An Interview with Shanidev Maharaj by Rati Hegde

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An Interview with Shanidev Maharaj by Rati Hegde

The recent on-goings at Shani Shignapur Temple incited a lotof curiosity in me and as a lady I too wanted to go there once more and stepinto the inner sanctorum and worship Shanidev Maharaj with my own two hands,instead of those of my husband. I wanted to once again witness the simple butinfinitely majestic splendour of the open temple which housed Shanidev in theform of a stone slab and a miracle Neem tree which had sweet leaves instead ofbitter ones. A village where no houses had locks, a temple which did not have aroof, a Neem tree which had sweet leaves, a temple whose housed a formless Godand now some women had offered oblations where earlier no women had beenallowed to go ... all sounding too good to be true! I had to go.

When I reached the place, it was very calm and serene as ithad been when I had gone there before. But it did seem like the templeadministration people were a little fidgety. They kept staring at the womendevotees wondering which woman would be the next to fight with them to breakall rules, and offer Puja to Shanidev without a bath, without wearing drippingwet clothes, and pose for a fascinating Selfie' all because she was a womanand could now do so. Tradition be damned, Maryaada' what's that? Thespiritual fervour I had witnessed before, the nonchalance towards my being awoman or my pseudo-Indian clothing style, seemed to have been replaced withirritation on the face of many, as if they wanted to say, "Here comes anotherdevotee'. There were very few devotees around.

I was drawn towards a strong aura around the Idol and sodesperately wanted to reach out and touch it with my own hands. But somethingseemed to stop me ... my old-fashioned beliefs maybe or was it the fear ofretribution by the all-powerful Shanidev who might interfere in my life andcreate problems for me? I was not sure, but I could not get myself to climb thesteps and I could see the priest heave a sigh of relief. When I sat down afterthe Darshan, I felt somebody sit down next to me. When I turned around, I wassurprised to see the imposing form of Shanidev Himself, next to me! Whoa, Ithought ... dark, handsome and powerful aura! What a combination! I could notstop myself from talking to Him and asking Him for His views on the latesthappenings in His temple. And I had the most interesting conversation with Him.Check it out ...

Me : PranaamShanidev Maharaj!

Shanidev : Kalyaan Ho!

Me : Please mayI ask You a few questions on the controversy regarding Puja to You ...

Shanidev : Sure Vats. Ask me anything you want.

Me : Can only men do Your Puja? Is itnecessary that one should take a bath and wear wet clothes while doing Puja toYou? If so, why did You not stop Trupti Desai and the other ladies fromtouching You and doing Puja to You without following those rituals?

Shanidev : (letsout a roar of laughter). What is a Puja? It is when one offers one's heart andmind to God without any other thought than that of Bhakti. Without Bhakti, howcan there be any Puja? Just chanting, just putting flowers on Me, taking photosof oneself as proof of having prayed to Me cannot be Puja. That is just aphoto-op and publicity.

Me : Please continue ...

Shanidev : To doPuja with Bhakti, one must be clean mentally and physically. This is a naturaltendency. Don't you wash your hands or at least wipe them clean before eating?Is it because it is a written rule or is it because you naturally feel likedoing so? The same is the case with visiting a Temple, especially the innerSanctorum of a temple. It is a known fact that a bath cleanses you of not justthe dust and grime, but also the negative auras which surround you. And whenyou wear fresh, clean clothes, you feel more energetic and positive and arethus better equipped to relate to Your God. Where is the need for written ruleshere? And yes, it the same whether it is a man or a woman. In public places,sometimes women may not be able to do so, and therefore it is taken for grantedthat only men offer prayers there. But Vats, tell me what makes you think thatI am present only inside the inner Sanctorum? Do you feel that all the otherwomen who come here to pray to me, have wasted their time?

Me : No, no ... please do not be angry onme. I am just curious.

Shanidev :(Roaring with laughter once more). Why do you think that I will harm you? Inever harm anybody unnecessarily. Everybody has to pay a price for any wrongsthat they do in life, and likewise everybody who does good should be rewarded.I do that job at least once in almost every person's life.

Me : (Slyly) So will Trupti Desai bepunished or rewarded and when will that happen?

Shanidev :(Smiling) Once Lord Shiva wanted to escape from my touching His life and sowhen He knew that I was to visit Him, He left Kailas for an undisclosed place.He did not return till He saw me leaving. On my way out, He met me and boastedthat He had escaped my influence (Prabhaav). I smiled and told Him, "When Youhave such a wonderful family and a such a wonderful place to live, You lefteverything and everyone and led a lonely life in an undisclosed place. That wasbecause of my influence. Lord Shiva smiled, accepted what I said and blessedme. What I'm trying to say is that no one knows when and how one will bepunished or rewarded. I do it silently and it is only when the deed is donethat one realizes that it is because of me. But it is true that no one canescape me, not just because I am that powerful; it is because every person'sKarma and its rewards (Karma Phal) are inescapable.

Me : Please Shanidev Maharaj, tell me howYou felt when the ladies touched Your Idol and did Puja to You, and all thoseJournalists and Photographers took photos of that historic occasion.

Shanidev : (Witha naughty smile) There was once a corrupt priest in a famous Shiva temple. Hewas so money minded and after name and fame, that Lord Shiva found itunbearable to be in the inner Sanctorum when this priest used to conduct therituals. You see, the rituals were just a show. There was no true Bhakti. Butas you know, the Lord too surrenders to Karma and the order of things. Sowhenever the priest used to enter the Sanctorum, Lord Shiva used to waitoutside and when the priest came outside, Lord Shiva went inside and resided asthe Mukhya Praana of the Idol. Either way, He blessed His true devotees always.

Me : So where were You when those ritualshappened?

Shanidev : Peoplehave become so self-centered that if I were to say that I merged into the air,they would bottle it and sell it for money; if I said that I resided then in atree, they would break all the leaves and branches, sell it or consume it andhave little care for the tree itself; if I said that I had escaped into theearth, they would dig the soil, market it, replace the soil with mud fromelsewhere and sell that too as original; if I said that I remained in the Idol,there would enough people who would lose their faith in me and say that I wasjust a stone unless I proved to them my existence by punishing Trupti Desai andthe other women harshly. So believe what you will Vats.

Me : Prabhuji, please bless me that Ialways remember that prayers have meaning only when accompanied with completedevotion; that prayers should be for the welfare of all (Sarve Janah SukhinoBhavantu, Lokah Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu) not just for one; that one shouldnot just be a beggar while praying, asking for this and that, but one shouldpray for the Glory of the Lord; and most importantly, that I always have aclean heart and mind while praying...

Shanidev :Tathasthu!

And He disappeared. This time when I looked around, I couldfeel the bliss and the serenity of the surroundings and I left the templewearing the cloak of His Grace around me. JaiShanidev Maharaj!

Originally posted by: harshu27

Dts so beautiful nd has a touch of spirituality😳frm whr did u gt dis😳