Lesson 4 – Dancing with Śiva

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

How Can We Learn to Dance with Śiva?

ŚLOKA 4
Dance is movement, and the most exquisite dance is the most disciplined dance. Hindu spiritual disciplines lead to oneness with God through self-reflection, surrender, personal transformation and the many yogas. Aum.

BHĀSHYA
To progress on the path, we study theVedas, other scriptures and our guru’s teachings and make every ef­fort to apply these philosophical truths to daily experience. We strive to un­der­stand the mind in its fourfold na­ture: chitta, con­scious­ness; manas, instinctive mind; buddhi, in­tellectual mind; and ahaṁ­­kāra, ego or I-maker. We per­form japa, meditation and yoga each day. Such spiritual discipline is known as sādhana. It is the mystical, mental, physical and devotional exercise that enables us to dance with Śiva by bringing inner advance­ment, changes in perc­eption and improvements in character. Sādhana al­lows us to live in the refined and cultured soul nature, rather than in the outer, in­stinctive or intellectual spheres. For consistent progress, sādhana should be performed regularly, without fail, at the same time each day, preferably in the early hours before dawn. The most im­portant sādhanas are the chal­lenges and practices given by one’s guru. The Vedas caution, “The Self cannot be at­tained by the weak, nor by the careless, nor through aim­­less dis­ciplines. But if one who knows strives by right means, his soul enters the abode of God.” Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.

Lesson 4 – Living with Śiva

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

Knowing Self by Self

In the earlier stages, before sādhana is undertaken, the mind is agitated by current karmas and perhaps discouraged by its inability to know or to fulfill dharma. In this agitated state the world looks bleak and terrible, and it would be inconceivable to him for God to be any place but in the temple. “Certainly God could not reside within myself,” the unenlightened concludes.

In the second stage, when the mind rests peacefully in the fulfillment of a life’s pattern, dharma, when it has sufficient maturity to control and to dispatch past and current karmas through meditation, prayer and penance, then indeed God is seen as a helping hand within, but most potently felt within His temple.

In the third stage, the helping hand within becomes more than an aid to the troubled mind; it becomes pure consciousness itself. Rather than seeking God outside, God is enjoyed as a vital, integral dimension of the person, the Life of life, the power and radiant energy of the universe. The calm within is greater than the outside disturbance. In this stage of bliss-consciousness, it is clearly seen and exuberantly experienced that God is indeed within us. The experiencer’s perceptions become acute, and in his daily life he becomes a witness, observing that others do not see God within themselves. He has a secret that he has discovered. God within becomes soul-realized as Truth-Knowledge-Bliss, Satchidānanda, the pervasive energy that glues all things together. Mind becomes serene, peace is seen to be everywhere, and the bliss so strong. A deeper inner eye opens at this stage, and it is truly perceived that this same presence of Śiva is in each and every living being, permeates every atom of the universe as the great, sustaining substratum of all that exists. Only when this is experienced can one truly say that God is within man and man is within God.

To know philosophy without experience is like going on a vacation to a distant and wonderful place by simply reading a book about the destination, hearing what others claim is to be enjoyed there. It is not true experience at all. The only spiritual experience is personal experience. My satguru, Siva Yogaswami, made it clear that “You will not attain jñāna, wisdom, even if you read a thousand scriptures. You must know your Self by yourself.”

How can we with our finite mind come to understand Infinity, come to understand God? How can we intellectually encompass something as great as God? Our scriptures tell us that God Himself is Śaṅkara, the author of all knowledge, creator of the intellect. He is the great architect of the universe. Then if God created the intellect, how can the intellect understand Him? Well, it is possible. It has been done. The intellect has to expand, and awareness has to transcend the rational mind and see directly from superconscious knowing. That is why we worship Śiva in His highest form, symbolized by the Śivaliṅga, the simple elliptical stone.

It is good that you are trying to see Śiva everywhere. Keep trying. It will come. Who else can give your Self to you? The unfoldment of the Self within you is but Śiva. He can give you wealth. He can give you health. He can bestow everything that you would ever need or even desire. But to worship Him as formless, as we are doing tonight, carries the mind into infinity. Mind can only encompass what it identifies with. Mind cannot identify Truth in this subtle form which represents Śiva as beyond the mind—formless, timeless and spaceless. Yet, within you this very instant, only shrouded by your ignorance, only shrouded by the ego, which is the sense of personal identity and separation, is Śiva. He is there right now, not at some fictitious future time. Just get rid of the māyā, the āṇava and resolve the karma, and there He will be. The ego is the last thing to go. It is the last bond to break.

Once the bondage of personal ego is broken, it is seen that this mysterious God is all-pervading. He is what He has created. Think about that. It is very deep. Śiva pervades His creation constantly as ever-present Love and Light of the mind of everyone, as Intelligence and Being; and yet God also has a form.

In the subtle worlds, Śiva has the most beautiful form, not unlike a human form, but an absolutely perfect human form. He thinks. He talks. He walks. He makes decisions. We are fortunate to worship such a great God who pervades everything and yet transcends it, who is both form and beyond form, who is the Self within your very self at this very moment. So, all of you seekers of nondual Truth, you have a truly great path that offers God experience in form and beyond form. How fortunate you are!

NANDINATHA SŪTRA 4: ONENESS WITH THE SATGURU
Śiva’s devotees strive to be inwardly one with their satguru, acknowledging the paramount need for a spiritual preceptor to guide them on the upward climb, the straight path that leads to Lord Śiva’s holy feet. Aum.

Lesson 4 – Merging with Śiva

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Recording: Gurudeva’s real voice

Harnessing the Energies

Still other goals must be met: quieting the energies, the prāṇas, through prā­ṇā­yāma, purifying or refining mind and emotion, quelling the ever-constant movement of the restless external mind and its immediate subconscious, where memories are stored, preserved memories which give rise to fear, anger, hatred and jealousy. It is our past that colors and conditions, actually creates, the future. We purge the past in the present, and we fashion the future in the present.

All of these emotions are the powerful force that bursts the seals of the psychic cha­kras, four, five, six and seven. Once harnessed, turned inward and transmuted, this life force drives the spiritual process forward. Ours is the path of not only endeavoring to awaken the higher nature, but at the same time and toward the same end dealing positively and consciously with the remnants of the lower nature, replacing charity for greed and dealing with, rather than merely suppressing, jealousy, hatred and anger.

Most people do not understand that they have a mind, that they have a body and emotions, that what they are is something far more lasting and profound. They think they are a mind, they presume they are a body and they feel they are a given set of emotions, positive and negative. To progress on the spiritual path, they must learn they are not these things but are, in fact, a radiant, conscious soul that never dies, that can control the mind and directs the emotion toward fulfillment of dharma and resolution of karma. While living in a normal agitated state of fears, worries and doubts, seeing the deeper truths is impossible. To such a person, there is no doubt about it: “I am fearful. I am worried. I am confused. I am sick.” He says such things daily, thinking of himself in a very limited way.

This wrong identification of who we are must be unlearned. Before we actually begin serious sā­dha­na, we must understand ourselves better, understand the three phases of the mind: instinctive, intellectual and super­con­scious. This takes time, meditation and study—study that must culminate in actual experience of the instinctive mind, the intellectual mind and the transcendent sub­super­con­scious state of the mind. Seeing the mind in its totality convinces the seeker that he is something else, he is the witness who observes the mind and cannot, therefore, be the mind itself. Then we realize that the mind in its super­con­sciousness is pure. We do not have to purify it, except to carry out its native purity into life, into the intellect by obtaining right knowledge and transmuting the instinctive or animal qualities. This is accomplished from within out. It is not as difficult as it may seem.

Lesson 3 – Dancing with Śiva

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Recording: Gurudeva’s real voice

What Is Meant by “Dancing with Śiva”?

ŚLOKA 3
All motion begins in God and ends in God. The whole universe is engaged in a whirling flow of change and activity. This is Śiva’s dance. We are all dancing with Śiva, and He with us. Ultimately, we are Śiva dancing. Aum.

BHĀSHYA
The world is seen as it truly is—sacred—when we be­hold Śiva’s cosmic dance. Everything in the universe, all that we see, hear and imagine, is movement. Galaxies soar in movement; atoms swirl in movement. All movement is Śiva’s dance. When we fight this movement and think it should be other than it is, we are reluctantly dancing with Śiva. We are stubbornly resisting, holding ourselves apart, criticizing the natural processes and move­ments around us. It is by understanding the eternal truths that we bring all areas of our mind into the knowledge of how to accept what is and not wish it to be otherwise. Once this happens, we begin to consciously dance with Śiva, to move with the sacred flow that surrounds us, to ac­cept praise and blame, joy and sorrow, prosperity and adversity in equanimity, the fruit of un­­der­stand­ing. We are then gracefully, in unrestrained surrender, dancing with Śiva. The Vedas state, “The cosmic soul is truly the whole universe, the im­mortal source of all creation, all action, all meditation. Whoever discovers Him, hidden deep within, cuts through the bonds of ig­­no­r­­ance even during his life on Earth.” Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.

Lesson 3 – Living with Śiva

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

By Experience We Evolve

A family provides toys for the children to make them happy. Śiva provides karma and dharma to all of us to make us happy, to bring us closer to Him. He created an expanding and contracting universe and eventually absorbs all in the great dissolution of the cosmos. He gave birth to all souls, our ṛishi-saints tell us; and we are evolving back into His image and likeness, they further explain. The toys of experience help us in our evolution, keeping us entertained so that we can learn and grow and experience our karma, dharma and other basic cosmic laws. Just as the children can laugh joyously as they play with their toys, or break them and cry or throw them at one another, hitting and hurting each other, we too can avoid duty and dharma, make karma, hurt ourselves and others, or help ourselves and others as we play with our own evolution, strengthening ourselves, learning and growing wise.

It is natural to forget about God, but there are many helpful ways that we can avoid distraction, that we can remember to keep seeing God Śiva everywhere. One of the practical ways to bring God Śiva into the midst of all this is to keep repeating His name. Do japa when you find yourself forgetting, when you just can’t see God at all, let alone everywhere. Repeat “Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.” When life becomes difficult or strained, say to yourself “Śiva Śiva” or “Aum Śivāya” or “Namaḥ Śivāya.” Mentally put it all at His feet. See Him in everyone that you meet or confront, regardless of the circumstances. He is there as their life force, but you just need to quiet the mind to see. Smile when you feel unhappy with someone and say to yourself, “How nice to see you, Śiva, in this form.” Animals, beggars, princes, politicians, friends and enemies, holy men, saints and sages are all Śiva to the soul that loves God. He smiles and thinks to himself, “How nice to see you, Śiva, in this, another of your many forms.”

Nobody can think of Śiva in His formlessness. This, above all, has to be realized, and then the realizer has to realize that he has realized the Formless. The truth is that precious few will realize Paraśiva, though many can and will realize Satchidānanda, even in their later years or at the moment of death. The fullness of lives of experience experienced, the performance of prior goals perfected, would lead a soul to the burning desire to accomplish the ultimate goal. For each person on the planet, the immediate pattern is clear. Once it is fulfilled, the next step appears naturally. It is the same force of desire that accomplishes all of this. The desire of a mother to take care of her children and to be a good wife, the desire of the father to support his family, the desire of a scientist to discover, the desire of an athlete to excel, the desire of the yogī to merge in oneness with Śiva—it is the same force of desire, transmuted through the chakras as they awaken, as the soul evolves. It is that same desire that finally draws the seeker to know That which is timeless and formless, That which is spaceless and causeless. Be patient. It comes in the course of time to all. It comes. It will come. Be patient.

NANDINATHA SŪTRA 3: SEEING ŚIVA’S ENERGY IN ALL
Śiva’s devotees bask contentedly in Śiva consciousness, seeing the pure life energy in every person, animal, bird, reptile, fish, insect, plant, tree and even microscopic intelligence as Supreme God Śiva Himself. Aum

Lesson 3 – Merging with Śiva

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

Defining the Destination

How can we know when we’re ready to know the Self? How do we know when the soul is spiritually mature? When we begin a journey and clearly define our destination, then we must begin from where we are, not elsewhere. Clearly defining our destination requires knowing where we are, requires determining whether or not we want to go there at this time. We must ask whether we have the means, the willpower, to get there. Are we ready to leave the world, or must we fulfill further obligations in the world and to the world? Have we paid all of our debts? We cannot leave the world with karmas still unresolved. Perhaps we desire something more, some further human fulfillment of affection, creativity, wealth, professional accomplishment, name and fame. In other words, do we still have worldly involvements and attachments? Are we ready for the final journey life has to offer? Are we prepared to endure the hardships of sā­dha­na, to suffer the death of the ego? Or would we prefer more pleasures in the world of “I” and “mine”? It is a matter of evolution, of what stage of life we have entered in this incarnation—is it charyā, kriyā, yoga or jñāna? When the soul is spiritually mature, we know when we’re ready to know the Self.

When one is bound down by his past karmas, unhappy, confused and not performing with enthusiasm his dharma—be it born or chosen—making new karmas as a result, his lethargy results in despair. The camel walks slower with a heavy burden and stops if the burden is still heavier. The burdened have no sense of urgency, no expression of joy. They have stopped. They are standing on the path holding their troubles in their hands, unwilling and unable to let go.

Worship of Lord Gaṇeśa sets the path of dharma. Go to His feet. He alone can perform this miracle for you. He will release the mental and emotional obstructions to spiritual progress. He will remove the burdens of worldliness. To live the perfect life of the gṛihastha dharma, of family life, brings as its fulfillment the all-knowing bliss of Sat­chid­ānanda, realizing ourself not as formless Paraśiva but as the pure consciousness that sustains and pervades all forms in the universe. Yes, there is a sense of urgency on the path of enlightenment, but only when we are unburdened of karma, only when we are walking the path of dharma. Only then can true yoga be practiced and perfected.

All Hindus without exception believe in reincarnation. In each birth we must fulfill more goals leading to the one ultimate goal which after many births well lived will loom before us as the only goal worthy of striving for in this lifetime. All other desires, all other aims and ambitions pale under the brilliance of even the thought of realization of Sat­chid­ānanda and Paraśiva.

In fulfillment of our duties to parents, relations and the community at large, become a good householder, be a good citizen, live a rewarding physical, emotional and intellectual existence. These are the natural goals of many. Once this is accomplished in a lifetime, it is easy in future lives to perpetuate this pattern and evolve toward more refined and more difficult goals, such as gaining a clear intellectual knowledge of the truths of the Āgamas and Vedas, most especially the Upanishads, and establishing a personal contact with Lord Śiva within His great temples through the fervor of worship.

Lesson 2 – Dancing with Śiva

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Recording: Gurudeva’s real voice

Where Am I Going? What Is My Path?

ŚLOKA 2
We are all growing toward God, and experience is the path. Through experience we mature out of fear into fearlessness, out of anger into love, out of conflict into peace, out of darkness into light and union in God. Aum.

BHĀSHYA
We have taken birth in a physical body to grow and evolve in­to our divine potential. We are inwardly al­ready one with God. Our religion contains the knowl­edge of how to realize this one­ness and not create un­wanted ex­­periences along the way. The peerless path is following the way of our spiritual forefathers, discovering the mystical meaning of the scrip­tures. The peerless path is commitment, study, discipline, prac­tice and the ma­tur­ing of yoga into wisdom. In the beginning stages, we suffer un­til we learn. Learning leads us to service; and selfless service is the be­ginning of spiritual striving. Service leads us to understanding. Understanding leads us to medi­tate deep­­ly and without distractions. Fin­ally, meditation leads us to surrender in God. This is the straight and certain path, the San Mārga, leading to Self Real­iz­a­tion—the inmost purpose of life—and sub­sequently to moksha, freedom from rebirth. The Vedas wisely af­firm, “By aus­terity, goodness is obtain­­ed. From good­­­ness, understanding is reached. From understanding, the Self is obtained, and he who obtains the Self is freed from the cycle of birth and death.” Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.

Lesson 2 – Living with Śiva

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

Spiritual Retreat

Does this seem too difficult? Can you just contemplate what it would take to seek the all-pervasive Śiva from hour to hour, throughout the day? One would have to be detached from all worldly responsibilities to a great extent in order to begin to bring this natural internal process through and into the external mind. The external mind is built up by an intellect formed from other people’s knowledge and opinions. This borrowed knowledge shrouds the soul, and the natural, childlike intelligence often does not filter through. Therefore, a period of detachment and regular spiritual retreat or separation from the external world is necessary.

On a pilgrimage we strive to see God around us, to intuit Him in the events that happen. During worship in the temple, we strive to feel Him, to experience Him more profoundly than during our normal activities. Eventually, as our spiritual efforts progress, we bring that same attention, that same one-pointedness, right into the everyday experiences that life presents to us, whether seemingly good or bad, whether causing pleasure or pain. This is the experience of the mature soul who performs regular sādhana after taking certain vows strong enough to cause a detachment of the intellect from seeing the external world as the absolute reality. All seekers hope for an occasional glimpse of Śiva during their yearly pilgrimage at some venerable temple. If they develop that little glimpse, it will grow.

Many have asked me whether everyone should worship Śiva both inside and out. Yes, that is the ideal according to our Śaiva Siddhānta philosophy, but which of these two comes more naturally depends on the nature of the disciple. The more introverted will meditate on Śiva within through their yogas, and the more extroverted will be inclined to worship in a temple or through music or religious service. The most awakened of seekers will do both with equal joy and ease.

God Śiva is within each and every soul. He is there as the unmanifest Reality, which we call Paraśiva. He is there as the pure light and consciousness that pervades every atom of the universe, which we call Satchidānanda. We also know that He is Creator of all that exists, and that He is His creation. All this we know. Yes, all this we know. Thus, we intellectually know that Śiva is within and without. This is yet to be experienced by the majority of people.

The nature of the worshiper develops through sādhana and tapas, performed either in this life or in previous lives. We must worship Śiva externally until compelled—as were the great ṛishis of yore—to sit down, to settle down, to turn within ourself, to stop talking, to stop thinking and thus to internalize our great energy of bhakti, devotion. This is how we evolve, how we progress along the path toward Śiva, diving deeper and deeper within. Everyone must worship Śiva externally prior to internalizing that worship fully and perfectly. We cannot internalize the worship that has not first been mastered externally.

When problems come in the family or workplace and emotions arise, it is only natural to forget Śiva. It’s so much easier to be involved in twoness rather than oneness. It takes a lot of inner strength to remember Śiva all of the time, to keep the love for Śiva flowing. We forget. We get involved in ourselves and others. It is impossible when our ego is attacked or our feelings hurt. So it’s easier, much easier, to forget Śiva and even regard Him as a God to be feared; whereas it is our own instinctive mind and our preprogrammed, nonreligious intellect that should be feared. That’s the demon in our house, the mischief-maker who causes all the trouble. If you want to remember God, then first learn to forget yourself a little.

NANDINATHA SŪTRA 2: FOUR NOBLE GOALS
Śiva’s followers are ever mindful that life’s purpose is to wholeheartedly serve God, Gods and guru and fulfill the four traditional Hindu goals: duty (dharma), wealth (artha), love (kāma) and liberation (moksha). Aum.

Lesson 2 – Merging with Śiva

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

Like a Child’s Self-Discovery

Look at a child standing before a mirror for the first time, feeling its nose and ears, eyes and mouth, looking at itself reflected in the glass. Feeling and seeing what has always been there is a discovery in experience. Paraśiva is the same. It is always there in each and every human being on the planet. But involvement in the externalities of material existence inhibits their turning inward. The clouding of the mirror of the mind—that reflective pond of awareness which when calm sees clearly—or the ripples of disturbance on the mind’s surface distort seeing and confuse understanding. Without a clear mirror, the child lacks the seeing of what has always been there—its own face. Paraśiva is an experience that can be likened to the hand feeling and the eyes seeing one’s own face for the first time. But it is not experience of one thing discovering another, as in the discovery of one’s face. It is the Self experiencing itself. Experience, experienced and experiencer are one and the same. This is why it is only registered on the external mind in retrospect.

Most people try to experience God through other people. Disciples see a guru as God. Wives see their husband as God. Devotees see the Deity in the temple as God. But all the time, behind the eyes of their seeing, is God. The Self, Paraśiva, can be realized only when the devotee turns away from the world and enters the cave within as a way of life through initiation and under vows. We know the Self within ourself only when we fully turn into ourselves through concentration, meditation and contemplation and then sustain the resulting samā­dhi of Sat­chid­ānanda, pure consciousness, in hopes of finding, determined to find, That which cannot be described, That which was spoken about by the ṛishis, Paraśiva, beyond a stilled mind, Paraśiva that has stopped time, transcended space and dissolved all form.

Lesson 1 – Dancing with Śiva

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

Who Am I? Where Did I Come From?

ŚLOKA 1
Ṛishis proclaim that we are not our body, mind or emotions. We are divine souls on a wondrous journey. We came from God, live in God and are evolving into oneness with God. We are, in truth, the Truth we seek. Aum.

BHĀSHYA
We are immortal souls living and growing in the great school of earthly experience in which we have lived many lives. Vedic ṛishis have given us courage by uttering the simple truth, “God is the Life of our life.” A great sage carried it further by saying there is one thing God cannot do: God cannot separate Himself from us. This is be­cause God is our life. God is the life in the birds. God is the life in the fish. God is the life in the animals. Becoming aware of this Life energy in all that lives is becoming aware of God’s loving presence within us. We are the un­dying consciousness and energy flowing through all things. Deep inside we are perfect this very moment, and we have only to discover and live up to this perfection to be whole. Our energy and God’s energy are the same, ever coming out of the void. We are all beautiful children of God. Each day we should try to see the life energy in trees, birds, animals and people. When we do, we are seeing God Śiva in action. The Vedas affirm, “He who knows God as the Life of life, the Eye of the eye, the Ear of the ear, the Mind of the mind—he indeed com­pre­hends fully the Cause of all causes.” Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.