Dancing with Śiva

Lead me from unreality to reality. Lead me from darkness to light. Lead me from death to immortality.§

Śukla Yajur Veda, Bṛihadāraṇyaka Upanishad 1.3.28. HH, 202§

He is the Supreme Brahman, the Self of all, the chief foundation of this world, subtler than the subtle, eternal. That thou art; thou art That.§

Atharva Veda, Kaivalya Upanishad 16. UPH, 930§

One should meditate on the ātman, which consists of spirit, whose embodiment is life, whose form is light, whose essence is space, which changes its form at will, swift as thought. §

Śukla Yajur Veda, Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa 10.6.3.2. VE, 705§

Perishable is matter. Immortal, imperishable the Lord, who, the One, controls the perishable and also the soul. Meditating on Him, uniting with Him, becoming more and more like Him, one is freed at the last from the world’s illusion.§

Kṛishṇa Yajur Veda, Śvetāśvatara Upanishad 1.10. VE, 762§

I am the Supreme Brahman! I am the Lord of the universe! Such is the settled conviction of the muktas. All other experiences lead to bondage. When the Self is clearly realized not to be the body, the realizer gains peace and becomes free from all desires.§

Devīkālottara Āgama, Jñāna-āchara-vichara 50-51. RM, 114§

Realize the Self always to be neither above nor below, nor on either side, not without nor within, but to be eternal and shining beyond the sublime world.§

Sarvajñānottara Āgama, Ātma Sakshatkara 29. RM, 108§

That which is neither conscious nor unconscious, which is invisible, impalpable, indefinable, unthinkable, unnameable, whose very essence consists of the experience of its own self, which absorbs all diversity, is tranquil and benign, without a second, which is what they call the fourth state—that is the ātman. This it is which should be known. §

Atharva Veda, Māṇdūkya Upanishad 7. VE, 723§

On the emergence of spontaneous supreme knowledge occurs that state of movement in the vast unlimited expanse of consciousness which is Śiva’s state, the supreme state of Reality.§

Śiva Sūtras 2.5. SS, 99§

When the Creator dances, the worlds He created dance. To the measure that He dances in our knowledge, our thoughts, too, dance. When He in heart endearing dances, the several elements, too, dance. Witness in rapture surpassing the dance of Him who is a glowing flame.§

Tirumantiram 2786. TM§

O God of mercy, who performs the dance of illimitable happiness in the hall of inconceivable intelligence! The Ṛig and the other Vedas are thundering forth in words, announcing to us that all are thy slaves, all things belong to thee, all actions are thine, that thou pervades everywhere, that this is thy nature. Such is the teaching of those who, though they never speak, yet broke silence for our sake. §

Karunakara Kadavul 6.3. PT, 33§

Just as light shines, dispelling darkness, so also the Supreme Self shines, dispelling ignorance. Just as a lamp spontaneously goes out if not fed with oil, so also the ego becomes extinct if one meditates unceasingly and becomes merged in the Self. There is no higher gain than the Self.§

Sarvajñānottara Āgama§

The Supreme Lord is not two. To me belongs the glory of meditating that I, His devoted servant, am He. As one imagines, so one becomes. Therefore, practice the meditation of “I am He.” Then all your actions will become His action.§

Natchintanai, “I am He.” NT, 8§

Undistracted, I sit aloof and meditate. Doubt-free, following the ancient Vedas, I cross the awesome wasteland that this life is and beyond, into the Void that defies imagination, I merge. Meditating in oneness, I visioned Paraparam. Meditating in oneness, I realized Śiva-state. Meditating in oneness, I experienced awareness transcendental. Meditating in oneness, I witnessed eons upon eons.§

Tirumantiram 2948; 2953. TM§