Dhyana and Worship of Shiva

Ishvara said

On his left he draws a square mandala, places on it a beautiful conch with its stand with AUM and the weapon mantra, worships it with Pranava, fills it with pure water scented with sandalwood and other scents and worships it seven times with perfumes, flowers and Pranava. After the mantras he shows the cow gesture, and, showing the conch gesture, draws a square in front, a half-moon inside it, a triangle inside the half-moon, and a hexagon and circle in the centre. This is worshipped with perfumes, flowers and Pranava. The arghya vessel with its stand is placed and worshipped and filled with pure water, in which he puts kusha tips, unbroken rice, barley, paddy, sesame, ghee-cooked things, flowers and ash. With the six-limb mantras and Pranava it is worshipped with Sadyojata and the other mantras, and he armours himself with these mantras. Having made a covering for his protection with the weapon mantra he shows the cow gesture, and then sprinkles himself and the perfumes, flowers and other worship materials with water. With Pranava a seat for Pranava is visualised on a lotus in Ishana's direction. Saying "I bow to the guru's seat," he visualises a seat and, as taught, the guru's image. He chants "AUM gum gurubhyah namah" and invokes the guru, meditating on him seated facing south, pleasant and amiable, bright as pure crystal, hands in the boon and fearlessness gestures, Shiva's embodied form but with two eyes.

After this meditation he thinks of Ganapati seated on a lotus in Nirriti's direction and lovingly worships him with perfumes, flowers and other things. He thinks of his image and invokes him with the "gananam tva" mantra, then meditates single-mindedly: huge, red, adorned with all ornaments, holding a noose and goad, his lotus face and teeth giving the bliss desired, with an elephant's face, who destroys all obstacles when worshipped. After meditating so he worships him with perfumes, flowers and other offerings, first offering a food offering of plantains, coconuts, mangoes and sweets, and bows to the elephant-faced one. Then he thinks of Skanda seated on a lotus in Vayu's direction, thinks of his image, invokes him and chants the Skanda gayatri and meditates on Kumara, bright as the rising sun, on a peacock, four-armed, large-limbed, with a diadem and other ornaments, his hands in the boon and fearlessness gestures, holding a spear and a cock, and worships him in order with perfumes and other offerings. Then, on the right wing of the east gate, he worships Nandi himself, in charge of the inner quarters, like a golden mountain adorned with all ornaments, the crescent moon as his diadem, amiable, three-eyed and four-armed, with a blazing trident, an antelope skin and a golden cane, his face like the lunar disc and tawny. To the north is his wife Suyasha, daughter of the Maruts, excellent in her vows, massaging Amba's feet. With perfumes, flowers and other offerings he worships them properly, and with the weapon mantra and conch water sprinkles that lotus.

Then he thinks of a seat and stand in order. The stand is for the fortunate Shakti, on the ground below, and he meditates on Shyama. Ananta lies coiled just in front of her, with five white hoods seeming to lick the sky. Above is an auspicious seat for the maned one, the lion whose four feet stand for dharma, knowledge, non-attachment and prosperity, coloured white, yellow, red and dark blue from Agni's direction, with adharma and the others thought of from east to north. He thinks of its body as bright as a rajavarta jewel and worships in order the upper lip, lower lip, tuber, stem, neck, petals and pericarp of the lotus. The eight siddhis are thought of in the petals and the Shaktis in the filaments, the eight Rudras beginning with Vama in their places from the east. The pericarp stands for non-attachment and the seeds are the nine Shaktis, beginning with Vaamaa in the east and ending with Manomani. Dharma about Shiva is in the tuber and knowledge devoted to Shiva in the stem. The pericarp's outside represents fire, sun and moon. There is knowledge of the self, called Shiva, and the three tattvas beyond.

The divinity's comfortable seat is above all other seats, bright with colourful flowers and very radiant because of the learning of the supreme, spiritual space. He conceives a seat for the image with flowers spread around. From the Shakti's stand to the seat of pure knowledge, with the dative, he chants the mantra that begins with AUM, ends with "namah" and uses only the name. This is the procedure every learned person must follow. As before, in the limbs, face and digits the five brahmanas are thought of, and one who knows the truth and the gestures places the images in order. With flowers in his cupped hands he invokes the divinity, starting "I take refuge in Sadyojata" and ending with AUM. The nada rises from muladhara to Brahmarandhra, ending in the twelve joints. He meditates on Aumkara: the divinity is like pure crystal, spotless, undecaying, the cause of all worlds, supreme and pervading all worlds, within and without, smaller than the smallest and greater than the greatest. Without effort, undecaying Ishvara can be seen by devotees, though beyond the perception of Brahma, Indra, Vishnu, Rudra and the other gods. He is the essence of the Vedas, said by the shruti to be imperceptible, without beginning, middle or end, the medicine for the disease of worldly life. With a controlled mind one meditates on Parameshvara and, with hands in the separate gestures and bowing, does the acts of invoking, installing, fixing and beholding.

He meditates on Sadashiva himself, in his partless and parted forms, like pure crystal, pleasant, with cool radiance like a circle of lightning, in matted hair and a crown, with a tiger-hide garment, his lotus face slightly smiling; the soles of his feet, palms and lips like red lotus petals, with all auspicious marks and every ornament, bearing divine weapons and smeared with divine perfumes and unguents. He has five faces and ten arms and the crescent moon as crest jewel. The pleasant east face is bright as the rising sun with three lotus eyes. The beautiful south face is bright as a blue cloud, terrible, with furrowed brows, three eyes tinged with red circles, cruel teeth impossible to behold and quivering sprout-like lips. The north face is coral-coloured, adorned with blue locks, its three eyes playful and a half-moon on the crest. The west face has the complexion of the full moon with three bright eyes, bearing the moon's mark, amiable and mildly smiling. The fifth face is crystal-like, bright with the moon's mark, very pleasant, with three wide bright eyes. His right hands hold a trident, battle-axe, vajra, sword and blazing fire; his left hold the Pinaka, an arrow, a bell, a noose and a bright goad. His portion called nivritti reaches to his knees, pratishtha to his navel, vidya to his neck and shanti to his forehead, with other kalas above shanti. He pervades five paths, so his body is thought to have five kalas. Ishana is the crown, the divinity described as the ancient Purusha, Aghora his heart, Vama his private parts and Sadyojata his form, though Maheshvara actually has thirty-eight kalas. Ishana is full of the Matrikas and the five brahmanas, said to be full of Aumkara and of hamsa-placement, of the five syllables and the six syllables, his body with six forms of six types.

So he meditates at Shiva's left on Devi as Manonmani. Preceded by AUM he devoutly chants the mantra "Gourimimaya," invokes her as before and ends with bowing. Deveshi, the sage with controlled mind meditates on her: eyes like blossoming lotus petals, long and wide, face bright as the full moon, curly blue hair, complexion of a blue lotus, a half-moon on the crest, thick, round, plump, peaked, gentle breasts, slender waist and heavy hips, fine yellow garment, all ornaments, a bright tilaka, her beautiful face braided with many colourful flowers, her form with all qualities, her face slightly lowered in bashfulness, a wonderful golden lotus in her right hand, comfortably seated with her left hand resting on a whisk. So controlling his mind he meditates on her and on Shiva. Uttering Pranava he sprinkles conch water in order and thinks of foot water. Saying "bhave bhave natibhave" he thinks of foot water; "Vaamaaya namah," he offers rinsing water; "Jyeshthaaya namah," a fresh garment; "Shreshthaaya namah," the sacred thread; "Rudraaya namah," rinsing water again; "Kaalaya namah," clean perfumes; "Kalavikaraanaya namah," unbroken rice; "Balavikaraanaya namah," flowers; "Balaaya namah," flowers attentively; "Balapramathanaaya namah," an excellent lamp. He shows the gestures to Shiva and Devi with Brahma, the six Vedangas, Matrikas, Pranava and Shiva united with Shakti, thinking of the offerings first for Shiva, then for her. Parvati, though there is no other difference between us, when he worships you he uses the feminine. Following the rules he does the meditation and worship so, and then a discriminating person starts the worship of the sheaths.