March 1, 2021
Dear reader,
The month of March brings us one of the most auspicious nights of the year—Mahashivaratri, “the great night of Shiva.” This year, on March 11, as the moon wanes to a lovely thin crescent, we can participate in celebrating a night so supremely sacred that the benefits of the spiritual practice we perform during these hours will be multiplied a thousandfold.
To prepare us for this celebration, the Siddha Yoga path website will be featuring many ways for us to learn about Lord Shiva and to open ourselves to receive his divine blessings. On the Siddha Yoga path, we worship Lord Shiva with the understanding that the one we are invoking is the Supreme Being. He is the Adi-Guru, the primordial Guru. He is the universal Consciousness that pervades all creation, dwelling within everyone and everything. Through his grace, we can recognize him—Paramashiva, Supreme Shiva—as our innermost Self.
Of all the ways to worship Lord Shiva, I have been especially drawn to the recitation of Shri Rudram. This text is from the Krishna Yajur Veda, one of India’s earliest scriptures. Shri Rudram invokes Lord Shiva in his fiery form as Rudra, who destroys our limitations and purifies our awareness, opening the way for us to recognize the presence of God in ourselves and in all creation.
About six years ago, I bought a copy of the recording of Shri Rudram from the Siddha Yoga Bookstore, and sat down determined to master this scriptural text. It challenged me, and for this reason it absorbed my attention. I loved the sound of it and the powerful way it made my breath move, leaving me with tremendous energy in my body and clarity in my mind. I understood this to be the work of the transforming power, the shakti, that flows through every practice given to us by the Siddha Yoga Gurus. I have recited Shri Rudram each day since.
No matter my mood or physical condition, reciting Shri Rudram energizes me. This text is my great friend, whom I look forward to meeting each day. I have felt my focus deepen, my breathing strengthen, my general stamina increase. My voice has changed its resonance, which is significant to me, as I narrate audiobooks for a living. After my recitation, meditation is effortless. And I feel the atmosphere scintillate in the room in which I chant.
My recitation of Shri Rudram feels like a contribution, an offering of goodwill and blessings to the world, a half-hour of pure joy and celebration that radiates outward.
As each of us continues with our own daily sadhana practices during this month of March, we can also look forward to the following anniversaries and celebrations.
Anniversaries
This year marks the seventh anniversary of the Siddha Yoga Chanting Tour: Australia 2014, a milestone event in Siddha Yoga history. Gurumayi named the tour Satyam Shivam Sundaram—Truth, Auspiciousness, Beauty.
Crossing the breadth of Australia, the Chanting Tour brought the transformative power of Siddha Yoga music to thousands of seekers.
Holidays and Observances
On the Siddha Yoga path, Lord Shiva is worshipped as the primordial Guru, the bestower of divine knowledge who is easily pleased by the simplest of devotional actions.
This month on the Siddha Yoga path website you will find many ways to deepen your understanding and experience of Lord Shiva and Mahashivaratri. The mantra Om Namah Shivaya, the initiation mantra of the Siddha Yoga path, is a powerful way to invoke Lord Shiva’s grace at any time—and especially during Mahashivaratri. We can meditate on the indwelling Lord and read scriptural stories about Lord Shiva and his worship in the “formless form,” the Shiva-linga. We can also extol Lord Shiva and experience being in his presence by singing hymns in his praise, such as the Shiva Mahimnah Stotram, the Shiva Arati, and the Shiva Manasa Puja, or by chanting namasankirtanas, such as Jaya Jaya Shiva Shambho and Samba Sadashiva.
In the Vedas, Mother Earth is revered as a divine being who bestows radiance and strength upon humanity. What can we offer in return? The World Wildlife Fund sponsors an annual global observance on March 27 on behalf of the Earth, in which we show support for our planet by switching off any nonessential lights for one hour from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. This observance offers us a quiet interlude during which we can contemplate the amazing bounty that we receive from Mother Earth.
Beginning on the full moon, Holi is a two-day festival celebrated throughout India as a joyous welcome to spring’s colorful return. With singing, dancing, laughter, and the playful splashing of colored powders among friends and loved ones, this spirited festival is filled with camaraderie, warming the hearts of all.
This month of March we have a fresh opportunity to expand our vision and strengthen our understanding. As we explore the Siddha Yoga teachings through our contemplation and practice, we can discern the abiding and auspicious presence of the great Lord Shiva amidst the fluctuating situations of our lives. I have found that there is always a moment: to repeat the mantra in between tasks, or simply watch my breathing; to read a passage from one of the Siddha Yoga books or log on to the website; to bathe in the protection, reassurance, and inspiration of the teachings; to recognize and to remember.
I wish you a safe and happy month of March.
Warm regards,
Julian Elfer
Each year at this time, I celebrate the anniversary of the Siddha Yoga Chanting Tour: Australia 2014. I welcome the opportunity to savor anew the profound and beautiful title that Gurumayi gave to this event:
Satyam Shivam Sundaram—Truth, Auspiciousness, Beauty.
During the tour, all over Australia from one side to the other, we chanted God’s name and experienced the blessings of this title. Night after night, week after week, we honored Lord Shiva by chanting the magnificent
namasankirtana,
Jaya Shiva Shambho.
I witnessed so much enthusiasm. Tour participants, including many who had never chanted before, shared a sense of new and joyous discovery.
I was deeply touched by the great power of Gurumayi’s intention to uplift and bless us. I see those blessings continuing to unfold.
Hampton, Australia
I am so grateful for this letter’s reminder about the practice of reciting
Shri Rudram. Many years ago, reciting
Shri Rudram was a regular part of my weekly practices. This had not been the case for a while though, because I too had become “intimidated,” worried that I was not pronouncing the syllables correctly.
After I read Julian’s experience, however, I realized that I do want to renew this practice. Now more than ever, I feel that reciting
Shri Rudram will provide a powerful support for my daily life.
New York, United States
It was wonderful to read about Julian’s love for
Shri Rudram.
I first became aware of
Shri Rudram in Gurudev Siddha Peeth many years ago. Every morning I offered
seva mopping the floor of the Annapurna Dining Hall, and while mopping I could hear
Shri Rudram being recited in the nearby Nityananda Temple. I marveled at the intensity and power of those mantras and felt a deep admiration for the group that recited them so fluently and effortlessly.
Years later at Shree Muktananda Ashram, I had the opportunity to recite
Shri Rudram one evening. It was the first time I recited it in a group, and it was a most joyous, intense, and powerful experience. It demanded total focus. Afterwards I felt as though I had bathed in holy water.
London, United Kingdom
I learned
Shri Rudram and recited it once a week while serving at Shree Muktananda Ashram. Since retiring a few years ago, I have continued this practice in my home every Monday morning to begin my week. As I recite
Shri Rudram, accompanied by the SYDA Foundation recording, I focus on the power of Shiva in my life and I offer the blessed mantras for the benefit of other people and the world.
North Carolina, United States
When I read this sweet reminder about Lord Shiva being “the bestower of divine knowledge who is easily pleased by the simplest of devotional actions,” I was very happy to remember the simplicity, immediacy, and accessibility of God’s grace. For me, it begins with a longing, and my longing is always heightened as Mahashivaratri approaches. I feel a stirring in my heart, an excitement—this great time has come around once more!
During the weeks leading up to this special day, I’m naturally drawn more inwards, I want to offer the practices, I feel a longing to have that pure experience of Shiva inside my heart. I know I have to lay the foundation for this experience, to open the door for Shiva to appear in my awareness, to make the connection. And I do this through “the simplest of devotional actions”—by repeating his divine name.
I’m so grateful for this grace-filled path.
Oslo, Norway
What a gorgeous letter to introduce March! It’s especially interesting to me because I have been feeling as if
Shri Rudram has been knocking on my door lately! I located the CD and the text and placed them where I could see them every day. My longing has been growing daily. Now, thanks to the March letter, I know the auspicious moment has arrived: I am going to recite
Shri Rudram right now!
Connecticut, United States
I loved being reminded right at the start of this monthly letter that we’ll soon be celebrating Mahashivaratri, “the great night of Shiva.” As I read just the first paragraph, memories of celebrating that sacred night in years past came back to me.
I remember in particular one Mahashivaratri celebration in Gurudev Siddha Peeth. We had been chanting for a while and it felt like we were already deep into the night when I decided to visit the Shiva temple. I arrived only minutes before the Brahmin priests began performing
puja to the
shiva-lingam. As I sat listening to their recitation of sacred mantras, my eyes closed and my awareness was drawn deep inside. I still remember feeling a profound sense of peace and enormous spaciousness inside me.
Recalling that experience, I am inspired to prepare for and chant on this “supremely sacred” and powerful night this month.
Sydney, Australia
As I read the monthly letter for March, the discussion of Mahashivaratri reminded me of the time that I first heard about that auspicious holiday, and the beneficent blessings that mantra repetition brings on that “great night of Shiva.” As I listened back then, tears had flowed from my eyes.
At the time, I didn’t understand why this story had touched me so deeply. When I contemplated that experience later on, I realized that the tears were an expression of my heart’s pure gratitude, in response to the magnificence of this gift of Mahashivaratri, so freely and abundantly given.
Now, as I prepare for the next celebration of Mahashivaratri, I reflect again on the power of the mantra
Om Namah Shivaya and the magnitude of the gift that multiplies by a thousandfold the spiritual merit of each repetition of the mantra. I also relish the occasion as another opportunity to consciously express gratitude to my Guru and to the Siddha Yoga path.
New York, United States
