Dancing with Śiva

Yes, may the man who within his home pleases you all his days with songs and with offerings receive a rich reward, be loaded with your gifts! To him be happiness! This is our prayer. §

Ṛig Veda 4.4.7. VE, 845§

Aum. O terrestrial sphere! O sphere of space! O celestial sphere! Let us contemplate the splendor of the Solar Spirit, the Divine Creator. May He guide our minds. §

Ṛig Veda (Gāyatrī Mantra) 3.62.10. HP, 345§

For you is my offering, to you I will pray, to you who are worthy of homage and worship. You, O God, are a spring in the desert for the man who is thirsty for you, O Everliving. §

Ṛig Veda 10.4.1. VE, 302§

All that God does shall win our praise. We magnify His name with hymns, seeking boons from the Mighty. §

Ṛig Veda 1.42.10. VE, 805§

The rites of oblation, O lovers of truth, which the sages divined from the sacred verses, were variously expounded in the threefold Veda. Perform them with constant care. This is your path to the world of holy action.§

Atharva Veda, Muṇḍaka Upanishad 1.2.1. VE, 414§

Whatever the merit in any sacrifice, austerity, offering, pilgrimage or place, the merit of worship of the Śivaliṅga equals that merit multiplied by hundreds of thousands. §

Kāraṇa Āgama 9. MT, 66§

In the forenoon with a white garment, in midday with a red garment, with a yellow garment in the evening, and with any of them in the night, the worshiper, drawing the God near with the Sadyojāta Mantra, should cause Him to be firmly established by means of the Vāma Mantra and the Aghora Mantra. §

Kāraṇa Āgama 269-270. MT, 186§

First there should be purification of one’s self; secondly, purification of the site; thirdly, there should be the cleansing of the worship materials, fourthly, purification of the Liṅga; fifthly, purification of the mantras should be done. Thus there is the five-fold purification.§

Kāraṇa Āgama 46. MT, 100§

Even the incompetent, indeed, should worship, ending with the offering of sacrificial food, ending with light. He who daily does this shall obtain progress toward the Auspicious.§

Kāraṇa Āgama 450. MT, 227§

There is no difference between devotion and perfect knowledge. A person who is engrossed in devotion enjoys perpetual happiness. And perfect knowledge never descends in a vicious person averse to devotion.§

Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra S. 23.16. AI, VOL. I 380§

He folded his hands in adoration and praised the Lord’s feet. His deep love melted in a stream, the flood from his eyes gushed out and spread over his body. §

Periyapuranam 5.21.253. PS, 49§

What has learning profited a man, if it has not led him to worship the good feet of Him who is pure knowledge itself? They alone dispel the mind’s distress who take refuge at the feet of the Incomparable One.§

Tirukural 2, 7. WW§

They who walk the twin paths of charyā and kriyā ever praise the twin feet of the Lord. They wear holy emblems—the twin rings in earlobes, the twin rudrāksha garland around the neck—and adopt the twin mudrās, all in amiable constancy. §

Tirumantiram 1423. TM§

It is devotion to God, Śiva bhakti, alone that makes a man blessed. Everything else is useless. Therefore, without break, practice Śivadhyāna. Do not be afraid of anything. Victory is yours! Body, soul, possessions—surrender all three to God. Thereafter give up everything that concerns yourself and see that all is He and He alone.§

Natchintanai, “Sivabhakti.” NT, 7§

Have faith in God. Believe in Him with all your heart. Think that in the world He is for you the sweetest of all sweet things. Think that there is nothing other than God. Sitting or standing, walking or lying down, think of Him. Let the thought of Him permeate your nerves, flesh and blood. Think that you are nonexistent and that He alone exists. Let the aim of your life be to worship Him. What one thinks, that one becomes. Have God in your heart and bring Him up there. Let all actions be His action. Finally all will be seen as He. §

Natchintanai, “Let God Be…” NT, 7§