October 13th Siva Homa

A Homa was held today as the monks begin their new phase. Natyam Nandinatha was the pujari for this ancient and sacred ritual, invoking Siva through fire. The monks chant Sri Rudram as prayers are burned in the flames and the deva's and Mahadeva's blessings felt. Following the final arati, Satguru Bodhinatha discussed today's lesson from Dancing with Siva:

Sloka 29 from Dancing with Siva
Why Are We Not Omniscient Like Siva?

The three bonds of anava, karma and maya veil our sight. This is Siva's purposeful limiting of awareness which allows us to evolve. In the superconscious depths of our soul, we share God Siva's all-knowingness. Aum.

Bhashya

Just as children are kept from knowing all about adult life until they have matured into understanding, so too is the soul's knowledge limited. We learn what we need to know, and we understand what we have experienced. Only this narrowing of our awareness, coupled with a sense of individualized ego, allows us to look upon the world and our part in it from a practical, human point of view. Pasha is the soul's triple bondage: maya, karma and anava. Without the world of maya, the soul could not evolve through experience. Karma is the law of cause and effect, action and reaction governing maya. Anava is the individuating veil of duality, source of ignorance and finitude. Maya is the classroom, karma the teacher, and anava the student's ignorance. The three bonds, or malas, are given by Lord Siva to help and protect us as we unfold. Yet, God Siva's all-knowingness may be experienced for brief periods by the meditator who turns within to his own essence. The Tirumantiram explains, "When the soul attains Self-knowledge, then it becomes one with Siva. The malas perish, birth's cycle ends and the lustrous light of wisdom dawns." Aum Namah Sivaya.

Ganesha and Hanuman reside close to the kumbas

Sri Rudram is chanted

Final arati

The morning sun sends its beams through the temple

Aum Namah Sivaya

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