Shiva consciousness

[Who am i]

Dear Members

What is shiva consciousness?How to tune our Consciousness with that of Shiva?


Thanks

[karthik]

Sariyai, Kiriyai, Yogam, Gnanam :)

[kriyarameeshh]

Dear Members

What is shiva consciousness?How to tune our Consciousness with that of Shiva?


Thanks

Sri Matre Namaha,

you have a wonderful quote in your signature, that describes consciousness. Shiva is Consciousness and Your Consciousness is Shiva.

Regards,
Ramesh

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté


Dear Members

What is shiva consciousness?How to tune our Consciousness with that of Shiva?
Thanks

It is non-different then you. Think of electricity going down a wire. It lights up a light, it is used to power a refrigerator, a cake mixer, a TV set. In each case the power does not care much what it powers or lights up as it is equal to all.
Like that ,this consciousness ( śiva ) permeates all without break or pause. You are not outside of this break or pause , or in fact, is it possible to be so. You are that light bulb that is brightened by that flow of current.

The 1st word of the śiva sūtra-s says it all : Chapter 1.1,
caitanyamātmā

It says , The reality of everything is Supreme Consciousness.

iti śivaṁ

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté


Dear Members

What is shiva consciousness?How to tune our Consciousness with that of Shiva?
Thanks
This is a great question for many to consider ( IMHO).

We are taught, there is no way to be śiva - you are that already. Its like a wave of an ocean saying , I want to be the ocean.

It comes down to the mischief of the mind. The mind keeps with this idea of needing to reach this destination (śiva). It thinks there is some big thing that will happen, some elusive thing that is out-of-reach, so I will continue to strive for this thing (śiva). The journey continues , and with that the mind is able to keep alive, to keep what it likes to do. To stay busy, to feed , to grow.

Then from time to time, one has an experience; a flash of light, a vision, a feeling or waves of bliss and thinks , is this it? Is this śiva ?
These are experiences... all well and good, but śiva is even beyond ( more fundamental ) then these experiences. It is the fundamental 'canvas' that all experiences appear on.
It (śiva) is even before perception; my teacher says it's perfect silence. Not the perfect silence of the lips not moving but perfect Being; the best word I can think of is presence.

Many use the analogy of the movie projector and the screen on which the movie appears. All actions of our life is the movie's images on the screen. The screen is the presence (śiva), stillness, that allows all the charaters to be seem to dance-and-move on it.

Our śāstra-s often like to use the idea of space (ākāśa or avakāśa) for this idea. Space allows all things to exist and is found within and without all things within the space . It is not ( and cannot be) separate. Now if we look at another definition of śiva we find it rooted in the term śī defined as 'within whom all things lie' or all things are contained within. There is not 'outside' of śiva.

So, the question remains , what to do ?
There is nothing you must do or change to be what you already are, says mūji¹. Yet he continues and says, there is something you must recognize in order to stop being what you are not.


And what is that ? We will address in the next post.

iti śivaṁ

1. mūji - is the śiṣya of papaji (Hariwansh Lal Poonja), who in turn was the śiṣya of rāmaṇa mahaṛṣi

[Who am i]

Respected Yajvanji

Very Informative post.Looking forward for your next post

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté



So, the question remains , what to do ?
There is nothing you must do or change to be what you already are, says mūji¹. Yet he continues and says, there is something you must recognize in order to stop being what you are not.


And what is that ?

If you wish to discover your true nature (śiva) 'you' must get out of the way.

Now this statement does cause many some consternation. Let's look at it a few ways. One way is to understand what is meant by 'you'. It means that quality that is individualized. All those qualities and concepts that relatively define a person e.g. a manager, student, mom, uncle, baseball player, etc. and all those things we do as this branded being that define you, that makes you believe and think you are a contained, relative being - bound by time and space. Those things we think about - thought after thought, desire after desire to fulfil needs. Some thoughts we pay attention to and others that pass by. All flowing all the time ( less in sleep).

These things which makes us individualized keeps the universal part of us at bay. Within kaśmir śaivism the word that is used is āṇavamala. This term āṇava means exceedingly small, minute. It is the smallness , the limited, the apūrṇatā ( not whole, not full). We then have the experience of feeling incomplete, and which wish to feel full, whole (pūrṇatā). This is the desire for aligning to śiva, as śiva is all wholeness and fullness with no blemish (mala) or defect. We call this Being completely whole, full , and stainless.

So, one hears this and says , oh yes, I do not wish to be this small-small thing , this is most deplorable. Yet I cannot not just tell you ( in the posts above) that all this is in fact śiva, but then say this individual part is not śiva as some defected part. For the individual and all the components of this human experience is how śiva is throttled down into a contained form. Just like the Atomic reactor that must be stepped down many times before it becomes the electricity in your home. It is just a different form, but stepped down to finally become the power you are accustomed to using it in a light bulb.

Now we have some thing to work with: you = 'me-ness' or individuality = āṇava = exceedingly small, minute = a stepped down version of the Supreme in human form.

We will continue in the next post to understand what it means to get 'you' out of the way.

iti śivaṁ