In explaining our tradition to others make sure to clearly describe God Siva as the Supreme Being. Imkaef, striving for and experiencing Parasiva, daily, by at least one monk of the Parampara, keeps us open to the inner forces. Shuddha-ashuddha tattvas create a sense of bondage, a feeling that we are someone who isn't Siva, existing in time and space, changing. Eventually, we will step beyond the realm of anava, karma and maya into spiritual knowledge. Step above that realm to claim our changlessness. The depth of us, spiritually, is always the same. Deep within there's a reality of Siva that we could claim at any moment. It's in our striving that the essence of us is already Siva.

Unedited Transcript:

Good Morning everyone. I read from today's Master Course Lesson and give a few comments.

Sloka 21

From: Dancing With Siva

"Do Other Gods Exist Apart from Siva?

"Supreme God Siva has created all the Gods and given them distinct existence and powers, and yet He pervades the wholly. They are separate but inseparable. At the deepest level, nothing exists apart from Him. Aum.

Bhashya

"God Siva is the Supreme Being, the Lord of lords. He alone prevails everywhere. Not an atom moves except by His will. Ganesha, Karttikeya, Indra, Agni and all the 330 million Gods of Hinduism are beings just as we are, created by Lord Siva and destined to enjoy union with Him."

So, it's always important, in explaining our tradition to others, to make sure that we clearly describe God Siva as the Supreme Being. So, sometimes, it's easy for it to get slightly off track or off the mark. There was an example of that in the Associated Press article that was done on us a number of months ago. Went out to some, was published in about 110 major newspapers in the U.S.A., something like that. Really got out there and fortunately, over all, it was well written. And usually, when you get an article written by a journalist of a professional nature like that, they have to, they feel it's there journalistic duty to stick in a few cynical remarks about religion. But, she didn't do that which was good. She just told the facts. But one of the statements she made was an interesting one; it said: "The temple is dedicated to the Hindu God Siva." So, not a crystal clear statement. Could be taken the Hindu God Siva is one of many gods. There's no clear concept that Siva is the Supreme Being as we were talking about in that wording. So, a better wording would have been something like: A temple is dedicated to God who this denomination of Hindus call Siva. That would be one way of doing it. So it's clear that the temple is dedicated to the Supreme Being. It's dedicated to God, not to one of many gods. So, when you think about that, when you think about the name of the temple -- Iraivan Temple -- you know, Gurudeva chose the name carefully. We have Iraivan Temple and we have Kadavul Temple. Both are names for the Supreme Being. If you look up Iraivan and Kadavul in the Tamil lexicon, you know, it says Supreme Being: God. It's a very general word for the Supreme Being. And there's no question about it that Iraivan means the Supreme Being. Kadavul means the Supreme Being. So, in choosing the names of our temple, Gurudeva had that in mind clearly. That, you know, this is a temple to God. And we happen to call God Siva, that's one of our favorite names for God: Siva.

So, we hit one of the most important messages in the Trilogy this morning.

From Living with Siva: Lesson 331.

"The Mission Of the Mission

"A legacy of devas from the entire parampara accompanies our monastic order, providing silent, unseen inner guidance and protection for old and young alike. As long as at least one person within the entire group of mathavasis is going into and coming out of Parashiva once a day, the doorway to the Third world remains open to the hereditary entourage of devonic forces that has been building up for over two thousand years. This is because the brahmarandhra, the door of Brahman at the top of the head, remains open when Parashiva is daily experienced within a mathavasi community. it could be within the oldest monk or within the youngest. This great realization occurring time and time again within someone day after day keeps the door of Brahm open for the entire prana chakravala of monastics, keeping vibrantly strong the inner, actinic connection with all gurus of our parampara, as well as with other sadhus, rishis and saints who have reached these same attainments, and with the sapta rishis themselves who guide our order from deep within the inner lokas."

So that's important. We can't forget that one.

So, that's why in our, in the monastic meditation which occurs most mornings, we always include the part of striving for Parashiva which in the Shum language as we know of course, is called Imkaef; the absence of Kaef is what we refer to as the experience of Parashiva. So we would, we try and encourage as many monks as possible to experience that hoping at least one does. And so, you can see the importance of it: keeps us open to the inner forces.

Oh, in part of the Merging with Siva lesson, last part, it talks about:

"The origin of man -- being spawned from Siva, the birthless, deathless God -- Therefore, is as a pure, taintless soul. After thus being spawned, the soul goes through a maturing process. This slow growth is in three basic categories: karma exercises, anava clouds, maya distorts. This classroom of these experiences finally matures an intelligence free enough from the bondage of the classroom of anava, karma and maya to realize its own Divinity and at-one-ment with Siva as a taintless, pure soul. This, then, is the foundation, after once attained, for the final liberation, Self Realization, to be sought for."

I didn't read that sentence very well.

"This then is the foundation, after once attained, for the final liberation, Self Realization, to be sought for."

So it's interesting to reflect upon the tattvas. Have a category of tattvas called the shuddha-ashuddha tattvas, the second category of tattvas and we don't talk about the tattvas a lot. But, a simple way of thinking about this group of tattvas is that it relates to anava, karma and maya. So, that's easy to remember. A bondage. shuddha-ashuddha tattvas are what create a sense of bondage. A sense of anava, karma and maya which makes us feel that we're someone who isn't Siva and we're someone who's existing in time and space and we're someone who's changing. So all of that is in this. So the tattvas in this category: maya tattva , of course. To have maya have to have something to experience. So kala tattva, distinguished from the kala [ka-laa] tattva. That's language for you, right? So kala [kaa-la ]with the long "a" on the first is time. Kala [ka-laa] is creativity or art. The kalas, the sixty-four kalas are the arts. So, we have time, so we have form and we have time.

Next one is niyati tattva, which is karma.

Next one is kala tattva which is creativity: "The power which draws the soul toward spiritual knowledge. Its energy partially removes the veil of anava which clouds the inherent powers of the soul."

Next we have the vidya tattva: "Limited knowledge, the power which gives the soul practical knowledge in accord with its present life experiences."

Raga tattva: "Attachment, the arousal of desire, without which no experience of the objective world is possible. "

And, purusha tattva or soul identity which is the same idea as anava.

So that's the realm. These are all the players in the realm, so to speak. All the forces that move us along through the classroom of anava, karma and maya. Big one of course, is desire. We have a desire for something in maya and that moves us forward. And in the doing of that, we act. And of course, in acting, we create a karma -- good or bad -- and therefore, we have to experience the fruits of that karma. Eventually, we start to have a desire for spiritual knowledge. We kind of step beyond this realm. But that takes a long time, but it comes. So, spiritual knowledge, that desire eventually comes and helps us transform this whole area.

So, one of the interesting aspects of it is time. "Phenomena of time, which divides all experience into past, present and future." So, the limitation of traditional time, or transcending that, is an interesting meditation. And we'll read just a little bit from yesterday's Master Course Lesson which talks about transcending it. But, the limitation of it is that we think of ourselves in a sequential time. There's a past, there's a present and there's a future. And we're changing. We're different in the past then we are in the present and we'll be different in the future then we are in the present. And things exist in the future that don't exist the present. Things exist in the past that are no longer in the present. So, there's a sense that we are changing, the world is changing; it's built into the normal concept of time which gives you the sense that you're changing. But, actually you're changeless. But you kind of have to step above or out of that realm to claim your changelessness. Otherwise you feel you're changing, but you actually, part of you isn't changing. Part of you, your spiritual, the depth of you spiritually is always the same.

So, that's what Gurudeva's talking about in yesterday's lesson.

"And as you leave [external] form and dive into that light which you become, you realize beyond realization a knowing deeper than thinking, a knowing deeper than understanding, a knowing which is the very, very depth of your being. You realize immortality, that you are immortal -- this body but a shell, which when it fades; this mind but an encasement, when it fades. Even in their fading there is no reality.

"And as you come out of that samadhi, you realize you are the spirit, you become that spirit, you actually are that spirit, consciously, if you could say spirit has a consciousness. You are that spirit in every living soul. You realize that you are That which everyone, in their intelligent state or their ignorant state, everyone, is striving for -- a realization of that spirit that you are.

"And then again for brief interludes you might come into the conscious mind and relate life to a past and a future and tarry there but for a while. But in a moment of concentration, your eye resting on a single line of a scripture or anything that holds the interest of the mind, the illusion of past and future fades, and again you become that light, that life deep within every living form -- timeless, causeless, spaceless."

So, with the tattvas in mind you can see where, what Gurudeva's experiencing. He's gotten outside of the bondage of time, kala tattva. He's not bound by the sense of time. He's gone within far enough that, that perspective of the mind isn't there. Everything exists; it doesn't come in past, present and future. Everything exists in the now. And, when in a state of mind that Gurudeva's in, there's no past, present or future. Everything is now. And nothing changes.

So, how does that relate to our ordinary life? Well, it's the idea of being and becoming that Gurudeva likes to focus on. And that in our striving to mature spiritually and to become better people and more pure and more devotional, we don't want to forget that deep within us, there's a reality of Siva that we could claim at any moment. Sometimes we put it off by focussing too much on our becoming, on the process of purification and changing and so forth. We put off the deeper realization that inside of us, we're already one with Siva. Inside of us there's a consciousness that's never changed. And inside of that is Parasiva. So, that's the idea. It's in our striving remember, that the essence of us is already Siva.

Thank you very much.

Aum Namah Sivaya

[End of transcript]