Lesson 309 – Dancing with Śiva

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Recording: Gurudeva’s cloned voice

Who Were Kadaitswami and Chellappan?

ŚLOKA 154
Kadaitswami was a dynamic satguru who revived Śaivism in Catholic-dominated Jaffna, Sri Lanka, in the 1800 s. Chellappaswami was an ardent sage, ablaze with God consciousness, immersed in divine soliloquy. Aum.

BHĀSHYA
Kadaitswami was a powerful siddha, standing two meters tall, whose fiery marketplace talks converted thousands back to Śaivism. It is said he was a high court judge who refused to confer the death penalty and renounced his career at middle age to become a sannyāsin. Directed by his satguru to be a worker of miracles, he performed siddhis that are talked about to this day—turning iron to gold, drinking molten wax, disappearing and appearing elsewhere. Chellappaswami, initiated at age nineteen, lived alone in the teradi at Nallur temple. Absorbed in the inner Self, recognizing no duality, he uttered advaitic axioms in constant refrain: “There is no intrinsic evil. It was all finished long ago. All that is, is Truth. We know not!” The Natchintanai says, “Laughing, Chellappan roams in Nallur’s precincts. Appearing like a man possessed, he scorns all outward show. Dark is his body; his only garment, rags. Now all my sins have gone, for he has burnt them up! Always repeating something softly to himself, he will impart the blessing of true life to anyone who ventures to come near him. And he has made a temple of my mind.” Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.

Lesson 309 – Living with Śiva

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Recording: Gurudeva’s cloned voice

Angelic Helpers

Good evening! It is wonderful to be in Mauritius and see how strong Śaivism is here. You have the advantage, not enjoyed in countries like Sri Lanka and Malaysia, that Hindus form the majority of the population of this beautiful island nation. This makes it possible for you to set a fine example to all the world, to courageously and dynamically teach and preach the Śaiva faith through your temple society and other fine institutions. I hope you will do this, and by doing so bring Śaivism positively into the technological age.

Tonight I want so speak about the great Gods of our ancient religion and the holy temples where we commune and communicate with these spiritual beings. A Hindu temple such as this one is filled with millions of devas. When someone is born into the Hindu religion, or formally accepted into the religion later in life, guardian devas in the unseen worlds are assigned to automatically protect and guide him through his Earthly life. These guardian devas in the heaven world cannot be seen by you with your physical eyes, but they can be seen and are seen by those who know how to use the psychic vision of their third eye. Nevertheless, you can feel their presence in your home. They surround you, they help you and they communicate with the great Gods of our religion to guide you through life.

There are three worlds of existence. The Third World is where the highest beings, such as Lord Gaṇeśa, Lord Murugan and our Great God Śiva, exist in shining bodies of golden light. This Third World is called the Śivaloka. The Second World of existence, or astral plane, is called the Devaloka. The great Gods have millions of helpers in the Devaloka who help each and every one of us. One or more of them is assigned to personally help you in this First World, which is the world of material or physical existence, called the Bhūloka. When we leave our physical body at night, we go into the Devaloka, the Second World, and commune with the devas there and with the Gods of our religion in the Śivaloka, the Third World.

Śaivism’s most sacred substance, the holy ash, is the symbol of our religion, and we wear it across our forehead as a symbol of purity. But even more so, the devas in the Devaloka, in the Second World, can actually see this sacred substance on our forehead. They can actually hear the chanting of your sacred devotional hymns, your Devarams. They can actually see the flame that is passed before the image that represents the Deity. This is why we wear this pure white ash, to alert the devas that we are members of this religion. This vibhūti is a sign, a way of saying, “We seek your help, and we seek your blessings.” And by seeing the ash, they can distinguish your face. When they look into this world, it is like looking through a veil. They cannot see us too clearly. So we have signs and symbols to attract their attention, to earn their grace and their blessings. This is why it is important, especially when you come to the temple, to wear the sacred ash, so that you can be seen by the great beings in the inner worlds and attract their attention. They will respond. They will heal the aching mind.

NANDINATHA SŪTRA 309: RĀJA YOGA, THE ROYAL PATH TO REALIZATION
My devotees learn and perfect the five steps to enlightenment: attention, concentration, meditation, contemplation and finally samādhi, wherein they realize the unspeakable Truth known only by the knower. Aum.

Lesson 309 – Merging with Śiva

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Recording: Gurudeva’s cloned voice

The Meeting of Two Darshans

Once someone said of my guru, Yogaswami, “You have to make yourself like a fool to go in front of that man. He will speak as a madman of God to you. But if you go to him in an ordinary state of consciousness, he will say, ‘I’m just like you. Go away. I have nothing to say. Nothing comes from the inside. Go away!’ ” You have to be an intellectual fool to be in front of the satguru. If you hear ordinary things from the guru, look closely at yourself. He is your closest mirror. He is only biding his time with you until the extraordinary ones come along to utilize his depths. Most gurus enjoy an exquisite inner life that is so refined and interesting, it keeps them very well occupied.

The darshan of a satguru in Sri Lanka and India is judged by how one feels on the inside after leaving his presence—not necessarily by the feelings that persist while in his presence—because the guru could be emotionally upset in the presence of a clever visitor. So, it is only after one leaves, while experiencing his reaction to having been with the guru, that the depth of the guru’s darshan is judged. The darshan of a satguru siphons your own bliss, in a similar way that liquid is siphoned. A guru works with darshan in two ways. One way is through giving it deliberately; that is the “flow-out” of darshan. Another way is to pull the flow within of external forces; that is the “flow-in” of darshan. He is siphoning it from his devotees. At the same time, he is giving, too, of his natural darshan.

Each guru has a natural darshan, according to his unfoldment and training. When he is personally going through something, his vibratory rate changes from time to time. Basically, there is only one darshan, which is right from his soul, but going through various unfolded channels, like a prism, it can come to many powers. From some gurus the darshan is deeply loving, warm and gentle. From others it is fiery, sharp and profoundly detached. Many have a darshan so deep it cannot be readily felt, so withdrawn is their consciousness from this plane.

The vibration of the soul of an aspirant on the path when he is meditating is realized by the satguru, and this is the time he helps the most. The bliss of the aspirant is the ultimate of what he wants to bring forth first. The darshan of the satguru will syphon that from him if the intellect or emotion of the aspirant does not get in the way and obstruct and interrupt the process. If you are a meditator who has had inner experiences of light and are living a strict, disciplined life, you will reach a point in your unfoldment of sensitivity enough to feel and distinguish the darshan of a satguru. Soon the feeling will switch, and you will begin enjoying your own bliss of superconscious darshan. These two darshans—yours and that of the satguru—then meet, causing a spiritual dynamic strong enough that another meditator entering the area would automatically be inclined to go into deep meditation even if he were a beginner.

Devotees may say, “I have realized the Self.” How does one know if this is true or not? One does not ascertain this by philosophically questioning, because they know all the right answers. They have memorized them. Look at the aura! Yes! That is telling. And then encourage them to do it again. He did it once. Do it again. The channel is open. The wise satguru will simply watch and feel the devotee’s darshan. If the devotee truly has had the realization of the Self, how wonderful. The darshan will grow stronger. It does not get weaker. It becomes better and better as the months and years go by. But if the feeling that comes forth from within him begins to feel terrible a few weeks after the illumination, it becomes apparent that he undoubtedly had a fine inner experience, but did not go all the way to the source of it all.

The darshan of an adept sitting in Satchidānanda is quite different from the ordinary daily darshan. It is extremely intense, and it causes that ringing sound to vibrate the inner atmosphere in the minds of everyone. No one feels like moving during this holy time, so intensely alive are they. The high-pitched darshan of Satchidānanda is so intense that the physical body does not move, hardly breathes. This you experience when you are in the presence of someone who is going in and out of Satchidānanda and Paraśiva. It is a different kind of darshan—awe inspiring.

The vibration of darshan knows no time or space. You see darshan when the satguru is around, and you can feel his darshan when he is miles away, even at times stronger. Look at darshan as great wires of communication, much like an open telephone line, enabling you to pick up the receiver and always find someone at the other end of the line. Subconscious problems only arise when the devotee does not feel the guru’s darshan. During these times, his personal ego takes over and he becomes confused and ashamed.

Lesson 308 – Dancing with Śiva

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Recording: Gurudeva’s cloned voice

Who Were the Early Kailāsa Preceptors?

ŚLOKA 153
Among its ancient gurus, the Kailāsa Paramparā honors the illustrious Rishi Tirumular and his generations of successors. In recent history we especially revere the silent siddha called “Rishi from the Himalayas.” Aum.

BHĀSHYA
Having achieved perfect enlightenment and the eight siddhis at the feet of Maharishi Nandinatha in the Himalayas, Rishi Tirumular was sent by his satguru to revive Śaiva Siddhānta in the South of India. Finally, he reached Tiruvavaduthurai, where, in the Tamil language, he recorded the truths of the Śaiva Āgamas and the precious Vedas in the Tirumantiram, a book of over 3,000 esoteric verses. Through the centuries, the Kailāsa mantle was passed from one siddha yogī to the next. Among these luminaries was the nameless Rishi from the Himalayas, who in the 1700s entered a teashop in a village near Bangalore, sat down and entered into deep samādhi. He did not move for seven years, nor did he speak. Streams of devotees came for his darśana. Their unspoken prayers and questions were mysteriously answered in dreams or in written, paper messages that manifested in the air and floated down. Then one day Rishi left the village, later to pass his power to Kadaitswami. The Tirumantiram expounds, “With Nandi’s grace I sought the primal cause. With Nandi’s grace I Sadāśiva became. With Nandi’s grace truth divine I attained.” Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.

Lesson 308 – Living with Śiva

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Recording: Gurudeva’s cloned voice

Freedom and Responsibility

A human being has a dual and nondual component. He has belief. He has faith. He has love. But all of these fine qualities can be taken away through discouragement. His faith is faith in the unseen. His belief is belief in things that are not always intellectually rational. His love is love of all that is tender and beautiful. All of these fine qualities and many more work together in lifting up consciousness toward the ultimate reality of timelessness, causelessness and spacelessness. There is not one human being on the planet who will not eventually understand the monistic theist approach. This is because it is an intrinsic part of the human psyche. Everyone is a monistic theist in one way or another.

Historically, there have always been monists on one side and theists on the other. The one path that is made up of these two camps is monistic theism. It encompasses both. And, yes, it is the solution to many of the problems people face today. Śaiva Siddhānta is the final conclusion of the adepts, and it includes the true precepts of Vedānta. There can only be one final conclusion, and that is monistic theism.

The problem is that Vedānta as taught today gives privilege without the disciplines, creating jñānīs of intellect rather than realization. This privilege is taken as a boon by those of little spiritual attainment. Freedom without responsibility is another privilege given. This is also taken advantage of by the undisciplined; whereas discipline and responsibility should be taught and mastered before higher philosophy is delved into and practiced with any seriousness. The beginner should not be taught to rationalize on the nature of man and the universe from what he has memorized. He should be brought into the culture and community of Hinduism and establish a religious, fully committed, disciplined life before proceeding onward. We must become aware that the neo-Indian approach to Vedānta is very new, indeed. The true Vedāntists—those who have reached the ultimate realizations—have reached them by following the path of monistic theism. Modern Vedānta gives privilege without discipline, and the modern New Age movement gives freedom without responsibility. Is there a difference?

Monistic theism does not give privilege. It preaches a more pragmatic approach to life. Śaiva Siddhānta builds character within the individual—spiritually, socially, culturally, economically, karmically and dharmically. Aspirants have to meet a series of daily, monthly, yearly fulfillments. Truly, monistic theism is the path to mukti and merger.

The monistic Śaiva Siddhānta bhaktar can understand and appreciate the point of view of anyone, because his love of Śivaness in all extends his communication faculties. He is able to talk with each philosopher on his own level. When this happens, the feeling of sharing and giving exists. The bhaktar is wise enough to know that the other person may not understand his point of view. This ability is a great barometer for judging the attainment of any bhaktar, whether he can or cannot actually be one with—in empathy with, in heart and mind, in love and trust—rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief, doctor, lawyer, temple priest and in his heart make no differences. This is the true Śiva bhaktar; this is the true monistic theist; this is the true Śaiva Siddhāntin; this is the true Advaita Īśvaravāda adept, who lives the statement, “Lord Śiva is the Life within the life of everyone,” as a fact, not a metaphor.

NANDINATHA SŪTRA 308: REMOLDING THE SUBCONSCIOUS
My devotees succeed by remolding subconscious magnetic forces. They purge the dross through vāsanā daha tantra—writing and burning past transgressions and current problems—then use positive affirmations. Aum.

Lesson 308 – Merging with Śiva

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Recording: Gurudeva’s cloned voice

The Devotee’s Responsibilities

The aspirant may go to his guru and be one with him by preparing himself to receive his grace. As a result, he may be able to meditate, to keep his personal karma subdued sufficiently to quiet the inner forces. Once a guru has been chosen, the aspirant must be loyal to him and stay with that one guru only. He should not go from one to another, because of these subtle, powerful inner, connecting vibrations of darshan and the training received through the power of a satguru’s use of darshan. These inner, mystical laws protect the guru himself against people who wander from one guru to another, as well as warn the seeker against the fluctuating forces of his own mind as he creates and breaks the subtle yet powerful relationship with a holy person.

Satguru darshan opens psychic seals in the devotee by moving his awareness out of an area that he does not want to be in. Similarly, a blowtorch changes the consistency of metal. The satguru is like the sun. He is just there, radiating this very pure energy like the sun evaporates water. The satguru hardly does anything at all. It is the seeker who opens himself to the great accumulated power of darshan which the guru inherited from his guru and his guru’s guru, as well as the natural darshan he unfolded from within himself through his evolution and practices of sādhana and tapas. It’s all up to the aspirant at first.

A satguru doesn’t do a thing. The guru can amuse himself externally with anything. It does not make any difference in his darshan when he is at a certain point in his unfoldment. If you are around him long enough, and if you are honest with yourself and persistent in the tasks he asks you to perform and directions he gives you, psychic seals lift after awhile. But you have to do your part. He does his in an inner way, and as he does, you will feel the psychic seals melt away under his fiery darshan, just like a blowtorch penetrates and transforms the metal it touches.

Lesson 307 – Dancing with Śiva

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Recording: Gurudeva’s cloned voice

What Is the Lofty Kailāsa Paramparā?

ŚLOKA 152
The Kailāsa Paramparā is a millennia-old guru lineage of the Nandinātha Sampradāya. In this century it was embodied by Sage Yogaswami, who ordained me in Sri Lanka in 1949 to carry on the venerable tradition. Aum.

BHĀSHYA
The authenticity of Hindu teachings is perpetuated by lineages, paramparā, passed from gurus to their successors through ordination. The Kailāsa Paramparā extends back to, and far beyond, Maharishi Nandinatha and his eight disciples—Sanatkumara, Sanakar, Sanadanar, Sananthanar, Sivayogamuni, Patanjali, Vyaghrapada and Tirumular. This succession of siddha yoga adepts flourishes today in many streams, most notably in the Śaiva Siddhānta of South India. Our branch of this paramparā is the line of Rishi Tirumular (ca 200 bce), of which the first known satguru in recent history was the Rishi from the Himalayas (ca 1770–1840). From him the power was passed to Siddha Kadaitswami of Bangalore (1804–1891), then to Satguru Chellappaswami (1840–1915), then to Sage Yogaswami (1872–1964) of Sri Lanka, and finally to myself, Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927–). The Tirumantiram states, “Thus expounding, I bore His word down Kailāsa’s unchanging path—the word of Him, the eternal, the truth effulgent, the limitless great, Nandinatha, the joyous one, He of the blissful dance that all impurity dispels.” Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.

Lesson 307 – Living with Śiva

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Recording: Gurudeva’s cloned voice

Monism Without Theism?

Every monist, in deep or superficial conversation, will occasionally admit that the Gaṅgā is a sacred river and Mount Kailāsa is a sacred mountain. In admitting that, he is also somewhat of a theist at the time. Hindus believe that the Gaṅgā and Kailāsa are the ultimate temples. Most monists want to have their ashes put in the Gaṅgā when they die. Every Āgamic priest will tell us that Mount Kailāsa is at the top of the head and at the top of the world. He will explain this is where God is, in and above the sahasrāra chakra. This knowledge is right within the pūjā liturgy he chants. Therefore, when we find a monist who hides the fact that he is somewhat of a theist, we must question if his monistic outlook is sustained only by his intellectual abilities, clichés and cogent arguments.

Yes, following monism without theism makes it rather difficult to reconcile all life’s experiences. But there are very few true monists. Many monists will not pass by a temple without a silent pause, even though they will argue that no one is home there. For the rare, nonreligious monist who goes deeply into monism and truly experiences it, theism comes up from within as a reward. This happened to Swami Vivekananda, who denied the reality of the Gods and Goddesses all his life, then changed his belief when he had a vision of the Goddess, Śakti, in the last days of his life.

To truly understand theism and monism, each should be taught separately, by the same teacher. The student is never given permission to make a choice between them. When each has been understood and there are no more questions, the teacher will blend them together in the mind of the devotee by requiring the practice of external and internalized worship. The theistic discipline is the external worship, and the monistic is the internal worship.

We are on the safe path of yoga when we are able to internalize the external worship. Otherwise, without this ability, devotees often just perform intellectual, mental gymnastics which result in no attainment whatsoever. Their nature begins to harden rather than soften. Their philosophical discussions become more rigid and unyielding. By blending monism into theism and theism into monism, the nature of devotees becomes soft and loving, as the spiritual unfoldment begins. They become wise and helpful to others as the maturing of their spirit progresses. Such persons have compassion for another’s point of view, and all of the fine qualities of the soul come forward to be enjoyed and seen by others.

Monistic theism is a very detailed map of consciousness which has broadness and philosophically accepts all states of consciousness. The monistic theist does not turn away from the external world. He knows that Śiva’s perfection lies everywhere within it. He attempts to expand his consciousness into the perfection within all three worlds. He attempts to experience the harmony of all of nature. He attempts to be one with Śiva’s perfect universe, to live with Śiva. The monistic theist is the perfect Hindu in all respects.

Most Vedāntins are able to totally describe the country, or area of consciousness, in which they are residing. But because they do not practice much yoga, they are not all-pervasive enough in consciousness to understand the other countries on the planet, or other areas of the mind. For this reason their maps of the mind are relatively incomplete. Some draw lines into squares and shut out what they don’t understand. Monistic theists draw lines into circles and take in the entire universe, including everything within everything.

NANDINATHA SŪTRA 307: SELF-MASTERY THROUGH INTROSPECTION
My devotees study the five states of mind: conscious, subconscious, sub-subconscious, subsuperconscious and superconscious. They let go of negative attachments and become master of mind, body and emotions. Aum.

Lesson 307 – Merging with Śiva

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Recording: Gurudeva’s cloned voice

Relationship With a Guru

A child living with his family who does right by his family in honoring his mother and his father reaps a reward—for that mother and father are going to gladly see to all his needs in the emotional, intellectual and material world. But if the child negligently begins to play with the emotions and intellect of his mother and father by not living up to their expectations, they will be relieved when he is old enough to leave home and be on his own. During the time he is still at home, they will, of course, talk with him and work the best they can with the negative vibrations he generates, as their natural love for him is a protective force.

As it is with the parents, it is much the same with the guru. A devotee coming to his guru who is evolved, honest and able is first asked to do simple, mundane tasks. If they are done with willingness, the guru will take him consciously under his wing for a deeper, inner, direct training, as he fires him to attain greater heights through sādhana and tapas. This darshan power of the guru will then be constantly felt by the disciple. But if the disciple were to turn away from the small tasks given by his guru, he would not connect into the deeper darshan power of the satguru that allows him to ride into his meditations deeply with ease. If the devotee breaks his flow with the guru by putting newly awakened power into intellectual “ifs” or “buts” or—“Well, now I know how to meditate; I don’t need you anymore. Thank you for all you’ve done. I’ve learned all you have to offer me and must be on my way”—or if he merely starts being delinquent in his efforts, then the guru-disciple relationship is shattered.

Still a certain darshan power goes out to him, but the guru no longer consciously inwardly works with him as an individual. He knows it is too dangerous to work with this fluctuating aspirant, for there is no telling how he might take and use the accumulating power that would later be awakened within him. The satguru makes such a one prove himself to himself time and time again and to the guru, too, through sādhana and tapas. Sādhana tests his loyalty, consistency and resolution. Tapas tests his loyalty as well as his personal will, for he does tapas alone, gaining help only from inside himself, and he has to be aware on the inside to receive it. A wise guru never hesitates to “put him through it,” so to speak.

A guru of India may give tapas to a self-willed disciple who insisted on living his personal life in the āśrama, not heeding the rules of his sādhana. He may say, “Walk through all of India. Stay out of my āśrama for one year. Walk through the Himalayas. Take nothing but your good looks, your orange robe and a bowl for begging at the temples.” From then on, the guru works it all out with him on the inside for as long as the disciple remains “on tapas.” Maybe the guru will be with him again, yet maybe not; it depends entirely on the personal performance of the tapas.

This, then, is one of the reasons that it is very, very important for anyone striving on the path to first have a good relationship with his family—for the guru can expect nothing more than the same type of relationship eventually to arise with himself, or between the aspirant and some other disciple. As he gets more into the vibration of the guru, he is going to relax into the same behavioral patterns he generated with his parents, for in the āśrama, many of the same vibrations, forces and attitudes are involved.

Lesson 306 – Dancing with Śiva

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Recording: Gurudeva’s cloned voice

What Is Hinduism’s Nātha Sampradāya?

ŚLOKA 151
The Nātha Sampradāya, “the masters’ way,” is the mystical fountainhead of Śaivism. The divine message of the eternal truths and how to succeed on the path to enlightenment are locked within the Nātha tradition. Aum.

BHĀSHYA
Nātha means “lord or adept,” and sampradāya refers to a living theological tradition. The roots of this venerable heritage stretch back beyond recorded history, when awakened Nātha mystics worshiped the Lord of lords, Śiva, and in yogic contemplation experienced their identity in Him. The Nātha Sampradāya has revealed the search for the innermost divine Self, balanced by temple worship, fueled by kuṇḍalinī yoga, charted by monistic theism, illumined by a potent guru-śishya system, guided by soul-stirring scriptures and awakened by sādhana and tapas. Thus has it given mankind the mechanics for moving forward in evolution. Today two main Nātha streams are well known: the Nandinātha Sampradāya, made famous by Maharishi Nandinatha (ca 250BCE), and the Ādinātha Sampradāya, carried forth by Siddha Yogi Gorakshanatha (ca 900). Yea, there is infinitely more to know of the mysterious Nāthas. The Tirumantiram states, “My peerless satguru, Nandinatha, of Śaivam honored high, showed us a holy path for soul’s redemption. It is Śiva’s divine path, San Mārga, for all the world to tread and forever be free.” Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.