Category: Merging With Siva

The Mind’s Three Phases

The totality of the mind is vast and complicated. However, it is helpful to look at the entirety of the mind in three basic phases: the instinctive, the intellectual and the intuitive. The instinctive mind is easy to become aware of and experience. It includes the impulses of our physical body, our cravings, our desires, our digestive system, and our emotional mechanism that works through the physical body. The systems of elimination and blood circulation and the regulation of the heartbeat are all within the instinctive mind. This phase of mind functions automatically, or instinctively. It is as much alive in the animal kingdom as among humans.

Man alone develops the intellectual mind and is responsible for its composition as he lives along through life. This phase is a mixture of man’s instinctive desires and cravings coupled with the knowledge he has gained from others and from his own intuitive discoveries. Within man’s intellect, he organizes a vast amount of knowledge that begins to accumulate from a very early age. Ninety percent of this knowledge deals with the externality of the world and mind itself. The intellect can consume most of man’s time through an incarnation, and usually does, lifetime after lifetime.

The intuitive, or superconscious, phase is even more complex, more organized, more refined than the instinctive or intellectual phases. It is mystically known as the mind of light, for when one is in this state of mind, he may see light within his head, and sometimes throughout the entirety of his physical body, if his inner sight is developed enough. Otherwise, he just begins to feel good all over, as actinic energy permeates his nervous system. When intuitive flashes come, he knows the next thing to be done in a creative activity. This is the superconscious area of the mind. When man is extremely perceptive, tremendously creative, and knowledge seems to come to him from the inside of himself spontaneously, he is a superconscious being.

Instinctive is a word that some may understand and others take offense at. Don’t. It only means “natural or innate,” naming the drives and impulses that order the animal world and the physical and lower astral aspects of humans. For example, self-preservation, procreation, hunger and thirst, as well as the emotions of greed, hatred, anger, fear, lust and jealousy, are all instinctive forces. They are very real in animals and humans alike. When the mind functions instinctively, it is controlled by the habit impressions made in the subconscious during its journey through the experiences of life. Instinctive also means that the driving force comes from the sexual nature. The nature is turned in that direction subconsciously, even though the conscious mind may not be cognizant of the fact. It also means that in the event of an emergency, the animal nature would take over completely, being jarred loose from lack of what I term “mind-control,” or from what might be called self-control.

The Inner and Outer Being

Popular thought prevalent today is that we have an external mind to be shunned and an inner being to be reached. I look at the internal areas of the mind and the external areas of the mind as being one and the same, an integrated whole, one totality of mind. In my personal life I have proven this to myself time and time again for more than fifty-one years.

The inner universe of the mind is tremendous. It is much larger, more complex and better organized than any of the universes we can see with our physical eyes. The super­con­scious areas of mind deep within each of us are more advanced than the externalities of the material conscious world.

As an example, this planet, Earth, began in a very simple way. Man himself has made it extremely complex. Man has added to the planet all of the buildings, all of the systems, the laws, the cities, the countries, the states. Man has done this all himself. Quite often I humorously say, “The Gods created heaven and Earth and man decorated them.” The inner mind is many times more complex than this.

Man is discovering new things within the sea and in outer space. All of these vast new discoveries are being registered within his subconscious mind. Only through his deep, intuitive, perceptive faculties, resident within the inner area of his mind, is he able to grasp these new findings, relate them to discoveries of the past and conditions of the present and hold a mountaintop overview of it all. But if he does not have this deep, intuitive, perceptive faculty awakened, man becomes confused by these new discoveries and fearful of his future.

Only the one who is inwardly awake, vibrant, alive and has the burning desire to know and be creative with that knowledge is content and at peace with himself and the world at large. For the more he knows about the external world, the more he discovers from deep within himself as he passes this knowledge on to the present generation, who will in turn pass it on to the succeeding generation, systematically and in an organized way. Many enlightened souls on the Earth today are handling the knowledge acquired from the exterior areas of the mind and the knowledge acquired from the depths of their own being in this way. To perform this mental activity, one does not have to be mystically inclined. A mystic is one who lives two-thirds within himself and one-third within the external areas of the mind.

A person who lives two-thirds within the external mind and only one-third within himself is not classified as a mystic. Let us look at the one-third of the inner area of mind in which he is living. It can be a delightful inner world or a very tragic area of the mind. This depends upon the character of the individual himself, the nature of his evolution and how he conducts himself in daily life. Although he is living only one-third within, intuitive flashes can penetrate the exterior walls of his consciousness strongly enough to change the history and course of humanity.

Pañchākshara Is Perfection

Aum Namaḥ Śivāya is such a precious mantra because it is the closest sound that one can make to emulate the sounds rushing out of the Self into the mind. Chanting it is profound because it is a sound channel which you can follow to get close to the Self of your self—sort of like following a river upstream to yourself. Aum Namaḥ Śivāya can be equated with Śiva’s drum of creation, called damaru. When Aum Namaḥ Śivāya is repeated, we go through the chakras, Na-Ma Śi-Vā-Ya Aum. The Aum is in the head chakra. Within Namaḥ Śivāya is each of the elements—earth, water, fire, air and ether—which in the mind are transmuted into all-pervasive consciousness, and that is also transmuted into the great chakra way above the head at the end of the Aum. In just the breath, the space of time between the next repetition of “Aum Namaḥ Śivāya…Aum Namaḥ Śivāya…Aum Namaḥ Śivāya,” the prāṇas, having reached Paraśiva, fall back into the spiritual, mental, astral and physical worlds, blessing them all with new energy, new life and new understanding. “Namaḥ Śivāya Aum, Namaḥ Śivāya Aum, Namaḥ Śivāya Aum, Namaḥ Śivāya Aum” is the constant process of life. It is the essence of life itself. We must realize that at any given moment we are a complete Paraśiva-Satchidānanda jīva, only working on the “Maheśvara part”—on the jīva’s becoming Śiva. Paraśiva is there. Satchidānanda is there. The maturity of the purusha, of the jīva, the embodied soul, is not. Therefore, Aum Namaḥ Śivāya takes us into the reality above and beyond the relatively real. To know it is to experience it, and to experience it is to become initiated.

I have been performing Aum Namaḥ Śivāya for over fifty years. At first it had no meaning other than, “Wonderful, at last I got my mantra, and an assignment from my guru to perform japa regularly.” As the japa progressed, all the inner worlds opened, all the doors of the mind. All the spiritual forces were unleashed, and the ability to control them came naturally. You see, Namaḥ Śivāya Aum brings the totality of the individual to the forefront and makes it manifest in daily life. This most pragmatic mantra is found at the center of the Vedas, in the hymn known as Śrī Rudram, and Śiva is at the center of Namaḥ Śivāya Aum. As the center of the Vedas, it blends Vedānta with Siddhānta, fusing them together with the fire of realization. So, I and all Śaiva Siddhāntists are a fusion of Vedānta and Siddhānta, with all doors open of understanding of the fourteen windows, the chakras of the mind, and even more than that.

My satguru, Siva Yogaswami, placed great emphasis on japa, repeating the name of Śiva with concentration and feeling. This great Nātha jñānī explained, “May we not forget that mantra is life, that mantra is action, that mantra is love, and that the repetition of mantra, japa, bursts forth wisdom from within. Japa yoga is the first yoga to be performed toward the goal of jñāna. In the temple perform japa. Under the sacred tree, perform japa. I performed japa all of this life as a silent sādhana, and it is automatic now.” Siva Yogaswami enjoined his devotees: “Wear rudrāksha beads, repeat the Pañchākshara, let your heart grow soft and melt. Chant the letters five, and in love you will discover Śiva’s will. Chant so that impurities, anxieties and doubts are destroyed. All hail Namaḥ Śivāya.”

Getting the Most from Japa

There are some who in their spiritual exuberance follow the practice of doing 10,000 or 100,000 mantras a day in their japa, hundreds of thousands a month, millions a year. This is totally beneficial if under the direction of a guru who supervises the process. Most likely it would be given to an individual to conquer pride and arrogance. If a seeker is performing such intensive japa without the guidance of a guru, he then would be forcing a situation, using the mantra and the practice of japa like a drug, holding no concept in his mind of the results to be attained or even knowing if he has attained the results he should be attaining. It is the guru who always knows the results of the practice. But he never tells the results to the initiate. Attainment is never revealed intellectually until attainment has unfolded from within the individual, lest the intellectual knowledge of the attainment yet to be attained become a barrier to the attainment itself.

Each guru has his own methods of mantra initiation from his own sampradāya. It’s a school of verbal teaching. Most importantly, preparation must be attained and maintained in order to convince an orthodox guru that the commitment is strong enough to make the initiation beneficial. Initiation from an orthodox guru begins a process of learning. It is not the end of a process of preparation after which the devotee is totally on his own once he pays his fee. There are many orthodox gurus in every country of the world. Choose your guru carefully by observing the devotees around him and what they have accomplished. If he has a preparation of training prior to initiation, qualifications to meet, such as vegetarianism, scriptural study, the performance of certain disciplines over a selective period of time if he receives no fee for the initiation other than a gratuitous dakshiṇā afterwards—the amount left to the discrimination of the devotee, a love offering, or a contribution toward the payment of a pūjā in a temple to the priest—and if he provides ongoing, more intensive training and education, scripturally and culturally, after the initiation, preparing the devotee for the next stage of initiation, then you have a traditional satguru.

For the ultimate benefit in performing the japa sādhana, look on the Hindu Vedic calendar, pañchāṅga, and choose the amṛita yoga days. These are the most auspicious. Next are the siddha yoga days. On any given day, the most auspicious time is during gulika kāla. These are the times when the forces of the universe—this means the entire universe, and most especially our galaxy—promote spiritual unfoldment. Of course, the daily experience of 108 repetitions should persist. Any intensification of this—1,008 times, for instance—would be best performed at a specially auspicious day and time. Other auspicious times of day are before sunrise and at sunset. The very best place and time to perform japa is in the temple after the pūjā, when all is quiet. This is the most ideal surrounding to repeat japa 108 times to gain maximum benefit. When performing japa, just breathe normally. Japa may be preceded by the prāṇāyāma practice that you have been taught by your guru.

Japa is a very good preparation for meditation. And you meditate on the mantra as you do the mantra. You can’t meditate on the mantra without repeating the mantra inwardly. When the mantra is linked with meditation, it should be pronounced slowly so that you can meditate on each syllable of the mantra that is being repeated. You must remember that japa is the repetition of a few words or a few syllables. That is the sādhana of japa. Everything else is something else.

The Esoterics Of Japa

Knowing the meaning of the mantra is very helpful when the devotee is visualizing it at the same time. Then he also knows when he reaches the goal which the mantra is supposed to produce within him. Since most mantras are in Sanskrit, it is easy enough to find the meaning in the Sanskrit dictionary. We must remember that the first mantras were given in the language spoken by the people. Sanskrit mantras were given to people who spoke Sanskrit. Yet, mantras could be phrased in other ancient sacred languages as well. It is just that the Sanskrit language relates to the unfoldment of the inner being, which most other languages don’t do as much. However, even in the English language, or any language, rituals are performed that do invoke the spirit forces of the religion. It just so happens that in Hinduism, Sanskrit is the most accepted language of all, agreed upon by the Hindu hierarchy of all three worlds.

Japa is a sādhana, and all sādhana is repetitive. Japa is taking a few words as a mantra and repeating it over and over again for mind control and personal enlightenment. This would attract good beings on the astral plane and strengthen the protective aura of the individual doing japa. There is no reason to think that performing japa would affect the astral world in any way other than to bring forth goodness, compassion and admiration of the beings there toward the devotee performing this discipline.

Namaḥ Śivāya Aum and Aum Śaravaṇabhava have been revealed for spiritual unfoldment. They are not for magical purposes. Nor is japa intended for healing or other aims in the physical realm. True, Japanese Buddhists chant Aum Namo Myoho Renge Kyo for success, jobs and wealth, but this is not japa in the Hindu understanding. This is more along the lines of affirmation. Japa is very close to rāja yoga. Japa leads to spiritual renunciation, rāja yoga to enlightenment, stimulating the chakras of the head. Japa is never used in the Hindu tradition to pray for material things. Hindus do pray for material blessings, health and abundance but not through the use of mantras or japa. For these they turn to prayers, songs and ritual which stimulate the chakras of willpower, reason and cognition, giving the worshiper physical, emotional and mental vigor to bring the worldly goods into his hands. Mantras for japa are usually short, but not always. The Gāyatrī Mantra, consisting of thirteen words, is an example of a rather long mantra. In summary, japa is religiously repeating just a few important, well-defined words, syllables or “seed sounds,” called bīja, to awaken the higher nature.

Where did mantras come from? Mystical ślokas came from the ṛishis of ancient times who held conversations with the great Mahādevas and devas of the inner worlds. Out of this developed certain rituals that could, when performed properly, create certain causes in the physical world. In the English language we sometimes call these affirmations. An affirmation, as presented in our teachings, is generally for self-improvement. One is talking to his own subconscious mind.

Because every sound has a color and creates a form on the astral plane when pronounced, the mantra must be pronounced properly, slowly, thoughtfully, with feeling, mentally seeing the color, mentally hearing the sound. The ideal way to perform japa 108 times is by also listening to the nāda-nāḍī śakti, the high “eee” sound one hears within the head when in a high state of consciousness. To perform japa quickly, as in a marathon, sometimes called “machine gun japa,” brings little benefit. If you don’t have time to do japa, don’t do it at all. It should not be a meaningless ritual. It should be a very meaningful experience.

When we perform japa aloud, it is easier to concentrate the thought. The mantra is heard and therefore our mind does not wander. We must remember that letting the mind wander into irrelevant thoughts mitigates the benefits of the japa. Therefore, we must remain concentrated. We perform japa, which is a sādhana, for pragmatic benefits. There is no other reason. Therefore, we should keep our mind on what we are doing. Visualize the proper colors that the mantra produces from one stage to the next. In Śaravaṇabhava Aum we visualize light blue fading into white and fading back into light blue, back and forth—“Śaravaṇabhava Aum, Śaravaṇabhava Aum, Śaravaṇabhava Aum.” Blue is the color of the ākāśa, ether, and Śaravaṇabhava takes you there. Once the japa is perfected aloud, it may be done silently, simply by moving the lips but not making a sound, and then later making the sound internally without moving the lips. The ultimate accomplishment in the performance of japa is the yoga of going to sleep while verbally and mentally pronouncing the mantra, which continues during the sleeping hours. Upon awakening, the same mantra is still being repeated, mentally and then verbally, without a break in continuity. This is quite an accomplishment, but it has been done.

Preparation And Propriety

The mantra is the name of the inner-plane being whom you are calling. If you say, “Aum Namaḥ Śivāya,” are you ready to see what Śiva will show you, once He comes and lifts the veils? Maybe a little preparation—cleaning a few things, straightening up the house, the subconscious basement—is in order first. If you say, “Aum Śaravaṇabhava,” is your mind really ready to become peaceful, or is it disturbed by fits of anger? But every soul is ready to say, “Aum,” and come to the feet of the Lord of Categories, who will set everything in order from the many yesterdays.

If you are in the temple worshiping Lord Murugan, the mantra Aum Śaravaṇabhava obviously has a total, overall effect. If you say “Aum, Aum, Aum” in front of Gaṇeśa, Gaṇeśa becomes conscious of your presence. The Deities are present in the temple. They may not be present in a person’s home or under a tree. The main effect the mantra would have there would be to focus the concentration and quiet the mind.

If someone is already meditating and is self-instructed, not under a guru, and working for an eventual initiation to receive a mantra upon which to do japa, then whatever japa is performed should neither be too much nor too intense. We suggest for the non-Hindu Aum, and for the unitiated Śaivite Aum Śaravaṇabhava, 108 repetitions prior to meditation. This is totally on the safe side and will greatly enhance the meditation.

There is an idea that there is a special mantra for each person, and that a mantra should be secret. It has been my experience that gurus who are amassing wealth from unsuspecting Americans and Europeans will give all kinds of mantras. And they will be couched in a format that is sellable, like packaged merchandise. They will be made secret. But none of the traditional mantras that produce true realization and are lauded and acclaimed are secret. They are well known by every Hindu in the world. Each Hindu throughout the world knows whether he has purified himself or not, and prepared himself or not, sufficiently to pronounce them—though he may pronounce them at any time he wishes, and an impact and a beneficial effect will follow in his life. But the spiritual impact of pronouncing a mantra after earning an initiation (this does not mean paying for it, but earning it through study and practice, character building, improving, proving oneself to one’s guru) that effect is life-altering. It cleans the karmas of many past lives, perfects the lives of the future, and lays the foundation for moksha at the end of this or a future life. Let this not be misunderstood.

There are two classes of mantras, not powerful and powerful, meaning potentially dangerous. The only danger that a powerful mantra could have is opening a person to himself. The problem is not with the mantra, but with what is inside the individual when the chakras open and he can see his karmas of the past and his impending karmas of the future. That’s why a mantra is carefully given, like a medical prescription. You don’t give two aspirins to a baby. You give a half of one, or a quarter. And just as a child’s physical body takes years to grow up, so do the mind and emotions. If the early adult years are put into training and purification through karma yoga, bhakti yoga and study of Vedānta, then there are no troubles on the path to enlightenment. To turn on a light in a dark room with a flick of a switch is quite a shock to the darkness of the room itself. Would we want this to happen within the individual on the path? No. We want to turn up the dimmer very slowly so he or she can gradually adjust to the brightness that was there all the time.

Many people want initiation because they want to get away from something. They want something to cure their ills. Others don’t know what they want. They are disturbed, distraught with their prārabdha karmas, and they want relief. What they should be given is Śaiva Siddhānta—a comprehensive path of accomplishment. They should not be given a high-powered mantra that will, when it opens the mind, cause more frustration and disturbance from what the seeker sees. But once given such initiation—having no tools, mentally, emotionally or physically, to conquer the past karmas that the experiential emotions are intensifying (which should have been conquered through karma yoga and bhakti yoga)—the seeker falls into despair. It is the conscientious guru’s responsibility to provide an on-going, progressive training prior to initiation and to continue it afterwards. Those who make their living by selling mantras would be considered fraudulent by traditional Hindu standards.