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YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED: F.A.Q. 36
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The Supreme Principle of Goodness (Shiva Tattva) QUESTION: I would like to know more about the Yogic
Principle of Goodness. ANSWER: The Supreme
Principle of Yoga is Shiva. The Sanskrit word “Shiva” means “Good”.
Therefore, the Highest Truth of Yoga is Goodness. Why Goodness? It is generally accepted that
breathing is a good thing, eating is good, drinking is good, hearing is good,
seeing is good, speaking is good, moving, working or playing is good. Waking
is good and sleeping is good. It is good that the Sun rises and it is good
that the Sun sets. It is good that the Moon and the Stars shine in the Sky.
It is good that the Wind blows and the Rain falls upon Earth. All basic
things in life are good. It follows that life is fundamentally good. And if
life is fundamentally good then the Intelligence and Power who created life
must also be Good. Therefore, God, Who is the Creator, Protector, Supporter
and Ground of all things, is called “Good” (“Shiva”). God is the
Supreme Principle of Goodness or Shiva Tattva. For this reason, the
Holy Scriptures of India declare that Shiva or Goodness is the Highest
Truth and Yoga is the Path that leads to It. What about Evil? Evil is the opposite
of good. Truth, Wisdom, Justice, Peace, Compassion, Beauty, Friendship,
Harmony, Unity, Happiness and Love – are good. Untruth, Ignorance, Injustice,
Violence, Cruelty, Ugliness, Enmity, Disharmony, Disunity, Unhappiness and
Hatred – are evil. Evil is a negative force that arises in opposition to what
is Good. Did God create Evil? No. Another meaning of the Name
“Shiva” is “Pure”. God is Pure Goodness. That which is Pure and Good
cannot create that which is Impure and Bad. However, God does create imperfect
beings and such beings are capable of performing actions that may be
qualified as evil. If a Soul lives out of Unity with God, or Goodness, then
he makes himself vulnerable to negative forces which take over and act
through the intermediary of that Soul. Conversely, if a Soul lives in Unity
with God then he opens himself to Goodness which then, through the
intermediary of that Soul, creates things that are good. Thus Good and Evil
are based on Unity or Disunity with the Supreme Goodness (Parama Shiva). What about Destruction? If Shiva is Pure Goodness, why is He
sometimes called the “God of Destruction”? The fact is that the Western
expression “God of Destruction” is actually misleading due to its negative
connotations. In the Eastern tradition, Shiva is never called “God of
Destruction” but “Destroyer of Evil”, “Destroyer of Sins”, etc., which is a
totally different thing. The answer, therefore, depends on what is meant by
“Destruction”. If “Destruction” is taken to mean the malicious and unjustified
breaking, demolition or annihilation of things, then this is not what Shiva
stands for. If, on the other hand, “Destruction” is understood as the
annihilation of Evil, then this is an appropriate description of Shiva. As the Supreme Principle of Goodness,
Shiva naturally represents the opposite of Evil which brings about the
destruction of the latter. For this reason, Shiva is known by such titles as Destroyer
of Evil (Mahishasura-Mardin), Conqueror of Death (Yama- Antaka),
etc. Shiva is the “Destroyer” or, rather,
“De-constructor” in another sense also. It is essential to understand that
God exists independently of Creation. Creation is not a permanent part of God
but only a temporary event or construct which is eventually dissolved in the
Eternal and Changeless Bliss and Intelligence of God, just as a thought
arises and then dissolves back in a man’s mind or a wave rises and then
subsides in the ocean. The Power whereby this Dissolution, Deconstruction or
“Destruction” takes place belongs as much to the Supreme Being as the Power
whereby Creation is constructed or brought into being. The Divine Power that brings about
Creation is traditionally called “Brahmaa” or “That which makes grow”. The Power
that preserves the World is known as “Vishnu” or “That which pervades and
supports everything”. Finally, the Power that dissolves the Universe back
into God’s Infinite Ocean of Consciousness is called “Shiva”. “Shiva” also
means “Peaceful” and is suggestive of the Reality in which all things come to
rest. In reality, of course, the World is
not destroyed but merely re-absorbed into God’s Infinite Consciousness in the
same way as a thought returns to the thought-free intelligence, or a wave
returns to the motionless sea, from which it arose. For this reason, Shiva is
called “Sarva-Samhaara-Kartaa”, that is, “Dissolver (or Re-absorber)
of all things”. In consequence, the title of “Dissolver” or “Re-absorber”
represents a more accurate description of God’s Universal Function than the
often-misinterpreted, negative title of “Destroyer”. Thus what remains after the
dissolution or de-construction of Creation is Shiva, the Eternal
Principle of Goodness Himself. Shiva
exists both before and after Creation and He is also the Power that brings an
end to Creation and brings everything back to its original state of rest
within the Eternal Good (Sadaa-Shiva). What becomes evident is that what is
sometimes erroneously called “Destruction” in the negative sense of the word,
actually constitutes a pure expression of Goodness: as the World contains
both Good and Evil, its dissolution at the end of time results in the
re-establishment of Absolute Goodness (Parama Shiva) which must be
admitted to be a good thing. In the context of Spiritual life,
God acts as Destroyer of Ignorance and Destroyer of Obstacles.
Thus, in the final analysis, as everything that comes from God is Good, even
Destruction, when effectuated by God, is a good thing. Although God may be
referred to by the titles of “Brahmaa” or “Vishnu” according to His specific
Powers, the Yoga tradition prefers the Name “Shiva” because it
emphasises God’s role as Destroyer or Remover of ignorance and obstacles on
the Spiritual Path. Also, “Shiva” designates “God as He
is in Himself”, that is, the Supreme Goodness (Parama Shiva) in Itself,
existing independently of man, World and other things. If we called God by
the name of Brahmaa (Creator) or Vishnu (Preserver) this would suggest a
specific and temporary function of God, namely, Creation or Preservation.
Shiva, on the other hand, designates the Supreme Goodness which is
God’s very own Changeless and Eternal Nature. Where does suffering come from? Suffering is a form of Unhappiness
which arises from opposition to Goodness and Happiness. Goodness and
Happiness constitute the The forces that enable all creatures
in the Universe to exist in Unity with the Principle of Goodness are called Dharma
or the Supreme Eternal Law of Heaven. Those that oppose it are called Adharma. Any moving or unmoving thing that abides in Unity with
Dharma, with the Law of God, experiences Happiness as a result. Conversely,
whatever exists in dis-Unity with Dharma experiences suffering. Why is Suffering necessary? Because
it prevents those who have transgressed the Principles of Divine Law (Dharma)
from further transgression. Suffering serves several purposes: (1) to punish
the transgressor, (2) to warn him against further transgression and (3) to
ultimately prevent him from committing any more transgressions. Even the most
hardened transgressor can only take a certain amount of suffering after which
he will come to his senses and turn to the Right Path. Suffering, therefore,
is an integral defence-mechanism built into Universal Order to prevent its
collapse. If there were no Suffering, there
would be nothing there to prevent Evil (Adharma) from taking over and finally
challenging the Immutable Law of Heaven and the Authority of its Creator, the
Supreme Principle of Goodness (Parama Shiva). This would be inconceivable and
absurd. Another important function of
suffering is to purify, perfect and elevate the transgressing Soul. Thus
although, in the short term, suffering may be correctly interpreted as the
“Wrath of God”, in the long term it must be understood to be expressive of
God’s Love for the Soul, leading as it does to the latter’s purification,
perfection and Spiritual elevation, and his final readmission to Shiva’s
Blissful World of Universal Unity. What is Hell? Hell is an extreme
form of suffering. Even on Earth, when a person is experiencing much
suffering, it is said that “he is going through Hell”. Humans can experience
suffering individually or collectively. In some cases, collective suffering
happens on Earth. However, as many more Souls live on other planes of existence,
it is usually necessary to isolate collective suffering from the rest of
Earth-residing humanity and concentrate it on other planes. (This constitutes
a protective measure preventing humanity from being overwhelmed and finding
it difficult to regain its balance.) The location in time of space of such a
concentration of Collective Suffering, is called Hell, properly speaking. God created Heaven and Earth.
However, knowing that some Souls would stray from the Right Path (Sat Dharma)
God also created Hell as a place of Ignorance and Darkness where erring Souls
are sent for punishment and correction, and where they are held so as not to
contaminate the righteous, until all errors have been removed from the
sinners’ heart. Thus Heaven is based on Knowledge, Hell
is based on Ignorance and Earth which is situated between the two, is based
on a combination of Knowledge and Ignorance. Those who live on Earth must choose
between Knowledge and Ignorance. If they choose Knowledge, they are elevated
to the Heavenly Spheres where they enjoy a life of bliss. If they choose
Ignorance, they sink into the Nether Regions of existence where they live a
life of pain. It is imperative to understand that
God is the Supreme Principle of Goodness, Justice and Compassion. He instructs
man as to what is right and what is wrong and then lets him decide. On the
basis of man’s decision, God then rewards or punishes man exactly according
to his deeds, in an absolutely fair, just and impartial manner. While God is
the Supreme Lawmaker and Chief Lord of Justice (Dharma-Rajah), man has the
freedom to choose between right and wrong, belief and disbelief, Knowledge
and Ignorance. Therefore, God never punishes people for being
ignorant. But He does punish them for choosing Ignorance (Ajnana) over
Knowledge (Jnana). While innate ignorance is innocent and blameless,
deliberate ignorance is a self-propagating negative energy that is
responsible for much evil in the World. And those who give in to Evil suffer
accordingly. Knowledge – the Antidote to Suffering Life is good. Humans, however, are
not always good. They kill animals for food. They destroy forests, poison
rivers and seas, pollute the air and deplete natural resources. They also
harbour evil thoughts in their heart and they kill people who have done them
no harm. Above all, humans are ungrateful. God has given Mankind so much. Yet
man forgets his duty (Dharma) to God. Therefore, man must suffer until he
remembers to make use of the knowledge God has given him and act according to
Divine Command (Shiva-Shaasana). God has given man reason that he
might think rightly and find out what is true and what is false. Those who
have neither sufficient power of reason nor Knowledge, must follow those who
do. This is the Eternal Law of the Universe (Dharma). Although Dharma is sometimes
translated as “Religion”, in reality, it is much more than that. It is the
Power whereby the Universe is held together and that whereby God governs the
World. It is also the expression of Truth whereby man adheres to what
is right. It is the Duty or binding force whereby man is obliged to
live his life in obedience to Divine Law. As such, Dharma is twofold:
(1) the Duty to attain Unity with God which is the ultimate goal of all life
towards which all creatures must strive through many lifetimes and (2) the
Duty to act in Unity with Divine Law according to one’s present personal
circumstances. The latter form of Dharma is also known as Sva-Dharma
or one’s own personal duty. The Four Goals of Life are:
(1) Dharma or Dutiful Life, (2) Artha or Material Prosperity,
(3) Kama or Fulfilment of Love or Desires and (4) Nirvana or
Salvation which is Union with God and Liberation from all Suffering. Thus
all life begins in Dharma and ends in Dharma. In order to live a dutiful life,
knowledge is required as to what constitutes duty. Therefore, man’s first and
foremost Duty is to acquire Knowledge or Gnosis (Jnaana). For this reason, it has been said:
“From Yoga springs Wisdom; from lack of Yoga there is loss of Wisdom. Knowing
this twofold path of progress and decline, a man should see to it that his
Wisdom increases by following the Path of Yoga or Unity with Truth.” It is every man’s duty to use his reason and find out
what is Truth. By listening to the Glorious Wisdom
of the Supreme Eternal Goodness imparted to the World by God through the Holy
Ones (Rishis, Gurus and Sadhus) and the True Scriptures (Shiva Rahasya, Shiva
Purana, Upanishads and Vedas), man acquires Right Belief (Sat Darshana).
On the basis of Right Belief he then acquires Right Knowledge (Sat Jnana)
and on the basis of Right Knowledge he engages in Right Conduct (Sat
Achara). Having become a Right Believer
(Sat-Dharmin), a Right Knower (Sat-Jnanin) and a Right Doer (Sat-Acharin) man
ever follows the Right Path. This will ensure that he always abides in
Unity with the Supreme Eternal Goodness (Shiva Samyoga) and
does His Will in all his works. Thus he attains happiness in this life and
the next, and not in any other way. This is the Truth. Happiness Happiness is a feeling of
peace, contentment and satisfaction that arises from the awareness of being
whole, complete, powerful and free. It may be experienced when we accomplish
something important, when we fulfill a strong desire or when we find the answer
to an urgent question. Supreme Happiness (Ananda) is that which God Himself
experiences on account of His Own eternal, independent and infinite Peace and
Satisfaction. In human terms, the highest happiness is experienced when, by
following the Spiritual Law of the Universe, man is able to perceive the
Glory and Majesty of God, and share in His Blissful Existence. Beauty The Light of God is the Supreme
Source of Beauty. It is the Light of Consciousness (Samvid-Prakasha)
whereby God perceives His Own Infinite Majesty and Glory. As the Universe is
the Creation of God, all natural things have the capacity to reflect the
Glory of God to various degrees. Even man-made objects can reflect the Divine
Order, Harmony and Unity of God. To the extent that they do so, they are
characterised as “beautiful”. In contrast, Ugliness is that which obstructs
or distorts the experience of Beauty. Beauty ultimately rests upon the
perceiver’s capacity to see the Glory of God in a particular object. Yet the
object itself must be fashioned in such a way as to reflect or otherwise
suggest God’s Glory to the perceiver. Religious symbols and works of art, for
example, are particularly suited for this purpose as are objects in the
natural world such as flowers, animals, humans and other God-created things. Moreover, if all things are a
reflection of God’s Infinite Glory, then man himself must be such a
reflection. It follows that the Light and Beauty of God may be seen not only
in external objects but also, and above all, within man. Indeed, as man is a
creation of God, the human Soul is naturally beautiful. Therefore, whenever man looks at an
object he must remember that the object reflects a higher truth. Otherwise,
he will come to believe that the objects of the World shine through their own
light and not through the Light of God and he will be led astray. Whether contemplating the beauty of
outer things or the beauty within himself, man eventually discovers the
beauty of his own Soul and, beyond that, the Supreme Beauty of God. This discovery causes the human Soul
to awaken to his own Divinity. This Awakening is known as Divine
Recognition (Ishvara-Pratyabhijna) or the process whereby man realises
his identity with the Supreme. Love Love is a feeling of
happiness that arises from the experience of unity between two Souls. It can
be experienced between parents and children, between friends and between
lovers. However, Love can also be experienced by oneself. A Soul is naturally
good, beautiful and happy. He has no reason to hate himself. The Soul,
therefore, naturally abides in a state of Love for himself even when there is
nothing else there to love. Indeed, love of others is only possible due to a
Soul’s conscious or subconscious recognition of the “other” as essentially
identical with himself. Without this essential identity no true unity or love
would be possible. Thus love for the “other” is ultimately nothing but an
extension of love for oneself. Ordinary love is of course a
different thing altogether. The Spiritually untutored lover knows neither who
he is nor who the loved one is. In such cases, “love” is simply a longing for
the other’s mind, body or possessions while the Soul, the true Self of the
loved one, is completely ignored. For this reason, many relationships are doomed
to end in tears. If humans only understood this, they would stop becoming
involved in relationships that are meaningless and even harmful. Their
relationships would no longer be a struggle between egoes but a Blissfull
Union of Souls who experience themselves as one. The highest form of Love is that
which God experiences for Himself and His Creation. God loves Himself because
He is Pure Goodness, Wisdom, Happiness and Beauty. And He loves His Creation
because He knows it to be essentially identical with Himself as His Own
Conscious Expression or Projection. He could never hate His Creation because
that would amount to hating Himself. God therefore always loves His Creation.
By understanding this, man comes to understand God and live in Unity and Harmony
with Him.
Unity The natural state of the Soul is not
only one of Goodness, Peace, Happiness, Beauty and Love but also one of Unity.
On the highest level, Unity is God’s Experience of Himself and of His
Creation as an essential Oneness. In human terms, Unity is the Soul’s
experience of Oneness with himself, his mind, his body and whatever else he
perceives or conceives as part of himself. Unity is the foundation of all other
experiences. No experience of Goodness, Peace, Happiness, Beauty, Love and the
rest would be possible without unity. No perception would be possible without
contact, or unity, between the perceiver and the perceived. No sentence would
be possible without words being joined, or united, to each other. And no
coherent thinking would be possible without unity of ideas. Unity, therefore, is the foundation
of all things. Just as waves arise from the unity of the sea and return back
to it, so also all things arise from the Unity of Shiva’s Infinite Ocean of
Universal Intelligence, have their existence against its background and
finally return to it in a perfect unity of Being. Yoga – the Highest Expression of Unity Yoga is Unity and Unity is Yoga. As the very word “Yoga” means “Unity”, to practise Yoga means to
practise Unity. The highest form of Yoga is Unity with God. If someone
practises Unity, or lives in Unity, or realises Unity, or experiences Unity
with God, then he practises, lives, realises or experiences Yoga even if he
doesn’t call it by that name. Enlightenment, Self-Realisation,
Nirvana, Salvation or Union with God (Shiva-Samyoga) is only possible in and
through Yoga, because Yoga is Universal Unity. Because Yoga or God’s
Experience of Unity with Himself has always existed, Yoga must be, obviously,
logically and necessarily, God’s Original Revelation to Mankind (Adi
Dharma). Indeed, once our Soul has embraced the Eternal Truth of Yoga
which is the Eternal Truth of Unity with the Supreme, and has allowed himself
to be Embraced by It, what could other religions possibly offer, that the
Soul has not already found in Yoga? The Highest Truth is the Supreme
Being’s Awareness of Himself as a Beginningless, Eternal, Unique, Infinite,
All-Embracing and All-Pervading Ocean of Light, Intelligence and Creative
Energy, Whose Sensation is Boundless Freedom, Endless Joy, Unconditional Love
and Unsurpassed Beauty. By practising Yoga or Unity with the Supreme, we
participate in this Unique Experience and make it our own. By sharing in the
Experience of the Supreme we become part of the Supreme. Thus we attain the
Supreme Peace of Nirvana which is Eternal, Steadfast, Immutable,
Incomparable, Ever Changeless and Sublime. Yoga is the Supreme Being’s Natural
and Unique Awareness of Himself and His Own Creation, and by following the Path
of Yoga we attune ourselves to, and thereby share in, this Supreme
Experience. This is the Highest Truth. No other Truth is necessary, or
required, or indeed possible. For this reason, the Shiva Mahapurana declares
that there is no higher Truth than Shiva. Because Shiva or God is the
Supreme Eternal Goodness Who eternally exists in Perfect Unity (Yoga)
with Himself. The fact is that God never created
any religions. In the same way as the Sun constantly illumines the World, so
also God Eternally, and Uninterruptedly, and Naturally, and Spontaneously,
and Obviously, and Lovingly, and Graciously, and Compassionately, and
Supremely Beautifully and Joyfully Radiates and Pervades His Entire Creation
with His Truth. Yet ignorant and confused men, under
the influence of their ego or conditioned mind, misunderstand and
misinterpret and distort and pervert God’s Unique, Obvious, Supremely Wise,
Beautiful, Ecstatic and Glorious Truth of Unity and Love, and create
religions which they illogically, violently and criminally attempt to impose
on others. Therefore, we invite all true believers to free
themselves from false religions, prejudices, misgivings and doubts and follow
the Path of Yoga Dharma. For he who follows the Path of Yoga shall find the
True Teaching, the True Path, the True Guidance and the True God. And he who
has found That, has found True Peace. Shiva-Rajya: The Holy Land of India
(Bharata-Desha) is traditionally known as “Dharma-Bhumi” or “Land of
Righteousness” on account of her being the land where Dharma, the Supreme
Eternal Law of Heaven, was first revealed and established at the
beginning of the World. The Holy Kingdom of Goodness had
Mount Kailasa as its centre and was ruled by Lord Shiva, the Supreme
Principle of Goodness, Himself. After many millennia, however, Lord Shiva
returned to His Secret Abode in Heaven and appointed the Gods to rule the
World. Later still, the Gods also withdrew to their Celestial Abode and the
World was left in the custody of Divine Kings. Finally, in the current World
Age, the World came to be ruled by ordinary men. The result of this can be
seen by all: poverty, violence, crime and disease; pollution, corruption,
lawlessness and selfishness; greed, envy, anger, hatred and delusion. These
are the evils that today control the World. God’s Own Abode of Dharma has
become the lair of Adharma. And things are getting worse. What becomes clear is that, in order
for the World to return to its original Golden Age of Goodness, it must once
again be ruled by the Supreme Eternal Goodness, Lord Shiva Mahadeva,
Himself. This is the inevitable lesson that history teaches us. Earth must be ruled not by corrupt
politicians, lawyers and businessmen but by upright men of Spirit who will
prepare the way for the return of Divine Kings. Divine Kings will make way
for the Gods. And the Gods will enthrone the Supreme Being, the God of Gods
and Rightful Ruler of the World. Thus, once again, Goodness and Righteousness
shall reign supreme. The Kingdom of Righteousness and
Goodness is the World Yoga Community (Sangha) which is the
worldwide Congregation of true believers in, and followers of, Unity with the
Supreme and its natural extension into all aspects of life whereby the human
race can experience True Unity and the True Brotherhood of Man may be
established on Earth under the Eternal Sovereignty of the Supreme. This being so, it is the duty of all
right-believing Souls to join forces in the Holy Struggle for the Victory of
Goodness over Evil, of Righteousness over Unrighteousness, of Right Belief
over Unbelief and of Truth over Untruth. Mankind must unite under the banner
of the Lord of Unity and Goodness and follow His Supreme Command that the
Kingdom of Shiva may rise and shine again like a great beacon of light that
dispels all darkness and illumines the World for all times. |