ŚLOKA 136 Namaḥ Śivāya is among the foremost Vedic mantras. It means “adoration to Śiva” and is called the Pañchākshara, or “five-letters.” Within its celestial tones and hues resides all of the intuitive knowledge of Śaivism. Aum.
BHĀSHYA Namaḥ Śivāya is the most holy name of God Śiva, recorded at the very center of the Vedas and elaborated in the Śaiva Āgamas. Na is the Lord’s concealing grace, Ma is the world, Śi stands for Śiva, Vā is His revealing grace, Ya is the soul. The five elements, too, are embodied in this ancient formula for invocation. Na is earth, Ma is water, Śi is fire, Vā is air, and Ya is ether, or ākāśa. Many are its meanings. Namaḥ Śivāya has such power, the mere intonation of these syllables reaps its own reward in salvaging the soul from bondages of the treacherous instinctive mind and the steel bands of a perfected externalized intellect. Namaḥ Śivāya quells the instinct, cuts through the steel bands and turns this intellect within and on itself, to face itself and see its ignorance. Sages declare that mantra is life, that mantra is action, that mantra is love and that the repetition of mantra, japa, bursts forth wisdom from within. The holy Natchintanai proclaims, “Namaḥ Śivāya is in truth both Āgama and Veda. Namaḥ Śivāya represents all mantras and tantras. Namaḥ Śivāya is our souls, our bodies and possessions. Namaḥ Śivāya has become our sure protection.” Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.
Look in the mirror. You have created your face through your many thoughts that have accumulated through this lifetime. Ask yourself, “Am I happy, or am I looking for others to make me happy?” Allow yourself to be kind; allow yourself to express the qualities, the beautiful qualities, of your soul. Your happiness then will come from within yourself, along with a deep contentment and inner peace and joy. Only a moment of thinking kindly about someone, and making a plan that will enable you to help your fellow man, even just a little bit, will awaken from your soul that deep, inner satisfaction, that depth of security you are really seeking. On the other hand, if you allow your mind to dwell in the realm of critical thinking, in the realm of gossiping, without the thought of helping others, you will feel insecure, unhappy. Nothing that could happen will bring you an inner satisfaction. You will be constantly desirous of acquiring, and that which you do acquire will not be satisfying to you. Why? Because there will be no love in your heart. If you find yourself in that state of mind, turn the energies around and find the quietness within you through being kind, being generous, being helpful. The doing brings its own reward. Only in the accomplishment of being big enough to understand the experiences of life that others go through, being tall enough to overlook the many, many things that you could take issue with and perhaps retaliate for, only in acquiring that depth which comes from your soul, can you truly find inner happiness and peace.
Go out into the world this week and let your light shine through your kind thoughts, but let each thought manifest itself in a physical deed of doing something for someone else. Lift their burdens just a little bit and, unknowingly perhaps, you may lift something that is burdening your mind. You erase and wipe clean the mirror of your own mind through helping another. We call this karma yoga, the deep practice of unwinding, through service, the selfish, self-centered, egotistical vāsanās of the lower nature that have been generated for many, many lives and which bind the soul in darkness. Through service and kindness, you can unwind the subconscious mind and gain a clear understanding of all laws of life. Your soul will shine forth. You will be that peace. You will radiate that inner happiness and be truly secure, simply by practicing being kind in thought, word and deed.
A sure indication of the manifestation of the soul nature on the physical plane is consideration for other people’s feelings, consideration for other people’s state of mind, which means appreciating their good qualities and overlooking their qualities that need improvement. Someone who is considerate is understanding. Those who are not considerate don’t understand and don’t understand that they don’t understand. They don’t understand, and they are not considerate and not appreciative, because they are wrapped up in their individual ego. Yet they expect everyone to be considerate of them.
NANDINATHA SŪTRA 291: THE DEDICATED HOME SHRINE ROOM All my devotees must have an absolutely breathtaking home shrine, used solely for meditation and worship of Śivaliṅga, Naṭarāja, Murugan, Gaṇeśa and the satguru’s tiruvadi. This is the home’s most beautiful room. Aum.
Many seekers want a future of wealth, family and friends and they want the very highest spiritual illumination, too. This is their spiritual pride setting an unrealistic pattern. We must remember that after one renounces the world, with his entering the higher chakras—viśuddha, ājñā and sahasrāra—the world renounces the individual. If married, he no longer can fulfill his purusha dharma, his family duties. He can no longer hold employment that offers benefits for longevity. His perspective of the world and advancement in it has been changed forever. As a ship floats aimlessly on the ocean without a rudder, so does the unprepared soul meander who has forced his way, uninvited through initiation, into the realm of the saints and sages of Sanātana Dharma. This is why householders and all who have not properly prepared themselves, been well schooled and tested by a competent preceptor, should not go too deeply into rāja or kuṇḍalinī yoga practices.
If they are prone to anger, jealousy, contempt and retaliation, they should abstain from any of the yogas of japa or exploratory meditation. These will only intensify and prāṇanize the lower chakras that give rise to demonic forces. Rather, they should perform the always healing vāsanā daha tantra and confine themselves to karma yoga, such as cleaning in and around the temple and picking flowers for the pūjās. These simple acts of charyā are recommended, but should be not extended to intense worship.
Then, and only then, their life will be in perspective with the philosophy of Sanātana Dharma and begin to become one with Śiva’s perfect universe. Brahmadvara, the door to the seven chakras below the mūlādhāra, will then be sealed off as their experiential patterns settle into the traditional perspective of how life should be and each individual should behave within it.
The use of drugs is another foreboding danger, for certain stimulants set in motion the kuṇḍalinī simultaneously into higher and lower regions. For instance, when the user of drugs, like an intruder, forces his way into the experience of the oneness of the universe, the totality of now-ness and all-being, by touching into the fourth chakra, anāhata, simultaneously every other center below the anāhata is stimulated, meaning svādhishṭhāna and the first, third, fifth and seventh below the base of the spine—the centers of reason, fear, jealousy, selfishness and malice. Noticeable mood swings of those who rely on drugs hamper the person throughout life. Only severe prāyaśchitta, penance, can set the course toward spiritual healing.
ŚLOKA 135 The philosophical basis of this catechism is the monistic Śaiva Siddhānta of the Kailāsa Paramparā as expressed in the Vedas, Śaiva Āgamas, Tirukural, Tirumurai, Tirumantiram and contemporary scripture. Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.
BHĀSHYA This catechism, praśnottaram, is the creation of the living lineage of seers known as the Kailāsa Paramparā, of the South Indian Śaivite school called Śuddha Śaiva Siddhānta, Advaita Siddhānta or monistic Śaiva Siddhānta. It reflects the teachings of the Vedas and Śaiva Āgamas, the profound Tamil scriptures Tirumurai and Tirukural and the revelations of contemporary Kailāsa gurus. The Tirumurai is a twelve-book collection of hymns of numerous Śaivite saints. Most important among these is the Tirumantiram, a siddha yoga treatise by Rishi Tirumular, recording the Śaiva tenets in 3,047 verses. It is prized as the confluence of Siddhānta and Vedānta. The Tirukural, containing 1,330 couplets by the weaver saint Tiruvalluvar, is among the world’s greatest ethical scriptures, sworn on in South Indian courts of law. Natchintanai are the sacred hymns of Sri Lanka’s Sage Yogaswami. Tayumanavar says, “I meditate on the great light of the Siddhānta, the thought of all thoughts, the life of all life, which, existing in all objects without distinction, causes a spring of inestimably pure and happy nectar to flow for the good of its followers.” Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.
Here’s a true story to show how effective a timely expression of appreciation may be. A young man tried the above practice on his rather gruff employer, whose heart melted when he heard the words, “One of the things that I appreciate most about you, sir, is your brilliance as an inventor. You have so much to teach me.” After saying that and more, the youth urged the astonished elder to pass on the voicing of appreciation to another person. The man sat with his only son that same evening and awkwardly told him how much he appreciated his many fine qualities. “I never take time to say such sentimental things,” he said, “but rather tend to keep to myself and be demanding and harsh because of the pressures of work. But please know that I do love you.” The youth began sobbing and confessed, “Father, thank you so much. You can’t imagine how glad and relieved I am to hear that. I was planning to commit suicide tomorrow because I thought you didn’t care about me any more, or even like me. Now I won’t.” You never know how much difference your appreciation will make.
To prepare yourself for this sādhana, stand before a mirror and look at your face, right into your eyes, and say aloud, as if talking to another person: “I am grateful to you and appreciate your being in my life.” Then describe to yourself in many sentences all the good you have done during the past five years. You can jog your memory by reading from your list of goodness that you made earlier. You will soon see the reflection in the mirror soften and begin to smile as it absorbs the happy feeling of your appreciation. Once this art is perfected between you and you, you can begin to appreciate others in the same way. Don’t be shy. No one is shy when angry. Why be shy when we are happy and lovingly grateful?
There is a brave new world on the horizon for followers of dharma, one in which we are kindly to each other, trusting and aware of one another’s feelings, a world in which we acknowledge our debt to others and express our thanksgiving, first in our silent heart and then outwardly. Gratitude is one of life’s richest resources, containing the power to change people’s lives. Its opposite is a disease that erodes all contentment and fills our life with emptiness and despair. Take heart. These sādhanas on gratitude and appreciation have worked wonders for many. Yes, each one of us can make a difference. The world is changing, and we can make it change for the better, or we can leave it in the hands of those who make changes for the “badder.” It’s our choice.
I appreciate you, our reader of Living with Śiva, you and other men and women, boys and girls who are strengthening Hinduism in hundreds of remote communities, upholding the Sanātana Dharma, being a beacon light to others on the path. It is you who are inspiring us to produce this series of books on contemporary Hinduism, giving us so many ideas and cheering us on. You are making a great difference by simply living the dharma, aspiring for self-transformation and speaking on these high principles that are so important to us all and to the future of humanity.
Just a little bit of kindness is so easy to express. Just a little bit of kindness heals the mind. And in this day and age, when so many are frustrated, troubled and need a little bit of help, appreciation and encouragement, your kindness can help. Your criticism, your gossip about them, hurts them and also hurts yourself. But the kindness that you express in what you do is healing unto you, too. So, see yourself as a being that always expresses kindness. What you think about, you become.
NANDINATHA SŪTRA 290: MY TRILOGY AND OTHER LEGACY WORKS All my devotees revere as sacred scripture Dancing with Śiva, Living with Śiva, Merging with Śiva, Lemurian Scrolls and my other authorized texts and discourses, including Śaiva Dharma Śāstras. Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.
As it is said, “What goes up must come down.” This is especially true with the kuṇḍalinī śakti moving through either of the other of the two wrong channels, where it can produce “dis-ease”—discomfort, physically, emotionally, intellectually and astrally—that no doctor’s effort can fathom the cause of or effect a cure. At various junctures, as it rises, the kuṇḍalinī śakti, or serpent power, attacks the organs in the vicinity of the chakra it is passing through, biting and poisoning them on the astral level. As it climbs, each one of the astral organs is hurt and felt as a physical ailment. This often reflects as a symptomatic problem in the kidneys, then stomach problems and later heart problems and thyroid difficulties. At each juncture, the doctor would be perplexed by the ailment, unable to find a medical cause, then doubly perplexed when that problem leaves and the next one arises. Though treatments and multiple tests are more than often given, the source of the problems is usually undetected.
A devotee going through this experience often challenges the will of his satguru, whereupon he is left to his own devices, as it lies beyond even the guru’s ability to help or guide him further. For the rule is: the guru takes nine steps toward the seeker for each humble, cooperative, eager step the devotee takes toward him. When the devotee balks, begins to argue and challenge the guru’s will, this is the guru’s signal to withdraw, a mystical sign that his ninth step had been taken. Should he take the tenth, he enters without a welcome, and tangles when steps eleven and twelve are taken. To withdraw then would cause an unwanted karma of hurt, pain and anguish. So, the wisdom of the ancients is “For every one step taken toward the guru, the guru takes nine toward the devotee.”
Then Śrī Śrī Śrī Viśvaguru Mahā-Mahārāj-ji steps in and takes over, and the failed aspirant either is corrected by the forces of circumstance to give up spiritual pursuits for financial or other reasons, or he spins off the spiritual path into Viśvaguru’s āśrama, called Bhogabhūmi, place of pleasure (another name for Earth). It is the biggest āśrama of all. Here followers learn by their own mistakes and make fresh new karmas to be experienced in yet another life.
To avoid these problems, and worse, the kuṇḍalinī śakti has to be brought down all the way—slowly, not abruptly, lest the person become suicidal—all the way to the base, to the mūlādhāra chakra, and then redirected up the proper channel. As pride comes before a fall, the fall of the spiritual pride is again another hurt, a final bite from the serpent, and as the poison flows through all organs, temporary physical, mental and emotional suffering is the consequence.
ŚLOKA 134 India’s lofty philosophical texts expound diverse views in exacting dialectics. Yoga treatises unveil the mysterious path to ultimate samādhis. Intimate devotional hymns disclose the raptures of consummate Divine love. Aum.
BHĀSHYA In addition to the epics, legends and supplements to the Vedas and Āgamas, there is a wealth of Hindu metaphysical, yogic and devotional writings. Considered foundational are the early texts defining the six philosophical darśanas: the sūtras by Kapila, Patanjali, Jaimini, Badarayana, Kanada and Gautama. Hailed as leading occult works on yoga, āsanas, nāḍīs, chakras, kuṇḍalinī and samādhi are the Yoga Sūtras, Tirumantiram, Yoga Vāsishṭha, Śiva Sūtras, Siddha Siddhānta Paddhati, Jñāneśvarī, Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā and Gheraṇḍa Saṁhitā. Widely extolled among the bhakti literature are the Bhagavad Gītā, Nārada Sūtras, Tiruvasagam, the Vachanas of the Śivaśaraṇās and the hymns of mystic poets like Surdas, Tukaram, Ramprasad, Mirabai, Andal, Vallabha, Tulasidasa, Tayumanavar, Lalla, Tagore, Auvaiyar and the saintly Nayanars and Alvars. The Bhagavad Gītā explains, “As a blazing fire reduces the wood to ashes, O Arjuna, so does the fire of knowledge reduce all activity to ashes. There is nothing on Earth which possesses such power to cleanse as wisdom. The perfect yogin finds this knowledge in himself by himself in due time.” Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.
I have faith in human integrity, in that unfailing “still small voice of the soul” which each who listens for can hear. We are essentially pure souls temporarily living in a physical body. We can and should use our God-given gift of free will encased in love to make a difference in the world today, even if it is in a small way. All of us making the same difference together do so in a big way. Śishyas should be grateful to their gurus, husbands to their wives, wives to their husbands, parents to their children, children to their parents, students to their teachers and teachers to their students. It’s far more effective to praise others and appreciate what we have than to find fault and complain about what we don’t have!
Gratitude and appreciation are the key virtues for a better life. They are the spell that is cast to dissolve hatred, hurt and sadness, the medicine which heals subjective states of mind, restoring self-respect, confidence and security. Shall we review them one at a time and consider a practice, a sādhana, for each?
First, gratitude. It is a feeling within the heart that we cannot suppress for long when overcome with abundant memories of all the good that has come into our lives. Most often, people remember the bad happenings, perhaps because they make the deepest impressions in the subconscious and are not expected. Good happenings are expected and therefore tend to be overlooked.
The sādhana here is to take out paper and pen and list all the good that has come into your life during the past five years. The list will grow as memory is stimulated. Should it not be possible to think of even one good thing, then write the affirmation several times, “I am a spiritual being of light maturing in the ocean of experience.” Soon a good memory will come up, followed by more. Feelings of loving appreciation will begin to flow toward those who participated in the good times. Forgiveness then wells up for the bad times. Amazingly, on the day I was writing down these thoughts about gratitude, a Kauai islander handed me a paper on which was written the following wisdom from the Catholic mystic, Meister Eckhart: “If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.”
Now let’s look at appreciation, turning our thanks toward the people in our lives. The sādhana of appreciation is to approach those you are grateful to and tell them, to their face, while looking deep into their eyes, how much you esteem and value them. Be specific. Find details to share so they know this is not a shallow compliment. Explain what each one has done to inspire this loving confrontation and convince each in turn that you are sincere. The look of a full smiling face, eyes shining and heart full of love, perhaps followed by a big hug, is convincing enough in itself. Words of appreciation are words people do not often hear. These loving confrontations do not happen nearly often enough among friends and relatives in today’s world.
Loving appreciation is a life-changing force just waiting to be used. Express appreciation to community leaders, business associates, spiritual mentors, family members and friends as often as you can. Loving appreciation is a magic formula that works both ways. When we commend another, we are automatically uplifted.
NANDINATHA SŪTRA 289: SAGE YOGASWAMI’S PROFOUND HYMNS All my devotees revere as sacred scripture the songs and sayings of Satguru Siva Yogaswami, called Natchintanai, which embody the teachings of our lineage, commanding one and all to “Know thy Self by thy self.” Aum.
There are three channels through which the spiritual energies of the kuṇḍalinī can rise. The one recommended is the sushumṇā. The other two are to be avoided. When the kuṇḍalinī śakti flows outside of the sushumṇā nāḍī into and through the iḍā nāḍī on the left side of the spine, which corresponds to the left sympathetic nerve system, it is fragmented into other smaller and more sensitive nerve currents connected to the organs of the physical body. It produces heat within this formerly cool nāḍī network. The person becomes overly emotional, feminine in nature, talks a lot, often has hurt feelings, cries at the least provocation and engages in other emotional behavior patterns that center around the personal I-ness. Such persons always want to help others, but rarely actually do. This heat, though astral, is felt in the physical body in the solar plexus. When provoked, the person angers and is always quick to defend the personal ego in saving face. Similarly, when the serpent power flows up through the piṅgalā nāḍī and into the sympathetic nerve network on the right side of the body, the person becomes overly intellectual, very masculine in nature, talks little, has steel nerves and patterns centering around the conquest of others through intellectual debate. He is prone to long silences, holding in emotions, and to secret patterns of behavior to stimulate or satisfy base desires. In other words, he is not open, smiling, friendly, companionable. In either case, the kuṇḍalinī śakti rising through the iḍā or piṅgalā can move upward only to the viśuddha chakra and no farther. This is the impasse.
The misdirection of the kuṇḍalinī happens most often to the less disciplined, those more eager for attainments on the fast track, those not under the watchful eye of the satguru. Nevertheless, the novice feels a dynamic awakening of power. This heat, produced by the kuṇḍalinī śakti flowing through either of these two nāḍīs of the sympathetic nerve system, can and often does produce jerking in the body, spine and neck.
More often than not, the jerking body, twisting neck and the “I now know it all” attitude are taken for a highly spiritual experience and even validated as such by certain teachers. But it is as if we were driving on a rocky road, thinking it to be a smooth highway. It is an unusual experience, to be sure, building the personal ego into something it was never intended to be. When this happens to a devotee, the wise guru or swāmī recommends that all spiritual practices be immediately stopped. Japa should be stopped. All prāṇāyāma except the simplest regulation of the breath should be stopped. Reading scripture should be stopped, worship of all kinds should be stopped. Anything other than wholesome, humbling karma yoga, such as cleaning bathrooms, should be stopped. Growing food should be encouraged. Bare feet on the ground and at the same time hands in the dirt is the best way to bring the rampant kuṇḍalinī down to the mūlādhāra chakra. Once it is down, it can be directed up through the right current, but only when the devotee does not have conflicting patterns in his life.
Unlike the subtle movement of the divine serpent power through its proper channel, the sushumṇā nāḍī within the spine, its misdirection may reflect a dramatic change in the nature, turning the once humble student into an ego giant, either overly emotional and self-centered or intellectually argumentative; both types are not self-reflective in any way. From a perhaps once shy person, we now have a “Come to me, I will fix you, repair you, inspire you, for I am aware,” or worse, “I am enlightened.” Once the spiritual ego has taken over, some even claim to have attained more than their teacher. They don’t need a teacher anymore. For them, the guru is on the inside, and their heated discussions, emotional outbursts and challenging positions eventually take their toll on their own being.
ŚLOKA 133 The Mahābhārata and Rāmāyaṇa are Hinduism’s most renowned epic histories, called Itihāsa. The Purāṇas are popular folk narratives, teaching faith, belief and ethics in mythology, allegory, legend and symbolism. Aum.
BHĀSHYA Hinduism’s poetic stories of ṛishis, Gods, heroes and demons are sung by gifted paṇḍitas and traveling bards, narrated to children and portrayed in dramas and festivals. The Mahābhārata, the world’s longest epic poem, is the legend of two ancient dynasties whose great battle of Kurukshetra is the scene of the Bhagavad Gītā, the eloquent spiritual dialog between Arjuna and Kṛishṇa. The Rāmāyaṇa relates the life of Rāma, a heroic king revered as the ideal man. The Purāṇas, like the Mahābhārata, are encyclopedic in scope, containing teachings on sādhana, philosophy, dharma, ritual, language and the arts, architecture, agriculture, magic charms and more. Of eighteen principal Purāṇas, six honor God as Śiva, six as Vishṇu and six as Brahmā. The witty Pañchatantra, eminent among the “story” literature, or kathā, portrays wisdom through animal fables and parables. The Bhagavad Gītā proclaims, “He who reads this sacred dialog of ours, by him I consider Myself worshiped through the sacrifice of knowledge. And the man who listens to it with faith and without scoffing, liberated, he shall attain to the happy realm of the righteous.” Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.