Interview A Tantric Shaiva

[NobodyYouKnow]

Quick question, well, maybe two: from my understanding, Shaivism is non-dualistic, is this correct? If so, what are some major similarities and differences between Shaivism and Advaita?

As with most religious schools surrounding the worship of a Deity, Shaivism also has their Bhakti and Non-Bhakti movements. I still 'represent' as a Dualist Shaiva (I worship Shiva), even though ultimately, my teachings and practice of the Agama School leads me to believe in a non-dualistic Shiva.

The Agamas, Lingayats and even the Tantras believe in a non-Dual form of Shiva...I am still 'attached' though...it's a nice attachment...

Some of the similarities and differences? I could write an essay, but I shall tell a story (better that way)...

This comes from the Shiva Puran and it has been heavily paraphrased by moi..lol

Once upon a time, Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma had nothing better to do than to argue over who was actually the rightful 'creator of the Universe'....their incessant verbal swipes at each other, caused turmoil in the heavens and finally disrupted Lord Shiva's meditation.

Lord Shiva made His way to the scene with a 'so, what's this all about then?' and both Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu were like 'so, tell us Shivaji...who is the #1 God here, Me? or the 'other Holy Dude?'

Lord Shiva thought for a bit and said, 'I have an idea, a 'competition' if you will....I am going to transform myself into a pillar of Light (this is called the Jyotir Lingam and it's as close as Shaivas get to the non-Dual teachings of Advaita Vedanta) and the task of each of You, will be to find the 'end' of this Lingam and report back'.

Now, we all know that is impossible...the Jyotir Lingam is totally immeasurable...it is Brahman absolute.

Anyway, puffed up with pride, both Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma set out in opposite directions on their 'Vehicles' (Garuda and Hamsa respectively) and after a very significant amount of time had elapsed, reported back...

It didn't take long for Lord Vishnu to realise what Lord Shiva was up to, and He returned not long after setting out, bowing to Lord Shiva and acknowledging Him as the 'supreme Lord' (Vaishnava scriptures will disagree)...

They both waited around for Lord Brahma who returned after a much longer period of time...and time for Lord Brahma...is like a drop in the ocean....he doesn't care, when the 4 Yugas are like just one day for Him...

So, He returned with a 'I found the end of it...finally....I am the winner! Now, as your God, I demand both of you bow before ME...Bow!'

Both Shiva and Vishnu called Lord Brahma a 'disillusioned fool/liar' (or words to that extent) and asked for proof, however Lord Brahma was so over-inflated with Ego, He just wouldn't listen to any reason whatsoever and Lord Shiva was quickly losing His equanimity and we all know what happens when He does...

In the end Lord Shiva became very angry and resumed the form of Jyotir Lingam...then, from within the endless infinite expanse, Lord Bhairava emerged - Lord Bhairava is also the form of Shiva (the best one). lol

Lord Bhairava emerged and decapitated one of Lord Brahma's five heads with the Sudarshan Chakra - (which was later given to Lord Vishnu for another act of devotion to Lord Shiva that He performed - about using one of His Eyes in a Mala of Lotuses for Lord Shiva) ...

Anyway, this is why Lord Brahma was 'disowned' from the Trimurthi and why he was disgraced into not being worshiped along with Lord Vishnu and Shiva...

I'll talk more about it later.

 

[NobodyYouKnow]

Sorry to jump in... NYK, ask me top leave if you want ...

There are several schools, some may be dualistic in nature... Shaivism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia is a very basic summary.

I follow monistic Saiva Siddhanta, but most Saiva Siddhantins are pluralists.

Oh, please do 'jump in'! I need the help, seriously. These questions are tough. People are doing well...

 

[NobodyYouKnow]

So.....talking more about it later...

There are two ways that Lord Shiva's 'Energy' moves from the passive to an active state.

*As I type this, I am recalling the devotion Vinayaka expressed towards Lord Nataraja and so, my surmise of Shaiva Siddhanta as a tribute to him.

Both ways are for the benefit of His Devotees, only the level of perceivable subtlety changes.

The first way, is through Tantra, Union with His own Creative/Destructive Energies which can be wholly defined within the context of that experience. In the world of a 'perfect existence', everything should represent the total balance or 'harmony' of Sri Ardhanarishwar/ShivaShakti/Yin & Yang...and that's how it is 'sposed to be...maybe how we all should see it is...

The second way is through the Tandavam Dance, Lord Shiva's actions independent of, for lack of a better phrase, 'Devi's influence'. When Lord Shiva becomes engaged in the Tandavam Dance, He acts out of His own Will, creating 'Shiva 'alter Egos' so He cannot be held directly responsible....a.k.a Veerbhadra and Bhairava.

So yes, I have walked (and continue to walk) down both of these paths, I have also tried combining both of these paths and end up with something like this:

That is my favourite drawing ever....Bhairava, Dakini and Ardhanarishwar all in one.. Jai Shiva Shakti!!! :bow: :bow: :bow:

I just cannot help it but to 'feel the lerve', so to speak..:

Om Namah Shivay

 

[Vinayaka]

Quick question, well, maybe two: from my understanding, Shaivism is non-dualistic, is this correct? If so, what are some major similarities and differences between Shaivism and Advaita?

There are quite a few. Saivism sees maya as part of Siva, and a useful tool for growth, whereas advaitins (from my limited understanding) see maya as an illusion, and a problem.

Advaita focus on the end result, Brahman, whereas Saivism focuses more on how to get there.

Advaitins care little about temple worship, whereas Saivites adore their Gods in tremendous ways. Saivites use duality to soften their egos, as a method to approach non-duality.

 

[Fireside_Hindu]

Yes to both questions. Tantric Sex is only one small part of Tantric practice. It isn't all that relevant either - I am a brahmacharin (celibate).

There's one catch though - something that a lot of people don't know about - during Tantric Sex, once the union is made, you are not permitted to move at all, or to climax....which is a bit difficult while still maintaining the 'mood'.

Anyway, it's an extrapolation/representation of the union of Shiva and Shakti in the Sahasrara Chakra...made popular by many stone relief carvings at temples like Kajuraho....books like Kama Sutra....people who think that this is 'all there is to it'.

There's a lot of misconception surrounding Tantra, mostly concerning sex and Siddhis (magic powers). I hope to dispel those myths in this thread.

Again, I thank you for your question. :namaste

Thank you so much for explaining it. I think I understand it much better now.

:camp:

 

[Vinayaka]

Thank you so much for explaining it. I think I understand it much better now.

:camp:

I really liked this from the Wiki article.

Anthony Tribe, a scholar of Buddhist Tantra, offers a list of features:[8]

1. Centrality of ritual, especially the worship of deities
2. Centrality of mantras
3. Visualisation of and identification with a deity
4. Need for initiation, esotericism and secrecy
5. Importance of a teacher (guru, ācārya)
6. Ritual use of maṇḍalas
7. Transgressive or antinomian acts
8. Revaluation of the body
9. Revaluation of the status and role of women
10. Analogical thinking (including microcosmic or macrocosmic correlation)
11. Revaluation of negative mental states

I use a specific method for #11, so tantra can also just mean 'method'.

 

[StarryNightshade]

What drew you to Tantra?

What drew you to Shiva?

Did you explore other schools of Sanatana Dharma before adopting Tantric Shaivism?

I know I could go to Google or Wikipedia for this, but what makes Tantric practice "tantric"? As in, what is it that truly differentiates it from non-tantric practice?

 

[NobodyYouKnow]

What drew you to Tantra?

What drew you to Shiva?

Did you explore other schools of Sanatana Dharma before adopting Tantric Shaivism?

I know I could go to Google or Wikipedia for this, but what makes Tantric practice "tantric"? As in, what is it that truly differentiates it from non-tantric practice?

1. What drew me to Tantra was going just about as far as I could possibly go in my devotions to Lord Shiva and getting really stuck there....there was one piece of the puzzle I was still missing....that piece of the puzzle was Divine Mother...so, I became involved in Tantra through serendipity more than anything else.

2. What drew me to Lord Shiva is a very long story...and an ongoing one.

I first 'met' Lord Shiva when I was about 10 or 11 years old...getting lost during a Thaipusam festival at Batu Caves in Malaysia...winding up inside a Murugan temple and watching devotees mutilate their bodies...I saw a huge picture of Lord Shiva and became transfixed on the spot...I knew that if there was a 'God'...I was looking at Him.

Finally, I was carried off to a police station to be re-united with my parents..

Second time, I was in Bali, Indonesia - I was 13 (I spent a lot of time there growing up) and one day, I became lost again, this time, it was during a Barong festival/prayer. I ended up as a 'guest' of the head priest, who pulled me out of the crowd...freaking knew my name when there wasn't any possible way and gave me a gold Ongkara...saying that 'Siva told me to give this to you'. When I asked about Siva, I was told He is 'Maharaja Devata'...Achintya...the light of which is just totally surrounding you' (it would be years before I got any evidence of this).

So, eventually I found my way back home and my parents were pretty angry and frustrated at my continual 'disappearing act'...so, out came the good old jug cord...

As it was being repeatedly thrashed around my legs, back and body, I just held on to my gold Ongkar and mentally chanted "Maharaja Devata...protect me"...then, I felt no pain and started laughing...laughing as my father became even more furious and started to belt me harder...the harder he struck, the more I laughed and all I could say was 'you done yet?'....my mother finally stopped him...

It was at that point, I just knew who/what I was.

Siva continued to pop in and out of my life over the following years...then on 6th Dec 2012, I had darshan of Lord Bhairava. I had stopped being a practicing Hindu for about 15 years, but as I was researching something totally unrelated (Astrology) on Youtube and a recommendation came up for me out of nowhere - Kalabhairavashtakam. I listened to it and immediately fell into a deep trance. I decided to research more about all the forms of Bhairava and saw that His holy appearance day was Dec 6th 2012 - the very day all this was happening...there was to be no doubt in my mind and heart after that - at first it was 'where were You? where have You been?' then it was like "I have always been here, where were you?" at that point, I lost myself in an ocean of tears and immediately resumed my Hindu faith - carrying it on from where I left off all those years ago....which just goes to prove one thing - time is an illusion.

I shall reply to the second half of your post later. Thanks for asking the questions.

 

[NobodyYouKnow]

Part 2.

Did you explore other schools of Sanatana Dharma before adopting Tantric Shaivism?

I was introduced to Agama Hindu Dharma first, Sanatana Dharma came quite a long while after that.

Being raised in the Agama tradition, it was difficult for me to make that transition...I tried to; being a member of ISKCON for a few years and worshiping (trying to worship) Lord Krishna, but all of that just didn't have the 'raw energy' I was so used to by then. I could get involved at an intellectual level, but that's where it remained...my heart was still lost in Siva...in a temple in Malaysia/Bali/India somewhere...

Visions of priests and Deities being wrapped up in 'checkerboard' cloth (Poleng)...

I once asked a learned priest about the significance of the Poleng and I was told the pattern represents the state of balance between the forces of Siva and Shakti (Dewa and Dewi...Yang and Yin). I was told the cloth represents all the Tantric beliefs of the Balinese Hindus...

Yeah, I was already 'too far gone' so any attempt at conforming me into Vaishnava had already passed by a few lives ago. lol

This was what I was and I knew it....and still know it.

I hope that answers your questions and I thank you for them.

 

[NobodyYouKnow]

The Mirror Tunnel.

Not knowing where to post this....here will do.

One of my first mystic experiences happened when I was 16...it was a few days after my maternal grandmother had passed away and I was to be bridesmaid at my aunt's wedding, but I was still grieving too much and didn't want to do it. I felt like I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

So, I had to listen to all the 'yeah, we are all grieving too, but life goes on, so just suck it up and do what you are told'.

I was in the hairdressing salon getting my hair set...I was the only one in there (besides the hairdresser) and I was positioned between two mirrors while the curlers set. It was at that point, the hairdresser was like 'I have things to do and I have to go out back for a while...can I make you a cup of tea? will you be okay there?"

After a 'no thanks' and a 'yes, I'll be fine', I was left alone and started amusing myself and alleviating the boredom by placing items like hairspray tins, brushes etc in between the two mirrors and studying their repeated, continued reflections...

Then, I sat between the mirrors straight on and started to move my hands...I looked like something out of Bohemian Rhapsody...

I wish I could have seen my own face reflected back at me infy times, but I just had to make do with certain limbs and items...trying to see how much of the definition is lost with every subsequent reflection and trying to use my fullest concentration to see where these reflections ended...the dhyan I was inadvertently doing was just extreme to the max.

Then suddenly, the sun broke through the clouds, a sunbeam came in through the window and straight into one of the mirrors, immediately reflecting in the other and then burning a hole straight into my brain. My Kundalini had just been awakened and shot up through my cranium like a steam train.

The last thing I remember before I passed out was the voice of my Grandma saying that she's 'still around', 'always will be' and how 'proud she was'. I gained my composure in the doctor's office next door and blamed it all on stress, perming chemicals, my curlers wound up too tight. lol

 

[NobodyYouKnow]

Did you ever experienced Kundalani Shakti?

So, to answer this question fully, that would be an emphatic yes and quite a few times now.

I haven't really kept a full account of the number of times it has happened, but half a dozen times or so.

I am a natural, born 'gazer' and can fix my concentration on anything for a long period of time. Maybe that's to compensate for the fact that I am totally impatient with mundane affairs. lol

Anyway, every time my Kundalini has been awakened, I wasn't even trying. I wasn't meditating, I wasn't even doing anything.

I remember this one time I was sitting in the train going to work. It was a few years after the 'mirror incident'.

I had nothing to do, so I was just gazing at the scenery outside the window...fully realising I see the same scenery, day in...day out, so I was looking for something outside the window that I wouldn't usually see....something that I usually/always miss.

After thinking for a bit and looking around outside the window, I had an idea. I would watch all the small rocks and stones beside the tracks and see how fast they whizz by in relation to everything else.

I started watching, then I started gazing....seeing individual stones lose definition as they whizzed by, then trying to focus my gaze on another stone...trying to hold it in my consciousness for as long as I could...in effect, trying to slow down the train in my mind.

So, I sat there, gazing at the rocks beside the tracks trying to 'individualize' them.....when, all of a sudden, a train whizzed by in the opposite direction, totally obscuring my view. I felt that familiar searing heat through the base of my skull at the back of my neck and by the time I 'came around', I was like ten stations past where I needed to get off.

Yeah, it happens like that.

 

[Sumit]

So, to answer this question fully, that would be an emphatic yes and quite a few times now.

I haven't really kept a full account of the number of times it has happened, but half a dozen times or so.

I am a natural, born 'gazer' and can fix my concentration on anything for a long period of time. Maybe that's to compensate for the fact that I am totally impatient with mundane affairs. lol

Anyway, every time my Kundalini has been awakened, I wasn't even trying. I wasn't meditating, I wasn't even doing anything.

I remember this one time I was sitting in the train going to work. It was a few years after the 'mirror incident'.

I had nothing to do, so I was just gazing at the scenery outside the window...fully realising I see the same scenery, day in...day out, so I was looking for something outside the window that I wouldn't usually see....something that I usually/always miss.

After thinking for a bit and looking around outside the window, I had an idea. I would watch all the small rocks and stones beside the tracks and see how fast they whizz by in relation to everything else.

I started watching, then I started gazing....seeing individual stones lose definition as they whizzed by, then trying to focus my gaze on another stone...trying to hold it in my consciousness for as long as I could...in effect, trying to slow down the train in my mind.

So, I sat there, gazing at the rocks beside the tracks trying to 'individualize' them.....when, all of a sudden, a train whizzed by in the opposite direction, totally obscuring my view. I felt that familiar searing heat through the base of my skull at the back of my neck and by the time I 'came around', I was like ten stations past where I needed to get off.

Yeah, it happens like that.

Such moments are wonderful. This happens during process of energy flow in chakras, keep going with your practice and you will have more such experiences.

One more ques, how do you control your eating habits and maintain your sadhna schedule. I am addicted to spicy food and face difficulty in working with fixed schedule, may be I will get little help.

 

[crossfire]

What sort of practices do you do to transform an excess of one energy (yin or yang) into the other?

 

[NobodyYouKnow]

What sort of practices do you do to transform an excess of one energy (yin or yang) into the other?

One of my favourite techniques is called Nadi Shodhana. It is the practice of breath regulation through the nostrils.

Ida and Pingala Nadis

When we are talking about 'opposites' in Tantra, there is this main one...the main pair....that is, Ida and Pingala Nadis.

In our astral/psychic bodies, there are three nerves/nadis/paths leading from the root Chakra (Muladhara) to the crown Chakra (Sahasrara) - actually, the three nerves converge at a point just below the Sahasrara at the 'Bindu' Chakra...but I am digressing.

These three Nadis comprise of the left one called Ida (Yin), the right one called Pingala (Yang) and the central Nadi called Shusumna.

Under ideal circumstances, Kundalini is raised through Shushumna - how it is 'sposed to happen...but sometimes, it can be derailed and spill over into one of the adjacent Nadis (Ida or Pingala).

By noticing which nostril the breath is flowing through at the time, one can change that...and the direction of the flow of internal energies...

So now, some trivia...

Ever seen Sadhus and Swamis who meditate with a small walking stick under their armpit?

Yeah, it's not to hold them up so they don't fall over (as I had initially thought). It is to exert pressure on certain nerves located within the armpit to regulate the flow of their breath and corresponding energies.

There are more practices I do to balance Yin/Yang, but that is the main one.

 

[NobodyYouKnow]

Such moments are wonderful. This happens during process of energy flow in chakras, keep going with your practice and you will have more such experiences.

One more ques, how do you control your eating habits and maintain your sadhna schedule. I am addicted to spicy food and face difficulty in working with fixed schedule, may be I will get little help.

Thank you. :namaste

I really should get back into doing Dhyan again. That was my main form of Sadhana...and yeah, I was a strict vegan back then too.

I have lived a very austere life up until about the last 20 years of it (I am 50 now).

I was a vegetarian, did a lot of sadhana and often extreme tapas...

When I gave all that away, I really gave all that away!

Since returning to Hinduism a year ago, getting back into a Sadhana routine has been difficult and I went from vegan to 'I eat anything and everything' to 'white meat only'...which is where I currently am.

I eat chicken, fish, spicy food and a lot of things I know I shouldn't be eating, but thankfully, beef, pork and lamb are no longer on the menu.

During the course of this year, I am going to work my way back to being a vegan again...meat makes the psychic body all 'gross' and only a limited amount of benefit can be attained if meat is continually consumed...I try to limit it to 2-3 times/week (fasting on Mondays), but if one is going to 'cut something down', one may just as well 'give it up'.

I also used to do more Sadhana than I currently do, which included having a shower first, then doing 9 rounds of Surya Namaskar (sun salutation), followed by half an hour of Nadi Shodhana or Trataka, followed by another hour of meditation, followed by 108 recitations of Gayatri Mantra...and all that before breakfast!

Now, I just do 3 rounds every other day, do Nadi Shodhana as a 'matter of course' meditate when meditation happens by itself and just chant Om Namah Shivaya when I can remember to chant Om Namah Shivaya...I have become increasingly and exceedingly lazy!

I'm going to get off my butt and do more...I'll never get to the stage where I was doing what I was doing before, but some 'happy medium' would be good....in keeping with the Tantric way...

Thank you for asking.

 

[JField]

Did you have a guru ? And if so how did you find them ? I'm in the u.s and the nearest thing I can find to anyone able to help me study the Vedic philosophy is a Hare Krishna temple in a whole other city XD

 

[NobodyYouKnow]

Did you have a guru ? And if so how did you find them ? I'm in the u.s and the nearest thing I can find to anyone able to help me study the Vedic philosophy is a Hare Krishna temple in a whole other city XD

No, and unfortunately I am at the stage where I need one (apart from my Adi Guru, Siva).

When I was in India a very long time ago, I 'met' Swami Satyananda Saraswati and Baba Muktananda briefly...and when I say briefly, it was a formal version of "hi there, how ya doin? 'bless you, my child"...still, the darshan was very nice...getting 'up close and personal' with a great sage is difficult because he is surrounded by a hierarchy of devotees...

So, from there, I went to the Divine Life Society in Rishikesh (after spending a few years at ISKCON myself, in Australia trying very hard to gain a taste for Vaishnavism)...suffice to say, that didn't work out. I was a 'mayavadi who worshiped a demigod' (and I am still working out how that conundrum can possibly exist)...this was the early 80's by now...

I spent a while (not very long, only 6 months) in the Divine Life Society and the 'Gurus' were more like strict disciplinary college headmasters and we were all students in their class - I liked this approach though...reminded me of what I was already used to at regular school...we studied Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Mahabharata and Hatha Yoga.

Often, we would bow in great reverence as a Holy Swami like Swami Chidananda walked by. I later much later in 2001 eventually took Mantra Diksha from him (a Tantric Mantra, actually, in praise of Mother Gauri, Whom I now worship as Tripura Sundari with much love).

Sadly, all these wise souls have long since entered Maha Samadhi many of our years ago. =/

Now, I am finding that I can only reach a certain point before finding myself 'back to square one' again. I believe I have discovered where my Rudra Granth is....rather painfully too, I might add.

So, I don't have a Guru right now, but if/when I am ready, no doubt another shall appear (I currently reside in Australia).

I hope I have answered both our questions and I thank you for yours.

 

[NobodyYouKnow]

Did you have a guru ? And if so how did you find them ? I'm in the u.s and the nearest thing I can find to anyone able to help me study the Vedic philosophy is a Hare Krishna temple in a whole other city XD

I also have to answer this question as a Hindu woman.

I got married when I was 21. My husband (ex now) was my personal Hatha Yoga teacher/instructor.

Indian by ancestry, He was also into Patanjali's Sutras and the teachings of the DLS.

Many a coffee after Yoga class was spent discussing them (and the Vedas)...yeah, it started innocently enough at first. lol

Anyway, for all his rather obvious egotistical qualities and desires which surfaced much later, he was a very wise and erudite soul. He was my Husband-Guru for almost two decades.

We became divorced somewhere in the middle of all our pragmatisms and idealisms and then I kissed Dharma farewell.