Tag Archives: Shiva

Shivaratri and the Mysterious “Siva Linga by Priya Kenney

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siva lingaWhat form of “Siva should we contemplate on the holiest night of the year?  “In all the various temples for yogis and Hindus in all the various continents around the world, “Siva will be worshipped in his many forms, but it is the “Siva linga, most of all on Shivaratri, that is the purest, most mysterious of all,” explains Swamiji.

The “Siva linga is an upright form, sitting on a base (also called the yoni) that represents “Sakti (the Goddess, or feminine expression of “Siva).  The primordial realities of “Siva and “Sakti are omnipresent in our own human forms and the world around us.  In meditation, I have experienced my upper torso as the linga and my legs and lower torso as the yoni.  It was a powerful awareness of revering “Siva within, Om Namah Shivaya.

There is a connection between the “Siva linga and the yaj~na (fire ceremony).  For many thousands of years, “Siva has been revered through the yaj~na. Those of us yogis who went to Ganeshpuri in 2013 experienced this profound ceremony. Priests presided over offerings into the fire, surrounded by tables of murtis (statues) and colorful sand designs — all underscored by hours of mesmerizing and rhythmic chanting to all the forms of “Siva. This complex and beautiful ceremony propelled us deep into the inner realms, “Siva’s vast expanse.  In ancient times, “Siva was worshipped in this way every single day.

Over thousands of years, the practice of a daily yagj~na became erratic and fell away, leaving an immense gap. “People were looking for something that they could use for their focus, for their mind and their heart to remember God,” says Swamiji. “There are a number of amazing and beautiful stories that explain the origins of the “Siva linga, about how “Siva took the shape of a mounded stone and how the flame froze and became the stone.  The “Siva linga gave people a form of “Siva they could touch and handle and carry with them,” explains Swamiji.

“The linga gives me an immediate experience of presence, in a stillness and deep silence that draws me into the innermost recesses of my own being,” says Swamiji. “The “Siva linga is the mystery, in a physical form.”  Explaining that it isn’t a statue of “Siva, Swamiji says, “It is the whole of “Siva, yet existing within “Siva.”

By including the “Siva linga in our celebration of Shivaratri, we connect with an ancient tradition and maximize experiencing our own divinity.

Watch for an article on how to have your own Shivaratri celebration.

Loving the Light by Swami Nirmalananda

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289I’m loving the light and the dark more this year, somehow.  I am enjoying the early fall of darkness and the chill that makes me want to tuck more deeply into the layers.  Especially I delight in the glitter of holiday lights piercing the darkness.  It’s and outside-inside sort of thing — it is the work I’ve dedicated my life to, piercing the darkness.  It’s why I do yoga.

I remember a small “Siva temple that I visited in an historic city of north India, with thick stone walls and giant hallways that armies could march through.  The inside of this stone temple was 5 feet square, with hollows worn in the stone where you stand to do your candle ceremony (BYOC — bring your own candle).

deepa candle flame baganajagat-comThe small room was very dark as I placed my feet where thousands had before me, placed my heart in my hand (because I had no candle), to do the traditional ceremony, reinstalling my heart in my chest when finished.  In that space of 90 seconds, I stood in timelessness, the eternality of “Siva, which is the Reality of your own Self.  The dark had disappeared.  Even though I’d had no candle, everything was light.

These are precious and holy days, these short days at the end of our calendar year.  Especially with family, you do deep work in these times:  the work of loving and the work of living in the truth of who you are.  Whether you have a candle flame to use or not, you can honor the light in each of your beloveds, and even in those you have difficulty with — the light is there.  Even when they cannot see their own light, you are a yogi; you can see it in everyone.  You can see it everywhere.

Do more yoga!

OM svaroopa svasvabhava.h namo nama.h

If I Could Live Next Door – by Swami Nirmalananda

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swami

I often think how wonderful it would be if I could live next door to you.  There’d be an ease to the day’s activities, with a neighborly support and maybe a bit more.  We’d wave from our driveways or from our kitchen windows. You might share a cup of tea with me on some mornings; we might talk of consciousness into the night periodically.  I created the Year-Long Programmes to make up for the distance between your home and mine.

In the busy-ness of life, I know you cannot easily add a “course” to your week, so I tried to avoid the college course model.  Instead of creating deadlines or exams, I’ve built a program that reaches into your home and into your life, to make your yoga real — to make your Self tangible.

Recently a yogini told me, “I want to study with you more.”  She didn’t want to move in to the Ashram and she was very clear that she didn’t want to take any immersion courses.  So I explained about the Year-Long Programme now getting underway, but her eyes glazed over.  You know that glaze if you’ve spent any time around teenagers; it is a turned off, tuned out, “I’m not getting what I want” look.  Except that what she wants is found in that course!  So I thought I could at least tell you about my design for these programs — why I created this format for you.

Every Guru has a special group meeting, for those who have been studying the longest.  It’s usually a weekly meeting, in person, often in the Guru’s office or bedroom, to discuss subtle points or even current news.  To find the yoga in the yoga.  To find the yoga in life.  It’s a rare and precious opportunity to participate in such groups!

Because I have been serving a widespread community for more than 20 years, I wanted to create the same intimacy, but use technology to dissolve the miles between us.  I also wanted to throw the entry doors wide open, so people could pick their participation level depending on their time and finances.  My plan was to get the Grace in and under your skin, and the teachings so interwoven in your life that you begin to breathe yoga.  For that, frequency is the key!

I knew that weekly might be too much for your schedule, so I opted for 10-day gaps (mostly).  Every 10 days, you get a new communiqué.  First comes an article, usually 5-8 pages of teachings with stories and graphics.  In about ten days, you get an audio recording; it’s like you’re sitting in the room when I’m giving a lecture, except you can press rewind when you want to, and you can listen to it multiple times.  Ten days later we have a group discussion in a conference phone call (not recorded).  Here I ask you questions, so you will describe your experiences and your understandings; I can meet you there and give you a boost to the next level.

It all comes together in the Weekend Workshop near the end of the course.  After studying for months and having such meaningful conversations with your yoga-buddies and me, we gather together for a weekend immersion in the theme.  For me, it’s like starting the program on Day 8 of a 10-day retreat!  Everyone is already so deep:  so deep within their own vastness, and already so deeply bonded with each other at such a profound level.

The retreat is followed by one more article, audio and phone call, smoothing your reentry into a world that you see with new eyes.  The last phone call is so heartwarming, reflecting on all that has been accomplished as well as reveling in the new level you’ve reached — which is the beginning for your next step.

The multiple enrollment levels serve as planned; they give you the ability to choose what works for you.  Perhaps you want only the articles (Option 1).  Or you can add the audios to the articles; this is Option 2.  With the phone calls, you are in Option 3, in the every-ten-day flow with articles, audios and phone calls.  The full enrollment is Option 4 – the whole of it!

I bring this up because, in a few days, you lose Options 3 & 4. I Am Shiva has recently begun, with the first article and first audio already published.  You can still enroll for the whole course, any time before the first phone call, which is Wednesday November 13.  If you miss that date, you may only enroll in Options 1 or 2.  And you’re welcome there, if that level serves you best.

So I’m inviting you to move in next door…  Join me in the “I Am Shiva” course.  Now is the time!