, the deity, and he wants nothing in return. So generally people approach Shiva in the mood of puja whereas people approach Krishna in the mood of bhakti.” So then Mr. Ramakrishna said, “Well, isn’t it possible that one could approach Lord Shiva in the mood of bhakti?” He said, “It is possible. Just like someone could go to a liquor shop, he could have some other purpose besides purchasing liquor, but generally if someone goes to a liquor shop, it is understood he is going to buy liquor.” So then Mr. Ramakrishna said, “Well, but what if someone did worship Lord Shiva in the mood of bhakti?” And Srila Prabhupada said, “Then there is no problem at all. Then the worship of Shiva is as good as the worship of Krishna because Shiva, if you approach him in that way, he will act as a śikṣā-guru just as he acted for the Pracetas and he will guide you how to approach Krishna and then there is no duality at all. No contradiction at all.”

So that should be our mood. Lord Shiva, yes, now why is he considered the greatest Vaishnava? Well, one reason is, perhaps the main reason is that he is so merciful. That is the nature of a true Vaishnava—para-dukha-dukhī—-he feels sorrow for the sorrow of others and he wants to relieve their suffering. One very vivid example which is described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is when the demigods and demons were churning the ocean of milk very furiously and a terrible poison was produced and that poison was increasing in volume—it was threatening to become like an ocean that would fill the whole universe and kill all the living entities in the entire universe—so the devotees approached Lord Narayana and He advised them to approach Lord Shiva which they did along with Lord Narayana.

Now, of course Lord Narayana, He could have saved the situation Himself, but He chose not to because He likes to give credit to His devotees. That is the Lord’s kindness and affection towards His devotees. So Lord Shiva consulted his wife Bhavani and he said, “This is the situation. The universe is filling up with the deadliest poison and they are asking me to drink it.” And Lord Shiva said that, “Generally in the material world people are absorbed in animosity with one another, but great souls or devotees, they accept great tribulation and undergo great difficulties for the sake of helping others. So people are suffering, they are afraid, they are in danger, so even if there is some risk. . .” and of course Lord Shiva is so powerful there really was no risk but, “. . . even if there is some risk, I must take it.” 

And reading that section of Bhāgavatam, I thought of so many devotees, but especially of Srila Prabhupada who took such tremendous risk, leaving India and crossing the ocean at the age of seventy, and having two heart attacks on the way, but still in that mood of compassion, of wanting to relieve people of their suffering in the highest way and in the most permanent way by giving them Krishna consciousness. He took that risk and therefore he has that quality that makes Lord Shiva the greatest Vaishnava, the quality of compassion, of being ready to sacrifice all personal comforts and security for the sake of others.

So Lord Shiva took that huge ocean of poison. Huge. Like I said, it was threatening to fill the whole universe, and he concentrated it into a quantity that could fit in the palm of his hand—you can imagine how concentrated that was, all the poison in an ocean that was threatening to fill the universe in the palm of his hand—and he drank it. And it stayed within his throat and turned his throat a bluish black color which from a certain point of view could be considered a blemish, but actually devotees worship that coloration of Lord Shiva’s throat because it was a manifestation of his great compassion for the living entities and therefore he is called Nīlakaṇṭha or kalakaṇṭha.

So that quality of compassion makes him the greatest Vaishnava and that quality is something that we are all meant to develop. This is what we can learn from Lord Shiva, how to be ready to take any risk, make any sacrifice for the sake of doing good for others, relieving them of their fears and anxiety and suffering.

Another manifestation of his mercy is the way he looks. Now Lord Shiva, he is actually an expansion of Vishnu. The Brahma-saṁhitā explains that just as milk in contact with some acid turns into yogurt and the yogurt is the same as the milk but also different from the milk, similarly Lord Vishnu, when He comes in contact with the material nature becomes transformed into Lord Shiva who is the same as Vishnu but also not the same as Vishnu. The milk can become yogurt but yogurt cannot become milk. So, he is beyond the modes of material nature, but out of his mercy he dresses like we see with the snakes and ashes from the crematorium. He looks quite ghastly but he does that out of mercy to people in the mode of ignorance who are attracted to those things. He doesn’t haven’t to dress like that or appear like that but he does it so they will feel comfortable. Because it is sort of like that, that people sort of like, like attracts like. 

I think now—this is a little different example—but our godbrother Śrīdhara Swami, our wonderful godbrother Śrīdhara Swami, I didn’t know this, but I met one of his best friends on a flight and his best friend told me that in their youth on the weekend they would get drunk and for fun they would punch each other and fight. So, but I did know—I heard from Śrīdhara Swami himself—he first met the devotees in Berkeley, California, and they had a table with books and incense and pictures, posters. So there was a poster of Krishna and Śrīdhara Swami at that time was really long haired, he was quite a character, so he said to the devotee at the book table, “Who’s that?” He said, “That is God. That is Krishna.” “Oh yes, that is God? Well, what if I take that picture and tear it into pieces, then what would you do?” And the devotee said, “I think I would have to kill you.” And when Śrīdhara Swami heard that, he was very impressed. “Okay. These are the type of people I can mix with.”

So Lord Shiva, he also, he takes on that appearance out of mercy so that people who are attracted to those lower modes will feel comfortable with him. And then he gradually elevates them and his ultimate desire is that they should become devotees of Krishna.

So we offer him our respects as a Vaishnava and we pray to him to help us to attain the favor of Krishna which we can do by imbibing his quality especially of mercy of compassion of being ready to make any sacrifice for the sake of helping others which can be manifest in the best way by making sacrifice to help others come to Krishna consciousness just like Srila Prabhupada did.

We will end here. As I said, we could discuss for days about the glories of Lord Shiva, but we have constraints of time, but I think we could take one or two questions is there are any. Any questions to comments?

Devotee: What about Lord Shiva in his form when he is not yet. . . what is. . .

Giriraj Swami: Oh yes, there is Sadasiva. He exists in the spiritual world and he is still not exactly the same as Vishnu but he is an expansion of Vishnu. In fact Vishnu mean there are so many expansions of Vishnu. So he is also an expansion of Vishnu called Sadasiva. And Advaita Acharya who we say is an incarnation of Maha-Vishnu, he is also sometimes said to be an incarnation of Sadasiva. But he is also full of compassion for the fallen souls.

Thank you. Hare Krishna.

I should just mention there is one verse in which Lord Shiva tells Parvati that, “I am always chanting the name of Rama and my mind is fully enchanted by the name of Rama. And three names of Rama equal a thousand names of Vishnu,” because Lord Shiva wanted Parvati to join him for honoring prasāda and she wouldn’t join him because she had to chant her Viṣṇu-sahasra-nāma. So he said, “Don’t worry, you just chant three names of Rama, that equals a thousand names of Vishnu.” So let us chant three names of Rama in the Hare Krishna maha-mantra and we have chanted a thousand names of Vishnu: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

Hare Krishna.