Lesson 322 – 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 322 – Living with Śiva 

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

Guidelines For Prayers

We are reminded not to ask for services that the devas would normally provide, such as “Please help me,” or “Please bless me, devas.” These services are automatically performed by the guardian devas of each devout individual without asking. When not responding to requests, the devonic saṅgams send their prāṇas, with thoughts of help and healing, through the guardian devas of the devotee. They literally flood the guardian devas with prāṇas to be used by them to glorify the home and protect their wards in daily life in the physical world. This is a service given without asking. It refers to the flow of prāṇic energy to the devotee, as opposed to getting permission. To receive such blessings for yourself and to receive blessings to start a project are two different things.

Devonic helpers often do know what a devotee needs, but they are admonished by the dharmic law that requires that they must be asked before steps toward fulfillment can be taken. They are controlled by the worthy law of noninterference in the lives of those who do not pray. Prayer simply means politely asking. This ancient law is: “The devotee must first take one step toward the guru. Then the guru will take nine steps toward the devotee.” Many guardian devas connected to the saṅgam groups of devas are inner-plane gurus of karma, and when asked they will fulfill their nine steps quite willingly and abundantly.

Clarity is essential for the devas to fulfill the petitions to the lasting satisfaction of each devotee. For complex issues, the explanations may need to be lengthy. Names and addresses of the various parties involved should be included. Along with your prayers, you can send typed documents, copies of contracts, etc., to clarify the subject. In this way you can make sure that the Gods and their devas are aware of the details of your prayer and understand your need fully.

Mail or fax your prayers to a temple that knows how to handle prayers through its sacred fire. At our temples we regularly receive and accept prayers for the sacred fire from members of the Hindu religion, for they have Hindu guardian devas who are prepared to help with their needs. Non-Hindus have guardian devas of other traditions and are not encouraged to write prayers to the Hindu devas. Prayers for the sacred fire can be sent to Kadavul Hindu Temple, 107 Kaholalele Road, Kapaa, Hawaii, 96746-9304 USA. Write “prayer” on the outside of the envelope. All prayers are confidential, never read by the priests. It is traditional to give a gift of gratitude if a prayer is answered to your satisfaction, but not before. If you feel inclined to send a love offering with your prayers, for previous prayers answered, be sure to keep it outside the sealed envelope containing your prayers, as that will be placed into the sacred fire unopened. Kadavul Hindu Temple has its own rules for accepting prayers to be burned in the sacred fire. Please email for more information if you wish to send a prayer.

One word of caution: it would be weakening to depend entirely on the inner-world devas to do everything for you. There are many, many things that you can do yourself to overcome difficulties and carve a positive future. They say, “When the will rises and commands, even the Gods are willing to obey.” You have to use your willpower first, and try your very best to do the very best that you can. Then you get all the devonic help available. Don’t just send in prayers and say, “Live my life for me, inner-world beings. I am not going to do anything. I will just sit back, put my feet up and let you do everything for me.” It does not work that way.

NANDINATHA SŪTRA 322: REMAINING ABOVE CORRUPTION AND CONTROL
Śiva’s monastics never compromise their ideals or rules for material or political gain, nor come under the control of the rich or influential. Vows prohibit them from being told what to think, say or do except by their order. Aum.

Lesson 322 – Merging with Śiva 

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

When the Quiet Comes

In order to really meditate to the depth of contemplation, and not merely to quiet mind and emotion and feel a little serenity, you have to be a member of a religion that gives the hope of nondual union with God, that teaches that God is within man, only to be realized. Meditation, if it is to lead to jñāna, must begin with a belief that there is no intrinsic evil and encompass the truth of karma, that we are responsible for our own actions. Such meditation must be undertaken by a member of a religion that gives a hope of a future life and does not threaten failure with eternal suffering, should failure be the result. Such meditation is possible, in fact required, of those who follow the Hindu Dharma. Hence, the practice of yoga is the highest pinnacle within our most ancient faith.

If you go through the entire holy scriptures of Śaivism, you will not find our saints singing hymns to Adonai-Yahweh, Buddha or Jesus. Our saints told us to worship God Śiva, the Supreme God, to worship Gaṇeśa first before worshiping Śiva, to worship Lord Murugan. In the old days, there were millions of Śiva temples, from the Himalayan peaks of Nepal, through North and South India, Sri Lanka and what is now Malaysia and Indonesia. Everyone was of one mind, worshiping Śiva together, singing His praises with a one voice. As a result, India was spiritually unified. It was then the wealthiest country in the world. The worship of Śiva will give you wealth. The worship of Śiva will give you health. The worship of Śiva will give you knowledge. The worship of Śiva will fill your heart with love and compassion.

The Śaiva Samayam is the greatest religion in the world. The Śaiva Samayam is the oldest religion in the world. The Śaiva Samayam has yoga. It has great temples, great pandits, ṛishis and scriptures. All the saints who sang the songs of Śiva told us how to worship Śiva and how we should live our Śaivite lives. We must all follow those instructions. In singing those songs to Śiva, Śiva will give you everything that you ask for. He will give you everything that you ask for, because Śiva is the God of Love. Our saints have sung that Śiva is within us, and we are within Śiva. Knowing that, fear and worry and doubt are forever gone from our mind.

When the mind has resolved all of its differences through worship, penance, dhāraṇā, dhyāna, then the inner which is stillness itself is known. Then the inner is stronger than the outer. It is then easy to see every other person going through what has to be gone through during his or her particular stage on the path. Opposites are there, but no opposites are seen. This is why it is easy for the wise—made wise through spiritual unfoldment—to say, “There is no injustice in the world. There is no evil, no sin.”

We only see opposites when our vision is limited, when we have not experienced totally. There is a point of view which resolves all contradictions and answers all questions. Yet to be experienced is yet to be understood. Once experienced and understood, the Quiet comes. The karmas are quiet. This is the arduous path of charyā, kriyā and yoga resulting in jñāna. This is the path of not only endeavoring to unfold the higher nature but, at the same time and toward the same end, dealing positively and consciously with the remnants of the lower nature. Following this spiritual path, we find ourselves effortlessly replacing charity for greed and dealing with, rather than merely suppressing, the instinctive feelings of jealousy, hatred, desire and anger.

Lesson 321 – 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 321 – Living with Śiva 

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

The Bamboo Tyēīf Font

Several years ago we created a Tyēīf font for the computer, to make it easy to write legible prayers in Tyēīf. On our website‚ at www.HimalayanAcademy.com/fonts/, you can download the font and also find out more about writing prayers. It is good for your powers of concentration to learn to read the Tyēīf script, but if you are using a computer, this is not really necessary, unless you want to write Tyēīf by hand, which many do. The easiest way to compose your prayer on a computer is to type in an English font, such as Geneva, and then select the text and change it to the Tyēīf font. Prayers written in Tyēīf have built-in confidentiality. You might leave a prayer to the devas on your desk. As few people read the Tyēīf script readily, confidentiality is ensured.

Should you be traveling and not have your computer with you, you can always write your prayers in Tyēīf the old-fashioned way, by hand. It is artistic to use a soft flow pen, and even more artistic to use a Japanese ink brush. If you want to be really modern, use a black, sharp-pointed pen. The Tyēīf script looks good coming from whatever plume you choose. Many devotees enjoy writing Tyēīf by hand in vertical columns from top to bottom. When writing by hand, this is quite acceptable. Always use black ink, never colors. Black translates to white or gray in the inner world, where the prayer appears reversed. The paper that is white becomes black, and the letters that are black become white. It is only by two or three devas holding it and putting their prāṇas into it that the prayer again becomes black on white as it appeared when it was sent. They do this only when they want to keep the document to study it. Many prayers are so simple that they can be easily memorized as they appear on the black background in white ink, and it is not worthwhile energizing them into a durable form.

If you use colored paper and colored ink in writing your prayers, your words could be unreadable, even using the Tyēīf script. Colored paper appears dark purplish-blue in the inner world, somewhat like the ashes of burned paper, still intact, but barely legible, ready to disintegrate at the first touch. Therefore, just sit down and write your prayer in Tyēīf with a black pen on white paper.

Typed documents—on one side of the page only—are acceptable and easily read in the inner world, as long as the size of the type is not too small. Typewritten prayers (again, on one side of the page) in English or any language are also acceptable to the devas, as are hand-printed prayers that are written with well-rounded, clearly formed letters. Be sure to sign the prayer and also include the date.

The writing of prayers can be done in several ways. Each devotee can write his or her own prayer about personal questions, needs or problems. One can pray for another person, for a group of people, or for a situation to clear up within a group or community, even for solutions to national or world problems. Every prayer received is answered in some way, however mysterious. Not one is neglected, ever.

The Gods and devas look very carefully into the karma of the devotee before taking any action. Because of this, it is always best to describe two or more alternatives that you would be satisfied with in each prayer, rather than insisting on only one solution. This is because your first preference may not be possible in your karmic pattern or, without your knowing, it may actually be the worst possible thing that could happen to you. In this case, your prayer would be answered with a non-answer. Therefore, it is wise to suggest two or more alternatives when making a request. For example, in seeking help in finding employment, you might suggest three places you would be content at, indicating first choice, second and third.

NANDINATHA SŪTRA 321: PRESERVING THE THREE PILLARS OF ŚAIVISM
Śiva’s monastics valiantly bring Śaivism into the future of futures. The fullness of their mission lies in our faith’s three pillars—temples, scriptures and satgurus—which they are vowed to protect, preserve and promote. Aum.

Lesson 321 – Merging with Śiva

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

The Nature Of God Śiva

Śiva has a form. He is also formless. But He does have a form, and He exists in the realm of highest consciousness called the Śivaloka. Śiva has a mind, a superconscious mind that permeates like a plasma all the forms that He creates, all the forms that He preserves and all the forms that He absorbs back into Himself. Śiva is very close to each and every one of us. Śiva’s mind permeates all of us. But when we want to see Śiva’s form and receive His darshan, we go to the Śiva temple, and when the holy priest invokes God Śiva, God Śiva hovers in His body of golden light over the Śivaliṅga. In deep meditation, Śivajñāna, we can, within the temple of our own heart, see God Śiva’s Holy Form.

God Śiva creates. God Śiva preserves all His creations and, when the creation is no longer needed, absorbs it back into Himself, to create again. Śaivites all over the world love God Śiva. God Śiva loves His devotees. For each step the devotee takes toward Śiva, Śiva takes nine steps toward the devotee. Such are the final conclusions of Śaiva Siddhānta.

There is no reason to ever become confused about the many Deities in our wonderful Hindu faith. Is Lord Gaṇeśa our Supreme God? No. Is Lord Murugan our Supreme God? No. They are Gods, two of the many Gods that God Śiva has created. But God Śiva is Supreme God, timeless, formless, spaceless, permeating all form, and yet having a form. He is the fullness of everything that fills people from within out.

In Śaivism we become strong, we become fearless, through our worship of Śiva. Members of the Śaiva Samayam, the Śaivite religion, do not fear death, for they know about rebirth. Members of the Śaiva Samayam do not fear an eternal hell; there is no eternal hell. Members of the Śaiva Samayam do not fear their ministers, their priests, swāmīs or gurus. Members of the Śaiva Samayam do not fear God. The lack of fear, therefore, makes you strong. Our saints tell us in the sacred hymns of the Tirumurai that the worship of Śiva makes you strong. The worship of God Śiva brings you intelligence. The worship of God Śiva will bring you knowledge of your divine, inner Self. Remember this as you go forth in life: we do not use weapons in our religion. We follow the path of nonviolence, noninjury to other beings. Our only weapon is our mind, our intelligence.

Unfortunately, in some, though not all, of the Judaic/Christian sects, the fear of God is prevalent. The distinction between good and bad, heaven and hell, is predominant, causing fears, apprehension and deep mental conflict. Hence, this psychological set-up is not conducive to the practice of yoga, for it arbitrates against the very idea of oneness of man and God which the yogī seeks. Those who have been so indoctrinated often try to meditate, but necessarily do not succeed in its deepest attainments, because of subconscious barriers placed there by a dualistic philosophy.

Lesson 320 – 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.

Lesson 320 – Living with Śiva 

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

The Dharma Of Prayer

You may ask if the devas perform only good for us, and if they test us or punish us. All devas are under one of the Gods. When you write prayers to Lord Gaṇeśa, some of His devas go to work in finding a solution for you. It is the same for Lord Murugan. Lord Śiva is creator, preserver and destroyer of all that exists, but He also has tens of hundreds of thousands of devas who serve His devotees. All Śiva temples are ahiṁsā, benign. The temple devas who answer prayers are those who represent only two of Śiva’s powers: that of creation and that of preservation. The innocent requests, void of malice toward others, are considered benign and acceptable. No request is fulfilled for a bad thing to happen—the death of an enemy, the failure of one person so that another can succeed, the displacement of a neighbor, the fall of business competitors, the injury of those who have injured us, the death of an infidel, equal retaliation for hurts received (the eye-for-an-eye, tooth-for-a-tooth philosophy). Any such retaliatory, hurtful, hiṁsā request is automatically placed into another sacred homa fire in the inner world by the first deva who reads it and sent back to the sender in tongues of fire to his heart to stimulate the fire of tapas, to soften his heart and to lift this young soul into higher consciousness, out from the asuric realms in which he lives. No, the Śiva temple’s sacred fires can never be used for black magic, gray magic or the manipulation of other lives for the personal benefit of one’s own. Hurtfulness, hiṁsā, is to be avoided, lest it stimulate the fires of tapas within the hiṁsā advocate and begin a process of purification that one might not be quite ready for.

There is no need to fear tapas, though it can be painful to see the malice wished on another come back to oneself. This is Śiva’s mode of dissolution, a grace that burns away ill will and brings about a softening of the heart. It is one’s own malice that must be faced and overcome and destroyed. When tapas begins, it will burn off the accumulated dross from the wrongdoings of many past lives and eventually lift the soul to higher consciousness. This is why we call higher consciousness “Śiva consciousness.” But tapas is a painful process, one to be avoided by not wishing harm on another through the sacred fire.

You can gently purify yourself, while avoiding the burning fire of tapas, by following the disciplines of Śaivite religious life and sādhana such as the yamas and niyamas, the pañcha nitya karmas, scriptural study and other personal disciplines given by the Kailāsa Paramparā satgurus. These keep the fires of tapas only warm, not burning hot, and accomplish the same purpose over a prolonged period of time.

NANDINATHA SŪTRA 320: LIVING IN THE SPIRIT OF TOGETHERNESS
My Śaiva monastics embrace a selfless life in which all work their minds together to keep the monastery strong. They never follow an individual path, remaining remote or aloof from brother maṭhavāsis. Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.

Lesson 320 – Merging with Śiva

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

Attaining The Ultimate

In other words, the practice of yoga well performed produces the jñānī. The yogī has the same experiences, if he is successful, and comes out with the same independent knowledge which, when reviewed, corresponds perfectly with what other jñānīs discovered and taught as the outcome of their yogic practices. This kind of knowledge surpasses all other knowing and is the basis of all Hindu scriptures. The jñānī is a rare soul, a highly evolved soul. He speaks of Truth from his experience of it and gives it a personal touch. As Sri Ramakrishna said, you go into yourself a fool, but through the practices of yoga you come out a wise man. That is the jñānī—the knower of the Unknowable.

The yogī who is in the process of yoga, who has not graduated to God Realization, is not yet a jñānī, though he has all kinds of realizations along the way, some sustained, others yet to be sustained. The yogī is seeking, striving, changing, unfolding, trying with all his heart to become, to know his ultimate goal. When the merger has become complete, when two have become one, he is no longer a yogī, he is a jñānī. When the student graduates from college, he is no longer a student, he is a graduate. The merger of which I speak is Paraśiva, to be experienced by the sannyāsin who has turned from the world and into himself.

There is yet another realization which can be described as experiencing God Śiva as Satchidānanda, as light and love and consciousness. This also may be achieved through yoga. When one experiences this expanded state of being, this cosmic consciousness, he comes back knowing he has had a fantastic experience, but no jñāna persists, for he has yet to attain the Ultimate. Family people can attain this second state through diligent effort, and even attain to Paraśiva at the point of death, or before if the path of renunciation is entered upon fully after life’s obligations have been fulfilled. But there are few, very few, who have attained the highest of the high, Paraśiva, after having been householders, having fulfilled their family dharma, freed from any and all worldly endeavors, plunged into total, total abandonment of spouse, family, friends, associates of all kind, taking no disciples, shunning devotees and forever living alone on alms, to seek the highest of the high. As said, even following such a strict path, there are few, very few, who attain to Absolute Reality. But all who strive have done powerful preparation for their next life.

My satguru, Siva Yogaswami, often said, “Lord Śiva is within you. You are within Lord Śiva. Lord Śiva, with all of His powers, cannot separate Himself from you.” Siva Yogaswami told us to go to the temple, to worship at the temple. He also told us to go within ourselves, into Śivajñāna. He did not tell us not to go to the temple. He did not try to break our faith. He tried to build our faith and make us strong. He guided us on the straight path, the path of the Śaivite saints, leading us to the feet of Śiva.

Siva Yogaswami himself, though completely Self realized, went regularly to the temple, worshiped Śiva there, then plunged within himself in the aftermath of holy pūjā, drawing near to Śiva through meditation. He never advocated, nor has any traditional Śaivite satguru advocated, that advanced devotees give up bhakti, give up the temple. No! Never! They taught that Śiva is within and cannot be separated from you, but they also wisely directed us to seek Him and worship Him in the temple.

Lesson 319 – Dancing with Śiva

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

What Is the Devotional Vaishṇava Sect?

ŚLOKA 9
Vaishṇavism is an ancient Hindu sect centering on the worship of Lord Vishṇu and His incarnations, especially Kṛishṇa and Rāma. Largely dualistic, profoundly devotional, it is rich in saints, temples and scriptures. Aum.

BHĀSHYA
The worship of Vishṇu, meaning “pervader,” dates back to Vedic times. The Pañcharātra and Bhāgavata sects were popular prior to 300 BCE. Today’s five Vaishṇava schools emerged in the middle ages, founded by Ramanuja, Madhva, Nimbarka, Vallabha and Chaitanya. Vaish­ṇa­­vism stresses prapatti, single-pointed sur­­render to Vishṇu, or His ten or more incarnations, called av­a­­tāras. Japa is a key devotional sādhana, as is ecstatic chanting and dancing, called kīrtana. Temple worship and festivals are elaborately observed. Philosophically, Vaishṇa­vism ranges from Madhva’s pure du­alism to Ramanuja’s qualified nondualism to Vallabha’s nearly monistic vis­ion. God and soul are everlastingly distinct. The soul’s destiny, through God’s grace, is to eternally worship and en­joy Him. While general­ly nonascetic, advocating bhakti as the highest path, Vaish­ṇa­­vism has a strong mon­astic community. Central scriptures are the Vedas, Vaish­ṇava Āga­mas, Itihāsas and Purāṇas. The Bhagavad Gītā states, “On those who meditate on Me and worship with un­divided heart, I confer attainment of what they have not, and preserve what they have.” Aum Namo Nārāyaṇāya.