Toward the end of the Siddha Yoga satsang in honor of Mahashivaratri, just before the live video stream concluded, Gurumayi gave everyone a beautiful instruction. She told us to experience the teaching, “I am Shiva, Shiva is the best.”
It was one of those phrases that stood out to me immediately as being so representative of Gurumayi and how she teaches. It was like a sutra—intriguing, mysterious, replete with wisdom, and complete unto itself. I was reminded, yet again, of all that we have to be grateful for on the Siddha Yoga path. We have a living Guru, who is always imparting her teachings to us. Even a single phrase, when uttered by our Guru, has the power to transform our approach to life. It is up to us, then, to honor what we have been given, to contemplate the Guru’s teachings, and to put the knowledge we gain into practice.
So I have been thinking, ever since the satsang on Mahashivaratri, about this teaching from Gurumayi. What does it mean that Lord Shiva is the best? What does it mean to say, “I am Shiva, Shiva is the best”? Why is it so beneficial to hold these words in our awareness—to experience their truth?
What first came to my mind was Lord Shiva’s many names, some of which I have shared before in “Meditation on Gurumayi’s Words.” A sizable portion of the thousand-plus epithets for Lord Shiva has to do with his being, quite simply, the best. He is Maheshvara, the great Lord, the Lord of all. He is Parameshvara, the supreme Lord, the greatest of deities. He is Vishvanatha, the master of the universe, and Ishana, the great ruler, the lord who presides over all knowledge. He is Shivatara, more auspicious than all that is auspicious.
These names are invoked by devotees of Lord Shiva to praise him, to pray to him, to seek his blessings. So to some degree, this language—of Lord Shiva being the best, of his being greater and more auspicious than all the rest—is an expression of people’s devotion. If Lord Shiva is your chosen deity, then of course you would think he is the best!
As I was contemplating, though, I thought it would also be helpful to take a broader view of the matter—to consider, from a more philosophical standpoint, what the superlative best might signify when it comes to Lord Shiva. According to the scriptures of India, Lord Shiva is the embodiment of supreme Consciousness. He is the absolute Reality. There is nothing and no one other than him, so by definition, there can be nothing greater than him. He is the pure essence of all that is, was, and will be.
The more I’ve thought about this, the more I’ve actively had to stop my jaw from dropping. It is a mind-stopping truth, literally cosmic in its scope. That’s one reason why I’ve been so drawn to Gurumayi’s phrasing—“I am Shiva, Shiva is the best.” Gurumayi brings the point down to earth, as it were. She makes it accessible, comprehensible, something we can engage with. To describe someone or something as “the best” is to apply an endearingly colloquial descriptor to them. In my own experience, whenever I’ve used this phrase in reference to a person I know, it’s accompanied by a rush of affection for them, and a visceral feeling of closeness. They’re just the best. No other words suffice. No other words do justice to who they are and what they mean to me.
When Gurumayi says, “Shiva is the best,” I feel that she is showing us how we can bridge these two complementary realities. Lord Shiva is the greatest, the highest, the supreme Reality. He is also the best to us, for us, as near and dear to us as our own inner Self.
And that brings me to the other part of the phrase that Gurumayi gave in satsang. “I am Shiva, Shiva is the best.” I almost see these words, and the practice of bringing them to mind, as a kind of friendly challenge. What if we were to see in ourselves the same attributes that we extol in Lord Shiva? Or what if we at least believed that we are capable of cultivating and exhibiting these attributes? What if we felt for ourselves the same fondness and respect that we do for those we readily describe as being “the best”?
I can’t help but think that if we all collectively did this, we would be making good on the central teaching of the satsang. We would be magnifying auspiciousness. Peace, as we have learned from Gurumayi, begins with us, with the kind of environment we nurture within ourselves. If we can believe the best of ourselves—if we can see the truth of who we are in and amidst our unique dispositions, our fluctuating emotions, our personal histories, our particular ways of thinking and of doing things—then it’s that much easier to believe the best of those around us. It is that much more possible to glimpse the indwelling Lord pervading our outer world as well.
Om. That is perfect. This is perfect. From the perfect springs the perfect. If the perfect is taken from the perfect, the perfect remains.
Om. Peace! Peace! Peace!
Now that we have invoked Lord Shiva in his most transcendent form, I wish to ask you: What steps have you consciously taken to magnify auspiciousness in your day-to-day life? Have you made time in your day, especially since the satsang with Gurumayi in honor of Mahashivaratri, to cultivate the awareness, “I am Shiva”?
If so, how has this noble endeavor transformed your sadhana? Have the people in your life noticed something different about you? Have they expressed to you how enriching they find it to be in your company?
Early in my sadhana I took a course at Shree Muktananda Ashram titled “Who Is the Guru?” At one point, while the teacher, a Siddha Yoga Swami, was speaking, I perceived the entire hall as Consciousness. I was suddenly able to perceive that there was a single Consciousness. The one quality that I remember most about it was its greatness. Consciousness was the only thing that was real—it was everything, and it was completely free.
I had this experience for some time, and then I noticed my mind began to contract. However, I never forgot the experience.
For me this experience led to the understandings that Shiva really is the best and that there is really nothing to worry about.
Reading Eesha’s “Meditation on Gurumayi’s Words,” I have realized that this greatness responds when I focus my attention on it and that this is how I can “magnify auspiciousness.”
New York, United States
Today, as I read Eesha’s beautiful installment on Gurumayi’s words about Shiva, I feel so connected.
These days I have been looking at some of my limitations that I wasn’t able to face before, by bringing to them the power of these words: “I am Shiva, I am pure Consciousness.” The experience, through meditating on being Shiva, gives me the strength to look at these limitations, knowing that they are not who I really am. With this awareness, I can see the people I live with or meet as my own Self, as Shiva, and duality disappears.
I feel so much love and gratitude for this experience. I feel at peace, and joy springs up like a river within me, joy without any external reason.
Le Bosc, France
While keeping in mind Gurumayi’s words, “I am Shiva, Shiva is the best,“ I understood that I embody Shiva when I give my best. That doesn’t mean exhausting myself to achieve an external goal. It means doing what is within my reach with my heart. Whether the outer result is small or great, the inner result always remains the perfect experience of the Self. When Eesha quoted the Om Purnamadah mantras, I feel that she emphasized this point wonderfully.
Eesha writes that, by seeing the best in ourselves, “it is that much more possible to glimpse the indwelling Lord pervading our outer world as well.” Recently, a cold wave surged over my region. One morning, to my great surprise, I discovered on the landscape already embellished by spring, a thin layer of immaculate white snow. I felt I could see in this snow the radiant smile of Lord Shiva, who took me to the top of Mount Kailas.
Rodez, France
What has stayed with me since the Mahashivaratri satsang is the atmosphere of sacredness, of sacred worship. As I participated in the satsang, everything seemed to be bathed in blue light. I believe that this was not just the lighting in the Temple! And Gurumayi’s words, “Shiva is the best,” illustrate for me exactly my feeling.
I’ve been working to keep that feeling of sacred worship that Gurumayi’s grace gave me in the satsang. I’m praying that it never leaves me. I’m working to incorporate it in my daily life. It tastes so good; it tastes “the best”!
I’m particularly grateful that Eesha wrote this installment, because I hadn’t recalled these words from Gurumayi at all. Now I can put them into perspective and better understand, assimilate, and implement the teachings from the satsang in my daily life and sadhana. One result is that the first part of Gurumayi’s words, “I am Shiva,” has also taken on a new meaning for me.
Garges-lès-Gonesse, France
I am grateful for these essays on Gurumayi’s words. I was not able to watch the live stream of the satsang in honor of Mahashivaratri, but through these installments, I feel I have been able to receive its blessings and teachings. So, I am extremely thankful for the “Meditation on Gurumayi’s Words,” which make the teachings from this satsang so accessible to me and to everyone in the Siddha Yoga sangham.
I want to share my experience today during meditation. As I sat to meditate, with the mantra playing in the background, I silently repeated, “I am Shiva” with each in-breath and “Shiva is the best” with each out- breath. It was absolutely incredible—within a few breaths, I was flooded with immense gratitude. “I am Shiva, Shiva is the best.” It was as if these words pierced to and touched the very center of my Self, my heart, and my being.
Michigan, United States
To magnify auspiciousness in my day-to-day life, I have allowed myself to take my place in my family as the youngest daughter, letting go of the impulse to take on others’ responsibilities. This may sound like a simple shift in perspective, but it has had an enormous impact on my sense of freedom and self-respect. “I am Shiva, Shiva is the best.” I will continue to work on respecting myself more, loving myself, valuing myself, and finding joy in giving others the space to do the same.
Konolfingen, Switzerland
As I was savoring the delightful flow of Eesha’s words, the Nirvana Shatkam came to my mind. Every week, I like to sing this beautiful hymn attributed to Adi Shankaracharya. Thanks to my practice of singing this sacred text, the awareness that I am Consciousness and bliss remains vibrant in my being. Shiva is my true identity, the “best” of my life. Shivo’ham!
Rodez, France
Contemplating Gurumayi’s words “I am Shiva, Shiva is the best” has led me to reflect that if “I am Shiva” and “Shiva is the best,” then I must be “the best.” This has inspired me to look past my perceived shortcomings and reflect on what is “the best” about me.
What comes up is my sincere studentship. Ever since beginning on the Siddha Yoga path in 1988, I have dedicated myself deeply to sadhana. This dedication has taken many forms—chanting, meditating, offering seva, contemplating, applying Gurumayi’s teachings to every aspect of my life, and keeping the company of Siddha Yogis.
Now, in midlife, I am glimpsing the beneficial effects of my long-term dedication. I am more aware of all the goodness and greatness that I embody and bring to the world around me. Although I have moments of self-doubt, I increasingly see the positive in myself and the strong expression of my virtues. I perceive in myself an indomitable spirit. In these ways, I do experience that “I am Shiva, Shiva is the best.”
California, United States
Since participating in the satsang in honor of Mahashivaratri, I have been contemplating my oneness with Lord Shiva. This contemplation has empowered me to be more aware of and better able to express my authenticity, especially in my work environment. Those around me have noticed this change and like it.
