Lesson 41 – Dancing with Śiva

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Recording: Gurudeva’s cloned voice

Where Did This Universe Come from?

ŚLOKA 41
Supreme God Śiva created the world and all things in it. He creates and sustains from moment to moment every atom of the seen physical and unseen spiritual universe. Everything is within Him. He is within everything. Aum.

BHĀSHYA
God Śiva created us. He created the Earth and all things upon it, an­­imate and inanimate. He created time and grav­ity, the vast spaces and the uncounted stars. He created night and day, joy and sorrow, love and hate, birth and death. He created the gross and the subtle, this world and the other worlds. There are three worlds of ex­istence: the physical, subtle and causal, termed Bhū­loka, Antarloka and Śivaloka. The Creator of all, Śiva Him­self is uncreated. As supreme Mahādeva, Śiva wills into man­­ifes­tation all souls and all form, issuing them from Himself like light from a fire or waves from an ocean. Ŗishis de­scribe this perpetual process as the un­foldment of thir­ty-six tattvas, stages of manifestation, from the Śiva tattva—Parā­śakti and nāda—to the five elements. Creation is not the mak­ing of a separate thing, but an emanation of Himself. Lord Śiva creates, constantly sustains the form of His creations and absorbs them back into Himself. The Vedas elucidate, “As a spider spins and withdraws its web, as herbs grow on the earth, as hair grows on the head and body of a person, so also from the Imperishable arises this universe.” Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.

Lesson 41 – Living with Śiva

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

Many Ways Of Giving

There are so many ways of giving. Arising before the Sun comes up, greeting and giving namaskāra to the Sun is a part of Śaivite culture. Dāna is built into all aspects of Hindu life—giving to the holy man, giving to the astrologer, giving to the teacher, giving dakshiṇā to a swāmī or a satguru for his support, over and above all giving to his institution, over and above daśamāṁśa, over and above giving to the temple. If the satguru has satisfied you with the fullness of his presence, you must satisfy yourself in equal fullness in giving back. You can be happily fat as these two fullnesses merge within you. By giving to the satguru, you give him the satisfaction of giving to another, for he has no needs except the need to practice dāna.

Great souls have always taught that, among all the forms of giving, imparting the spiritual teachings is the highest. You can give money or food and provide for the physical aspects of the being, but if you can find a way to give the dharma, the illumined wisdom of the traditions of the Sanātana Dharma, then you are giving to the spirit of the person, to the soul. Many Hindus buy religious literature to give away, because jñāna dāna, giving wisdom, is the highest giving. Several groups in Malaysia and Mauritius gave away over 70,000 pieces of literature in a twenty-month period. Another group in the United States gave away 300,000 pieces of literature in the same period. Many pieces of that literature changed the lives of individuals and brought them into a great fullness of soul satisfaction. An electric-shock blessing would go out from them at the peak of their fulfillment and fill the hearts of all the givers. Giving through education is a glorious fulfillment for the giver, as well as for the receiver.

Wealthy men in India will feed twenty thousand people in the hopes that one enlightened soul who was truly hungry at that time might partake of this dāna and the śakti that arises within him at the peak of his satisfaction will prepare for the giver a better birth in his next life. This is the great spirit of anna yajñā, feeding the masses.

Along with the gift comes a portion of the karma of the giver. There was an astrologer who when given more than his due for a jyotisha consultation would always give the excess to a nearby temple, as he did not want to assume any additional karma by receiving more than the worth of his predictions. Another wise person said, “I don’t do the antyeshṭi saṁskāra, funeral rites, because I can’t receive the dāna coming from that source of sadness. It would affect my family.” Giving is also a way of balancing karma, of expressing gratitude for blessings received. A devotee explained, “I cannot leave the temple without giving to the huṇḍi, offering box, according to the fullness I have received as fullness from the temple.” A gourmet once said, “I cannot leave the restaurant until I give gratuity to the waiter equaling the satisfaction I felt from the service he gave.” This is dāna, this is giving, in a different form.

Children should be taught giving at a very young age. They don’t yet have the ten restraints, the yamas, to worry about. They have not been corrupted by the impact of their own prārabdha karmas. Little children, even babies, can be taught dāna—giving to the temple, to holy ones, to one another, to their parents. They can be taught worship, recitation and, of course, contentment—told how beautiful they are when they are quiet and experiencing the joy of serenity. Institutions should also give, according to their means, to other institutions.

NANDINATHA SŪTRA 41: THE FOUR PROGRESSIVE STAGES OF THE PATH
Śiva’s followers all believe that the performance of charyā, virtuous living; kriyā, temple worship; and yoga, leading to Paraśiva through the grace of the living satguru, is absolutely necessary to bring forth jñāna, wisdom. Aum.

Lesson 41 – Merging with Śiva

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

Superconscious Signposts

When your awareness is in superconsciousness, you see yourself as pure life force flowing through people, through trees, through everything. I have seen myself, in a certain state of samādhi, as pure life force flowing through a jungle, through trees, through plants, through water, through air. That is superconsciousness. It is so permanent. It is so real. Nothing could touch it. Nothing could hurt it. In this state we see the external world as a dream, and things begin to look transparent to us. People begin to look transparent. This is superconsciousness. When we look at a physical object and we begin to see it scintillating in light as it begins to become transparent, this is superconsciousness. It is a very beautiful and natural state to be in.

Occasionally, in deep meditation we see the head filled with an intense light, and we know that that is the natural state of man. This is superconsciousness: when we can look at another person and know what he is thinking and how he is feeling and how his subconscious is programmed. While we are looking at him, all of a sudden he can be seen in a past life, or in the future, or in the eternity of the moment. You are so naturally, without striving, in the superconscious area of the mind. No technique can give you these experiences that you unfold into as you walk the path toward merger. You come right into them, and the experience is how you are. Occasionally, when you close your eyes in meditation, you may see the face of your guru or some divine being that possibly once lived on Earth, and now just the shell of his subtle body remains vibrating in the ethers. You see superconscious beings while in the superconscious area of the mind. Occasionally you clairaudiently hear voices singing, music playing, just as Beethoven heard his wonderful symphonies that he recorded like a scribe. It is the superconscious mind again, so near, so real, so vibrant.

And when you are in contemplation, so engrossed in the energies within you—within the physical body and the energy within that, and that within that—that you become totally engrossed in the peace of the central source of all energy, that too is superconsciousness. Being on the brink of Self Realization, having lost consciousness of the physical body and of being a mind, you are only conscious of a vast, bluish white light. You get into this through going into the clear white light and out through the other side of it. Then you come into pure consciousness. It is a vast, pure, pale bluish white light—endless, endless inner space. It is just on the brink of the Absolute, just on the brink of the fullness of Self Realization. When you are in this beautiful, blissful state of pure consciousness, you are barely conscious that you are there, because to have a consciousness of being conscious, you have to be conscious of another thing.

These are some of the wonderful signposts on the path, all within your immediate grasp in this life, just as the ability to play the vīṇā or the flute beautifully in this life is within your immediate grasp. It takes practice, following the rules and then more practice.

Lesson 40 – Dancing with Śiva

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Recording: Gurudeva’s cloned voice

What Is the Nature of the Jñāna Pāda?

ŚLOKA 40
Jñāna is divine wisdom emanating from an enlightened being, a soul in its maturity, immersed in Śivaness, the blessed realization of God, while living out earthly karma. Jñāna is the fruition of yoga tapas. Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.

BHĀSHYA
The instinctive mind in the young soul is firm and well-knit together. The intellectual mind in the adolescent soul is complicated, and he sees the physical world as his only reality. The subsuperconscious mind in the mys­tically inclined soul well perfected in kriyā longs for realization of Śiva’s two perfections, Satchidānanda and Para­śiva. Through yoga he bursts in­to the super­con­scious mind, experiencing bliss, all-knowingness and perfect silence. It is when the yogī’s in­tellect is shattered that he soars into Paraśiva and comes out a jñānī. Each time he enters that unspeakable nirvi­kalpa samādhi, he returns to consciousness more and more the knower. He is the liberated one, the jīvanmukta, the epitome of kaivalya—perfect freedom—farseeing, filled with light, filled with love. One does not become a jñānī simply by reading and understanding philosophy. The state of jñāna lies in the realm of intuition, beyond the intellect. The Vedas say, “Having realized the Self, the ṛishis, perfected souls, satisfied with their knowledge, passion-free, tranquil—those wise beings, having attained the omnipresent on all sides—enter into the All itself.” Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.

Lesson 40 – Living with Śiva

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Recording: Gurudeva’s cloned voice

The Selfish and Miserly

The virtue of dāna deals with the pragmatic physical transference of cash or kind. It is the foundation and the life blood of any other form of religious giving, such as giving of one’s time. Many people rationalize, “I’ll give my time to the temple. I’ll wash the pots, scrub the floor and tidy up. But I can’t afford to give of my limited wealth proportionate to what would be total fulfillment of giving.” Basically, they have nothing better to do with their time, and to ease their own conscience, they volunteer a little work. There is no merit, no puṇya, in this, only demerit, pāpa. No, it’s just the other way around. One who has perfected dāna in cash and in kind and is satisfied within this practice, this niyama, will then be able and willing to give of his time, to tithe ten percent of his time, and then give time over and above that to religious and other worthy causes. Shall we say that the perfection of dāna precedes seva, service?

What can be said of someone who is all wrapped up in his personal self: concealing his personal ego with a pleasant smile, gentle deeds, soft words, but who just takes care of “number one”? For instance, if living with ten people, he will cook for himself and not cook for the others. He gets situations confused, entertains mental arguments within himself and is always worried about the progress in his religious life. We would say he is still trying to work on the restraints—compassion, patience, sexual purity, moderate appetite—and has not yet arrived at number three on the chart of the practices called niyamas. Modern psychology would categorize him as self-centered, selfish, egotistical. To overcome this selfishness, assuming he gets the restraints in order, doing things for others would be the practice, seeing that everyone is fed first before he eats, helping out in every way he can, performing anonymous acts of kindness at every opportunity.

In an orthodox Hindu home, the traditional wife will follow the practice of arising in the morning before her husband, preparing his hot meal, serving him and eating only after he is finished; preparing his lunch, serving him and eating after he is finished; preparing his dinner, serving him and eating after he is finished, even if he returns home late. Giving to her husband is her fulfillment, three times a day. This is built into Hindu society, into Śaivite culture.

Wives should be allowed by their husbands to perform giving outside the home, too, but many are not. All too often, they are held down, embarrassed and treated almost like domestic slaves—given no money, given no things to give, disallowed to practice dāna, to tithe and give creatively without thought of reward. Such domineering, miserly and ignorant males will get their just due in the courts of karma at the moment of death and shortly after. The divine law is that the wife’s śakti power, once released, makes her husband magnetic and successful in his worldly affairs, and their wealth accumulates. He knows from tradition that to release this śakti he must always fulfill all of the needs of his beloved wife and give her generously everything she wants.

NANDINATHA SŪTRA 40: KARMA, REINCARNATION AND LIBERATION
Śiva’s followers all believe in the law of karma—that one must reap the effects of all actions he has caused—and that each soul reincarnates until all karmas are resolved and moksha, liberation, is attained. Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.

Lesson 40 – Merging with Śiva

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Recording: Gurudeva’s cloned voice

Tapping into Your Intuition

Begin to feel that your intuition works rather rapidly and is generally very reasonable, but does not use the process of reason. When you really want to reason something out, it may take a lot of time, but when you get an intuitive flash, it’s right there. Then if you want to prove it, you have to reason it out. You will find that reason and intuition agree. Intuition is more direct than reason. That is why you should always use intuition. Always go in and in and in and find answers from within yourself, rather than wasting time scurrying around in the externalities of the mind.

Take this teaching in and apply it to yourself, making every metaphysical and philosophical area work within you. Do not carry all of this around with you as knowledge in the intellect. It will burden your intellect, and soon you will have to forget it, because the subconscious will have more than it can handle of inner teaching. It takes a while to convince the subconscious that you are a spiritual being whose existence does not begin and end with this life. Therefore, this inner teaching must begin to be applied as soon as it has begun to be understood.

The superconscious mind is the most wonderful area of the mind there is, although awareness is not always in it. We are not always aware in the superconscious mind, because we are generally aware in the conscious mind, or aware of our own subconscious or that of another. But the more and more we detach awareness from subconscious binds and conscious-mind attachments, the more we become superconscious. When we feel as if we are living totally in the moment, as if there is no past and there never has been any past or future, we are becoming subconsciously certain we are an intense, vibrating entity of the eternal now. That is superconsciousness, and that is very real. More real than a table, a chair, an automobile or a person sitting next to you is this feeling of being an intense sheath of energy right in the eternal moment, with no past, no future. This is superconsciousness.

Lesson 39 – Dancing with Śiva

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Recording: Gurudeva’s cloned voice

What Is the Nature of the Yoga Pāda?

ŚLOKA 39
Yoga is internalized worship which leads to union with God. It is the regular practice of meditation, detachment and austerities under the guidance of a satguru through whose grace we attain the realization of Paraśiva. Aum.

BHĀSHYA
Yoga, “union,” is the process of uniting with God within oneself, a stage arrived at through perfecting charyā and kriyā. As God is now like a friend to us, yoga is known as the sakhā mārga. This system of inner discovery begins with āsa­na—sitting quietly in yogic posture—and prā­ṇā­yāma, breath control. Prat­yāhāra, sense with­drawal, brings awareness into dhāraṇā, concentration, then into dhyāna, med­itation. Over the years, un­der ideal conditions, the kuṇḍalinī fire of consciousness ascends to the higher chakras, burning the dross of ig­norance and past karmas. Dhyāna finally leads to enstasy—first to savi­kalpa samādhi, the contemplative experience of Sat­chid­­­­ā­nanda, and ultimately to nir­vikal­pa samādhi, Para­­śiva. Truly a living satguru is needed as a steady guide to traverse this path. When yoga is practiced by one per­fect­ed in kriyā, the Gods receive the yogī into their midst through his awakened, fiery kuṇḍalinī. The Vedas enjoin the yogī, “With earnest effort hold the senses in check. Controlling the breath, regulate the vital activities. As a charioteer holds back his restive horses, so does a per­­se­­vering aspirant restrain his mind.” Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.

Lesson 39 – Living with Śiva

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Recording: Gurudeva’s cloned voice

Hospitality And Fullness

Hospitality is a vital part of fulfilling dāna. When guests come, they must be given hospitality, at least a mat to sit on and a glass of water to drink. These are obligatory gifts. You must never leave your guest standing, and you must never leave your guest thirsty. If a guest were to smell even one whiff from the kitchen of the scented curries of a meal being prepared, he must be asked four times to stay for the meal. He will politely refuse three times and accept on the fourth invitation. This is also an obligatory giving, for the guest is treated as God. God Śiva’s veiling grace hides Śiva as He dresses in many costumes. He is a dancer, you know, and dancers wear many costumes. He will come as a guest to your home, unrecognizable. You might think it is your dear friend from a far-off place. That, too, is Śiva in another costume, and you must treat that guest as Śiva. Giving to Śiva Śiva’s own creation in your mind brings the highest rewards through the law of karma.

Even if you think you are giving creatively, generously, looking for no rewards, but you are giving for a purpose, that karma will still pay you back with full interest and dividends. This is a positive use of the law of karma. It pays higher interest than any bank. This is not a selfish form of giving. It is the giving of the wise, because you know the law of karma, because you know the Sanātana Dharma—the divine, eternal laws. If you see a need that you can fill and have the impulse to give but recoil from giving, later, when you are in need, there will be someone who has the impulse to give to you but will recoil from giving. The wheels of karma grind slowly but exceedingly well the grains of actions, be they in thought, emotion or those of a physical nature. So, one can be quite selfish and greedy about wanting to practice dāna to accumulate the puṇya for the balance of this life, the life in-between lives, in the astral world, and for a good birth in the next incarnation. The practice of dāna is an investment in a better life, an investment that pays great dividends.

We are not limited by our poverty or wealth in practicing giving. No matter how poor you are, you can still practice it. You can give according to your means, your inspiration, your ability. When the fullness has reached its peak within you while preparing the gift, be it arranging a bouquet of freshly picked flowers, a tray of fruit, counting out coins, sorting a pile of bills or putting zeros on a check that you’re writing, then you know that the gift is within your means. Gifts within your means and from your heart are the proper gifts.

NANDINATHA SŪTRA 39: THE GROSS, SUBTLE AND CAUSAL PLANES
Śiva’s followers all believe in three worlds: the gross plane, where souls take on physical bodies; the subtle plane, where souls take on astral bodies; and the causal plane, where souls exist in their self-effulgent form. Aum.

Lesson 39 – Merging with Śiva

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

The Power of Observation

Observation is the first faculty to appear in the awakening of the superconscious regions. Observation, when perceptively performed, is cultivated by abstinence from excessive talk. Talk dissipates the energies of the aura and of the vital body of man. A mystic generally does not talk very much, for his intuition works through reason, but does not use the processes of reason. Any intuitive breakthrough will be quite reasonable, but it does not use the processes of reason. Reason takes time. Superconsciousness acts in the now. All superconscious knowing comes in a flash, out of the nowhere. Intuition is more direct than reason, and far more accurate. Therefore, the mystic does not ask many questions or enter into lengthy conversations.

Ponder over this and apply it to yourself. Take this into yourself and feel it is for you. Do not feel it is being shared with you to simply know more about the mind and its processes. Apply it to yourself, for you are on the spiritual path toward merger with Śiva. Begin to feel that observation is one of your finest faculties, one that you most cherish. It is the first faculty of the awakening of your superconscious. Mentally say to yourself many times, “I have good observation. Therefore, I am superconscious.” This will help you to program your subconscious to accept the fact that, yes, you are a superconscious being, not a temporal being that is only on this planet a short span of years and then disappears forever. Remember, your powers of observation are cultivated by abstinence from excessive talk. That is all you have to do to begin with—be more silent and observing, not wasting or dissipating this most vital power. Some people on the spiritual path cannot wait to talk about their meditations even before they come out of them. They really should stop doing this. It lessens their vital energies and proves to perceptive people that they are not superconscious beings.

Lesson 38 – Dancing with Śiva

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Recording: Gurudeva’s cloned voice

What Is the Nature of the Kriyā Pāda?

ŚLOKA 38
Kriyā is joyous and regular worship, both internal and external, in the home and temple. It includes pūjā, japa, penance, fasting and scriptural learning, by which our understanding and love of God and Gods deepen. Aum.

BHĀSHYA
Hinduism demands deep devotion through bhakti yoga in the kriyā pāda, softening the intellect and unfolding love. In kri­yā, the second stage of religiousness, our sādhana, which was mostly external in charyā, is now also internal. Kriyā, literally “action or rite,” is a stirring of the soul in aware­ness of the Divine, overcoming the obstin­acy of the instinctive-intellectual mind. We now look upon the Deity image not just as carved stone, but as the living presence of the God. We perform ritual and pūjā not be­cause we have to but because we want to. We are drawn to the temple to satisfy our longing. We sing joyfully. We ab­sorb and intuit the wisdom of the Vedas and Āgamas. We perform pilgrimage and fulfill the sac­ra­ments. We practice diligently the ten classi­cal ob­ser­vances called niyamas. Our re­lationship with God in kriyā is as a son to his parents and thus this stage is called the satpu­tra mārga. The Tirumantiram in­structs, “Pū­jā, reading the scriptures, singing hymns, performing japa and un­sullied aus­ter­ity, truthfulness, restraint of envy, and of­fering of food—these and other self-purifying acts con­sti­tute the flawless satputra mārga.” Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.