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Mahashivaratri is an annual festival dedicated to Lord Shiva, the Hindu deity representing destruction in readiness for regeneration. The Lingam is Lord Shiva's symbolic form. On this special night lingams manifest through Swamiji's mouth. A short time later, he also blows vibhuti, holy ash, through his mouth. Both lingams and vibhuti have great healing and purifying powers. THE LINGAM The Shivalingam is the mark or sign of Lord Shiva. It is the most common icon of Shiva and is found in most Shiva temples. On the special night of Mahashivaratri (the great night of auspiciousness), a number of Lingams manifest from the body of Swami Premananda. Through this spiritual phenomenon, it is as if the tremendous power of formless Divinity is brought forth into the world. This is known as Lingodbhava. In 2008 and 2009 the Linghodbhava took place in the Sri Premananda Ashram in the presence of many devotees. Swami Premananda manifested 30 lingams in 2008 and 8 lingams in 2009. THE LINGAM FORCE
LINGAM AS A SYMBOL Most of us are somewhere between the laity and the yogis. We are searching for a spiritual meaning in the inner world but have not yet freed ourselves from an attraction to and belief in symbols and sacred images. For us, meditation on the lingam as a symbol can be a means of transcending the limitations of mind and senses in order to enter the realm which lies beyond all symbols and images.
LINGODBHAVA
Shivaratri is observed on the fourteenth night of the dark half of every month. It is a well established fact of Yogic discipline that it is easier to control the mind during the dark half of the month, when the moon is on the wane. The fourteenth night is particularly suitable for a little more intensive Sadhana to completely sublimate the last and the remaining fifteenth fraction of the mind, corresponding to the last fraction of the moon. It is possible to achieve complete victory over the mind during this night. The ancient seers and rishis were fully aware of the influence exercised by the planets on the human body and they used these influences for their spiritual benefit. Thus the practice of intensive Sadhana on the fourteenth night of the waning moon has its roots in the personal experience of the ancient sages of India. In the month of Maagh (February/March), the fourteenth night is knows as Maha-Shivaratri. 'Maha' means great, 'Shiva' means auspicious and 'Ratri' means night; the Great-Auspicious-Night. Not only is the night auspicious for obtaining complete control over one's mind, but Shiva, the formless Divinity, is born in the Lingam on that night. Shiva in the form of the Lingam, is adored and revered for the acquisition of Divine Wisdom. It is said that those who have the good fortune of seeing the manifestation of Divinity in the act of Lingodbhava, will be granted complete salvation in this lifetime and that there will be no more rebirths for them. The good acquired by many years of tapas or involving oneself in meditation for many centuries or performing yagas cannot even be compared to the good acquired by witnessing the Lingodbhava. When the manifestation of a lingam occurs through the body of a great spiritual being, the whole of creation witnesses the event on a spiritual level. However, physically, a precious few people are able to witness this event with their physical eyes. It has been written in Vedic books that every 7-8,000 years a great spiritual being is born and blessed with the ability to manifest a Shiva lingam. For many thousands of years, these great spiritual beings would manifest the lingam in the seclusion of their Ashrams or rustic retreats. Once the lingam was manifested, it was buried as those great spiritual beings did not consider any human beings present on the earth at that time to be worthy of receiving the lingam as a gift for worship and veneration. > Satsang of Swami with special guidance for Mahashivaratri VIBHUTI, THE HOLY ASH
To receive vibhuti from an enlightened soul is a rare opportunity. Such vibhuti has the power to cure diseases, solve problems, relieve physical and mental pain and nullify the effects of past deeds." Mother The greatness of vibhuti or Holy Ash has been well known in the Hindu religion for thousands of years. Vibhuti is consecrated ash used essentially by devotees of Lord Shiva. Devotees of Lord Ganapati and Lord Muruga also use vibhuti. Smearing various parts of the body with Holy Ash is deemed to be the highest wealth in spiritual terms. Grey vibhuti powder represents the final stage of everything ("from dust to dust"). It is the reality that remains when desire and ego have been burnt by the fire of illumination. It symbolizes purity and renunciation of desires. It reminds us of the temporary nature of our physical body, which will, one day, be burnt to ashes after death. It also reminds us of the urgency to strive earnestly to go forward on the spiritual path and come close to God in this life itself. The word vibhuti also means resplendence, power, glory, might and wealth. Holy Ash is regarded as a most sacred substance. It is prepared by burning cow dung along with other precious items - milk, honey and ghee to name but a few. Often, when anything is burnt, the ash is of a dark colour. However the items burnt to make vibhuti form a clean, pure, white ash. Hindus consider this ash most holy. Everything given by the Divine Mother is regarded as God's grace and blessing. The milk cow is looked on as Gomata, a divine cow mother and milk is precious and sanctified. Milk itself symbolizes absolute purity. Vibhuti has the capacity to retain all kinds of spiritual vibrations. It is said that the vibrations that emerge while chanting sacred mantras can be transmitted to the devotees through the means of the Holy Ash. Vibhuti has special qualities, which give it cleansing and healing properties. When we apply vibhuti to our foreheads, it has the power to make the blood circulate correctly. We use the first three fingers of the right hand to apply vibhuti. There are magnetic energies connected within our bodies to these three fingers. Likewise there are specific energy meridians with similar qualities in the sixteen special places on the human body to which vibhuti can be applied, according to the Saivite philosophy (Saivites are those who worship Lord Shiva). The initiation of applying vibhuti on these 16 places is called Shiva Diksha.
VIBHUTI BHAVA Some time after the Lingodbhava Swamiji blows vibhuti from His mouth. He explained that this phenomena is a healing process for His body after manifesting the lingams. Actually Swamiji can bring vibhuti from all over the body. Several times after Shivaratri we could openly see that Holy Ash was pouring from all over Him. He said it is God's grace manifesting through His body in a tangible form for our sakes. During Vibhuti Bhava all the devotees were asked to sit in rows and Swamiji went to each person, blessing them by placing His hands on their respective heads whilst vibhuti was pouring out of His mouth. He used to bless the devotees in this way for several hours. Afterwards Swamiji would continue to blow out vibhuti in His house, sometimes all night long. The fine, extremely fragrant powder was caught in a soft cotton bag and later on packed and sent to the Centres and devotees.
THE POWER OF VIBHUTI "Behind this form, this body, there is a
great mystery. Try to understand this mystery and take the benefit
from it. This body has become a necessary instrument to show you
a fraction of the power of God. I am limited to this body to show
you my mission of life. Make use of such a rare opportunity as the
Vibhuti Bhava to absorb as much as you can from the presence of
this body. When I am no more you will only have the words which
have been told by this body. You are lucky because you have been
in the presence of this divine body. You are blessed in your human
incarnation. Just as the fragrant sandalwood tree passes on its
lovely perfume to the other trees around it, the essence of Divinity
in this body will cover you, purify your hearts and clean your minds.
It will cure your diseases and solve your problems. It is a blissful
and beatific fragrance. Come close to the sacred essence in this
body and imbibe its divinity. It will flow through your very bloodstream,
through your heart and brain. It cleans, clears, clarifies and refines.
Where does this mysterious fragrance come from? From the source
of all. From God. Even the air of this Ashram purifies. Just to
simply be where this body resides, whether you are in Swamiji's
presence or not, the air you breathe purifies your hearts and personalities".
Very often Swamiji gives vibhuti as a "divine medicine" for people who have various physcial or mental problems. Sometimes He advises to apply the Holy Ash on the forehead or other parts of the body (depending on the physical problem) and sometimes he prescribes mixing a little of the Holy Ash in a glass of water and drinking it in the early morning or taking a little vibhuti with a spoon of honey in the mornings and evenings for a period of 45 days. If you wish to receive vibhuti from Swamiji, please write to Him, clearly stating your spiritual questions or personal problems. You can also contact your closest centre. If Shivaratri vibhuti is available, it will be sent to you, otherwise Swamiji will send vibhuti, which He has specially blessed for you.
"I give everyone vibhuti which bestows physical, mental and spiritual well-being. The people have faith in my words and I ask them to use the vibhuti carefully and with devotion." |
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Swamiji says: "You are all good people but it is my duty
to make you better human beings. When I take the Lingams out at
Shivaratri, the force is so great it will change you all into good
people in one stroke! The Lingams benefit all the devotees who are
thinking of Shiva and the Lingodhbhava on Mahashivaratri. These
Lingams have life. They are animate and living. When they emerge
from my body they are soft and pulsating with life. You can see
the vibration. Within one day they harden. Over the last quarter
century they have come as granite, crystal, vibhuti and as gemstones.
Every single one is different and has its own quality. When I give
them to devotees who care for them with devotion, the potent and
latent power in them will come out. By the "birth" of
the lingams there is regeneration in the world."
Seekers explore a multitude of possibilities in their search of
the sacred. They try to find it in their day-to-day existence, in
their natural surroundings, in the sky and space beyond, in the
inner sanctum of a temple, or within their own body and mind. The
mind is the main medium for this search, and mostly, the mind can
contemplate the Divine only if it has a form. Therefore, even those
who have attained the experience of transcendental Truth are bound
to express it through a symbol that can be recognized and understood
by others. Images of fire, such as a candle flame, the cross and
complex mandalas are dialects of the sacred language of spiritual
symbolism. However, all of these symbols carry at least some religious
connotation and accordingly may not be equally meaningful in all
cultures and in all times and places. The symbol of the lingam,
on the other hand, is relatively free from cultural associations
insofar as it is a form found in nature. The lingam can be understood
from three different perspectives: as a material object in the external
world, as a means of moving from the external to the internal, and
as the Light itself. Thus, the lingam can serve as a sacred symbol
of the Divine for those seeking spiritual revelation in the external
world - just as other symbols do. But the yogis, who have no interest
in the material form of the lingam, devote themselves to attaining
union with the inner lingam - the light of transcendental Truth.
For them the lingam is not a symbol; it is an experience.
Ling means a symbol, and Udbhava means birth or
creation. So the word actually means symbol of creation. The Lingam
has the form of a mathematically perfect figure, the ellipsoid.
It has neither a front nor a back, and is without an end or beginning.
The lingam is the fittest symbol for representing the formless Divine
Essence that is God. Thus, when the lingam emanates from the mouth
of a saint like Swami Premananda it is symbolic of the birth in
time and space of THAT which is formless and eternal, within a simple
geometrically perfect entity, the Lingam. It is said that all things
emerge from the Lingam and finally merge into the Lingam.
"Holy Ash is a most sacred substance. Generally
when anything is burned, the ash is dark in colour. Not so with
the dung of the sacred cow when burned with milk. It burns to a
clean, white ash which is regarded as holy by Hindus. Everything
given by the Divine Mother in her form as Kamadenu, the milk cow,
is considered as God's grace and blessing. Vibhuti has a special,
godly cleansing force. When we put vibhuti on our foreheads it has
the power to make the blood circulate correctly.
