Lesson 168 – Dancing with Śiva

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

How Does Śaivism Stay Contemporary?

ŚLOKA 13
Inner truths never change, but outer forms of practice and observance do evolve. Śaivism seeks to preserve its mystical teachings while adapting to the cultural, social and technological changes of each recurrent age. Aum.

BHĀSHYA
Śaivism is an orthodox religion, conservative in its ways and yet pliant and understanding. It is simultaneously the most de­manding spiritual path and the most forgiving. Śaivites have persisted through many ages through successfully adapt­ing work, service and skills according to the times while in­ter­nal­izing worship and holding firmly to the eternal values. The outer form of service or oc­cupation does not change the spiritual search. Be he a skilled farmer, factory worker, village merchant, com­pu­ter programmer or corporate executive, the Śai­vite is served well by his religion. Śaivism has all of the facilities for the education of hu­mankind back to the Source. Each futuristic age does not reflect a difference in the Śai­vite’s relationship with his family, kula guru, teacher, satguru, Gods or God in his daily religious life. The Śaiva Dhar­ma: it is now as it always was. The Vedas implore: “O self-luminous Divine, re­move the veil of ignorance from before me, that I may behold your light. Reveal to me the spirit of the scriptures. May the truth of the scrip­tures be ever present to me. May I seek day and night to realize what I learn from the sages.” Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.

Lesson 168 – Living with Śiva

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

Interfaith Marriages

I tell young ladies, if you are planning on getting married, do not do what the average mother might tell you, “Get the husband under your thumb right at the beginning. Otherwise you might have a terrible time, because it’s harder to do it later on.” Don’t do that. Go into your marriage for better or for worse and live up to your vow. Be to your husband like melted butter is on toast; it is absorbed. Be one. You will have a very happy old age.

It might be rough at the start, but don’t hold divorce over his head to force him into various preconceived ideas that your girlfriend has put into your mind, as so many do, or that you’ve seen on television or in the movies. You have seen the results that Hollywood marriages have played upon the lives of those who have had them as they have gotten older through the years. They are not happy people, though they are advertised as glamorously as they make their living. That is not the way. The way is, when you take your vow, think about it first, and then stick to it for better or for worse.

I tell young men, Gentlemen, if you are thinking about getting married, do not marry a young lady who won’t be one with you in your religion, who will not be willing to stay at home and take care of and raise your family, one who doesn’t respect you as a man and starts, right off the bat, by telling you what to do. Don’t do that, because if you do you will be miserable and you will lose your manhood and be nothing but a puppet on the strings of your wife. And you will both be unhappy, but she especially, in older age. Rather, choose a girl who will blend with you for better or for worse. And whether you are successful or not, she will be happy to eat what you eat and go where you go. A Roman ideal pronounced by the bride at weddings was “Where you are, there I will be.” It might be difficult in the beginning years, but it will be much better later.

A seeker wrote to me saying, “I’m in love with a Christian girl but she wants me to give up my religion and accept Jesus Christ. How can I explain to her that Hinduism is my path and I want to stay with it, but I love her very much? What should I do, Gurudeva?” I responded that you have to think of the children and how you want to raise them. Obviously you want to raise them to be good Hindu children. Since there is very little connection between Hinduism and Christianity—because Christianity does not accept karma or reincarnation, the existence of an all-pervasive God or our temples and ceremonies—there will be serious problems. If she remains a Christian and you remain a Hindu, the children are going to be very confused. If your beloved doesn’t want to go along with you intellectually and spiritually, maybe your love is only physical; that is called carnal love—love of the flesh. That is a very limited type of love, and it is not long lasting. Don’t be guided by your carnal, instinctive emotions. Be guided by your spiritual intellect, or by my good advice. Go shopping. Find a good Hindu girl, or let your parents find one for you, so you can raise a good new generation of high souls.

I’ve seen many cases of Hindus marrying outside of their own religion, and I’ve seen the young couple be very happy for a while. But after the children come and the sensuality of the marriage has cooled off, then there arises a tension between the husband and wife. Generally one becomes more religious than the other. The non-Hindu spouse argues, “You should be religious in my religion,” and the Hindu insists, “You should be religious in my religion.” The victims of this conflict, which generally goes on throughout life, are the children. It is a couple’s shared allegiance to a religious tradition that is the most important common ground.

NANDINATHA SŪTRA 168: NOT BORROWING OR GIVING CREDIT
My devotees, to safeguard harmony, never borrow or lend money among themselves or give credit to one another, even for interest. They may do business together, but only through immediate cash transactions. Aum.

Lesson 168 – Merging with Śiva

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

Understanding Is Control

When a situation comes up, I observe how the conscious mind looks at it. Then I ask how my subconscious would see it. Pondering further, I inquire how my subsuperconscious relates to it; then, how my superconscious views it. Through this process I get a clear picture of what happened, how it happened and if I should take it seriously. You might react strongly to a happening, but when you look closely you see it wasn’t much to be concerned about. It was just the subconscious reacting, so you forget it. The subconscious was the problem. It is your subsuperconscious, intuitive understanding that makes such judgments.

Remember, these are not five separate departments. They all interrelate. The conscious and subconscious work together. The subsubconscious seems to work independently of both the conscious and the subconscious, but it is not really independent. It is just another aspect of the subconscious. The superconscious is our vast, pure intelligence. The subsuperconscious is one aspect of the superconscious, functioning through subconscious patterns.

As we begin working with ourselves, we remold the patterns that set the course of our life. We remold our subconscious mind. We begin to identify with infinite intelligence, not with the body or the emotions or the intellect. As we prepare for the realization of the Self in this life, we set new energies into action within our body. We begin to flow our awareness out of the past and into the present, right into the now. This steadies emotion. Then we cease to have concepts that the physical body or the emotional body is “I.” We begin to claim spiritual independence and are able to watch the mind think. By remolding old habit patterns in the subconscious mind, we cultivate a contemplative nature and become nonviolent in thought and action, having that innate understanding of the karmic cycles of the working of the various states of mind. We are able to love our fellow man. It is easy to keep promises and confidences, for we have a certain restraint. We can begin to direct desires and acquire a certain inner poise which we did not have before, and we continually find new understanding through meditation.

In order to meditate, it is not enough to memorize the five states of mind—conscious mind, subconscious mind, sub of the subconscious mind, subsuperconscious mind and superconscious mind. It is not enough to memorize the processes of unwinding awareness and reprogramming the subconscious through affirmation, attention, concentration and observation. We must study out and apply these teachings to ourself. We must master them. This is the way we become a different person than we are today. When we simply memorize, we are only putting another intellectual covering over the beauty of our soul.

Surround yourself with superconscious people, people who are on the path. Being in their presence will help you, and their being in your presence will help them. The group helps the individual as the individual helps the group. This is provided the group is of one mind, both inner and outer. Place yourself in a good environment, a physically clean house, clean clothing, clean body, and among people who are shining forth from within. Do not surround yourself with people who are bound in the conscious mind, engrossed in jealousy, hate, fear and the other instinctive-intellectual qualities that cause contention in and among them. This will disturb you and hinder your progress on the spiritual path. If you are going to sit for meditation, you must follow these inner laws.

Do not argue with anyone anymore. A mystic never argues. Argument pulls awareness into the conscious mind and programs the subconscious in a strange way. It becomes mixed up. Then it has to be unscrambled. Also, never try to convince anyone of anything. If you are talking to a mystic, he will understand what you are going to say as you speak it. Usually before you have spoken he will have grasped the point of it. He is that sharp. He is that keen. If you are talking to someone who lives deep in the intellect of the conscious mind, he will want to discuss endlessly. He will want to argue subtle points, and the issue will never be fully settled, especially if you disagree with him.

The mystic sits in meditation and asks himself, “Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going?” He has the sensitivity to take a little flower and study it and conquer the functions of distraction as he works to hold his awareness at attention, like a well-disciplined soldier of the within, with a will supreme in governing that attention. This caliber of mystic will in this way learn to concentrate inwardly, as his supreme will dominates his powers of awareness, bringing forth the body of the soul into the physical elements so its keen inner observation is unfolded.

Lesson 167 – Dancing with Śiva

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

How Do Śaivites Regard Other Faiths?

ŚLOKA 12
Religious beliefs are manifold and different. Śaivites, understanding the strength of this diversity, wholeheartedly respect and encourage all who believe in God. They honor the fact that Truth is one, paths are many. Aum.

BHĀSHYA
Since the inner intent of all religions is to bind man back to God, Śaivite Hindus seek not to interfere with anyone’s faith or practice. We believe that there is no exclusive path, no one way for all. Śaivites profoundly know that God Śiva is the same Supreme Being in whom peoples of all faiths find solace, peace and liberation. None­theless, we realize that all religions are not the same. Each has its unique beliefs, practices, goals and paths of attainment, and the doctrines of one often conflict with those of ano­ther. Even this should never be cause for re­ligious tension or intolerance. Śaivites res­pect all religious traditions and the people within them. They know that good citizens and stable societies are created from groups of religious people. Śaivite leaders sup­port and participate in ecumenical gatherings with all religions. Still, Śai­vites de­fend their faith, proceed contentedly with their practices and avoid the enchantment of other ways, be they ancient or modern. The Vedas ex­plain, “Let us have concord with our own people, and con­cord with people who are strangers to us. Aśvins, create between us and the strangers a unity of hearts.” Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.

Lesson 167 – Living with Śiva

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

When It’s Too Late to Say No

When an Asian girl marries a black boy, should she be banished from the kingdom? Yes, according to the old school, the old standard. No, according to the new school, the new standard. The banishment method of parental punishment is outdated and bizarre today. Today’s girls think. They understand. They do not intend to be the ill-treated servants of the mother-in-law. The days of Cinderella have long since passed when the mean old stepmother made her cringe beneath her wrath. Boys, too, think for themselves. They read, they listen and evaluate. Theirs is an ever-changing world ahead. They are busy preparing for it. But then along comes love, of one kind or another, to complicate their lives.

When Karen falls in love with Shan and elopes to his country, go visit them and bring her home in your heart. “I love you, therefore, I love whom you love.” That should be the attitude. When Kumar announces his undying love for Carmen, his lover from Mexico, and informs you that her father has a place for him as senior partner in his business, accept it. Enjoy Mexico City. It is a great place, because Kumar and Carmen are there.

Yes, hands across the ocean are loving hands. Hands across the ocean are binding continents to continents, businesses to businesses. This and more is what all Hindu elders are seeing happening around them today. Today’s world is a happening world. Cross-national marriages are inevitable as the peoples of the world become more and more a global village. This is the real, earthy expression of our belief in one God and one world. The soul has nothing to do with nationalism, social restrictions, ethnic taboos or restrictive, prejudicial upbringing. Two souls joining in dharmic matrimony transcend all such boundaries.

My advice has always been that families should arrange marriages for their children. That’s part of their purusha and strī dharma. This is a process they should begin early on. But if they don’t do that, obviously their young people will start arranging their own marriages. And very often when they do arrange a marriage for themselves, the family objects. They have no right to object, because they didn’t perform their duty in the first place.

The dilemma is that matches are not being arranged, and yet parents also want strict control over their youth, and youths are going to find partners, one way or another. Girls especially should be chaperoned. It’s very easy in today’s world to meet the wrong kind of people. As one solution, though not the ideal, I recommend in such cases that mature young ladies double-date and chaperone each other. Then they can talk together about the young men they are dating, and bypass the families who’ve neglected their duties, and arrange a good marriage for themselves that will be lasting, and in the future raise the next generation by doing their duty by arranging a marriage according to tradition for their own children early on.

We cannot stand in front of progress, lest we get run over by it. But we can sit by the side of progress and guide it so it doesn’t run off the track. This cannot be done when we break off communications and refuse to talk to the youth when they don’t obey the old standard. It is communication that is catalyzing the changes in the first place, so we all must guide the young by keeping the channels of communication open. Don’t let them go. Go with them. Love them and gently guide them.

NANDINATHA SŪTRA 167: CONTRACTS AND ARBITRATION
My worldly-wise devotees never enter into business transactions without a written contract. In cases of dispute, they avoid courts of law and seek judgment from an arbitration board within their community. Aum.

Lesson 167 – Merging with Śiva

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

Unfolding the Superconscious

The average man may have occasional subsuperconscious experiences and rare superconscious intuitive flashes. His awareness, however, is not attuned to know the intricacies of the working of his own mind. Therefore, he is not able to identify one from the other, making his sense of enjoyment less than that of the mature mystic. Because he is unaware of the higher states of mind, the average man may harbor his awareness deep in a subconscious state of suffering over the past for long periods of time, thereby completely ignoring his superconscious intuitive flashes when they come. As a result, his ability to bring awareness inward, out of the external, conscious and subconscious states of mind and into more blissful and refined areas, is lessened. Now sādhana is necessary for him to unfold his inner depth. Although he is unaware of these superconscious happenings within himself and unable to astutely pinpoint and dramatically distinguish them from his turbulent subconscious, his superconscious breakthroughs do have an effect upon the totality of his being. But when man lives externalized in the conscious and subconscious states, all the inner enjoyment and conscious abilities of exercising perceptive faculties are completely lost. The ritual of daily sādhana must be performed to quell the ordinary mind’s tumultuous turbulence.

There are many mystics in the world today who have had no formal training and seem to unfold inwardly very rapidly simply by learning about the five states of mind, how to distinguish one from another, and how to move awareness within them consciously and systematically. They are participating in and enjoying some of the benefits of being able to experience step-by-step direct cognition of the five states of mind—conscious mind, subconscious mind, sub of the subconscious mind, subsuperconscious mind and superconscious mind. There is but one mind and, in its functioning, it works the same in everyone, as an autonomous, interrelated, self-perpetuating mechanism. Concentrate upon that mind. Find out what the mind is. Observe your thoughts, feelings and actions from within, and know that your mind is yours to use to the extent that you control the mind with the will.

Why must you study the mind? Because understanding alone is fifty percent of the control of the mind. This understanding is necessary to impress the subconscious deeply enough to secure awareness so that spiritual strength continues to come from within, from the superconscious through the subconscious. Before we can meditate, we have to know our way around within the mind. What part of you understands how the mind works? It is your superconscious. The subconscious can’t understand how the mind works, because it’s the repository. The subsubconscious can’t understand. It’s a collective repository. Your conscious mind can’t understand either, for it is opinionated knowledge—looking at the world through the eyes of others. Only the superconscious and subsuperconscious can conceive how the mind works.

Lesson 166 – Dancing with Śiva

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

What Is the Nature of Śaivite Theology?

ŚLOKA 11
Śaivism proclaims: God Śiva is Love, both immanent and transcendent, both the creator and the creation. This world is the arena of our evolution, which leads by stages to moksha, liberation from birth and death. Aum.

BHĀSHYA
Śaivism is a unique religion in which God is both man­ifest and unmanifest, dual and nondual, within us and outside of us. It is not strictly pantheistic, polytheistic or monotheistic. Its predominant theology is known as mon­istic theism, panentheism, or Advaita Īśvaravāda. Mon­ism, the op­po­site of dualism, is the doctrine that reality is a one whole or existence with­out in­dependent parts. Theism is belief in God and the Gods, both im­ma­nent and transcendent. Śaivism is mon­­­istic in its be­lief in a one reality and in the ad­vaitic, or nondual, identity of man with that reality. Śai­vism is theistic in its belief in the Gods, and in God Śiva as a loving, personal Lord, immanent in the world. Śaivism expresses the one­ness of Pati-paśu-pāśa, God-soul-world, en­com­passing the non­dual and the dual, faith­fully carrying forth both Vedānta and Siddhānta, the pristine Sanātana Dharma of the Vedas and Śaiva Āgamas. The Tirumantiram states, “Śud­­dha Śaivas meditate on these as their religious path: One­self, Absolute Reality and the Primal Soul; the categories three: God, soul and bonds; immaculate liberation and all that fetters the soul.” Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.

Lesson 166 – Living with Śiva

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

Cross-National Marriages

Many are the cross-national marriages happening today, marriages between members of different nations, religions, cultures or races. Times have changed. It is communication that has done it. With no communication, there is no change. When information flows freely, independent thinking is the result, and change is inevitable. Yes, inevitable, and that is what we are seeing today. The younger generation are thinking for themselves, no longer relying on elders to advise. This is unfortunate, for now they will have to learn from their own mistakes. What a way to learn! But this is what is happening, and it is happening faster than we would like to see. Much faster.

Any kind of marriage can survive if true love is there as its glue. True love is the kind of love that gives the couple the ability to give and take from each other without serious conflict, to go through the ups and downs together in trust, to support each other without fail and to reign as benign king and queen strong enough to bind all members of the family together. Even the ṛishis said that when true love is there, any kind of astrology is good and the marriage will be lasting. Love overrides all bad influences and softens incompatibilities. Love is the sum of the law. But how would a young couple know if theirs is true love or magnetic love? By giving the love a test. That is how. Test it with time. Magnetic love weakens and all but disappears over time. True love grows stronger, much stronger, with time. True love mellows through the years.

Cross-national marriages are essential to the Hindu thought that avant-garde thinkers are sharing today, “All the world is one family,” Vasudhaiva kuṭumbakam. Citizens of the world bound in love can survive the torrents of the upheavals that naturally come as lives are lived through together and individuals grow ever closer and closer in body, mind and spirit.

Every marriage needs a support of some kind or another built into it. True love is the best support of all, but support from the parents on both sides is a necessary help, too, especially for couples who were drawn together only by magnetism. It is when the magnetic love fades away, and all that’s left are the children, that support from parents and friends is essential for the marriage to last without violent outbursts of released stress which was once undying passion.

Shall we have a look into the future? Since cross-national marriages have happened, are happening, and will continue to happen, there must be some sensible way for them to happen without undue strain on the families of the couple. Wisdom is supposed to fix things, heal conditions, and settle problems. But first we have to admit that there is a problem. And, yes, cross-national marriages are a problem to many people of the old school. The old school only became old just ten years ago. Before then it was a school sharing standards of how things should be to maintain a growing and stable society.

NANDINATHA SŪTRA 166: BUSINESS AMONG MEMBERS
My Church members may employ other members, provided payment is made promptly each Friday. They may receive blessings to go into business with one another if their relationships are harmonious and spiritual. Aum.

Lesson 166 – Merging with Śiva

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

The Five States of Mind

Observing the great vastness of the mind, we can draw another conclusion and say that there are five states of mind: conscious, subconscious, subsubconscious, subsuperconscious and superconscious. The first state is the conscious mind, in which we perform our daily routines. When awareness is in the conscious mind, we are externalized. This means we take our direction mainly from memory of past experiences, from other people, from newspapers, magazines, radio, television or our emotions. The average man is aware in the conscious mind from the time he awakens in the morning until he falls asleep at night. That’s what makes him average. Only when he becomes mystically inclined does he become consciously aware of some of the other four states.

The second state is the subconscious mind, the grand storehouse and computer of man. It faithfully registers all thoughts and feelings that pass through the conscious state, whether correct or incorrect, whether positive or negative. It registers them and acts or reacts accordingly.

The subsubconscious, the third state of mind, is a conglomeration of various actions and reactions that we have experienced in daily life. It is a subtle state composed of two or more vibrations of experience which mingle and form a third vibration. We have an experience. We react to it. Later we have a similar experience. We react to that. These two reactions merge in the subsubconscious, causing a hybrid reaction that lives with us many, many years.

The fourth state is the subsuperconscious mind. Deep, refined and powerful, it filters intuitive flashes from the superconscious mind through the subconscious gridwork. There are times when you want very much to find a clear answer from within yourself. However, being aware in the conscious mind predominantly, awareness is cut off from direct contact with the superconscious. So, you begin to ask questions of yourself. These questions are registered in the subconscious. The subconscious, like a well-programmed computer, begins to search for the right answer from the superconscious mind. Then, all of a sudden, you know the answer from the inside out. Finding solutions through insight or intuition is one of the functions of the subsuperconscious. It also is the source of all true creativity, inspiration, understanding and perfect timing in daily events.

The superconscious is the fifth state of the mind. Within it is one world within another world and yet another. All mystical phenomena and deep religious experiences come from the superconscious. It is the mind of light, beautiful and vast. When one is superconsciously alive, he feels joyously alive throughout the totality of his being—physically, emotionally and mentally—for new energies are working through his nerve system. This state of the mind is available to everyone to be aware in. The superconscious is the mind of bliss. It is vast, pure intelligence. The subsuperconscious mind is that aspect of the superconscious functioning through established subconscious patterns.

As we learn to identify these states, one from another, we also become more sensitive, like the artist who learns to observe depth, color and dimension within a beautiful painting. His sense of enjoyment is far superior to that of the average man who simply sees the painting as a nice picture, having no appreciation of the intricacies of color, depth, movement and technique.

Lesson 165 – Dancing with Śiva

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

What Is the Universalistic Smārta Sect?

ŚLOKA 10
Smārtism is an ancient brāhminical tradition reformed by Sankara in the ninth century. Worshiping six forms of God, this liberal Hindu path is monistic, nonsectarian, meditative and philosophical. Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.

BHĀSHYA
Smārta means a follower of classical smṛiti, particularly the Dharma Śāstras, Purāṇas and Itihāsas. Smārtas re­vere the Ve­das and honor the Āgamas. Today this faith is synonymous with the teachings of Adi Sankara, the monk-phil­os­opher known as shaṇmata sthāpanāchārya, “found­­er of the six-sect system.” He campaigned India-wide to con­solidate the Hindu faiths of his time under the banner of Advaita Vedānta. To unify the worship, he popularized the an­cient Smārta five-Deity altar—Ga­ṇa­pati, Sūrya, Vishṇu, Śiva and Śakti—and added Kumāra. From these, devotees may choose their “preferred Deity,” or Ishṭa Devatā. Each God is but a reflection of the one Sa­guṇa Brahman. Sankara organized hundreds of mon­asteries into a ten-order, da­śa­­nā­mī system, which now has five pontifical cen­ters. He wrote profuse commentaries on the Upani­shads, Brah­­­ma Sūtras and Bhagavad Gītā. Sankara proclaimed, “It is the one Reality which ap­pears to our ignorance as a manifold universe of names and forms and changes. Like the gold of which many or­­naments are made, it remains in itself un­chang­ed. Such is Brahman, and That art Thou.” Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.