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The Yoga of Saints - Part 2 of 3
Kashmir Shaivism
4 Feb 2007

The YOGA of SAINTS: KASHMIR SHAIVISM

Part 2 of 3

Swami Devi Nostrumananda

"Sphatika-pratima-rupam

drsyate darpane yatha,

Tathatmani cidakaram a

nandam so hamityuta"

Guru Gita

Just as the image of a crystal is seen in a mirror,

so the bliss, which is consciousness, (is reflected)

in the Self and (the realization comes), "Indeed, I am That".

Kashmir Shaivism is an ancient wisdom tradition that originated culturally in the large, Himalayan state of Kashmir in northern India. Shaiva means God, or Shiva. The 'Yoga of God', as in the way of ancient and mystic temples and households of Kashmir, echos eternally through the timeless passages of man‘s creation and evolution. It is as ancient, venerable and true a pathwork as any ancient wisdom tradition that existed since the dawn of mankind. There are many parallels between it and other true ancient wisdom traditions, and even modern scientists are drawn to its system, often called the ‘Geographical Map of Human Consciousness’, because not only is it so complete but also so practical and scientific, offering Direct Experience of the Divine. Kashmir Shaivism draws those who hear the call to awaken ‘Infinite Human Potential’ within themselves, and to evolve by natural ascend with Yoga, or spiritual practice, to Sainthood through the gift of Grace, called Shaktipat. This rare and mystical gift of Shaktipat can be likened to starting a chemical chain-reaction with the Master Teacher and the Shakti Kundalini being the chemical, or alchemic 'catalyst'.

In PART 1 of this discussion, we reframed the true intent and goal of the word ‘Yoga’ and how to best prepare for the Great Expedition Adventure, the ascent to Self-Realization. We learned about the value of recognizing Paradox and Uncertainty as good signs of being on track. We recognized that the path to God is mankinds’ natural evolutionary process to ‘Sainthood’ , occurring spontaneously, easefully and joyfully provided two ‘prerequisites’ were accounted for. One ‘pre-requisite’ is the awakening of Shakti Kundalini, or Holy Spirit through the energetic transmission of Grace, called Shaktipat, or True Baptism by a qualified, true Guru or Master Teacher. The other ‘prerequisite’ is sincere self-effort, which is generally called ‘Yoga', or spiritual disciple with techniques and pathwork. Self-effort is required by the aspirant until their God-Awareness is so advanced as to be at the very threshold of ‘Niranjana’, meaning the ‘state beyond mental functions’. At this point, even self-effort can no longer assist us, and only the Grace of the Guru, (God), automatically compels us into final God-Awareness. We continue now with exploring Yoga more, and defer discussions on the first ‘pre-requisite’, ‘Shaktipat’, to a future article.

As mentioned before, the purpose of the many yogas is to support the aspirants’development in removing maya, the illusion or ignorance of Self through limited, individual-consciousness, (Chitta mind ), to that of the infinite, universal unity-consciousness, ( Chitti mind ), of True Self. With the fusion of individual-consciousness of duality into unity ‘I am That’ awareness, true freedom and liberty from the suffering of the external world is finally achieved. This independence from the world, yet absolute oneness with it, gives rise to the state of Jagad-ananda, meaning ‘Universal Bliss’. With Shaktipat, the Shakti Kundalini naturally draws the aspirant within and all yogas occur spontaneously and naturally of their own accord to fit the perfect needs of the aspirant in building strength of awareness. In that case, one may ask, “Why learn all this, since it’s going to happen naturally anyway?”. The answer is because the yogas are very tangible and physical phenomeona. Sometimes they are very subtle and sometimes they are very surprising, odd or alarming to one who is not aware of what’s going on.

A word on negative thoughts and emotions that may be stirred up before and after Shaktipat and significant 'shifts', 'clearings', 'growth spurts' or 'purification'. Times of fear and self-doubt inevitably arise along the way. Fear, guilt, shame, anger, anxieties, etc, will impede the workings of Grace, the strength of faith, and therefore ones’ spiritual progress. Knowledge of the Agamas (scriptural documentation of Shiva) and teachings of the Spiritual Preceptor/Guru of the many common milestone experiences, eg, like yogic forms that Shakti Kundalini can manifest as, alleviates anxiety, fear or confusion and replaces it with gratitude, relief and even anticipation and excitement. Knowledge that you are not alone and your experiences are not only not unique or not bizarre, but normal, expected and a great blessing, calms the mind and and allows it to actually give permission to accept the sometimes dramatic changes. Imagine what the little chrysalis grub must go through physically to emerge as the beautiful butterfly, aren’t there real, physical changes occurring? So too with the transformative power of Grace. The meridians, (nadis), energy channels, chakras; nervous and immune system, the very biochemistry and DNA of your being undergoes changes in this evolutionary process. The other reason for learning a little about the various yogas is to not only recognize them when they occur, but to fully support and embrace the Shakti and its work by participating actively. This not only requires strength of awareness but also, in doing so, further creates strength of awareness.

The cognitive, thinking aspect of our being is therefore key in compelling the surrender of thinking; thinking being the subject-object world of all illusion and maya. Another beautiful paradox to comtemplate! Solomae Sanada, a self-realized Master Spiritual Teacher has this to say, "Your life is a clear pool, waiting for your reflection. When you open your eyes, what do you see in the world? Your vision is clouded by your illusional filter. There is no reality other than the one you project. To see clearly, one must clear out the debris. To clear out the debris, one must surrender the concepts, beliefs and structures of the mind. Only then will the filter be clear and only then will true reality be reflected through the eyes". Yoga has a beginning, middle and end. Atman or the true, limitless, perfect Self is like the bottom of the pool, and Jiva our limited, small perception of reality, is like waves lashing the surface and muddying the water so the bottom can not be seen. The sum of our Karma,(cycle of cause & effect in 'limited mind' initiated action), Samskaras (emotional baggage), psychological 'filters' and generally false identification with the Ego greatly inhibits the purity of the water and therefore clear vision of the pools' bottom. Purifying the 'limited-mind', or Chitta, with Yoga helps acheive this clarity, or Chitti, the mind of God. Perfect Yoga brings final success and its own completion.

So now, lets briefly examine the Three Major Classifications of Yoga and their appeal to seekers, (or sadhaka, in Sanskrit), who are at certain levels of God-Awareness. In Sanskrit, the first one is called Shambavopaya, the highest, fastest and most difficult means to universal God Consciousness. The next one is Shaktopaya, the choice for aspirants with medium strength of awareness and this takes longer and is a little easier. The third is called Anavopaya, regarded for inferior strength of awareness and this route takes the longest to reach Liberation, but is the easiest.

According to Abhinavagupta, a great Kashmir Shaiva Siddha, (Saint in Sanskrit), the aspirant should attempt the highest pathwork first. Failing this, the Sadhaka, (student) , should try the next one down until they find that level of yoga they can work with. From Anavopaya, the lowest, to Shambavopaya, the highest form of contemplating God, the different types of yogas roughly follow the physical ascent of the Kundalini up the different Chakras, (energy centers), along the spine. Also, any particular yoga has the ability of bringing the aspirant to Samadhi, or the mystical union with the divine. The nature of a particular yoga, or spiritual practice changes, as can the type and level, as the ascent (better described as surrender, unfoldment or dissolution) progresses. Many Sadhaka are drawn to experience many different forms or yoga concurrently and spontaneously through the activity of the Shakti Kundalini. As the Kundalini clears 'debri' and ascends the shushumna spinal energy channel, the yoga forms will vary in intensity and configuration, much like chords of a harp.

This is the major reason why attempting various spiritual disciplines, practices and techniques without Shaktipat and a true Guru usually fails; at any given moment the needs of the process change and the un-initiated yogi will not know which yoga to practice when, and to what degree. The un-initiated aspirant needs to practice the technique continuously to maintain benefit, practice for many many years before reaping any fruit; stopping will drop his/her strength of awareness back to square-one again, and their technique may actually be dangerous to the body-mind-spirit at the time they try it. In Medical Qigong, these failings and abhorations are called Qi-Deviations. The major reason why the American Acupuncture profession avoids the spiritual practice of Medical Qigong is exactly this fear of Qi-deviations, which can occur in those un-initiated yogis practicing techniques without Shaktipat or a Guru/Master Teacher. Failure of this alternative-medicine profession to realize the existence and value of the correct, scriptural basis of Spiritual Healing, (Shen Gong), is a great, untapped opportunity, since this process of Kundalini ascension is very healing when done correctly.

In natural and safe ascension, the final integration of the internal Samadhi state with external experience of the world, Vyutthana, through the process of Krama Mudra, (paced, gradual, integrative oscillation between the two states over time), stabilizes and fuses the perceived inner and outer worlds into permanent Unity Conscousness of Liberation, or Moksha. The objective, (outer), world becomes the subjective, (inner) world; the seer, seen and seeing become one. The Chakras are peirced, the Three Knots unfurled, and they are all integrated and realigned. Earth (Shakti, the female principle ), meets and unites with Heaven, (Shiva, the male principle), and man becomes JivanMukta, the living Liberated, in ParaShiva, supreme God.

Again, without Shaktipat and the guidance of a true Guru or Master Teacher, this would be very dangerous to undertake, and ill advised, as it may lead to ‘turning to the dark side’,(back into ignorance); illness, psychosis or even permanent brain damage. At best it would be fruitless and futile, although not impossible. And now you have a glimpse of the mechanics of how a sinner becomes a saint, and indeed, how the Devil came into being, exists and will be finally redeemed back into Heaven one day. All by the Grace of God. The truly amazing thing is that all of this happens nowhere else but in our very selves, our own body, which already contains the universe, all the peace, love and joy we seek, and also the means to realizing it.

Devi Nostrumananda

International Bioenergetic Arts & Sciences Institute (IBASI)
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