Sloka 135 from Dancing with Siva
What Is the Source of This Catechism?
The philosophical basis of this catechism is the
monistic Saiva Siddhanta of the Kailasa Parampara
as expressed in the Vedas, Saiva Agamas,
Tirukural, Tirumurai, Tirumantiram and contemporary
scripture. Aum Namah Sivaya.
Bhashya
This catechism, prashnottaram, is the creation of
the living lineage of seers known as the Kailasa
Parampara, of the South Indian Saivite school
called Shuddha Saiva Siddhanta, Advaita
Siddhanta or monistic Saiva Siddhanta. It reflects
the teachings of the Vedas and Saiva Agamas,
the profound Tamil scriptures Tirumurai and
Tirukural and the revelations of contemporary
Kailasa gurus. The Tirumurai is a twelve-book
collection of hymns of numerous Saivite saints.
Most important among these is the Tirumantiram,
a siddha yoga treatise by Rishi Tirumular,
recording the Saiva tenets in 3,047 verses.
It is prized as the confluence of Siddhanta
and Vedanta. The Tirukural, containing 1,330
couplets by the weaver saint Tiruvalluvar, is among
the world's greatest ethical scriptures, sworn on in
South Indian courts of law. Natchintanai are the
sacred hymns of Sri Lanka's Sage Yogaswami.
Tayumanavar says, "I meditate on the great light
of the Siddhanta, the thought of all thoughts, the
life of all life, which, existing in all objects without
distinction, causes a spring of inestimably pure
and happy nectar to flow for the good of its followers.
" Aum Namah Sivaya.
Lesson 290 from Living with Siva
You Can Make A Difference
Here's a true story to show how effective a timely
expression of appreciation may be. A young
man tried the above practice on his rather gruff
employer, whose heart melted when he heard
the words, "One of the things that I appreciate
most about you, sir, is your brilliance as an inventor.
You have so much to teach me." After saying
that and more, the youth urged the astonished
elder to pass on the voicing of appreciation to
another person. The man sat with his only son
that same evening and awkwardly told him
how much he appreciated his many fine qualities
. "I never take time to say such sentimental things,
" he said, "but rather tend to keep to myself and
be demanding and harsh because of the pressures
of work. But please know that I do love you."
The youth began sobbing and confessed, "Father,
thank you so much. You can't imagine how glad
and relieved I am to hear that. I was planning to
commit suicide tomorrow because I thought you
didn't care about me any more, or even like me.
Now I won't." You never know how much difference
your appreciation will make.
To prepare yourself for this sadhana, stand before
a mirror and look at your face, right into your eyes,
and say aloud, as if talking to another person: "I
am grateful to you and appreciate your being in
my life." Then describe to yourself in many
sentences all the good you have done during the
past five years. You can jog your memory by
reading from your list of goodness that you made
earlier. You will soon see the reflection in the mirror
soften and begin to smile as it absorbs the happy
feeling of your appreciation. Once this art is
perfected between you and you, you can begin
to appreciate others in the same way. Don't be
shy. No one is shy when angry. Why be shy when
we are happy and lovingly grateful?
There is a brave new world on the horizon for
followers of dharma, one in which we are kindly
to each other, trusting and aware of one another's
feelings, a world in which we acknowledge our
debt to others and express our thanksgiving,
first in our silent heart and then outwardly.
Gratitude is one of life's richest resources,
containing the power to change people's lives.
Its opposite is a disease that erodes all
contentment and fills our life with emptiness
and despair. Take heart. These sadhanas
on gratitude and appreciation have worked
wonders for many. Yes, each one of us can
make a difference. The world is changing,
and we can make it change for the better, or
we can leave it in the hands of those who make
changes for the "badder." It's our choice.
I appreciate you, our reader of Living with Siva,
you and other men and women, boys and
girls who are strengthening Hinduism in
hundreds of remote communities, upholding
the Sanatana Dharma, being a beacon ligh
to others on the path. It is you who are
inspiring us to produce this series of books
on contemporary Hinduism, giving us so many
ideas and cheering us on. You are making a
great difference by simply living the dharma,
aspiring for self-transformation and speaking
on these high principles that are so important
to us all and to the future of humanity.
Just a little bit of kindness is so easy to express.
Just a little bit of kindness heals the mind.
And in this day and age, when so many are
frustrated, troubled and need a little bit of help,
appreciation and encouragement, your kindness
can help. Your criticism, your gossip about them,
hurts them and also hurts yourself. But the
kindness that you express in what you do is
healing unto you, too. So, see yourself as a
being that always expresses kindness. What
you think about, you become.
Sutra 290 of the Nandinatha Sutras
My Trilogy And Other Legacy
Works
All my devotees revere as sacred scripture
Dancing with Siva, Living with Siva, Merging
with Siva, Lemurian Scrolls and my other
authorized texts and discourses, including
Saiva Dharma Shastras. Aum Namah Sivaya.
Lesson 290 from Merging with Siva
Quelling the Kundalini
As it is said, "What goes up must come down."
This is especially true with the kundalini shakti
moving through either of the other of the two
wrong channels, where it can produce "dis-ease"
--discomfort, physically, emotionally, intellectually
and astrally--that no doctor's effort can fathom
the cause of or effect a cure. At various junctures,
as it rises, the kundalini shakti, or serpent power
, attacks the organs in the vicinity of the chakra
it is passing through, biting and poisoning them
on the astral level. As it climbs, each one of the
astral organs is hurt and felt as a physical ailment.
This often reflects as a symptomatic problem in
the kidneys, then stomach problems and later
heart problems and thyroid difficulties. At each
juncture, the doctor would be perplexed by the
ailment, unable to find a medical cause, then
doubly perplexed when that problem leaves
and the next one arises. Though treatments
and multiple tests are more than often given,
the source of the problems is usually undetected.
A devotee going through this experience often
challenges the will of his satguru, whereupon he
is left to his own devices, as it lies beyond
even the guru's ability to help or guide him further
. For the rule is: the guru takes nine steps
toward the seeker for each humble, cooperative,
eager step the devotee takes toward him.
When the devotee balks, begins to argue and
challenge the guru's will, this is the guru's signal
to withdraw, a mystical sign that his ninth step
had been taken. Should he take the tenth, he
enters without a welcome and tangles when
step eleven and twelve are taken. To withdraw
then would cause an unwanted karma of hurt,
pain and anguish. So, the wisdom of the ancients
is "For every one step taken toward the guru, the
guru takes nine toward the devotee."
Then Shri Shri Shri Vishvaguru Maha-Maharaj-ji
steps in and takes over, and the failed aspirant
either is corrected by the forces of circumstance
to give up spiritual pursuits for financial or other
reasons, or he spins off the spiritual path into
Vishvaguru's ashram, called Bhogabhumi,
place of pleasure (another name for Earth).
It is the biggest ashram of all. Here followers
learn by their own mistakes and make fresh
new karmas to be experienced in yet another
life.
To avoid these problems, and worse, the kundalini
shakti has to be brought down all the way--slowly,
not abruptly, lest the person become suicidal--
all the way to the base, to the muladhara chakra,
and then redirected up the proper channel. As
pride comes before a fall, the fall of the spiritual
pride is again another hurt, a final bite from the
serpent, and as the poison flows through all organs,
and temporary physical, mental and emotional
suffering is the consequence.