It was an awesome day with Satuguru Bodhinatha.

He gave us a spontaneous upadesh at the beach on “Exercise is Worship” describing his meditation routine while walking each morning. He described the eight shaktis of Lord Siva, the first five being the shaktis of Lord Ganesha, the Sixth being Lord Muruga’s shakti, and the seventh and eighth being Lord Siva’s concealing and revealing graces, wherein awareness is caught in the ego, and then released from the ego. He described the path to moksha as a progression through these shaktis, how each builds upon the next. For example, he said that if we are “fudging” (such as being late paying our bills), this disturbs the harmony of the 3rd shakti and eventually brings confusion into our life, which precludes having enough time for culture, the 4th shakti. But if our life is in order, we can appreciate culture, and it is people who have culture who develop devotion (5th). It is people with devotion who become interested in meditation (6th shakti). And it is through meditation that liberation is reached (8th shakti).

Well, of course, this is not direct quotes, but rather all being paraphrased by me to the best of my recollection with a limited understanding of what was said, and I hope that sometime Satguru Bodhinatha will give a TAKA upadesh on this subject for all to hear directly from his lips. We were definitely enthralled and privileged to be there with him on this auspicious day, and auspicious time for Lord Ganesha. Thank you Bodhinatha for coming to San Diego!

I only had an iPhone camera, which has limited abilities, but prepared a short video slide show, you may find at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncZti6RwVkU

Aum Namah Sivaya
Sadhunathan Nadesan