There is so much of powerlessness, powerlessness based focus on Death. But, if you turn your attention on dying, the powerlessness will be removed from Death. If you are waiting for Death to stare at you, you are waiting for powerlessness to overpower you. If you are staring at Him, when He is staring at somebody else, you are removing the powerlessness from Death. Understand, as a Hindu Incarnation, authority on Hindu tradition, Upanishad, and the Hindu way of living and Hindu goals, Hindu ambitions, I tell you, first and foremost commandment of Hinduism is THOU SHALL NOT DIE.

Do what it takes. Do what it takes. THOU SHALL NOT DIE—that is the first and foremost commandment for Hindus. Fools are those who die, stupid are those who plan for liberation after death, Hypocrites are those who never look into the eyes of death while living. Criminals are those who are diverting others attention also from the Death by stupid, shallow, shady lifestyles. Any lifestyle which is trying to divert your attention from looking into the eyes of Death and ability to go beyond the death, that life is shady, shallow, stupid, hypocritical, blind. Criminals are those who are promoting those lifestyles and diverting your attention from the original need of life, going beyond death.

Those are the fellows, blind leading the blind. This Upanishad says, the blind leading the blind, both fall into the ditch. In Varanasi very quickly they will fall, because every few steps they have a ditch.

Do not be led by blind.

Don’t, don’t get diverted by the stupid fellows and their lifestyle theologies, which is diverting you and your attention from the original need of SOUL, Consciousness. The original need of you is FACING THE DEATH, looking into the eyes of Death, staring at death before he stares at you. When he stares at you, you will be scared. No! Stare at him before he stares at you.

Upanishads are using a beautiful word, ‘DHEERA’ means who has the ability to stare at Death before even he stares at you, who has the courage to stare at Death before even he stares at you. Understand, if you are waiting for him to stare, so that you can stare back, you won’t be able to, you will just close your eyes tightly and give up on you. Closing your eyes tightly and going through the Death is giving up on you. Don’t be a coward.

This Upanishad uses the maximum words, identified with courage and boldness, understand. All the other Upanishads uses very sweet words—Mangala, Chinmaya, Chidambaram, Isa—all these sweet words. But this Upanishad, it is so different because a Brahmin thinking trend, a Brahmanical thought trend never uses the words like courage, boldness, because that is not there in their thought trend, those words are not used so much. The aggressive words are not used so much in any Brahmanical thought trend literature, but this is the first Upanishad, where I see so much of vocabulary, so much of words are used to explain and express courage, boldness, authenticity, the word ‘shraddha-vivecha’ first time appears in Sanskrit literature on this Upanishad and the word ‘DHEERA’, first time appears in Sanskrit literature in this Upanishad. Maybe because Yama is a Shaivaite (follower of Shiva) not a Brahmin. It takes for a Shaivite to utter the words of courage and boldness.  He is so straight and dedicated to his work.

Even in Markandeya’s issue, when he was trying to take the life of Markandeya, Mahadeva appears and intervenes— Yama says beautifully,  “Oh Prabhu, it is you who ordained me in this flow of life and law of life. When you want to interfere, no one can question. But I surrender me also at your feet, please take my life also because my life has been ordained by you to maintain the flow of life and law of life. Now when I am not able to do that, I am surrendering also my life also at your feet.”

Mahadeva accepts his life into Him, reprograms, and says, “you will maintain the flow of life and law of life exempting my devotees!”, and gives the life back to him.

Understand, he is so sincere, authentic, integrated to his programming. Even when Mahadeva interfered, he said “Prabhu, I can’t question your interfering, you are above all this. You have every right to interfere, but take my life for which you programmed me. You programmed me to maintain the flow and law of life, Yama and Dharma. Now when I am not able to do that, I surrender my Life itself at your feet.” So Death was killed once in Tirukadayur. Death was killed, Yama was killed, then Mahadeva reprograms him and gives him life. Gives life back to him, saying, “Yes you will maintain the flow of life, Yama and law of life, Dharma, exempting My devotees.”

“na me bhakta paranashyati – My devotees never perish” – with this vow, which Krishna repeats in Gita in the same state of Shivoham. Understand, Krishna, whatever he recited in space of Shivoham is Gita. Vishnu took ten Incarnations, I can say 24 as per Bhagavatam to worship Mahadeva. In all 24 Incarnations He did Shiva puja. Shivalayas established by him is there in all 24 incarnations. As Kapila the Shiva Linga installed by Him, are there in more than in three places—one in Mahanirvani Peetha, one in Tirupati, Tirumala Tirupati was one of his Tapas Sthala, below the Tirumala, Tirupati there is a beautiful Shiva temple, Kapileshvara Swami Devasthana, that Shiva Linga was installed by him, worshipped by him. There is a false waterfall where he took bath, that is Kapila Teertha. He lived in Tirulama Tirupati. There is one more in the central India, Madhya Pradesh. As each Incarnation, He lived, worshipped Mahadeva. Listen, all the Akhadas (monasteries), the founders are Incarnations of Vishnu, but that God is Shiva. All Akhadas are Shaivaite Akhadas, the major Akhadas and founders are Vishnu Incarnations. Juna Akhada, Dattatreya is the founder who is Vishnu’s Incarnation in Bhagavatam Puranam, but the deity worshipped is Shiva. It is a Shavite Akhada, but the founder is Dattatreya, because he himself is a Shiva Bhakta. Mahanirvani, Kapila Rishi, Kapila is the founder. But the deity is Shiva because he himself is Shiva bhakta. Many Akhadas founded by Vishnu, Vishnu’s Incarnation, but the God is Shiva. As Rama, He installed Shiva Linga in Ramanagar, Bidadi and Rameshvaram. Please understand, when He stayed in Ramanagar, He and Sita that is the time he killed the Kakasura. Kakasura is the demon who came in the form of a crow and disturbing Sita. He killed Kakasura to get rid of that sin, He installed Shiva and worshipped, so in Ramanagar there is a Rameshvara Swami and even now crows don’t fly over Ramanagar. Understand, such big forest you will see all birds, not a single crow; you will see all birds but not a single crow.

Yama Dharma, lord of flow of life and law of life. Yama-Niyama, Yama and Dharma. Whoever decides to stare at Death before he stares at you, is Shiva devotee, understand. 

Shiva bhakta means doing what He is doing, being what His being is. Shaivism is the tradition to educate you to stare at death while you are alive. Never you are allowed to divert your attention from Death till you are liberated. That is why the sacred ash. Sacred Ash is the symbol of death, understand, it is symbol of dying, that everything is going to become this. You apply sacred ash from the time you wake up, till you go to bed, before eating, after eating, before sneezing, after sneezing, before drinking water, after drinking water, every time you are requested, asked to apply Bhasma. Even I am slowly aligning myself to that. Before eating, after eating, before going to bed, after waking up. During all these times, you are asked to apply Bhasma, just to remind you constantly that—this is the way life is going to be, let your attention be on death, till you are liberated. The good news is: if you put your attention on Death, you will be liberated. The great news is: you don’t have to put your attention on Death your whole life, just few days without getting diverted, put your attention, that is enough, you will have liberation; you will have liberation.

Understand, no one needs to declare me as authority, my authority comes from my authenticity. I am telling you with all my authentic authority, the first and foremost commandment for human beings, not just Hindus alone, for whole humanity is THOU SHALL NOT DIE. Thou shall not be born. If the mistake is already made, at least thou shall not die, so that you don’t reborn. While you are staring at the Death, while you are living, if you stare at Death while you are living, your bio-memory and muscle-memory will start getting transformed, your living bio-memory and living muscle-memory will start celebrating life. Understand, transformation needs to be tasted, sipped, enjoyed, celebrated. Just like sipping cup of coffee or a high quality tea. Transformation, Enlightenment, Mukthi needs to be tasted while you are in the body. It needs to be enjoyed while you are in the body, it needs to be celebrated while you are in the body. That is what exactly I am doing I everyday process here in Shivoham.  

I experienced my own Yama Dharma dimension and my own Naciketa dimension in this Varanasi, so I am the speaker and I am listener. It’s the same place where all the IA participants where all of you are going to go through the death process.

I am speaker. I am the listener when it comes to death in Varanasi, because I entered as buffalo, became Nachiketa and became Yama Dharma, realized the secret of death. Entered as ordinary beast, buffalo, and slowly evolved a seeker, and achieved the space of Yama Dharma by knowing the secret of death from Mahadeva, Kalabhairava himself. So what you see in the background, all the three are my own three different dimensions.