Aum Namah Shivaya Mantra Dhun!

Om Namah Shivaya Om Namah Shivaya Hare Hare Bole Namah Shivaya
Rameshwara Shiva Rameshwara Hare Hare Bole Namah Shivaya
Ganga Dhara Shiva Ganga Dhara Hare Hare Bole Namah Shivaya
Om Namah Shivaya Om Namah Shivaya Hare Hare Bole Namah Shivaya
Jatadhara Shiva Jatadhara Hare Hare Bole Namah Shivaya
Someshwara Shiva Someshwara Hare Hare Bole Namah Shivaya
Om Namah Shivaya Om Namah Shivaya Hare Hare Bole Namah Shivaya 
Vishweshvara Shiva Vishweshvara Hare Hare Bole Namah Shivaya
Koteshwara Shiva Koteshwara Hare Hare Bole Namah Shivaya
Mahakaleshvara Shiva Mahakaleshvara Hare Hare Bole Namah Shivaya
ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ नमः शिवाय
 

HAPPY MAHA SHIVRATRI

Baba ji's message on  Shivratri

by Shiv Yog Foundation

The folklore and significance behind Shivratri is explained below on this pious day of Mahashivratri

Once there was a dispute between Lord Brahma and lord Vishnu. Both claimed that they were superior. As the quarrel worsened, the universe started to lose its balance.

Just then, a Jyotirling appeared before them. It was huge and appeared as if it had no beginning and no end. Divine chants reverberated from within the Linga .At that time, both the gods decided that  the one who would find the source of the ling would be superior .So lord Vishnu took the form of a wild boar and started to look for the base of the ling. Lord Brahma took the form of a swan and flew to find the head of the ling.

But as infinity has no beginning or end , their search was in vain. For many eons, they searched but could not find the source. Lord Brahma, tired and enervated, one day saw a flower falling down and asked whether it fell from the top of the lingam.

The hapless Ketaky or Champaka flower
The flower as we know today as ‘Ketaky’ replied, “I do not know. From the beginning of time I have been falling." At that time, the Lord decided to cheat. Brahma asked the flower to tell Vishnu that it was procured from atop the ling by him and that the flower itself was witness to this. The Ketaky flower readily agreed. They both thus, went to Lord Vishnu, boasted about their prowess, bragged about how Lord Brahma had reached the source of origination of the Linga i.e. the head of the ling and how Ketaky was the witness to this achievement. Lord Vishnu accepted defeat and bowed down to Lord Brahma but no sooner he did bow than Lord Shiva appeared. Furious at Lord Brahma's deception, he cursed Lord Brahma that he shall never be worshiped in temples and cursed the flower “you shall never be used for my prayers”. At the same time pleased with Lord Vishnu’s simplicity, Lord Shiva blessed him that from this day, Hari and Hara will be seen as one.

But Lord Vishnu prayed to Lord Shiva, to douse the anger and bless all. Lord Vishnu prayed for wisdom. it is at this point that Lord Shiva was pleased and exclaimed,

“Whenever the physical form is taken, with it come the gunas --- the Satvik guna, the Rajasik guna and the Tamsik guna. You fought because of the Rajasik guna, hence if the physical form is achieved, you must strive to purify it of all the Gunas through tapa (sustained meditation).”

Next, to usher purification in both Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma, he gave diksha to them through his breath.



At the time of diksha:

·        The first chant to come out was Aum

·        The second to come out was the Panchakshari  mantra 

·        The third was the Mahamrityunjya mantra

·        The forth was the Gayatri mantra

·        The fifth was Tatva masi –I am that infinite

The day when Lord Shiva through his breath gave the diksha is known as Shivaratri and any sadhak who on this day connects his breath with Lord Shiva, will receive the grace, the diksha and the divinity of Lord Shiva.

The message of Shivratri thus is that with this physical body, come the Tamsik the Rajasik qualities and one must purify oneself  of all negativity through sadhna .All Shivyogis must raise their level of consciousness to the level of Supreme Consciousness.

In Shastras, it is written that 'Just minutes of meditation on Shivratri is  equivalent to years of meditation and the person who meditates in all the 8 pehars , attains great healing and divinity.

There are eight pehars i.e. the time when the energy is most powerful

 7 am - 10 am

10am - 1 pm  

1pm - 4 pm

4pm - 7 pm

7pm - 10 pm

10pm - 1 am

1am - 4am

It is the day when the pace of transfer of energy from the divinity is at its peak and one must strive to connect and get the most of the blessings from Lord Shiva and one’s Guru. For that, Babaji says all Shivyogis must have Amrit Bhojan which is raw fruits and water or else, if possible just pure milk.

Babaji says a Shivyogi must meditate, at these times, and do the: Swadhyay, 
Shiv Panchakshari strotra, Rudrasthtam, Lingasthkam,  followed by the chanting of Aum Namah Shivay.

The whole day you will experience great healing as Babaji Himself will be in deep meditation, connecting with the Source, blessing and healing all Shiv yogis.

The best worship of SHIVA is not through any external object but through feelings of devotion and piety from within. The first step in Shiv Poojan vidhi is to cultivate a nature to say what you feel so that there is uniformity of energy.

The various materials offered to the Shiv Lingam are representative of the feelings we must harbour in order to attain the divinity of Shiva.

·        Water- Stands for purity. We must bring in the purity of behaviour, attitude, emotion and purity of our deeds. 

·        Milk- Stands for love. In order to realise Shiva you have start loving yourself first and then family followed by one and all. To consider yourself as lower than others and sacrificing yourself completely for others too is wrong. Treat yourself to the best as you deserve the best in every sphere. Work for others but do not neglect yourself. See God as an object of infinite love and not through the prism of fear. Don’t be dependent on others for love. Love your own self to fulfill the need. Accept yourself and do not nurse any expectation of seeking love from anyone. You become the ocean of love by first loving your own self.

·        Honey- Stands for sweetness. Politeness and sweetness on face, in conduct, behaviour and mannerisms are a must. They help attract the happiness from the universe. Happiness from within will solve all the problems outside. Any pain in the body, cure by loving that part daily by first smiling at it very affectionately.

·        Curd- Stands for stability and mental equipoise. It also means uniformity of divine emotion.

·        Ghee- Stands for prosperity. When through true emotion of love towards Shiva emerges, the frequency if vibration increases by itself and the sadhaks attracts abundance and prosperity.

·        Bel leaves- Stands for beauty of relations. The Bel tree was born when Lord Shiva communed with Ma Parvati.  Baba ji told Ishan ji before marriage that no relation is a perfect relation. You have to put in the sacrifices, compromises and unconditional love to make it perfect. The key to a healthy relationship is to first mend your ways rather than expect others to do so.

·        Dhatura- Stands for the stupor of devotion and love which grows all the time blessing at all instances.

·        Aakra- Stands for the supreme requirement of Tapa. The price you are willing to pay to accomplish a certain goal.   

Lots of blessings from Babaji and Ma

Namah shivay

On behalf of Baba ji,

Ishan shivanand

Guru Vakyam ~ Beware of your Vasanas

SINGAPORE SEWA TEAM - INTERESTING LESSONS

By:  Shiv-yog Foundation  

DELICIOUS & HYGIENIC BHANDARA

The Bhandara or Prasad at Singapore is quite famous for its delicious flavour. When dug deeper, it came to be known that the small but devoted & efficient Organising Sewa team had dedicated members who also tasted the food of the caterer with all their taste buds fully opened to test the flavour & quality of ingredients. Lessons for all the Sewa teams in enhancing the quality & preparation of  Bhandara at their shivirs.

PUNCTUALITY

If the allotted time of the break was one hour, all the sadhaks used to be seated 15 minutes before the start. Members of the Sewa team were deployed to make announcements in the corridors about 15 minutes prior to the start time of the shivir, another lesson for those attending & those organising. And the hall was not a place to engage in idle gossip, chanting substituted chatter.

BE IN A LINE

In another act of impeccable discipline, a great deal of important was given to standing in queue, be it for the washroom, food, divine shop or for any other activity. No one broke lines & everyone ensured that rules were respected, another beautiful lesson.

PURE INTENTION, MORE GRACE

Sadhaks attended the shivir with the sole intention of releasing the negative emotions & habits rather than passing time. Seeing their willingness to grow & resolve to heal themselves, Baba ji rewarded this sincerity by personal emotional release on mic & ensuring the lessons from the individual release were learnt by all.

BONHOMIE WITH A SIDDHA

Baba ji provided an outlet to all the sadhaks in the former of personal meets in country batches. He heard out all sadhaks from a particular country during the break time & it made it that much easier for Baba ji to understand their psyche & behaviour patterns & effect a powerful healing on all.

UNINHIBITED SANKIRTAN

The sadhaks never really cared too much about what others might think of them or judge them if they sing. So what came out were not musical vibrations but the deepest feelings from the core of the heart, striking an instant cord with Baba ji. The Siddha himself said that he will be singing a few of the unique bhajans sang here in the next shivirs. He is listening to those songs in the taped recordings so that he can deliver them in an even better way. Kudos to the fantastic sadhak singers. 

 This photograph was captured when the sadhaks were singing the bhajan Amma Pamreshwari. The rhythm was so divine that Baba ji instantly went into a trance and the shower of blessings began automatically the moment he sat, even before he could speak a word. It sums up the strong vibes which positively influenced Baba ji's mood.

AN ENCORE

A plethora of factors, some of them mentioned above, combined to make Baba ji so spiritually satisfied that he committed to an advanced healing programme next December in Singapore. A lesson for all the regions looking to get Baba ji to shower higher grace.

HOSPITALITY

Anyone can present an impeccable picture of hospitality & service by serving Baba ji wonderfully. But very few can earn the tag of being genuinely compassionate and ensure that the warmth as extended to Baba ji is provided for all the sadhaks at the shivirs as the Sewa team in Singapore did so beautifully. At the end of the shivir, sadhaks hugged and thanked the organiser, and the brilliant Sewa Team who had the knack of springing a rabbit out of the hat, just when one thought they are in doldrums.

YOUNG SEWA TEAM

Baba ji has always maintained that till the time one has energy, one is youthful. The Singapore Sewa team is purely driven by the young & energetic. They have the uncanny knack of being highly resourceful & getting things done at a very short notice in a country like Singapore where things are done in a scheduled way & it is difficult to avail a service such as printing a poster in 24 hours.

HUMILITY

All said & done, the clockwork efficiency of the Singapore Sewa Team, most of all its organiser, did not deter the Shiv Yogi in them to dedicate all their service at the feet of the Guru. Of course there was pride that such an advanced shivir was assigned to their country but no ego to boot.

And it isn't as if they did not receive anything for their relentless perseverance and unstinting efforts. The blessings and love of Baba ji and the sadhaks are with them. They have the grace of God on them and with that, the ability to become world beaters.