Attainment of Shiva Pada Should Be the Ultimate Goal
Man is directionless, man is aimless, man is without a goal.
He doesn’t know what he has taken birth for, what he should work towards, what is his destination, how he should work towards his destination.
Is life just the day-to-day existence of eating, drinking, breathing, sleeping, taking care of physical and emotional needs?
Is that life?
Is life all about maximising comforts and enjoyment?
Is life all about planning for a hassle-free retirement?
When there is so much information floating around you, everyone trying to sell you something or the other, it is no wonder that you are lost.
The sages asked Brahma:
'अथ किं परमं साध्यं किं वा तत्साधनं परम्
साधकः कीदृशस्तत्र तदिदं ब्रूहि तत्त्वतः'
Three questions – what is the ultimate destination, ultimate goal?
There may be intermediary goals, there may be secondary goals.
Like you set out on a journey from Kanyakumari to Kashmir – Kashmir is your ultimate destination.
Every day you have to cover a certain distance and reach a certain place.
These are your intermediary goals. These intermediary destinations or goals add up to your final destination.
You can’t bypass everything and reach the final destination straight.
There is a path to traverse. Every step towards the goal is important.
If you take one step in the wrong direction, you are taken off the path and away from the destination.
To reach Kashmir, you should keep on travelling towards north constantly.
In between, if you change your course and go towards the east — east may look attractive momentarily — then you are going away from your destination.
The ultimate destination should be clear in the mind.
Every morning you should tell yourself: this is my destination, every single step I take today should take me towards that destination.
Isn't this how good project managers work?
Brahma says the ultimate destination is:
'साध्यं शिवपदप्राप्तिः'
Attainment of shivapada — to become one with Shiva, to become Shiva himself.
How do you achieve that?
'साधनं तस्य सेवनम्' — through serving him.
That is the path, that is the only method.
You cannot become Shiva by reading about Shiva or knowing about Shiva.
You can become Shiva only by serving Shiva.
And what should be the nature of the sadhaka, the seeker — the seeker of Shiva pada?
'साधकस्तत्प्रसादाद्यो नित्यादिफलनिस्पृहः'
Here again, the importance of his blessing is reiterated.
You can be a good sadhaka only through his blessing.
The good sadhaka always has his eyes set on the ultimate goal — that is Shiva pada prapti.
He doesn’t get distracted, he doesn’t get carried away.
There is respect waiting for him en route — people on the way.
He is walking from Kanyakumari towards Kashmir — midway he reaches a place.
People there want him to stay with them, they want to gain from his knowledge, his experience:
'Please teach us what all you learned en route.'
He doesn’t get carried away by this lure of respect that he gets, the comforts that he could get.
He would spend the night there and morning again start walking.
He is clear about his destination — everything else is a distraction.
Whatever is nitya and naimittika — results of daily action and results of occasional special action — he is not bothered about them.
He doesn’t stop to enjoy them. He just leaves all of them behind and keeps walking towards his ultimate goal.
He is a real sadhaka.
An efficient sadhaka.
English
Shiva
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