Emprendimiento indígena y TBC en América Latina

Eternal Unity with Him. Having graciously granted them a Vision of the Seven Worlds, the Lord made the Sign of Ultimate Reality and spoke: O you who are endowed with Wisdom! all the Worlds and their great wonders you have just beheld have their existence within Me. They arise, endure and subside like unto waves within Me, the Great Only-Existing Ocean of Life. They who know this, know the Highest Truth.

Commentary to Chapter Four

10. In the midst of that Fiery Circle the Lord Himself was seen dancing the Cosmic Dance: In the Yoga tradition, one of the Thousand Names of God (Shiva) is Nataraja, that is, Lord Of The Cosmic Dance. This Beautiful title designates one of the fundamental functions of the Divine.

Shiva is the Creative Intelligence that underlies everything in the Universe. As such, He

performs the Cosmic Dance of Creation and Destruction, of continuous change and transformation. Holy Images therefore traditionally show Him as being surrounded by a Ring of Flames which symbolises the Light of Universal Intelligence That rends the veil of mundane existence to reveal the Supreme Truth. On a different level, the Flaming Ring represents the heat or energy generated by Shiva's dynamic movements, by the rhythm of existence or the eternal pulsation of life. Shiva's Dance reminds us of the fact that everything in the Universe is subject to continual change as Energy constantly assumes new forms of life in the Eternal Play of Creation. As the Creative Energy of the Universe, Shiva spins and whirls round and round through time and space in a complete abandon to the sound of His Own Cosmic Music which is the rhythm of Universal Motion that beats in His Infinite Heart. Indeed, how could it be otherwise, since all sounds in the Universe ultimately derive from the One Eternal Divine Sound?

The Eternal Vibration or Pulsation of Life is represented by Shiva's long, wavy hair radiating in all directions like lines of force from His Head - the Centre of the World - and causing the entire Universe to vibrate with life and energy. In spite of the infinite number of movements and steps performed by His Body, at the very centre of this wild whirling dance, Shiva's Head always remains completely motionless, with a serene smile on His lips, reminding us of the centre of our own being, deep inside us, where we can find perfect stillness, peace and happiness. The purpose of Yoga Practice is to connect us with that still centre of our being so that we too can remain always calm, detached and full of love and joy amidst the endless activities and experiences that constitute the great drama of life.

33. Creation, Maintenance, Dissolution, Obscuration and Liberation: These are Your Five Powers Divine whereby You bring the Universe into being out of Yourself and cause it to revolve like a Mighty Wheel of Flames: The Shiva Purana explains: "This Wheel of the Universe is glorified in the Scriptures as a Five-Spoked Wheel. It consists of the Five Divine Acts, Creation and the rest which flow from Shiva's Own Power. It is called a Wheel because it incessantly revolves with each Dissolution and Re-Creation like a whirling Firebrand" (Kailasa Samhita 15:40-42). The above-mentioned Powers are the Activities of the Supreme Being whereby He Emits, Maintains and Re-absorbs the Universe back into Himself. Obscuration and Liberation are the Activities whereby Shiva, for the purpose of Creation, apparently separates the Universe-to-be along with the living Souls from Himself and then re-unites everything with Himself at the end of a Universal Cycle (Yuga). At the same time, Shiva Himself remains eternally still at the Centre of the Universe, causing the various stages of Creation and Dissolution to revolve round Him like a luminous wheel of life. For this reason He is known in the Scriptures by the titles of Yugavarta (He Who Causes The World Ages To Revolve), Chakra Samvarta (He Who Turns The Wheel Of The Universe), etc.

42. They call You the Only Wise One, the Supreme Saviour praised by the Scriptures: Lord Shiva is called Saviour (Taraka) in the Mahabharata and other Scriptures because as the Supreme Eternal Being Who is Ever Changeless, He saves all beings by graciously bringing them over the turbulent waters of worldly existence into His Divine Presence Which is like an Infinite Island of Peace. For this reason He is also referred to as Maker of Fords for crossing over (Tirthankara), Lord of Fords (Tirthadeva), Bestower of Fords (Tirthada), etc.

45. Shining like the Midnight Sun beyond the mists of ignorance: The Midnight Sun is the Sun as he is visible at midnight in the Northern regions close to the Earth Pole. He represents the Light of God Who is Ever Awake even when the whole World is shrouded in darkness and fast asleep. Due to His capacity of being Always Awake, Shiva Who is the Eternal Sun of Reality, is called The Sleepless One (Vinidra), He Whose Eyes Never Close (Animishayya), etc.

48. Verily, equal to Yourself are the wise ones who know the Secret of Your Mighty Wheel:

Wheel or Circle (Chakra) stands for the Pulsing Activity of the Supreme Lord and its five phases which succeed one another like the spokes of a wheel. This cyclic movement begins with the Act of Obscuration or Veiling (Vilaya) whereby Shiva conceals His Divine Nature from that which is to constitute Creation. This stage corresponds to that of Emptiness (Shunyata) immediately preceding Creation as described in Commentary to 2:72 (a). Second comes Shiva's Manifestation or Emission (Sarshti) of the Universe out of Himself. Third, the stage of Maintenance, Preservation or Duration (Sthiti) of the Created Universe. Fourth, Shiva's Dissolution or Absorption (Samhara) of Creation into Himself. And fifth, Grace (Prasada) or the Act of Liberation (Anugraha) whereby the Souls are awakened to Shiva's World of Light and re-united with Himself. Together, they constitute Shiva's Fivefold Act (Pancha-Kartya) whereby He continuously creates and dissolves the World. The Secret of this Wheel of Divine Activity consists not only in the mere intellectual understanding of its fundamentals but in the actual realisation of these five phases as they take place in every experience or activity of one's own consciousness. Every thought, feeling and sense perception arises from the Tranquil Sea of Consciousness, is held before oneself for a while and then returns to its original source.

Becoming engrossed in any of these and forgetting one's Self as the Source of all is the act of obscuration. Remembering the Self is liberation. Thus the Five Acts are constantly performed by all.

52. O God Whose emblem is the Mighty Bull: The Bull has been a symbol of Divine Power from earliest prehistoric times and was seen as such by most religious traditions of the Ancient World. In Ancient Egypt, Greece and the Near East, God was said to appear to His devotees in various forms, that of a Bull being one of the most powerful (and popular). In India, both Lord Adinatha, the founder of the Jaina tradition and the Hindu God Shiva have a Bull as a symbolic mount, the title Vrishabha-Gati (He Who Goes On A Bull) being one of Lord Shiva's many Names. The same may be said of the Chinese Taoist Master, Lao Tze, and of the South-Indian Master Boddhidharma (Bodhitara) who in the 6^th century introduced Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism to China. While this may seem surprising to modern city-dwellers, in ancient times when most people were farmers or herdsmen, bulls which are rather impressive animals would have been a common sight. In consequence, it would have made sense for the Deity to assume a form with which the believers were familiar. In Ancient India, the Bull was associated with the great Indus Valley Civilisation and cattle which are regarded as sacred are still allowed to roam the streets of modern Indian villages and cities. In Yoga, the Bull as Shiva's emblem is a symbolic embodiment of Spiritual Realities: his four legs represent the Four Yogic Truths; his body represents Steadfastness on the Path of Dharma; his sexual organ symbolises the Divine Power of Creation; his two horns represent Right Action and Right Knowledge; his powerful voice represents the Revelation of Divine Truth. As the Bull performs the functions of procreating as well as leading and protecting the herd, he symbolises not only God's Divine Power of Creation but also of Protection and Guidance and, by extension, Universal Sovereignty. See also Shiva Purana, Vid. Sam., 15:86, where it is said: The Bull of Dharma has forbearance for his horns, restraint for his ears, faith for his eyes, etc. In agricultural terms, the Bull (Vrishabha, from vrish, to rain, to make fertile, to have manly power) is associated with rain and the re-awakening of vegetation on Earth. Festivals during which bulls are let loose among the people or bullfights are held are still observed in India today. Indeed, so great is the suggestive power of the word Bull, and so deep-rooted its influence on the Indian mind that in Sanskrit, a highly symbolic language, it has come to stand for everything that occupies a prominent position among others. The expression "the Bull among the cows" (Vrisho-gavam) can be extended to literally everything that is chief or salient among other things. The thumb, for example, is called "Bull-finger"

(Vrisha-angulinam) that is, the Bull (or chief) among all fingers. "Having The Bull For An

Emblem" (Vrishabha-Ketu) therefore, means, He Whose Emblem Is The Mark Of Supreme Leadership (or Excellence) Over All Things.

56. Hearing their words the Lord… led them deep into the Mountain through a cleft that lay hidden in the wall of rock: Going into a mountain and, in particular, entering a cave situated near the summit of a mountain symbolises entrance into a higher state of consciousness or higher dimension of reality.

58. He showed them the World of the Planets, etc.: The Seven Worlds correspond to the seven levels of experience which are mastered through inner knowledge of the Seven Energy Centres or Chakras in the human body.

End of Chapter 4 and Commentary