Description of Shiva's Yoga

Upamanyu said

Some yogis hold that if one remembers the lord Shrikantha and meditates on him, all the siddhis are gained at once. To steady the mind, some meditate on the gross form, and a mind steady on the gross form eventually becomes steady on the subtle. If one thinks of Shiva himself, all siddhis are accomplished. Even when meditating on other images, it is Shiva's form that should be thought of. Attending to the steadiness of the mind, one must meditate again and again. At first this meditation has a specific object, but later it has none. Some virtuous people hold that there cannot be meditation without an object. Some say meditation is nothing but a series of visions in the intelligence, yet there is also intelligence without any specific object. Meditating on the rays of the rising sun is an example of meditation with an object. Meditating on the subtle is without an object, and nothing is higher. Meditation with an object has a form to meditate on, but meditation can also be formless, and this is held to have no object. So meditation is also called with seed or without seed. At the beginning it should be with form and seed; finally it may become seedless and objectless, and at the end every siddhi is gained through the seedless. When pranayama succeeds, by Devi's favour one gains shanti and the rest: shanti, prashanti, dipti and prasada. When every calamity is calmed, that is shanti. When darkness vanishes inside and out, that is prashanti. When inside and outside are lit, that is dipti. When all the causes inside and outside are known to be healthy, that is prasada. From prasada the mind quickly becomes delighted and clear.

After understanding four things, the meditator, the meditation, its object and the need for it, the meditator engages in meditation. His mind must never be anxious and must always be full of knowledge and non-attachment. A virtuous meditator is one with devotion and a cheerful mind. The root "dhyai" means contemplation, so one should think of Shiva again and again. Even if the practice of yoga is slight, sins are destroyed, so long as one meditates, full of devotion, even briefly on Parameshvara. Meditation is a state where the mind does not waver. The flow of intelligence is of a nature that supports meditation. The virtuous say the word for the object is Shiva himself together with Amba. The need for direct meditation on Shiva is said to be plain: liberation and complete gain of the powers, anima and the rest. Through meditation a person gains both happiness and liberation, so setting everything else aside, a man must meditate. Without meditation there can be no knowledge, and one who is not a yogi cannot meditate. A person who has both meditation and knowledge crosses the ocean of worldly existence. Knowledge free of all limits, reached with a pleased and single-minded attention, is possible only for yogis who practise yoga. With all their sins destroyed their minds turn to meditation and knowledge. When the intelligence suffers because of sin, this is very hard to get. As a large blazing fire burns kindling whether wet or dry, so the fire of meditation at once burns good and bad karma. Even a weak lamp destroys very thick darkness, and in the same way even slight practice of yoga destroys great sins. If a person meditates on Parameshvara with devotion even for a short time, the great benefits he gains have no end. No holy place equals meditation, no austerity equals it, no sacrifice equals it, so one should practise meditation. Because they trust their own selves, yogis do not rely on water tirthas or images of gods made of stone. Ishvara's gross images are made of clay, wood and other things; as those are seen, yogis can directly see his subtle form. In a palace a king loves those who serve in the inner rooms more than those who serve outside, and so Shambhu loves those who turn to meditation more than those who engage in karma. In a king's palace, people who work outside do not gain a great share of the fruit compared with those working inside.

In the pursuit of knowledge and yoga, if a person dies after making only a little effort at yoga, he goes to Rudra's world. Having enjoyed happiness there, he is born in a family of yogis, regains the yoga of knowledge and crosses samsara. A man who simply enquires about yoga reaches a destination that those who perform all the great sacrifices do not. Brahmanas who know the Vedas gain fruit after crores of worships, and the same fruit is gained merely by giving alms to a person following Shiva's yoga. The fruits of sacrifices, agnihotras, gifts and oblations at holy places are all gained by giving food to a yogi. Those who, out of delusion, abuse Shiva's yogis, and those who listen to them, go to hell and remain there as long as the earth lasts. A person abuses yogis only when a listener is present, so a listener is also held to be a very great sinner. But those who constantly worship Shiva's yogis with devotion gain great pleasures and at the end are united with Shankara. So people who want pleasures should worship Shiva's yogis, giving them shelter, food, drink, beds and clothes. The dharma of yoga cannot be crushed by sins like clubs; against sin yogis are as tough as the vajra. Like water on a lotus leaf, they are not touched by these torments. When a sage devoted to Shiva's yoga lives constantly in a country, that country becomes pure, to say nothing of his own purity. So a discerning person will give up everything else and practise Shiva's yoga, which destroys all miseries.

A yogi who has gained siddhi and the fruits of yoga may enjoy pleasures. Or, for the welfare of the worlds, he may roam constantly as he pleases. Regarding the happiness of material things as small, he may be full of non-attachment and even stop yoga, and of his own accord free himself from karma. On realizing that his death is near, or on seeing evil omens, he may go to Shiva's sacred field and take up yoga again. If he has perseverance, the text says, he may give up life there by the means the Shaiva texts allow, even without disease, and be instantly liberated; or if he is disabled by illness and dies after taking refuge in Shiva's sacred field, he will still doubtless be liberated. A calm mind seeking death by those means is said to be in line with the texts and best. The text also holds that one who is killed while killing a person who reviles Shiva, and one who gives up his life for Shiva's sake or for his devotees' sake, is not born again, and that there is none his equal among seekers of liberation. I am retelling the source, and this is what it says. If a person dies after properly purifying himself along the six paths, his funeral rites are not performed as for a Pashu, and his sons need not observe purification rites. The rites are those recommended for followers of Shiva's conduct and learning: a pit is dug and the body buried, or it is purified by fire, or flung into Shiva's water, or cast aside like a piece of wood or stone. If they wish to do some rites for him, they should do auspicious ones, for example, as capacity allows, satisfying Shiva's devotees. His wealth is inherited by Shiva's devotees, not by his offspring, and must be given to Shiva's devotees, not to Pashus or to his offspring.