Lesson 126
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Sloka 126 from Dancing with Siva
What Are Hindu Revealed Scriptures?
The Vedas and Agamas, revealed by God, are Hinduism's sovereign scriptures, called shruti, "that which is heard." Their timeless truths are expressed in the most extraordinarily profound mystical poetry known to man. Aum.
Bhashya
Veda, from vid, "to know," means "supreme wisdom or science." Similarly, Agama, which names the sacred sectarian revelations, means "descent of knowledge." The Vedas and Agamas are eternal truths transmitted by God through great clairaudient and clairvoyant rishis. They are Hinduism's primary and most authoritative scriptures, expounding life's sacredness and man's purpose on the planet. These psalms of wisdom were disclosed over many centuries, memorized and orally conveyed from generation to generation within priestly families, then finally written down in Sanskrit in the last few millennia. The subtly symbolic language of shruti, the cherished word of God, is lyrical and lofty. In imparting religious practice, rules and doctrine, the Vedas are general and the Agamas specific. The Vedas extol and invoke a multiplicity of Gods through elaborate fire rituals called yajna. The Agamas center around a single Deity and His worship with water, flowers and lights in sanctified temples and shrines. The Tirumantiram lauds, "Two are the scriptures that Lord Siva revealed--the primal Vedas and the perfect Agamas." Aum Namah Sivaya.
Lesson 126 from Living with Siva
Three More Steps to Clarity
Step four is "sex check"--to go over any past sexual experiences, including visual images such as pornography in adult movies, on the Internet, television or in magazines, dreams and fantasies. This is quite an obsession for some people, often called an addiction. Also be sure to write about youthful experimentation and, yes, masturbation and the thoughts before, during and afterwards. Include sexual repressions, regrets that you have had throughout your life up to the present day, especially any that are currently bothering you, then write them down and burn the emotion out of the memories as the garbage of the mind. This area is very important, as repeated experiences that have produced guilt or ended in sadness, and those that no one knows about but you and your partner--and happy, satisfying, longing-to-be-repeated experiences--do leave colorful memories. Some are brightly colored and sing happy songs in the memory patterns, while others are bathed in darkness and resound with dull tones. Both need to be reduced to black-and-white pictures. The modern notion of "Let's put this behind us and go on with life'' is held hostage here as color/sounds pile up in the inner aura and inhibit creativity, productivity, energy flows and even health. The "sex check'' should be written in many pages of explicit detail, including letters to the partner or partners, which are not saved or mailed, of course, but immediately burned. Be open and honest with yourself; you may be writing the best porno novel of all times. Include on your last page of "sex check" some new resolves for the future in regard to sexual matters.
Step five, the "teacher check," is to write about your relationship with your satguru, teachers, mentors or advisors, including your first meetings, initiations, encounters, instructions and any misunderstandings, large or small. Again, letters may be written, descriptions in detail, about whatever need be said. Of course, the person's face and name should always be present in your mind when writing, as if a conversation were being held. Appreciation can be shown that was never shown, misunderstandings settled and hurts on both sides healed. As you complete each writing session, burn the pages as garbage.
The sixth stage is the "penance check." Penance, prayashchitta, is of three kinds: mental, emotional and physical. In completing parts one through five of this tantra, you have completed the mental and emotional prayashchitta. Now we must deal with the physical in a different way. There will be a few emotional memories that writing will never cause to go away, such as not paying full taxes several years ago, stealing something, killing birds or animals for sport, or beating children, wives or husbands. These and other transgressions require resolution through actually physically doing something to mitigate these karmas made in this life. You can not write them away. Should there be in your life any of these kinds of experiences that require a physical prayashchitta, tell your spiritual teacher about them, and if ordained to do so, he or she will give you a penance to perform to put to rest those specific karmas. If I happen to be your satguru, write a letter of rededication and mail or e-mail it to me at prayas@hindu.org before beginning this sixth and final stage of the maha vasana daha tantra.
After these six steps of the maha vasana daha tantra have been completed, rejoice. Now you are ready to begin the serious practice of traditional meditation, as you dance with Siva, live with Siva and merge with Siva.
The maha vasana daha tantra is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Thereafter, you continue your subconscious spiritual journaling, vasana daha tantra, when needed to maintain the clarity and inner freedom that you have achieved. I encourage everyone to write at least ten pages at the end of every year about the just-completed year in the same way, ten pages for the year, followed by the other steps, including the sixth one. This annual journaling is called the vatsarika vasana daha tantra.
Those who have performed and continue to perform this lifetime, yearly and when-needed sadhana have testified to remarkable transformations. They find that they are free of burdens, clear of mind, joyously alive in the eternal now, eager to serve and able to enjoy sublime, penetrating meditations. Unlike before, their past is now small and their future, once limited, looms large and inviting. They enjoy new-found harmony with family and friends. They find it easy and natural to fulfill the Hindu restraints and observances, the yamas and niyamas. Why? They are not burdened by vasanas created by past experiences that have not been understood, resolved and released.
Of course, at the time of death it is the memories of all the emotional happenings that pop up before one's inner vision, and which have the power to bring you back in a future birth to be faced. Those that have been resolved and released in understanding are no longer strong in the mind. So, you are effecting a near-death experience, in a sense, upon yourself by doing this tantra, because you are putting to rest the memories of the past that you might not otherwise face until you actually die. This doesn't mean that you forget your past. It just isn't bothersome to you anymore. It seems almost as though it all happened to someone else.
Sutra 126 of the Nandinatha Sutras
The Guest Is God In Saiva Homes
Hospitality flows from Siva's followers like sweet music from a vina. Guests are treated as Gods. Friends, relatives, acquaintances, even strangers, are humbled by the overwhelming, ever-willing attention received. Aum.
Lesson 126 from Merging with Siva
Be a Master Of Giving
Why can't you spiritually unfold until you learn to give and give and give and give until it hurts? Because that hurt is your block. Many people give and they give generously, up to the point where they feel, "I have given a lot," or "I have given too much," or "I gave as much as I can give," or "I will give more when I can," or "I enjoy giving and I used to give a lot, but I can't give so much right now." These are the little blocks that come up within man's nature and undermine man's nature and bind him down to the depths of the negative areas of the subconscious mind. And then he can't progress. Why can't he progress? Because he can't have devotion unless giving unfolds as his light. Now, the man who has unfolded into giving doesn't qualify his giving, he doesn't even think about it. If he doesn't have a lot of material things to give, if he is going through circumstances which do not permit him, then what does he do? He gives what he can, in devotion, little things, to make people happy, little things to progress activity, little things to progress himself. He gives what he can, and he gives more than he can. And when something is given him, that gives him the power to give again. That is the great law. That is the great unfoldment.
When a seeker has unfolded to the power of giving, he doesn't think about himself so much, because he is spontaneous. He is always looking for an opportunity to do something good for someone else. When someone has not unfolded into giving, he thinks about himself a great deal, and he calculates his giving, because he has to give in proportion to something else. And by giving in proportion to something else, he is creating his future limitation. He is saying "I am just this big, and I will always be just this big because that is as far as my consciousness can go, just that much. So, I will hold my consciousness within this grave." But it doesn't work that way. The consciousness is not like that, because by limiting your giving, by limiting your consciousness, as time goes by it will shrink. And it will shrink until you don't know it. Your friends will notice, but you won't. It will shrink and shrink and shrink. And that is one of the things your friends won't tell you, that your consciousness has shrunk, and that you are not the same as you used to be.
This works in reverse, too. The person who has a heart full of joy, even if he doesn't have material possessions to speak of, always finds something to give; he gives what he has. He knows that he is not the gift, that he is not the giver at all, and when something comes his way, he gives of it freely. He is a vehicle for giving, and finally he is so full of abundance in consciousness that he knows he is not the giver, and he fulfills bhakti yoga in his life. If you give and give freely and spontaneously, you feel good about it, and if you do it again, you feel even better about it. But if you give and give selfishly, you feel bad about it, and if you continue to do so, you'll feel worse. If you give and give spontaneously, you will awaken your inner nature, and spiritual power will flow through you, and you will merge with God within you. But if you give, and give selfishly, by hanging onto your gift after you have given it, you close the door to spirituality. Giving is in many, many forms. The best way is to rely on the incomparable law of karma. Give freely, and your gift will come back to you often doubled soon after the gift is given. Then this opens the door for another gift to be given out. Your intuitive nature will tell you how you can give, when and where, and soon you will find yourself giving every minute of every day in the most spontaneous ways.