Rahul N Singh host of The Bearded Mystic Podcast explores the Hindu philosophy of Advaita Vedanta or Nonduality in a very simple, direct and practical way.
Episodes include discussions into eastern scriptures like The Bhagavad Gita, The Upanishads etc and discussions about everyday spirituality.
Rahul has been on the spiritual path for over 20 years and has an open-minded approach to spirituality and finds that there is no one size fits all approach.
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This episode highlights the significance of Mahashivaratri and the deeper teachings within Shiva's philosophy. We explore the relationship between true consciousness and spiritual awakening, emphasizing the path to self-realization.
• Celebration of Mahashivaratri and its spiritual importance • Understanding the essence of pure consciousness and ego relinquishment • The insights from the Shiva Sutras and Guru Gita regarding true teachings
Take this opportunity to reflect on Lord Shiva's teachings, embrace spiritual knowledge, and elevate your journey toward enlightenment. Join the conversation and celebrate this special night meaningfully.
Hello and welcome to another episode of the Beardy Mystic Podcast, and I'm your host, rahul N Singh. First of all, I'd like to wish you all a very happy Mahashivadri, and I pray that Lord Shiva blesses us all with spiritual fulfillment and enlightenment. Spiritual fulfillment and enlightenment Now, this is a very special occasion where the devotees of Lord Shiva spend the night remembering their Ishvavata, their beloved Lord, and Shivji is known to be the same as the formless, the Brahman. Now, obviously, the form that we see and worship, that you see also on this t-shirt. If you remember me from, if you watch my very first episode before I had any merch, you know I used to wear this t-shirt all the time. So, yes, so that is known as Shankara or Shankar, and that's the kind of form of the formless.
Speaker 1:
Now we went through the first two verses of the Shiva Sutras and when I look at the next couple of verses, I realise how the first two is all you need If you can remember that pure consciousness is yourself and if you keep remembering that and you then also understand that knowledge can put you in bondage knowledge of I'm the body and mind. You have conquered the dark night of ignorance, and when we are able to do that, then we are in the light. And that's what Shivji represents. When Shivji drank the poison in the oceans, it's to signify the ocean of ignorance that we can land ourselves in. But when we are given the right knowledge, the wisdom, the knowledge of Brahman, then we are awakened to the true self. Then there is only the poisonous aspect of ignorance is removed, and that poison is there because it keeps us in the cycle of samsara. So this whole night is an opportunity for us to awaken, for us to enlighten, opportunity for us to awaken, for us to enlighten and, most of all, to be in the presence of Lord Shiva.
Speaker 1:
Now, not everybody worships Lord Shiva, that's obvious. But whether you worship him or not, there are so many aspects that you can learn from, from imbibing his guidance and teachings, whether it's in the shiva sutras or the vigyan bed of tantra, which I may read from tonight, actually of the radiant sutras that I find have a very poetically done and and nicely done. But most of all, I've hugely benefited from reading his guru gita, and that guru gita kind of protects you from everything. You know. If somebody has negative energy towards you or, you know, unfortunately tries to do black magic, it gives you a special way of how to actually reverse that. It tells you the categories of gurus they are, and the most supreme guru is that one which shows you Brahman, which tells you that the knowledge of Brahman is a supreme thing. All these other gurus, like meditation gurus, mantra gurus, all these type of things, they aren't ritualistic gurus, those that just teach you the rituals. They are not going to lead you to the supreme. They still will bind you. But Lord Shiva only worships that one which is the highest, which is the one that shows Brahman, the one that illuminates the knowledge of Brahman. He worships that Guru. So here should be a clear indication of what Shiv Ji is representing.
Speaker 1:
Now, I remember it was actually a mantra guru that told people to read the Guru Gita. Now, I knew for one thing his followers never read it because if they did, they wouldn't be following him. Because he's a mantra guru, he's not given the Gyan of Brahman, he's not given that knowledge, the supreme knowledge of the ultimate reality, of the absolute reality that we are. That is, and it just goes to show that even this night can be taken over by people who think it's just about song and dance. Yes, we are to celebrate. We are to. If you want to feel like dancing, dance. If you feel like singing, sing. If you feel like meditating, meditate, but ultimately know that this night can only be complete if we are in the understanding of what Brahman is, of what Shiva really is. So to really understand Shiva, to really understand the ultimate, to really understand the absolute, we have to understand completely that pure consciousness is the true self, is the only self.
Speaker 1:
Now, this consciousness does not depend on anything. It doesn't depend on our worship, it doesn't depend on our faith, it doesn't depend on what mantras we say, what rituals we do. It doesn't matter. It just depends on whether you are ready to dissolve and surrender that false sense of self, that ego, the ahamkara that are we allowing ourselves to dissolve the ahamkara and allow ourselves to realize what we truly are, which is this nirakara, this formless, which is this nirakara, this formless? So, ultimately, that's my message for today and my kind of good wishes for everyone that's celebrating today. I hope it brings nothing but fulfillment and it takes you to the heights of spirituality.
Speaker 1:
And hopefully tonight I will do a live, so that would be like 9 or 10 pm eastern standard time. I will try. Obviously, being a father means I just have to go with the flow and if Shivji wishes for me to do this, obviously it will happen. If, by his grace, it doesn't happen, that's also fine, because I feel like I've shared what I've needed to hear. So if I'm live, it'd be at 9pm or 10pm Eastern Standard Time. If it's live, I will keep the live on. If you're on my discord, I will let you know. Obviously, personally, um, I'll tag everyone to say that I'm live and, uh, and most of all, you know, just keep yourself in in the, in the understanding of what our true nature is, and I think maybe doing the Radiant Sutras tonight will be a good thing.
Speaker 1:
Or the Vigyan Bhairav Tantra, because a lot of people think that the system of meditation isn't as in-depth in Hinduism, but actually it really is and it's worth looking into that. The system of meditation isn't as in-depth in Hinduism, but actually it really is and it's worth looking into, right? So take care, everybody. Speak to you soon, hopefully tonight, otherwise I will see you tomorrow. Take care, namaste.
