Shiva Mahimna Stotra

Shloka 20

Meaning:   O Lord Shiva! You always remain alert to give the fruits (rewards) of the Yajnas (religious rituals) to the performer as soon as it is completed. How can the completed ritual itself give the fruit (reward) without the worship of the Lord? Therefore, being convinced that You are the giver of the fruits (rewards) of the Yajnas (rituals), people become enthusiastic to perform Yajnas keeping faith in the Vedas.                                               

Reflections:  There are two theories about receiving rewards or punishments for our actions. Some people think that every action determines its result. Therefore, there is no need for God to keep a record of all our actions and then give us rewards or punishments.  Some people think that if they perform the Yajnas described in the Vedas, then they go to heaven without any additional help from God. These are the views of the atheists.

The devotees of God think differently. Pushpadanta brings out the devotees’ point of view. In this shloka, he asks, ‘How does a material work by itself give a result without any divine intervention or a play of Consciousness?’  Pushpadanta’s answer is, ‘It cannot’. Consciousness which gives strength to a person to perform any ritual, which knows the motive behind the action, gives the appropriate result of the action. Lord Shiva is Pure Consciousness and as ‘Ishwara’ (God or Lord) is the ‘Karma Phala Data’, the giver of the fruits, or results, or rewards of the actions.

A person may think, ‘I eat, so I get strength’. Thus, eating is an action, and getting strength is the result. In this case, why do I need God to get the result of my action? But, the devotee asks, ‘Who gives us strength to eat?’, ‘Who gives us food?’, and ‘Who digests the food?’

Shri Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita` (15.13 & 14) says,

“Entering in the earth, I (God) sustain all beings by My energy, and becoming the sapid moon, I nourish all herbs (which give us food). As the fire Vaishwanara (fire in the stomach), I enter the bodies of all living creatures, and mingling with the vital forces, prana, and apana, I digest all the four kinds of food.”

Thus, devotees think that nothing happens without the help of God.

Many devotees perform rituals to fulfill their worldly desires. In Hinduism God is one, called Brahman, but has many forms according to the likings of the devotees. Devotees worship various forms of God. The fulfillment of their desires, the results of their worship, comes from Brahman through these forms. This thought has been expressed in the following shloka of the Bhagavad Gita.

Shri Krishna says, “A devotee having faith in a form of God worships that form. This form fulfills the devotee’s desires. However, the truth is that I (Brahman) fulfill the devotee’s desires through that form.” (Bhagavad Gita 7.22).

According to Puspadanta, Lord Shiva is the Brahman and He gives the rewards to the devotees through various forms.

Apparent Contradiction:

We just learned that Brahman fulfills the desires of the devotees through the forms of God they worship. The following shloka of the Bhagavad Gita says that God does not connect the result and an action.

Shri Krishna says, “Brahman (Pure Consciousness) does not create the ‘doer-ship’ or ‘the actions’ for the people to perform in the world. Also, It does not connect the fruits (results) with the actions. It is the Prakruti (the power of Brahman) that does all this.” (Bhagavad Gita 5.14)

It looks like there is a contradiction between the two statements. But this contradiction is apparent. Sri Ramakrishna explains that Brahman and Its Power, called Shakti, are inseparable. When Brahman is engaged in Creation, Preservation, and dissolution, we call It Shakti and when It is inactive, we call It Brahman. Thus, Brahman, Pure Consciousness, or Sat-Chit-Ananda (Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute) is not doing anything. It is the Shakti, the Power of Brahman, that does all the work in the universe.

From the duality point of view, in a human being, there is Atman and there is body-mind-existence which consists of all the senses through which a person perceives the universe and performs all the activities. Atman and Brahman are the same. Atman, as Pure Consciousness, is inactive. It does not do anything. But in its presence intellect gets illumined and with that, the mind and the senses perform all the activities. Due to ignorance a ‘Jiva’ is formed which thinks that ‘I am a separate individual with body and mind, and I have desires to enjoy the world’. This Jiva, a reflection of the Atman in the mind goes through experiences of joys and sorrows. When Knowledge comes that the Jiva is a reflection of the Atman and it had created an illusion of having a separate existence, then the Jiva merges with Atman or Brahman. At that time there is no duality.

Shri Krishna says this in the Bhagavad Gita (18.61),

“God dwells in the hearts of all beings. O Arjuna! God’s Maya (Power) causes them to revolve as though mounted on a machine.”

We find in the Bhagavad Gita, sometimes Shri Krishna talks from the Advaita (Nonduality) point of view and sometimes from the Dvaita (duality) point of view. The Advaita point of view is the Ultimate Reality (Paramarthika Satya). It says there is only one Existence, Sat or Brahman. Out of illusion the universe and all beings are projected in the Brahman. Brahman appears as the universe with all beings. The Dvaita point of view is a Relative Reality (Vyavaharika Satya). In that, God exists and the universe with all beings exists.  We need both, the Advaita and the Dvaita. The Ultimate Reality removes all our worldly problems and makes us one with Brahman. This destroys all our imaginary bondages and makes us free. It also makes us experience the infinite Bliss within. However, most of the time we are aware of our separate existence with our body and mind. In that state, the Duality philosophy helps us how to think and live in the world with sanity and strive for the Ultimate Reality.

Thus, the contradictions are apparent and not real. The God’s power Shakti, or Prakruti, or Maya explains the world’s existence and its activities in a sensible way.

From this point of view, God or Ishwar or Brahman seen through Its Power Maya, gives the results of our actions. Space, time, and causation exist in the realm of Maya. The causation, the chain of cause and effect, or the chain of action-result-action is infallible. Therefore, people think that every action has its sure effect, and there is no need for God. However, Brahman or Atman is beyond the Maya and therefore It is beyond space, time, and causation. When we become one with Atman or Brahman, we also go beyond all these limitations and laws.

Swami Vivekananda expresses this thought in the ‘Song of the Sannyasin’. He says,

That is why, in the Bhagavad Gita (7.22), first Shri Krishna said that He, as Brahman, gives rewards to the devotees of their worship through their chosen deities, but immediately afterward in (7.23) He says the following:

Shri Krishna says, “Those who worship various forms of God are not matured and the rewards of their worship are short-lived. Those who worship various forms of God, they attain these forms, while those who worship Me (as Brahman) come to Me.”

Here also we find the duality and non-duality points of view. Those who perform rituals for worldly rewards remain in the world and go through the cycles of joys and sorrows, and the cycles of births and deaths. On the other hand, those who perform actions to realize Brahman attain Brahman and become free from all the bondages. They get liberated and experience the inner unbroken Bliss.

Shiva Mahimna Stotra

Sholka 19

Meaning:  O Destroyer of Tripura (Lord Shiva)! Lord Vishnu was worshipping you by offering one thousand lotuses at your feet. He found that one lotus was missing. He then offered one of his lotus eyes to complete the one thousand lotus offering. His intense devotion then turned into a disc (Sudarshana Chakra) that he holds. This disc remains always alert to protect the three worlds.   

Reflections: 

Various Forms of Brahman:                                       

In Hinduism, God is one, which is called, Brahman. This Brahman appears in many forms according to the devotees’ likings.  Shri Krishna says in the twelfth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita (12.5):

“The path is very tough for those whose minds are set on realizing the Unmanifested (Formless God). It is very difficult to realize the Unmanifested for people who have body-consciousness.”

If we think that we have a body, then God also has a body. Realized spiritual teachers say that for most of the devotees, it is easy to begin focusing one’s mind on God with form and then realize that this form is just a representative of the Infinite Brahman. Finally, at one point, these forms dissolve into the Unmanifested Brahman.

Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma, Rama, Krishna, Kali, Durga, and others are various forms that represent the same formless infinite Brahman. No form is higher or lower.  There are books for each of these forms describing the glories of that form through stories or hymns. In these books, all other forms of Brahman become subordinate to the form of the books. Thus, in the Shiva Mahimna Stotra, Lord Shiva is the main form of Brahman and all other forms like Vishnu, Brahma, and others worship Lord Shiva.  In the books about the form of Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva worships Lord Vishnu.

Many times, the immature devotees of Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu don’t understand this point and they fight with each other claiming that their form of God is superior. It is like John tells Jack that his mother is superior, and he should worship his mother. Jack tells John the same thing asking him to worship his mother. Both the mothers are great. As mothers they are different, but the motherhood is the same. Thus, due to the devotees’ likings, the God’s forms are different, but the Godhood (Brahman) is the same.

The story of the offering of one thousand lotuses:                       

Every day Lord Vishnu offered one thousand lotuses to Lord Shiva along with the thousand names of Lord Shiva. One day, to test the devotion of Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva invisibly stole one of the thousand lotuses. Lord Vishnu was completely engrossed in the offering.  He didn’t notice this act. At the end of the offering, he found that one lotus was short. He was in a dilemma. To get up in the middle of an offering is an insult to Lord Shiva and so is not to offer one thousand lotuses. What to do?  Suddenly, He realized that people call Him ‘Pundarikaksha’, meaning ‘lotus-eyed’. Without much thinking further, He plucked his one eye and offered it to Lord Shiva.

Lord Shiva was immediately pleased. He appeared to Lord Vishnu and granted Him his eye and a disc (Sudarshana Chakra) which remains constantly circling in His hand protecting all the three worlds. Shri Pushpadanta says that Lord Vishnu’s devotion turned into this Sudarshana Chakra. This story teaches us that a true devotee out of his/her love for God is ready to sacrifice anything even if it costs his/her life. 

Devotee’s Sufferings:

Lord Shiva’s stealing one lotus is symbolic. It shows that God tests devotees through various challenging situations. If the devotees successfully go through these situations, their devotion becomes pure, and it shines like gold that has passed through a fire.

Most beginner devotees have this question: “Why do devotees have to suffer even though they pray to God?” Many prayers say ‘O God! You are the remover of devotees’ suffering.’ Such prayers create a feeling that God removes all the sufferings of the devotees and as a result, devotees do not have to suffer at all. Many devotees lose their faith in God when suffering comes despite their prayers.

When devotees advance in their spiritual path and develop a deeper understanding, they realize that happiness and suffering are part of life. One cannot avoid them. All people must go through joys and sorrows whether they pray to God or not. The devotees’ suffering becomes more striking because people say, ‘Oh! These devotees prayed to God, but they had to suffer so much!’

From the advanced devotees’ point of view, God is the doer of everything. God gives happiness and God gives sorrow. We must accept what God gives us and go through the circumstances holding on to God. During this painful time, we must hold on to God more firmly because there is no other alternative. Only God can give us strength to bear all the sufferings.

There is a story that Rama wanted to take a bath in the ocean. So, he put his arrows on the sand and pushed his bow in the sand to keep it vertical. After his bath when he lifted his bow, he saw it was tainted with blood. He dug into the ground and saw that his bow had pierced the back of a big frog. Rama felt sorry for the frog. He asked the frog why it had not screamed or complained about this. The frog said, “O Rama! If anyone else is giving me pain, then I pray to you. But, when you give me pain, to whom should I pray?”

Another example is of a mother and a child. A child ate dirt. The mother becomes angry and worried that this habit of eating dirt will harm the child in the future. Out of love and anger, she beats the child. The child holds the mother’s sari or cloth and cries. Sometimes the mother also cries while beating.

Sincere devotees do not seek suffering, but they know very well that many times in happiness they forget God, while in suffering they remember God more. Saint Kabir said a wonderful thing:

“Everyone prays to God during suffering. No one prays to God when one is happy. If one prays to God when one is happy, then there will not be sorrow anymore.”

Prayers and spiritual practices give us inner bliss which does not depend on any worldly object, and they give us inner strength to go through sufferings.

Devotees feel that through suffering God is testing their faith and devotion. Time passes. Good days pass and so do the bad days. When the devotees go through a painful time holding on to God, their faith and devotion to God deepen and become more mature. Such faith and devotion lead the devotees to realize God.

Even the incarnations of God suffer. Shri Rama, Shri Sitaji, Shri Krishna, Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, Swami Vivekananda, and others went through many miseries. They showed that when we take a human form, we cannot avoid suffering. It is a part of life.

If we think of ‘suffering’ as a natural situation that arises in our life and ‘pain’ as the impact of the situation that we inflict on our mind, then we can say that ‘suffering is unavoidable, but the pain is optional’. Pain depends on how we take the situation. The pain of the marathon runner, mother giving birth to a child, studying for the test, doing exercises, and in other such cases, people bear it with joy.

Devotees take suffering as ‘prasad’ from God and bear it remembering God. Many times, suffering comes with a greater purpose. Sri Ramakrishna’s throat cancer brought the ‘devotees of the inner circle’ (devotees with strong faith in Sri Ramakrishna) closer to each other, to Sri Ramakrishna, and to God which resulted in the form of Sri Ramakrishna Math and Mission guiding and inspiring millions of people in the path of God-Realization and Unselfish Service to Humanity. In this shloka, Lord Vishnu’s devotion turned into “Sudarshana Chakra” which protects the three worlds.

From the Jnana Yoga (The Path of Knowledge) point of view, ‘Everything is Brahman, Pure Consciousness. Brahman has no happiness or miseries. When out of ignorance (Maya) an individual thinks that he/she is separate from the Brahman and has a body and mind, then that individual (Jiva) becomes happy or sad according to one’s desires being fulfilled or not fulfilled. Happiness and sorrows are like nightmares created by the mind. The only remedy is to wake up and realize that everything is Brahman and the various situations, and the happiness and the miseries are all projected onto Brahman due to Maya.

However, it is very difficult for most of the people to remain always established in Brahman. Therefore, when the mind comes down to the body-mind-consciousness, the attitude of the devotees is very practical and helpful.