The Shiva sutras were revealed by Lord Shiva to the sage Vasugupta in the eighth century AD. One such story is about Lord Shiva appearing in the dreams of Vasugupta and instructing him to go to a particular stone piece. He was told that there was an esoteric teaching under the stone, and he was to study it and reveal it to those who are fit for grace. Vasugupta did as he was told the next morning and on touching the stone, the stone turned over and on its face were inscribed the Shiva Sutras. After Vasugupta studied the sutras, the stone turned back over.
The stone still exists. It is called Shankarpal, and it is located in a stream in Dachigam National Park, which is situated outside Srinagar. It is lying face down, so we do not know if anything is still written on it.The word Sutra means “Thread” or “directions”.
The Shiva Sutras contain 72 sutras.
Sutra-1 (Caitanyamatma)
The “Self is Consciousness”. Our true Self is ‘Consciousness’ and not our ‘Body’. In spiritualism, the Self & the Soul are the same things. When we are in a state of awareness, we are a witness, and this witness is none other than our “Self” Or our “Soul”.
Sutra - 2 (Janna Bandhah)
The previous sutra explained that our real self is consciousness. When we believe that we are the body & not our consciousness, then that belief or knowledge binds us.
Why do we identify with the body? This is explained in the next sutra.
Sutra - 3(Yognivargah kalasariram)
The Ultimate reality in Tantra is known as "Paramshiva". Paramshiva is the supreme god of universal consciousness. From Paramshiva 36 elements are created and from these 36 elements, the manifest world is created. The first element to appear is “Shiva”, the passive consciousness. This is followed by “Shakti”, the energy of Shiva. Then there are 3 specific energies- The energy of will(Sadashivaa or Ichashakti), the energy of knowledge(Ishwara or Jnanashakti), and the energy of action (Sadvidya or kriya Shakti).
After the five pure elements, the 7 impure elements emerge. The sixth element is “Maya”. “Maya” means “illusion”. It veils the unity of existence and causes us to experience duality or separation. Maya works through the next 5 elements, elements 7 to 11. These 5 elements are called “Kanchuka”. “Kanchuka” means to cover. These 5 elements cover & conceal our true nature.
The first of these 5 elements is “Kalaa” after Maya, which limits the sense of identification with Universal Consciousness to the limited individual. The 8 th element is “Vidya or knowledge” which reduces consciousness to limited knowledge. The 9th element is the “Raga or Attraction”. When there is no separation there could be no attraction. You cannot be attracted to your finger. You can only be attracted to something separate from you.
The 10th element is “Kaala or Time”. Kala reduces the eternity of consciousness to past, present & future. Element 11 is “Niyati”. “Niyati” causes a restriction in Space & Form. “Niyati” is also sometimes translated as Fate or Destiny. It is the path an individual soul experiences in the world, subjected to Time and Space.
Sutra - 4(Jnanadhisthanam Matrka)
We have so far covered 11 elements. The 12th element is “Purusha” or individual experience followed by the 13th element “Prakriti”. “Nature or Prakriti” has 3 qualities- Inertia, Dynamism & Balance. Each individual is a mixture of some combination of these 3 qualities. Next are the 3 elements of the mind - Buddhi, which is Intellect or Intelligence, Ahamkara, which is the Ego and "Manas", the thinking mind. These elements of the mind are followed by 5 organs of perception- the sense of touch, smell, sight, taste & hearing. Then there are the 5 organs of action- the vocal cords for speech, hands for handling, the feet for movement, the genital organs for reproduction and the anus for excretion.
After this, we have 5 tanmatras, which are the essence of the senses. Finally, there are the five gross elements- Earth, Water, Fire, Air or Ether & Space. The 36 elements mentioned above are the building blocks of life and are responsible for the creation of the universe. The elements work through sound in creating the universe
Sutra - 5 (Udyamo bhairavah)
This means vigorous & continuous effort leads to god, just as the water boils @ 100-degree centigrade, half-hearted efforts to realise consciousness could not be fruitful.
Sutra - 6 (Sakticakrasamdhane visvasamharah)
On uniting the energy in the chakras the universe ceases to exist. The meaning of chakra is the wheel. It is an area centre where there is a huge concentration of energy. There are nadis which allow the flow of energy in the body. There are supposed to be 72000 channels in the body. There are 3 that are considered to be important. The central one (Sushumna), which is the main one, extends upwards through the spine. The other two are (Ida and the Pingala).
A chakra is located at the junction or meeting point of two or more channels. There are 7 important chakras:
“Muladhara” is the lowest chakra, located near the base of the spine. For Men, it is located in between the genital and the excretory passage and for women, it is located at the beginning of the cervix.
The “Svadhisthana” chakra is located above the Muladhara or at the base of the spine.
“Manipuraka” Chakra is located near the belly
“Anahata” is located near the heart.
“Visudhi” located near the neck
“Ajna” Chakra is located near the forehead or the 3rd eye as mentioned socially.
“Sahasrara” Chakra is located at the crown of the head.
The chakras and the channels are not part of the physical body but part of the subtle or the energy body. The concept is, there lies the dormant energy at the Muladhara chakra called the “Kundalini”. The energy level is raised when the kundalini pierces through all the chakras up to Sahasrara and finally, there is liberation. In liberation, the universe ceases to exist.
Just as the events seen in a dream are not real, similarly what we have thought as the world ceases to exist. We feel everything is from the “Self”.
Sutra - 7 ( Jagratsvapnasusuptabhede turyabhogasambhavah)
On differentiating oneself from the body in the waking state, the dream state, and the conscious state, one enjoys the birth of the fourth state.
Sutra - 8 (jnanam jagrat)
The waking state contains the knowledge of the external world. Our actions & thoughts are also aligned and focused on the external world, Our education & knowledge is also based on the external world which is contradicted by the dream world or what you could call a “Matrix”.
Sutra - 9 (Svapno Vikalpah)
The dream state is a variety of imaginings.
PART - 2 IN SOME DAYS.............................................................................................................
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