Shivanga - Setting the Fire of Devotion

If the fire of devotion is absent within you, you will go through the process of life as up and down, day and night, darkness and light, wellness and illness, joy and misery. For one who has nurtured the fire of devotion within himself, there is no day and night, no light and darkness, no up and down, for such a being there is no such thing as joy and misery. It is this fire of devotion, which sets a human being free from everything else that every other creature on this planet goes through. All these things I am referring to are enjoyed and suffered by worms, insects, birds, plants and everybody. Nothing wrong with them; the only difference is just this – they exist here as a part of creation. If you want to exist here as a part of the Creator, however, you need that fire in your heart.

A fire, which is not determined by what's happening around you; a fire which is not subservient to whether you have eaten well today or not, whether life is going the way you want it or not, whether people are behaving the way you want them to be or not, or whether the world is spinning on time or not.  None of these things touch a being who has nurtured the fire of devotion in his heart.

This process that we have set forth now, that we are referring to as Shivanga, anga means a limb-a limb of Shiva; the journey is from being a part of creation, to being a part of the source of creation or the Creator. This is something that is infused in all living things, not just human beings. Every life around us has the same source but the biggest advantage, challenge or possibility that we have in our lives is that, we are capable of realizing it. We are capable of making it into a conscious process. None of the other creatures can do it. None of the other life forms, though they are made of the same stuff, are never ever able to realize that they are made of this stuff. If you light the fire of devotion in your heart, you will not live here as a piece of earth, but as a limb or a part of Shiva.

These traditions, this culture of lighting up human hearts with the fire of devotion has been there for a long time, but devotees started doing things in such a way that today anybody who believes that they have some level of intellect; people who believe they are right-thinking people don’t want to have anything to do with devotion because devotees are behaving like fan clubs. This is the time for us to set a new culture where devotees are sensitive and sensible people, and that they are not behaving like a fan club, climbing over each other to reach towards something; stepping into each other to reach towards me. We don’t want to see such things happening. These things happen only with fan clubs; they don’t care what's happening to somebody else. Somehow they want to touch their super-star. I am not a super-star, I am on the planet; stars are all up there.

Let us set this right within ourselves and around us because people who consider themselves reasonably intellectual are allergic to devotion today only because of the way some devotees behave. We have to set this right.  I value this very much and if you also value this, you must ensure that devotees set the right culture, otherwise no one will want to have anything to do with devotion because it looks like a mad gang of people shouting and screaming and climbing on top of each other to get what they want.

Shivanga will grow into a beautiful process, but it is in your hands whether you are going to allow other people to experience the fire of devotion within themselves or they will develop an aversion for devotion. This is a responsibility and a privilege that we must conduct properly.

As devotees, I want you to bring a certain level of sensitivity to everything around you. This culture, of new level of sensitivity and devotion, should become the most beautiful and attractive thing. It has always been. This is what the human heart longs for, that it wants to be on fire without any reason. If it is not on fire without any reason, you will set it on fire with hormones. If there is no devotion, you desperately try to cling to someone. If there is devotion, you will see whatever you want is happening within you; the most beautiful things are happening within you. There is no time even to look around for anything because so much is happening within you.

This movement that we are setting up as shivanga will grow into a very large movement and it is up to you to see that it grows in the right direction, in such a way that it draws people not put off people, because when you put off people you are denying a great possibility to someone else, putting them off by doing wrong things. This is a responsibility that people who walk on the spiritual path have; when you do something which is not appropriate, you are denying the spiritual possibility to many.  That’s a wrong message and that is a very negative thing to do in one’s life. If we can create the possibility, that is great. At least if we do not block the possibility, that is okay, but if we are putting people off and blocking the possibility because of the way we are doing things, then that is a serious concern.

I am placing this movement in your hands, that you carry it forward well. Next year if there are six million people instead of six thousand; it's for you to see that you have set forth the right culture, that people should look at devotees with great respect and value and not see them as a bunch of out of control people behaving foolishly.  Please make that happen because it is very important that we make it happen the right way.