O Namah Shivaya,
my prostrations, my salutations to Lord Shiva. Namah … is salutations.
Surrender. Om Namah Shivaya. I surrender to Lord Shiva. Surrendering not out of
helplessness, surrendering not out of weakness. Surrendering out of willingness,
because of my shraddha, my trust in the Lord, in Ishvara, who is manifest as
the order in the universe.. ….Ishvara who is manifest as the order.
This is not a
mechanical order. It is true that it is the fundamental order which keeps this
whole universe functioning in a harmonious manner. Yet Ishvara is more than
this mechanical order running the universe. Ishvara is also the moral order - that
not only the universe runs because of the mechanical laws, the universe also
runs because of the moral laws.
There is a
moral order. And even more fundamental than that, there is a spiritual order. Ishvara,
is not just ordainer, not just karma-phala-daata dispensing the results of the
action, in keeping with the moral order. As you sow so you reap. Ishvara is
more than that. Ishvara is benevolent, He is Suhrd, He is Compassionate. If we have to
identify the intention of Ishvara, it is to bring about the well being of everyone,
everything.
It does not
look sometimes that's what is happening is necessarily with the intention of
the well being. It looks like there's lot of cruelty, looks like there's
injustice, looks like there's unfairness. And it is
likely that we may feel the object of injustice, unfairness. At the superficial
level there may appear conflict and even cruelty, may be injustice. But in the
depth of this, just as there are waves, and disturbances and even storms on the surface of the ocean, yet there
is profound silence in the depth of the ocean ...similarly, also Ishvara or the reality of the universe should
not be judged merely by what appears on the surface.
In the depth of
everything, there is fairness, justice, compassion…. Om Namah Shivaya ...... I surrender …. I surrender my resistance.
Very often I
resist, even reject what is. Sometimes I revolt because I disapprove of what is
and I may have reasons for that conclusion. Yet what is meant by the 'namah' surrender to the Lord, is accepting in good faith, that at the bottom of
everything, at the core of everything, there is fairness, there is justice…..there
is compassion.
This is how the
Upanishads reveals the nature of Ishvara.
आनन्दात् एव खल्विमानि भूतानि
जायन्ते
ānandāt eva
khalvimāni bhūtaani jāyante
All the beings
are born of Ananda, of wholeness, of completeness.
आनन्देन जातानि जीवन्ति
ānandena jātaani
jīvanti
All the beings
are sustained in Ananda and they merge back in Ananda.
Behind the dukha,
the sorrow, the conflict… which is experienced at the superficial level…. Namah
means I have trust that there is justice, fairness and compassion
in my life.
Sometimes the
mother seems to be cruel to a child. When a mother is administering medicine to
a child, maybe bitter medicine, the child thinks mother is very cruel, but
there is kindness in that cruelty. Similarly, Ishvara
is mother … this is a matter of trust.
श्रद्धावान् लभते ज्ञानम्
śraddhāvān
labhate jñānam
Lord Krishna
says the one who has implicit trust, gains the knowledge meaning that it becomes
the reality in my life.
My conclusion is, there is unfairness and injustice in life. I can
discover fairness, compassion when I do not give reality to the superficial injustice
or unfairness.
Om Namah
Shivaya
Shiva means
auspicious, Shiva means Ananda. Shiva means tranquility. That is,
auspiciousness, tranquility ananda, as a basis of everything.
What is meant
by shraddha is that I accept that in good faith and live my life in keeping
with that vision.
श्रद्धावान् लभते ज्ञानम्
śraddhāvān
labhate jñānam
If I have
shraddha in what the Scriptures reveal, if I make that basis of my life, not
giving reality to my conclusions, not giving reality to my opposite conclusions…..meaning I let
go of my conclusions which are contrary to what the Scriptures reveal.
That is the
neti neti process….. and base my life on Shiva, gracefulness, auspiciousness - that is the way that the negativities in my
life will be dropped. Letting go. That is the way to discover freedom in my
life.
The so called
bondage is nothing but my various conclusions about life, various conclusions
about myself, various conclusions about the world.
Om Namah
Shivaya.
Every
conclusion is examined in the light of the fact that Shiva is the reality. Then it is possible
for me to accept life as prasada because Shiva is the karma-phala-daata, he gives me,
he creates for me various circumstances.
Namah means
prasada buddhi. What is given by Ishvara is gracefully accepted by me as
prasada. That prasada may be sweet sometimes, sour sometimes, even bitter sometimes.
If I keep in
mind the fact that what comes to me, comes from Lord Shiva, through various
intermediaries no doubt, ultimately the Giver is Lord Shiva whose agenda is to
shape me, whose agenda is to reveal the beauty within me, that whatever comes
to me in my life is to help me, not hurt me.
Om Namah Shivaya
This is called
Namah- surrender to Lord – surrendering, letting go my will, my judgment at the feet of the Lord meaning I
accept the Lord's judgment in my life, as gracefully
as I can.
And that is how
my tendencies is to resist, to revolt, to reject - slowly I'm able to overcome
these tendencies and discover peace within myself.
Shiva is not
away from me. He is my very self which is peace and auspiciousness. But I am
deprived of the benefit of the peace, of the auspiciousness, because of not
accepting Lord Shiva in my life. Because of not accepting His sankalpa or will
in my life, and asserting my will.
This Namah, this surrender is an enlightened surrender,
not out of helplessness. It is out of understanding, out of shraddha or the
trust, that takes a lot of burden in my mind.
Om Namah Shivaya…….
