Devotion to Shiva

Krishna said

Illustrious one, Indra among yogis, lord of the ganas and of sages, equal of the six-faced Skanda, ocean of every kind of knowledge, guru: you are really Parameshvara himself, come in the form of a great sage to cut the bonds of people. Apart from you there is no one in this universe, god or demon, with such supreme feeling who knows the truth of Shiva. It is as though the wielder of the Pinaka were speaking straight from your mouth. I have drunk the amrita of knowledge of Shiva and my mind is still not satisfied. He is the maker of the whole universe. Seated on the lap of her husband Bhagavan, what did Parameshvari ask him?

Upamanyu replied

Krishna, your question is fitting and I will answer it truly. You have an auspicious mind and are Bhava's devotee. Absorbed in divine meditation, Mahadeva went with Devi to the divine and supreme mountain Mandara, which has lovely caves. Devi's dear friend Shubhavati, with her pleasant smile, brought blossoming flowers with affection. The god, supreme among gods, set Devi on his lap and adorned her with those flowers, full of joy. The ladies of the inner rooms and the lords of the ganas who served there decked Devi, sovereign of all the worlds, with divine ornaments. Holding whisks, they attended Devi and her husband Deva Maheshvara, lord of all the worlds. Mahesha and Maheshi talked pleasantly together, for the sake of saving the people of the world and those who take refuge in Shiva. At a fitting moment Maheshvari of all the worlds asked her husband, Maheshvara of all the worlds.

Devi asked

Mortals are foolish in understanding. How can they bring Mahadeva under their control, when they cannot govern their own selves and have not cleansed them?

Ishvara replied

Without devotion I cannot be brought under control by karma, austerity, japa, postures, knowledge or any other means. Whatever the cause, if people have faith in me, I can be mastered, touched, seen, worshipped and spoken to. Whoever wants to master me can do it by devotion. Faith leads to the dharma of one's own varna and protects it. If a person follows the dharma of his varna and ashrama, that builds faith in me, nothing else does. Every siddhi can be won through the dharma of the ashramas. By my command Brahma stated it long ago; it is known as the grandfather's dharma, with many kinds of rites. It is costly, takes effort, and does not lead to great fruits. But through the great dharma of devotion, what is hard to obtain can be had. All the varnas can reach it by taking refuge in me alone. Along this happy path they gain dharma, artha, kama and moksha. I have again arranged the conduct of the varnas and ashramas and said that every varna must have devotion to me. I have instructed that only those who have faith in me are entitled to the rites, not others. I have taught and described the path of refuge in me. By my favour a person is then freed of impurities, maya and Pashas, and can reach my city, from which return is very hard. This is my supreme dharma, and having reached me they are freed from maya. Whether one follows the dharma of the varnas or not, whoever follows what I have said about devotion and refuge in me lifts himself up. He gains what is hard to gain, possessing more than crores upon crores of good qualities, more than is won by following varna dharma. Auspicious one, through all the manvantaras that have passed, over thousands of generations, I have taken avataras as Yogacharyas. Sureshvari, those who lack understanding and are not my devotees find this knowledge of the ages very hard to reach. So one should work at devotion. A person who exerts himself elsewhere comes to great harm: weakness, delusion, blindness and dumbness. One who acts so is expelled from the path of liberation.

My eternal dharma has four parts: knowledge, kriya, charya and yoga. Knowledge is the understanding of Pashu, Pasha and Pati. Kriya is following the six purifying paths under a guru's instruction. Charya is the rules I laid down for varnas and ashramas and, within them, good conduct through worship. Yoga is following the path I have shown, with the mind sunk in me and other conduct restrained. Devi, purifying one's consciousness is better than many horse sacrifices. It gives liberation, which is hard for those attached to material things. Yoga is said to be non-attachment and the destruction of former sins by mastering the senses through yama and niyama. Knowledge comes from non-attachment and yoga from knowledge. One who knows yoga, even a fallen one, is doubtless freed. These should always be practised: compassion, non-violence, gathering knowledge, truthfulness, not stealing, conviction, faith, restraint of the senses, study, teaching, sacrificing for oneself and for others, meditation, devotion to Ishvara, constant pursuit of knowledge and good conduct. A brahmana who follows these gains siddhi in the yoga of knowledge. Within a short time he gains higher knowledge and also yoga. Beloved, by the fire of knowledge a knower burns this body in an instant. By my favour a person who knows yoga throws off the bonds of karma. Karma may be good or bad, but both are obstacles to liberation. So a yogi, engaging himself, will give up both good deeds and wicked ones. What blocks the way is doing karma for its fruits, not karma itself. So give up the fruits of karma. Beloved, first a person should worship me outwardly through the sacrifice of karma, then take up the yoga of knowledge, and after that yoga. Embodied beings who know my true nature through karma sacrifice see a clod of earth, a stone and gold as equal and do not worship me further. But the best among sages is my devotee: self-controlled and engaged in yoga, a yogi pursuing the yoga of knowledge, he gains sayujya. There are people who turn to me while their minds still hold attachment. They have the right and are fit to perform knowledge, charya and kriya.

My worship is of two kinds, outer and inner. The learned know that it can take three forms, thought, word and deed. Virtuous worship is also said to be of five kinds, in order austerities, karma, japa, meditation and knowledge. Outer worship is known to others, while what is known only to one's own self is called inner worship. A mind devoted only to me is called a true mind, not just any mind. Speech that is only of my name is true speech, not other speech. A body that bears my marks, is marked with Tripundra and the like, and is devoted to my worship is a true body, not just any body. My worship is called karma; outer sacrifices and the like are not spoken of so. Drying up the body for my sake is austerity; other hardships are not counted. Japa is practice with the panchakshara or Pranava, or practice of meditating on Rudra, not studying the Vedas and so on. Meditation is thinking of my form, not samadhi for some other purpose. Higher knowledge is understanding the meanings of my agamas, not the meanings of other things. The mind is often attached to an outer or inner object. Devi, devotion to the tattvas should first be fixed by focusing on these. Inner worship is a hundred times better than outer, because outer worship can be spoiled by the glances of people of mixed varna. Know that inner purity is purity and outer purity is not called purity. One without a pure self is impure. Outer or inner, worship must be full of right feeling. Devi, if the feeling is missing, it is deception. I am pure; what can men's rites do for me? I accept the inner or outer only when feeling is there. Kriya done with feeling is my eternal dharma, whether in thought, word or deed, and it should be indifferent to fruits. Devi, coming to me with fruits in mind is of a lower sort; if the fruits are wanted and do not come, the person leaves me. Yet even someone who wants fruits and fixes his mind on me gets fruits according to his feeling. There are those who want no fruits but are devoted to me, and later I give those devotees the fruits they might have desired, and I love them. Through earlier impressions there are those who do not think about the presence or absence of fruits and, helpless, take refuge in me. I am said to love these most. In truth, having reached me, they gain nothing more; their supreme gain is that they have me. By my favour their feeling is bound to me, and this compels the fruit of supreme nirvana to be given them.

There are other great-souled ones who rest their minds in me. Those with the right to speak of my dharma say such people show eight signs: affection for my devotees, approval of my worship, worshipping me of their own accord, using the body to do acts for me, devotion to hearing my accounts, change in voice, eyes and limbs when they hear of me, constantly remembering me, and taking refuge in me. If these eight signs appear even in an outcaste, he is like a lord among brahmanas, a wise sage or a learned mendicant. I do not love someone who knows the four Vedas as much as a dog-cooker devoted to me. One may give to him and receive from him, and he should be worshipped as if he were me. A person who devoutly worships me with leaves, flowers, fruit and water is not lost to me, nor am I lost to him.