Dancing with Śiva

Within him is fire, within him is drink, within him both Earth and Heaven. He is the sun which views the whole world, he is indeed light itself—the long-haired ascetic. Girded by the wind, they have donned ocher mud for a garment. So soon as the Gods have entered within them, they follow the wings of the wind, these silent ascetics. “Intoxicated,” they say, “by our austerities, we have taken the winds for our steeds. You ordinary mortals here below see nothing except our bodies.” He flies through midair, the silent ascetic, beholding the forms of all things. To every God he has made himself a friend and collaborator. Ridden by the wind, companion of its blowing, pushed along by the Gods, he is at home in both seas, the East and the West—this silent ascetic. §

Ṛig Veda 10.136.1-5. VE, 436§

A mighty weapon, the Upanishad. Take it as a bow. Affix an arrow sharpened by devotion. Bend the bow by a thought concentrated on That. Hit the target, my dear—the Imperishable. Aum is the bow, the ātman is the arrow; Brahman, they say, is the target to be pierced by concentration. Thus one become, united with Brahman as an arrow with the target. §

Kṛishṇa Yajur Veda, Mahānārāyaṇa Upanishad 540-541. VE, 774§

Having realized with mind and heart, having become wise, you will no longer move on the path of death. Therefore, they call renunciation the ardor surpassing all others. §

Kṛishṇa Yajur Veda, Mahāṇārāyaṇa Upanishad 537-8. VE, 439§

What people call salvation is really continence. For through continence man is freed from ignorance. And what is known as the vow of silence, that too is really continence. For a man through continence realizes the Self and lives in quiet contemplation.§

Sāma Veda, Çhandogya Upanishad 8.5.1. UPP, 123§

Know, Arjuna, that what men call renunciation is the authentic yoga, for without renouncing all desire no man becomes a yogin. The silent sage climbing toward yoga uses work as a means. Quiescence and serenity are the proper course for one who has attained. §

Bhagavad Gītā 6.2-3. VE, 445§

In the one who has conquered his self and is peaceful, the Supreme Self, in heat or cold, joy or pain, honor or disgrace, abides in serenity. He who is full of wisdom and understanding, calm and controlled, to whom a clod, a stone and gold are the same, is in truth a yogin. §

Bhagavad Gītā 6.7-8. VE, 445§

Beyond birth and death, reached by renunciate tapas is He, my Lord of resplendent glory! Sing His praise! Incessantly pray! Heaven’s Lord shall show you the land of dharma. §

Tirumantiram 1614. TM§

A myriad times are they born and die. In a million follies they forget this; and in the darkness of mala are enveloped. When at last the hidden Grace of Śiva bursts forth and chases the night away, then is the moment for the soul to renounce. When it does, a radiant light it becomes.§

Tirumantiram 1615. TM§

The tapasvins many that live by alms have no life hereafter. On them shall be showered all blessings of spiritual wealth. They that perform tapas incessant attain the power to end all births to be.§

Tirumantiram 1803. TM§

The scriptures exalt above every other good the greatness of virtuous renunciates. Those who perfectly renounce attain the highest peak; the rest remain ensnared in delusion’s net.§

Tirukural 21; 348. WW§

Hail, O sannyāsin, you who knows no guile! Establish in your heart and worship there that Taintless One—Pañchākshara’s inmost core, whom neither Vishṇu nor Brahmā had power to comprehend. You who regards all others as yourself—who in this world can be compared with you? The powerful karma your past deeds have wrought will vanish without trace. Daily, on the thought “Is not this jīva Śiva?” you must meditate. §

Natchintanai, “O Sannyasin!” NT, 146§

On those who wholeheartedly surrender their possessions, souls and bodies, Naṭarāja, the Gracious Giver, will at once bestow His golden lotus feet. That is the truth! §

Natchintanai, “Body Is a Temple.” NT, 99§