Shiva

Shiva

Philosophy of Tantra

According to the philosophy of Tantra, the entire universe is a manifestation of pure consciousness. In manifesting the universe, this pure consciousness seems to become divided into two poles or aspects, neither of which can exist without the other. Each requires the other in order to manifest its total nature.

One aspect, Shiva, is masculine, retains a static quality and remains identified with unmanifested consciousness. Shiva has the power to be but not the power to become or change.

The other aspect, Shakti, is feminine, dynamic, energetic and creative. Shakti is the Great Mother of the universe, for it is from her that all form is born.

According to Tantra, the human being is a miniature universe. All that is found in the cosmos can be found within each individual, and the same principles that apply to the universe apply in the case of the individual being.

In human beings, Shakti, the feminine aspect is called Kundalini. This potential energy is said to rest at the base of the spinal cord. The object of the Tantric practice of Kundalini-yoga is to awaken this cosmic energy and make it ascend through the psychic centers, the chakras, that lie along the axis of the spine as consciousness potentials. She will then unite above the crown of the head with Shiva the pure consciousness. This union is the aim of Kundalini-yoga: a resolution of duality into unity again, a fusion with the Absolute. By this union the adept attains liberation while living which is considered in Indian life to be the highest experience: an union of the individual with the universe. Once Kundalini Shakti has ascended to above the crown of the head and merged with Shiva, it is made to reverse its course and return to rest at the base of the spine.

(  A story as an interlude ….

Another post which deals with Lord Shiva and Parvati is slightly more controversial. ‘Sex obsession’ tries to provide a mythical interpretation of the Shivling. ‘Once Vishnu and Brahma went to visit Lord Shiva, finding the guardian of his chambers asleep, both simply walked inside. It is believed that Lord Shiva was making love to Parvati. Under the influence of some hallucinogen or drug, Shiva was in a trance like position and failed to acknowledge the presence of the other two. He continued on for nearly 6 hours and the other two gods stood there transfixed. When Lord Shiva realized their presence, the two said that they have been present there for the last six hours. They also were extremely angry about Lord Shiva’s indifference. They cursed him that all generations for eternity will remember you by the symbol of sex or Shivling.’)

OSHO on Shiva 

“Yes, there is great meaning. And it is the same Shiva who has given one hundred and twelve methods of meditation to the world. It is very rare that a man exhausts the whole of science single-handedly. Shiva is one of those geniuses. As far as meditation is concerned, in these thousands of years nothing has been added to those one hundred and twelve methods. They are exhaustive.

Shiva has taken note of every possibility. He has not left any corner, any space, any dimension in which you can discover a new method. Certainly no other genius in the whole humanity can be compared to this strange man.”

-  From Bondage to Freedom

“In India we have pictured Shiva as Ardhanarishwar -- half-man, half-woman. That is the only symbol of its type all over the world. Shiva -- half is man, half is woman; half Shiva and half Parvati, his consort. Half the body is of man and half of woman: Ardhanarishwar, half-man, half-woman. That is the symbol. Lovers join together but on the surface they remain two. Shiva is one, the body is two -- half comes from Parvati, half he contributes. The body is two, on the surface the banks are two; in the depth the souls have mingled and become one.”

-  Vedanta

Word's largest Shiva at Murudeshwara

Shiva's temples are found everywhere. No other deity is worshipped as much as Shiva. In every village, in every lane you will find a Shiva temple. Under trees you will find stones that are revered as Shiva. This is because with Shiva the world comes to an end. He is the deity of death, and hence worthy of worship. Brahma gives birth to the world, Shiva destroys it. India's keenest desire was always how to be rid of samsara, how to attain liberation. Therefore we find Shiva temples abounding.”

-The True Name

“Shiva, and his book VIGYAN BHAIRAV TANTRA. I have spoken about it. It is very small, only one hundred and twelve sutras. You can easily write it on one page of a book, or at the most two pages. I have spoken on it in five volumes, thousands of pages -- THE BOOK OF THE SECRETS. I cannot say any other book exists as condensed as VIGYAN BHAIRAV TANTRA -- the book of Shiva. Each sutra is a method unto itself.”

-  Books I Have Loved

(Shiva's temples are found everywhere. No other deity is worshipped as much as Shiva. In every village, in every lane you will find a Shiva temple. Under trees you will find stones that are revered as Shiva. This is because with Shiva the world comes to an end. He is the deity of death, and hence worthy of worship. Brahma gives birth to the world, Shiva destroys it. India's keenest desire was always how to be rid of samsara, how to attain liberation. Therefore we find Shiva temples abounding.”

- OSHO, The True Name)

Tantra

Tantra has been one of the most neglected branches of Indian spiritual studies despite the considerable number of texts devoted to this practice, which dates back to the 5th-9th century AD.

Many people still consider tantra to be full of obscenities and unfit for people of good taste. It is also often accused of being a kind of black magic. However, in reality, tantra is one of the most important Indian traditions, representing the practical aspect of the Vedic tradition.

The religious attitude of the tantriks is fundamentally the same as that of the Vedic followers. It is believed that the tantra tradition is a part of the main Vedic tree. The more vigorous aspects of Vedic religion were continued and developed in the tantras. Generally tantriks worship either Goddess Shakti or Lord Shiva.

The Meaning of "Tantra"

The word "tantra" is derived from the combination of two words "tattva" and "mantra". "Tattva" means the science of cosmic principles, while "mantra" refers to the science of mystic sound and vibrations. Tantra therefore is the application of cosmic sciences with a view to attain spiritual ascendancy. In another sense, tantra also means the scripture by which the light of knowledge is spread: 

Tanyate vistaryate jnanam anemna iti tantram.

There are essentially two schools of Indian scriptures - "Agama" and "Nigama". Agamas are those which are revelations while Nigama are the traditions. Tantra is an Agama and hence it is called "sruti-shakha-visesah", which means it is a branch of the Vedas.

Tantric Scriptures

The main deities worshipped are Shiva and Shakti. In tantra there is a great significance of "bali" or animal sacrifices. The most vigorous aspects of Vedic traditions evolved as an esoteric system of knowledge in the Tantras. The Atharvana Veda is considered to be one of the prime tantrik scriptures.

Desire for Worldly Pleasures

Tantra is different from other traditions because it takes the whole person, and his/her worldly desires into account. Other spiritual traditions ordinarily teach that desire for material pleasures and spiritual aspirations are mutually exclusive, setting the stage for an endless internal struggle. Although most people are drawn into spiritual beliefs and practices, they have a natural urge to fulfill their desires. With no way to reconcile these two impulses, they fall prey to guilt and self-condemnation or become hypocritical. Tantra offers an alternative path.

The Tantrik Approach To Life

The tantrik approach to life avoids this pitfall. Tantra itself means "to weave, to expand, and to spread", and according to tantrik masters, the fabric of life can provide true and ever-lasting fulfillment only when all the threads are woven according to the pattern designated by nature. When we are born, life naturally forms itself around that pattern. But as we grow, our ignorance, desire, attachment, fear, and false images of others and ourselves tangle and tear the threads, disfiguring the fabric. Tantra "sadhana" or practice reweaves the fabric, and restores the original pattern. This path is systematic and comprehensive. The profound science and practices pertaining to hatha yoga, pranayama, mudras, rituals, kundalini yoga, nada yoga, mantra, mandala, visualization of dieties, alchemy, ayurveda, astrology, and hundreds of esoteric practices for generating worldly and spiritual prosperity blend perfectly in the tantrik disciplines.

(The meditation is be communion with Brahma, Brahma, the God of all creation)

Om

I bow down to Lord Shiva
The One who is self-luminous,
delighting in his own being.

And now the beginning of the Shiva Sutra.

1.

Consciousness is the Atman, the Soul.

Knowledge is Bondage.

The Body is the union of Raman, Nature and Raman, the Ego, the Doer.

The Spiritual Endeavour is Raman.

One who applies his total energy, For him the world exists no more.

---

2.

Knowing Wakefulness, Dreaming and Deep Sleep each separately,Turya, The Fourth State is attained.

Constancy of Knowledge is the Waking State.

Choosing is the Dreaming State.

Unconsciousness and Lack of Self-Awareness create the Illusion of Deep Sleep.

He, who is aware of all three is the Supreme Hero.

---

3.

A Sense of Wonder is the Foundation of Yoga.

To be established in Oneself is Strength.

A Transcendental Logic is a Means to Self-Realization.

To Enjoy the Blissfulness of Existence is Enlightenment.

---

4.

The Soul is the Mind

Lacking Discrimination of what is Essential is Illusion

The Yogi caught in Attachments may attain Powers but not Self-Knowledge

After Conquering Attachments permanently, Spontaneous Wisdom is attained.

The Awakened Yogi Realizes that the whole Universe is an emanation of his own Energy.

---

5.

The Soul is a Dancer

The Inner Soul is the Stage

Through Control of the Mind, Reality is attained,
and Freedom flows out from that Attainment.

And because of this Sense of Freedom,
he freely moves within and without.

---

6.

Meditation is the Seed.

Just Sitting, relaxed with Himself,
He enters spontaneously into the Lake of Supreme Being.

He attains to Self-Creation or becomes 'Twice-Born'

Eternal Knowledge leads to Cessation of Birth and Death.

---

7.

The Fourth State should serve as oil
to permeate the first three states.

So bathed, he enters into the State of Self-Awareness.

He who experiences the Divine Energy pervading everything,
Views all things as equal,
And he attains to Shivahood.

---

8.

Happiness and Sorrow are but external Moods -
This he knows constantly.

Freed from these he achieves his Aloneness.

The Yogi who is established in his aloneness ceases to desire,
And thus attains freedom from Birth and Death.

The liberated person,
for whom Body and Mind are no more then clothing,
Attains to Shivahood.

---

Om!

This is dedicated to Lord Shiva.

---

What is Tantra

·        "Love yourself in order to love and be loved". Get rid of negative behaviour patterns and truly start believing and loving yourself.

·         "Love yourself in order to love and be loved". A fundamental condition in finding a lover to whom you can truly relate from the spiritual, intellectual, sexual, and emotional points of view is knowing your own qualities and having confidence in them. Get rid of negative behaviour patterns and truly start believing and loving yourself.

·         Did you know that the breath, thought, and seed are in a close connection? As it says in the KALACHAKRA TANTRA "Breath, thought, and seed are the three components of our divine potential. Therefore, these have to be in harmony and consciously controlled. The Yogi who truly manages to bring these three elements (breath, thought and seed) in union becomes in truth "The Indestructible, endowed with transcendental spontaneity".

·         In the Tantric tradition, Vishnu is considered the master of sensuality and of waters. The erotic aspect is the first secret of Vishnu.

·        Chakras, yoga positions designed to awaken and harmonize the secret centres of force. The last centre which is essentially a culmination of the other six is Sahasrara. Meditation is the "Harmonious awakening of Kundalini and its ascension along the spine till Sahasrara".

·        The human geography includes a series of pleasure zones unknown to many. These zones hide treasures of feeling and erotic experience and they can be discovered by touching, kissing, nuzzling, licking and nibbling them. Most men and women are not aware of their erogenous zones of the body and how to arouse them in the most delightful way possible.

(Tantra is the ancient art of prolonging the pleasure of lovemaking in order to reach a superior level of consciousness.)

(Seek to experience that one energy: To know, in direct experience, that unchanging truth, the one energy that is the substratum of all of the names and forms, is one of the ways of describing the universal goal of spiritual life. It is the experience of the union of Shakti and Shiva, creation and its ground, feminine and masculine, even though they were never actually divided in the first place. It is like wetness that is never separate from water, sweetness that is never separate from sugar, and warmth that is never separate from sunlight.)
  
  
Kundalini Terminology

There is one energy (Shakti) in the universe that also keeps changing its form. Each time that energy changes form, we give it a new name.

Shakti: The universal energy of consciousness is called Shakti. 

Kundalini-Shakti: The word kunda means a bowl in which fire is burned. Thus, when Shakti resides in a bowl called kunda at the base of the spine, it is called Kundalini-Shakti.

Prana: A tiny amount of the energy called Kundalini radiates off of its subtle mass, like steam rising from a bowl of boiling water. That radiating energy is called Prana. Again, once it changes form slightly, it gets a new name. Just like the water turning to steam, while still remaining water, the Kundalini, which is still Shakti, "becomes" Prana. 

Nadis: That Prana tends to flow in certain patterns, or lines, like the steam rising in more or less predictable channels. These lines, patterns, or channels are called Nadis. Once again, a new name is introduced. 

Chakras, marmas: The thousands of Nadis, with their Prana (that is really both a small amount of Kundalini, and still Shakti), crisscross here and there like minor or major highway intersections. Those major highway intersections are called Chakras (minor intersections are Marmas or Marmashtanas). It is because of this crossing pattern, like highway intersections, or spokes on a wheel, that the word chakra is used, which literally translates as wheel. 
Vayus: From there the Chakras, with their different shapes and styles of intersection, cause five flows of energy called Vayus.

Bhutas, tattvas: These take on the qualities of earth, water, fire, air, and space, which are called Tanatras and Bhutas at their subtle and gross levels

Indriyas: Also from the subtle energy emerge the five Jnanendriyas  or cognitive senses of smelling, tasting, seeing, touching, and hearing, as well as the Karmendriyas or instruments of action of eliminating, replicating, moving, holding, and communicating.

Brain, body, breath: Collectively these manifest as the various aspects of our physical brain, body, and breath. Still, they are none other than the Shakti, Kundalini-Shakti, Kundalini, and Prana flowing in Nadis, which they were all along.

Experiencing that one energy: With Kundalini awakening, the full force of the dormant Kundalini comes forth from its dormant state. To awaken the Kundalini and allow it to rise through the levels of manifestation, returning to its source, is the ultimate Realization of the Absolute, which is both mother and father aspects of reality, Shakti and Shiva. Through self effort in Tantra and Yoga meditation, and the bestowing of grace, or Shaktipat, the sincere aspirant experiences this Truth.

(Tantrism envisages the cosmic evolution as a polarization within the Supreme Being, which is God, the Unmanifested Absolute, in its two fundamental aspects: static and kinetic.) 

(The Samkhya philosophy promulgates a primordial cosmic duality. From the Tantric perspective, this "scheme" of creation is transformed, in the sense that the two cosmic principles are considered united, not separated. This is the fundamental difference introduced by Tantra, based on a conception that favors the unity between the two principles, opposed in appearance, but indissoluble united in each act of the creation.)

OSHO on Tantra

(I am existing. This is mine. This is this. O beloved, even in such, know illimitably.

I am existing. You never enter deeply into this feeling. I am existing. You are existing, but you never dig deep into this phenomenon. Shiva says: I am existing. This is mine. This is this.

O beloved, even in such know illimitably.)

I will tell you one Zen anecdote. Three friends were walking along a road. Evening was just falling and the sun was setting when they become aware of a monk standing on a nearby hill. They started talking about the monk, wondering what he was doing there. One of them said, “He must be waiting for his friends. He must have gone for a walk from his hermitage and his friends are left behind, so he is waiting for them to come.”

The other denied that and said, “This is not right, because if a person waits for someone, sometimes he will look backwards. But he is not looking backwards at all. So my assumption is this – that he is not waiting for anyone. Rather, he must have lost his cow. Evening is coming near, and the sun is setting, and soon it will be dark, so he is looking for his cow. He is standing there on the hilltop, and looking for where the cow is in the forest.”

The third one said, “This cannot be right, because he is standing so silently, not moving at all, and it seems that he is not looking at all; his eyes are closed. He must be in prayer. He is not looking for any lost cow or waiting for some friends who have been left behind.”

They couldn’t decide. They argued and argued and then they said, “We must go to the top of the hill and ask the man himself what he is doing.”

So they reached the monk. The first one said, “Are you waiting for your friends who are left behind to come?”

The monk opened his eyes and said, “I am not waiting for anyone. And I have neither friends nor enemies to wait for.” He closed his eyes again.

The other one said, “Then I must be right. Are you looking for your cow which is lost in the forest?”

He said, “No, I am not looking for anyone – for any cow or anyone. I am not interested in anything except myself.”

So the third one said, “Then certainly, definitely, you are doing some prayer or some meditation.”

The monk opened his eyes and said, “I am not doing anything at all. I am just being here. I am just being here, not doing anything at all. I am just being here.”

This is what Buddhists say meditation is. If you do something, it is not meditation – you have moved far away. If you pray, it is not meditation – you have started chattering. If you use some word, it is not prayer, it is not meditation – the mind has entered in. That man said the right thing. He said, “I am just being here, not doing anything.”

This sutra says this: I am existing. Go deep into this feeling. Just sitting, go deep into this feeling – “I am existing, I am.” Feel it, don’t think it, because you can say it in the mind – “I am” – and it is futile. Your head is your undoing. Don’t go on repeating in the head: “I am, I am existing.” It is futile, it is useless. You miss the point.

Feel it deep down in your bones. Feel it all over your body. Feel it as a total unit, not in the head. Just feel it – “I am.” Don’t use the words ‘I am’. Because I am relating to you, I am using the words. ‘I am’. And Shiva was relating to Parvati, so he had to use the words ‘I am existing’. Don’t. Don’t go on repeating. This is not a mantra. You are not to repeat “I am existing, I am existing.” If you repeat this you will fall asleep, you will become self-hypnotized.