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In the Name of Shiva, the Most Glorious, the Most Obvious, the |
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SHRI SHIVA RAHASYA THE THIRD LIGHT (Chapter
Three) 3 Wherein the Glory of Lord Shiva is proclaimed Lord
Shiva said: 1.
I shall now make known to you the Greatness of the Highest God from Whom
everything emanates. Attend and listen
to My Word, O you who are keen Seers of Spirit! 2.
Men cannot realise Me by means of religious observances nor by means
of charitable gifts nor by means of sacrifices. Without ardent and complete devotion I
cannot be known. 3.
Verily, I say unto you, I abide within all living beings,
everywhere. But except the leading
Sages, people know Me not, the Cosmic Witness. 4.
I am the Creator and Dispenser of Destiny, the Lord of Time, the Fiery
God facing all directions. The whole
Universe exists in Me and I, the Supreme Deity, exist in the heart of all. 5.
Neither the inhabitants of this World nor those of the Otherworld, nor
the Demigods in the lower heavens truly see Me. 6.
Though the Scriptures perpetually praise Me as the One Supreme Lord
(Parameshvara) and the holy priests worship Me with various kinds of rituals
and sacrifices, I am seen by no one save the Yogis who meditate upon Me as
the Self-Luminous Lord of the Entire Creation, ever abiding within their own
hearts. 7. Everything
is immersed in Me and I am the Soul of all.
Assuming the form of all the various Gods, I receive all sacrificial
offerings and dispense the appropriate rewards.
8. Pious and learned men, who are well-versed
in the Sacred Lore, see Me here itself.
For, I am ever present near those who worship Me with devotion. Whether of noble or lowly birth, all men
who observe their duties and worship Me with devotion are rewarded by Me with
that Supreme Abode which is but the Bliss of the Self Divine.
9. Even those who formerly followed evil ways
but have found and entered upon My Path, are liberated in due course and
attain Unity with Me. I am
Compassionate and Just and the Saviour of all.
10. At the beginning of the Universe, I created
the Radiant Ones (Gods) and handed over to them the Scriptures (Agama) that
came out of Myself. Therefore he who
teaches the True Scriptures spreads abroad My Truth.
11. I alone am the Eternal Teacher (Sat-Guru)
of all Yogis. I am the Protector of
the virtuous and the Destroyer of those who transgress My Divine Law.
12. I am both the cause of worldly existence
and the Liberator of Yogis from all worldly bondage. Yet I abide beyond all worldly ties.
13. I Alone am the Creator, Protector and
Destroyer of the Universe. Maya, by
which I enchant the Worlds, is My Own Power.
14. What is known as Higher Knowledge (Vidya)
is My Own Transcendental Power whereby, stationed in the heart of Yogis, I
unravel the Veil of Maya.
15. I am the Originator, Supporter and
Restrainer of all powers. I am the
Storehouse of Immortality and the Fountain-Head of all Glory.
16. O noble ones who have resorted to the
Supreme Path of Yoga! it is through My Divine Powers that I govern this
Universe. My Own Power of Creation,
which inheres in all and is identical with Me, assumes the function of Divine
Creator, and fashions this Material World full of variety and diversity. Thus, in My Function of Creator I am called
Brahma (He Who Creates and Makes Grow).
17. My other Great Power, that of Preservation,
becomes the Divine Preserver who pervades and preserves the World. Hence, in My Function of Preserver I am
known as Vishnu (He Who Pervades and Preserves).
18. The third Great Power of Mine is the Power
of Time whereby I consume and dissolve the entire Universe. Therefore, in My Function of Destroyer, the
wise ones know me as Rudra, the Fiery One.
19. O holy ones! as rays from the blazing Sun,
as sound from a musical instrument, as pulses from a beating heart, even so
the Material World notwithstanding its appearance of permanence is emitted by
Me, the Lord, every moment anew.
20. As a painting is made of thousands of
brush-strokes of colour, just so My Creation is made of innumerable pulses of
Creative Intelligence (Chit Shakti).
21. Thus the Cycle of Creation, Maintenance and
Dissolution takes place in waves constantly arising, culminating and
subsiding, upon the Shining Mirror of My Eternal Self. I, the Supreme Lord, by the Power of Unity
(Yoga Bala) unite all into a whole continuum.
22. As a River, at once ever-the-same according
to its long-established banks and ever-new according to the water that
freshly runs along its course, so the Stream of Creation though initiated
millions of years ago yet is projected every moment anew by Myself.
23. He who knows this, with concentrated mind,
enters My World of Uncreated Light by the secret gateway between two moments
and goes to Everlasting Life. Verily,
the present moment is the Door to Eternity and the Ford for crossing the
24. Some realise Me through Meditation
(Dhyana), others through the Path of Spiritual Knowledge (Jnana), others
through the Path of Devotion (Bhakti) and still others through the Path of
Righteous Action (Dharma).
25. Among the devotees, he who constantly
pleases Me through Spiritual Knowledge, is the most dear to Me. For, without Spiritual Knowledge neither
right Meditation, nor Devotion, nor yet Righteous Action are possible.
26. By acquiring Spiritual Knowledge, pure
Souls become devoted to Me. By being
devoted to Me either in My Manifested Form or My Formless Transcendental Self,
they attain to Me, the Supreme Truth.
Having realised Truth, they fall no more under the spell of worldly
existence.
27. For, this entire Universe consisting of
Matter and Spirit is pervaded by Me, it exists in Me and I alone am its
Ruler.
28. Verily, O noble ones! I rule the Universe
through My Highest Power of Yoga (Yoga Bala).
He who realises That, becomes immortal.
29. I observe this entire Universe as if
existing of itself. I too, as Lord of
Eternity and Master of great Yogis, Create, Maintain and Destroy it at the
end of Time.
30. It is I Whom the wise ones in the
Scriptures speak of as Yogi and Master of the Cosmic Magic: He, the Master of
Yogis (Yogendra), the Great Lord of the Great Yoga Himself.
31. Verily, he who knows Me to be the Overlord
of all Yoga Masters is united with Me through the sure Path of Yoga.
32. Such am I, the Divine Sovereign. Moved by the Highest Bliss, I, the Yogi,
eternally dance the Cosmic Dance (i.e. continuously Enact the Cosmic Play of
Creation, Maintenance and Dissolution).
He who knows this, is a true Knower of Yoga (Yoga-Vid).
33. I, Lord Shiva, the Mighty One and the Most
Good, am the Highest Truth. The Soul,
having sprung from My Person, finally returns to Me. Whether this comes to pass in one lifetime
or in many, depends upon My Will. Yoga
is the Path by the following whereof Soul is reunited with Me. Verily Yoga is the Path, the Goal and the
Guiding Light.
34. The Light of Truth that heralds the Nearing
of the One even as Dawn heralds the rising of the self-shining Sun, is called
by two names. When received outwardly,
it is known as Revelation (Prakashana).
When received inwardly, it is called Inward Illumination (Pratibha).
35. He who having received My Revelation
follows the Inward Light, shall forsake all obscuration and join himself to
what is Bright. Thus he shall attain
Salvation in this very life. Therefore,
follow you My Path of Light.
36. There is no other Revelation like Mine. This secret-most knowledge is the Supreme
Teaching enshrined in the True Scriptures which are known to the wise. Let it be imparted to one with a pure mind,
to one who is virtuous and to one who is a keeper of the sacred flame. Commentary to Chapter 3
2. Men cannot realise Me by means of religious observances nor by means
of charitable gifts nor by means of sacrifices: Prayers, rituals and
religious observances, etc., are valuable means of establishing a link with
the Divine but it is complete devotion to Spiritual life that leads to Higher
Knowledge and alone can enable man to experience the Supreme. The highest form of devotion is
self-sacrifice, that is, the subordination of the lower self or Ego to the
Higher, Divine Self within.
5. Lower heavens: The lower reaches of the Spiritual World above
Maya inhabited by Light Beings of great Spiritual purity. However, as their Spiritual Knowledge and
Power are not fully developed they do not yet enjoy a full experience of
Supreme Reality. They are akin to the
saints and prophets of Western religions and on a par with
not-fully-enlightened Yogis.
10. I created the Radiant Ones: It is often claimed by misinformed
Westerners that Yoga believes in many Gods.
Such claims can only stem from individuals who are either unable or
unwilling to understand higher Spiritual truths. The fact is that Yoga believes in One
Supreme Being (Shiva) Who created all other beings. The Radiant Ones (Devas or Gods) are Beings
of Light created by the Supreme Deity.
They are the first emanations of the Divine in the process of
Universal Creation and therefore are Powers of God. In this capacity they assist in the
upholding of Divine Law, the governance of the Universe, the Spiritual Progress
of Souls and the propagation of Truth.
Being direct manifestations of the One God and essentially identical
with Him just as rays are one with the Sun, they are also called
"Gods" not in the sense of independent entities but of Higher
Beings existing and acting in complete harmony with Divine Will. In biblical terminology they may be equated
with Angels. See also Commentary to
22. As a River, etc.: A river consists of water that issues afresh
from a source and is therefore never the same. At the same time, however, it flows in a
channel that undergoes relatively minor changes over time and may therefore
be regarded as essentially the same.
Similarly, the World is simultaneously projected into existence by the
Universal Consciousness every moment anew and
according to an already established pattern which constitutes the
apparently permanent aspect of the World.
While the projection of the World occurs at an unimaginably high
frequency and therefore lies far outside ordinary man's sphere of perception,
the patterns according to which this projection takes place are more
permanent in character and well within man's perceptual capacity. As a result, human beings are under the
impression that the World is a permanent reality. However, to the Universal Consciousness Who
projects the World as well as to those advanced Souls who enjoy a state of
identity with the Universal Consciousness, the World is as transient and
immaterial as a dream. See also Ch. 2:57
and Commentary.
36. Keeper of the sacred flame: Priest or Priestess in charge of a
sacred fire symbolic of Divine Light; one who guards and transmits Spiritual
Knowledge (conceived as ignorance-dispelling light) to the initiated. End of Chapter 3 and Commentary |