Parvathi, having visited Daksha’s yagam despite Siva’s words of warning, realized her mistake and gave herself up in the yagam fire. Siva, missing his feminine aspect, roamed about the world carrying Parvati’s corpse and seeking justice. In order to liberate Siva from his attachment to the physical form of his divine consort, Vishnu applied the Sudarshana Chakra and severed the corpse into pieces, and wherever they fell, a Shakthi peetam (sanctum for Shakthi) was formed.

Siva, despite being in the heights of Enlightenment and Yoga, lost his bearing when in attachment. Only after the attachment was severed did He regain His elevated State. This is the concept that Shakthi sanctums reveal to you. Attachments are the root cause for the vicious birth cycle.

Those who took on various roles during this Navarathi golu hail from you only. (Baba refers to the golu at Samratchana where instead of having a ‘doll golu’, Samratchanites enact various chosen themes during Navarathri; this has been the tradition at Samratchana for several years now). This must make you understand that Divinity springs deep from within you only.

There are only two concepts in this world - - Mara and Rama. ‘Mara’ means ‘death’ –- marakam or mara. When you rise beyond ‘mara’, you become ‘rama’. With the addition of ‘Ku’ (representing Guru - - a reference to ‘Kumara’ – the youthful Lord Muruga, who is the Gnanapandita (immersed in wisdom) and hence guiding one to attain wisdom), you are able to bridge the gap between ‘mara’ and ‘rama’. The guru helps you transform yourself into an enlightened being, leading you from the darkness of ignorance (mara) to the Light of Wisdom (Rama). How easy it is to rise beyond mortal aspects and become divine -- all you need to do is hold on to a Guru, who has already traversed this path. The only obstacles are these attachments, and these again are mind born.

No one thrusts attachments on you, they are formed by you only. And since attachments stem from us, they are within our control and can be easily tamed and conquered. When you steer clear of them, you have crossed the tunnel of darkness into the Light.

This is the concept that Shakthi sanctums enunciate. As long as Siva was immersed in attachment, He could not shine in His Divine Glory. Once He understood the transience of the attachment (when the corpse - - representing attachment - - was severed), He regained His Divine State.

This is my message to you this starting day of Navarathri. All these are characterizations. There is no good or bad, no virtue or vice. You may have watched several movies in which the same person takes on a positive as well as a negative role. Similarly, it is the same Divine Aspect that seems positive as well as negative. It is your choice to play a positive role or negative role.

Again, this happens in two ways. Take our Navarathri golu. Either the person who produced the script may have decided who would be suitable for which role, or the person who took on a role may have opted for it for some reason of his own. Once the drama ends, they would change from the role and costume into their own and head for home. So too it is with life. You take on the role that your Master Director God gives you based on your past actions, play it to perfection and when your time comes, cast away the costume of your physical form and head for your Eternal Home.

Just as these actors on stage came from you, so too have all the Divine Characters whom the world has known. Despite the role they play, they retain their own individuality. A person who plays the role of Rama or Krishna or whatever, does not lose his original identity just because he has enacted some role. So too, our original identity is Divinity. The role in which we have been cast in this world may be negative or positive, that would in no way affect this original identity.

Our attachment confuses us into believing that the roles we take on are what we actually are. Once you free yourself from attachments, you will understand that you had lost the divinity of Siva for a short while, immersed in attachment to physical forms. When you rise above bondage, you will understand you were holding on to corpses. And when you hold on to ‘ku’, you would have transcended from ‘mara’ (the darkness of death) to ‘Rama’ (the Light of Immortality).


(Based on the request of viewers, we have created a new email id where you can address your queries to Baba. Mail your queries to soughtclarifies@samratchana.com Baba replies to all queries during the daily Sathsangh and nilacharal.com will publish the transcribed version of His reply.)

( Baba's replies to other questions continues next week....)

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