Welcoming Our Newest Monastic: Sadhaka Vatshalanatha!
Jai Kailasa Parampara!
Jai Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami!
Jai Sivaya Subramuniyaswami!
Aum Namah Sivaya!
Just following our abhishekam of Lord Nataraja during the Ardra nakshatra yesterday, the monks gathered in the Guru Pitam to witness the taking of vows by our newest monastic, Sadhaka Vatshalanatha.
The following are excerpts from his four vows, which he read aloud to Bodhinatha and the attending monks:
THE SACRED VOW OF HUMILITY: known in Tamil as PANNIVU
Humility is the state of profound maturity in which the soul, immersed in the depths of understanding and compassion, radiates the qualities of mildness, modesty, reverent obeisance and unpretentiousness. There is an analogy in the Saivite tradition that compares the unfolding soul to wheat. When young and growing, the stalks of wheat stand tall and proud, but when mature their heads bend low under the weight of the grains they yield. Similarly, man is self-assertive, arrogant and vain only in the early stages of his spiritual growth. As he matures and yields the harvest of divine knowledge, he too bends his head. In the Tamil language this absence of pride or self-assertion is known as pannivu. Pannivu also means "jewel." In the Tirukural it is said that "Humility and pleasant words are the jewels that adorn a man; there are none other."
Humility does not consist in concealing our merits and virtues or in thinking ourselves worse or more ordinary than we are. Nor is it a pretended meekness. Rather it lies in not exalting ourselves before others for we perceive the grandeur of God Siva in every human being and reverently acknowledge Him there. Humility in this ideal is the awakened perception that "Siva is All." It is the inner being predominating over the outer nature.
THE SACRED VOW OF PURITY: known in Tamil as TIRIKARANNASUTTI
Purity is the pristine and natural state of the soul. It is not something which the monastic attains as much as that which he already is, and which becomes evident as the layers of adulterating experience and beclouding conceptions are dissipated. Purity is clarity and clearness in all dimensions of being. It is innocence as opposed to familiarity with the ways of the world. It is for monastics the observance of chastity, called brahmacharya. In Tamil purity is given its fullest expression in the term tirikarannasutti, which means "purity in mind, speech and body." These three--also called thought, word and deed--convey the fullness of the ideal of purity.
Purity does not consist in merely doing good and being good, though these are essential, nor is it an outward appearance or show of such goodness. It is primarily an inner quality, equally present in the saint who outwardly reflects the purity of his attainment and in the sage who inwardly rests in that same purity though his attainment may not be apparent. Purity is not a manner of behavior, though it may be reflected in our behavior, and there is no merit in taking on the appearance of being pure when one is not yet pure.
THE SACRED VOW OF OBEDIENCE: known in tamil as TAALVU ENUM TANMAI
Obedience is the state of willingness and cooperation in which the soul remains open and amenable to enlightened direction. For the monastic it is an unbroken pledge of trust in and surrender to the satguru, the guru parampara and the mystic process of spiritual evolution. In the Tamil language this definition of obedience is expressed in the term taalvu enum tanmai, which denotes "the quality or state of humble submission."
Obedience does not consist in blind submission and yielding to authority, nor in weakening our own will that it may be dominated by the will of another. Yet it is, in another sense, submission to a sacred purpose and the divine authority of the Second and Third Worlds. It is, for the monastic, an inner quality that allows him to remain consciously tractable and responsive. In the beginning, while the instinctive nature remains strong and there exists a sense of "I" and "mine," obedience is a surrendering of the ego to the soul or the instinctive nature to the spiritual nature. As long as the ego dominates the life of man, he will experience obedience as capitulation or subjection. As the soul unfolds and separateness is replaced by knowledge of the unity that pervades the universe, obedience is perceived as the union of minds and purpose, a state of harmony so complete that there can exist no distinction between him who gives and him who receives instruction or direction. True obedience is based on agreement, trust and knowledge, as opposed to passive servility, nonresistance or domination, which have ignorance and fear as their basis.
THE SACRED VOW OF CONFIDENCE: known in tamil as RAHASIYAM
Confidence is the state of trust in which the sacred teachings and sensitive or personal matters are not divulged to others. Spiritual matters must be protected and preserved by those to whom they are entrusted, never wantonly or indiscriminately revealed. When we confide in another, we do so with the assurance that sensitive and serious information will not be inappropriately disclosed. In the Tamil language confidence is known as rahasiyam, meaning "secret or mystery."
Confidence as applied to these Sacred Vows does not mean "certainty," "a belief in one's abilities" or "self-confidence." Rather it is a confiding, a trusting and a relying upon. It is the controlled sharing of privileged teachings or information that should not be disclosed, but held in confidentiality. In its most simple form it is the keeping of a secret.
Confidence for the monastic may be defined as wisdom in handling information. The monastic must learn to hold in strict secrecy all spiritual direction and esoteric laws entrusted to him, never revealing them unless specifically ordained to do so. He must realize the wisdom of Saint Yogaswami's statement that "Sacred is secret and secret is sacred," never treating the inner teachings as ordinary knowledge to be published or spoken of to the public or prematurely disclosed to devotees.
May Yogaswami, Gurudeva, and our entire guru-lineage, steadily guide Sadhaka Vatshalanatha from this and inner worlds.
Aum Namah Sivaya!
11 Responses to “Welcoming Our Newest Monastic: Sadhaka Vatshalanatha!”
From Our Gurus' Teachings
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June 19th, 2023 at 6:17 pm
Aum Namah Sivaya !
June 19th, 2023 at 8:24 pm
May Yogaswami, Gurudeva, and our entire guru-lineage, steadily guide Sadhaka Vatshalanatha from this and inner worlds.
Congratulations brother.
Aum Namah Sivaya!
June 20th, 2023 at 9:24 am
Congratulations Sadhaka Vatshalanatha.
Aum Namah Sivaya!
June 20th, 2023 at 9:39 am
Namaste Sadhaka Vatshalanatha,
Aum Namah Sivaya!
I am in utter gladness knowing that you have taken these breath-taking, life-giving vows. Justice and I will be including you in our twice daily prayers for all the monks, that you may continue on the San Marga Path with joyful, balanced, imperturbable stability.
Om shanti shanti Om
June 20th, 2023 at 10:49 am
Aum Namasivayam 🙏🙏🙏
June 20th, 2023 at 4:46 pm
“AUM”!.
June 20th, 2023 at 9:41 pm
Aum Namasivaya. May the Nandi Natha Sampradaya Kailasa Satguru Parampara keep You and family blessed. Aum Namasivaya
June 20th, 2023 at 10:52 pm
All the best. May the God, Gods and Guru help you in your endeavors. Aum Namasivaya.
June 21st, 2023 at 7:42 am
Some great souls come to Kauai Aadheenam riding the mystical mouse and taking each step with great care . . . some come born in another life ridding on the Vahana of Lord Muruga . . .
June 22nd, 2023 at 6:41 pm
Jai Guruparampara!
வணக்கம்!
வாழ்த்துக்கள்!
ஓம் நமசிவாய!
June 30th, 2023 at 6:44 am
Jai Jai Shree Maha Ganesh!
Congrats Sadhaka Vatshalanatha! Climbing Mount Everest or K2 is not for the fainthearted but traveling San Marga Path is for the spiritually resolute. May your journey be smooth and may you be guided by Gurudeva, Satguru Bodhinatha, the Swamis and Monks. May Lord Siva and all the Gods bless you always!
Aum Namasivaya
Sivayanama Aum