Universe is Her Divine Play

Eternal consciousness known as chiti, by Her own free will, constantly unfolds within Her own being the wondrous universe with myriad names and forms, says the spandakarika, all renowned text of Kashmir Shaivism. She carries out Her blissful sport by enacting the wonderful drama of the deluding activities of the walking state, the astral, mysterious worlds of the dream state, and the oblivion of the deep sleep state of consciousness. There is no other material cause of creation.

Infinite universes keep arising and subsiding of their own accord on the canvas of chiti- the creative energy, consciousness of everything she has brought into being. Just as a clear mirror, while reflecting huge and diverse objects in itself, retains its clarity without undergoing even a minute change in its nature, chiti, the eternal consciousness, despite the projection of the variegated cosmos, does not suffer the least diminution of Her perfection and continues to retain Her transcendental aspect.

In a movie we observe the colorful costumes, speeches, gestures and actions of the characters; scenes that evoke laughter and some that bring tears - all creations of the director. In the same way, Chiti alone is the author and the director of the infinite occurrences that constantly take place in the walking, dream and deep sleep states. All the sentient and insentient beings and objects of the world comprise the blissful dance of Chiti who constantly enacts enchanting scenes on Her own stage, for Her own delight and ecstasy.

There are thus dimensions to chiti the perceiver and the perceived. The entire external universe which is experienced through the senses and is understood as idam, as 'this' is the perceived; while the inner self which becomes aware of 'this' from within, which sees things separately as 'this book, this pen' is the perceiver.

The entire external world is the domain of the perceived while the perceiver is the universal self. The perceived universe cannot exist at variance with the nature of the perceiver; it comes into being only for the perceiver to enjoy. Thus, the omniscient and omnipotent chiti projects Herself both as the universe and the universal self by becoming the perceiver as well as the perceived. "Chiti is the play of the world; and the world is the play of chitshakti"

According to Swami Muktanda, exponent of the doctrine of Kashmir Shaivism, the normal waking state of consciousness is not true wakefulness. On the contrary, the state of waking being coupled with ignorance is enveloped with darkness. He said it is only when by the grace of a perfect master the dormant Shakti within the seeker gets ignited that the seeker enters into deep meditation and begins to perceive, in the inner most recesses of his being the dazzling blue rays of consciousness, referred to as the light of inner knowledge.

The dark clouds of ignorance then get automatically dispersed and the seeker leaves behind his identification with the physical body the mind, and finally, even with the oblivion of deep sleep. For such a seeker, there is neither one, nor two, nor many; neither matter nor consciousness; neither jiva nor Siva; neither gods nor goddesses. In the luminous region within, he perceives the Divine Effulgence radiating in all directions, reverberating with the knowledge of aham, "I am".

Saving from Indulging

Meaning: According to the Rigved 1/147/5 — we should save ourselves from those who are constantly busy in slander and picking holes in other people's character. The reason for this is that by remaining near them, our nature also becomes similar.

Message: It is said that man sees even a small blemish in another person, but cannot see big blots on his own. He gets great joy in discussing others' faults by enhancing them and making them spicy. The height of it is that in front of a person, such people flatter him and behind his back slander him. Flattery or sycophancy and slander reveal the low level of such a person. By indulging in slander, gradually the person's view becomes such that he starts seeing bad everywhere and he fails to see even the good qualities of other.

People slander others under the influence of ego and hypocrisy. The belief arises in them like, "I only am highly intelligent, valorous, responsible and the rest are useless, ignorant and shirkers." With this attitude, he starts considering others as petty and tries to find fault also in the good points of others. Whether others' interests are harmed or hot, but his own progress is affected. Many individuals themselves do seeking others' faults without any reason. Such a person slanders others and tries to show them as inferior by trying to hide his own weakness. Malice and jealousy act like fuel and contribute to increase in slander. Most people do not know how to recognize others' qualities and go on falsely accusing them. They themselves do not possess skills for any work but finds faults with others just like a person not knowing dancing, blaming the floor or the stage as uneven. Those who have no clear aim for themselves, no plan for the good use of time, they only waste their time in gossip and slander. The intoxication of slander does not give them any time to think and understand anything. The disease of increasing one's own reputation by showing others as inferior is prevalent everywhere these days.

The situation is becoming more and more dangerous day by day.  Nobody cares to read the biographies of great men nor do they try to learn something from them. Nobody likes to talk about the renunciation, service, bravery, firmness and other good qualities of Lord Shri Ram and Lord Krishna and other great men like, Rana Pratapm Chhsatrapati, Shivaji, Lokamanya Tilak, Mahatma Gandhi, Subhashchandra Bose, Lal Bahadur Shastri etc. Everywhere the paraphernalia of sexual lust obscenity and denouncement of other is available in plenty, whether it is literature, radio or TV etc.

One should never slander others, because that stains our own soul. There is some good quality or other in every man. Like the honey-bee going from flower to flower, we should cultivate the habit of seeing good qualities in others. By doing this, the heart becomes clean and pure. When you start seeing the good qualities in others and your own faults, you will realize that you yourself are full of faults and bad tendencies.

Cleansing ourselves is possible if we save ourselves from indulging in slander.

Liberate from the Feeling of Enmity

Meaning: According to the line of Rigved 2/7/3 — just ad flowing water can never remain at one place, similarly enmity also should not remain (i.e. one should not harbor enmity). One should renounce inimical feeling and create friendship.

Message: The main reason, for all our collected bad tendencies, influences and bad habits is our ignorance and lack of knowledge which becomes an obstacle in our progress. We remain neither alert towards our divine form nor do we get the knowledge of our divinity. The rise of ego and egoistic arrogance is only because of this ignorance. The arrogance of 'I an so and so' etc inspires us to consider us as separate from others. With that arise the emotions of attachment, condemnation, 'mine and yours' and like and dislike or malice and we stray away from the path of spirituality and cause the downfall of our own life.

With the constant thinking of enmity, an increase in wicked activities takes place and accordingly man's behavior, man's conduct comes to low level. There is only one constant thought of how to take revenge, how to case maximum harm, and how to insult him. Constantly this agitation is going on in the mind. By adopting the attitude of accusation, taunts, sarcasm and bitter conduct man causes the downfall of his own personal character; to add to that, others coming in his contact suffer mental tension. Such inferior men continuously think of destroying their opponents and also show their meanness by showing happiness with even a slight harm to these opponents.

How clean and pure is flowing water! Rivers brooks and streams give joy to one and all. But if the water is halted and kept stagnant in a pit, it starts rotting and smelling. The same condition prevails in our mind when we store enmity and malice there. In such people's minds instead of the emotion of love, there is hatred and there is an all round harmful atmosphere of enmity and non cooperation.

The number of innocent men in this world is very little. Every man will have some faults, deficiencies and some bad tendencies. We ourselves also are not an exception. But man never pays attention to his own bad tendencies and even on a small matter, creates enemies. Today the society's economic and political atmosphere has become so unnatural that people are wallowing in the stinking mire of an attitude of revenge. There can never be an atmosphere of peace and happiness in the society as well as the family unless the attitude of enmity is given up and until the feeling of mutual friendship does not flourish. For this is the most important feeling, the feeling of tolerance and truce. As far as possible if the situation is studied with a cool mind, then it will be understood that the other person's conduct was not with a feeling of enmity or malice. If we were in the same situation, may be, we too would have acted similarly. With this thinking, there will not be any unnecessary malice in our mind and the attitude of cooperation and forgiveness will arise.

One can be liberated from the feeling of enmity only by total purity in the mind, speech and action.

Constantly busy in Slander

Meaning: According to the line of Rigved 1/147/5 — we should save ourselves from those who are constantly busy in slander and picking holes in other people's characters. The reason for this is that by remaining near them, our nature also becomes similar.

Message: It is said that man sees even a small blemish in another person, but cannot see big blots on his own. He gets great joy in discussing others' faults by enhancing them and making them spicy. The height of it is that in front of a person, such people flatter him and being his back slander him. Flattery or sycophancy and slander reveal the low level of such a person. By indulging in slander gradually the person's view becomes such that he starts seeing bad everywhere and he fails to see even the good qualities of others.

People slender others under the influence of ego and hypocrisy. The belief arises in them like, "I only am highly intelligent, valorous, responsible and the rest are useless, ignorant and shirkers, "With this attitude, he starts considering others as petty and tries to find fault also in the good points of others. Whether others' interests are harmed or not, but his own progress is affected. Many individuals' themselves do not make efforts and becoming disappointed with failures, start seeking others' faults without any reason. Such a person slanders others and tries to show them as inferior by trying to hide his own weakness. Malice and jealousy act like fuel and contribute to increase in slander. Most people do not know how to recognize others' qualities and go on falsely accusing them. They themselves do not possess skills for any work, but find faults with others just like a person not knowing dancing, blaming the floor or the stage as uneven. Those who have no clear aim for themselves, no plan for the good use of time, they only waste their time in gossip and slander. The intoxication of slander does not give them any time to think and understand anything. The disease of increasing one's own reputation by showing others as inferior is prevalent everywhere these days.

The situation is becoming more and more dangerous day by day. Nobody cares to read the biographies of great men nor do they try to learn something from them. Nobody likes to talk about the renunciation, service, bravery, firmness and other good qualities of Lord Shri Ram and Lord Krishna and other great men like Rana Pratap, Chhatrapati, Shivaji, Lokmanya Tilak, Mahatma Gandhim Subhashchandra Bose, Lal Bahadur Shastri etc. Everywhere the paraphernalia of sexual lust, obscenity, and denouncement of other is available in plenty, whether it is literature, radio or TV etc.

One should never slander others, because that stains our own soul. There is some good quality or other in every man. Like the honey-bee going from flower to flower, we should cultivate the habit of seeing good qualities in others. By doing this, the heart becomes clean and pure. When you start seeing the good qualities in others and your own faults, you will realize that you yourself are full of faults and bad tendencies.

Cleaning ourselves is possible if we save ourselves from indulging in slander.

Beauty As An Ideal

The traditional ends or ideals of life are dharma, artha, kama and moksha, fulfillment, emotional gratification and spiritual freedom. The Nepalese psyche has been shaped by these time-honored principles of organizing one's life and they have given us a certain direction and guidance, underpinning our life, both sacred and secular. While dharma is what sustains all our activities and moksha is the ultimate state of being, artha and kama are driven by our innate nature and largely define our material life. Our material and emotional pursuits are products of our intrinsic psyche and mental attributes. However, there is one pursuit that is worthy of being included as a purushartha or ideal in its own right, or at the very least woven as a subtext to artha and kama, and that is seeking the beautiful and making it a part of one's life, or realizing saundarya inwardly and subjectively.

To beautify, adorn, decorate and embellish, not only enmities and delights our senses, it becomes an important value to strive for. Celebration of the beautiful pleases our senses on first encounter and arouses a state of adbhuta or wonder. However, the state of wonder ultimately enriches our spirit in a second more contemplative moment, for the transformation from what is objectively and sensuously beautiful to the subjective and in ward state of beauty creates a serene and tranquil state akin to Amanda or bliss. This can not replace our realization of the ultimate but comes very close to it.

In recognizing the importance of the beautiful we are not m only valuing what is created by human hands but equally the human artistic creativity that is responsible for the beautiful object. The beautiful in its many and varied different forms and expressions goes beyond the unnecessary and distracting distinction of ma4rt and craft, or the needless separation of sacred and secular, or the differentiation of classical from folk, for neither of these modern and mainly western dichotomies are relevant in the traditional Indian context of beautiful objects that are a part of daily lived lives.

The beautiful defies categorization or even definition, and stands self-assuredly alone. It needs no reason for its existence and lives in holistic harmony with both the animate and inanimate world around it and thus becomes a part of our life. Creating objects of beauty and making them central in our lives brings to us grace and dignity. There's more. We beautify our surroundings, bringing s certain elegance and brightness into our homes. We adorn our own selves with the traditional 16 adornments and this gives us pleasure and enhances our looks but there is a higher purpose to creating personal beauty than mere adornment decoration or vanity.

Sangit, chitra, shilpa and sahitya are sources of beauty for us. They express our world view, creating fluffiness, bringing us closest to the divine. The beautiful for us can also be a part of everyday objects that are lovingly made such as a kalash, diya or textile draped over our body. The various akritis or forms - whether they are made with thread or brush, drawn on the ground or on mud walls - are visual metaphors passed down through generations. Many derive their form from primal archetypes and reveal the inner logic of their form to the inquiring mind.

Celebrate beauty. Make saundarya a purushartha.

You are What You Think

Self is immutable and so is the supreme self. Therefore, be one with the immutable. Why do you allow yourself to be swept hither and thither like a straw? You become peace-less in the face of petty troubles - a notice from a government department, not being able to have your way, not being able to gratify your senses, a slight to your ego, a servant not saluting, not getting approval or recognition in some matter.... how small you become!

As you think, so does your mind become? Therefore, please think of God.

Don't let your mind go towards any person or thing other than God. Focus.

You are told that God is in everybody and everything and that His will be done. It means the Lord abides in you. Thousands of gamblers are plying games; let them play. You think of playing with the indweller Lord and so turn your mind inward. You shouldn't exhaust yourself capitulating to kinsmen laboring under delusion. God's will be done means accepting whatever is happening whether or not it is to your liking.

Some people, when they meditate, expect some type or depth of meditation. Don't predetermine any type of meditation nor have preconceived notions of the results it should produce. As you sit for meditation, tell Him, 'O Lord! Hail to you! Thy will be done! This is meditation and reflection, too.

Whatever you do with your body, do it for the pleasure of Indweller Lord. Don't work for sense gratification or for ego trip. Work with a view to propitiate the Lord. This is real service. If people seek your help or service by flattering you, be careful and examine yourself whether you are being motivated by adulation or you are rendering service for the pleasure of the Guru or the Indweller Lord. If you exercise this care, your service will become much rewarding and your nature will be sweet.

Those who work for appreciation and fame end up quarrelling and fighting with each other.

Reject your ego. Doing so is good for you. Give your acceptance by saying, 'O Lord! What you will is for the best of all! Thy will be done! God, the knowledge Absolute, Bliss Absolute and Freedom Absolute, wants you to be like Him. God's will being fulfilled means God will make you God. The Supreme Brahman wants to see you as Brahman for you are in substance one and the same as Himself.

Instead of praying for a particular kind of weather, pray to Him, 'O Lord! Thy will be done!" Then whatever the weather may be, it will not cause any trouble to you. Just give your consent. If somebody hurls abuses at you, say in your mind, 'God! You are great! Through these cuss words, you are destroying my ego. O Lord! Thy will be think ' Oh my God! It is very hot. 'You will be tormented by hot weather. But you want to enjoy the rain - summer heat is essential for the rains to come.

Summer heat is essential also for making one strong enough to tolerate cold as cold is tolerate the summer heat. Insults are necessary to make one able to assimilate appreciation and fame. Death is necessary for one to assimilate life. The Lord is doing all that is necessary for you

Supra-conceptual Awareness

The human brain has a frontal lobe that has the power of abstraction and imagination. A perspective upgrade enabled by the frontal lobe makes possible comprehension of complex concepts and ideas.

Religion, God, spiritualism and belief systems are complex concepts. These are acquired and planted by social conditioning of the individual. They are legacies of culture and conditioning influenced by a host of geopolitical social factors. Their diversity harbors immense potential to breed conflict within the individual as also without. They are relative to the environment in which the individual grows up. The personality and thought processes of each individual are a sum total of all such influences.

All learning is also concept based. These concepts lead to a conditioning of the intellect. Once the formatting is done. It becomes a template and reference for future thought processes.

The identity of one's own self is also a concept. Various influences of the environment mould this concept of the identity of the self. Like sedimentary rocks, time keeps adding layers to this notional entity. Likes, dislikes pleasure and pain also develop in accordance with development of this identity. Eventually each person becomes an eclectic mix of ideas, concepts and opinions accumulated from diverse influences. An individual identity is unformatted consciousness super imposed with an acquired identity integrated with an assortment of concepts.

All thoughts that arise in the mind are also based on concepts that have been learned and acquired. Anxiety, fear, joy, happiness and sorrow are concepts that affect our lives profoundly. But they are all concepts, nonetheless. What is primary is consciousness animating this identity.

All pleasure and pain arise as a function of this assumed identity and are very relative to this identity. Pleasure and pain are mere sensations mediated by neurotransmitters as response to events in the environment. The sense of pleasure or pain never affects the sense of am-ness, which is impermeable to variable circumstances.

Liberation is also a concept. Liberation is sought from what, the travails of life? It seems more a pre-emptive effort to obviate any impending suffering since it promises deliverance from subsequent births. It may be an extension of the pleasure-seeking principle. True liberation would be from all concepts. All thoughts are in effect founded on the backdrop of concepts. Thought are derivatives of the assumed identity. They have no a prior existence. They are secondary to the identity. Thoughts and ideas are totally in the domain of tangible form.

The form can perceive only a form. For consciousness to be aware of itself, it has to abandon all paradigms of knowledge and concepts. Thoughts are images and attributes of the conceptual identity arising and subsiding on the screen of consciousness.

Meditation attempts to induce a state of thoughtlessness. Liberation is the wiping of this screen of al concepts, including the concept of the self as identity. The sense of 'I am' needs no knowledge to become just am-ness. The "I" tries to perceive am-ness is supraconceptual. It exists plainly and uncharacteristically and obviously.

Realization would be a shift from "I" residing in a sense of mere am-ness. This state of residing in unqualified am-ness is called Nirvikalpa Samadhi or supraconceptual awareness.