Swami Chidand Saraswati

Born in 1952 in Delhi, he left his home at the age of eight, under the guidance of his spiritual master, to live a life devoted to God and in the service of humanity.  Swamiji spent from age nine to seventeen in meditation, yoga, seclusion and silence in the Himalayas. He came to Parmarth Niketan, Rishikesh,  in 1972 and under the tutelage of his guru Swami Shukdevanand. Today, he is a spiritual leader of Parmarth Niketan, visionary and divine guide.

Swami Chidanand Saraswati shared with his disciples the following messages emanating from Hindu mythology.

Shiva as Divine Destroyer

In the trinity of gods - Bramha, Vishnu and Shiva - Lord Shiva is the one who destroys or dissolves that which is old and impure, in order to make room for a new creation of that which is pure and divine. Lord Shiva annihilates our egos, our attachments and our ignorance. Many fear Lord Shiva's destructive capacity, and yet it is destruction for the purpose of regeneration Without death, life cannot begin anew. Without the annihilation of old habits, attachments and ego, we cannot progress toward the goal of God realization.

The stories and the messages of Bhagwan Shiva are innumerable; however, one of the most important is the story of how He - for the sake of humanity - swallowed the poison which emerged from the ocean.

Shiva as Mahadeva - the Swallower of the Poison

The story says that the Gods and their brothers, the Demons, were churning the ocean in search of the pot of the nectar of immortality, However, after a great deal of effort, what emerged was not nectar, but poison!! The Gods and demons knew that in order to continue churning, and ultimately to unearth the Divine nectar, they could not simply toss the poison aside. Someone had to drink it, But, naturally, no one was willing to drink the poison. Everyone had some excuse for why he or she was too valuable to be sacrificed. Finally, Bhagwan Shiva came forward and said "I will drink the poison if it will preserve peace and enable my brothers and sisters to attain the nectar of immortality."

However, if He swallowed the poison it would harm His internal organs and His physical body. If He spit it out, it would destroy the world. Thus, He kept it in His throat - hence the name Neelkanth (which means ''blue throat") - and sat peacefully in meditation for eternity.

Poison in Our Own Lives

In our lives, in our families, so much poison emerges - between parents and children, between husband and wife. We wait and wait for the divine nectar to emerge, but it seems that only poison comes. So many times people come to me, complaining, "But why should I always be the one to compromise? Why should I always be the one to give in? Why should I always say I'm sorry? It's not fair!"