Mar 1, 2003 - Mahashivratri

Lord Shiva, who is also known as Ashutosh (one who is pleased easily), was true to his name on the most auspicious day of Mahashivratri and bestowed his grace bountifully on all the devotees in Delhi in the form of Gurudev who led a Meditation Intensive, followed by all-night chanting in honor of Lord Shiva.

Along with the chanting, abhishek of the Shiva Lingam was performed by four couples in four rounds who offered their devotion in the form of flowers and bilva leaves. Gurudev was present throughout the night-long chant which ended in the morning with a vibrant poornahuti followed by a sumptuous bhandara.

In his talk Gurudev said, "On this great day we can all have the darshan of Shiva, provided we have the right vision."

He then narrated a personal experience of the time in 2001 when he went to have darshan of the Shiva Lingam in Varanasi. Gurudev was standing when a poorly clad, old man with a large beard tapped him on his shoulder. Gurudev immediately turned around but there was no-one to be seen. The old man had completely disappeared. "I knew at once that it was Lord Shiva," remarked Gurudev.

He continued:

"The Rudram says that Shiva manifests with five functions - creation, sustenance, destruction, control and grace.

The medium for the fifth function, the bestowal of grace, is the Guru who is able to regulate the transmission of shakti through a disciple not unlike the way a transformer controls the magnitude of electric current.

When people first sit for meditation, often, only darkness is seen, but the brilliant light of consciousness, the essence of true happiness, is always shining within each of us, as well as in everything else that exists. As the scriptures say, Na shivam vidyate kvachit - there is no place which is not pervaded by Shiva, the supreme consciousness.

When people first sit for meditation, often, only darkness is seen,
but the brilliant light of consciousness, the essence of true happiness,
is always shining within each of us,
as well as in everything else that exists.

Progressing steadily along the path, firmly committed to our sadhana, we finally reach a state of complete contentment where no anticipation or desires remain."