THE LORD OF MORTALITY AND IMMORTALITY

official source: A'nanda Vacana'mrtam Part 8

cross-references: none

this version: is the printed A'nanda Vacana'mrtam Part 8, 1st edition, version 
	(spelling mistakes only may have been corrected). I.e., this is the most 
	up-to-date version as of the present Electronic Edition.

      What is the meaning of the word Gaunga'? `Gam' gacchati ya sa gaunga'. The entity which goes far is called Gaunga'. Here `ga' means `a far-off land'; `gau' means `towards the distant land' and `ga'' in feminine gender means `the entity which goes'. So the river which flows in India toward a very distant land is called Gaunga'. Now, does it only refer to the geographical river Gaunga' which has its source in a mountain? The river Gaunga' is limited to a particular geographical area - she does not even flow in Maharastra state of India. But Lord Shiva who is called Ga'unga'dara exists everywhere. This Gaunga' has another meaning: `ida'na'd'ii'. In the human body there are three main nad'iis chandra, surya and shinya. These three nad'iis are also called lalana', rasana' and avadhu'tika'; Gaunga', Yamuna' and Sarasvatii; and ida, piungala' and s'usumna'respectively.

      Shiva has his seat in the pineal gland or sahasrara cakra. All the actional faculties and actional urges are controlled from the controlling point of the pineal gland. That point is called Parama Shiva or Gaunga'dhara. The different glands have different characteristics according to the varying degrees of their development. One's nature depends on the condition of the various glands in the body. A person may be totally free from the instinct of greed, but often affected by the instinct of hatred. A person may be able to go without rice for five or six days at a stretch, but cannot spend even one day without taking tea. The various types of weaknesses in human beings are caused by the different vrttis which are rooted in the human glands. The sahasrara cakra or pineal gland is the controlling point of all one thousand vrttis. And the controlling entity or Parama Shiva, who remains at the zenith point, is above all attributions and qualifications. It has been said;

      `Prabhumiishamaniishamashes'agun'am Gun'ahiinamaheshagan'a'bharan'am.'

      Here `Prabhu' means the Supreme Lord. `Pra' means `in an established way'; `bhu' means `one who becomes established over everything'. So Prabhu is the Lord of lords. Another meaning of Prabhu is `Pratibhu'' - the Supreme Representative. In this universe there are many different lords, but the Lord of all these lords is Prabhu or Iisha, the Supreme Lord. The root-verb `iish' means `to rule' in Sam'skrta. So He is the Controller of all other lords, the Controller of all the qualities and urges of the living beings in the world.

	Everything in this universe is controlled by Him. Nothing is beyond Him, nothing is outside Him. He is both Lord of heaven and Lord of hell - neither are outside Him; neither are beyond His jurisdiction. That is why I have said that spiritual aspirants should never be unnecessarily worried about heaven and hell. If one does noble deeds or sings spiritual songs in hell, it is the bounden duty of the Lord of hell to be there, too, and thus it automatically ceases to be a hell. By forming a Haripariman'd'ala gos't'hii, you can transform a hell into a heaven.

      `Iisham aniisham.' Aniisham is one who has no one to control him. `Yadanye na'dhirohati'. There is none to command Him. So, He is both Iisha and Aniisha. How many qualities has he? He has unlimited qualities. `Ashes'a gun'am'. No one can count the number of qualities He possesses. To even attempt that would be utter folly as the number of His qualities will never come to an end. So, it is totally useless to even attempt to know the exact number of his qualities.

      He is also described as Gun'ahiina , because He is beyond all qualities. Gun'a or quality is a special type of bondage. By saying that Mr. So-and-so is a donor, we bind him with the bondage of the word `donor'. Otherwise,how could we distinguish a donor from a non-donor? The One who cannot be bound by any sort of bondage, who cannot be qualified in any way, is called Guna'hiina. From time immemorial spiritual aspirants have been saying;

      `Tara tattvam' na ja'na'mi kiidrsho'si Maheshvara
	Ya'drsho'si Maha'deva ta'drsha'ya namo namah.'

      `I do not know what You are, Oh Lord, but You must have a form of some type. Alas, it is unknown to me. However, whatever You may be, in whatever form You may have assumed, I offer my salutations to You.'

      Why is he called Mahesha? Everywhere there are so many controllers, so many officers: the controller of roads, the controller of cow-dung and hundreds of other controllers. Maheshvara is the Controller of all these controllers, the Supreme Controller.

	As I was explaining, He is Gunahiina, the One beyond all qualities. It is useless to even attempt to count His qualities. One day a number of people went to see the poet Padmadanta and asked, `Being such a great poet, could you compose something about Sadashiva? About His innumerable qualities?' It is usual for the gods and goddesses to be paid eloquent tributes in the form of eulogies. Some gods and goddesses hold conch shells, some hold clubs, and some wear ear-rings. Some are generous and some are always angry. There are so many things which could be written about them. Padmadanta agreed to their proposition and composed the following poem on the spot;

      `Asitagirisamam' sya't kajjalam' sindhupa'tre
	Suratarubarasha'kha' lekhanii patramu'rvii
	Likhati yadi grhiitva' sa'ra'da' sarvaka'lam'
	Tada'pi tava gun'a'na'miisha pa'ram'na ya'ti.'

      `If the ink tablets (ink tablets produce black ink when soaked in water) were as big as the Himalayan mountains, and the ink pot as large as the as oceans ( such as the Atlantic and the Pacific); and if one of the branches of the divine tree pa'rija'ta [the biggest tree in the divine garden of Indian mythology] was used as a pen, and if the Earth's lithosphere was used as a sheet of paper; and if Sa'ra'da', the Goddess of Learning, agreed to write through all the ages, even then, O Lord, all Your qualities could never be described.'

      So even Sa'ra'da', the Goddess of Learning, cannot describe all His qualities. And perhaps she would not agree to attempt that, anyway.

      Sadashiva is so vast that He is beyond description. Thus, if you go near Him, you will surely develop an inferiority complex. In comparison to Him you will feel so tiny. When those who are inferior stand before those who are superior, they naturally develop this sort of inferiority complex. When the poor stand before the rich, and when the illiterate stand before the scholars, they naturally feel so ordinary in comparison. In the scriptures the state of feeling insignificant beside the vastness of Parama Purus'a is called `mahimnabodh'. One is uncertain how to approach Him, unsure how to speak to Him. This is a natural feeling. Yet spiritual aspirants should not give this sort of inferiority complex and scope to develop in the mind.

      Shiva has been described as `Gan'abharan'am' (one whose ornaments are his followers). The Pura'n'a ( mythological treatises), describe the gods as being adorned with various ornaments. Different gods have different types of ornaments. Sadashiva also wears some ornaments : His devotees. Thus, ordinary human beings should not suffer from any sort of inferiority complex because they are neither ordinary nor insignificant entities: they are the valuable ornaments of Lord Shiva. Therefore there is no reason why one should allow any inferiority complex to take root in the mind. Do you know what `gan'abharana'm' means? Human beings are usually afraid of tigers. But do tiger cubs fear their parents? No, never, because they know that their parents are their own, are members of their own family. Suppose a great scholar has a son who is illiterate: will the son dare to speak with his parents? Of course he will. He will certainly chat freely with them. But illiterate outsiders would never dare to do that.

      Thus, should anyone be afraid of Parama Purus'a, Sadashiva, the Father of all created beings? No. One should be free of any fear or doubt as He belongs to one and all.

19 February 1979, Bombay