BG 7.23; SB 4.31.14 – Shiva-ratri

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna. So today in many places is Shiva-ratri and if it is not today it will be tomorrow. Vaishnavas generally do not celebrate Shiva-ratri and to begin, I will explain why as reference to the Bhagavad-gītā. I will read from Bhagavad-gītā As It Is Chapter Seven: “Knowledge of the Absolute.”

TEXT 23

antavat tu phalaṁ teṣāṁ

tad bhavaty alpa-medhasām

devān deva-yajo yānti

mad-bhaktā yānti mām api

TRANSLATION

Men of small intelligence worship the demigods, and their fruits are limited and temporary. Those who worship the demigods go to the planets of the demigods, but My devotees ultimately reach My supreme planet.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Some commentators on the Bhagavad-gītā say that one who worships a demigod can reach the Supreme Lord, but here it is clearly stated that the worshipers of demigods go to the different planetary systems where various demigods are situated, just as a worshiper of the sun achieves the sun or a worshiper of the demigod of the moon achieves the moon. Similarly, if anyone wants to worship a demigod like Indra, he can attain that particular god’s planet. It is not that everyone, regardless of whatever demigod is worshiped, will reach the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is denied here, for it is clearly stated that the worshipers of demigods go to different planets in the material world but the devotee of the Supreme Lord goes directly to the supreme planet of the Personality of Godhead.

COMMENT

This is logical. As Srila Prabhupada remarked, if you buy a ticket to Calcutta you cannot expect to reach Bombay; if you worship a demigod you go to the planet of the demigod; if you worship Krishna you reach the supreme abode of Krishna. So back to Srila Prabhupada’s purport.

PURPORT (continued)

Here the point may be raised that if the demigods are different parts of the body of the Supreme Lord, then the same end should be achieved by worshiping them. However, worshipers of the demigods are less intelligent because they don’t know to what part of the body food must be supplied. Some of them are so foolish that they claim that there are many parts and many ways to supply food. This isn’t very sanguine. Can anyone supply food to the body through the ears or eyes? They do not know that these demigods are different parts of the universal body of the Supreme Lord, and in their ignorance they believe that each and every demigod is a separate God and a competitor of the Supreme Lord.

COMMENT

So there is a verse in the Fourth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that says that just as by pouring water on the root of a tree, all the limbs and branches and leaves are watered and that just as by supplying food to the stomach, all the different limbs of the body are nourished, similarly by offering worship or rendering service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, all the demigods and all living entities are served and satisfied.

yathā taror mūla-niṣecanena

tṛpyanti tat-skandha-bhujopaśākhāḥ

prāṇopahārāc ca yathendriyāṇāṁ

tathaiva sarvārhaṇam acyutejyā

“By giving water to the root of a tree one satisfies its branches twigs and leaves and by supplying food to the stomach one satisfies all the senses of the body. Similarly, by engaging in the transcendental service of the Supreme Lord, one automatically satisfies all the demigods and all other living entities.” Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4:31:14.

So we come back to Srila Prabhupada’s purport, the conclusion of the purport.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

The results achieved by the demigods’ benedictions are perishable because within this material world the planets, the demigods and their worshipers are all perishable. Therefore it is clearly stated in this verse that all results achieved by worshiping demigods are perishable, and therefore such worship is performed by the less intelligent living entity. Because the pure devotee engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness in devotional service of the Supreme Lord achieves eternal blissful existence that is full of knowledge, his achievements and those of the common worshiper of the demigods are different. The Supreme Lord is unlimited; His favor is unlimited; His mercy is unlimited. Therefore the mercy of the Supreme Lord upon His pure devotees is unlimited.

COMMENT

So everything material is temporary. The demigods themselves, the bodies of the demigods are temporary; the bodies of their worshipers are temporary; the planets of the demigods are temporary; and the fruits that one attains from worshipping them are temporary. The demigods have authority only within the material world. They can give only material benefits to their worshipers. It is only Vishnu or Krishna who can award liberation from material bondage. No demigod can grant liberation, and beyond liberation the devotees of Krishna also achieved Krishna-bhakti or Krishna-prema, the ultimate goal of life.

Srila Prabhupada said that the impersonalists want to become one with God, but that the devotees actually become greater than God because, God comes under their control. We see in the Bhagavad-gītā that Krishna is acting as the chariot driver of Arjuna. Arjuna is commanding Krishna.

Please draw my chariot between the two armies so I can see who has assembled on the battlefield to fight. The Lord likes to be controlled by his devotees and he comes under the control of their pure love. Of course, the Lord is supreme. No one is equal to him or greater than him. Na tat-samaś abhyadhikaś ca dṛśyate. But out of love he becomes subordinate to his devotee. The idea of becoming one with the Lord is repugnant to a devotee, because in that impersonal oneness there is no service, no exchange of love.

The demigod worshipers as described in this verse are alpa-medhasa, less intelligent. The opposite of alpa-medhasa is sumedhasaḥ or very intelligent. Those who worship Krishna especially through the sankirtan movement in the present age are described as sumedhasaḥ.

kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ

sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam

yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair

yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ 

“In the Age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the names of Kṛṣṇa.” (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11:5:32 quoted as Caitanya-caritāmṛta Ādi 3:52.)

Further, the demigods are not able to give even material benedictions without the sanction of the Supreme Lord. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe arjuna tiṣṭhati. The Lord is in the heart of everyone including the demigods, so unless He gives His sanction the demigods themselves cannot give even limited temporary benefits. So from every point of view, one should worship Krishna and devotees of Krishna need not worship any demigod. Krishna, the Supreme Lord, is like the king and the various demigods are like ministers in the cabinet of the king or department heads in the government.

As Srila Prabhupada said, if you pay taxes to the central treasury you need not bribe the ministers or officers in charge of different departments. When you pay your taxes into the central treasury, you have met your obligation and are entitled to all the benefits of a citizen. In fact, worship of demigods is discouraged in the Bhagavad-gītā. The Supreme Lord Krishna says:

ye ‘py anya-devatā-bhaktā

yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ

te ‘pi mām eva kaunteya

yajanty avidhi-pūrvakam 

“Those who are devotees of other gods and who worship them with faith actually worship only Me, O son of Kuntī, but they do so in a wrong way.” (Gītā 9:23)

Therefore, Vaishnavas do not celebrate Shiva-ratri, yet there is another confidential aspect to Lord Shiva that ordinary people with insufficient knowledge of shastra of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam do not know. Lord Shiva himself is the greatest Vaishnava. Vaiṣṇavānām yathā śaṁbhuḥ, and the worship of Vaishnavas, the service of Vaishnavas, and the glorification of Vaishnavas is included in Krishna consciousness. In fact, it is most highly recommended. In an assembly of learned devotees, we can appreciate Shiva as Vaishnava but otherwise we don’t worship Lord Shiva because if we did, people could misunderstand and conclude ISKCON devotees worship Shiva, so we will too. And they will worship Lord Shiva for a material benefit or they may think that Lord Shiva is on the same level as Krishna all Supreme.

In India, there is a history of debate between Vaishnavas and Shaivites over who is supreme and as Srila Prabhupada said, in such debates the Vaishnavas always win. Still, that sense of competition is there. Shaivites say Shiva is supreme and Vaishnavas respond, no Vishnu is supreme.

The Illustrated Weekly of India once carried an article by Ajay Ananda Bharati, an Austrian-born endologist and Advaitan sanyasi, under the title “Hare Krishna versus Shiva Shiva.” In the article, Bharati gave his version of a series of exchanges and debates he had with Swami Hridayananda of ISKCON. I shared my impression with Srila Prabhupada that the weekly’s editor, Kushwant Singh, had run the piece along with that title to make us all believers in general look silly, bickering over deities and evidence.

Prabhupada agreed with my assessment. “Yes” Prabhupada said, “Bharati is a fool but Singh is a demon”. 

Srila Prabhupada wanted us to respond to articles, once later the devotee informed him of a newspaper report that the Balaji temple at Tirupati, which has immense wealth from donations to the deity, was going to loan money to encourage local industries. Srila Prabhupada became concerned and said that we should write a letter to the editor stating that the money belonged to Balaji, and should have been used for Balaji’s purpose. And what is Balaji’s purpose? Srila Prabhupada quoted,

paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ
vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām
dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya
sambhavāmi yuge yuge

Balaji comes to establish the principles of religion. Balaji’s money should be used for Balaji’s purpose; to reestablish the principles of religion. And what is the principle of religion for the present age? The yuga-dharma in Kali-yuga is hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana. The money should be used to promote hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana.

When I visited Madras in 1971 I met many intellectuals whose attitude was similar to the editors. They thought, Oh how silly; you are arguing that Krishna is supreme and someone else is arguing that Shiva is supreme. Those impersonalists consider themselves to be more intelligent than the naive sentimentalists who worship particular deities, and they counted us as naive sentimentalists because we love Krishna, worship Krishna, chant Krishna’s name, and preach Krishna’s supremacy. There are many Shaivites in Madras and they argue that Shiva is supreme.

As the first ISKCON devotee to visit Madras. I became quite a sensation, an American Vaishnava. Most people there had never seen a western sadhu and they wanted to help. Several friends suggested that I meet a Mr. Ramakrishna, who they said was pious and religious, and would be happy to hear of our activities. So I met him and he turned out to be one of those people who thought that Shiva was supreme. Very quickly we came to blows, verbal blows. He had a volatile nature and he became angry. He became red in the face and he raised his voice, and the meeting ended abruptly.

But I kept preaching and meeting people who suggested, “You have to meet Mr. Ramakrishna; he is a very pious man, he is a very religious man.” And I imagine that he was meeting people saying, “Oh you should meet the Hare Krishna devotees, they are very good people; they are doing excellent work.

After a few weeks I thought maybe I should give it another try. This time I will be more careful. So I phoned him and he immediately agreed to meet me. That made me think that people were also speaking favorably about us to him, and that it was embarrassing for him that we had disagreed so vehemently. We met and I tried to restrain myself and he tried to restrain himself. But eventually, we came to the same point. Who is supreme; Krishna, Vishnu, or Shiva?

The argument escalated but neither of us wanted it to end the same way as the last one had. Then I got an inspiration and suggested; in two weeks my spiritual master, His Divine Grace A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, is coming to Madras, so instead of us discussing why don’t I invite you to meet him when he comes, and you can discuss with him directly. He liked the idea. It was a way out for both of us and, ultimately, what could be better than to meet a pure devotee of Krishna?

After Srila Prabhupada arrived, Mr. Ramakrishna came to meet him. He said, “I met your disciple Giriraj and I argued that Shiva is supreme and he argued that Krishna is supreme; so who is supreme?” Srila Prabhupada took a completely different approach. He didn’t enter into the argument about who is supreme. Rather he said, “There are two words in Sanskrit; puja and bhakti. In puja one worships the deity to get some material benefit, whereas in bhakti, one worships only to give pleasure to the deity without expectation for personal return. Then Srila Prabhupada said, “Generally the worshippers of Shiva engage in puja, in the sense that they worship to get some material benefit; whereas in bhakti we worship Krishna for the sake of Krishna’s pleasure, just to please Him.” Mr. Ramakrishna asked, “Is it not possible to worship Shiva in the mood of bhakti?” And Srila Prabhupada replied it is possible but it would be exceptional. For example, generally people go to a liquor shop to buy liquor. Now one could go for another purpose, but that would be an exception, generally people go to buy liquor. Mr. Ramakrishna was satisfied with the answer. Srila Prabhupada did not enter into the controversy over which deity was supreme, rather he explained different moods in the worship of different deities.

Later toward the end of Srila Prabhupada’s stay in Madras, a wealthy householder invited Prabhupada to his home for the consecration of his home temple. The host had invited many dignitaries and although the temple was a good size for a home temple, it wasn’t large enough to accommodate Srila Prabhupada’s disciples along with all the dignitaries. So Srila Prabhupada and the others went inside the temple and we disciples looked in from outside. As part of the ceremony, the host distributed flower petals to the guests to offer to the deity of Lord Shiva, a shiva-lingam, and we all were interested to see how Srila Prabhupada would deal with this situation.

At the appropriate moment all the participants threw their flower petals on the deity of Lord Shiva, except for Srila Prabhupada. He threw his in the corner. We thought, he is the acharya, we have to learn from him. So after the ceremony when the other invitees came out, we went into the temple and looked in the corner, and there we saw a small deity of Krishna. Prabhupada had offered his flowers to Krishna.

As Srila Prabhupada’s representatives, ISKCON and its members are meant to follow Srila Prabhupada’s instructions and precedence, and we must be careful not to encourage people’s misconceptions even if what we do is otherwise alright. If we were to observe Shiva-ratri with participants who are not well versed in shastric conclusions, in Vaishnava siddhanta; if we were to celebrate Shiva-ratri to cater to Hindus who want to worship Lord Shiva on Shiva-ratri, but who do not know his actual position as a Vaishnava, they might mistakenly conclude that we accept Lord Shiva on the same level as Krishna. Then, even if they chant the holy name of Krishna, as long as they maintain the idea that Shiva and Krishna are the same, they will not make much advancement because they will be committing an offense against the holy name, nāma-aparādha.

The second offense of the ten offenses against the holy name, is to consider the names of demigods such as Lord Shiva to be equal to or independent of the name of the Lord Vishnu. That is why we don’t observe Shiva-ratri, and as Vaishnavas we have no need to worship Shiva because we are worshiping Krishna directly. Still, we may worship Lord Shiva as a Vaishnava, as a devotee of Krishna, because the worship of Krishna’s devotees pleases Lord Krishna. The basic definition of bhakti is given by Srila Rupa Gosvami and Sri Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1:1:11.

anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṃ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam
ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānuśīlanaṃ bhaktir uttamā. 

“One should render transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa favorably and without desire for material profit or gain through fruitive activities or philosophical speculation. That is called pure devotional service.”

In pure devotional service one should have no desire other than to serve and please Krishna. anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ and jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam. One’s service should not be covered by jnana; speculative knowledge that leads to a conclusion of impersonal monism, or by karma, fruitive work as an ordinary puja which one performs for personal gain. In ordinary affairs, for example, one may invite someone to a restaurant and give them food and drink in the hope of getting some benefit from him. In a similar way, one may offer baal leaves and gangajal to Lord Shiva in order to get some personal return. That fruitive mentality has no place in pure devotion, and certainly the speculative idea of merging and becoming one with God has no place. Anything that covers the true nature of bhakti has no place. jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam. Pure devotional service must be rendered favorably to Krishna. ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu-śīlanaṁ 

Acharyas have commented on this verse from the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, such as Srila Jiva Gosvami, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, and Srila Prabhupada. And they have explained that Krishna does not mean Krishna alone. Srila Prabhupada’s introduction to The Nectar of Devotion discusses this verse in detail, and includes much of the commentaries of Jiva Gosvami and Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura. And all agree that in this verse Krishna does not mean Krishna alone, but includes His personal expansions such as Lord Ramachandra, Lord Nṛsiṁha, Lord Varaha and other Vishnu-tattvas, as well as His name, form, qualities, past times, paraphernalia, and pure devotees.

“Krishna includes all such expansions as well as His pure devotees,” Srila Prabhupada writes. Serving and worshiping pure devotees is included within uttamā-bhakti, pure devotional service to Krishna, and thus devotees of Krishna sometimes worship Lord Shiva as a pure devotee.

Many of Lord Shiva’s pastimes are described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the perfectly pure spotless Purana; Śrīmad-bhāgavataṁ purāṇam amalaṁ; and is called the paramahamsa śamita because it is meant for the highest class of transcendentalists who are completely free from envy. It is the topmost scripture and discusses no subject other than Krishna and pure devotional service.

These pastimes with Lord Shiva show his true nature or internal mood as a Vaishnava, a pure devotee of Krishna. In one pastime, the hundred sons of King Barhisat, known as the Pracetas, were engaging in austerities to realize Vishnu or Krishna. Lord Shiva met them and appreciating their austerities acted as their guru to guide them. He gave them a series of prayers to sing to please Lord Vishnu and become pure devotees. Upon first meeting with the Pracetas, he made the following statement which I should read from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Canto Four, Chapter Twenty-four: “Chanting the Song Sung by Lord Shiva.”

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. 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. 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.

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

COMMENT

So this is a symptom of a devotee. One who is actually a devotee of the Supreme Lord will love all other devotees of the Supreme Lord. Lord Shiva truly loved the Pracetas. He went out of his way to help them and further, he respected them as representatives of the Supreme Lord. Now back to Srila Prabhupada’s purport.

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. 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. 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?

COMMENT

In other words, if a devotee is worshipable by the Lord Himself, why should other devotees not worship a devotee on the same level as the Lord. sākṣād-dharitvena samasta-śāstrair, The spiritual master is worshipped on the same level as the Supreme Lord but, kintu prabhor yaḥ priya eva tasya, although one honors the spiritual master as much as the Lord, he knows that he is not identical with the Lord but is a most confidential servitor of the Lord. Back to the purport.

PURPORT (continued)

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.

COMMENT

So in relation to the demons, asuras, Lord Shiva thinks, Okay, they are worshiping, they want something. Okay, I will give them something. Thus one of Shiva’s names is Asutosha, because he gives benedictions very easily. As Srila Prabhupada said, many demons go to bother Lord Shiva; give me this, give me that, and his name is Asutosha; he gives immediately. “All right, take it, go away, don’t bother me.” He blesses them simply for the sake of formality, to get rid of them. And coming to the conclusion of Srila Prabhupada’s purport.

PURPORT (continued)

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 in addition to the pastimes of the Lord Shiva described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, there are many pastimes with Lord Shiva in Vrindavan that show his great love for Lord Krishna, and his eagerness to serve Him. Lord Krishna’s great-grandson Vajranabha, who established many of the main deities in Vrindavan, installed several deities of Lord Shiva in Vraja to honor his pastimes there. One most famous and important deity of Lord Shiva for us is Gopeshwar Mahadeva, established by Vajranabha near the site of the rasa dance near vaṁśī vat, where Gopinatha played upon His flute to call the gopīs. Gopeshwar Mahadeva wanted to participate in the rasa dance, the highest and best of all of Lord Krishna’s pastimes.

According to one version, Lord Shiva approached Paurnamasi, an elderly brahman and śikṣā-guru of the vrajavāsīs, who is the mother of Sandipani Muni, Lord Krishna’s guru. She advised Mahadev to perform some austerities and then take bath in the Yamuna, thus he would get the form of a gopī. According to other sources, Paurnamasi directed him to Vrinda devi and Vrinda devi advised him to take bath in Manasarovar, a little further south across the Yamuna river from Kesi ghat. Be it as it may, he took bath and came out in the form of a gopī.

When Krishna was about to enjoy His rāsa-līlā with the gopīs, this new gopī appeared. The other gopīs took note. “Oh a new gopī has come,” and gathered around her. They asked, “What village are you from?” She didn’t know what to say. “What is your husband’s name? How many cows does he have? Who are your children?” She had no answers, and the other gopīs thought, This is not a gopī; she is not one of us; this is an imposter. They were ready to beat this imitation gopī when mother Paurnamasi appeared and said, “This is Mahadev Shiva, he is a great demigod. Do not take any action against him.” Then she told Lord Shiva, “No one can participate in the rasa dance without being a gopī. You can observe it from a distance, but you cannot actually enter it. Then she gave him a service. He could guard the arena of the rasa dance.

One of Lord Shiva’s regular service is to be chhatrapal, protector of the dhāma, and he serves as such in Vrindavan, Navadvipa, Jagannatha Puri, and other holy places. Paurnamasi gave Mahadev the authority to restrain the unqualified and to omit the qualified, but beyond that, he would have the power to give someone the qualification to enter. So devotees, Vaishnavas, in Vrindavan pray to Gopeshwar Mahadeva to enable them to enter the pastimes of Krishna with the gopīs. The deity of Gopeshwar Mahadeva is worshipped as a regular shiva-lingam during the day, but every evening at about 4:00, the pujaris dress the shiva-lingam like a gopī. They cover the lingam with the sari and ornaments and decorate it to resemble a gopī with a crown on it or a shawl draped over its top. The devotees come and worship Gopeshwar Mahadev to attain the favor of Radha and Krishna.

In his Saṅkalpa-kalpadruma 103, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura praise.

vrndavanavani-pate! jaya soma maule

sanaka sanandana-sanatana-naradedya

gopisvara! Vraja vilasi yuganghri padme

prema prayaccha nirupadhi namo namas te

“O gatekeeper of Vrndavana! O Soma, O you whose forehead is decorated with the moon, and who is worshipful for the sages headed by Sanaka, Sanatana, Sanandana, and Narada, all glories to you! O Gopisvara! Desiring that you bestow upon me prema for the lotus feet of Sri Sri Radha-Madhava who perform joyous pastimes in Vraja-dhama, I offer obeisances unto you time and time again.”

Sri Gopeshwar Mahadeva ki jaya.

I will conclude with one more point. Once as described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Nanda Maharaja and the cowherd men wanted to go to Ambikavan to observe Shiva-ratri, which they did. The Bhāgavatam uses the word Akedah, once. Srila Prabhupada explains, between the Dol Yatra ceremony Holi, and the Rāsa-līlā ceremony, there is an important ceremony called Shiva-ratri, which is especially observed by the Shaivites or devotees of Lord Shiva. Sometimes the Vaishnavas also observe the ceremony because they accept Lord Shiva as the foremost Vaishnava. But the function of Shiva-ratri is not observed very regularly by the bhaktas or devotees of Krishna. Under the circumstances, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam states that Nanda Maharaja and the other cowherd men, once upon a time desired. This means they were not regularly observing the Shiva-ratri function, but that once upon a time they wanted to go to Ambikavan.

That is from Kṛṣṇa book, Chapter Thirty-four. And what was the result? “They had come to worship Lord Shiva and Ambika but the result was that they became more and more attached to Krishna.”

Hare Krishna.

So my dear devotees thank you for joining us on this auspicious occasion. In fact, Shiva means auspicious. Thank you for joining us on this auspicious occasion to hear about the auspicious Lord Shiva who is the greatest Vaishnava, Vaiṣṇavānām yathā śaṁbhuḥ.

So now my dear devotees, you can raise your hands if you have any questions or comments. Hope

Devotee: [Unintelligible 01:07:32] While we are waiting for question, we want you to know that Maharaja’s books are available and there is one more book, a new book which we should have there. Five books are available and this is a wonderful book; question and answer format which have been selected from Zoom meeting last year. So please, if you have don’t have those books; every book is wonderful but you definitely need to read I Will Build You a Temple, if you have not. Every single book is most important to read for the devotees.

So now, if you have any question you can ask Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: I see there are several hands up. Nitai-Gaurasundara Prabhu, would you like to do the honors and choose which hand should be recognized first?

Devotee: I don’t know whose hand was first, but Hemalata, do you want to go first?

Devotee: Hare Krishna. Thank you Prabhu. Hare Krishna Maharaja. Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Thank you for a wonderful class Lord Shiva. I want to understand in what mood does Lord Shiva worship Lord Krishna, in terms of his constitutional position in relationship to Krishna. And I have one more question. We hear that there is a planet of Sadashiva in the Vaikuntha world, or on the cusp of spiritual and material world. So what is the situation there? Do we have birth, death and old age disease there, or is it just like Vaikuntha? I would like to understand.

Giriraj Swami: Those are good questions. Lord Shiva is in dāsya-rasa. He is in the mood of servant of Lord Krishna, and they [Unintelligible]. But Sadashiva, the original Shiva, he has his abode and as you rightly said it is on the border between the material world and the spiritual world. But if we really want to please Lord Shiva we should become devotees of Krishna and go back home back to Godhead to Goloka, Vrindavan and not go to Shivaloka.

Devotee: So Maharaja, what is the life like over there; is it material existence or spiritual existence?

Giriraj Swami: On Shivaloka? I would say it is pretty spiritual, I am thinking maybe there is information in the Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta, but I don’t recall exactly what the bhāgavatāmṛta says about it. Shiva and Parvati, as his wife is also known to have their abode in Shiva loka which is between the material and spiritual worlds and Brahma-saṁhitā 5:43 describes that.

goloka-nāmni nija-dhāmni tale ca tasya
devi maheśa-hari-dhāmasu teṣu teṣu
te te prabhāva-nicayā vihitāś ca yena
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

TRANSLATION

Lowest of all is located Devī-dhāma [mundane world], next above it is Maheśa-dhāma [abode of Maheśa]; above Maheśa-dhāma is placed Hari-dhāma [abode of Hari] and above them all is located Kṛṣṇa’s own realm named Goloka. I adore the primeval Lord Govinda, who has allotted their respective authorities to the rulers of those graded realms.

PURPORT

The realm of Goloka stands highest above all others. Brahmā

COMMENT

This is Brahma-saṁhitā; these are the prayers of Lord Brahma.

PURPORT (continued)

Brahmā looking up to the higher position of Goloka is speaking of the other realms from the point of view of his own realm: the first in order is this mundane world called Devī-dhāma consisting of the fourteen worlds, viz., Satyaloka, etc.; next above Devī-dhāma is located Śiva-dhāma one portion of which, called Mahākāla-dhāma, is enveloped in darkness; interpenetrating this portion of Śiva-dhāma there shines the Sadāśivaloka, full of great light. Above the same appears Hari-dhāma or the transcendental Vaikuṇṭhaloka. The potency of Devī-dhāma, in the form of the extension of Māyā, and that of Śivaloka, consisting of time, space and matter, are the potency of the separated particles pervaded by the penumbral reflection of the subjective portion of the Divinity.

COMMENT

This is Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s purport.

PURPORT (continued)

But Hari-dhāma is ever resplendent with transcendental majesty and the great splendor of all-sweetness predominates over all other majesties in Goloka. The Supreme Lord Govinda by his own direct and indirect power has constituted those respective potencies of those realms.

COMMENT

So I hope that gives some idea. There are actually two sections of Shiva loka; one section is dark and the other section which is Sadashiva loka is effulgent. 

Devotee: Thank you Maharaja. Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: So Ramnath Prabhu.

Devotee: Hare Krishna guru Maharaja. All glories to you Maharaja; all glories to Srila Prabhupada. So we are missing you personally very much, and we are just waiting when you will be coming and give us your corona, your real corona. Guru Maharaja, the one was I wanted to hear again about your receiving mercy from Gopeshwar and a transcendental exchange; and another story was I think in Mauritius on Shiva-ratri there was something which I heard many things but I could not recollect. It was regarding book distribution on Maha-Shiva-ratri.

Giriraj Swami: Maha-Shiva-ratri is a big function in Mauritius the people go to an area called Gran-Basam. It is like a big lake, and devotees go and distribute books, lots of books during Maha-Shiva-ratri at Grand-Bassin. When I was in Mauritius at that time, I would go and distribute book. We would perform saṅkīrtana and distribute prasāda; it was a great opportunity to preach. I have on occasion, felt that Gopeshwar Mahadev was my, a śikṣā-guru and felt some mercy from him.

Devotee: Maharaja, can you elaborate on your experience after having the darshan?

Giriraj Swami: I don’t think I can elaborate.

Devotee: Because every time Maharaja, I remember I meditated on your pastimes. And even in Mauritius, many Mauritius devotees they narrated that during book distribution once it happened that they were trying to distribute books but no one was taking, and then they found out that you are distributing somewhere and everyone is taking from you. So that is why they could not do this thing and when you came out of Gopeshwar Mahadeva darshan, I still remember. It was long back in a class I heard it that you could see the crescent moon just after you came, and Lord Shiva showered special mercy on you and is always with you.

Giriraj Swami: That is right.

Devotee: Thank you guru Maharaja. I remembered all these things. Please do come at the earlier guru Maharaja. I know the problem but we need you personally so that we can have association. Thank you guru maharaja for the wonderful class.

Giriraj Swami: Gandeli Radha devi dasi.

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja. Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Thank you for a very, very nice class. Maharaja I have two questions if there is time, I will ask the second question. But my first question is, when we do worship Lord Shiva as a Vaishnava, we do know that we never worship mother Lakshmi alone; it is always Lakshmi, Narayana, and Radha-Krishna together. So when we worship Lord Shiva, do we worship Mother Durga along with him because she is his wife or do we worship him as he is alone in meditation?

Giriraj Swami: We don’t need to worship him with her. I spoke about Gopeshwar Mahadev; there are other very important deities with the Lord Shiva in Vrindavan. There is Chaklashwar Mahadev and Dashwar Mahadev, and those are Lord Shiva alone. So I think in this context it is all right. I also have a little deity of Lord Vishwar Mahadev that His Holiness Indradyumna Swami gave me. Just like you get the Shaligram Shukla from the Gandaki river, so there is a place in part of the Armada river where you get these śilās that are Lord Shiva. And so Indradyumna Swami gave me that we call Gopeshwar Mahadeva.

Devotee: Maharaja, is there time for a second question for me?

Giriraj Swami: Yes

Devotee: Maharaja, I am just curious to know because Lord Rama used to worship Lord Shiva, and Lord Shiva worships Lord Rama, but when Ravana was a so-called big devotee of Lord Shiva, then why was Lord Shiva pleased with Rama knowing very well that Rama is a big enemy of his most worshipable Lord Rama himself?

Giriraj Swami: Sorry, can you repeat that?

Devotee: Yes, Maharaja. Ravana was a great devotee of Lord Shiva based on understanding, so why would Lord Shiva be pleased upon Ravana knowing very well that Ravana is an outright enemy of Lord Rama who is worshipable by Lord Shiva himself.

Giriraj Swami: We discussed that; go read it again because it is so relevant and I don’t think I could say it better. So in relation to the demons, what Srila Prabhupada said in his purport is; “From this verse, it appears that Lord Shiva blesses the asuras simply for the sake of formality. He loves one who is devoted to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” And my comment on that is, that in relation to the demons, asuras, Lord Shiva thinks, Okay, they are worshiping me, they want something; okay, I will give them something. Thus one of Shiva’s names is Asutosha because he gives benedictions very easily.

As Srila Prabhupada said, many demons go to bother Lord Shiva; give me this, give me that, and his name is Asutosha. He gives immediately; all right, take it, go away, don’t bother me. He blesses them simply for the sake of formality, to get rid of them. But during the fighting between Rama and Ravana, Parvati said to Lord Shiva that Ravana is your great devotee and now he is in trouble. You should do something for him. And Lord Shiva replied that, “When the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Ramachandra wants to kill him, what can I do?”

Devotee: Thank you so much Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: My pleasure. Nice to see you. So we have one more. Ande Devavrata [Unintelligible 01:27:25]

Devotee: Hare Krishna Prabhuji. My question is many times we hear that Parvati is a form of shakti, which is responsible for all the creation which is [Unintelligible 01:27:48] that is satas…sato, rajas, and tamas. Are they bondage given to us by Parvati that is shakti?

Giriraj Swami: The sound was lost for a few minutes; so can you ask your question again?

Devotee: Yes, Prabhuji. I am asking that as we know that Parvati, she is a form of shakti. Now we call it shakti. I just want to ask that the three mode of bondages which we get from the maya, that is sattva, rajas, and tamas. Is this given by shakti form only?

Giriraj Swami: Well, sarvakar karṇaṁ, Krishna is the cause of all causes, and so, Parvati, she is the shakti of Lord Shiva and in a way the spiritual energy is for us the conditioned souls transformed into the material energy. And it said that Lord Vishnu glances on the material nature, but Lord Vishnu does not have direct association with the material behavior and the glance is Lord Shambhu, Lord Shiva. He has contact with the material nature.

I guess you could say that the material energy consisting of the three modes. In the Bhagavad-gītā Krishna says, daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā, that this material energy consisting of the three modes is very difficult to overcome. But, mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te, one who surrenders to me can easily cross over it. But I haven’t seen in the purport or commentary to that verse and Krishna says, daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī, that refers to Durga.

Devotee: Any other question for Maharaja?

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja. If you have time can I ask one more question?

Giriraj Swami: Yes.

Devotee: Thank you Maharaja. We can see in some situations Lord Shiva takes a very subordinate role when it comes to devotees wanting his favor against Lord Krishna. For example, when Jayadratha approached Lord Shiva for the revenge against the Pandavas, he said that because the Pandavas are devotees of Krishna, I can only grant you a boon that you can have a victory over them just for one day. And so Jayadratha was victorious one day against the Pandavas. I think that is the day when Abhimanyu, he disappeared. And then on the other hand you see that Bāṇāsura is the devotee of Lord Shiva, and when Krishna comes to fight with Bāṇāsura, to recover the earrings of mother Aditi, and because of complaints from Lord Indra, then Shiva personally comes in as a commander-in-chief for Bāṇāsura and fights on his behalf against Lord Krishna. And he even releases his ultimate weapon, Śiva-jvara, and of course he gets defeated. But then, how do we understand Lord Shiva’s mood towards Lord Krishna in these different pastimes?

Giriraj Swami: I think the word pastime is very appropriate, because it shows that Krishna is supreme and even if someone is blessed by Shiva, supported by Shiva, even if Shiva fights for them, they still cannot be victorious over Krishna. But sometimes Krishna does warn Shiva about his giving benedictions, because he does; he gives benedictions to demons. And so sometimes Lord Krishna does warn Lord Shiva that he should be more careful about what benedictions he gives to whom.

Devotee: Thank you Maharaja. Hare Krishna.

Devotee: There are no more questions then I think Maharaja said we should do puja for Lord Shiva only to get bhakti for Krishna, Gopeshwara Mahadev, and to me for Maharaja too. So we can get bhakti from Maharaja, benediction we get every month and any program, Maharaja gives classes very often and if you would just listen to them or participate in them, that is wonderful. I am benefiting so Maharaja, thank you for your mercy, and I hope we will soon see you in four weeks.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, that is our standard program; the fourth Monday of every month.

Devotee: Thank you very much Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: So if we are ending now I suggest we conclude with Vaishnava praṇāma.

Let us offer our respectful obeisances unto all the Vaishnava devotees of the Lord, who are just like desired trees; who can fulfill the desires of everyone; that are full of compassion for the fallen conditioned souls.