Pandharpur is the place of the cult of Shri Vitthala, where there is a temple that houses the swayambhu that depicts Him. It was here that Shri Mataji decided to celebrate the anniversary of the marriage of Shri Shiva and Shri Parvati, Mahashivaratri, on the banks of the River Chandrabagha, which means the place of the moon, the moon surrounding the heart, and also which is on the head of Shri Shiva.
I will describe what I could see and feel during this puja, one of the strongest I have been to. The interior experience was extremely strong, and by the end everyone was very, very tired. We met at about eight in the evening in a multicoloured pavilion, with a very simple altar, without flowers, and appropriate for this deity of the heart.
As soon as She arrived Shri Mataji had a severe and distant expression and observed us with an impenetrable look, such as we could not return. She remained seated for a long time, in absolute silence, and looked both within us and at the dark sky. She was seated on the dais with one leg under Her body and the other towards the ground, and wore a red sari. Her expression was serious and profound, as is the significance of this puja.
After the initial silence, when we waited for the Sahaja Yogis to arrive, Shri Mataji began to speak.
Shri Mataji explained that Shri Vitthala is the Virata, the evolutionary power which is the brain of God. This is the power which is complementary to that of Shri Shiva, the Spirit. In the puja Shri Mataji opened the connexion between Shri Vitthala and Shri Sadashiva, which has made possible the illumination of the brain with the Spirit. The discourse was very complex, and was recorded. Shri Mataji asked us not to try to understand it rationally.
The sense of the talk was that through the illumination of the brain by the Spirit, all our being and actions will become completely illuminated: actions, thoughts, and emotions will become completely integrated and will reflect the light of the Spirit. The detachment will be complete. This is the state of complete stabilisation of realisation, the full maturity of which has so far only just begun in us.
After the talk, the puja was in three phases, to Shri Ganesha, to Shri Vitthala and to Shri Sadashiva. We did not wash Her Feet, because She said that Shri Shiva is totally pure, so what is there to wash? Instead they were decorated, and also Her lower legs and arms, and Her forehead, with geru – a red powder made from the earth of Maharashtra – which is used in the puja of Shri Shiva, along with a white cloth, which was put around Shri Mataji. There was no need for flowers or other decorations. Everything was austere and simple, essential to remember the absolute detachment of Shri Shiva. Shri Mataji said Shri Shiva can even sleep in the cemetery, because his detachment is absolute and nothing can interfere with him – and that is how we will be when the Shiva tattwa is established.
To conclude, we had a havan. The fire, which is the symbol of Shri Vishnu – Shri Vitthala and of the evolution of the central channel, which starts from the Nabhi chakra, comes to be united with the cold of the left side and the heart, the cold of the detachment of Shri Shiva. During the havan the thousand names of the Devi were read out by the Indian leaders, and only the men were close to Shri Mataji, and for every name given we put the leaves of a special plant at Her Feet, while the married couples fed the fire and threw the baddhas in. At the end Shri Mataji had everyone go around the fire and put their hands towards the flames to purify all of us and to make it easier for each one of us to be open. Also, we used the ash from this havan as if it was kumkum, for a bindi on our foreheads.
This puja was the culmination of the tour. Shri Mataji had sat in meditation in front of us for twelve hours without eating or moving.
Alessandra Pallini