Vol # 1 Issue # 4 April 2013

inner sights
A journal of meditation

A Production of TAOSHOBUDDHA MEDITATIONS

A journal of meditation Inner sights Mystical Insights into all Dimensions

A Journal of Inner Sights
All rights are reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the original publisher TAOSHOBUDDHA MEDITATIONS TM and TAOSHOBUDDHA. Printed and Published by: Cover design and graphics: CHIEF EDITOR: Phone: Skype.Com: Website: TAOSHOBUDDHA MEDITATIONS Anand Neelambar SWAMI ANAND NEELAMBAR, TRINIDAD 1-954-381-1227 Taoshobuddha1 http://dhyan-samadhi.webs.com/ www.https//youtube.com/taoshobuddha9 www.https//scribd.com/taoshobuddhacyberlibrary www.https//issuu.com/taoshobuddhalibrary Email for contributions and other matters: mailtaoshobuddha@gmail.com mailtaoshobuddha@yahoo.com avatar411@gmail.com A production of 1-868-683-8587

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Inner Sights A Journal of Meditation

Contents
Title Phenomena of Avatar-hood Maya The Creative Force of Brahma Symbols in Hinduism What is creation and dissolution? The desire for sex I am that which is Identify with Eternal alone Karma Yoga of Krishna The Vision of the Being The Cosmic Oneness Meditation over Shiva-Lingam The three Gunas - Modes Pillars of Inner Health Page 2 4 7 8 10 11 12 13 15 16 19 22 28

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Links: Taoshobuddha on Scribd www.scribd.com/TAOSHOBUDDHACYBERLIBRARY NAQSHBANDI SHEIKH TAOSHOBUDDHA - The Realm of Meditation dhyan-samadhi.webs.com/apps/profile/57594571 Meditation: The Way of Self-Realization - Taoshobuddha - Google ... books.google.com/books/about/Meditation.html?id...1AC Ek Onkar Satnam: The Heartbeat of Nanak - Taoshobuddha ... books.google.tt Religion TAOSHOBUDDHA HEALTH FOOD NETWORK: BOOKS OF ... taoshobuddhafoodnetwork.blogspot.com/.../books-o. 27:30 taoshobuddha talks on the diamond sutra - YouTube www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4_b4pVFUDk Taoshobuddha - Barnes & Noble www.barnesandnoble.com/c/taoshobuddha BARNES & NOBLE | Ek Onkar Satnam: The Heartbeat of Nanak by ... www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ek...taoshobuddha/1112616542 BARNES & NOBLE | MEDITATION: THE ULTIMATE IN HEALING by ... www.barnesandnoble.com/w/...taoshobuddha/1112616535

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Phenomena of Avatar-hood

The day you will be able to envision that you are totality, you are consciousness permeating through the entire cosmos, you are the form and formless simultaneously, and you are as embodied as this visible world and yet you are unembodied self you have attained to Enlightenment. Then there comes a bridge between the outer and inner; visible and invisible; form and formless. The problem that man is facing and the state of inner conflict. The result of this misery is that man has swerved from the path of awareness. Follow the path of awareness nowhere. Thus you will attain to all other aspects of life Artha finance; kama and finally the moksha the salvation. Totality can verily assume any form according to the need. This is the concept of Avatarhood incarnation. Certainly avatar do not drop from the sky. Whenever totality manifests itself in any form that becomes avatar. It is only the formless that can assume the form. However the form
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can experience the formless both within and without. In the beginning of the creation there was formless and then as the formless assumed the form and thus the entire creation came into existence. Totality itself being beyond birth and death through its creative force yogamaya appears to be assuming form. According to the need of the totality samasti that creative energy assumes different forms. Verily there are different forms of incarnation. Nitya Avatar when totality manifests itself according to the need as men of awareness, saints, and sages know this as Nitya-Avatar. Ansha-vatar Fractional incarnation when the creative energy assumes the form for any specific function know this as Ansha-vatar. For understanding purposes all the electrical appliances can be in this category as these manifest one aspect of the creative energy of electricity. Out of ten incarnations of Hindus Varah avatar, Matsya avatar fish incarnation and Vaman avatar the dwarf form are the examples of fractional incarnations. Avesha-vatar when totality manifests itself to protect its devotees know this as aveshavatar. The Narsimgh Avatar half lion-and half man is such example. This was to protect Prahlad. Shirdi Sai used this form to help his disciples. It is in this form the masters impose themselves on any living being as the vehicle to help the seekers. Gyanavatar when totality manifests itself for the expression of awareness as the message know this as Gyanavatar. Badrayana Krishna Dwaipana Veda-Vyasa is such incarnation. He composed and regrouped the entire vedic knowledge as four separate vedas and prepared each one of his four disciple for one veda. Thus he gave each of his disciples one veda: Paila (Rig Veda), sage Vaisampayana (Yajur Veda), Jaimini (Sama Veda), Sumanthu (Atharva Veda), Romaharshana (Ithihasas and Puranas). In fact Lord Dattatreya who is an incarnation of Trinal Lords Brahma, Vishnu, and Maheswara and is regarded as a Guru is said to be a disciple of Veda Vyasa. The Purna Avatar when totality manifests itself in its total glory and the sixteen art forms kalas, know this as Purna-avatar. Krishna is called the Purna Avatar. Parmatma or totality is always total purna yet it manifests itself in different forms according to the need of the moment.

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Maya The Creative Force of Brahma

The mystic teachings in Vedanta are centered on a fundamental truth of the universe that cannot be reduced to a concept or word for the ordinary mind to manipulate. Rather, the human experience and mind are themselves a tiny fragment of this truth. In this tradition, no mind-object can be identified as absolute truth, such that one may say, That is it. So, to keep the mind from attaching to incomplete fragments of reality, a speaker could use this term to indicate that truth is Not that. The word MAYA has to be understood. In English there is no equivalent word: illusion is not right. The word Maya is derived from the Sanskrit roots ma (not) and ya, generally translated as an indicative article meaning that. In Hinduism, Maya is to be seen through, like an epiphany - an appearance or manifestation especially of a divine being, in order to achieve moksha - liberation of the soul from the cycle of samsara. Ahamkra - ego-consciousness and karma act as the binding forces of Maya. Maya may be understood as the phenomenal Universe of perceived duality. Indeed it is like a lesser reality-lens that is superimposed on the unity of Brahman. It is said to be created by the divine through the Lila - creative energy or material cycle. It is manifested
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as a veilthe basis of dualism. The sanskaras of perceived duality continually perpetuate samsara. In the east we call real that which is eternal, timeless and has always been, will always be, there was never a time when it was not this eternal we call the real, the true the Truth the Brahman. Exactly opposite to it is the unreal, the untrue which has never been, and will never be. Between the two extremes is MAYA that appears to be. MAYA means that which appears to be and yet is not. It is just in the middle of the real and the unreal. It is a lie but it appears like truth. It is a decorated lie, and very convincing. When it is there it appears absolutely true; you know it. However for the world it is essential. Maya is the creative energy or the essence of Brahma. It is beyond words and explanation. You cannot understand it through words. Only through experience or realization alone you can know it. Neither happiness nor unhappiness is real or truth. Both are transitory. This visible world is dream like. And Maya is the creative energy that presents truth shrouded as false. Therefore that which is visible is not truth. In the darkness of night the rope appears to be snake. This is inexpressible that which is neither true nor untrue. Instead it is in between the two. Such is the nature of Maya the inexpressible. Verily truth is that which exists during the three stages of time and thus remain eternal unchangeable. And that which does not have existence is Maya. However Maya appear to exist and true because we can see its result and it is untrue as well. Since it can never be explained either as true or as untrue as a result it remains beyond expression and any description. Water is the cause. It exists as wave, bubble, and foam. These forms are the result. Indeed cause is another form of effect or result. Therefore the world that is created out of ignorance is called Maya in Vedanta. Maya verily hides the real form. And avidya is born out of this ignorance, as the cause. And thus considering the creation out of imaginations as true leads to maya. And thinking these true man starts running behind these in spite of their false nature. The creative force of Maya that veils truth is called the veiling energy. And that which renders false as true is known as Vikshapa or illusionary energy. The visible creation is nothing but the illusion. In the night when you dream you never suspect. Even very skeptical people, atheists, cannot suspect. In a dream there is nobody who suspects. Even great doubters who suspect everything do not suspect the dream. When the dream is there it appears absolutely true. Absurd things also look true. When the dream is there it is real. It is so real that even absurdity does not make you doubt. In the morning when you open your eyes, suddenly it is unreal. Now from where had it come? It had come from your own unawareness. It was your projection. It was not
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there outside you, it was inside you; it was your game. And when you were so lost in it, it became real. In the morning you are awake, the projection is withdrawn; you can see now that it was unreal. When it was not, and now again there is a time when it is not. Should we call it unreal? But then it was there in the middle. In the evening it was not, in the morning it is not again, but in the night it is there. So how can you call it unreal? So in the east we invented a new term. We call it MAYA: what is unreal but appears as real because of our unconsciousness. MAYA is almost like magic something which is not but can be made to appear as if it is. It shows something about you. A dream shows something about the dreamer. For example, if you dream about women, sex, and things like that, that simply shows that in your waking life you must be trying to be celibate, or you must be trying to go beyond sex. You must be repressing sexuality. The repressed bubbles up in your dream, becomes a projection. If in the night you dream always about fasting and dinners and things like that, that simply means you must be trying to starve yourself in some way or other. You must be fasting, or you may be a food-maniac. You must be doing something wrong; your body is not satisfied. That dissatisfaction arises in your dream. Or you are repressing something that arises in your dream. It simply shows that your life is not going rhythmically. There is something disturbing its rhythm. That disturbance arises in the dream, becomes a projection. It shows something about the person who is dreaming. Maya can be explained with Cyber Space. It exists yet it does not exist. Cyber space is real because it contains something yet it does not exist. That which exists and yet does not exist remains unexplainable. Such is the nature of Maya. No one has seen it yet everyone knows its utility. It is unseen yet essential for day to day operation. Verily everything remains hidden in its womb. Vivek Chudamani explains this through the example of sage Narad who sought its explanation from Krishna.

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Symbols in Hinduism

Symbolism is essential part of the religion. Each religion has its symbols. Over the period of long journey the essence of these symbols is lost and we simply carry dead traditions in our hands. In this issue I am speaking on symbolism in Hinduism. However in subsequent issues I shall speak the significance of symbols in other religions as well. Hinduism is the religion like Zen Buddhism where the deeper message is given through symbols. To decode these symbols require awareness. Awareness brings intelligence. Hindus say Vishnu rests on the bed of Snake King called SheshNag. This is symbolic and you need to decode this word. And when you have awareness to decode such messages you can move from the realm of the known to the unknown; word to wordless; heard to unheard sound and form to formless. The word Shesh comes from Sanskrit language - a language that is so profound that a single word can give different meanings.

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Shesh means snake. Out of this meaning comes the bed of snake king. Sheshnag refers to the king of serpent. There is yet another and deeper meaning of this word. Shesh also means the remainder. That which remains in the end. In mathematics the final result is called the remainder especially in subtraction. It also means Baki - that which remains. Therefore Vishnu refers to that existence which remains when everything dissolves or disappears. It indeed exists beyond time and space - the eternal. Like this I shall continue to share the insights. And this is the theme of monthly e magazine - INNER SIGHT.

What is creation and dissolution?

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No one has seen beginning of creation or its dissolution. However we see its effects. Verily everything comes into existence as cause and effect. Clay pot is made from clay and the potter is the maker. Thus both cause and creator of clay pot are separate from one another. All the gold ornaments are made from gold. The cause is the same but the effect creation is separate. Such is not the case with creation. The creator is not separate from its creation. Creator is the process of creation. Hindus use the example of dancer and the dance to explain the relation between the creator and the creation. The dance is as long as the dancer is. It is not that the dancer can go and dance may remain. Both are embedded into one another. No dance certainly is possible if there is no dancer - no this cannot happen. That is why Hindus called creator as NATRAJ. The question is not the beginning or the end of creation. Instead the question should be how to reach the creative force through the creation. Creation is chronological process of evolution. In the beginning everything was unexpressed avyakta. From Avyakta the creation became subtle sukhma. And then from Sukshma to sthool or gross. This is systemic process of creation. Before and structure comes into existence it exists in its avyakta and then in subtle form. Human eyes cannot see this. The entire design of the structure is known to the architect. Human eyes knows only when the architect creates the model. When the model is ready the entire process of transforming the model into actual structure begins. This can explain the process of creation. And dissolution is the reversal of this order. Everything is gross visible. From gross dissolves into subtle sukshma. And finally the sukshma subtle dissolves into avyakta inexpressible. During your waking state you engage into actions. At the end of the day the gross disappears into subtle and then comes deep sleep when even the subtle - thoughts and emotions all appear to have vanished, certainly these do not vanish instead these dissolve. This is dissolution. The reversal is the process of creation. You are in deep sleep and then state of dream comes when there are thoughts and when you wake up you try to give your thoughts a form and shape this is creation. Just as we wake up and sleep every day so too in the cosmos this creation and dissolution continues uninterruptedly. From truth sky ether evolved from ether vayu air. From air agni fire. From fire water and from water prithvy earth evolved. This is the process of creation. Thus the subtle aspect of creation of diverse forms and name evolved. Such is the chronological evolution of creation and the reversal is dissolution.
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The desire for sex

The desire for sex is never satisfied by constant engagement in the act of sex. First there is attraction for the other. Attraction brings excitement. Excitement takes you to climax. And then there is loss of energy as shkhalan or discharge. Meditate for how long does this satisfaction remain? After this the male and female get disinterested in one another until the process begins. Then again the process begins. This momentary satisfaction leads you nowhere. Meditate over this attraction for that which is ephemeral. There is greater orgasmic experience when your inner man and woman; yin and yang; Shiva and Shakti. When such an experience comes then you will not have attraction for the opposite sex. The attraction for sex is only because of the covering of ignorance. It is because of this cover of ignorance there is need for physical covering. When ignorance vanished the attraction of sex too vanishes.
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Sex is generated in human brain. There is an inner connection from the organ of reproduction to the brain. There are certain very sensitive nerve centers in the ears that transmit the sex impulse from brain to the organ. When this connection is discontinuous the impulse does not reach to the organ of action. Once you have experienced the cosmic orgasm you have no attraction for the opposite sex. And sex becomes irrelevant for you.

I am that which is

When you stand in front of reflecting media the light creates your image the shadow. When there is no light the image will not form. But light is always. The reflecting media is ignorance. So too your body-mind-intellect realm is the ignorance. Therefore when light reflects through this medium. Illusion happens. When you are discontinuous with this realm the veil of illusion vanishes then you can say, I am that which is. This is Upanishadic statement one of the four Vakyas statements Tatvya masi. All divisions vanish.

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Identify with Eternal alone

One who has expressed itself both as form and formless; visible and invisible; known and unknown one who has expressed itself through the entire cosmos! How can that be ever pleased with the death of one body one form as an offering or sacrifice to any deity? Am I this body alone? Are you all this body alone? Through awakening alone you can envision your cosmic form. Man strives to understand the other and in the process forgets to understand oneself. If man strives to understand oneself instead of others one shall verily attain to awakening the prelude of eternity. Then you will realize that you are beyond all that is finite. That which is infinite is beyond pain, pleasure, weakness, strength, hunger, and satiation too. Then one verily loses all forms of identification cause he is floating in the infinite immortal existence. His only identification is no identification. All that identifies one from the other constantly changes. Pain, pleasure, fear, happiness, sorrow etc. inflict you only when your physical identification overshadow your real identification. To be proud of ones ever-changing physical state opens the doors of illusion or ego. Through this door all attachments enter. It does not matter what you call me sane or insane. What is important is to seek awakening within. Awakening is the way to know the difference between being and non-being. Awaken to that eternal that alone is your identification.

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Karma Yoga of Krishna

The karma Yoga that Krishna is speaking of in The Bhagvad Gita differs significantly from that is being propagated by the so-called learned ones. To understand the message of Krishna you will need a different level of understanding. You have to seek the complimentary pole within you. With your understanding or that of the priest you can never understand Krishna and his message. On his own Dhritarashtra could not understand therefore he needed the awareness of Sanjaya. Seek the master through your prayers. When Mira failed in all her efforts only then the thirst deepened in her. It the quest became so intense that she was eventually initiated by Ravidas. Krishna enquired from Arjuna what does he think of him. Arjuna responded, that he considers him-Krishna as master. Had Arjuna considered Krishna as God Incarnate he
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would have failed in his inner search. Certainly Krishna would have sent him in search of the master. Verily one can be initiated into inward journey only by a master. Therefore Bhagvad Gita is the message given by a master to his disciple not a message from God-Incarnate or the friend in Krishna whom Arjuna since childhood as his cousin. In Bhagvad Gita Krishnas role is that of a master. And the reason of immense popularity of the message contained in the Bhagvad Gita is its style, and the systematic way of explanation. It is a dialogue in the midst of thick and thin of the world and its affairs. It is not a message from the sequestered Himalayan caves. The situation and the context of the message is unique. Unlike other Upanishads the messages is given in the battle field when the opposing forces are at conflict and therefore have gathered to fight. The master enunciates Arjuna to engage in action not like any other person. Instead he propagates Arjuna to engage in action irrespective of its nature with a total state of inner emptiness. Normally one engages in action because of many reasons. There is a subject the doer and the action that is to be done. Both these subject and the action that is to be undertaken are separate from one another. There is a direct relation between the two. The doing the action for a reason. Behind every action there is motive. And when you are empty within then neither the doer nor the motive is there. Instead there is simply the action. It is the sense of doer that keeps one entangled in the realm of duality. All our actions are doer oriented. The methodology that will free one from this sense of the doer forms the theme of the message of Krishna through Bhagvad Gita. One who attains to the freedom from the results of actions verily attains to the state of inner poise. And the moment this happens one attains to the state of awakening. Then you can be in the world of duality and conflict but there will no inner conflict and duality. With this finite merges into the infinite. The drop becomes ocean. No more duality. As the drop merges in the ocean it becomes oceanic the cosmic the magnanimous. Krishna argues as long as you believe that man can die you have not attained to your being. The moment you attain to your being you are beyond both death and birth. Then not only are you beyond death and birth instead the entire creation. What appears to be birth and death is the veil of ignorance created by the veil of Maya. As long as you do not taste your being you will never know that which is with is beyond birth and death. If you think that you can kill someone you are mistaken. This is ignorance. The very concept of killing someone is materialistic. One who has envisioned the innerness and tasted as well, for such a being no one ever takes birth or dies. This all is play. Both life and death are plays. This world the known realm is a large stage on which we come to act our parts. Then do the most what ye may cause frigid claws of death may soon descend and seal your humble fate. And then you shall not have time to mend.

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The Vision of the Being

Verily there are three ways to look at the relation between the two - The vision of the body; the vision of the Jiva; and the vision of the being. When you look at everything and each relation from the vision of the body there is separation division. Body is gross and gross has its separate entity. At this level all relations emerge father, mother, friend, disciple, husband etc. The body is gross and cannot merge into one another. The duality remains. Through the vision of Jiva the relation is like part and whole. It is like the relation between gold and gold ornaments. The division of the gross begins to dissolve. Each one of you is composed of the same stuff the body, the mind, and the being. Although each gold ornament is made of the gold yet the separation remains. Last is the vision of the being. Through the vision of the being all divisions, diversifications, differences, dualities vanish. There is no difference. You are consciousness. Tatvamasi swetkesu remains the ultimate experience. Totality and the part are one. The God and the creation is one. The creator is creativity. The creator is the process of creation.
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The Cosmic Oneness

isyaram my sb jg janI krhu [am jaeir jug panI

Siyaram maya sab jag jaani, karahu pranam jori jug paani The entire cosmos permeates the cosmic oneness as the union of male-female; yin-yang; Shiva-Shakti; Ovum-sperm. The entire creation comes into existence through this union. Therefore the ultimate in meditation is to attain this state of oneness once again. This is the essence of Enlightenment.
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This particular couplet is an important statement of Tulsidas from the epic Ramcharit Manas. This is not just an ordinary couplet that can be sung, recited, read and remembered through memory instead this has great insight. It contains the essence of the awareness of Tulsidas. It is the experience of the saint that has assumed the form of words. In fact the entire RamCharit manas is the realization of the Upanishadic statement from IsaUpanishad: Om Isavasyamidam sarvam yatkica jagatyam jagat; tena tyaktena bhujitha ma grdhah kasyasvid dhanam! idam sarvam - refers to this entire universe; Isavasyam - Isasya avasyam - Isasya; avasayogyam - pervaded by Isa, the Lord Hari; yat kicha - also whatsoever, and whatever there may be; jagatyam - prakrtyam - in the primordial nature; jagat - the world; tena - by Him (the Lord Hari); tyaktena - dattena vittena - wealth granted, allotted, given; bhujitha - bhogam kuryah - do experience, enjoy; ma grdhaha - ma kanksethah - do not crave for, do not seek; kasyasvid - anyone elses; dhanam - wealth. This entire universe is encompassed by the Lord Hari, for the reason that it is dependent upon primordial nature, which in its turn is also pervaded by Him. He alone is thus independent. For this reason, enjoy whatever is given to you by Him, and do not seek wealth from any other source - since Hari alone is independent, do not worship others such as kings in hopes of wealth. There is yet another verse from Srimad Bhagavata Purana VIII.1.10 (Atmavasyamidam sarvam), where the similar meaning is conveyed clearly. The first principle of ethics for a seeker of awareness or inward journey is stated as acceptance of the Lords disposition. Verily it is now stated that one must always, continually, perform in His service ones required duties in life, just as one is always engaged in satisfaction of needs such as thirst. Thus, there is no reason to give up action simply on the basis that acceptance of the Lords disposition and freedom from greed means that one need not act either kurvanneveha karmani jijivisecchatam samah; evam tvayi nanyatheto'sti na karma lipyate nare! kurvan - doing; eva - only, even; iha - here, in this world, while a human being; karmani - (prescribed) actions, duties, works; jijiviset - jivitum icchet - shall you desire to live; satam samah - satam varsani - a hundred years, a full life; evam - thus, in this way;
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tvayi - for you, in you; na - not; anyatha - otherwise, different; itah - from this; asti is; karma - papam = sin; lipyate - stains, taints; nare - in the man. One must desire to live even a hundred years by doing prescribed karma only. Thus is it right for you, not otherwise; [if this is done, then] sin will not bind the human. As it is the case that a person sins even inadvertently, all the time, it is not correct to think that simple inaction will cause one to be free of taint. The only way in which that would happen, and one would qualify for study and the understanding of the sacred subjects, is by the performance of required action as the Lords worship for as long as one lives. One must be satisfied with whatever the Lord sees fit to give one, as the first verse states, but must always perform ones duties, as the second states, without desire for reward beyond His judgment. Siyarm.is to be meditated upon. It refers to the two aspects of the existence of which the entire existence is composed of. This refers to male-female; yin-yang; Shiva-Shakti; anima-animus. The oneness got divided as the two components or two complimentary energies. It is through the interaction of these two forces of energy that the entire plural existence emerged. Meditate this as form-full or formless. As you enter deeper into the meditation you will experience the surge of energy in the left side of the body including heart. The surge of energy will emanate from instep to the center path on the forehead though the nostrils. And as the energy surges you will feel very strongly the body divided in two parts left and the right. This part of the human body is feminine in nature. And the energy that surges in this side of the body is known as feminine energy. With is experience you will experience the ardhanareeshwar half male and half female aspect of Shiva the creative force. As the meditation deepens you will feel the energy surging through the right side of the body. This is your male body and the energy thus surging is masculine energy. During meditation sometimes you will feel energy surging through the left side and other times through the right side of the body. And then the two energies merge into one another and the energy equally surges through the entire body. All the images of Hindu Gods and Goddesses are mere symbols that can only be understood in the state of meditation.

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Meditation over Shiva-Lingam

Meditate over the Shiva symbol of creation known as Shiva-Lingam. The base of this symbol is female organ of reproduction. The lingam also known by different names as, linga, ling, Shiva linga, Shiv ling, Sanskrit , lingam, implies mark, sign, inference. Verily it is a representation of the Hindu deity Shiva used for worship in temples. Erroneously Lingam is described as phallic symbol by hasty minds who do not understand the symbolism. As a result the lingam and the yoni have been interpreted as the male and female sexual organs since the end of the 19th century by some scholars. However to practicing Hindus they symbolize the inseparability of the male and female principles and the totality of creation. The lingam is often represented with the yoni, a symbol of the goddess or of Shakti, female creative energy. The union of lingam and yoni represents the indivisible two-in-oneness of male and female principle energies. The
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passive space represents the feminine energy and active upright piece represents time from which all life originates. This symbolizes that life verily emerges as an interaction between time and the passive space that accommodates the time the ever-changing phenomena. Emergence of Lord Shiva or Maheshwara from cosmic flame is known as Lingodbhava. Also Shiva is pictured as emerging from the Lingam the cosmic pillar of fire. According to Linga Puran, Shiva Lingam or Shiva Pindi has been interpreted as a symbol representation Formless, Universe Bearer and a Complete One, the oval shaped stone is resembling mark of the Universe and bottom base as the Supreme Power holding the entire Universe in it. Shiva Purana describes the origin of the lingam as the endless pillar - Stambha. The Linga Purana also supports the interpretation as a cosmic pillar, symbolizing the infinite nature of Shiva. The word Lingam has many meanings. The Hindu scripture Shiva Purana describes the worship of the lingam as originating in the loss and recovery of Shivas phallus, though it also describes the origin of the lingam as the beginning-less and endless pillar - Stambha. The Linga Purana also supports the latter interpretation as a cosmic pillar, symbolizing the infinite nature of Shiva. Shiva is pictured as Lingodbhava, emerging from the Lingam the cosmic fire pillar proving his superiority over gods Brahma and Vishnu.

Interpretations of Shiva Lingam

Vedanta explains Shiva Lingam as a subtle representation of God that is present in our body. Kundalini is coiled with it in three and half coils. This is what Shiva Lingam and snake coiled round depict in a Hindu temples. It shows Paramatman in the form of Atman and Shakti in the form of Kundalini. According to Sankya the Mool Prakriti that absorbs all the Vikriti emerged from it finally. According to Nyaya Shastra Shiva Lingam is a source that can help us to know exactly about a matter or event. So formless Lingam represents the formless energy of this universe that is the origin of all the matter and the events of this universe. Simply the Shiva Lingam represents the symbol that helps us to know and recognize any event or matter as stated above. Meanings of Yoni are body and origin. There are 84 lakhs Yonis bodies in which soul Lingam travels. It is also called source of all the creation that emerged from it. When this Lingam - atman emerged out of this circle of Yonis, It simply looks like Shiva Lingam. Just a symbol of tearing the circle of rebirth.

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Shiva Purana
We should worship Shiva Lingam because Bharg - Shiv is the masculine energy also known as Purusha and Parvati is the feminine energy - Bhargaa called Prakriti. Formless kind of thing that is the base of this universe is Lingam - Shiva and the origin of the creation that bring this universe in to existence is Yoni Paravati - Shakti. Both Prakriti and Purusha are the cause of the emergence of this visible world we are watching. This is what Lingam and Yoni represents. Human body is composed of 5 kalas while Sakara Brahman the formfull - Krishna and Shiva contains 16 kalas that is why we worship them. But they are not confined to only 16 kalas. They are also beyond them. That is why we called them - Nishkal - without kalas. Shiva Lingam also presents this thus it is a formless representation of god. Shiva lingam is the only Nirakara - the formless representation in sculptures otherwise we will see only Sakara Brahman the formful is worshiped in sculptures - like shiva, rama, krishna, ganesha etc. It so happened that during the creation a debate took place between the creator Brahma and the preserver Vishnu that who Shiva is. Just then this Column of light appeared in front of them on the Hindu month of Margasheersha and Hindu date Purnima or Pratipada. When both the demigods failed to know the real origin and end of this column, Shiva appeared in his visible form. He explained both of them the real meaning of Shiva Lingam. Thus Shiva spoke: I have two forms, Sakala - formfull and Nishkala - without form. This column of light is my real form. Brahman is my Nishkala formless form and Maheshwara is my Sakala form. When I come with sixteen kalas, I become Sakala and when I present as the crude energy, I am called Brahman. Brahman means the most enormous - Brihat and the creator of all. Lingam depicts my formless Brahman energy. This is my Lingam - symbol. Lingam - Braman and Lingee - Atman are the same. Therefore the great souls should also meditate over my form. One who has established Shiva Lingam somewhere in his life, he gets Sayujya Moksha - eternal company of Shiva. This is just an introduction to Lingam. Read Shiva Purana, Yoga Vashishtha, Sankhya etc. for this, only then a natural respect for Shiva Lignam will emerge in your mind that will lead to liberation.

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The three Gunas - Modes

Hindu scriptures speak of three types of gunas or tendencies. The Bhagavad Gita presents an insightful discussion on the qualities of forces that make up nature and creation. These forces are called gunas. These refer to strand, thread, or rope. They are the intertwining forces that weave together to make material nature, including human consciousness. The Gita points out that it is possible to go beyond the gunas, to transcend their characteristics and that is the ultimate. He who endeavors to do so creates ultimate freedom by balancing their essence in their true, Self which goes beyond the forces of nature and resides in nondualistic divinity. These classifications have become a common means of categorizing behavior and natural phenomena in Hindu philosophy, and also in Ayurvedic medicine, as a system to assess conditions and diets. For this reason Triguna and tridosha are considered to be related in the traditions of Ayurveda. Guna is the tendency, not action itself.

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The creation is made up by a balance composed of all three forces. For creation to progress, each new stage needs a force to maintain it and another force to develop it into a new stage. The force that develops the process in a new stage is rajo guna, while tamo guna is that which checks or retards the process in order to maintain the state already produced, so that it may form the basis for the next stage According to Samkhya, there are three major gunas that serve as the fundamental operating principles or tendencies of prakrti - universal nature which are called: sattva guna, rajas guna, and tamas guna. The three primary gunas are generally accepted to be associated with creation (sattva), preservation (rajas), and destruction (tamas. According to Yoga, all matter in the universe arises from the fundamental substratum called Prakriti. From this ethereal Prakriti the three primary gunas (qualities) emerge creating the essential aspects of all natureenergy, matter and consciousness. These three gunas are tamas (darkness), rajas (activity), and sattva (beingness). All three gunas are always present in all beings and objects surrounding us but vary in their relative effectiveness. Humans have the unique ability to consciously alter the levels of the gunas in our bodies and minds. The gunas cannot be separated or removed in oneself, but can be consciously acted upon to encourage their increase or decrease. A guna can be increased or decreased through the interaction and influence of external objects, lifestyle practices and thoughts. In the Bhagavada Gita, Krishna talks about the three gunas. These gunas imply modes of instinct that are pre-installed in all beings and everyone is bound to act accordingly until awareness comes. These modes of Nature include sattva - goodness or purity or beingness; rajas - passion, and tamas darkness or ignorance. All jivas - souls and their activities in the universe are bound to Nature through the three modes, and the ratio of these modes in an individual forms ones temperament. The minds psychological qualities are highly unstable and can quickly fluctuate between the different gunas. And finally the predominant guna of the mind acts as a lens that effects our perceptions and perspective of the world around us. Thus, if the mind is in rajas it will experience world events as chaotic, confusing and demanding and it will react to these events in a rajasic way. All gunas create attachment and thus bind ones self to the ego. When one rises above the three gunas that originate in the body; one is freed from birth, old age, disease, and death; and attains enlightenment (Sutra 14:20 of the Bhagavad Gita). While along the inward path the goal is to cultivate sattva, the ultimate goal remains to transcend their misidentification of the self with the gunas and to be unattached to both the good and the bad, the positive and negative qualities of all life. To impose ones opinion, view, dominance on others is known as Rajas. This happens on a day to day basis. Everyone tries to impose his opinion on others. The wife, and the
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husband impose their views on one another and together they impose on children. The stronger one imposes on the weaker one and thus dominates. All this happens due to the Rajas tendency. This creates disharmony and disturbance. When one continues to criticize the other this is a form of violence. And it comes under the Tamas tendency. Criticism is the beginning and the ultimately it leads to all sorts of violence etc. Know this as Tamas. This is ignorance and is represented as darkness. Alike the Rajas this too leads to inner chaos, and misery. When one can envision the cosmic oneness permeating through the entire creation know this tendency as Satwa the purity. It is the same Brahman that pervades through the entire sentient and insentient creation. Just as all gold ornaments are made of gold so too the entire creation is the extension of this oneness. This leads to inner harmony, oneness and ultimately bliss. These three tendencies are found in each one of us in different combinations. As a result there is so much diversity. One who transcends beyond these three tendencies is called GUNATEET the Enlightened One. In Hindu thought, no one in the perceptible universe is supposed to escape the three gunas as any soul outside the range of Nature is defined as Brahman (God) Himself or is assumed to have reached the state of emancipation. Our understanding, the process of recalling memories from the past, making a judgment, adhering to our decision, or performing an act all karma derive their functioning from the amalgam of the three gunas. Imagine you have some used textbooks that you wish to donate to a library or a school. Your initial idea involves no selfish motive; you are giving your books away as you have already read them and believe that it would be virtuous to offer them to other students who may now use them. As you go to your room to pick them up, you observe an advertisement in a newspaper on your desk, which describes a trade-in offer for old textbooks. You learn that for each book you exchange, you may get a discount on a new one. You get attracted to their offer, suddenly change your initial plan, and get ready for the bookstore in place of going to the library. Lastly, you feel that the weather is not appropriate for going outside and drop all your plans regarding your textbooks. Suddenly you forget the idea of donation, the idea of gaining a discount and instead get yourself a cup of tea along with some savory snacks. Eventually the textbooks remain in your garage for a few years and become obsolete. In this hypothetical instance, the human mind got engaged in all the three inherent modes of Nature in a matter of few minutes. The initial thought about sharing books with fellow students was sattva, the decision to exchange them at the bookstore, guided by attachment to money, was rajas, but the final act of slackness was induced by tamas.
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Verily when the tamas mode gets activated, even attachment to money is not powerful enough to make us accomplish a task. In the context of human actions, sattva mode represents perfect or ideal behavior, and it involves all good qualities like truth, honesty, discipline, punctuality, righteousness, perseverance, politeness, and enthusiasm in work as virtues. Sattva is a state of harmony, balance, joy and intelligence. Sattva is the guna that awakened ones achieve towards as it reduces rajas and tamas and thus makes liberation possible. To increase sattva reduce both rajas and tamas, eat sattvic foods and enjoy activities and environments that produce joy and positive thoughts. Sattvic foods include whole grains and legumes and fresh fruits and vegetables that grow above the ground. All of the yogic practices were developed to create sattva in the mind and body. Thus, practicing yoga and leading a yogic lifestyle strongly cultivates sattva. When we engage in this mode, there is little concern for our own physical comfort and any favorable return - profit for our actions is not to be expected. A sense of duty, love and sacrifice gets developed, and the sattva doer remains emotionally balanced in the success and failure (Sutra 18:26 of the Bhagvad Gita) of his or her endeavors to experience lifelong happiness. Rajas is a state of energy, action, change and movement. The nature of rajas is of attraction, longing and attachment and rajas strongly binds us to the fruits of our work. To reduce rajas avoid rajasic foods, over exercising, over work, loud music, excessive thinking and consuming excessive material goods. Rajasic foods include fried foods, spicy foods, and stimulants. In comparison, rajas karma is money-oriented and calculative, with a tinge of egoism. Work in this mode is performed to fulfill ones material greed (Sutra 18: 27 of the Bhagvad Gita). When acting in this mode, we care about what is easy and agreeable to us, and our attachment to material desires reduces our concern about universal dharma. Though righteous actions may be performed in the rajas mode, the doer always remains attached to the gains. Tamas is a state of darkness, inertia, inactivity and materiality. Tamas manifests from ignorance and deludes all beings from their spiritual truths. To reduce tamas avoid tamasic foods, over sleeping, over eating, inactivity, passivity and fearful situations. Tamasic foods include heavy meats, and foods that are spoiled, chemically treated, processed or refined. Tamas mode is active when we do something in a state of total confusion, when our intellect starts making wrong judgments, when we lack the understanding for doing something, or when we lack awareness of our acts consequences. It ranges from being lazy and sleepy (Sutra 14:8 of the Bhagvad Gita) to being arrogant, deceitful, and violent (Sutras 18:25, 28 of the Bhagvad Gita).
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If we use our intellect and deep understanding in sattva mode, we should be able to fully differentiate between right and wrong and should also understand how we can free ourselves from the cycle of death and rebirth (Sutra 18:30 of the Bhagvad Gita). Because realization of God is the aim of life in Hinduism, intellect that is incapable of guiding us towards God is not classified as sattva, no matter how exceptional ones mental abilities in worldly matters are. As one would expect, rajas intellect, which focuses on profits, is unclear or confused over what is righteous. As for tamas intellect, it is good only at making wrong assumptions. Unlike rajas, tamas intellect is not puzzled about right or wrong but firmly assumes the wrong to be righteous. Arrogance and ignorance become strong players, and one progresses all the way towards darkness believing that he or she is on the path of Dharma. In the context of spiritual understanding (jnana; Sutras 18:20-22 of the Bhagvad Gita), sattva sees the Self or One God permeating through the entire creation, rajas perceives the same soul-material in different individuals as being different, while tamas awareness focuses on a self-defined limited aspect of creation and assumes it to be all there is. Indeed this is frog in a well scenario. This classification reflects the level of evolution that is involved in reaching the sattva mode. Seeing the Divine in all beings or perceiving the unity in all life forms is an advanced level feature for the human mind. This is the ultimate flowering of the being. However it is something that can only be expected from saints. Because awakening is believed to be the ultimate of renunciation, work, and sacrifice, presence of such awakening at the sattva level may indicate that the seeker possesses sattva gunas in all other areas of life as well. Our eating habits, which are often taken for granted, are guided and eventually highlighted according to the three modes. The food we intake can be used as a sign of which inherent mode is present in predominance (Suta17:7 of the Bhagvad Gita). Sattva mode implies health-conscious consumption and includes items like fruits, veggies, cereals, legumes and selected dairy products that are generally good for us. Such a person who is in this mode will be concerned about the intrinsic value of the food. He will seldom eat food cooked by others who are not in the same mode or awareness. Verily such a person eats food cooked by him alone. Those guided by the Rajas mode of eating focuses on taste, not nutritional value. They are seldom health conscious. They remain basically less concerned about their food intake. Like other rajas items on Lord Krishnas list, rajas food is attached to sense gratification. It is supposedly tasty in the beginning but tends to cause dis-ease at the end (Sutra 17:9 of the Bhagvad Gita). This category would include most items on the menu of modernday restaurants. And lastly those guided by the Tamas mode prefer foods that are spoiled, tasteless, and unclean. One who ingests such items is neither attached to taste nor is health conscious but eats out of complete ignorance. Many times, the emotion with which we eat decides
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the mode as well, not necessarily the item for consumption. If we are allergic to a fruit, but regularly eat it because it appears tasty, the same eatable would be counted as rajas. Along the same lines, a compulsive eating disorder involving the intake of even clean and nutritious food may be classified as tamas as the disorder is said to comprise ignoranceborn impulses in addition to taste-born cravings (rajas). One of the significant messages in Krishnas discourse on Nature is that all gunas, including the sattva ones, bind us. Sattva binds us to goodness. We may start imagining that we are good and relatively knowledgeable or may develop a habit of gaining enjoyment from helping out everyone we meet. Bound to sattva, scholars may enjoy collecting more and more information or read ever more material in their area of expertise. There is nothing wrong with collecting lots of worldly knowledge, but such a habit can impede further evolution towards God. Similarly, rajas binds to fruits (results of our action). We keep ourselves engaged in karma for continual growth of our financial status. Tamas binds to laziness, ignorance, or slackness. One may enjoy hurting others or wasting time. The paths through which we may reach beyond the three modes of Nature form the major focus of Krishnas dialogue with Arjuna. It is for this reason and to bring greater awareness about all that we consume I go on speaking to you so that first such awareness comes to you. Only then you can one day transcend beyond the three Gunas or modes.

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Pillars of Inner Health

Man can be divided, into three parts: the body, the mind, the soul. If all the three are perfectly in tune and there is a well-being in all the three, it becomes one well-being of the total organism from the physical, psychological, to the spiritual. Then it is holistic health. Normally this does not happen. Either the body is striving to attain health or otherwise. We do not work on all the three fronts and that is the reason man does not attain to health holistically. Modern man is not what he was years ago. Technology has changed the very way of life of the modern man. The lifestyle is completely opposed to what it was before and the connection between nature and man is fast diminishing with time. Although man is adapting to the changes yet health is today one of the major concerns of this age. All the jobs that the city provides are unhealthy, because people are sitting the whole day in chairs. Man is not designed for that. His body is made for at least eight hours physical labor. Basically he was a hunter, running after wild and fast animals. And that was his food. He managed for thousands of years, and naturally he had a certain health that modern man cannot afford. If you do not use a certain part of your body, that part slowly becomes useless; then you cannot use it. Your total being has to be healthy. There are people with healthy bodies like those or wrestlers, body-builders etc., but these people do not have any sense of something beyond mind. They have trained their bodies. Their bodies are perfect animals. Their minds are not so evolved. No Bertrand Russell will be ready for boxing; the whole idea is ugly, it is barbarous. Their bodies are in health, and strong, but just like animals. Their minds are very retarded; otherwise they would not be in such an ugly and violent profession. There is no question of their being meditative or their being in touch with the beyond. The holistic person is whole, undivided, one both within and without. His Zorba and his buddha

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have become one. The inner and the outer are in total balance and thus in harmony. Not only that his hedonism and spiritualism have become one as well. Health is not a physical phenomenon alone. Certainly physical well-being is only one of its dimensions. However it remains one of the most superficial dimensions, because basically the body is going to die, healthy or unhealthy, it is momentary. Real health has to happen somewhere inside, in the individuals subjectivity, in the consciousness, because consciousness knows no birth, no death. It is eternal. To be healthy in consciousness means: first, to be awake; second, to be harmonious; third, to be ecstatic; and fourth, and to be compassionate. If these four things are fulfilled, one is inwardly healthy. Meditation can fulfill all these four things. It can make you more aware, because meditation aims to make you more aware. And meditation devices to pull you out of your metaphysical sleep. And dancing, singing, rejoicing, can make you more harmonious. There is a moment when the dancer disappears and only the dance remains. In that rare space one feels harmony. When the singer is completely forgotten and only the song remains, when there is no center functioning and only the song remains, when there is no center functioning as I - the I is absolutely absent and you are in a flow, that flowing consciousness is harmonious. And to be awake and harmonious creates the possibility for ecstasy to happen. Ecstasy means the ultimate joy, inexpressible; no words are adequate to say anything about it. And when one has attained to ecstasy, when one has known the ultimate peak of joy, compassion comes as a consequence. When you have that joy, you like to share it; you cannot avoid sharing, sharing is inevitable. It is a logical consequence of having. It starts overflowing; you need not do anything. It starts happening of its own accord. These four are the four pillars of inner health. Attain to it. It is our birthright; we just have to claim it.

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