Dear Friends, This is a set of ideas to enhance your engagement with Shri Guru Gita - the spiritual practice Mark has asked us to take up as students of the Hard Light Center of Awakening.
Listening... The idea of true listening also carries with it a vitality and a quality of interaction. As you hear the recitation, ask yourself - am I actively listening? Am I engaging with the content and meaning of these words, or have I drifted off into a state of meditation beyond paying attention? Have I 'gone out', or am I present? If you choose to meditate, see if you can find that middle ground so you can be deeply within, and simultaneously still present to the words Mark is speaking. Use the bellows breath to keep your attention sharp and focused. Or be attentive with eyes open as you listen. Experiment, and find the best listening mode for yourself. |
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| Reciting... A question was asked, "Shall I recite the Guru Gita out loud or just read it silently to myself?" It's a great question - and invites thinking about what is the difference between these two styles. In the west, we tend to think of these as different versions of the same thing, as though they were no more different than drinking a cola or a glass of milk. Both are drinking - what's the big deal difference? But the Yoga Tantra reveals a more penetrating understanding of the difference, and teaches that there are actually four levels of speech. This was a topic Baba Muktananda loved to teach about as well. The ancient text of the Rig Veda says: "Four are the levels of speech.
Those of spiritual wisdom know them all. Three placed in secrecy cannot be manipulated. Mortals speak only with the fourth."
When we recite the Guru Gita out loud, we are operating from the level of Vaikhari, which has its seat in the throat chakra. When we read the Guru Gita silently to ourselves, we are operating more on the level of thought, and are able to enter Madhyama, which has its seat in the heart chakra. We are best able to speak from this refined level when we also deeply contemplate what we read and think about it, not just go through the motions of reading. To operate on the third level of Pashyanti, means to perceive the truth underlying what we speak or read. This level of cognition best occurs when we take time after our recitation to drop into silence... as though we take the seeds of the verses of the Guru Gita and drop them into the fertile ground of a still mind, to see what clarity, understanding or revelation sprouts. Pashyanti has its seat in the navel chakra. The fourth level of speech - Para - is the silent speech of the Infinite Ocean of Pure Consciousness, and is found as awareness merges into the sushumna, the central nadi. Want a powerful experience? .. As you recite the Guru Gita, think of doing so with the intention to move through all four levels of speech. Here are three ideas for how to do that: 1) You can do this verse by verse – reciting it aloud, contemplating it, dropping it into silence, dissolving into silence yourself.
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| Recitation versus Listening...
Have you noticed how different the processes of reading or reciting Shri Guru Gita is from the process of listening and hearing Mark recite it? Each way of engaging in the study of the Guru Gita uses the mind in a different way. Listening often uses more of the right hemisphere of the mind, while reading uses more of the left hemisphere. To gain full comprehension of anything that we really want to master and know deeply, being able to approach it from both sides of the brain is ideal. So try this out for yourself - vary your approach for studying the Guru Gita, rather than getting into a groove of only approaching it from one angle. And each time, notice what you pull out of each approach that was unique to that method. If you decide you only like to listen but don't like to read, you rob yourself of the gifts of half your brain. If all you do is read or recite, one half of the brain says "What about me? |
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| The Study of Shri Guru Gita – Svadhyaya...
Many people are familiar with Patañjali's Yoga Sturas. Mark Griffin has called Patañjali a master technician. In his yoga sutras, he presented the most concise set of technical instructions for directly achieving full realization and enlightenment. These are embodied in the eight limbs of yoga, which culminate in Samadhi. The second of the eight limbs is Niyama, a term which comprises five observances or disciplines. They are purity, contentment, austerity, study and devotion to God. In the August 2006 podcast about Patañjali, Mark talked about the Niyama of study, and said: "Gain the habit of study, the ability to make inquiry into a subject. In other words, keep the mind vital, and keep the spirit of inquiry strong. Penetrate through to what is unseen in life. At the beginning of life we have the opportunity to go through schooling. It's important to learn how to learn during this time, and then to keep the habit of learning fresh and strong throughout your whole life." We gain great insight when we look at the word used for 'study'... The actual word Patañjali uses is SVADHYAYA. It is most often translated as the study of scripture or the repetition of mantra. It actually means "self-study", as it is based on the two Sanskrit roots sva = 'self' + adhi-i = "to go over". So when we look at the actual etymology of the words, we see that it goes beyond other forms of learning we may engage in. It's not like learning a new skill, or reading about a fascinating subject. It points directly to the deep contemplation of the Self, and the translation as 'study' tells us that sacred texts such as the Guru Gita become a doorway for deepening our knowledge and connection with the Self, the goal of our spiritual training. In fact, this is so important that Patañjali gives svadhyaya mention three times in his yoga sutras. He opens the first verse of his chapter on sadhana (II-1: the practices for awakening) by defining study as a critical part of spiritual training. Then he outlines it as one of the five observances of the Niyamas (II-32). Finally he gives svadhyaya special mention in its own verse (II-44) when he says: "svadhyayad istadevata samprayogah / By study of spiritual books comes communion with one's chosen deity." The word samprayogah in this verse is meaningful too, because sampra means one pointed; something undertaken with full concentration and absorption. So if we dedicate ourselves to complete absorption in yoga through our practice of reciting and studying the Guru Gita, we gain the darshan or vision of the Divine.
Want a dramatic and immediate change of your experience? Try this simple yet powerful idea.... It's called Parvati-Bhava. In verse 106 of the Guru Gita we are introduced to the concept of bhava: "Gurubhava - complete immersion in the Guru". The word bhava comes from the Sanskrit root bhuu ="to exist, to become", and is the expression or attitude of becoming one with, or becoming totally absorbed in one's object of concentration or focus. So for instance, Gurubhava means being totally immersed in the Guru, or identified with him. In many sacred texts, this concept is referred to as "becoming of equal taste" with the Guru. One of Baba Muktananda's favorite meditation practices involved the identification of each part of his body, mind and spirit with his Guru, Bhagawan Nityananda, and in this way he experienced Gurubhava to the fullest. Similarly, you can practice Parvati-Bhava, and become one with Parvati. It is she who sparks the discourse of the Guru Gita by asking Shiva to reveal the path of awakening to her. If you have been reading or listening to the Guru Gita as though it is an interesting and inspiring story - try this next time: see yourself as Parvati. See yourself as seated next to Shiva, and hear Shiva talking directly to YOU about how YOU are going to get enlightened. Do everything you can to make this vision real for yourself. Mentally construct the environment of being with Shiva, look around at the views you have on the beautiful summit of Mount Kailas. Sit in a posture of complete rapture, as you would if God were telling you what you most longed to know. Get into it. There are five times Shiva says "O Beautiful One" - who is he talking to? You! Three times, Shiva calls you his Beloved. He calls you O Noble One and O Wise One. Allow the depth of this relationship with the divine to go deeply into your awareness and into your heart. And regardless of whether you're a man or woman in this current incarnation, when Shiva refers to you as Devi, you can know him to be addressing your highest nature as the divine Goddess. The qualities of Lakshmi, Kali and Saraswati certainly reside within us all. Your identification with Parvati can bear many forms of rich fruit. Not only does it shift your emotional stance and your inner point of assembly, it can also show you how to practice svadhyaya - the study of sacred discourse that we addressed last week. Notice verse 74. Shiva is smoothly going along with his discourse and what does Parvati do? She interrupts him! Her question shows that she is not passively letting Shiva's words pour over her - she is actively paying attention to every word she hears.
As you study the Guru Gita, have you noticed that some of the references to the Guru seem to be pointing to a person who is the Guru, while some of the references are clearly pointing to the concept of a Guru that can only be understood to be within us as part of us? Which is it? Does the Guru Gita mean to confuse us? Actually, the Guru Gita is intentionally pointing in both directions - within and without. The deep understanding to the question 'Where is the Guru?' is that there is in fact an inner guru as well as an outer guru. Both Baba Muktananda and Mark Griffin have talked about the outer guru of cause and the inner guru of action, telling us that it is the outer guru that triggers the involution process of sadhana, which in turn brings us to the inner guru. The outer guru starts the work of awakening us, while the inner guru brings us home to our full realization. As you read, recite and listen to the Guru Gita, you can deepen your appreciation of this profound concept by looking at each verse and asking yourself, which aspect of the Guru is this verse pointing to? In fact, entire new levels of revelation will dawn for you if you go through the entire Guru Gita with the viewpoint that each expression of the Guru is about the outer guru - the physical form of the guru himself / then go through the Guru Gita again with the viewpoint that each verse is talking exclusively about the inner guru dwelling within you. If you find yourself primarily thinking of the guru in only one way, or predominantly in one way, work with the Guru Gita for awhile intentionally leaning into the other aspect of the guru's nature - for the reality is that the guru is both within and without.
As we head into the busy times of the Holiday season, it sometimes becomes harder to keep up with the regularity of our spiritual practices, such as meditation and the recitation and study of the Guru Gita. What to do? Put these practices on hold until after the holiday season? Yet... Mark has asked us to make the Guru Gita part of our daily routine for a reason...
Happy Holidays! |
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| Why would someone want to recite in Sanskrit? | |||||||||||
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We are pleased to announce that the book of the Guru Gita is now available - both paperback and hard cover. One of the benefits of this new publication will be for those who are interested in reciting the Guru Gita in Sanskrit. Sanskrit is know as Devanagari, which means the language of the Gods. It is held to be divinely cognized, rather than an invented language. In other words, it was recognized as existing at a subtle level of creation. It is the language of the Vedas, the most ancient texts in existence. And to recite the Guru Gita in Sanskrit stirs the soul like nothing else can. Mark Griffin has frequently spoken about the six chakras of the subtle body, and how each chakra has a different number of petals. The great Seers of Consciousness have recognized that each of the 50 letters of the Sanskrit alphabet is associated with one petal of the chakras, which are also 50 in number. When you recite a sacred text such as Shri Guru Gita in Sanskrit, it is as though you are using your voice as a tuning fork that directly works on the chakra system and the energetics of the subtle body. The petals of the chakras vibrate with the resonance of this sound, which is their essential nature. |
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| The Guru Stotra
In the center of The Guru Gita text lies one verse that is known as The Guru Stotra – verse 62 (below). You will find this one verse quoted by spiritual traditions throughout India, even those that do not know any other verse from the Guru Gita. The word stotra means a 'hymn of praise', particularly in the sense of a meaningful verse that is to be chanted aloud or memorized. Why is this verse famous above all others? Because it captures the essence of the mystical and essential qualities of the Guru Principle. It reminds us that the Guru is more than a great guy to go visit and have a nice deep meditation with - he is the embodiment of the bliss of Brahman, the Absolute Ocean of Light. As you read the verse to the right, or along with the audio below, contemplate what this verse is saying to you. If you'd like to hear this verse chanted in Sanskrit and read along with it, click this audio icon on the page this takes you to:
There is something almost indescribable about reciting Sanskrit... As though the syllables themselves generate a joy... Perhaps it is because Sanskrit is the most ancient language, and to speak aloud of that which is eternal – the awakening power of the Guru – calls for a language that reaches this far back, and this deep into the soul. Because it's hard to know what this is like until you experience it for yourself, we have made the first lesson of the new interactive Sanskrit course available now as a sampler for you: SAMPLE LESSON ONE OF THE RECITATION CLASS
Some of the members of our sangha have already begun the Sanskrit recitation, and have reported back: "I have been reading the Sanskrit translation of the Guru Gita and have been reciting the Gita daily. We listened to the sanskrit chanting as the full moon was rising over the desert. IT IS PROFOUND! I feel much clarity and new understanding of the power of the Guru Gita." - GDP "I love the way the words feel in my mouth..." "Reciting the Guru Gita in Sanskrit makes me feel like I'm in the presence of Baba Muktananda, and connects me to the depths of my heart through the sounds of this melodic language. After I chant I slip into the sweetest meditation, and feel so connected to the Guru." - EJ "I don't know how to word what a deep emotional experience I have with doing it in Sanskrit..." - ZC
The Guru As Bhairava - and the Five Functions In Verse 69 of the Guru Gita, we learn of the Guru's nature as Shiva: I bow to the Guru, who embodies Lord Bhairava, The Sanskrit for this verse uses the words "krtyam pañcha". Pañchakritya translates as "five fold activity": Creation, maintenance, concealment, destruction and the bestowal of grace. The often seen statue of Shiva Nataraj symbolizes these five acts. In this statue Shiva is shown having four arms. His right hand holds a small drum, where the sound of creation is born. His other right hand is raised in the traditional mudra or position granting protection, which represents sustenance in his function as the maintainer. His left hand holds fire, which symbolizes destruction. His other left hand turns inward, shielding, signifying concealment. His raised left foot signifies the bestowal of grace. His balanced and serene posture shows that he remains the eternal witness even while performing all of these acts simultaneously.
Another great text of Kashmir Shaivism, often quoted by Baba Muktananda, the Pratyabhijñahrdayam, states that as human beings, we perform these five acts every moment and it is only because of our ignorance and delusion, that we are not fully aware of this power. Gaining the awareness that we do indeed initiate the same five acts as Shiva does, allows the mind to rise to the state of pure consciousness and attain union with Shiva. This is the realization and state of awareness that the Guru has attained, and is demonstrating at all times to us. By the way, the statue of Shiva is also represented as standing on top of a demon, to show that he has the power to conquer evil and spiritual ignorance. The right foot, planted on the prostrate body of Apasmara Purusha, the demon of forgetfulness, symbolizes human ignorance of our divine nature.
The Practice of Guru Yoga – In Mark Griffin's Words The Guru Gita is an ancient text that describes the nature of the Guru. In this text, each word, each syllable, each line carries the actual form, or corpus of the divine nature of the Guru Shakti. The text describes the Guru in universal form, or the Guru, both in the personal aspect, and universal aspect. It describes the sublime activity of the Guru, the nature of the Guru’s appearance, the description of the path, and advice in the process of awakening. And each line describes a particular movement of consciousness within the inner form of the Guru and the Guru Shakti. As the text unfolds, the presence of the Guru appears and unfurls. The idea of the sadhana is to listen to the text, capture the meaning of the words and syllables, and give rise to them within yourself. This is the Guru yoga. By reading or hearing the text and the description of the divine aspect of the Guru Shakti and the Guru nature, by recognizing and understanding it, you can generate that divine experience within yourself. You become like unto the Guru, aligning with the Guru first, and then merging with those principles by giving rise to those principles and placing them one by one within yourself. In this way, you are transmuted into the essence of the Guru, the Guru's nature and the Guru Shakti. It is a very powerful sadhana, and as each line goes by, the mystery of the Guru's nature is made apparent.
Each of the 108 verses of the Guru Gita is a sutra - meaning it is a highly condensed aphorism, designed with great precision and concise wording. One way to think of a sutra is like those flat sponges. They are so small when they are new and dry, but put a little water on them – and presto – they expand to much larger than their original size. That's what each verse of the Guru Gita is really like. Why are so many sacred texts written in this format? Originally, the sutra motif was invented so the verse could be easily memorized. Remember - this wisdom goes back millennium - way before iPods, CDs, Online Stores or even published books made it easy to carry a verbal teaching away with you. Picture the situation... A Master could teach an entire complex lesson, then summarize it in a few key words or phrases, thus creating the sutra. As the student, you could easily memorize the sutra, but then as you left the teacher and continued with your life, each time you recited the sutra, you'd be able to easily recall the entire contents of the complete teaching that went along with it. After you listened to a teaching, it became your responsibility to know how to carry that teaching with you, and really your only tool to hold the teaching was your mind. Hard Light just completed the 2009 India Yatra Retreat, and Mark Griffin took this occasion to take just four verses from the Guru Gita and 'unpack' them for the retreat participants. Taking one verse each day, he spent 1-2 hours discussing what the verse meant and the implications to spiritual development it held... a remarkable and profound series of teachings! Each verse holds this kind of potential. It's like a suitcase, neatly packed for you. But it's up to you to unpack it and derive the real meaning of it. Otherwise, it stays in your mind and heart like a dry sponge, in potential form. If you view the entire verse as only being the words you read, you are missing much of what it holds for you. A sutra is a pointer, or placeholder, to much much more. How do you go about unpacking a sutra? First - through intention and desire. Yearning to know the totality that a verse holds for you is the beginning of being able to unlock its potential. Then - contemplation. Pick a verse this week that calls to you, and begin rolling it over and over in your mind. Drop it into meditation and see what comes up. Think about it just as you fall asleep and see if your dreams pull new meaning out of it for you. Pull out a journal and start writing about it. Pretend you are sitting with Mark and he is talking to you about that one verse - what would he be saying about it? Listen to Mark's previous talks and see how they relate to the sutras of the Guru Gita. Or try explaining your chosen verse to a friend - see how wet you can get that sponge. And if you really want to experience the full potential of unpacking a sutra - memorize your chosen verse this week too. Repeat it over and over as the week goes on, and watch how much more deeply your understanding of it becomes.
Verses 102 and 103 of the Guru Gita recommend meditating on a white wool asana... O Devi, prepare your seat well, ...the highest outcome The word asana means 'seat' or 'posture'. When you sit on a particular cloth for your meditation each day, your asana actually begins to store the energy of meditation and becomes charged with those particles of Shakti - spiritual power. As this happens, meditation becomes easier and easier. Simply sitting on your asana begins to naturally draw you into a meditative state. Baba Muktananda recommended having one set of clothes put aside for meditation, with a similar intent. They too can store up the energy of meditation, and set the mind along the path to a deep meditation the moment you put them on. And Mark Griffin has also spoken about the importance of picking a good place to meditate. For instance, he has recommended not sitting up after a night's sleep and meditating in bed, but rather getting up and going to a place you've set up as an area specifically for meditation. Sleep and meditation each carry a very different vibration, and the place where each activity is undertaken continues to hold that charge. |
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There are four verses in the Guru Gita that refer to a concept called The Witness: verse 30: It is the Guru who illuminates the mind, not the mind that illuminates the Guru. I bow to my Guru who is the supreme witness of waking, dreaming and deep sleep states. verse 34: O Beloved, those who know say the Guru is Shiva, the witness of all, but without his three eyes; he is Vishnu, but without his four arms; he is Brahma, but without his four faces. verse 42: O Beloved, pranam with love to the Guru’s feet every day, making an offering of prayers and devotion to him wherever he may be. He is always fully awake and at one with Pure Consciousness, witnessing the drama of myriad world systems arising and dissolving. verse 62: He is ekam – one; he is nityam – eternal; he is vimalam – free from impurities; he is achalam – steadfast. He is the abode of knowledge and bliss, and is forever omniscient, omnipresent and vast like the sky. He is the witness.
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What does the Guru Gita really mean when it refers to The Witness? Here are excerpts from four different talks that Mark Griffin has given in which he explains this profound concept to us. As you read these quotes, reflect back that it is not only an aspect of creation and of our own essential nature that Mark is describing; as the Guru Gita explains, the witness is the Guru. "The manifestation of the luminous nature of mind takes the form of an aspect of consciousness that is called the witness. It is the dream-like expression of the turiya. The turiya refers to the luminous quality of mind – its capacity to be aware. Yet the awareness itself is empty, it has no quality; so it reflects the nature of formlessness. We find that the mind is completely reflective in its nature." "The witness is a language. If you were the master of your own witness, you would be able, in an instant, to see the formless nature of your own mind. You'd be in Savikalpa Samadhi, you could cross the ten states of God, you would be in the complete unfoldment of the ten streams of the Nirvikalpa, absolute formless quality, then you're in the complete non-duality. It's there. It doesn't go anywhere, it doesn't suddenly arrive. The missing ingredient is your capacity to experience on that level of formless expression." "As you progress through the awakening of the three worlds, it is the witness that is constant. It is important to understand your witness...when you are in the waking state, the witness is like a reflection of your own mind. It records absolutely everything that happens within you and around you. But because the brain can't consciously process that much information, it's forced to stratify itself into layers of subconscious and unconscious attention. A lot of what the awakening impulse of Shaktipat is about is giving you more energy. This energy awakens more brain mass, and the areas of the brain mass that are dedicated to processing formless forms of information." "As the process of unfoldment and expansion continues, you'll find that the witness is constant. As you come to the awakening of the subtle physical body, which is an extremely dramatic event, and as you begin to live in that universe, then begin to cross over into the causal body and the causal world, you find that this capacity of witness is constant. Thus when you begin to hit the Savikalpa Samadhi, where you have the first full-on darshan of the nature of your own mind as empty, the nature of the witness changes, and expresses and experiences itself in that awakened dream in the terms of emptiness. As it begins to go further into emptiness, and you begin to experience the ten states of God, which are profoundly empty and non-dual, the witness is present as the luminous turiya, witnessing that infinite non-duality. But it's not the same language that you're experiencing now, it's something else. It's a different language. Its the language of the formless nature of non-dual being. I'm speaking it to you now; I've been speaking it to you since the day you met me. Even though you're not conscious of it, or you are intermittently conscious of it, the witness has heard everything I've said. You've heard it, it's impacted you and changed you. It's like a force of nature: it must register. It can't not. That's why this path never fails." |
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From aTibetan tangha showing Mount Kailash:
North Face:
South Face:
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Verse 1 of Shri Guru Gita begins in Sanskrit with the word Kailasha, and is translated as: Knowing that Lord Shiva It is often said that everything is contained in its beginning. So it is certainly worth our while to contemplate the very first word with which the Guru Gita begins. The significance of Kailash is wonderful... First, it sets up the discourse in a physical setting, so as you read it you have an invitation to picture yourself there too - as though you are also seated on the mountain top as a participant in this conversation between Shiva and Parvati - which is what the entire Guru Gita is. If there were not a physical setting given to it, it would seem more abstract. This helps the mind engage with the teaching. Picture yourself there. Second, the imagery itself instructs us that a powerful teaching like this is rare – as rarified as the air on top of this Himalayan peak. To attain it, we must put ourselves out and climb the mountain top, as Parvati has done, to sit at the feet of Lord Shiva and be taught by him. This is a common theme we see often - even movies like Batman Begins have Bruce Wayne climbing the mountain for his training. Whether our personal mountain is the effort it takes us to get to a weekly meeting with Mark, to arrange to stream a Hard Light session, or to simply go sit for our daily meditation, holding the image of Mount Kailash reminds us of the sadhana involved in waking up. It is a pilgimage we engage in over and over. Third, of course the mountain top is a perfect metaphor that this teaching on Guru Yoga is the pinnacle of all knowledge. As the Gita itself says (v. 58) 'There is nothing worth knowing that is more important than this.' Fourth, Kailash represents the pillar of the divine touching down upon earth. This mountain is held to be the abode of Shiva. It is a holy site in four world religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Bon. In fact, it is off-limits to modern-day rock-climbing expeditions because it is sacred. Not all places on earth are created equal. As we know, there are places that are particular power vortices or portals for the divine, such as Nimboli/Ganeshpuri - the home of Fire Mountatin Retreat where Hard Light holds its annual yatras, and where Bhagawan Nityananda lived for many years. Kailash is such a place, and the Guru Gita was born there. Fifth, the mountain is an image of that which is at once grounded to the earth and pointing to the heavens. In this way it continually points to the link between our earthly existence and our simultaneous divine existence. Like the sushumna, linking us from the base element of earth at the root chakra to the unmanifest infinite ocean of consciousness at the sahasrara. Sixth, looking at photos of Kailash we are struck by its shape and how closely it resembles a triangle. The importance of this triangular shape is mentioned in verse 47 of the Guru Gita, which describes the A-Ka-Tha triangle at the crown of the head as the gateway for the Guru's energy. (If you are interested in learning more about this, check out the guided meditation Tune In To The Guru Radar, or the talk What Is Here Is Everywhere). Seventh, the mountain itself carries the message of sadhana - the ascent of the human spirit. It is symbolic of rising up, of evolution and growth. It inspires us to reach for the attainment of our highest nature – to strive for enlightenment. BTW ~ Kailash is located in Tibet, near Lake Manasarowar. In Sanskrit, Kailasa translates as 'crystal'; the four faces of the mountain are thought to be made of crystal, ruby, gold and lapis lazuli. It is at the heart of six major mountain ranges, symbolizing a lotus. Four major rivers flow from it: the Indus, the Sutlej, the Brahmaputra and the Karnali. |
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A representation of the innumberable chakras in the feet of the Guru:
A statue representing the feet of Saraswati:
Padukas - sandals
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What's with all the references to the Guru's feet throughout the Guru Gita? The source of devotion is the Guru’s feet. If you sprinkle water on your head while remembering the lotus feet of Shri Guru... Bow to the Guru’s feet ... The Guru’s lotus feet emanate the great Truths... Mark Griffin was asked this question while on the recent India retreat in Ganeshpuri/Nimboli – here is his answer: "All of the nadis, which are the meridians of the subtle body, terminate in the feet and go to all the essential organs, the elements of the nervous system, the architecture of the anatomy, the bones, etc. In an awakened person, there are also the prana streams and nadis that flow from the crown of the head down through the heart, down to the base of the spine, and down the legs – on the inside of the legs, between the legs, and on the outside of the legs. These terminate in the feet and go into the earth. The energy of grace tends to descend from the higher circuits of the sahasrara, which are the universal circuits, and move down into the relative circuits of the supracausal, causal, subtle physical, and physical bodies. That energy moves through those streams. When a person has undergone spiritual training and has begun to go into samadhi, the thunderbolt of pure consciousness is moving through all of the four bodies, including the physical body and the subtle physical body where the nadis come down the three central rivers – ida, pingala and sushumna, and the ten pranas. The feet of an awakened person are said to be sacred because the ocean of consciousness is moving through the unconscious structure consciously, and that energy is being expressed at the feet. Where the feet strike the earth, the energy will actually descend into the earth very deeply, from five to ten feet, even down to fifty or sixty feet, and capture an arc of earth shakti. The throb of the seventh plane is actually moving through the four bodies of an awakened being very much like a lightning rod. The seventh plane is being conducted down through all the planes and actually strikes the firmness of the earth, by grace of the awakened human being. The feet are the conducting point where the formless and empty awareness of pure consciousness is actually striking the earth – thus it's a focal point of incredible, essential spiritual energy. The Guru Pada, the feet of the Guru at the crown of the head, are the focal point from the higher sahasrara down into the four relative bodies. All of the spiritual activity that's going on inside the awakened person terminates in the feet. It is a very complex spiritual center. There are at least thirty-seven chakras on each foot and each of them have nadis that descend into the earth. There are certain nadis that go down on the outside of the legs, certain nadis that go down between the legs, and a set of nadis that go down through the legs. All of them are enlivened in an awakened person. Because they're open, you may experience a subtle or sympathetic vibration when you get near them. From the second chakra down, there is a quality of mechanical operation in the mandala of the medicine wheel that ties you onto the wheel. The right channel, the pingala, terminates on the right side of the second chakra; the left channel, the ida, on the left side, goes down past the second and the first chakra, and terminates in the space underneath the first chakra. These activate all of these nadis. The nature of the chakras, the first and second chakra and the space in between them, is a diamond-shaped chakra in women and an egg-shaped chakra in men. The nadis that are present there tie us into time and tie us into the world. The nadis that flow from this junction point at the base of the spine through the pelvis and down through the legs, carry all of the karma that ties us to the world. So there is a very powerful blessing that passes from the Guru to the disciple, in that the karmic knots that take place in this lower structure between the pelvis and the earth have lots of subtle knots that are binding in their nature. Being in proximity to a person who has opened all of those channels produces an opening impulse in all of those channels within the student. All those karmic seeds and subtle knots become opened and unbound. This is very important – when the legs are still kind of caught in their bound condition, it keeps the kundalini kind of trapped in a moderate level or signal. As it begins to clear, it actually breaks down and connects to the earth; and then that gives it extraordinary power. That's when you start to have these famous experiences of the kundalini firing up the spine and you get the benefit of all of the reflexes of power that the kundalini structure at the base of the spine and the second chakra have to offer. Until all of these knots are unbound, there are mitigating and conditioning factors that slow it down. You actually need the magnetism of the earth to draw the kundalini into full power. The bottom of the feet of an unenlightened one leave a signature of your karmic condition, like a footprint. There's a saying that the enlightened person leaves no footprints, because there's nothing to print, there's nothing there. It's just energy interchanging. But as long as these streams contain the signals of bound and contained karma, then the footprint that is left is of the quality of that person's energy. When you bow your forehead to the casts of feet at Nityananda's samadhi or Baba Muktananda's samadhi shrine, you're touching your head, which carries your brain, to one of the strongest spiritual focal points at the feet of the Guru. Because the feet of the Guru are at the crown of your own brain, when you touch your own head to the feet of the Guru, they strike on them. It's not symbolic, it's electrical." |
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Verse 25: Tvam pitaa tvam cha me maataa, tvam bandhus tvam cha devataa; In order to cross over the abyss of samsara, I recognize you as my father, my mother, my brother and my God. I bow to you, my beloved Sadguru.
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Today is Mother's Day - and it's a perfect time to contemplate verse 25 of Shri Guru Gita. Just as our own mother did her best to offer us shelter, protection and guidance as she helped raise us, so too our Guru provides shelter, protection and guidance - but not just from the sometimes-harsh nature of the life we are living now. The Guru looks to all our lifetimes, all our incarnations, all our karmas and stored impressions - and extends the loving force of a mother to offer us shelter, protection and guidance to be freed from the entire wheel of cyclic existence itself. This propensity to reincarnate over and over and over again without seeing through to the true essence of life is what is referred to in this verse as samsara. Like a mother, the Guru gives birth to our spiritual life with the bestowal of the ultimate gift of Shaktipat. With the tenderness of a mother, the Guru opens doorway after doorway of profound experience for us, nourishing us with his own energy, clearing away our obstacles by the force of his purity and love. With the strength of a father, he cuts asunder our attachment to our limited ego-identity. He sets out the discipline and guidelines for what the work of sadhana entails – daily meditation, Guru Gita recitation, constant mindfulness. With the companionship of a big brother, he gives us the living example of what enlightenment looks and feels like, as though saying: "Look, I spent much of my life in the dark like you too. Here's what I did to get awakened and here's what it's like. If I can do it, so can you." With the power and clarity of God, we can look to the Guru as an authority we can trust, because he speaks to us from the state of unity consciousness itself. Happy Mother's Day Mark |
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Verse 106: Complete immersion in the Guru – Gurubhava – is the most holy
pilgrimage. Going to any other place of pilgrimage is hollow and futile. O Parvati, why go somewhere else to worship, when the big toe of the Guru’s foot is the ultimate abode of all that is sacred.
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Verse 106 of the Guru Gita speaks of a concept that is seen in another ancient text of pure mysticism – also held sacred within the Hard Light Center: The Six Session Vajra Guru Yoga. The key idea is based on the Sanskrit word GURUBHAVA. Gurubhava comes from the Sanskrit root bhuu,meaning "to exist, to become". It is the expression or attitude of becoming one with, or becoming absorbed in the Guru, being totally immersed in the Guru, or identified with him. The word 'bhav' also expresses the feeling-tone that something might have: "it had a wonderful bhav"... In the Six Session Vajra text, this concept is referred to as "becoming of equal taste" with the Guru. Here are a few verses from the text illustrating that: By the forces of having been and another verse... The dakinis with powerful Why do these ancient Manuals of How To Get Enlightened repeatedly point to this practice? It's certainly not for the sake of the Guru. It's for our sake as seekers. It's a way for us to leap ahead in our evolution and connect with that which is enlightened. As the Guru is the representative of the state of enlightenment itself, this becomes an easy way to move into that state. Think of it as a shortcut. The favorite meditation practice of Mark's Guru – Baba Muktananda – was to identify each part of his body, mind and spirit with his Guru, Bhagawan Nityananda. In this way he experienced Gurubhava to the fullest. It's similar to the practice of Raising Bodhicitta that Mark also speaks about, as Bodhicitta is the state of enlightenment already dwelling within us. He also tells us that because Time is an illusion (from the perspective of the Vajra universe) – our own personal state of enlightenment exists now too. We can step into that state and realize our own awakening now. These are all excellent practices for holding the state of realization keenly in our awareness. This attentiveness on the goal actually propels us towards it. |
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| Do you have questions about studying the Guru Gita, or ideas for engaging in this sadhana that work for you? Please send them in for the future editions in this series. Thank you! | |||||||||||
