Sadhana Guide for Pilgrims - Kauai's Hindu Monastery

Chapter One: The Concept of Sadhana

Introductory Quote from Gurudeva

What makes the San Marga Iraivan Temple, the moksha sphatika Sivalinga, our small and large shrines and publication facilities so special is that they are part of a monastery or aadheenam: the home of a spiritual master, a satguru, and his tirelessly devoted sâdhakas, yogîs, swâmîs and âchâryas. Moreover, the Aadheenam is a theological seminary for training monks from all over the world to take holy orders of sannyâsa and join the great team of our Śaiva Siddhânta Yoga Order.

Sadhana Practice

Sadhana refers to the regular performance of religious or spiritual disciplines, such as puja, yoga, meditation, japa, fasting and austerity. The effect of consistent sadhana is the building of willpower, faith and confidence in oneself and in God, Gods and guru. Sadhana harnesses and transmutes the instinctive-intellectual nature, allowing progressive spiritual unfoldment into the superconscious realizations and innate abilities of the soul. Sadhana produces personal change through self-effort. Ideally sadhana is performed daily, as in this way it builds a greater inner intensity.

Sadhana is a core concept in our guru lineage. Gurudeva’s guru, Śiva Yogaswami, coined the phrase sadhana marga to describe the way he urged serious aspirants to follow—a path of intense effort, spiritual discipline and consistent inner transformation, as opposed to theoretical and intellectual learning.

Quote from Gurudeva

The Nandinatha Sampradaya is a mystical lineage that places great stress on direct and personal experience of God, on seeing God everywhere and in everyone, on knowing God within oneself. This is achieved through nonintellectual spiritual disciplines called sadhana—a term which in its fullest sense embodies kundalini yoga, profound esoteric practices, intense introspective meditation, and worship—through purificatory effort, mind-transforming austerities, egoless service and, most importantly, through the bountiful grace of the living satguru. Following such a path, called sadhana marga, Nathas have come to know God, in ancient days and modern. Sadhana is performing the same discipline over and over and over again. Just as we methodically exercise the physical body to build up its muscles, we perform spiritual disciplines over and over again to strengthen our spiritual, inner bodies.

Supplementary Reading

Dancing with Śiva, Śloka 4: How Can We Learn to Dance with Śiva?

Śloka: Dance is movement, and the most exquisite dance is the most disciplined dance. Hindu spiritual disciplines lead to oneness with God through self-reflection, surrender, personal transformation and the many yogas. Aum.

Bhâshya: To progress on the path, we study the Vedas, other scriptures and our guru’s teachings and make every effort to apply these philosophical truths to daily experience. We strive to understand the mind in its fourfold nature: chitta, consciousness; manas, instinctive mind; buddhi, intellectual mind; and ahamkara, ego or I-maker. We perform japa, meditation and yoga each day. Such spiritual discipline is known as sadhana. It is the mystical, mental, physical and devotional exercise that enables us to dance with Śiva by bringing inner advancement, changes in perception and improvements in character. Sadhana allows us to live in the refined and cultured soul nature, rather than in the outer, instinctive or intellectual spheres. For consistent progress, sadhana should be performed regularly, without fail, at the same time each day, preferably in the early hours before dawn. The most important sadhanas are the challenges and practices given by one’s guru. The Vedas caution, “The Self cannot be attained by the weak, nor by the careless, nor through aimless disciplines. But if one who knows strives by right means, his soul enters the abode of God.” Aum Namah Sivaya.

Chapter Two: Pre-Trip Sadhanas

Introductory Quote from Gurudeva

Iraivan Temple is a grand hand-carved white granite temple seated upon a black lava rock plinth, golden tower shining in a rainbowed sky, God Śiva’s most traditional sanctuary in the West, with its stone bell and “God is All and in all” motto etched in a multitude of languages. It is a magnificent shrine for fellowship members and devout pilgrims intent on worshiping the immanent and transcendent Lord. Being a moksha temple in the center of a cloistered monastery, Iraivan is by no means a tourist attraction. It is a punya tîrtha, a sacred destination for devout pilgrims who come with this one goal in mind, having received permission early on and begun preparing themselves far in advance through fasting, meditation and prayer in anticipation of receiving the darśana of Iraivan and performing daily sâdhana on San Mârga. They are granted temporary access cards by the Pîtham for the duration of their stay.

Sadhana Practice

As is common in any traditional pilgrimage, the preparation is as important as the pilgrimage itself. Devotees pilgrimaging to Kerala’s Sabarimala Lord Ayappan Temple, for example, prepare for 41 days in advance through fasting, celibacy and self-denial.

In the days or weeks before your journey to Kauai, perform additional daily study and spiritual disciplines to prepare yourself. Join with your family to intensify and renew your spiritual life. On the appointed day, fly straight to Kauai with only God on your mind, and God will be waiting to see you!

Some specific suggestions for preparation are: decrease heavier foods, increase lighter foods; fast one day a week; read scripture each night immediately before bedtime; on weekends double the amount of time you usually spend in religious practices.

You can also choose from the many sadhanas in this book—select the ones you plan to perform on your pilgrimage. Then learn more about them by reading their descriptions and the additional resource material as well.

There are copies of the Master Course Trilogy available to use during your pilgrimage to their monastery, so there is no need bring your own copies unless you prefer to do so.

Quote from Gurudeva

The Nandinatha Sampradaya is a mystical lineage that places great stress on direct and personal experience of God, on seeing God everywhere and in everyone, on knowing God within oneself. This is achieved through nonintellectual spiritual disciplines called sadhana—a term which in its fullest sense embodies kundalini yoga, profound esoteric practices, intense introspective meditation, and worship.—through purificatory effort, mind-transforming austerities, egoless service and, most importantly, through the bountiful grace of the living satguru. Following such a path, called sadhana marga, Nathas have come to know God, in ancient days and modern.

Supplementary Reading

Living with Śiva, Lesson 249: The Joy of Pilgrimage

In our religious life, one of the most fulfilling aspects is pilgrimage. We have a joy in looking forward to a spiritual journey, and we experience a contentment while on our pilgrimage and later bask in the glowing aftermath of the pujas. It is like going to see a great friend, a devotee’s most loved friend—the Ishta Devata. We travel to the far-off temple where this great friend is eminently present. At that particular temple, this personal God performs a certain function, offers a specific type of blessing to pilgrims who make the pilgrimage to that home. In this way, different temples become famous for answering certain types of prayers, such as requests for financial help, or prayers for the right mate in marriage, prayers to be entrusted with the raising of high-souled children, or help in matters of yoga, or help in inspiring bhakti and love.

The Hindu does not have the feeling of having to take a vacation to “get away from it all.” We don’t lead a life of mental confusions, religious contradictions and the frustrations that result from modern hurried living. We lead a moderate life, a religious life. In living a moderate life, we then look at our pilgrimage as a special moment, a cherished time of setting ordinary concerns aside and giving full stage to our religious longings. It is a time to take problems and prayers to our personal God.

Unlike the proud “free thinkers” who deem themselves emancipated, above the religious life, we Hindus feel that receiving the darshana from the Gods and the help that comes therein invigorates our being and inspires us to be even more diligent in our spiritual life. Unlike the rationalists who feel confident that within themselves lie all the resources to meet all needs, and that praying to Gods for help is a pathetic exercise in futility, the Hindu wisely submits to the Divine and thus avoids the abyss of disbelief.

All in life that one would want to “get away from” the Hindu takes with him on a pilgrimage to the temple, to the feet of his personal God, to the inner-plane being or Mahadeva, who needs no physical body with which to communicate with people—to the God who has a nerve system so sensitive and well developed that as it hovers over the stone image, which looks similar to how the Deity would look on the inner planes, this being of light can communicate with the pilgrims who visit the temple. This being of light, this Mahadeva, can and does absorb all of the dross the devotees have to offer, and gives back blessings which bring happiness and release to them. Thus, the pilgrimage is not travel in the ordinary sense of travel, but rather going to see a personal friend, one who is nearest and dearest, but does not live in a physical body.

The Hindu has another great joy—the certainty of liberation. Even in difficult times, we are solaced in the knowledge of our religion which tells us that no soul that ever existed or ever will exist in future extrapolations of time and space will ever fail to attain liberation. The Hindu knows that all souls will one day merge into God; and he knows that God, who created all souls, slowly guides our maturing into His likeness, brings us back to Himself, which is not separate from ourselves. The Hindu, through striving and personal development in this life on this planet, knows that liberation into God is the final goal. This knowing and this belief release us from any ego, from any superiority by which one person considers himself or herself as especially meriting God’s grace while others are lost. For the Hindu, there is an assurance that all souls will eventually enjoy liberation, and that includes ourselves and all of our friends and family. We need never fear otherwise.

Chapter Three: General Sadhanas

1. Ganga Sadhana

Sadhana Practice

Sit by the Wailua River and listen to the river saying “Aum Namah Sivaya, Sivaya Namah Aum,” as its water runs over the rocks. Listen closely to the water connecting to the rocks, and you will hear the sacred mantra of life, “Aum Namah Sivaya.” Relax into the sounds the river is chanting and try to be in tune with the perfect universe. The cosmos is perfect, you know. Its laws are divine, its timing flawless, its design unique.

While you are sitting alone by the side of the river being one with the perfect universe—the earth, the air, the fire, the water and the akasha, the mind—when a thought arises from your subconscious, something about your daily life, a problem or difficulty, pluck a leaf from a tree or bush, mentally put the problem into the leaf and place it into the river. The river will carry the leaf away along with the thought you placed into it. Then pluck a flower and humbly offer it into the river with both hands in loving appreciation for doing this great service for you. Perform this Ganga Sadhana each month, and you will advance on the spiritual path.

Quote from Gurudeva

Remember, the outer river is symbolically representing the inner river of your own nerve system, life force and consciousness that flows through you night and day. So, even as you sit on this rock and look upon the water, in a mystical way, see it as your own superconscious energies, taking away these problems, worries, doubts, ill-conceived and unresolved experiences of the past. Flow with the river of life and merge in Śiva’s ocean of oneness.

Supplementary Reading

Merging with Śiva, Lesson 27, Performing Gangâ Sâdhana; & Lesson 28, Śiva’s Perfect Universe

Close your eyes and visualize a river flowing into the sea, and see yourself holding on to the bank of the river, and the river flowing on past you. Now let go of the bank of the river and flow down with the river and merge into the sea of life. Feel yourself, right at this instant, living in the here and now. Holding on to the river bank, we hold the consciousness of time and space. Holding on to the banks of the river of life is to recreate within you fear, worry, doubt, anxiety and nervousness. Detach yourself from the banks of the river and again be free. Love the banks as you pass, with a love born of understanding, and if you have no understanding of the bank, study your attachments until you do.

Learn to concentrate the mind so that you can study not from books, but from observation, which is the first awakening of the soul. Learn to study by practice. Learn to study by application. Become a student of life and live life fully, and as you merge into the sea of actinic life, you will realize that you are not your mind, your body or your emotions. You will realize that you are the complete master of your mind, your body and your emotions.

Slowly, slowly, by performing Ganga Sadhana you will blend your external consciousness with our most perfect universal consciousness. While sitting by the river, close enough to touch the water, on a rock or tree limb, you are truly uninvolved with everything but yourself. You are now in tune with nature itself. Earth is there. Water is there. Fire is there. Air is there. Akasha is there. All the five elements are there. They are outside of you to see and feel, as well as inside of you to see and feel. The goal is to release that part of your subconscious mind that doesn’t blend the within of you with that which is outside of you. You perform this blending by listening to the river murmur, “Aum Namah Sivaya, Sivaya Namah Aum,” the sounds of Śiva’s perfect universe.

Now the challenge. This will not be an easy task. The quiet of the noise of nature will release thought after thought from your subconscious mind. So, when each new thought arises—a mental argument or something which has not been settled in your past, an appointment missed or an image of a loved one—gather up the pranic energy of the thought and put its vibrations into a leaf. To do this, hold the leaf in your right hand and project your prana into it along with the thought form that distracted you. Then release the leaf and with it the thought patterns into the river. Let the river take them away, while you listen to “Aum Namah Sivaya, Sivaya Namah Aum” of the river as it does. Each time this happens, thank the river by humbly offering a flower with the right hand into the river in appreciation of its having absorbed the worldly thought. To show appreciation is a quality of the soul, something not to be ignored, and, therefore, a vital part of this sadhana.

There is a sacred practice you should perform to keep flowing beautifully with the river of life. It will be a challenge to discipline yourself to set aside the time, but it will benefit you.

Sadhana is performing the same discipline over and over and over again. Just as we methodically exercise the physical body to build up its muscles, we perform spiritual disciplines over and over again to strengthen our spiritual, inner bodies. Perform Ganga Sadhana time and time again. You will rapidly advance. Remember, the outer river is symbolically representing the inner river of your own nerve system, life force and consciousness that flows through you night and day. So, even as you sit on this rock and look upon the water, in a mystical way, see it as your own superconscious energies, taking away these problems, worries, doubts, ill-conceived and unresolved experiences of the past. Flow with the river of life and merge in Śiva’s ocean of oneness.

2. Vasana Daha Tantra Sadhana

Sadhana Practice

Daha means to burn, a tantra is a method, and vasanas are deep-seated subconscious tendencies that shape one’s attitudes and motivations. Vasanas can be either positive or negative.

One of the best methods for resolving difficulties in life, of dissolving troublesome vasanas, the vasana daha tantra is the practice of burning confessions, or even long letters to loved ones or acquaintances, describing pains, expressing confusions and registering complaints and long-held hurts.

Writing down problems and burning them in any ordinary fire brings them from the subconscious into the external mind, releasing the suppressed emotion as the fire consumes the paper. This is a magical healing process.

Write in detail, in one or more pages, your experiences and difficulties. When finished , burn it up. Watch Agni, the God of Fire, destroy the dross of your deep subconscious mind. Experience freedom from emotional burdens you have been carrying. Release the past. Enter a glorious new future.

At the entrance to the monastery there is an urn in the six-sided pavilion where you can write and burn your pages. Please ask to determine what additional places can be used for burning these pages.

Quote from Gurudeva

My devotees succeed by remolding subconscious magnetic forces. They purge the dross through vasana daha tantra—writing and burning past transgressions and current problems—then use positive affirmations.

Supplementary Reading

Living with Śiva, Lesson 122: The Esoterics of Penance

The inner process of relieving unwanted karmic burdens occurs in this order: remorse and shame; confession (of which apology is one form); repentance; and finally reconciliation, which is making the situation right, so that good feelings abide all around. Therefore, each individual admission of a subconscious burden too heavy to carry must have its own reconciliation to clear the inner aura of negative samskaras and vasanas and replenish the inner bodies for the struggle the devotee will have to endure in unwinding from the coils of the lower, instinctive mind which block the intellect and obscure spiritual values. When no longer protected by its ignorance, the soul longs for release and cries out for solace. Prayashchitta, penance, is then the solution to dissolve the agony and bring shanti.

The guru has to know the devotee and his family karma over a long period of time before prayashchitta is given. Otherwise, it may have the wrong effect. Penance is for religious people, people who practice daily, know the philosophy and have a spiritual head of their family, people who genuinely want to reach a state of purity and grace. It is not for nonreligious people. Just as in the Catholic Church, penance, to be most effective, is given to you by the spiritual preceptor. It is not a “do-it-yourself,” New-Age kind of thing. Those who try to do it alone may overdo it. It takes a certain amount of talking and counseling to gain an understanding of what is involved. Before undertaking any of the physical prayashchittas, I have devotees do the maha vasana daha tantra—“great purification of the subconscious by fire”—writing down and then burning ten pages of memories, called samskaras, good and bad, for each year of their life to the present day.

Anything can be written down that concerns you: friends, home, family, relatives, sports, TV shows, vacations, work, pastimes, indulgences, anything that is in your mind. This may automatically clear up events of the past. The idea is to remove the emotions from the experience and bring yourself to the eternal now. Forgetting the past, concern yourself with the now, move with life day to day and create a glorious future for yourself and others. Also, I’ve experienced that sometimes just making the confession to the satguru is a sufficient prayashchitta and nothing else is necessary. What the troubled conscience thought was bad may not have been bad at all, just normal happenings, but the conscience suffers until that fact is known.

It is important to note that the vasana daha tantra must be done by hand, with pen and paper. Various devotees have tried it on the computer and found it not effective. Writing is uniquely effective because in the process the prana from the memory flows from your subconscious through your hand, through the pen and is embedded in the paper, bringing the memory out in the open to be understood, defused and released when the paper is burned. Some devotees have also tried sitting and pondering the past, meditating on it and even visualizing themselves writing down their recollections and burning them. This often does more harm than good, as it only stirs up the past.

3. Rudraksha Forest Sadhana

Sadhana Practice

Hug a tree and absorb its healing force. The tree takes away pain such as from losing a loved one. The tree takes all sadness into its sap, carrying it up to the tops and dropping the astral tears of God Śiva.

This practice has the power to balance your chakras, purify your aura, close the doors to the darker areas of your mind, open the doors to light, happiness, mirth and the ability to make others laugh.

Hugging the rudrâksha tree will imprint the realization that all the past is and was necessary for the present moment to exist. The blessings of Śiva through the rudrâksha seeds, leaves, bark and energies, open the doors of protection of the future.

Quote from Gurudeva

Rudraksha seeds, Eleocarpus ganitrus, are prized as the compassionate tears Lord Śiva shed for mankind’s suffering.

Supplementary Reading

Pilgrims begin their spiritual excursion in a small healing forest of Himâlayan rudrâksha trees. Many do not know the obscure fact that this sacred tree, known in English as the Blue Marble tree, is also famous for its special wood. During the First World War, when airplanes became so essential to military strategy, it was the white wood of this tree that was chosen for making propellers, due to its qualities of torque strength. Yes, being under the rudrâksha trees in this magical forest has hidden, sought-after healing powers, the key to helping aching hearts, the salve to soothe broken hearts, yearning hearts, sad hearts and ailing hearts. Åyurvedic doctors and medical doctors alike agree that the seed, when placed upon the heart, regulates its beat. They know that the fruit is good to strengthen the heart and the seed when ground and mixed with certain herbs is a remedy for heart attacks and healing in their aftermath.

4. San Marga Walking Sadhana

Sadhana Practice

The path begins at the rudraksha forest gate. At the Ganesha shrine offer flowers and chant a simple Ganesha chant three of more times, at Muruga Hill offer flowers and chant three of more times, at third world bell ring fill water container, at Swayambhu Lingam pour water offer flower, chant to Śiva three of more times.

Below are three simple chants that can be used. If you prefer another chant, it may also be used.

Om Sri Ganeshaya Namah

Om Sri Skandaya Namah

Om Sri Sivaya Namah

Quote from Gurudeva

San Marga is the straight, spiritual path leading to the ultimate goal, Self Realization, without detouring into unnecessary psychic exploration or pointless development of siddhis.

Supplementary Reading

Kauai Aadheenam’s most prominent place of worship for members, students and sâdhana yâtrikas is the San Mârga Sanctuary, an extraordinary meditation tîrtha at the foot of the extinct volcano, Mount Waialeale. San Mârga is the straight path to God, through rudrâksha, neem and konrai forests, marshes, bogs and wild bird sanctuaries, where pheasants are protected from local hunters. This realm includes the Svayambhû Śivalinga. San Mârga is entered through the Rudrâksha Meditation Forest at the opposite site of the 363-acre monastery land. San Mârga, the straight path to God, and the Svayambhû Linga area is ”the place where the world comes to pray,” as predicted in our Śaivite Śâstras.

5. Narmada Lingam Abhishekam Sadhana

Sadhana Practice

Located on the Path of the Saiva Saints is a Narmada lingam shrine. It is the type of shrine for devotees themselves to do the abhishekam. Simply use one of the pots to collect water from the nearby stream and then lovingly pour it over the lingam.

At the same time, you are encouraged to chant out loud a traditional Śiva chant.

One suggestion is the following verse from Sri Rudram:

namàste astu bhagavanviśveśvarâyà mahâdëvâyà tryambakâyà tripurântakâyà
trikâgnikalâyà kâlâgnirüdrâyà nîlakanthâyà mrtyuñjayâyà sarveśvarâyà sadâśïvâyà,
śrîman mahâdëvâya namà˙

Quote from Gurudeva

I urge all Saivites, devotees of God Śiva, to worship Him as the God of Love and, in doing so, to become beings of love.

6. Sri Dakshinamurti Sadhana

Sadhana Practice

Standing in front of the Dakshinamurti north of Iraivan Temple,offer flowers and chant a simple Dakshinamurti chant three of more times.

Below is a simple chant that can be used. If you prefer another chant, it may also be used. Afterwards sit and reflect upon the meaning of teaching the nondual union of jiva with Śiva through silence.

Guru Brahma! Guru Vishnu!
Guru Devo Maheswaraha!
Guru Sakshath Parabrahma
Tasmaisree Gurave namaha!
Gurave Sarva Lokanam Bhishaje Bhavaroginam!
Nidhaye Sarva Vidyanam
Sri Dakshinamoorthaye Namaha!

Quote From Gurudeva

Once freed by God’s grace from these bonds—which do not cease to exist, but no longer have the power to bind—the soul experiences nirvikalpa samadhi. This is the realization of the Self, Atattva Parabrahman—timeless, formless, spaceless—a oneness beyond all change or diversity.

Supplementary Reading

Dakshinamurti literally means “south-facing form.” Dakshinamurti is Lord Śiva depicted sitting under a banyan tree, teaching four rishis at His feet by keeping mouna, silence, and showing the chinmudra by His right front hand. In Chinmudra the tips of the thumb and forefinger are joined to form a circle while the other fingers are kept open and stretched. The whole palm faces outwards. It is the pose of imparting knowledge and thus is also known as jnana mudra. The joining of the two fingers symbolizes realizing that jiva and Śiva are in nondual union. The index finger represents individual consciousness, the jivatma, while the thumb symbolizes supreme consciousness.

7. Writing Prayers Sadhana

Sadhana Practice

The writing of prayers can be done in several ways. Each devotee can write his or her own prayer about personal questions, needs or problems. One can pray for another person, for a group of people, or for a situation to clear up within a group or community, even for solutions to national or world problems. Every prayer received is answered in some way, however mysterious. Not one is neglected, ever.

The Gods and devas look very carefully into the karma of the devotee before taking any action. Because of this, it is always best to describe two or more alternatives that you would be satisfied with in each prayer, rather than insisting on only one solution. This is because your first preference may not be possible in your karmic pattern or, without your knowing, it may actually be the worst possible thing that could happen to you. In this case, your prayer would be answered with a non-answer. Therefore, it is wise to suggest two or more alternatives when making a request. For example, in seeking help in finding employment, you might suggest three places you would be content at, indicating first choice, second and third.

We are reminded not to ask for services that the devas would normally provide, such as “Please help me,” or “Please bless me, devas.” These services are automatically performed by the guardian devas of each devout individual without asking.

There is a time delay of seventy-two hours from when the devas in the antarloka respond to your prayer and when that response manifests in the bhuloka. Therefore, when your prayer relates to a specific event, be sure to pray at least three days before the event will happen.

It is important the prayer be legible in the inner worlds. Typewritten prayers ( on one side of the page) in English or any language are acceptable to the devas, as are hand-printed prayers that are written with well-rounded, clearly formed letters. If you prefer, prayers can be hand written or typed in the Tyaef script. Typed documents—again on one side of the page only—are acceptable and easily read in the inner world, as long as the size of the type is not too small. Be sure to sign the prayer and also include the date.

Quote from Gurudeva

The Gods, their devas and your own guardian devas are ever ready to respond to requests for help and guidance.

Supplementary Reading

Living with Śiva, Lesson 316: The Boon of Prayer Writing

Shortly after the Kadavul Nataraja Deity arrived from India at Kauai Aadheenam, our monastery-temple complex on the Garden Island of Kauai, we received the wonderful boon of communicating with the inner worlds through written prayers. With this six-foot-tall bronze image of the Lord of Dance came tens of thousands of devas. It was revealed to us that these devonic helpers, though unseen to the physical eyes, are skilled in the art of fulfilling prayers. We were delighted to know that written prayers could be offered into their hands through the sacred fire that burns perpetually at Lord Nataraja’s holy feet. In those early days of the beginning of the first Śiva temple in the United States, we felt blessed that this magical boon had come to us. Written prayers were offered up through the sacred temple fire and soon answered. The faith began to build among the devotees. The temple yantra was now fully activated.

But there was a problem. Sometimes, in devotees’ emotional fervor, prayers were hastily scribbled out and could not be easily read. Seekers assumed that their requests and pleas for help or solace would be known by the Gods and devas who know them personally, and therefore they were not careful enough in composing their prayers, some even forgetting to sign their name or note the date. We soon learned that if prayers were not answered, it might be simply due to incompleteness or illegibility. We also became aware that sufficient explanation must be given for the inner-plane helpers to provide adequate assistance.

Here is why absolute clarity is necessary in each written prayer. The astral image of each prayer that arrives in the Second World, or astral plane, is an exact duplicate of its physical-plane counterpart, but not quite as clear—more like a carbon copy. So if the physical-plane original is not clear, its astral counterpart will be even less clear. It will be blurred, like trying to read a letter without one’s eyeglasses. Even the astral counterparts of typewritten documents prepared in small type are difficult to read in the inner worlds, we were told.

To solve the problem of illegibility, the devas themselves gave a new script, which came through from the inner sky in Paris in the early ‘70s. The devas called this script Tyeif. It is designed to look like bamboo leaves, arranged in an intricate pattern to form 135 characters or “images,” the first twenty-six of which correspond to the English alphabet. Here is the word Tyeif written in the devas’ script: tyeif

Writing and delivering prayers to the Devaloka through the sacred fire is an ancient Natha Sampradaya practice. Today this method of communication is still employed in Shinto and Taoist temples in Japan, China, Singapore, Malaysia and other areas of Southeast Asia. The prayers are written down and placed in the temple fire. As the paper burns, the astral double of the prayer appears in the Devaloka. The prayer is then read by the devas, who proceed to carry out the devotee’s requests. These temple devas are fully dedicated to assist all who come through the temple doors with their emotional, mental and physical problems.

It was made very clear to me, however, that prayers may only be sent to the Devaloka in a sanctified havana kunda where special arrangements have been made with the devas.

8. Aum Japa Sadhana

Sadhana Practice

Aum is the universal mantra which can be performed safely by the initiated and the uninitiated alike, can be chanted by those of all religions, without restriction, under any condition, in any circumstance, whether the body is clean or dirty. It will heighten consciousness by harmonizing the physical with the mental and spiritual when chanted correctly.

For Aum japa to be effective, the mantra must be pronounced correctly. The first syllable is A, pronounced as the English word “awe,” but prolonged: “aaa.” The second syllable is U, as in “roof,” pronounced “oo” but prolonged: “ooo.” The third syllable is M, pronounced “mm” with the front teeth gently touching and the sound prolonged: “mmmm.”

Each repetition is sounded for about seven seconds, with two seconds on A, two seconds on U and three seconds on M, with a silence of about two seconds before the next repetition. The three syllables are run together: AAUUMM (silence), AAUUMM (silence), AAUUMM (silence).

On the first syllable, A, we feel the solar plexus vibrating. On the second syllable, U, the throat vibrates. The third syllable, M, vibrates the top of the head. Thus, proper chanting of Aum also is a high form of yoga, moving energy from the lower chakras of the body up to the highest chakra, or energy center—the sahasrara chakra at the crown of the head.

Quote from Gurudeva

All tones together make the âûm. Listen to the ocean and you hear the âûm. Listen to all the noises of a city blended together and you hear the âûm. Listen to all the tones of the physical body and you hear the âûm.

Supplementary Reading

Merging with Śiva, Lesson 262: Withdrawing Into Sushumna

When we chant the mantra Aum, and do it correctly, we pronounce the AA so that it vibrates the physical body. The OO has to vibrate through the throat area, and the MM, the head. In doing this, we are deliberately moving awareness out of the muladhara and svadhishthana chakras, deliberately harmonizing all the forces of the instinct and physical body, and of the ida and the pingala currents. Chanting the AA and the OO and the MM brings the sushumna into power. We are transmuting and changing the flows of all the energies through the physical and astral body and blending them as much as possible into the body of the soul.

The mantra Aum can be chanted at any time. It can be chanted silently and cause the same vibration through the body. When you chant Aum, the ida and the pingala blend back into the sushumna.

You will actually see this happening. You will see the pink ida current begin to blend back into the golden center of the spine. At other times it is seen winding through the body. The same happens with the pingala force. It, too, moves back into the spine, until you are all spine when you are centered in the sushumna. This is how it feels, like being all spine. This beautiful, pure energy flows out through the sushumna and the ida and the pingala and then on out through the body. This energy becomes changed as it flows through the first three or four chakras. It makes what is called prana. This energy runs in and through the body. It is a great mind energy which is in the world of thought. All the stratums of thought are prana. The human aura is prana.

Prana, or odic force, is transferred from one person to another through touch, as in a handshake, or through a look. It is the basic force of the universe, and the most predominant force found within the body. You have to really study prana to get a good understanding of what it is. It runs in and through the skin, through the bone structure, through the physical body and around the body.

Breath controls prana. This practice is called pranayama. It is the control of prana, the regulation of prana, or the withdrawal of prana from the external world back to its primal source. That is why pranayama is so important to practice systematically, regularly, day after day, so we get all the prana into a rhythm. In this way we get a rhythm of the pure life force flowing through ida, pingala and sushumna and out through the aura. We gain a rhythm of awareness soaring inward, into refined states of the ajna chakra and sahasrara chakra, the perspective areas from which we are looking out at life as if we were the center of the universe. This is how we feel when we are in these chakras.

Diaphragmatic breathing is breathing according to nature. When man becomes confused, nervous, tense, fearful, he breathes out of tune with nature—out of tune with himself. Then his breathing is spasmodic, labored, shallow, and he has to expand his chest to get enough breath to keep going on. That’s right: breathing by expanding the chest is incorrect, unnatural, and conducive to nothing but ill health unless you are practicing an advanced breathing exercise, and then the chest is only expanded after the area beneath the chest is filled. And unless you are doing physically strenuous work, you will be able to bring more than sufficient air into your lungs by the simple, natural contraction and relaxation of the diaphragmatic muscle. The diaphragm you can feel right below your solar plexus, in the area where the floating ribs separate. Place your finger tips on top of the diaphragm and cough. If your fingers are directly on top of the diaphragm, you will feel them jump out away from you as you cough.

The quickest way to teach yourself natural breathing (the way you breathed until about the age of seven) is to lie on the floor with your spine absolutely straight. Place a book or some light object on top of your diaphragm. When you breathe in, the diaphragm will extend itself downward in the body and you will feel it push out and up away from the floor; watch the book rise. Breathing out is as important as breathing in, for without expelling all the waste matter and carbon dioxide from the lungs, they are not free to take in more fresh oxygen. As you exhale, the diaphragm relaxes slowly, smoothly and completely. The book, which previously was lifted away from the floor by the pressure of your expanding diaphragm, now returns back to its starting position. You will find that squeezing or contracting the abdominal muscles slightly will aid you in making a complete exhalation, allowing most of the air to leave the lungs. At the end of your exhaled breath, your stomach should be flat, and the diaphragm relaxed, ready for the next inhalation. You are now on your way to perfect breath and mind control.

9. Preparation for Meditation Sadhana

Sadhana Practice

The seven-step preparation for meditation is designed to withdraw your energies from external consciousnessat the beginning of a meditation. It is to be done utilizing the Shum-Tyeif language. The seven steps are: 1) Assume a meditation posture with a straight spine and head balanced on top of the spine. 2) Regulate the breathing through a simple pranayama.3) Feel the warmth of the body. 4) Feel the nerve system of the body. 5) Feel the spiritual energy in the center of your spine. 6) Withdraw energy into the spine. 7) Experience awareness aware of itself.

Coming out of meditation, we perform this process in reverse beginning by feeling the power of the spine.

A fuller explanation, including the Shum-Tyeif name for each step, is given below in the Supplementary Reading.

Quote from Gurudeva

Meditation is a long journey, a pilgrimage into the mind itself. Generally we become aware that there is such a thing as meditation after the material world has lost its attraction to us and previous desires no longer bind us to patterns of fear, greed, attachment and ramification. We then seek through philosophy and religion to answer the questions, “Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going?”

Supplementary Reading

Twelve Shum Meditations, Part Four: Preparation for Meditation

Going In

lîshûmnambî

Meaning: Ideal meditation posture, in which the spine is straight and the head is balanced on top of the spine.

Practice: Sit with the spine straight and the head balanced on top of the spine. Inwardly observe this posture and adjust the body to be poised and comfortable. Feel the muscles, bones and the nerve system. This posture is possible sitting in a chair, on a cushion, or on your knees. Ideally, a competent meditator will be able to cross the legs for meditation, either in full or half lotus. The hands are held in the lap, the right hand resting on the left, tips of the thumbs touching softly. In all cases, the posture should be natural and easy, and not cause discomfort, which is distracting during meditation. Look inwardly at the currents of the body. Observe their flow.

Breathing: Breathe from the diaphragm in a relaxed manner without counting.

kalîbasa

Meaning: Regulated, diaphragmatic breathing, known in Sanskrit as pranayama.

Practice: Become aware of your breathing and consciously regulate it. Eyes are slightly open, crossed and looking at the nose.

Breathing: Breathe with the diaphragm, expanding the abdomen when you inhale, rather than the chest. On the inhalation, slowly count to nine, hold one count, then count to nine again as you exhale, softly contracting the abdomen as you expel the air. Breathe through the nose. The exhalation should be the same length as the inhalation. At first, the count may be faster than the heartbeat, but as the meditation continues, the two should ideally become synchronized.

Visualization: While counting the breath, mentally pronounce and simultaneously see the colors of the first eighteen images of Shûm, the first nine with the inbreath and the second nine with the outbreath. This sâdhana is called sîflîmf in Shûm. The colors are: î, bright yellow; ∆, soft pink; ing, soft blue; ling, bright turquoise; lî, bright violet; nî, rich yellow, ka, rich turquoise; sim, bright pink; vûm, rich purple; reh, bright orange; tyê, rich orange; â, rich blue; bî, bright blue; û, soft ivory; na, soft green; sî, bright red; dî, bright green; shûm, soft lavender.

âlîkaiîshûm

Meaning: The kundalinî’s psychic heat felt as meditation begins.

Practice: Feel the warmth of the body, in the head, through the torso, the hands and the legs. Begin by locating âlîkaiîshûm inside the body, then gradually become conscious of it emanating out through the skin.

Breathing: Continue the same count. On the inhalation, slowly count to nine, hold one count, then count to nine again as you exhale, softly contracting the abdomen as you expel the air.

lîûnasî

Meaning: The feeling of energy, your life force, flowing through the network of nerves within your physical and subtle bodies. These nerves are called nâdîs in Sanskrit.

Practice: Feel your nerve system, all those thousands of miles of nerve currents throughout the body and the psychic nerve system within and around the body. Feel the energy flowing through this vast network.

Breathing: Continue the same count. On the inhalation, slowly count to nine, hold one count, then count to nine again as you exhale, softly contracting the abdomen as you expel the air.

simshûmbîsî

Meaning: Simshûmbîsî» names the area of fourteen strong psychic nerve currents of the subsuperconscious state of mind running along the spinal column. Simshûmbîsî» is often referred to as the source of all life energies within man. As a command used in meditation, it refers to the yoga of feeling the actinic energy within the spine. This is the pure life force flowing through the spine out into the nerve system.

Practice: Become aware of the actinic energy within the center of your spine. If necessary, move the torso back and forth slightly to locate the spine. Do not try to manipulate the spinal forces, such as lifting the kundalinî, rather simply become conscious of the already-existing power within the spine.

Breathing: Breathe in a normal and relaxed manner without counting.

nîkashûm

Meaning: The yoga of withdrawing the energy into the spine through the use of prânâyâma, breath control.

Practice: Draw the energy from the five senses inward and upward in a systematic way. On the first inbreath, bring awareness into the left leg, all the way to the toes, and on the outbreath slowly withdraw the energy from that leg into the spine. Repeat with the right leg, left arm (all the way to the fingertips), right arm and finally the torso (from the base of the spine slowly upward through the entire torso).

Breathing: Breathe in a normal and relaxed manner without counting.

kaîf

Meaning: The singling out of your pure awareness, allowing for the prolonged experience of being aware of being aware.

Practice: Be aware of just being aware. Achieving this, you will be aware without any object, feeling or thought. Experience kaîf» even for a brief time, and you feel renewed, clear-minded, centered.

Breathing: Breathe in a normal and relaxed manner without counting.

In coming out of meditation the steps are repeated in reverse order. The return to normal consciousness through these same steps is quicker than the internalizing practice.

simshûmbîsî

nîkashûm

Practice: Reverse the process so that the energy is flowing out of the spine into the nerve system in the physical and subtle body.

lîûnasî

âlîkaiîshûm

kalîbasa

lîshûmnambî

shûmnuhm rehtyêmba

Meaning: The guided group meditation in the Shûm language has concluded.

Chapter Four: Attending Pujas,
Abhishekams and Homas

1. Prapatti Sadhana

Sadhana Practice

Each time you prostrate in the temple, do so in the spirit of prapatti, surrendering to the will of the Deity, in the spirit of giving up the lower energies to the higher energies.

Quote from Gurudeva

Prapatti truly is the key that unlocks the love needed as merger increases as the years pass by and, as Satguru Yogaswami said, “Love pours forth to melt the very stones.”

Supplementary Reading

Our Lexicon Definition of Prapatti

“Throwing oneself down.” Bhakti, total, unconditional submission to God, often coupled with the attitude of personal helplessness, self-effacement and resignation. A term especially used in Vaishnavism to name a concept extremely central to virtually all Hindu schools. In Saiva Siddhanta, bhakti is all important in the development of the soul and its release into spiritual maturity. The doctrine is perhaps best expressed in the teachings of the four Samayacharya saints, who all shared a profound and mystical love of Śiva marked by 1) deep humility and self-effacement, admission of sin and weakness; 2) total surrender in God as the only true refuge and 3) a relationship of lover and beloved known as bridal mysticism, in which the devotee is the bride and Śiva the bridegroom. The practice of yoga, too, is an expression of love of God in Saiva Siddhanta, and it is only with God’s grace that success is achieved. Rishi Tirumular states: “Unless your heart melts in the sweet ecstasy of love—my Lord, my treasure-trove, you can never possess” (Tirumantiram 272). It is in this concept of the need for self-effacement and total surrender, prapatti, that the members of all sects merge in oneness, at the fulfillment of their individual paths. Similarly, they all meet in unity at the beginning of the path with the worship of Lord Ganesha.

From Merging with Śiva, Lesson 147: Unqualified Surrender

Individual practices to advance spiritual unfoldment include prostrating before God, Gods and guru, full body, face down, arms and hands outstretched, and in that act, total giving up, giving up, giving up, giving up. In Sanskrit it is called pranipata, “falling down in obeisance.” What are these devoted ones giving up? By this act they are giving the lower energies to the higher energies. It is a merger, a blending. When one is performing this traditional devotional act, awakening true prapatti, it is easy to see the lower energies from the base of the spine, the muladhara chakra, rising, rising, rising up the spine through all six chakras above it and out through the top of the head. It is transmuting, changing the form of, the base energies which breed conflict and resistance, “mine and yours” and “you and me,” division, insecurity and separateness, into the spiritual energies of “us and we,” amalgamation, security, togetherness.

Once the giving up of the lower is total—body and face on the ground, hands outstretched before the image of God, Gods or guru—those energies are surrendered into the higher chakras within the devotee, and it is a blissful moment, into the consciousness of “us and ours,” “we and oneness,” and inseparable love, thus claiming their individuality, not as a separate thing, but as a shared oneness with all. Thereafter, these devoted ones, having been transformed, are able to uplift others, to harmonize forces around them that they work with day after day after day, year after year after year. This total surrender, prapatti, is the meaning of Siddhanta. This is the true meaning of Vedanta. The combination of both, and the pure practice of prapatti as just described, brings out from within the deeper meanings of Vedanta, the Vedic philosophy, without having to depend on the path of words, lectures and debates. My satguru was once heard saying, “It’s not in books, you fool.”

2. Attending Kadavul Nataraja Abhishekam or Puja Sadhana

Sadhana Practice

The sadhana is to focus on experiencing God Śiva as a God of love, a God of compassion for all He has created. Attending the 9am Śiva puja in Kadavul Hindu temple on any day of the year can lead to this perception. However, it is easiest on the day of the month which is the nakshatra of Ardra. Ardra is the one day a month that a full abhishekam is given to the six-foot-tall bronze Nataraja in Kadavul’s main shrine, while the small sphatika lingam receives abhishekam daily. The most important ardra nakshatra day of the year is the one that falls in the month of mid-December to mid-January. This Nataraja festival is celebrated in all Agamic Śiva temples but most grandly at Chidambaram in Tamil Nadu.

The description of Ardra Nakshatra clearly relates to the idea of compassion: “Teardrop star.” Astronomical constellation: Betelgeuse. This star cluster conveys ideas pertaining to: Tenderness, abundant feelings, flowing, dropping, melting, to be overwhelmed with. The teardrop refers to the rudraksha, or tear of Lord Śiva. Ardra confers concern for the suffering of others. It names the 6th nakshatra division.

Quote from Gurudeva

“Śiva’s followers all believe that Lord Śiva is God, whose immanent nature of love, Parashakti, is the substratum, primal substance or pure consciousness flowing through all form as energy, existence, knowledge and bliss…. His immanent love protects us, guides us, lifting our mind into the arena of useful thoughts and keeping us from harm’s way.”

Supplementary Reading

Living with Śiva, Lesson 315: Emissaries Of Lord Śiva

Worship God Śiva and you will be filled with love. Become a member of the united Saivites of the world, who love one another, who take care of each other in England, in South Africa, in Nepal, in North America, in South America, in Mauritius, in Malaysia, in Java, in Fiji, in Trinidad and Tobago, in Guyana, in Suriname, in Sri Lanka and in India. It is this Sivasambhandam, this inner association of Saivites the world over, that is the strength for Saivites wherever they find themselves. In this technological age this must become an outer association as well.

I urge all Saivites, devotees of God Śiva, to worship Him as the God of Love and, in doing so, to become beings of love. The great saints of our religion were Śiva bhaktas. They changed the world through their love of God. They did not need vast institutions to spread their message. They did not need riches or carts filled with books to spread their message. They did not need radio, television or the Internet. Their message spread because their minds were filled with direct knowledge, direct experience of God Śiva. Their message spread far and wide, though they perhaps never left their native village. They just evolved within it. You, too, are emissaries of Lord Śiva, and your love for Him is your greatest message. Simply love God Śiva and let that love radiate out into the world.

We cannot forget that Lord Śiva is the uncreated God. He is the closest to you. He is nearer than your breathing. He is nearer than your heartbeat. He is the very Self of you, each and every one of you. Saivites love Śiva in that very way, as the Self of themselves. Being in all things simultaneously, at every point in time, God Śiva is in your fingers, He is in your eyes, He is in your heart, He is in your mind. As our great satguru, Śiva Yogaswami, said, “There is one thing that Lord Śiva cannot do. He can do everything, but there is one thing He cannot do. He cannot separate Himself from me.” That is the only thing that God Śiva cannot do. He cannot take Himself out of you.

There are three things we must do: perform or attend puja every day in the home, attend a temple once a week and make a pilgrimage once a year. These three are the foundation of our Saiva Siddhanta. Plus, for those who are able, meditation and certain sadhanas are part of this worship. External worship builds a vibration within us, and that vibration is taken within, into deep meditation—internalizing the worship in worshiping God and the Gods within you and contacting them within the higher chakras until you realize that you also have always been the all-pervasive energy that pervades the universe.

3. Swayambhu Lingam Darshana Sadhana

Sadhana Practice

Attend the 9am swayambhu lingam puja. Afterwards read Gurudeva’s description of his vision of Śiva and reflect upon it, imagining God Śiva sitting on the swayambhu lingam in front of you and walking in the valley behind you.

Quote from Gurudeva

This was the fulfillment of the quest for a vision of what the future might hold, which led me and my followers to the lovely Garden Island of Kauai.

Supplementary Reading

San Mârga was established as a result of a three-fold vision that came to me early one morning in 1975. I saw Lord Śiva walking in the meadow near the Wailua River. Then His face was looking into mine. Then He was seated upon a great stone, His reddish golden hair flowing down His back. Astonished, I was seated on His left side. Upon reentering earthly consciousness, I felt certain the great stone was somewhere on our land and set about to find it. Guided from within by my satguru, I hired a bulldozer and instructed the driver to follow me as I walked to the north edge of the property that was then a tangle of buffalo grass and wild guava. I hacked my way through the jungle southward as the dozer cut a path behind me. After almost half a mile, I sat down to rest near a small tree. Though there was no wind, suddenly the tree’s leaves shimmered as if in the excitement of communication. I asked the tree, “What is your message?” In reply, my attention was directed to a spot just to the right of where I was sitting. When I pulled back the tall grass, there was a large rock, the self-created Linga on which Lord Śiva had sat. The bulldozer’s trail now led exactly to the sacred stone, surrounded by five smaller boulders. San Mârga, the straight or pure path to God, had been created. All this happened February 15, 1975. Worship of the sacred stone with water and flowers was commenced immediately through daily pûjâ rites, and a master plan was unfolded from the devonic worlds. Today, visitors to the sanctuary walk the path of the Tamil Nayanars around picturesque lotus ponds and visit the six shrines of the Kailâsa Paramparâ on the banks of Saravanabhava Lake in Rishi Valley. Across rolling meadows, pilgrims will gaze upon the Iraivan Temple now being hand-carved in Bangalore to enshrine the world’s largest single-pointed quartz crystal—a 700-pound, 39-inch-tall, six-sided natural gem, a sphatika Śivalinga, acquired in 1987. Iraivan, designed to stand 1,000 years as a spiritual edifice for forty generations, is America’s first traditional, all-stone temple.

4. Ganesha Abhishekam/Puja Sadhana

Sadhana Practice

Attend a Ganesha puja or abhishekam in Kadavul Temple. Afterwards, strive to experience each in turn of the five shaktis of Lord Ganesha. First feel, tune into, the vibration of the shakti in the Ganesha murti. Next feel the vibration of that shakti within you.

A summary of the five shaktis: (one) creating harmony in the home, (two) concord among relatives, neighbors and friends, (three) good business and public relations, (four) cultural upliftment and (five) love of God and heartfelt charity.

Quote from Gurudeva

To bring religion into one’s life requires the worship of Lord Ganesha and the daily tuning into these five great shaktis. This worship brings harmony to our home, to our relatives and friends and to business associates. It brings culture, creativity and religion into our life. All this is crowned by such a heartfelt love of God that we can then give forth. We are allowed to perform charities and, in overflowing abundance, prepare the religious edifices for the next generation. This is what our daily pujas and meditation, our pilgrimages and other religious practices serve to manifest in our lives.

Supplementary Reading

Loving Ganesha, Chapter Three: Ganesha’s Five Powers

Come, now let us turn our hearts and minds to the five powers of Lord Ganesha. Devotees have asked for elucidation of the five profound ways this Great God functions in helping us from the inner worlds. For many Hindus in both the East and the West it is this understanding of the five powerful positive powers, or shaktis, of Lord Ganesha and their five powerful asuric counterforces that makes religion a working part of the devotee’s life and a stabilizing force within the extended family—which embraces kindred, friends, community elders and close business associates. This knowledge and practical experience has helped them understand just how intimately Lord Ganesha works with each of us every day in even our mundane life.

There are five great shaktis of Lord Ganesha, as He Himself explained. Their positive vibratory rates can be felt through your astral and physical body and should always be with you. “What is this shakti?” you may be wondering. It is being in the presence of Divinity. All holy men and women emanate all of these shaktis, and you can, too, some stronger than others. Shakti is divine radiation from the Third World through the Second World into the First. The astral body is in the Second World and lives inside the physical body. It is through the astral body that shakti is felt. The shakti comes from the Third World and permeates the astral body in the Second World. This is why the physical body sometimes seems to feel “filled up” with shakti from deep within, permeating out to the inside of our skin. Deeply awakened souls become so filled with the shakti of the Divine that it permeates as cosmic rays out through the skin to the perimeter of the aura, the colorful film of light that surrounds the body. It is felt by other people and attributed as a personal darshana.

Thus it can be said that Lord Ganesha has five aspects to His presence. Feeling the presence of the benevolent and beneficent Deity Ganesha everywhere is the exemplary example of what each soul wishes to attain. His five powers could well be called “the feet of the Lord,” for it is at these feet that we sit and worship, bringing harmony to our home, among our relatives and friends and business associates, bringing culture, creativity and religion into our life. Crowned by a heartfelt love of God that we then give forth, we are then allowed to perform charities and, in overflowing abundance, prepare the religious edifices for the next generation. Experiencing this personally will take daily meditation.

THE FIRST SHAKTI: The first shakti emanates the feeling of love and compassion that the good person naturally has for his or her immediate family. Love and harmony within the nuclear or joint family is most important to all Hindus, and the beautiful feeling when it exists is the first shakti of the Lord. If love abounds in the home and virtue prevails, the home is perfect and its end fulfilled.

THE SECOND SHAKTI: The second shakti is the same feeling but extended to relatives, neighbors and friends, all who are part of the extended family. This is more difficult to hold, as inharmonious conditions often arise. These are called asuric forces, which come between people, causing misunderstanding and upsets. Through prayers and through worship, the first shakti can be extended beyond the circumference of the immediate family to include acquaintances, relatives and friends. When this vibration of harmony is felt, all the power of the Lord is with you, as the first shakti and the second shakti merge, bringing in abundance the onrush of the third shakti.

THE THIRD SHAKTI: The third shakti of Lord Ganesha is this same love extended to all persons one has dealings with in the external world: business associates, a casual merchant and the public at large. It is honest and harmonious relationships in conducting the business of trade and dealings in goods, finance and the distribution of the wealth of the world. This is a most important vibration to be felt, and constantly felt. This shakti of the Lord is tenuous to hold onto, for worldly and materialistic forces, as you well know, militate against this kind of harmony. But once these lower powers are conquered, worries cease, concerns are alleviated and heartfelt joy comes. Such is the grace of loving Ganesha. As the Tirukural (120) declares, “Those businessmen will prosper whose business protects as their own the interests of others.”

THE FOURTH SHAKTI: The fourth shakti is an outpouring from having held fast to the first three. It is a combination of the first two shaktis, stabilized by the third. The fourth shakti of Lord Ganesha brings through the creative-intuitive mind—the love of culture and all that it brings, religious formalities and the respect and appreciation of discipline. Here we find the vibration of religion, which brings as a boon creativity in music, art, drama and the dance. It is through these refining rays that religious life is adhered to and congested forces are braided together in a harmonious pattern for a glorious future. It is through the fourth shakti that religious practices are performed consistently and the refinements of the past are carried into the future. It also extends to devotion toward one’s ancestors and all forms of positive community participation.

THE FIFTH SHAKTI: The fifth shakti of Lord Ganesha is the combination of the first and the third in vibration, and it extends into the wonderful feelings obtained by the outpouring of love of this God. Loving Lord Ganesha with all your heart and soul is the combined merging of these five shaktis. This gives the added boon of being able to be charitable; for those who love God perform charity, build shrines and temples and participate in the overflowing generosity from their resources, earning abundant punya, fine merit, accrued for this life and passed on to the next. We can see that harmony within the immediate family and harmony extended to all business associates creates the spiritual dynamic within the individual and the group to burst forth into loving this benign God and receiving His material, emotional, intellectual and spiritual abundance.

5. Murugan Abhishekam/Puja Sadhana

Sadhana Practice

Attend a Muruga puja or abhishekam in Kadavul Temple. Afterwards, strive to experience the sixth shakti. First feel, tune into, the vibration of the shakti in the Murugan murti. It has the feeling of a dynamic spiritual energy. Next feel the vibration of that shakti within you.

Quote from Gurudeva

The sixth shakti, entrusted to Lord Murugan, is that of raja yoga, the awakening of the kundalini, which should never be attempted until the first five vibratory rates of the Lord have been maintained and are a natural part of one’s life. The sixth shakti is only felt in yogic meditation, when the crown of the head becomes the temple—the high-pitched “eee” tone ringing within it like a temple bell, and the kundalini awakened, the camphor light aglow. The yogi thus locked in his own yoke finds himself seated on the fifth shakti, supported by the lotus petals of the other four. In his state of yoga, he then merges into jnana; and answers to his deepest philosophical questions come crystal clear as the seventh shakti penetrates the akashic ether of his mind.

Supplementary Reading

Dancing with Śiva, Śloka 24: What is the Nature of Lord Karttikeya?

Śloka: Lord Arumugam, the six-faced, six-armed son of Śiva, wields many weapons, as He battles the forces of darkness to end wars, large and small. He rides the noble peacock, Mayil, which represents effulgent beauty and religion in its fullest glory.

Bhâshya: Lord Karttikeya flies through the mind’s vast substance from planet to planet. He could well be called the Emancipator, ever available to the call of those in distress. Lord Karttikeya, God of will, direct cognition and the purest, child-like divine love, propels us onward on the righteous way through religion, His Father’s law. Majestically seated on the manipura chakra, this scarlet-hued God blesses mankind and strengthens our will when we lift to the inner sky through sadhana and yoga. The yoga pada begins with the worship of Him. The yogi, locked in meditation, venerates Karttikeya, Skanda, as his mind becomes as calm as Saravana, the lake of Divine Essence. The kundalini force within everyone is held and controlled by this powerful God, first among renunciates, dear to all sannyasins. Revered as Murugan in the South, He is commander in chief of the great devonic army, a fine, dynamic soldier of the within, a fearless defender of righteousness. He is Divinity emulated in form. The Vedas say, “To such a one who has his stains wiped away, the venerable Sanatkumara shows the further shore of darkness. Him they call Skanda.” Aum Namah Sivaya.

6. Gurudeva Chitra Puja Sadhana

Sadhana Practice

Attend Gurudeva’s chitra puja in Kadavul Temple. During the final arati, strive to feel Gurudeva’s presence in the room blessing you.After a guru’s mahasamadhi (passing), he or she is honored each month on the nakshatra day of the maha samadhi. The nakshatra for Gurudeva’s mahasamadhi is chitra.

Quote from Gurudeva

Darshana (more popularly darshan) is a Sanskrit word meaning “vision, seeing or perception. But in its mystical usage, it is more than that. Darshan is also the feeling of the emotions of a holy person, the intellect, the spiritual qualities that he has attained and, most importantly, the sakti, the power, that has changed him and is there constantly to change others.

Supplementary Reading

Dancing with Śiva, Lexicon

Padapuja is the ceremonial worship of the guru’s sandals or holy feet, often through ablution with precious substances and offering of fruit and flowers. After the ceremony, the water of the bath, the fruit and other precious substances are partaken of as prasada by the devotees.

Sri paduka refers to the sandals of the preceptor, the traditional icon of the guru, representing his venerable feet and worshiped as the source of grace.

The feet of God, a God, satguru or any holy person, often represented by sacred sandals, called sri paduka in Sanskrit and tiruvadi in Tamil. The feet of a divine one are considered especially precious as they represent the point of contact of the Divine and the physical, and are thus revered as the source of grace. The guru’s sandals or his feet are the object of worship on his jayanti (birthday), on Guru Purnima and other special occasions.

7. Yogaswami Aslesha Puja Sadhana

Sadhana Practice

Attend Yogaswami’s aslesha arati in the Guru Peedam. During the final arati, strive to feel Yogaswami’s presence in the room blessing you. If there is no Yogaswami ceremony scheduled for the Guru Peedam, feel Yogaswami’s presence after the final arati to Nataraja at the 9am Śiva puja in Kadavul Temple.

After a guru’s maha samadhi (passing), he or she is honored each month on the nakshatra day of the maha samadhi. The nakshatra for Yogaswami’s maha samadhi is aslesha.

Quote from Gurudeva

(In the moment of darshan), the sense of separation is transcended, so there is a oneness between seer and seen. This is monistic theism, this is Advaita Isvaravada. Each is seeing the other and momentarily being the other.

Supplementary Reading

Dancing with Śiva, Lexicon

Sri paduka refers to the sandals of the preceptor, the traditional icon of the guru, representing his venerable feet and worshiped as the source of grace.

8. Attend Kadavul Homa Sadhana

Sadhana Practice

Participate in the homa worship of God Śiva for at least ten minutes. Then write one or more prayers regarding any major decisions pending in your life such as changing jobs, moving to a new city, when to retire, etc. Remember the advice to give a few specific options.

Quote from Gurudeva

Writing and delivering prayers to the Devaloka through the sacred fire is an ancient Natha Sampradaya practice.

Supplementary Reading

Living with Śiva, Lesson 316: The Boon of Prayer Writing

To solve the problem of illegibility, the devas themselves gave a new script, which came through from the inner sky in Paris in the early 70s. The devas called this script Tyeif. It is designed to look like bamboo leaves, arranged in an intricate pattern to form 135 characters or “images,” the first twenty-six of which correspond to the English alphabet. Here is the word Tyeif written in the devas’ script: tyeif

It was made very clear to me, however, that prayers may only be sent to the Devaloka in a sanctified havana kunda where special arrangements have been made with the devas.

Chapter Five: Iraivan Temple Sadhanas

1. The Iraivan New Self Image Sadhana

Sadhana Practice

After worshiping in Iraivan Temple, sit facing the sanctum and repeat the following affirmation having in mind Gurudeva’s statements about creating “a new self-image and clear understanding of the purpose of life on planet Earth.” “I am not my body, mind or emotions. They are but shells of the infinite energy that flows through them all. I am this energy. I am its source.”

Quote from Gurudeva

Find your spiritual destiny for this lifetime.

Supplementary Reading

Saiva Dharma Shastras, Section 95

Strictly following ancient scriptural treatises, this 100- foot-long, 35-foot-tall, 3.5-million-pound Chola-style temple is being built according to divine architectural knowledge to channel and focus the spiritual power of the crystal Śivalinga representing the Supreme God, Śiva: Parameśvara-Parâśakti-Paraśiva. Sculpted stone panels tell in pictures and potent aphorisms the temple’s story and mystical philosophy of Śaivism. Most importantly, Iraivan, with Lord Śiva facing south, is a moksha temple. This means that being in the presence of its sanctum sanctorum brings the pilgrim closer to freedom from rebirth on this planet. The vibration of the temple wipes away the dross of the subconscious vâsanâs and simultaneously heals the wounds of psychic surgery. It takes away encumbrances and releases the pristine beauty of the soul. As pilgrims leave the San Mârga Sanctuary they are escorted back the way they came, along San Mârga and through the Rudrâksha Meditation Forest with a new self-image and clear understanding of the purpose of life on planet Earth.

Merging with Śiva, Lesson 77: All Knowing Is within You

“I will be what I will to be. I will do what I will to do.” You can repeat these two powerful affirmations over time and time again and thus rearrange, restructure, the forces of your subconscious mind and create a great inner peace within yourself. Become acquainted with the spiritual energies and bring the forces of superconsciousness through your subconscious. This creates feeling, a feeling that you are what you say you are—positive, direct, full of life and energy and creative power. Your intuitive mind proves this through your conscious mind, not only through feeling, but you will find yourself acting out the part in all kindness and security, exercising the positive will of “I will be what I will to be” and “I will do what I will to do.” Feel the spiritual force permeating the entirety of your body. You are the security of your statement, and you accept it into your subconscious mind. As the days go by, you will become more creative and more consciously aware of your spiritual destiny. Find your spiritual destiny for this lifetime.

The greatest thing that a devotee must learn is that all knowing is within oneself. Therefore, go to the great superconscious school within you and bring forth knowledge. In order to do this, be confident within yourself. In order to be confident within yourself, have no fear. In order to have no fear, say to yourself, “I am all right, right now.” This will quickly bring you into the here-and-now consciousness. You will feel spiritual force permeating your body, and your intuitive state of mind will be active. Go ahead in full confidence that you are the knower of all that is known. This does not mean that you know everything that is to be known about the material plane, the emotional world of people, or what goes on within their minds. This means that you are nearing the source of all sources, that you understand the ultimate destiny of all souls—to unequivocally merge with Śiva.

Spiritual destiny is manifested in the lives of those who stand out from the masses and actually do something, who live a creative life for the benefit of others. This last affirmation affirms an age-old truth and may be said several times before sleep and upon awakening: “I am not my body, mind or emotions. They are but shells of the infinite energy that flows through them all. I am this energy. I am its source. I am on my way to merge with Śiva.”

2. The Iraivan Panchabrahma Circumambulation Sadhana

Sadhana Practice

Walk clockwise around the Iraivan sanctum offering a simple chant to each bronze murti of one of the aspects of Panchabrahma, also called Sadasiva.

Left front is Tatpurusha. Chant “Aum Sri Tatpurushaya Namaha” three or more times while holding in mind the specific function of that aspect of Śiva. Then move to the next bronze shrine.

Left back is Aghora. Chant “Aum Sri Aghoraya Namaha” three or more times while holding in mind the specific function of that aspect of Śiva. Then move to the next bronze shrine.

Backside is Sadyojata. Chant “Aum Sri Sadyojataya Namaha” three or more times while holding in mind the specific function of that aspect of Śiva. Then move to the next bronze shrine.

Right back is Vamadeva. Chant “Aum Sri Vamadevaya Namaha” three or more times while holding in mind the specific function of that aspect of Śiva. Then move to the next bronze shrine.

Right front is Iśana. Chant “Aum Sri Iśanaya Namaha” three or more times while holding in mind the specific function of that aspect of Śiva. Then move in front of the main sanctum.

The main sanctum represents all five aspects of Panchabrahma. Chant “Aum Sri Sadaśivaya Namaha” three or more times while holding in mind all five functions of Sadaśiva.

Repeat the entire process at least three times.

Quote from Gurudeva

God Śiva is all and in all, one without a second, the Supreme Being and only Absolute Reality. He is Pati, our Lord, immanent and transcendent. To create, preserve, destroy, conceal and reveal are His five powers. Aum.

Supplementary Reading

Saiva Siddhanta is the formalized theology of the divine revelations contained in the twenty-eight Saiva Agamas. In the Saiva Siddhanta tradition God Śiva is the Supreme Being who as the Lord of the Universe Himself performs the actions of creation, preservation, and destruction. This, of course, is a totally different approach than the well known trinity approach found in the Puranas, the folk narratives containing ethical and cosmological teachings relative to Gods, man and the world. The Puranas definitely do present a concept of Hinduism as a religion with a trinity of Gods: Brahmâ the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver and Rudra (Śiva) as the Destroyer. However, in Saiva Siddhanta these cosmic actions are all performed by God Śiva.

In addition to the three actions, God Śiva also performs two more actions, which relate specifically to the soul. The fourth action is His concealing grace which limits consciousness, allowing souls to mature through experience.And the fifth action is His revealing grace by which the soul ultimately transcends its bondage and realizes its identity with Him. Here are two verses from the Raurava Agama describing these five actions of God Śiva:

“The birth of the world, its maintenance, its destruction, the soul’s obscuration and liberation are the five acts of His dance.”

“Paramesvara (Śiva) is the cause of the five manifest aspects: emanation, srishti; preservation, sthiti; dissolution, samhara; concealment, tirobhava; and revelation, anugraha.”

There is a form of God Śiva that is widely known which depicts these five actions. It is Śiva as the Lord of dance or Nataraja. In this murti the symbolism for all five actions is clearly present. Srishti: creation, or emanation, is represented by His upper right hand and the damaru, the drum, upon which he beats Paranada, the Primal Sound from which issue forth the rhythms and cycles of creation. Sthiti: preservation, is represented by His lower right hand in a gesture of blessing, abhaya mudra, saying “fear not;”Samhara: destruction, dissolution or absorption, is represented by the fire in His upper left hand, posed in ardhachandra mudra, “half-moon gesture;” Tirobhava: obscuring grace, the power which hides the truth, thereby permitting experience, growth and eventual fulfillment of destiny, is represented by His right foot upon the prostrate person, Apasmarapurusha, the principle of ignorance, or anava. Anugraha: revealing grace—which grants knowledge and severs the soul’s bonds—is represented by Śiva’s raised left foot, and by His lower left hand, held in gajahasta or”elephant trunk” mudra, inviting approach.

Less well know to the general public, but quite well know to the Saivite priesthood and others who are knowledgeable about temple worship is another form of God Śiva performing these five actions. It is a form of Śiva that has five faces and is called the Sadasivamurti. In Sanskrit the five faces are referred to as Panchânana. In Tamil the five faces are referred to as Sivaperumanai Aindu Tirumukamkal which translates as “The Five Holy Faces of God Śiva”.

In temple ceremonies based on the Saiva Agamas, there is a specific mantra used for each face. The mantras are Iśana, Tatpurusha, Aghora, Vamadeva and Sadyojata. The relationship between these mantras, the five divine powers and the five alternate names for these powers is in the chart below.

Mantra Name	Alternate Name	Divine power
Iśana	Sadaśiva	Revealment
Tatpurusha	Iśvara	Obscuration
Aghora	Rudra	Destruction
Vamadeva	Vishnu	Preservation
Sadyojata	Brahmâ	Creation

In temple ceremonies based on the Saiva Agamas, it is this five-fold form of Śiva that is being worshipped in the Śiva lingam. To show this, some temples include in their decorations a metal covering over the Śiva lingam which has the five faces engraved in it. The fifth face of Isana can be placed on the top, but more commonly is left out. The Isana form is implied whether the fifth head is shown or not. Some Śiva lingas even have the faces carved into the linga itself.

3. The Panchabrahma Five Elements Sadhana

Sadhana Practice

The first part of this sadhana is to sit in front of the Iraivan sanctum reflecting on how the five steps of Na-ma-si-va-ya relate to the five aspects of God Śiva and to the five elements.

Syllable	Element	Mantra	Alternate	Power
Na	Earth	Sadyojata	Brahmâ	Creation
Ma	Water	Vamadeva	Vishnu	Preservation
Si	Fire	Aghora	Rudra	Destruction
Va	Air	Tatpurusha	Iśvara	Obscuration
Ya	Akasha	Iśana	Sadaśiva	Revealment

The second part of this sadhana is to choose various locations on the monastery property that relate specifically to each element and again reflect on how the syllables of Na-ma-si-va-ya relate to the five aspects of God Śiva and to the five elements. For example, the swayambhu lingam relates to earth. Wailua River and Narmada stream relate to water. Kadavul Hindu Temple is a temple for the element of fire and has an eternal flame burning in the sanctum. The Orchid Mandapam relates to air. Iraivan Temple will be a temple for the element of ether.

Quote from Gurudeva

“Śiva is the God of love and nothing else but love. He fills this universe with love. He fills you with love. Śiva is fire. Śiva is earth. Śiva is air. Śiva is water. Śiva is ether. Śiva’s cosmic energy permeates everything and gives light and life to your mind. Śiva is everywhere and all things. Śiva is your small, insignificant worry, the concern that you have been holding in your mind for so many years. See God Śiva everywhere and His life energy in all things. First we dance with Śiva. Then we live with Śiva. The end of the path is to merge with Śiva, the Self God within.”

4. Iraivan Homa Sadhana

Sadhana Practice

When it is your turn to offer the grains into the sacred homa fire, while holding the grains in you right hand visualize that you are infusing them with your prana as well as your love for and praise of God Śiva. Then offer them into the sacred fire. During the final arati, visualize God Śiva standing in the center of the fire sending back to you as blessings all the prana, love and praise that you and all the other devotees placed into homa.

Gurudeva gives an insight on the importance of prana in temple worship in the section of Loving Ganesha on offering of food. “Keep the offering covered until the pint in the puja when the pranas (life energies) of the food are offered to the Deity. Keeping the food covered helps to preserve purity and contain the pranas, which the Gods and devas can see and absorb and enjoy and reflect back into the auras of devotees to cleanse them.

Quote from Gurudeva

As we come closer to the wonderful Gods of Hinduism, we come to love them in a natural way, to be guided by them and to depend on them more than we depend on ourselves.

Supplementary Reading

Merging with Śiva, Lesson 140: Grace of the Gods

When you worship the God in the temple through puja and ceremony, you are bringing that Divinity out of the microcosm and into this macrocosm. You supply the energy through your worship and your devotion, through your thought forms, and even your physical aura. The pujari purifies and magnetizes the stone image for this to take place. The Gods and the devas are also magnetizing the stone image with their energy, and finally the moment is ready and they can come out of the microcosm into this macrocosm and bless the people. You observe that they stayed only for an instant, but to them it was a longer time. The time sense in the inner worlds is different.

If you want to get acquainted with the Gods, first get to know Lord Ganesha. Take a picture and look at it. Put a picture of Lord Ganesha in your car or in your kitchen. Get acquainted through sight. Then come to know Him through sound by chanting His names and hymns. This is how you get acquainted with your personal Deity. You will get to know Him just as you know your best friend, but in a more intimate way, for Ganesha is within you and there ahead of you to guide your soul’s evolution. As you get acquainted with Him, Ganesha then knows that you’re coming up on the spinal climb of the kundalini. He will work with you and work out your karma. Your whole life will begin to smooth out. Religion is the connection between the three worlds, and temple worship is how you can get your personal connection with the inner worlds. You never really lose connection with the inner worlds, but if you are not conscious of that connection, then it appears that you have.

The Gods of Hinduism create, preserve and protect mankind. It is through their sanction that all things continue, and through their will that they cease. It is through their grace that all good things happen, and all things that happen are for the good. Now, you may wonder why one would put himself under this divine authority so willingly, thus losing his semblance of freedom. But does one not willingly put himself in total harmony with those whom he loves? Of course he does. And loving these great souls comes so naturally. Their timeless wisdom, their vast intelligence, their thoroughly benign natures, their ceaseless concern for the problems and well-being of devotees, and their power and sheer godly brilliance—all these inspire our love.

Chapter Six: 6 Helpful Exercises in Claiming Our Spiritual Identity

This section of sadhanas consists of six exercises in claiming our spiritual identity. Each exercise focuses on a different perspective of our spiritual nature. The idea is to read the explanation in the supplementary reading section, the quote from Gurudeva and then wander the monastery grounds for at least fifteen minutes practicing the sadhana.

1. Not Body, Mind, Emotions

Sadhana Practice

Suggestions for Wandering : As you wander, be detached from body, mind and emotions. When you find yourself saying, I am hungry or I am thirsty, rephrase and say my body is hungry or thirsty. When you find yourself thinking I understand or don’t understand certain points in the lesson rephrase…my intellect understands or doesn’t understand. When you claim an emotional identity I am certainly happy this morning, or I am a bit depressed this morning… again rephrase my emotions are happy or a bit depressed.

Quote from Gurudeva

Become a student of life and live life fully, and as you merge into the sea of actinic life, you will realize that you are not your mind, your body or your emotions. You will realize that you are the complete master of your mind, your body and your emotions.

Supplementary Reading

“Rishis proclaim that we are not our body, mind or emotions. We are divine souls on a wondrous journey. We came from God, live in God and are evolving into oneness with God. We are, in truth, the Truth we seek.”

This verse takes the approach of focusing on what we are not in order to lessen our attachment to them. Gurudeva describes this approach in the following way.

“Most people do not understand that they have a mind, that they have a body and emotions, that what they are is something far more lasting and profound. They think they are a mind, they presume they are a body and they feel they are a given set of emotions, positive and negative. To progress on the spiritual path, they must learn they are not these things but are, in fact, a radiant, conscious soul that never dies, that can control the mind and directs the emotion toward fulfillment of dharma and resolution of karma. While living in a normal agitated state of fears, worries and doubts, seeing the deeper truths is impossible. To such a person, there is no doubt about it: “I am fearful. I am worried. I am confused. I am sick.” He says such things daily, thinking of himself in a very limited way.”

Let’s look first at the body. The modern, secular world is constantly telling us we are the body. A great deal of this message comes through the media including advertising.

We are taught to idolize movie stars and of course the actresses are all beautiful and the actors handsome, otherwise they wouldn’t be movie stars. Advertisements for clothing, beauty products and weight loss programs tell us the many ways “you”, meaning the body, can be more beautiful or handsome. What we read about health and aging also helps convince us that we are the body. We learn about the many illnesses that make us sick and the aging process where we become old.

Of course, the spiritual point of view is that we have a body rather than we are the body. The problem with thinking we are the body is that we put too much of our time into trying to hide the aging process for example. And the fact we are aging is somewhat depressing to us. We would prefer to stay young forever. Also, not being as beautiful or handsome as the idolized movie stars can also make us feel inferior or frustrated.

Second, let’s look at the mind, specifically the intellect. Modern schools develop the intellectual mind, our ability to think and reason, which is quite important. However, because modern education is totally secular, there is no reference to the soul or a sense of the need for the intellect to be a tool of the soul. Thus the intellect itself is extolled as our highest ability. I know a number of university graduates who have acquired the attitude of always trying to out think or out debate you. It has become a way of life and reflects the belief that they are their intellectual mind.

The spiritual point of view is that we have an intellect rather than we are the intellect. The problem with thinking we are the intellect is that we are cut off from our deeper identity with our soul and its intuitive abilities. As Gurudeva says in Cognizantability: “The intellect is the greatest barrier to the superconscious.” Being cut off from a deeper, spiritual identity can also be a source of depression and negativity.

Third, we have the emotions. We do not have to go to school to acquire the idea that we are our emotions. We learn this perspective from observing our parents and other adults who act in a way that shows us they believe they are their emotions. This perspective stays with us unless we are taught otherwise. We are also not taught that we can control the emotions. Therefore, when life brings us positive experiences we are happy. When life brings us difficult experiences we are unhappy. And the idea that we could change unhappiness into happiness through spiritual practices such as meditation, never occurs to us. The idea that our tendency to quickly anger could be overcome never occurs to us.

The spiritual point of view is that we have emotions rather than we are the emotions. The problem with thinking we are the emotions is that our life is always getting disturbed by them. We swing from up to down in mood, from calm to fiery. All this emotional activity completely covers up and obscures our soul nature from us. Emotional control—which comes from realizing I am not my emotions, rather my emotions are something I can control— is required to identity with the soul and make steady spiritual progress.

A quote from Yogaswami: “You are not the body. You are not the mind, nor the intellect, nor the will. You are the Atma. The Atma is eternal. This is the conclusion at which great souls have arrived from their experience. Let this truth become well impressed on your mind. But there is one thing to which you must give attention. Never swerve from the path of dharma. Let it be your practice to regard every life as the holy presence of God. He is both within and without.”

2. The Soul Controls Instincts, Intellect, Ego

Sadhana Practice

Suggestions for Wandering: For the first few minutes of wandering watch your intellect think and notice particularly how active it is. Then sit and for a few minutes and regulate your breath by breathing nine counts in, hold one, nine counts out, hold one. Keep your eyes open during this breathing exercise. Then again focus on your intellect and see how much the thought activity has slowed down.

Quote from Gurudeva

Seeking for God in the depths of one’s being through control of the mind, control of one’s thoughts, feelings and emotions, gives birth to the highest qualities of nature. This transformation begins to take place as the light of the soul becomes more and more apparent within the mind.

Supplementary Reading

Man’s nature can be described as three-fold: superconscious or spiritual, intellectual or mental and instinctive or physical-emotional. It is the instinctive nature, the animal-like nature, which contains the tendencies to become angry and harm others.The goal is to learn to control these animal instincts as well as the ramifications of the intellect and the pride of the ego and manifest one’s spiritual nature. (Bodhinatha)

In our last spiritual identity exercise we focused on the idea that we are not our body, mind or emotions. In this exercise, we are taking this idea one step further by saying that the goal is to learn to control the body, mind and emotions. Specifically, we are focusing on three types of control:

Controlling the animal instincts

Controlling the ramifications of the intellect

Controlling the pride of the ego

When we are successful in controlling these three, our spiritual nature naturally manifests.

Gurudeva quote: “When the instinctive mind becomes lifted into the light, a person is strong enough to be kind when he could have become angry. He generates enough spiritual power to be generous when he might have reacted selfishly. Disciplined periods of meditation nurture a magnanimous and benevolent nature. Such a being is naturally in the light of the supreme consciousness. His great strength is humility, a shock absorber for the malicious experiences in life. Humility makes one immune to resentment and places everything in proportion and balance within the mind. A person lacking in humility does not give the appearance of being firmly rooted and poised within himself. At the other extreme, the arrogant person who lives in the shadows of the mind presents a pitiful picture of insecurity and incompleteness.”

Instincts

Bodhinatha quote: One way we become a more spiritual person is gaining control over the tendencies of our instinctive mind. The instinctive mind comes along with having a physical body. If we didn’t have a physical body, we wouldn’t have an instinctive mind.It comes along with it. You can’t get one without the other—it’s a package deal! If you want to be here on Earth to unfold spiritually, you have to work through the animal instincts that come along with the physical body and gain better control over them. Each of the ten yamas gives us a different tendency of the instinctive mind to restrain.Therefore, they are invaluable tools in helping someone on the spiritual path gain better control over the instinctive nature.

Looking at each of the ten yamas and the instinct which it helps restrain would take far too much time and is worthy of a number of classes in itself. So we have chosen just one yama which is any easy one to relate to which is moderate appetite, mitahara.

The instinctive tendency we are focusing on harnessing is the tendency to eat too much as well as foods that are not good for our health. Gurudeva states: “Mitahara is a restraint that we must all obey and which is one of the most difficult. However, gaining controlling over our appetite helps us have greater control over all the other instinctive tendencies. So in making progress with this yama, we also progress in all the others as well.”

Gurudeva’s last point is an important one— gaining controlling over our appetite helps us have greater control over all the other instinctive tendencies. This highlights the fact that controlling our appetite is a very worthwhile endeavor as it automatically increases our control over other instincts.

A simple way to increase our control over our appetite is by fasting on a regular basis such as on pradosha days. Another is to avoid the tendency to overcome the emotion of unhappiness by overeating and develop a new habit to replace it such as going to the temple to attend puja to change unhappiness to happiness.

Intellect

Let’s turn now to the second point of controlling the ramifications of the intellect. Here are four keys as to how we can control its ramifications.

First Key: The first key is the concept in our last spiritual identity exercise which is that we are not the intellect but the soul. This insight helps us not put all our energy into constantly acquiring more intellectual knowledge. We do not feel a great need to know all about the latest trends in the world. We are also less inclined to engage others in intellectual debates to show the superiority of our intellect to theirs.

Second Key: Gurudeva has a relevant aphorism in his writing “Cognizantability” which says “The intellect strengthened with opinionated knowledge is the only barrier to the superconscious.” This is taking the idea of not being the intellect one step further by emphasizing that in fact when it is filled with the opinions of others it is an obstacle to experiencing our soul, our superconscious intuition.

Third Key: Regulating our breath quiets down our thinking mind. This is called pranayama and the basic form of it is nine counts in, hold one, nine counts out, hold one.

Fourth Key: Refraining from excessive talk is also quite helpful in harnessing the intellectual mind. It also helps us awaken observation which is the first faculty of the awakening of the superconscious regions.

In our guru parampara, one of Chellappaswami’s great sayings is Naam Ariyom, which means. “We do not know.” Yogaswami’s famous remark was, in scolding a devotee who spent too much time reading books on philosophy: “It’s not in books, you fool.” When it comes to spirituality, the intellect cannot help us experience the soul. It can help us do a lot of things. It can help us run a computer, it can help us go shopping, it can help us cook, it can help us calculate. It is a useful tool, it is not that the intellect is not good. It just does not have any place when it comes to experiencing our soul. It can be the barrier. Said another way, the goal is to make the intellect a tool of the soul, subservient to the soul, rather than dominant over it.

Ego

Let’s turn now to the third point of controlling the pride of the ego. This is the idea of feeling superior to others, being conceited. Of course, a sense of superiority comes from identifying with body, mind and emotions. And all of our spiritual practices help lessen any pride we have. However, here is one specific suggestion.

In informal discussions as well as in formal meetings, such as a committee, refrain from dominating the meeting with your ideas. Be respectful of the opinion of each person who is present. Furthermore, approach the meeting with the strategy that the best meeting is one in which creativity is present and the final concept exceeds the ideas that any individual brought to the meeting.

3. The Soul Is the Witness
Who Observes the Mind

Sadhana Practice

Suggestions for wandering: Begin by walking and observing the details of every aspect of nature that you see—the colors and shapes of the plants, trees, water and other objects. Then sit for a while and be the witness of your thoughts. Follow Markanduswami’s exercise and try to be aware of everything you think about. Don’t miss one topic of thought, identify them all.

Quote from Gurudeva

We can see that from the mystic’s point of view, he is the watcher. And as the mirror is in no way discolored by what it reflects, so is the mystic in his perfected state. Your perfected state, too, as the watcher is right there, deep within you.

Supplementary Reading

Before we actually begin serious sadhana, we must understand ourselves better, understand the three phases of the mind: instinctive, intellectual and superconscious. This takes time, meditation and study—study that must culminate in actual experience of the instinctive mind, the intellectual mind and the transcendent subsuperconscious state of the mind. Seeing the mind in its totality convinces the seeker that he is something else, he is the witness who observes the mind and cannot, therefore, be the mind itself. (Merging with Śiva, Chapter One)

In this our third exercise in claiming our spiritual identity, we are taking the concept of not being the mind one step deeper by identifying as the witness who observes the mind.

Markanduswami story about being the witness: There is a Saivite hermit, the venerable Markanduswami, living in a humble mud hut in Sri Lanka. He was very old when we met him in the 1970’s and was for many years a disciple of Paramaguru Yogaswami. In fact, his every utterance is a quote from his guru. One afternoon at his hut he described Yogaswami’s approach to dealing with thoughts during meditation. He said, “Yogaswami said, ‘Realize Self by self. You want to read this book, that book and all these books. The Book of Infinite Knowledge is here (pointing to his chest). You’d better open your own book.’ The prescription he gave me to open that book is this: ‘When you are in meditation, you watch the mind. Here and there the mind is hopping. One, two, three,.. a hundred. In a few seconds the mind goes to a hundred places. Let him be. You also watch very carefully. Here and there this mind is running. Let him go anywhere, but if he goes to a hundred places, you must follow him to a hundred places. You must not miss even a single one. Follow him and note, He is going here. Now he is going there.’ You must not miss even a single one. That is the prescription Satguru Yogaswami gave me to open this inner book. He said, ‘Watch very attentively and learn to pick up things coming from within. Those messages are very valuable. You can’t value them. Realize Self by self and open this inner book. Why don’t you open your own book? Why don’t you make use of it? What an easy path I am prescribing for you!’ “

Gurudeva has a related comment: We can see that from the mystic’s point of view, he is the watcher. And as the mirror is in no way discolored by what it reflects, so is the mystic in his perfected state. Your perfected state, too, as the watcher, is right there, deep within you. The next time you sit for meditation, follow my guru’s advice to us all and witness your thoughts. Be that stationary awareness, holding form in its own perfection. All you have to do is to watch your mind think. Then and only then are you experiencing your perfect state of inner being. The only difference between the jnani and the novice is that the jnani stays in there longer as the watcher, whereas the novice experiences this only momentarily from time to time.

A simple exercise for cultivating being the witness is when walking in nature, to notice every detail that you can about what you see. Perhaps you have had the experience of walking with a young child and they point out to you qualities about what you are seeing that you hadn’t noticed. Young children have great powers of observation because their intellect is not overactive nor have they accumulated lots of unresolved past experiences. So we can try and be like them by noticing as many details as possible. Becoming a good witness of our natural surroundings is excellent preparation for becoming a good witness of our thoughts.

Another exercise is what we call mountain top consciousness. In Gurudeva’s early ministry, the first Sunday of every month he would take his devotees to the top of Mt. Tamalpais for the purpose of helping them achieve a mountain top consciousness. Looking down on the cities below and the homes in them somehow helps you look more clearly at the patterns in your own life—witness more clearly what you are actually doing on a day-to-day basis. Often we can clearly see for the first time some negative patterns that we would be better off without. This, of course, is the first step toward changing those patterns.

Of course, you don’t have to always go to the top of a mountain to clearly see the patterns in your thoughts. Once we have caught the idea, we can become quite skilled at seeing patterns and adjusting them no matter where we are. For example, if we find ourselves remembering specific events of the past on a regular basis, it shows it is an experience we have not resolved. Gurudeva suggests writing down such experiences and burning the paper and to continue doing this until we no longer think about the experience much at all. This shows it is resolved.

Another common example of an unproductive thought pattern is to think about a major decision you need to make, but without making the decision. In other words, we think about it and jump to another topic without making a conclusion. I have found an effective way for handling this is to make an appointment with yourself, say at 10am tomorrow, when you will sit down and think about it until you reach a conclusion. Then if you find yourself thinking about it before then, put the thought off by saying I have an appointment and there is no need to think about it before then.

4. You Are the Experiencer, Not the Experience

Sadhana Practice

Suggestions for Wandering: Think back over the last few week and the states of consciousness you most commonly experienced. Imagine being in that state of mind in the present. Then see yourself as the experiencer, awareness, of that state of consciousness. Focus on identifying with the unchanging awareness that is constant through all the varied states of consciousness you experienced.

Quote from Gurudeva

Awareness is free to travel in the mind according to our knowledge, our discipline and our ability to detach from the objects of awareness and see ourselves as the experience of awareness itself.

Supplementary Reading

“Should we acquire the ability to identify as the experiencer instead of the experience, the true and valid nature of awareness and its patterns of movement in the mind become evident.”

In this our fourth exercise in claiming our spiritual identity, we are deepening the concept of being the witness who observes the mind by exploring the concepts of awareness and consciousness.

Let’s look first at the process of seeing an object, our study notes, for example. When we look at the study notes, we say “I see the study notes.” Does anyone think they are the study notes? No. We have been trained to think of ourselves as the seer and not the physical object seen.

Sound is the same way. Listen to the sounds inside and outside of this room. We say “I hear the sounds.” Again, we have been trained to think of ourselves as the listener and not the sound heard.

Now, let’s take our emotions. When we are happy we say “I am happy.” And when we are sad, we say “I am unhappy.” This is not parallel to seeing with the eyes and listening with the ears. To be parallel it would have to be“I am experiencing happiness.” And “I am experiencing unhappiness.”

We can see that we have been taught that we are the happiness and the unhappiness rather than the experiencer of those emotions. However, that is not really the deepest perspective. Just as much as we are not the study notes we looked at, nor the sounds we heard, we are not the emotions of happiness or unhappiness we experience.

Happiness and unhappiness are the experience; we are the experiencer of both. This shift in identity from the experience to the experiencer is an important part of deepening our spiritual identity and an important concept in Gurudeva’s teachings.

Gurudeva labels what we are experiencing in the mind as consciousness and the experiencer as awareness. Awareness is constant, whereas the different states of consciousness we are experiencing are constantly changing based on our experiences in life, especially our interactions with other people.

The soul’s ability to sense, see or know and to be conscious of this knowing is called awareness. It is described as individual consciousness, perception, knowing; the witness of perception, the “inner eye of the soul.” Sanskrit terms for awareness include sakshin and chit. Awareness is known in the Agamas as chitshakti, the “power of awareness,” the inner self and eternal witness. Awareness is known as nef in the mystical Natha language of Shum.

When our interactions with other people go well, our awareness ends up in positive, happy states of conscious. And when our interactions with other people do not go well, our awareness tends to end up in negative, unhappy states of consciousness.

However, what we really are in both experiences, awareness, is unchanged. Awareness is like the mind’s eye. Just as our physical eyes look at something beautiful and then at something ugly and are neither, our mind’s eye, awareness, looks at happiness and unhappiness and is neither.

Therefore, the goal is to reprogram our subconscious mind to look at our everyday experiences in this way and say to ourselves “this morning I find my awareness is in a state of consciousness that is content and happy” rather than “This morning I am content and happy.”

As some of you know, Gurudeva created his own language to be able to have precise descriptions of the realm of meditation. Every new field of knowledge traditionally develops its own technical vocabulary, for example computers have brought with them a complex vocabulary of recently created terms.

The language Gurudeva created is called the Shum Tyeif language (also simply known as Shum). It is a Natha mystical language of meditation that was revealed to Gurudeva in Switzerland in 1968. You will be interested to know that there is not just one word in the Shum language for awareness but rather there are many words that give precise descriptions to different perspectives on awareness. The perspective we are referring to is the Shum word niif (neeeef). Its particular perspective of awareness is defined as individual awareness distinguished from impersonal consciousness. It is also defined as the observation of individual awareness as well as the perception of being aware. These three aspects of the definition of niif are helpful in grasping the full meaning:

Individual awareness distinguished from impersonal consciousness – distinguished, of course, is focusing on recognizing the difference between awareness and consciousness

Observation of individual awareness – a clear perception of what awareness is, we see it

Perception of being aware – the sense of being an awareness independent of consciousness (like an eye that is not seeing an object, an ear not hearing anything)

It is interesting to note that Gurudeva has assembled in Shum what he calls the eeeef collection of twenty-seven words for different perspectives on awareness. For example:

Eeeef is the observation of one’s awareness flowing or traveling from one area of the higher mind to another.

Neeemf is the observation of one’s awareness flowing into and out of lower areas of the physical and astral mind.

Here is one word from the eeeef collection of a deeper nature:

Innyawf is awareness of experiencing one’s own soul body.

5. Awareness Traveling through the Mind

Sadhana Practice

Exercise for wandering: Think back to your last visit to a large city. Recollect the various parts of the city you traveled through. Impress yourself with the idea that you are the traveler moving through the various sections of the city. Now reflect on the states of consciousness, both positive and negative, you have been experiencing the last few months. Impress yourself with the idea that you are the inner traveler, awareness, moving through these different areas of consciousness that are always existing

Quote from Gurudeva

Consciousness and awareness are the same when awareness is totally identified with and attached to that which it is aware of. To separate the two is the artful practice of yoga.

Supplementary Reading

To the awakened mystic, there is only one mind. There is no “your mind” and “my mind,” just one mind, finished, complete in all stages of manifestation. Man’s individual awareness flows through the mind as the traveler treads the globe. Just as the free citizen moves from city to city and country to country, awareness moves through the multitude of forms in the mind.(Merging with Śiva, Chapter Six)

This fifth exercise introduces the idea of awareness traveling.

Gurudeva develops this idea in one of his Merging with Śiva lessons: “I look at the mind as a traveler looks at the world. Himalayan Academy students have traveled with me all over the world, in hundreds of cities, in dozens of countries, as we’ve set up ashramas here and there on our Innersearch Travel-Study programs. Together we have gone in and in and in and in amid different types of environments, but the inside is always the same wherever we are. So, look at the mind as the traveler looks at the world.

Just as you travel around the world, when you’re in meditation you travel in the mind. We have the big city called thought. We have another big city called emotion. There’s yet another big city called fear, and another one nearby called worry. But we are not those cities. We’re just the traveler. When we’re in San Francisco, we are not San Francisco. When we’re aware of worry, we are not worry. We are just the inner traveler who has become aware of the different areas of the mind.”

As we mentioned, Gurudeva created the Shum words eeeef and neeemf to name the experience of observing one’s awareness flowing or traveling from one area of the mind to another. The vast areas of the mind contain many things such as pictures, concepts. Our individual awareness flows from one place within it to another.

The traveler, the experiencer, is of course referred to as awareness. What it experiences, the various areas of mind, is called consciousness. We can drive through a city, such as San Francisco, and experience the different districts in it such as the downtown business district, Chinatown, the fancy hotels on Nob Hill, the wealthier residential districts and the poorer districts. Just as the different areas of San Francisco are always there, the various states of consciousness always exist—they don’t go away just because we are not aware of them at the moment.

In our last spiritual identity exercise we learned to identify with the experiencer rather than the experience, being awareness rather than consciousness. The current exercise takes this one step further by realizing that awareness can travel from one state of consciousness to another. When we drive through San Francisco, we can choose which district to drive to. Similarly, in the mind we can choose which area of consciousness to have awareness travel to.

Our car can malfunction and we can end up stuck in one district of the city unable to travel. Likewise, our awareness can become stuck in a particular area of consciousness seemingly unable to move to another. Gurudeva has an insightful statement describing this: “Consciousness and awareness are the same when awareness is totally identified with and attached to that which it is aware of. To separate the two is the artful practice of yoga.”

What are some keys to achieving the ability to move our awareness freely through the various areas of consciousness?

A good place to start is to understand the tendency of awareness to move around because of what others are saying to us and how they are treating us. Some people’s state of consciousness is totally at the mercy of others. If what they are saying and how they are treating us is problem free, then we are happy. If they are saying things we do not want them to or mistreating us then we are unhappy. Also casual interactions with others can move our awareness into the same states of consciousness as the other person, if we are not careful.

To have the ability to move awareness, we need to avoid conflict with others. Conflict upsets and externalizes us, and this makes it easy to get stuck in an externalized state of mind for a few hours or even a few days.

Another point is that we really need to intellectually accept the idea that all areas of consciousness are always existing and that our awareness can travel to them if we learn how to direct it. Inner light is always there, ananda, bliss is always inside of us.

Regulating our breath, pranayama, is also important in gaining the ability to move awareness.

Gurudeva: “In meditation, awareness must be loosened and made free to move vibrantly and buoyantly into the inner depths where peace and bliss remain undisturbed for centuries, or out into the odic force fields of the material world where man is in conflict with his brother, or into the internal depths of the subconscious mind. Meditate, therefore, on awareness traveling freely through all areas of the mind.”

6. Life of Life

Sadhana Practice

Suggestions for Wandering: Step one is to find a mirror and look into it with the purpose of seeing your soul. This is done by looking into your eyes and seeing the sparkle, the pure life energy within them.

Step two is to wander the grounds and look at the humans and nature that surrounds you and focus on the life in it—the people, plants, trees, animals, fish birds.

Step three is to focus so intently on the life in all these forms that you become aware of God as the sense of oneness that pervades them all, the “Life of life.” Follow Yogaswami’s advise and consider yourself as the same as others and not separate. You are in everyone.”

Quote from Gurudeva

As our great satguru, Śiva Yogaswami, said, “There is one thing that Lord Śiva cannot do. He can do everything, but there is one thing He cannot do. He cannot separate Himself from me.” That is the only thing that God Śiva cannot do. He cannot take Himself out of you.

Supplementary Reading

He who knows God as the Life of life, the Eye of the eye, the Ear of the ear, the Mind of the mind, he indeed comprehends fully the Cause of all causes.

In this exercise, our sixth and final one, we are taking the concept of the soul and having an individual awareness even deeper by focusing on the underlying unitary consciousness that is found in the essence of the soul. In this perspective, there is only one being, not a group of separate individuals.

In the monks morning shum meditation, there is a word that is meditated on toward the end which is “ee-leef-tyay.” It names the experience of being the life force in everyone. Gurudeva’s exact definition is: seeing, knowing, feeling, being lawmf, the life force, actinic energy in everyone, especially those closest to the experiencer. This last part of Gurudeva’s definition gives us an important key to achieving this experience of God which is that it is easier to achieve with those we are close to.

The Hindu idea that God is inside of every person as the essence of our soul, and can be experienced today, is quite different from the concept of Western religions that God is in heaven and therefore not able to be experienced. Gurudeva stated this beautifully when he said: “God Śiva is so close to us. He is closer than our breathing, nearer to us than our hands or feet. Yes, He is the very essence of our soul.”

Gurudeva gives us another way of experiencing God within all which is focusing on the life energy in everything we see. He states in the first verse of Dancing with Śiva: “We are immortal souls living and growing in the great school of earthly experience in which we have lived many lives. Vedic rishis have given us courage by uttering the simple truth, “God is the Life of our life.” A great sage carried it further by saying there is one thing God cannot do: God cannot separate Himself from us. This is because God is our life. God is the life in the birds. God is the life in the fish. God is the life in the animals. Becoming aware of this Life energy in all that lives is becoming aware of God’s loving presence within us.

“We are the undying consciousness and energy flowing through all things. Deep inside we are perfect this very moment, and we have only to discover and live up to this perfection to be whole. Our energy and God’s energy are the same, ever coming out of the void. We are all beautiful children of God. Each day we should try to see the life energy in trees, birds, animals and people. When we do, we are seeing God Śiva in action.”

As we mentioned in one of our talks, in Hindu thought the concept of life and the soul are synonymous and that one of the advantages of this simple explanation of the soul, which equates it with life, is that it makes it easy to experience the soul. We can do this by looking into a mirror and seeing the light and sparkle within our eyes. That life is your soul.

And that taking this concept of divinity one step further is the concept of God as the Life of life, the Soul of the soul. Another useful phrase that conveys the same meaning is that God is the essence of the soul, meaning if you look deeply enough into the soul you will experience God. In other words, the life we see in someone is the soul, and the essence or Life of that life is God.

We also mentioned that the way we know if we are experiencing the individual soul or God as the essence of the soul is that when we are experiencing the soul there is a sense that every soul is separate from the others. However, when we perceive God as the Life of life, the sense of separateness is replaced with a sense of oneness.

Yogaswami’s story which illustrates this is point is: There were four people in the room. Yogaswami asked, “How many are here?” Someone said: ‘Four’. Yogaswami then said, “No. Only one is here, like four people.” Yogaswami would often make the statement to his devotees “I am in you.” He would also say: “I know all your thoughts; not only yours but everybody’s; I am in everybody. You do not know this, because you think of yourself as being separate from others. Learn to consider yourself as the same as others and not separate.”

Chapter Seven: Twelve Shum Meditations

To view these meditations, visit this page

Chapter Eight: Reflections On
Spiritualizing Daily Life

Introductory Quote from Gurudeva

The origin of man—being spawned from Śiva, the birthless, deathless God—therefore, is as a pure, taintless soul. After thus being spawned, the soul goes through a maturing process. This slow growth is in three basic categories: karma exercises, anava clouds, maya distorts. This classroom of these experiences finally matures an intelligence free enough from the bondage of the classroom of anava, karma and maya to realize its own Divinity and at-one-ment with Śiva as a taintless, pure soul. This, then, is the foundation, after once attained, for final liberation, Self Realization, to be sought for.

The World Is an Ashram

The following material is designed to help you reflect on how you could make your daily life more spiritual. It provides two lists to focus on. The first is a list of six common challenges we face in life that provide us with good opportunities for spiritual progress if we respond in a wise manner with self-control. The second is a list of six common opportunities to serve, opportunities to help others at home, work, school, in the neighborhood and community. The idea is to reflect on how you could improve in each of these twelve actions and thus increase the amount of spiritual progress you make in your daily life.

Life is demanding and you have no time for spiritual pursuits? Everyday happenings offer abundant opportunities to evolve.

Published in: Hinduism Today. April/June/July 2006

In Hinduism we are fortunate to have many God-realized souls to guide us along the spiritual path. Their teachings are so profound and powerful that they penetrate our normal consciousness and give us new insights into how to live to maximize our spiritual progress.

Our paramaguru, Yogaswami, of Jaffna, Sri Lanka, gave us one such gem when he said, “The world is an ashram, a training ground for the achievement of moksha, liberation.”

Yogaswami’s statement has a parallel in William Shakespeare’s play “As You Like It.”

All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.

Here is a paraphrase of Shakespeare’s lines, adapted to reflect Yogaswami’s spiritual meaning:

All the world’s an ashram,
And all the men and women are divine souls;
They are spiritually maturing through earthly experiences,
And one soul in its time takes many births,
And thus evolves into oneness with God.

Let’s look more closely at what it means to say that all the world’s an ashram. An ashram, of course, is the residence and teaching center of a swami or spiritual preceptor. It is a place we go to learn about our religion and make spiritual progress. When we go out the door of our home to go to work, school or elsewhere, do we have in mind that we are going to an ashram, that our actions during the day in the office, factory, hospital, classroom or elsewhere will help us evolve spiritually and bring us closer to moksha? Probably not. When we come home and reflect back on the day, do we feel we made spiritual progress while out of the home? Probably not. Why is this? It is because we have not been trained to look at life in this way. We think of the ashram as a place of spiritual advancement, and we regard the world as a place of mundane tasks and distractions from our spiritual work. The common idea is that what we do in the ashram, the home shrine or the temple is what brings us spiritual progress, and what we do at the office or in the classroom has nothing to do with our spiritual life.

This common perspective is not the viewpoint of great souls such as Yogaswami. Such souls know that much spiritual progress can be made during our time in the world if we hold the right perspective. I call this approach “spiritualizing daily life.” Let’s bring this concept down to Earth by dividing the occasions for spiritual progress when out in the world into two categories: facing life’s challenges and finding opportunities to serve.

First, let’s look at facing life’s challenges. Life is going to come to you whether you want it to or not. Joyful, easy times, difficult times, happy days and sad – it is all coming. It is all there, in your karma. It can’t help but come. So you don’t have to go looking for it. You don’t have to go try and do something different. You can’t avoid it. You can’t hide from it.

Life’s challenges will come to us. What is going to happen is going to happen. But where the focus should be, for those on the spiritual path, is on how we respond to these challenges. Why? Because that is where we have a choice. For example, a small infant keeps us awake all night by crying. How do we respond to it? Does it upset us? Do we complain? Or, do we just accept it and respond back with lots of love? In every experience of life we have control over our response. It can be impulsive or thoughtful. It’s our choice.

When accused of something that we didn’t do, how do we respond? When we face challenges at work – say our boss is unfair with us, yells at us – what is our reaction? We want to yell back, but cannot. So, do we go home and yell at the spouse? In all such cases, we have choices. It is not the challenges that come, but how we face those challenges that makes the difference. We can react emotionally without thinking about spiritual principles. We can get angry or despondent. We can worry a lot and become irritable.

Or we can decide to control any emotional reactions that we might have. We can choose to live without anger. We can choose to cultivate patience. We can choose to be kinder to other people, to be more generous. That is what makes us spiritually stronger. As we curb our instinctive nature, our soul nature shines forth.

In other words, if we get angry now and then, let us try and eliminate anger altogether. If we get impatient with people who seem to explain things at great lengths when they could be explained in a short way, let’s learn how not to get impatient. Let us learn how to accept that verbosity is their nature.

Here is the list of six common challenges we face in life that provide us with good opportunities for spiritual progress if we respond in a wise manner with self-control.

First Challenge: Mistreatment by Others. Life provides us a steady stream of experiences in which we are mistreated by others. Rather than retaliate or hold resentment, we can forgive and respond with kindness.

Second Challenge: Our Own Mistakes. When we make a major error, we have a choice to wallow in self-doubt and self-deprecation or to figure out how to not repeat the mistake.

Third Challenge: Difficult Projects. When faced with tasks that stretch our abilities, we can do the minimal just to get by or be inspired to do our best by looking at them as opportunities to improve our concentration, willpower and steadfastness, all of which will enhance our meditation abilities and inner striving.

Fourth Challenge: Disturbed Emotions. When we get upset by life’s experiences, we have a choice to suffer the emotional upheaval or to strive to pull ourselves out of it as quickly as possible.

Fifth Challenge: Interpersonal Conflicts. When serious disagreements, quarrels or arguments occur, we have a choice to hold a grudge and perhaps even shun the person or to resolve the matter and keep the relationship harmonious.

Sixth Challenge: Gossip and Backbiting. When those around us indulge in gossip, rumors, backbiting and intrigue, we have a choice to join in or to not participate and even, among those close to us, make it clear that we do not approve.

The second category of occasions for spiritual progress when out in the world is what I call finding opportunities to serve. Here is an introduction to this concept from Gurudeva’s Living with Śiva which beautifully illustrates the idea of spiritualizing daily life through service.

“Go out into the world this week and let your light shine through your kind thoughts, but let each thought manifest itself in a physical deed of doing something for someone else. Lift their burdens just a little bit and, unknowingly perhaps, you may lift something that is burdening your mind. You erase and wipe clean the mirror of your own mind through helping another. We call this karma yoga, the deep practice of unwinding, through service, the selfish, self-centered, egotistical vasanas [subconscious inclinations] of the lower nature that have been generated for many, many lives and which bind the soul in darkness. Through service and kindness, you can unwind the subconscious mind and gain a clear understanding of all laws of life. Your soul will shine forth. You will be that peace. You will radiate that inner happiness and be truly secure, simply by practicing being kind in thought, word and deed.”

There are many opportunities to help others at home, work, school, in the neighborhood and community. We have developed a list of six simple practices. Let me briefly introduce them.

First Opportunity: Seeing God in Those We Greet. When greeting someone, we strive to look deeply enough into them to see God, to see them as a divine being evolving through experience into oneness with God. Our attitude is then naturally helpful and benevolent.

Second Opportunity: Volunteering. There are many opportunities each day to step forward and offer to help in ways that are beyond what is required of us. An attitude of humble service diminishes the ego and strengthens our spiritual identity. One important spiritual attitude to hold is to be willing to help when called upon, to not resist or refuse, to be as open to helping others as you are in doing things for yourself.

Third Opportunity: Expressing Appreciation. We can uplift and encourage others by sincerely expressing how grateful we are for their help, friendship and importance in our life.

Fourth Opportunity: Helping Newcomers. In our modern world, people move around a great deal. Thus there is a steady flow of newcomers at work, at school, in our neighborhood and at our temple. Stepping forward to welcome and help orient them to their new environment is an excellent way to be of service.

Fifth Opportunity: Offering Hospitality. Everyone can find creative ways to be hospitable in the home, at school and even at work.

Sixth Opportunity: Making Encouraging and Complimentary Remarks. Make a point to say something encouraging and complimentary to everyone you meet. Their day will be brighter because of it, and so will yours.

In conclusion, having a great day needs to mean more than getting a bonus at work or an A on a school test. It should include the spiritual progress you made that day through effectively facing life’s challenges and the ways in which you helped and uplifted others. Our list of twelve practices is a good beginning, but hopefully you will keep expanding it as additional insights come from your striving to maximize the spiritual progress you can make from the experiences and opportunities each day brings. Also, parents can teach children to consciously strive for spiritual progress each day at school by facing life’s challenges and finding opportunities to serve.

Chapter Nine: Post-Trip Sadhanas

Introductory Quote from Gurudeva

Sincere devotees who prepare first and then travel here on pilgrimage are very special to us. It is important that potential pilgrims write or call us and ask for sâdhanas to prepare themselves before they depart. While at Kauai Aadheenam, they receive instructions on what to do while under Iraivan’s moksha vibrations, and what sâdhanas to perform after returning home to solidify personal achievements and strengthen the home shrine for the coming year. All this and more has to be imparted in a very short time to seekers who visit us.”

Create/Update Your Family Plan

With the insights and inspiration gained during your pilgrimage freshly in mind, it is an excellent time to update—or if you don’t have one create—your family plan. If convenient, you could do so on the flight home. Otherwise, within the first week of returning home is good before the insights and inspiration wane.

Quote from Gurudeva

“Śiva’s devotees approach each enterprise with deliberate thoughtfulness, and act only after careful consideration. They succeed in every undertaking by having a clear purpose, a wise plan, persistence and push.”

Supplementary Reading

Personal and Family Planning

The benefits of planning are not limited to the business or financial side of life. Personal life can also benefit, for a plan keeps us focused and motivated toward specific goals in life’s various departments. Though the connection may not be immediately apparent, having an up-to-date personal plan is quite helpful for our spiritual advancement, as it helps us maintain a balanced approach to living.

To help you create a business plan, there are scores of resources available. You can find web listings of specialized software for business plans. Search engines give you hundreds to choose from. But if you google “Personal Plan Software “ or “Family Plan Software, “ how many do you find? Zero. A search for books to buy on the subject? Again: countless titles on business planning but none on personal planning.

It is clear we have to create our own approach in this area. We can, however, draw a few important points from business plan resources. They all start by listing the objectives, then outlining the strategy to accomplish them, including financial considerations.

A business develops goals for its various departments, such as production, sales, marketing and finance. For our personal plan, it is useful to divide life into its major departments. My guru designated a five-fold division that encompasses all aspects of life—spiritual, social, cultural, economic and educational—to which we have added a sixth: physiological.

Our first step is to list our goals or objectives in each of the six areas. Ask six questions and write down the answers to each. What are the family’s (or individual’s): 1) spiritual goals? 2) social goals? 3) cultural goals? 4) economic goals? 5) educational goals? 6) physical and health goals?

As you begin this process, the question will sooner or later arise of how many years ahead to plan: one, two, three, six, ten? Gurudeva recommended a six-year time frame as ideal, then each year adding one more year to the plan to keep it always six years into the future. However, if six years seems a bit daunting at first, a good minimum period to start with is three years. Here are some sample goals in each area.

Add a Sadhana to Your Daily Routine

From among the many sadhanas performed on the pilgrimage, add one or more that had special significance to you to your daily sadhana routine. In this way you are keeping a part of the pilgrimage as a permanent addition to your spiritual life.

Chapter Ten: Reflections on Spiritualizing Daily Life

Practice

If you completed part four during your pilgrimage, we suggest that you complete the “Monthly Self-Evaluation of “My Spiritual Progress” worksheets for three or more months. This will help you create new habit patterns to strengthen performance in these twelve points.

Pilgrim Sadhana Self-Evaluation Quiz

Reflect on the following questions and calculate your spiritual progress score.

Part One: Finding Opportunities to Serve

When greeting people, I looked deeply enough into them to see God...

When opportunities presented themselves to help beyond requirements, I volunteered...

I expressed appreciation to individuals who provided me with support...

I welcomed and helped all newcomers I encountered...

I found creative ways to provide hospitality each week...

I said something encouraging and complimentary to everyone I met...

Part Two: Facing Life's Challenges

When mistreated, I responded with forgiveness and kindness...

Whenever I made a mistake, I found a way to avoid repeating it...

I utilized full concentration, willpower, and steadfastness on difficult tasks...

I pulled myself out of emotional disturbances quickly...

I strived to resolve disagreements harmoniously...

I avoided participating in gossip, rumors, and backbiting...

Total Score This Month: 0

The purpose of grading yourself each month is to quantitatively compare how you are doing now with how you did a month ago, not to achieve a perfect score of 100. Comparing your evaluation scores is of particular value over a longer period of time, such as a year, when enough time has passed to allow you to significantly improve your habits. Comparing your score to that of another person is not the idea nor recommended.

Chapter One: The Concept of Sadhana

Introductory Quote from Gurudeva

Sadhana Practice

Quote from Gurudeva

Supplementary Reading

Dancing with Śiva, Śloka 4: How Can We Learn to Dance with Śiva?

Chapter Two: Pre-Trip Sadhanas

Introductory Quote from Gurudeva

Sadhana Practice

Quote from Gurudeva

Supplementary Reading

Living with Śiva, Lesson 249: The Joy of Pilgrimage

Chapter Three: General Sadhanas

1. Ganga Sadhana

Sadhana Practice

Quote from Gurudeva

Supplementary Reading

Merging with Śiva, Lesson 27, Performing Gangâ Sâdhana; & Lesson 28, Śiva’s Perfect Universe

2. Vasana Daha Tantra Sadhana

Sadhana Practice

Quote from Gurudeva

Supplementary Reading

Living with Śiva, Lesson 122: The Esoterics of Penance

3. Rudraksha Forest Sadhana

Sadhana Practice

Quote from Gurudeva

Supplementary Reading

4. San Marga Walking Sadhana

Sadhana Practice

Quote from Gurudeva

Supplementary Reading

5. Narmada Lingam Abhishekam Sadhana

Sadhana Practice

Quote from Gurudeva

6. Sri Dakshinamurti Sadhana

Sadhana Practice

Quote From Gurudeva

Supplementary Reading

7. Writing Prayers Sadhana

Sadhana Practice

Quote from Gurudeva

Supplementary Reading

Living with Śiva, Lesson 316: The Boon of Prayer Writing

8. Aum Japa Sadhana

Sadhana Practice

Quote from Gurudeva

Supplementary Reading

Merging with Śiva, Lesson 262: Withdrawing Into Sushumna

9. Preparation for Meditation Sadhana

Sadhana Practice

Quote from Gurudeva

Supplementary Reading

Twelve Shum Meditations, Part Four: Preparation for Meditation

Chapter Four: Attending Pujas,Abhishekams and Homas

1. Prapatti Sadhana

Sadhana Practice

Quote from Gurudeva

Supplementary Reading

From Merging with Śiva, Lesson 147: Unqualified Surrender

2. Attending Kadavul Nataraja Abhishekam or Puja Sadhana

Sadhana Practice

Quote from Gurudeva

Supplementary Reading

Living with Śiva, Lesson 315: Emissaries Of Lord Śiva

3. Swayambhu Lingam Darshana Sadhana

Sadhana Practice

Quote from Gurudeva

Supplementary Reading

4. Ganesha Abhishekam/Puja Sadhana

Sadhana Practice

Quote from Gurudeva

Supplementary Reading

Loving Ganesha, Chapter Three: Ganesha’s Five Powers

5. Murugan Abhishekam/Puja Sadhana

Sadhana Practice

Quote from Gurudeva

Supplementary Reading

Dancing with Śiva, Śloka 24: What is the Nature of Lord Karttikeya?

6. Gurudeva Chitra Puja Sadhana

Sadhana Practice

Chapter Four: Attending Pujas,
Abhishekams and Homas

3. The Soul Is the Witness
Who Observes the Mind

Chapter Eight: Reflections On
Spiritualizing Daily Life