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Taking firm hold of That, the spanda principle, the awakened yogi remains firm with the resolution 'I will surely carry out whatever it will tell me'.

Spanda Karikas, 1.23

I

Pratyabhijnahridayam, techniques such as meditation on thought-free

awareness and the hamsa mantra. After discussing all of these, the sutra ends with 'etc.'. This is significant. Kshemaraja says, 'The word adi (et- cetera), refers to the practice of unmesha condition'. Unmesha refers to the expansive upward shift of feeling that one experiences when the Self is contacted. Kshemaraja explains that the movement of the universe has two aspects, the arc of descent, nimesha, in which Shiva becomes a person, and the arc of ascent, unmesha, in which a person becomes Shiva. In nimesha, Consciousness becomes m a t t e r a n d in unmesha, m a t t e r r e t u r n s to Consciousness.

In Chapter 11,1 spoke about the five cosmic processes, which were fairly complex. In fact, those five processes can be reduced to these two movements of contraction and grace, multiplicity and oneness. Looking carefully within, a meditator will discover that his own mind contains both of these movements in the form of the downward shift and the upward shift.

UPWARD SHIFT YOGA

Following the upward shift is a perfect yogic practice. It is the practice of Shaivism in the world. You have undoubtedly felt an upward shift, a sudden feeling of vibrancy, many times in your life. When you see a good movie you might feel uplifted. Or when someone says something kind, or when you accomplish something. You've also experienced the downward shift, the contraction.

Spanda Karikas 1.21 says:

Therefore, one should be always on the alert for the discernment of the

spanda principle. Such a person attains his essential state (as spanda)

even in the waking condition in short time.

The spanda principle is the same as unmesha, the upward shift of feeling. Unfortunately, the mind wants to look for negativity, how you've been mistreated, how things are unjust, how that person is a sinner - downward shifts. Baba used to say, 'A crow, even in heaven, would eat shit!' The mind is like that crow; even in the most favourable circumstances, the mind loves to dwell on negativity. You have to train the mind to eat good thoughts. This is the practice of looking for what is expansive and uplifting. In this vein, K s h e m a r a j a q u o t e s s e v e r a l dharanas from the

Vijnanabhairava:

When one experiences the expansion of joy of savour arising from the pleasure of eating and drinking, one should meditate on the perfect condition of this joy, then there will be supreme delight. (Dharana 49) When the yogi mentally becomes one with the incomparable joy of song and other objects, then of such a yogi, there is, because of the expansion of his mind, identity with that (i.e., with the incomparable joy) because he becomes one with it. (Dharana 50)

Swami Lakshmanjoo calls such moments kama-kala. He explains that

kama-kala refers to the bringing together of two things. Kama means desire,

the force that brings the two things together. In this context it is the conjunction of the tongue with delicious food or of the ear with beautiful music. Any of the senses might come into play. Although kama-kala usually refers to the sexual act, Lakshmanjoo says it actually refers to any such conjunction. In the most general way, it is the conjunction of subject and object. We've already seen how the force of maya separates the 'I' from the world. When this split is healed by an inner act of contemplation, there is a definite upward shift or vibration of Shakti.

Shaiva Tantra: The Yoga of the Upward Shift 185

Lakshmanjoo says, ' E v e r y w h e r e in these unifications, in these conjunctions, he experiences the state of kundalini'. Interestingly, the Hasidic masters use the same word, unification, in discussing their method of uniting the world to the Divine.

Lakshmanjoo quotes the Vatulanatha Sutra, in which we hear that the 'great festival of unification' (mahamelapa) is the meeting of the Siddhas and the yoginis, in a rite of sexual tantra. He comments:

The truth is that all contacts are sexual, it refers to all sensual contacts. In this way, hearing is a sexual contact. Seeing is a sexual contact. Smelling is a sexual contact. Touching is a sexual contact. Tasting is a sexual contact. So in this verse, the word Siddha refers to I-Consciousness and the word yogini refers to whatever objectivity united with it. Lakshmanjoo calls this unification charya-krama. Here, he uses the term 'sexual' at the highest level of its reach, where it merges in spirituality. He makes the point that only highly qualified aspirants can actually practise

charya-krama without danger of a fall. Sexual tantra is often used as an

excuse for sexual indulgence. That is not to say that it is always thus. I have known several great masters who seemed to have practised it in the divine way.

The ancient and mysterious symbol, the shivalingam, sacred to Shaivism, is an eternal embodiment of charya-krama. The shivalingam is clearly and graphically the representation of a phallus, the lingam, inserted in a vagina, the yoni. One wishes that Dr Freud had studied this symbol, for in it he would have discovered a raising up of sexuality to the Divine, instead of a reduction of everything to physical sexuality. The lingam represents the cosmic marriage of opposites, male and female, yin and yang, matter and Consciousness. It stands for the unity-in-diversity that is the nature of Consciousness.

Abhinavagupta tells us that the lingam represents knowledge power (jnana

shakti), while the yoni represents action power (kriya shakti). Remember that - anava mala, the primal limiting condition that turns Shiva into an individual,

has two forms: knowledge without action, and action without knowledge. When Shiva becomes contracted He suffers His catastrophe in these two ways: He retains understanding, but is impotent to do. Or, He is full of relatively effective doership but has little wisdom.

Joining his knowing and doing, as in the symbolism of the shivalingam, the aspirant heals his problem and experiences an increase in spiritual

energy. In the Gurdjieff system a third force is necessary to emerge from two primary forces that block each other. A single object or idea is something set in form (first force). It is cut off from the whole and therefore is static. The energy in it is relatively restricted and blocked by the simple fact that it has definite form, just as a single thought cuts itself off from the ocean of Consciousness. A second object or thought needs to be introduced to challenge the original and test its boundaries by inviting it to change shape and dissolve in Consciousness. This second force sets up a tension that is resolved by the form of grace (third force) that comes to hand, in which energy is freed and upliftment ensues.

Enjoying sexual love, food or beautiful music, a yogi knows that the upliftment he derives is nothing but the Self. The ordinary experiences of life can become a vehicle of spirituality, if our awareness is tuned in the right way. A true Shaivite is not opposed to, or afraid of pleasure, rather he regards pleasure as an experience of the Self. All the things that give us pleasure turn us to the Self. But instead of saying, 'that was a great song', we should say, 'that puts me in touch with the Self.

I don't mean that you should actually say that, because people will think that you are a yoga lunatic. But even while celebrating a song, or a singer, a part of you should know 'that your experience is in you, your response is from your inner being. If you didn't have that as a potential within yourself, no singer, however great, could elicit it.

Even the experience you have of love for another person is a trigger of your own love. Instead of saying, 'Darling, I love you!' you should say, 'Darling, you make me feel my own love!' It's terribly unromantic, isn't it? Be warned that if you speak to your beloved that way she will say, 'You cad! Mr Darcy, I'll never marry you!' So keep this knowledge inside yourself.

Kshemaraja again quotes the Vijnanabhairava (Dharana 51):

Wherever the manas, the individual mind, finds satisfaction, let it be concentrated on that. In every such case the true nature of the highest bliss will shine forth.

What a fantastic statement; what self-acceptance and appreciation of the divine nature of the world! Whatever you love, whomever you love, let the mind focus on that. Then shift from the object to the feeling that the object awakens and meditate on that. That will lead you to the Self.

Shaiva Tantra: The Yoga of the Upward Shift 187

Finally, Kshemaraja says, 'Or any other meditation on the Self, full of bliss, may be inferred'. Here is where you should be creative in meditation. Whatever gives you bliss, whatever opens you to bliss, meditate on that. Let your intuition work. The yoga of Kashmir Shaivism is intensely practical. It is anything but moralistic. It tells us to make use of our natural (healthy) proclivities and turn them to the Divine.

DOUBT AND CONVICTION

Living the Shaivite life implies constant attention to energy. When we move in the right direction, energy increases and expands. When we go in the wrong direction, we become depleted. All the negative matrikas and negative emotions deplete us. Abhinavagupta says that it is not thought that is the real problem, but doubt. Doubt creates a block in Consciousness. The mind says, maybe this, maybe that; maybe yes, maybe no. This creates a tension and freezes a person at the place of doubt. He no longer flows in Consciousness. In fact, Consciousness is hidden by uncertainty. He cannot move until the doubt is overcome or turned away.

I have already quoted Shiva Sutras 1.17, which says:

Vitarka atmajnanam

The knowledge of the Self is conviction.

Only certainty leads to knowledge of the Self, and certainty only comes from higher things, not from the world of opinion. The Shiva yogi lives his life with courage and passion. If you are in the woods with two paths leading away from a clearing, like the hero in the famous poem by Robert Frost, if you are full of doubt and do not act, then you never leave the clearing. A Shaivite knows that all roads lead to Shiva, and Shiva has infinite faces. He knows that it is far better to take either path and walk it. If it is the wrong path, he will learn it quickly enough. In the highest sense there can be no wrong choice since there is nowhere to wander away from Shiva.

I often use the metaphor of the 'doorway': this path is a doorway to Consciousness; this practice is a doorway to Shiva; this attitude is a doorway to the Absolute; the Guru is the doorway to God. I realised that I unconsciously held this metaphoric vision of life. Shiva is close at hand just behind the veil, just behind the door. So the Shaivite, in his life as in his yoga, should act courageously, knowing that everything that he needs will come. At the same time, he must be sensitive and aware and accept the feedback

that comes from the world, which is nothing but Chiti. Do the yoga that you

understand at the level that you understand it and do it with full conviction. MEDITATION ON THE BLISS OF THE WORLD

The comprehensive Shaivite meditation is to find the bliss of the world. The world is complex and hidden in it are kernels of light, of divinity. We can be like the crow and ignore what is joyous and find the negative. Or we can be like the swan. In India the swan symbolises discrimination. It is said that if you were to throw milk into a pond, the swan could find the milk and leave the water. It has the ability to extract what is truly valuable. When I became a swami I received paramahamsa sanyassa. A paramahamsa is the s u p r e m e s w a n : a sage is expected to h a v e highly developed discrimination. A true paramahamsa should be able to separate the wheat from the chaff. He can find the bliss that is hidden in the world.

Now, let's do the meditation of a paramahamsa. Look within and separate the wheat from the chaff. Find the bliss hidden inside. Or alternatively, think of any person or experience that gives you a feeling of love or joy. Gradually move away from that person or activity and focus fully on the experience of love or joy. See if you can expand that experience. Immerse yourself in it. Let's meditate for 10 minutes.

Chapter 15

Methods of Meditation II: The Vijnanabhairava