Lesson 365 – Dancing with Śiva

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Recording: Gurudeva’s cloned voice

Does God Ever Punish Wrongdoers?

ŚLOKA 55
God is perfect goodness, love and truth. He is not wrathful or vengeful. He does not condemn or punish wrongdoers. Jealousy, vengefulness and vanity are qualities of man’s instinctive nature, not of God. Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.

BHĀSHYA
There is no reason to ever fear God, whose right-hand gesture, abhaya mudrā, indicates “fear not,” and whose left hand invites approach. God is with us always, even when we are unaware of that holy presence. He is His crea­tion. It is an extension of Himself; and God is never apart from it nor limited by it. When we act wrongly, we create negative karma for ourselves and must then live through ex­pe­r­iences of suffering to ful­fill the law of karma. Such karmas may be pain­ful, but they were gen­­er­ated from our own thoughts and deeds. God never punishes us, even if we do not be­lieve in Him. It is by means of wor­ship of and meditation on God that our self-created sufferings are softened and assuaged. God is the God of all—of the be­lievers within all religions, and of the non­­believ­ers, too. God does not destroy the wicked and re­deem the righteous; but grants the precious gift of liberation to all souls. The Āgamas state, “When the soul gradually reduces and then stops altogether its par­tici­pa­tion in darkness and inauspicious powers, the Friend of the World, God, reveals to the soul the limitless character of its knowledge and activity.” Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.

Lesson 365 – Living with Śiva

Posted on by Himalayan Academy
Recording: Gurudeva’s cloned voice

You Can Make A Difference

It is important that all of you here with me tonight band together and do what you can to make a difference. It is important that you immediately refrain from following the patterns taught to you or your parents by the British Christians. One such pattern is that if one person in the community comes up, cut him down, malign him, criticize him until all heads are leveled. In the modern, industrial society everyone tries to lift everyone else up. People are proud of an individual in the community who comes up, and they help the next one behind him to succeed as well. They are proud of their religious leaders, too. Not so here, because if anyone does want to help out spiritually they have to be quiet and conceal themselves, lest they be maligned. Nobody is standing up to defend the religion; nobody is allowing anybody else to stand up, either. This has to change, and change fast it will.

Yes, the tide has to change. It has to change, no matter how painful it might be to praise people rather than criticize them, and to support and to protect them. The tide has to change. It has to change no matter how painful it might be to admit that we worship many Gods as well as one supreme God. The time has come for Hindus to be openly proud of their religion—the oldest religion on the planet. The time has come for Hindus to proclaim their beliefs and to defend their beliefs. The time has come for Hindus to stand up for Hinduism, no matter what the cost. The results will be a younger generation which respects the older generation again. The results will be a younger generation proud to be called Hindu. The results will be a younger generation eager to pass the tenets of Hinduism on to the next generation in a proud and a dynamic and a wonderful way. The time is now—begin!

Western nations are becoming truly pluralistic. These are days of truth. They are days of correction of wrongdoing, days of Self Realization, which cannot be hidden under a cloak of deception. Believe me, no Christian or Muslim looks at the Vedic-Āgamic goal of ātmajñāna, Self Realization, in the same way Hindus do. The days are gone when it is necessary to observe Christmas in the āśrama and sing non-Hindu hymns at satsaṅga. There was a time to hide the Vedic Truth beneath a basket and behind a cross, but now is a time to shout Self Realization from the rooftops. Self Realization is, in fact, what all people on the planet have come here to experience.

The Self within all is the sustainer of all, yet it acts not in that sustaining and is itself unsustained. It sustains our thoughts, our emotions, our physical universe, yet it lies mysteriously beyond them all, perfectly obvious to the knower, perfectly invisible to most. It is and yet it is not. Hindus need nothing else to hide behind than this Paramātman. Certainly we no longer need to define ourselves in a Christian or a Muslim way, or any other way but our own. So, no need to send out Christmas cards this year or have a tree in the āśrama, right?

In looking back on all the wonderful aspects of Hinduism that have been spoken of tonight on the beautiful island of Sri Lanka, it is clear that Hinduism is the answer for the future generations on this planet. It is the answer for the New Age, for the dawning Sat Yuga. The gracious Sanātana Dharma, our great religion, has all the answers. It has always had all of the answers in every age, for there was never an age when it did not exist. The time has now passed for many and is quickly passing for everyone when they can deny their Hindu heritage, when they can be afraid to admit their belief in Hinduism or even the simple fact that they are a Hindu. The time has come for Hindus of all races, all nations, of all cultures, of all sects to stand up and let the peoples of the world know of the great religion of which they are one of the staunch adherents. Take courage, courage, courage into your own hands and proceed with confidence. Stand strong for Hinduism.

NANDINATHA SŪTRA 365: THE END IS ONLY THE BEGINNING
Numberless successors of the Nandinātha lineage have gone before me. Numberless shall follow. I have woven these 365 threads of wisdom, but there is infinitely more to know of the mysterious Nāthas. Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.

Lesson 365 – Merging with Śiva

Posted on by Himalayan Academy
Recording: Gurudeva’s cloned voice

Eternal Questions

Many people think of the realization of timeless, formless, spaceless Paraśiva, nir­vi­kalpa samā­dhi, as the most blissful of all blissful states, the opening of the heavens, the descent of the Gods, as a moment of supreme, sublime joyousness; whereas I have found it to be more like cut glass, diamond-dust dar­shan, a psychic surgery, not a blissful experience at all, but really a kind of near-death experience resulting in total transformation. The bliss that is often taught as a final attainment is actually another attainment, Sat­chid­ānanda, an aftermath of nir­vi­kalpa samā­dhi, and a “before-math.” This means that Sat­chid­ānanda, savikalpa samā­dhi, may be attained early on by souls pure in heart. It also means that one need not gauge the highest attainment on the basis of bliss, which it transcends.

In my experience, the anā­hata cha­kra is the resting place of dynamic complacency, of thoughtful perception and quietude. Those of a lower nature arriving in the bloom of this cha­kra are released from turbulent emotions, conflicting thoughts and disturbances. This to many is the end of the path, attaining peace, or śānti. Once one attains śānti as just described, in my experience, this marks the beginning of the path, or part two, the second level. It is from here that the practices of rāja yoga take hold, once śānti is attained. In the anā­hata cha­kra and viśuddha cha­kra, Sat­chid­ānanda, the all-pervasive being of oneness, of the underlying being of the universe, is attained, experienced.

But unless brahmacharya, chastity, is absolutely adhered to, the experience is not maintained. It is here that relations between men and women play an important part, as in their union temporary oneness occurs, followed by a more permanent two-ness and ever-accumulating distractions, sometimes along with insolvable difficulties. Those who practice sexual tantras, seeking Self Realization through this path, will agree with this wisdom.

Does Self Realization bring bliss to the realized one? Self Realization is in several stages. Realizing oneself as a soul—rather than a mind, an intellectual and emotional type, or a worthless person—gives satisfaction, security, and this is a starting point. Realization of the Self as Sat­chid­ānanda gives contentment, a release from all emotions and thoughts of the external world, and the nerve system responds to the energies flowing through the viśuddha and anā­hata cha­kras. Realizing the Self that transcends time, form and space, Paraśiva, is a razor-edged experience, cutting all bonds, reversing individual awareness, such as looking out from the Self rather than looking into the Self.

There are many boons after this transforming experience, if repeated many times. One or two occurrences does make a renunciate out of the person and does make the world renounce the renunciate, but then, without persistent effort, former patterns of emotion, intellect, lack of discipline, which would inhibit the repeated experience of Paraśiva, would produce a disoriented nomad, so to speak. Therefore, repeated experiences of the ego-destructive Paraśiva, from all states of consciousness, intellectual, instinctive, even in dreams, permeates the transformation through atoms and molecules even in the physical body. It is then that the bliss can be enjoyed of Sat­chid­ānanda—and simultaneously, I would say, Sat­chid­ānanda and the rough, unrelenting, timeless, formless, spaceless Paraśiva merge in a not-merging way, such as light and darkness in the same room. This is different than the concept of sāyujya samā­dhi, which is maintaining the perpetual bliss within the fourth and fifth cha­kra and stimulating the sixth and seventh. For this to be maintained, a certain isolation from worldly affairs and distracting influences is required to prevent the reawakening of previously unsatisfied desires, repressed tendencies or unresolved subconscious conflicts.

Someone asked, “If realization in and of itself is not blissful, then what impels a soul that has arrived at bliss to strive for further realizations?” We are all moving forward to our ultimate goal of merging with Śiva. Bliss quiets the senses. It is the natural state of the mind when unperturbed by previous desires unfulfilled, desires yet to be fulfilled and the desires known to not be fulfillable. As long as the anā­hata and viśuddha cha­kras spin at top velocity, the senses will be quieted, few thoughts will pass through the mind unbidden, and the understanding of the Vedas and all aspects of esoteric knowledge will be able to be explained by the preceptor. Many choose to remain here, as the explainers of the inexplainable, and not go on—deep into the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh cha­kras, into the beyond of the beyond, the quantum level, the core of the universe itself. There comes a point when the powers of evolution move one forward, and even these desireless ones desire the greatest un­fold­ment, once they have found out that it is there to be desired.

Realizing Paraśiva is merging with Śiva, but it is not the end of merging. At that pinpoint of time, there are still the trappings of body, mind and emotions that claim awareness into their consciousness. Ultimately, when all bodies—physical, astral, mental, even the soul body—wear out their time, as all forms wear out in time, bound by time, existing in time, as relative realities, then viśvagrāsa, the final merger with Śiva, occurs, as the physical body drops away, the astral body drops away, the mental body drops away, and the soul—a shining, scintillating being of light quantums—merges into its source. As when a drop of water merges into the ocean, it can never be retrieved, only Śiva remains. Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.

Lesson 364 – Dancing with Śiva

Posted on by Himalayan Academy
Recording: Gurudeva’s cloned voice

What Is the Consequence of Sinful Acts?

ŚLOKA 54
When we do not think, speak and act virtuously, we create negative karmas and bring suffering upon ourselves and others. We suffer when we act instinctively and intellectually without superconscious guidance. Aum.

BHĀSHYA
We are happy, serene and stable when we follow good conduct, when we listen to our conscience, the knowing voice of the soul. The superconscious mind, the mind of our soul, knows and inspires good conduct, out of which comes a re­fined, sustainable culture. Wrong­doing and vice lead us away from God, deep into the darkness of doubt, despair and self-condemnation. This brings the asuras around us. We are out of harmony with ourselves and our family and must seek com­pan­ionship elsewhere, amongst those who are al­so crude, unmindful, greedy and lacking in self-control. In this bad company, burdensome new karma is created, as good conduct cannot be followed. This pāpa ac­cum­ulates, blinding us to the religious life we once lived. Pen­ance and throwing ourselves upon the mercy of God and the Gods are the only re­lease for the unvirtuous, those who conduct them­selves poorly. Fortunately, our Gods are compassionate and love their devotees. The ancient Vedas elu­cidate, “The mind is said to be twofold: the pure and al­so the impure; impure by union with desire—pure when from desire completely free!” Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.

Lesson 364 – Living with Śiva 

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Recording: Gurudeva’s cloned voice

Sannyāsins Are Needed

There are hundreds of thousands of sannyāsins, Hindu monks, throughout North India. But where are the sannyāsins that have been produced by the Hindu community of northern Sri Lanka? Where are they? The community produces attorneys. The community produces businessmen. The community produces freedom fighters. Why not produce a swāmī also? Is that too much to ask? It’s not too much to ask. It is part of Hindu culture to dedicate a son to religious orders. This same community, however, has given many, many of their young men to the Catholic Church to become its priests. This is difficult to understand. It really is.

A young man before the age of twenty-five should be allowed to make a personal decision whether he wants to follow the path of the sannyāsin or the path of the householder. He should never be forced into employment to earn a big dowry in order to marry off his sisters. It is a sin if he is forced to work in the world if his calling is to find God and serve his people through Hinduism. It is a sin, when the calling of his soul is to realize God, to force him into a marriage. The best thing for the family, for the community and for all of humanity would be to let those rare souls seek out God, take their holy vows of sannyāsa and bring light and love back into a hurting world through their awakened being.

The Hindu community in Sri Lanka should produce spiritual leaders from among its young men. It has quite enough of all the other kinds of professions. It should again produce great swāmīs, as well as many gṛihastha missionaries and ministers. We asked this young man sitting here before me an hour ago, “How many people of your age go to the religious meetings and events?” He said, “Very few of us do.” The parents should bring their young men with them by the hundreds to listen to visiting swāmīs and participate in other functions. Hindus around the world have to stand up for Hinduism, support it by their efforts, their interest, their resources of time and money and talent.

Last week while in Chennai, Swami Chinmayananda, a friend of mine for over twenty years, and I were talking together. A young man came in during our conversation and told Swami that he was preparing to go to school and then asked Swami for his blessings. Swami inquired of him what he would do after finishing with schooling. He said, “Then I will be married.” Swami inquired, “Then what?” “Then I’ll raise the children.” Swami asked again, “Then what?” “I will go on with my profession.” Swami persisted, “Then what?” He went on like that until finally the young man said, “Well, then I will die.” Swami then said to him. “You should do some useful service and help me in my mission before you marry. There are enough children being born in India today—that can wait a little. Come to me after your schooling and we will do some useful work for God and our people together.”

The point is that all things in life must be centered around religion. Only the spiritual matters of life live on. Everything else in life is destined to perish. This body will perish. This personality will perish. But our religion will live on and grow inside of us as we evolve from life to life. It is the duty of each Hindu, young or old, to help the religion progress from generation to generation. We help Hinduism live on by serving and guiding others. For true and lasting happiness, religion must be the basis of everything in life, around which all other interests and desires revolve. So many people are against religion these days. It is up to religious people to make it popular again.

India and Sri Lanka are in between being agricultural countries and technological countries. We have to bring Hinduism into the technological age. It has to be reiterated, reedited and reexplained. We must teach how the worship of Lord Gaṇeśa can help people run their computer better, help them become a better typist, help them handle the stress and strain that come from dealing with traffic and coping with people of all kinds. Hinduism has to be retranslated, updated into this industrial and technological era. Who can do that? Only the intelligent older people like yourselves. Intelligent older people can take this on and help me in this reformation, and then we will together pass it to the next generation. Soon the Hindus of all sects will become strong and proud of their religion.

Let us now affirm: “Lord Śiva loves and cares for all of His devotees. He always has and He always will.” “Lord Śiva loves and care for all of His devotees. He always has and He always will.” Let’s work together, and let’s begin now.

NANDINATHA SŪTRA 364: MY ĀCHĀRYAS SPREAD LOVE AND LIGHT
My sannyāsins who are āchāryas, filled with love and helpfulness, promote joy and harmony among the congregation. They never anger, incite fear or take advantage of a person’s health, wealth or well-being. Aum.

Lesson 364 – Merging with Śiva

Posted on by Himalayan Academy
Recording: Gurudeva’s cloned voice

The Journey Called Yoga

To the meditating yogī, dar­shan is more than a communication radiating out to him from an external God or Mahādeva. It is a radiant light shining from the sanctum sanctorum of his own saha­srāra cha­kra. Worship for him becomes completely internal as he follows that light, that dar­shan, seeking to know its source. In yoga, the devotee worships the transcendent aspect of God. He strengthens his body and nerve system. He disciplines the energies of mind and body. He learns to regulate his breath and to control the prāṇas that flow as life’s force through his nerve system. In this process, the kuṇḍa­linī śakti is lifted and the multi-petaled cha­kras unfold in all their splendor. The subtle realms within the devotee are revealed layer by layer as he methodically perfects attention, concentration, meditation and contemplation.

Lord Śiva now brings the earnest devotee to meet his sat­guru, who will guide him through the traditional disciplines of yoga on his inward journey. It is his spiritual preceptor, his guru, who takes care that he avoids the abysses and psychic pitfalls along the path.

In this stage of yoga, the devotee looks upon God as a friend, a companion. He strives with a diligence and energy he never knew he possessed, with a dedication he once thought impossible, and as he strives his willpower is awakened. Finally, one day, in his first samā­dhi, he penetrates to the essence of being. In this ultimate experience, which remains forever beyond description, he has reached the union which is yoga.

Returning from this state of ineffable fulfillment, the devotee brings back into his life a new understanding, a new perspective. He is never the same after that experience. He can never again look at life in the same way. Each time he enters into that God Realization, that samā­dhi, he returns to consciousness more and more the knower. His knowing matures through the years as his yoga sā­dha­na is regulated, and as it matures he enters ever so imperceptibly into the fourth and final stage of un­fold­ment, into jñāna.

One does not become a jñānī simply by reading philosophy. That is a great misconception. Many people believe that you can spiritually unfold or evolve into a jñānī through reading books, through understanding another’s un­fold­ment or performing meditations that he once performed. Understanding another person’s wisdom does not make us wise. Each has to experience the fullness of the path to enlightenment himself.

The jñānī becomes one who postulates that what he has himself realized are the final conclusions for all mankind. His postulations are filled with assuredness, for he has experienced what the Vedas, the Āgamas and the Upanishads speak of. He has awakened the power and force of his own realization. He knows. He becomes the embodiment of that knowing, of the Truth he once sought as something other than himself. He finds within the scriptures confirmation of his realization echoed in the verses of ṛishis written at the dawn of human history. This matured soul sees reflected in their writings that same state of complete merging with the Divine that he himself has come to know as the timeless, formless, spaceless Absolute which he once worshiped symbolically as a stone image in previous life wanderings within the instinctive mind, or avoided and resented because the temple to him represented an awesome and fearful threat to his impurities.

He has removed the veils of ignorance, removed the obstacles to understanding. He has come into his true being, union with God, union with Śiva, and in this serene state he sees God as his beloved, as that which is dearer to him than life itself, as he is consumed by that all-encompassing love. There is for him no more an inner and an outer life and consciousness, for they have melted and merged into a single continuum. He is That, and for him it is clear that all are That. Unknown to himself, he has become the temple of his religion, capable of imparting knowledge merely by the power of his silent presence. He has become the source of light and dar­shan which radiate out through the nāḍīs and prāṇas of his being. This great soul is found in his reveries sweeping the temple floor, polishing brass lamps, weaving fragrant garlands, expounding smṛiti and being the humble Sivanadiyar, slave to the servants of the Lord, as he lives out the final strands of karma of this last birth.

The final conclusions of the world’s most ancient religious tradition, the Sanātana Dharma, are that mankind is on a spiritual path as old as time itself, that this journey progresses from birth to birth as the soul evolves through the perfection of charyā into the perfection of kriyā, and from there into the perfection of yoga, emerging as a jñānī. This is the path followed by all souls. Whatever religion they espouse, whatsoever they may believe or deny, all of mankind is on the one path to Truth. It begins with the dvaita of charyā and ends in the advaita of jñāna—the advaita postulated in Vedānta and in the Śuddha Siddhānta of Śaiva Siddhānta.

Lesson 363 – Dancing with Śiva

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Recording: Gurudeva’s cloned voice

Does Hell Really Exist? Is There a Satan?

ŚLOKA 53
There is no eternal hell, nor is there a Satan. However, there are hellish states of mind and woeful births for those who think and act wrongfully—temporary tormenting conditions that lift the fiery forces within. Aum.

BHĀSHYA
Hell, termed Naraka, is the lower astral realm of the seven chak­ras below the mūlādhāra. It is a place of fire and heat, anguish and dismay, of confusion, despair and de­pres­sion. Here anger, jealousy, argument, mental con­flict and tormenting moods plague the mind. Ac­cess to hell is brought about by our own thoughts, words, deeds and emotions—sup­pressed, an­tag­on­istic feelings that court demons and their ag­gres­sive forces. Hell is not eternal. Nor is there a Satan who tempts man and opposes God’s power, though there are devilish beings called asuras, im­­mature souls caught in the abyss of de­cep­tion and hurt­­fulness. We do not have to die to suffer the Na­ra­ka regions, for hellish states of mind are also experienced in the physi­cal world. If we do die in a hellish state of consciousness—burdened by unresolved hatred, re­morse, resentment, fear and distorted patterns of thought—we ar­rive in Nara­ka fully equipped to join others in this tem­porary astral purgatory. The Vedas say, “Sun­less and de­­­mon­­ic, verily, are those worlds, and envel­oped in blind­ing darkness, to which all those people who are en­e­mies of their own souls go after death.” Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.

Lesson 363 – Living with Śiva

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Recording: Gurudeva’s cloned voice

Ministers Are Needed

There are many professions that emerged in India during the Rāj: the profession of the attorney, the profession of the engineer, the profession of the modern businessman, the scientist and more. However, the most respected profession, that of religious minister, was not allowed to develop. Under the British rule the profession of the religious ministers was not made popular. Why? We can assume it would have made Hinduism strong and its people self-sufficient. It would have increased its self-respect. Slowly the Anglican Christian government drew devotees away from the temple and philosopher, and teachers away from the religion into the secular world. Slowly they drew the women out of the homes into jobs, and the priests out of the temples into better-paying professions.

A law student has no authority in the courts. He cannot approach the judge. He can sit in the courtroom and listen. But as soon as he passes his bar examination, he gains authority. He can then wield his authority in the courts. There is a parallel to this in religion. The average follower does not have religious authority, but the appointed or ordained minister has been given authority by all the members and other ministers. The Muslims have ministers with authority, the Buddhists have priests with great authority, and so do the Christians. They all have their churches, temples and houses of worship where the ministers and priests do their work. The modern church system is a social, economical, cultural and religious structure. A minister of a church or of a Muslim mosque, Buddhist temple or Jewish synagogue has a certain well-defined authority and can effectively help the members of his congregation, much more so than can the ordinary person.

The modern church system gives authority to well-educated people, to the most devout and committed people, to perform their ministry. Once Hindu men or women have this kind of authority, it is possible to approach the president of a country, the Pope in Rome or any other important person in government as representatives of the religion. They can freely communicate with other religious leaders: a Muslim imam, a Christian minister, a Buddhist priest on an equal basis. They can lecture around the world and do much more than they could before being ordained. This is because they have been given the authority by their congregation and other clergy persons. Hindus of all sects need their religious leaders in every country to serve the community, to teach and represent the religion at local and international venues, to stand strong for Hinduism on equal footing with all major religions of the world. Hindus need their religious leaders to perform the rites of passage, to manage the temples, to counsel and console, to uphold family values, to stop the suicides, to stop the divorces, to stop the murders, to stop the wife and child abuse, so that the community is strong and stable.

NANDINATHA SŪTRA 363: NEVER DEMEANING OTHERS
My sannyāsins who are āchāryas nurture each devotee equally. They never make others their servants, order them about, shout at them, snap their fingers, clap their hands, nor strike or demean them at any time. Aum.

Lesson 363 – Merging with Śiva

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Recording: Gurudeva’s cloned voice

The Blossoming Of Devotion

For those in kriyā, dar­shan is not only the physical sight of the stone image in the temple. It is also an inner communion, a receiving of the blessings and the messages and the rays of Second and Third World beings, who are actual conscious entities and whose consciousness is canalized through the sacred image by esoteric temple practices. This is a deeper perception of the dar­shan of the Deity. Other forms of religious expression naturally come forth for the devotee in this stage of un­fold­ment, such as attending pūjās regularly, chanting, undertaking pilgrimages to temples and holy places and studying the scriptures.

Midpoint in this stage of development of the soul, the devotee may psychically experience an aspect of God that he has been worshiping in the temple. He may see the Deity in a dream or have a vision of Him during a quiet period when he is sitting with his eyes closed after a pūjā. After this experience, he centers his life fully around God and learns to psychically attune himself to His dar­shan, His will. Once he fully understands his religion, if he has sufficient means he may express his eagerness to serve through building a temple, or participation in such a project. Indeed, this is the great culmination of kriyā. It is through the devotees in the kriyā, or bhakti yoga, stage of the un­fold­ment of the soul that we have all over the world today magnificent Hindu temples, built by people who have performed well, who have controlled their thoughts and actions, who have understood the laws of karma and the penalties of wrong action. They have avoided wrong action not out of fear, but because they have evolved into performing right action. Having released themselves from the dense fog of the instinctive mind, they can now build temples of great beauty which reflect the beauties they have discovered within themselves in their personal communion with God, who to them is not an awesome master who might punish and discipline, but a loving father.

As he matures in kriyā, the devotee unfolds a more and more intense love of God, to the point that he may well shed joyful tears during intense moments of worship. When that love is constant from day to day, when it is strong enough that he is capable of surrendering his individual will to God’s Cosmic Will, then kriyā or bhakti yoga has reached its zenith. This giving up of his own will is a slow process as he unwinds the last remaining strands of his external will from the instinctive mind. His will was born of intellectual concepts, and these concepts, too, he releases unto God, feeling within his inmost being that he knows little of the grand mysteries of existence, an admission he could not make earlier. He realizes that he receives his inspiration, his energy, his very life, from God.

At this stage of kriyā the devotee learns patience. He learns to wait for the proper timing of things in his life. He is in no hurry. He is willing to wait for another life, or for many more lives. There is no urgency. He trusts God and trusts the path he is on. He settles down, and his life comes into a balance. He observes that he is in an evolutionary process along with thousands and millions of others. He embraces other devotees with renewed love and appreciation. He patterns his life in such a way that the temple is the hub of his culture, his religious activity and observance, his very thinking. From the temple or his home shrine, he goes forth to spend his days in the world, and to the temple or shrine he returns from the world. His life comes and goes from that sacred place.

In the stages of charyā and kriyā, the deep-seated impurities of the mind are cleansed as past karmas are resolved and a foundation laid for the third stage on the divine path, that of yoga. Yoga is a very advanced science. It cannot be sustained except by the soul that has unfolded into the fullness of charyā and kriyā and maintains the qualities of service and devotion as meditation is pursued. The devotee who has served God well now embarks upon finding union with God in his sanctum within. He remains enveloped in the dar­shan of the personal Lord he carefully cultivated during charyā and kriyā, and on the power of that dar­shan he is drawn within by the Primal Soul Himself to rarefied states of consciousness and the stillness of meditation.

Lesson 362 – Dancing with Śiva

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Recording: Gurudeva’s real voice

What Is Sin? How Can We Atone for It?

ŚLOKA 52
Sin is the intentional transgression of divine law. There is no inherent or “original” sin. Neither is there mortal sin by which the soul is forever lost. Through sādhana, worship and austerities, sins can be atoned for. Aum.

BHĀSHYA
What men term sin, the wise call ignorance. Man’s true na­ture is not sullied by sin. Sin is related only to the lower, in­­stinctive intellectual nature as a transgression of dharma. Still, sin is real and to be avoided, for our wrong­ful ac­tions return to us as sorrow through the law of karma. Sin is terminable, and its effects may be com­pensated for by penance, or prāyaśchitta, and good deeds which settle the karmic debt. The young soul, less in tune with his soul nature, is inclined toward sin; the old soul seldom transgresses divine law. Sins are the crippling distortions of intellect bound in emotion. When we sin, we take the ener­gy and distort it to our in­stinctive favor. When we are unjust and mean, hateful and holding re­sent­ments year after year and no one but ourselves knows of our in­trigue and corruption, we suffer. As the soul evolves, it even­tually feels the great burden of faults and mis­deeds and wishes to atone. Pen­ance is performed, and the soul seeks absolution from society and beseeches God’s ex­onerating grace. The Vedas say, “Loose me from my sin as from a bond that binds me. May my life swell the stream of your river of Right.” Aum Namaḥ Śivāya.