VASHA-SHAVA-SHIVAOur ancestors categorised days/moments for prayers, for personality development / transformation and for attaining the true Self within. The observance of such performance on a particular day / moment is called vrata. Shivaratri has been given a special importance to move from darkness to light.
Shiva means auspiciousness. In order to reach ‘Shiva state of being,’ we need to follow the process of attaining that. If you jumble the Sanskrit letters in shi-va, it can be combined to get the word va-shi, meaning ‘gripped by’ or ‘in the grip of’. We are in vasha, in the grip of certain things. Whose grip? One needs to ponder dispassionately in order to understand that. If you jumble the letters in va-sha, one can coin sha-va. Then, what is shava? What is Shiva? What is vasha?
If one observes one’s life-style, one would realise that everybody is in the grip of sensory organs. We are immersed in the grip of sensory pleasures. We have forgotten ourselves, as we are under the grip of desires, under the grip of greed. Our bonded life, filled with rajas, has made our life miserable. With the grace of the Lord, the Guru, the awareness of ‘I am none of these’, ‘my state is something else’ dawns on sadhakas often. When you are gripped by anger, when you are immersed in the depth of greed, when you are caught by passion, in those situations if you realise that ‘I am none of those’, ‘It is not my true nature’, then, you are in the ‘Shiva state of being.’
Who am I? Under whose grip am I? How did I enter those grips? Such thoughts would lead you to Shiva Consciousness. That is the state of Shiva. In order to attain the Shiva Consciousness, in order to identify that, the dance of prakriti attached to it should be stopped. The life engrossed with prakriti should cease to exist. Becoming ‘shava’ is that.
I need to become Shava, a corpse, in order to become Shiva. Shiva-Shakti means the combination of nature and consciousness. We are struggling to have harmony between within and without. We are trying to lead a happy life. We are not able to attain that. It is a tragedy. In order to be free from the dance of sensory organs, an awareness of ‘I am none of these’ is a must. We should also be aware that whatever happens is with the Grace of the Lord.
In order to attain the Shiva state of being, may we live in that awareness.
Finally, With this issue we have entering second year of publishing Sadhana Sangama E-Newsletter. We sincerenly believe that you have cherished the contents of this newsletters. Many seekers, who attended my programs wanted the contents of the programs they attended in a written form so that they could remind themselves of the path again and again. In a way, in the 12 issues brought out, we hope you could find out sections more relevant to you.
In service of Guru Parampara,
Sri Pattabhiram
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