Lesson 64 – Dancing with Śiva

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Recording: Gurudeva’s cloned voice

What Are the Ten Classical Restraints?

ŚLOKA 64
Hinduism’s ethical restraints are contained in ten simple precepts called yamas. They define the codes of conduct by which we harness our instinctive forces and cultivate the innate, pristine qualities of our soul. Aum.

BHĀSHYA
The yamas and niyamas are scriptural injunctions for all aspects of thought and behavior. They are advice and simple guidelines, not commandments. The ten yamas, defining the ideals of charyā, are: 1) ahiṁsā, “noninjury,” do not harm others by thought, word or deed; 2) satya, “truthfulness,” refrain from lying and betraying promises; 3) asteya, “nonstealing,” neither steal nor covet nor enter into debt; 4) brahmacharya, “divine conduct,” control lust by remaining celibate when single, leading to faithfulness in marriage; 5) kshamā, “patience,” restrain intolerance with people and impatience with circumstances; 6) dhṛiti, “steadfastness,” overcome nonperseverance, fear, indecision and changeableness; 7) dayā, “compassion,” conquer callous, cruel and insensitive feelings toward all beings; 8) ārjava, “honesty,” renounce deception and wrongdoing; 9) mitāhāra, “moderate appetite,” neither eat too much, nor consume meat, fish, fowl or eggs; 10) śaucha, “purity,” avoid impurity in body, mind and speech. The Vedas proclaim, “To them belongs yon stainless Brahma world in whom there is no crookedness and falsehood, nor trickery.” Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.

Lesson 64 – Living with Śiva

Posted on by Himalayan Academy
Recording: Gurudeva’s cloned voice

The Power Of Purity

Every culture acknowledges the power of relationships between men and women and seeks to direct it toward the highest good, both for individuals and for society. The masculine and feminine forces, partly sexual but more broadly tantric, can either create or destroy, bring peace or contention, foster happiness or misery, depending on how consciously they are understood and utilized.

Hindu ideals of manhood and womanhood and their interaction are among the most subtle, insightful and graceful in all the world. When followed, these principles strengthen man and woman, sustain a joyous and balanced marriage, stabilize the family and assist husband and wife in their mutual spiritual and worldly goals. Of course, such high ideals are rarely followed to perfection. But the soul’s inner perfection is naturally revealed in the attempt.

What is religious life? It is the balance of two forces, the odic force and the actinic force. In married life this means that there is a prevailing harmony between the man and the woman. This guides and governs the inner currents of the children up until the age of twenty-five. For the single person living a celibate life and performing sādhana, this means balancing those same forces—the masculine/aggressive force and the feminine/passive force—within himself or herself.

Brahmacharya, the yoga of celibacy, is a traditional practice in Śaivite Hinduism. It allows the adolescent or young adult to use his vital energies to prepare for a rewarding life, to develop his mind and talents for his chosen vocation. The first of the four stages, or āśramas, of life is actually called the brahmacharya āśrama. Love, including sex, is one of the legitimate four goals of life, according to our religion. Sex is not bad. Its place, however, is properly within the confines of a sanctified marriage. Nor are sex drives unnatural. The goal of the brahmachārī and brahmachāriṇī is not to become fearful of sex, but to understand sex and the sexual impulses in a balanced way. During the time of brahmacharya, the goal is to control the sex urges and transmute those vital energies into the brain to gain a great mental and spiritual strength. Yes, this vital life force must be focused on studies and spiritual pursuits. Brahmacharya maintained until marriage, and faithfulness thereafter, helps enable the devotee to merit a good wife or husband, a happy, stable marriage and secure, well-adjusted children.

The spiritual value of celibacy has long been understood in the Hindu tradition. Most religions also provide a tradition of monastic life in which young men take lifetime vows of celibacy. Many of our greatest spiritual lights were celibate throughout their entire life, including Śiva Yogaswami, Sankara and Swami Vivekananda. Others, such as Buddha, Gandhi and Aurobindo, became celibate after a period of marriage. For the individual preparing for monastic life, brahmacharya is essential in harnessing and transmuting the powerful sexual life energies into spiritual and religious concerns.

NANDINATHA SŪTRA 64: PREDATORS AND PESTS
Śiva’s devotees may elect to protect the home, the village and the nation by eradicating predators, pests, bacteria and disease-carrying creatures that threaten health or safety. This is ahiṁsā’s third and last exception. Aum.

Lesson 64 – Merging with Śiva

Posted on by Himalayan Academy
Recording: Gurudeva’s cloned voice

The Light of Understanding

People speak of the “light of understanding.” Before the bright light of spiritual perception is experienced, the light of understanding must be laid as a foundation of philosophical training and appreciation—learning to understand life, for instance, through action rather than reaction. The purified, integrated mind, so perfected in its own understanding, lives in close communion with the soul radiance so that light becomes the constant experience of the mind. It is this to which the yoga student aspires. Living in the light, everything that formerly was hidden becomes revealed. Answers to questions that you had been pondering for many years become instantaneously unraveled in the light of the super­con­scious. But the mind has a way, in its instinctive, intellectual nature, of casting shadows over the natural radiance of the inner light.

Doubt is the by-product of the intellect’s inability to cope with light. When a person depends upon memory or reason for meaningful answers, the mind will break down in doubt. Only when the higher elucidation of the intuition is sought is doubt dispelled.

When the instinctive mind becomes lifted into the light, a person is strong enough to be kind when he could have become angry. He generates enough spiritual power to be generous when he might have reacted selfishly. Disciplined periods of meditation nurture a magnanimous and benevolent nature. Such a being is naturally in the light of the supreme consciousness. His great strength is humility, a shock absorber for the malicious experiences in life. Humility makes one immune to resentment and places everything in proportion and balance within the mind. A person lacking in humility does not give the appearance of being firmly rooted and poised within himself. At the other extreme, the arrogant person who lives in the shadows of the mind presents a pitiful picture of insecurity and incompleteness.

Seeking for God in the depths of one’s being through control of the mind, control of one’s thoughts, feelings and emotions, gives birth to the highest qualities of nature. This transformation begins to take place as the light of the soul becomes more and more apparent within the mind.

The spiritual path is a constant turning within, turning the light of the super­con­scious into the dark corners and recesses of the mind. “What is hidden shall be revealed,” and so it is on this path as man reveals his Self to himself. As you sit in meditation in a darkened room, practice directing your consciousness inward, to the center of your brain. If you are able to perceive light within your body, you are on the path to immortality. But should darkness prevail, work diligently each day to clear out resentment, jealousy, fear, worry and doubt from your nature. Then you can sit in a darkened room and be a being of light.

The next time you are in a state of worldliness—jealous, angry or feeling sorry for yourself—sit down and seek for the light. If you cannot find it, visualize a light bulb within your head or a flashlight at the top of your head shining down into it. Flash the light on and off mentally, and when the flashlight does not go off, even if you have mentally turned off the switch, then you know that you have the inner light. You will watch awareness move out of the darker area of the mind. It’s a wonderful feeling, and it’s a basic practice of the contemplative life of living two-thirds within oneself and one-third in the external world.

I’m often asked, “Do I see light or do I just think that I am seeing light?” I reply, “If you were in a darkened room, you would see light within you, just as you would see on the outside if lights were on in the room or you were in broad daylight. This is because you are seeing with your inner eye, your third eye, which you actually use all of the time. You use your third eye, for example, when you study your subconscious mind and see the memories of your past. The light around the memories is the inner light. If it wasn’t there, you could not see your memories. Take away the mental pictures, and the light alone is before you. You will learn to consciously use the inner eye to see with as you spiritually unfold. All of a sudden, one day you will realize that you are seeing light with your third eye at the same time you are seeing physical things with your two physical eyes.”

Here is a technique for learning to see the inner light. Open your eyes while seated in meditation. Follow the rays of light coming into your eyes and into your head until they are complemented with inner light rays. Contemplate light in the external world. Now close your eyes and look for inner light rays within your head. If you don’t find them, open your eyes again and let a few rays in, so to speak. Close your eyes again and look.

The inner light is so beautiful. It is firm, like a plasma. It is sometimes fibrous and full of energy. And yet, it is quiet and full of colors. You begin to see color, and in that realm you can hear color at the same time that you see color. You can hear sound and see color all at the same time, and you have the faculty to turn hearing on and to turn hearing off, because you hear with an inner ear. This is, of course, very useful in daily life. When you listen to people talking, you begin to know exactly what they are meaning because of your listening through your inner ear. When you look at people, you know exactly where they are in consciousness, because you are looking at them with your inner eye.

Lesson 63 – Dancing with Śiva

Posted on by Himalayan Academy
Recording: Gurudeva’s cloned voice

From Whom Is Good Conduct Learned?

ŚLOKA 63
The first teacher in matters of good conduct is our conscience. To know what is right and what is wrong we can also turn to God, to our satguru and swāmīs,, to scripture and to our elders, family and trusted friends. Aum.

BHĀSHYA
Divine laws cannot be avoided. They do not rule us from above but are wrought into our very nature. Even death cannot efface the karma created by evil deeds. Good con­duct alone can resolve woeful karmas. Therefore, it is essential that we learn and adhere to good conduct. Good people are the best teachers of good conduct, and should be sought out and heeded when we need help or advice. Talk with them, the wise ones, and in good judgment be guided accordingly. Ethical scriptures should be read and studied regularly and their wisdom followed. The loud voice of our soul, ever heard within our conscience, is a worthy guide. When we grasp the subtle mechanism of karma, we wisely fol­low the good path. Good conduct, or sadāchāra, for the Hin­du is summarized in five ob­li­gatory duties, called pañcha nitya karmas: virtuous living, dhar­ma; worship, upāsanā; holy days, utsava; pilgrimage, tīr­tha­­yātrā; and sacraments, saṁ­skāras. The Vedas offer this guidance, “If you have doubt concerning conduct, follow the example of high souls who are competent to judge, devout, not led by oth­­ers, not harsh, but lovers of virtue.” Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.

Lesson 63 – Living with Śiva

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Recording: Gurudeva’s cloned voice

Giving Back to Mother Earth

After all the food had been served, the satguru stood up and declared, “People, all of you, participate. Come forward.” They immediately thought, finishing his sentence in their minds, “to eat together this luscious meal you have been waiting for all day as a family of śishyas.” But he had something else in mind, and directed, “Pick up the eleven shovels, shovel some dirt over this delicious meal and then pass your shovel on to the next person. We have fed our Mother Earth, who has given so generously of her abundance all these many years to this large Śaivite community. Now we are sacrificing our prasāda as a precious, heartfelt gift. Mother Earth is hungry. She gets little back; we take all. Let this be a symbol to the world and to each of us that we must sacrifice what we want most.”

In this way, our satguru, Śiva Yogaswami, began the first Earth worship ceremony in northern Sri Lanka. He taught a lesson of tapas and sacrifice, of fasting and giving, and giving and fasting. By now the hour was late, very late. After touching his feet and receiving the mark of Śiva from him in the form of vibhūti, holy ash, on their forehead, the devotees returned to their homes. It was too late to cook a hot meal, lest the neighbors smell the smoke and know that mischief was afoot. We are sure that a few, if not many, satisfied themselves with a few ripe bananas, while pondering the singular lesson the satguru had taught.

Let’s worship the Earth. It is a being—intelligent and always giving. Our physical bodies are sustained by her abundance. When her abundance is withdrawn, our physical bodies are no more. The ecology of this planet is an intricate intelligence. Through sacrifice, which results in tapas and sādhana, we nurture Mother Earth’s goodwill, friendliness and sustenance. Instill in yourself appreciation, recognition. We should not take advantage of all of this generosity, as a predator does of those he preys upon.

Yes, austerities are a vital part of all sects of Hinduism. They are a call of the soul to bring the outer person into the perfection that the soul is now, has always been and will always be. Austerities should be assigned by a guru, a swāmī or a qualified elder of the community. One should submit to wise guidance, because these sādhanas, penances, tapas and sacrifices lift our consciousness so that we can deal with, learn to live with, the perfection of the self-luminous, radiant, eternal being of the soul within. Austerity is the powerful bath of fire and bright rays of showering light that washes the soul clean of the dross of its many past lives, and of the current life, which have held it in the bondage of ignorance, misgiving, unforgivingness and the self-perpetuating ignorance of the truths of the Sanātana Dharma. “As the intense fire of the furnace refines gold to brilliance, so does the burning suffering of austerity purify the soul to resplendence” (Weaver’s Wisdom/Tirukural, 267).

NANDINATHA SŪTRA 63: PRESERVING LIFE AND HEALTH
Śiva’s devotees may elect to preserve the life and health of a person or animal under their care by forfeiting the life of organisms, such as worms or microbes, that pose a threat. This is the second exception to ahiṁsā. Aum.

Lesson 63 – Merging with Śiva

Posted on by Himalayan Academy
Recording: Gurudeva’s cloned voice

Ardent Striving On the Path

How are we going to master awareness so that it does not feel that it is what it is aware of? We have to pull awareness within, to the more refined areas of the mind. This is called going within yourself. You have to temporarily gain enough composure, enough control over awareness, so that in thirty seconds you can pull within yourself and, in a sense, light up because you become a little bit aware of the existence of the inner light. Now, of course, if we are pressured by desires that conflict with basic religious principles, it will be difficult even to become aware of or to even think about the inner light. It’s easy, though, to find the darkness of the mind.

But if desires are flowing in accordance with the proper, basic action-and-reaction patterns of life, and one is living up to what he knows he should be living up to and allows the awareness to flow through unwholesome areas of the mind, he begins to hurt deeply on the inside. That is the so-called conscience hurting, because the light shines through the conscience, too, and makes the conscience self-luminous to us. We cannot see the light, but we can feel it. And when awareness flows into the consciousness of bliss and peace, you won’t hurt anymore on the inside. The nerve system will be filled with a new energy, an actinic energy radiating out of the light from the lotus within the heart. Then you will be happy and joyous until awareness wanders again and brings up other emotional or desire temptations. Then you will hurt again. This is what is meant by the statement “constant striving on the path”—staying mentally healthy so that the conscience does not hurt.

The Self God is within you. The light emanating from your effulgent being is within you, too, within the lotus of your heart. The Self God is. It simply is. We do not have to awaken the light within the lotus of the heart, because it is always there, always has been, and always will be. We just have to become aware of it. Then go in and in and in to it until awareness, aware only of itself, dissolves, and be the Self. Be That.

Lesson 62 – Dancing with Śiva

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Recording: Gurudeva’s cloned voice

What Are Good Conduct’s Four Keys?

ŚLOKA 62
Purity, devotion, humility and charity are the four keys to good conduct. Of these, purity is the cardinal virtue. We cultivate purity by thinking, speaking and doing only that which is conceived in compassion for all. Aum.

BHĀSHYA
Purity is the pristine and natural state of the soul. We cultivate purity by refraining from anger and retaliation, by maintaining a clean and healthy body, and by guarding our virginity un­til marriage. We cultivate purity by seeking good company and by living a disciplined life. Devotion is love of God, Gods and guru, and dedication to family and friends. We cultivate devotion through be­ing loyal and trustworthy. We cultivate devotion through worship and selfless service. Humility is mildness, mod­esty, reverence and unpretentiousness. We cultivate hu­m­ility by taking the experiences of life in understanding and not in reaction, and by seeing God everywhere. We cultivate humility through showing pa­tience with circumstances and forbearance with people. Charity is selfless concern and caring for our fellow man. It is generous giving without thought of reward, always sharing and never hoarding. We cultivate charity through giving to the hungry, the sick, the homeless, the elderly and the unfortunate. The Vedas explain, “As to a mountain that’s enflamed, deer and birds do not resort—so, with knowers of God, sins find no shelter.” Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.

Lesson 62 – Living with Śiva

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Recording: Gurudeva’s cloned voice

A Lesson In Sacrifice

Sacrifice may be the least-practiced austerity, and the most important. It is the act of giving up to a greater power a cherished possession (be it money, time, intelligence or a physical object) to manifest a greater good. There are many ways to teach sacrifice. My satguru taught sacrifice by cooking a great feast for several hundred people, which took all day to prepare. Their mouths were watering. They had not eaten all day, so as to prepare their bodies to receive this prasāda from the satguru. The meal was scheduled to be served at high noon. But Satguru Yogaswami kept delaying, saying, “We have not yet reached the auspicious moment. Let us sing some more bhajanas and Natchintanai. Be patient.” At about 3PM, he said, “Before we can partake of our prasāda, I shall ask eleven strong men here to dig a deep, square hole in the ground.” They stepped forward and he indicated the spot where they should dig. Shovels were obtained from homes nearby, and the digging commenced. All waited patiently for his will to be fulfilled, the stomachs growling, the mouths watering at the luscious fragrances of the hot curries, the rasam and the freshly-boiled rice, five sweet-smelling curries, mango chutneys, dal, yogurt and delicious sweet payasam. It was a real feast.

Finally, just before dusk, the pit was completed, and the great saint indicated that it was time to serve the food. “Come, children, surround this pit,” he said. Two or three hundred people stepped forward and surrounded the ten-by-ten-foot hole. Women and children were sitting in the front and the men standing in the back, all wondering what he was going to say and hoping he would not delay any longer with the feast. He said, “Now we shall serve our prasāda.” He called forward two of the huskiest of the eleven men, the strongest and biggest, and commanded, “Serve the rice. Bring the entire pot.” It was a huge brass pot containing nearly 400 pounds of rice. By this time, many had left, as they had been cooking all morning and singing all afternoon. Only the most devout had remained to see the outcome. When the day began, 1000 had come. The preparations were for a very big crowd.

Now he said, “Pour the rice in the middle of the pit.” Banana leaves had been laid carefully at the bottom of the pit to form a giant serving plate. The crowd was aghast. “Pour it into the pit?” “Don’t hesitate,” he commanded. Though stunned, the men obeyed Yogaswami without question, dropping the huge mass of steaming rice onto the middle of the banana leaves. He told one man, “Bring the eggplant curry!” To another he said, “Go get the potato curry! We must make this a full and auspicious offering.”

As all the curries were neatly placed around the rice, everyone was wondering, “Are we to all eat together out of the pit? Is this what the guru has in mind?” Then the kulambu sauce was poured over the middle of the rice. Five pounds of salt was added on the side. Sweet mango and ginger chutneys were placed in the proper way. One by one, each of the luscious preparations was placed in the pit, much to the dismay of those gathered.

NANDINATHA SŪTRA 62: SELF-DEFENSE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT
Śiva’s devotees faced with imminent danger may elect to injure or kill to protect their life or that of another, or to defend the community as a soldier or a law officer in the line of duty. This is ahiṁsā’s first exception. Aum.

Lesson 62 – Merging with Śiva

Posted on by Himalayan Academy
Recording: Gurudeva’s cloned voice

The Diamond Of Light

How do you avoid unhappy states of mind? By consciously flowing awareness into the radiance, the light emanating from the self-effulgent being within the lotus of the heart. Direct awareness through controlled breathing. Remembering this basic principle, tell yourself that it is there, and soon you will begin to feel it. You will actually cause to grow within yourself a subtle nerve force that will turn awareness into the inner being so that consciously you can feel the Self God, your Śivaness, and its emanation that even now exists within you. In this way you can experience true bliss, true happiness, blissful happiness that does not cycle or fade.

One moment of contact with your inner being that resides within the lotus of the heart, that is always there—one moment—will clear up a whole situation in the external area of the mind for you. It will give you clear insight into how you should live your life, how to meet your circumstances, how to avoid whatever you do not want to find yourself involved in as the cycles of your life begin to repeat themselves.

This self-luminous emanation is like a diamond that is filled with light. Think about it in that way. It is filled with light, this diamond that resides within the lotus of your heart. Try to visualize this clearly and precisely as you read. Visualization of inner things is the same as opening an inner door for awareness to flow through to gain the experience that is already there. Visualization helps to pinpoint awareness and hold awareness concentrated in one certain area of the mind and gently move it to another. With this shining diamond constantly within the body, how could you become aware of an unhappy area of the mind? How could you become selfish? How could you hold resentment? How would it be possible for you to dislike another? This diamond within the lotus is within others, too.

Lesson 61 – Dancing with Śiva

Posted on by Himalayan Academy
Recording: Gurudeva’s cloned voice

What Is the Meaning of Good Conduct?

ŚLOKA 61
Good conduct is right thought, right speech and right action. It is virtuous deeds in harmony with divine law, reflecting the soul’s innate purity. As a staff is used to climb a mountain, so must virtue be used in life. Aum.

BHĀSHYA
Good conduct, sadāchāra, determines our behav­ior in day-to-day life. We should be uplifting to our fellow man, not critical or injurious. We should be loving and kind, not hate­ful or mean. We should express the soul’s beautiful qual­ities of self-control, modesty and honesty. We should be a good example to others and a joy to be around, not a person to be avoided. Good con­duct is the sum of spir­itual living and comes through keeping good company. When heart and mind are freed of baseness, when desires have been tempered and excesses avoided, dhar­ma is known and followed, and good conduct naturally arises. The Hindu fosters humility and shuns ar­rogance, seeks to assist, never to hinder, finds good in others and forgets their faults. There is no other way to be called a true devotee, but to conduct ourself properly with­in ourself and among our fellow men. The Vedas say, “Let there be no neglect of Truth. Let there be no neglect of dharma. Let there be no neglect of welfare. Let there be no neglect of prosperity. Let there be no ne­glect of study and teaching. Let there be no neglect of the du­ties to the Gods and the ancestors.” Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.