Sadhguru: The temple, Mahakala temple, Mahakaleshwara temple in Ujjain, this year is very important
because it is their Kumbha Mela.
This is the twelfth cycle of the twelve-year cycles, the solar cycles.
It is a very significant year for them and it's called as the, ‘Simhastha kumbha’
this time.
This temple was built by a king named Chandrasena.
Chandrasena was attacked; he is a great devotee of Shiva.
He was attacked by people who wanted to destroy this culture.
Ujjain had become a city of devotees and those who sought knowledge.
It was almost like the second Kashi of India, where knowledge, learning, transmission of
spiritual knowledge was the main hub of the town.
That is what ruled the town and people came to this town for that purpose.
It is not on any trading route.
So the town grew, it was called as Avanti…
Avantika at that time.
This town Avantika grew big, only as a knowledge hub, as a spiritual hub.
So there were people who don't like it, there are always people who don't like it.
So they wanted to destroy the city and they attacked.
I won't go into the entire story.
So he prayed to Shiva and Shiva appeared in the form of Mahakala and absorbed the enemies
in a certain way and relieved him of this trouble so that he could continue spreading,
what he was doing.
Kala, the word kala means two things – kala means time, kala also means darkness.
How can one word mean time and darkness?
When we say time, in your present experience time means cycles.
Cycles means physical nature.
From atomic to cosmic, from a single atom to the larger cosmos, everything is in cyclical
motion.
If there are no cycles, there is no possibility of physicality.
Planet turns around once, we call this a day; the moon goes around the planet, we call it
a month; the planet goes around the sun, we call it a year – like this it goes.
Our understanding of time or experience of time right now is in cycles, cycles of sleep
and wakefulness, eating, digestion, hunger, like this, there are many cycles.
It is only through circular movement of things do you know time.
If there was no circular motion, if there are no cycles in the existence, if there is
no physicality, you wouldn't grasp time.
That is time manifesting through physical existence.
This physical existence is happening in the lap of a larger non-existence, which in English
language, they may call it, ‘Space.’
Here we call that, ‘Kala’ or darkness.
Why we are calling space as darkness is, if you want to see light, you need some opaque
object, an opaque object which stops light – you can see my hand only because it is
stopping light.
You cannot see the air because it's not stopping light.
Nor can you see the light in the air, because it is not stopping light.
Anything that does not stop light will not be seen by you, it will be darkness to you.
Either you must see the source of light or you must see an object which stops light,
otherwise you will have no experience of light.
See, you see the sun and the moon.
Sun is the source of light for us, moon is reflecting the light, in between is all darkness
but light is passing, isn't it?
You don't see it, but it is definitely passing, otherwise how would it fall on the moon?
So, the space is referred to as Kala or darkness because space is dark, only if there is something
it reflects light and you experience light.
If there is something, then it is not space.
So, space is referred to as darkness.
Between time and space, why are they mentioned with one word, because they are one; in the
sense, right now let's say this is point A and this is point B.
This two points… these two points are possible only because there is time.
It's not because there is a distance there is time.
Because there is time, there is possibility of distance or space.
If there is no time, there can only be one point and one point cannot happen in physical
existence.
There can only be polarities, things can exist only as polarities.
So, if there is no time, if there was no time, there would be no space, there would be no
two different things, everything would… nothing could exist, even nothing could exist,
not just something, even nothing could exist.
So, the basis, the fundamental basis of existence is known as Kala or the time because only
because there is time, there is room for space, otherwise there would be no space.
As right now, your experience of time is only in cyclical movements, your experience of
time is only an expression of physical nature because physicality exists only because of
cyclical movements.
The entire aspiration, the spiritual aspiration is to attain to mukti or liberation, means
you want to transcend the ways of physical, or in other words, you want to transcend the
cyclical nature of the existence.
Transcending the cyclical nature of the existence means transcending repetitive process of life.
Transcending repetitive process of life means transcending the compulsiveness of who you
are.
From compulsion to consciousness, from compulsiveness to consciousness, this is the journey.
So, if you want to move from compulsiveness to consciousness, the limited experience of
time that you have right now, which is an expression of the cyclical movement of physical
existence.
If you experience time without the basis of physicality or without the limitations of
physicality, then we call that time as, ‘Mahakala.’
Mahakala is the lap upon which creation is a smattering of things.
Huge galaxies, but still, they are just small specks of creation, rest is all empty space.
Ninety-nine percent or ninety-nine and more percent of an atom is emptiness, that is mahakala.
Though the atom is in cyclical movements, over ninety-nine percent is emptiness.
In the larger cosmos, over ninety-nine percent is emptiness, huge galaxies in cyclical movements,
but over ninety-nine percent is emptiness; so, it is in the lap of mahakala that creation
happens.
If you are involved with limited specks of creation, then you experience time as a cyclical
movement.
This dimension is referred to as samsara, which means cyclical movements.
If you transcend this, then we call this ‘Vairagya.’
This means you have become transparent.
If you are transparent, you don't stop light.
If you don't stop light, this means you have become free from the compulsive nature of
life or the cyclical movement of life.
If you become free from the cyclical movement of life, then we say, ‘You are in mukti’
or absolute liberation.
So those who are aspiring for mukti, those who are seeking absolute liberation, for them
this dimension that we are referring to as mahakala becomes of paramount importance.
The mahakala temple, the linga that is consecrated there, is of phenomenal nature.
It will shake you from the root of your existence.
It is really an incredible consecration.
It is jun… just done for this purpose that in some way it dissolves you.
There is a dimension of mahakala in the Dhyanalinga but it is cloaked so that only those who seek,
for them it will be available.
There, it is a little more… there is certain flagrance to the way he finds expression.
There is a certain forcefulness, raw forcefulness.
One must be ready to go into this temple properly, because it's of a tremendous power and…
it is not for the faint hearted.
It shakes you from inside because that is the nature of mahakala that in the very…
the very presence of what this mahakala roopa is, is when you go there, everything is gone;
everything is burnt into ashes.
That means you become free from the physical.
That means it pushes you, it propels you towards your ultimate liberation.
You want to do that gently, we have everything here.
You want to do it in a boom way, you really want to be pushed hard and you are not faint
hearted, then Mahakala temple is a phenomenal process and this April-May is very significant.
We are planning to transport a few thousand people from Tamil Nadu so that something is
shaken.