(1) Śaivism, in the original Śaiva, more precisely the Śaiva Sampradaya, is the oldest, most ancient spiritual, mystery and religious tradition of India, Kashmir and Tibet. Śaivism is strongly associated with the practices of tantric yoga or, as some prefer, yoga, tantra, and the so-called kundalini yoga. Śaivic tantra is generally much older than Buddhist tantra, and Śiva Mahadeva himself, Śiva God of Light (Great Light), worked several thousand years before the Aryans appeared in India and before spiritual traditions such as Buddhism and Jainism arose. In discussing Śaivism we present the basic tantric spiritual and religious knowledge about God Śiva (Shiva, Siva) in Hinduism of Vedic origin and its esoteric trend, i.e. Tantrism, and the introductory messages of the spiritual teachings of Śaivism (Shivaism, Śaiva) for humanity given by messengers (aćaryas) of the Great White Brotherhood of Masters of Wisdom of the Far East based in the Himalayas. Everyone can find something for themselves here, to finally start practising tantra yoga, which many satanists in the West (asurists, titanists, luciferians) would like to exchange for a kind of sick and terribly perverted sexuality with which authentic tantra yoga has nothing in common. Śaivism, especially the one from Kashmir, North India, preserves the treasures of the best technically developed esoteric and mystery methods of yoga and tantra. Śaivism, or Śaiva, includes methods and practices of work, which Tibetan Buddhism calls Dzogchen, and it should be remembered that in tantric yoga, such a set of methods and technical practices is known as mahasandhi – Great Perfection.
(2) According to Encyclopaedia, Śivaism, Śaivism, and in the original Śaiva, Śaiva Sampradaya (the Sanskrit letter श is transliterated and pronounced as “ś”) is generally a monotheistic branch of Hinduism that recognises Śiva God as the only and highest God, as the Great God – Mahadeva, as the God of gods – Devadeva. Śaivites believe that God is simultaneously present in the entire universe and all its creatures (immanence) and outside of it (transcendence). As in the case of other Hindu religions of Vedic origin, faithful Śaivites recognise the existence of many other minor deities, but they are usually seen as manifestations of Śri Śiva the Absolute, and such a variety of monotheism is called monism. The followers of Śaivism believe that the whole world is maya (illusion), the realm of illusion and delusion, and traditional yoga and mystical asceticism (brahmaćarya) play a large role in Śaivism. An important symbol of Śaivism is the linga. Śaivism constitutes 25-30% of all Hindu followers, or more precisely, some 300-350 million followers (Śivabhaktas) worldwide. The basis of the spiritual practice of Śaivism is yoga and tantra, presented in twelve successive lines of transmission. The basic religious and mystical scriptures are mainly the Śiva Purana and the Linga Purana. Śaivism is divided into the more ascetic North Indian (Kashmiri) and South Indian (Tamil) with a very extensive cult setting. Tantra, more precisely Śaiva-Tantra, is basically the oldest name for the spiritual tradition currently called Śaivism. North Indian Śaivism became the basis for the development of Buddhism and Buddhist tantra, which is a direct copy of Śaivite tantrism.
(3) Linga or lingam is an important term from the metaphysics of Hinduism. In the oldest texts of Śaivism, linga is depicted as the Primordial Cosmic Egg from which the entire universe and all creatures arise. The stone Vedic or Hindu lingam is most often the cult object of Śiva God or Śivalingam. The Sanskrit word lingam comes from the meanings of “sign”, “emblem”, “manifestation”, “symbol”, “seal”, “creation”. The Indian epic “Mahabharata” (verse 12.195.15) explains that lingam is the body of the wandering soul, the shape in which the soul wanders between successive incarnations. Hence, theosophists adopted the term lingaśarira (literally: lingam body, sign body) and consistently translated this concept as the etheric body. As lingams for cult purposes in homes, natural pebbles of an ellipsoidal, symmetrical, egg-shaped shape are used, which are found in Indian rivers and considered and worshipped as sacred. It is believed that such a shape reflects the initial image of the Universe (Brahmanada) in its potential state before expansion, enlargement, and the shape of the energy body, the ethereal (linga-śarira) reflects the pattern of the beginning of the existence of the Universe. Hindus of the Śaiva streams believe that having a lingam at home or carrying it with you as an amulet ensures happiness and success in life for adepts. In the methods of yoga and tantra, three lingams are visualised – egg-shaped or vase-like vessels concentrating the forces and energy of the divine spirit inside the body:
Svayambhu Lingam, dark navy blue, indigo, is located at the base of the torso and is considered a reservoir of vital energy. It is associated with vitality, longevity, the womb, and reproductive organs. Indigo souls have strong radiation from this lower energy reservoir.
Bana Lingam is a golden linga inside the chest in the area of the physical heart. It is associated with spiritual and material knowledge and wisdom, intuition, and religious fervour. Golden, golden-purple, or rainbow souls have strong radiation from this energy reservoir.
Itara Lingam—a white crystal linga in the area of the ćakra called the third eye—is considered a source of paranormal powers such as clairvoyance. Crystal souls have strong radiation from this energy reservoir.
(4) A lingam installed in a mandir most often refers to the mystery of the Śaivite cult. However, there are also lingams representing other Hindu deities, e.g. figures of the trimurti (holy trinity). Several dozen lingams may be the only cult objects of a Śaivite temple. In India and Nepal, there are 12 major Śaivite temples with large lingams (called jyotirlinga) as the central object of the yogic-tantric mystery cult. The common notions of the lingam as a phallus (male) or an egg (female) come mainly from Christian scholars of Indian culture. They are of an associative, iconoclastic and profane nature, not substantive. For example, Abhinavagupta (10th century), in the tantric treatise “Tantra-Aloka” (The Light of Tantra, verse 5.54), explains the meaning of the concept of lingam as follows: “This entire Universe (Brahmanda) is dissolved in this (lingam), and this entire universe is perceived as residing in this lingam!” Linga is always understood rather as a geometric shape of superspace in which the entire physical Cosmos is contained and it is very difficult to associate this symbol with a male member as Western degenerates and sexual perverts would like to usurp the right to distort the teachings of Eastern spiritual masters under the theological banners of Christianity.
(5) Triśula – in Sanskrit त्रिशूल triśūla – trident, a mystery-religious and yogic symbol in the Vedic tradition and Hinduism, one of the most important attributes of Śiva God in Śaivism and tantric yoga. The three prongs of the Śiva God triśula usually symbolise creation (birth), life support (life itself) and destruction (end, death). Sometimes, it is interpreted as the past, present and future, as well as the three persons of God, Trimmurti, etc. It is sometimes a symbol of the three gunas, the unity of the three states of consciousness (turiya), and the three jewels of the sanatana dharma (Guru, Dharma and Sangha). In Buddhism, the triśula is mainly a symbol of the three jewels (triratna), which was adopted as a main concept during the emergence of the Buddhist tradition from the then existing Śaivite and Tantric (Śakti) schools. According to one myth, Śiva Deva used a trident to cut off the head of Ganeśa Deva, who was defending his father from access to his wife, who was bathing in the bathroom.
(6) Śiva God, Śiva Deva – in Sanskrit शिव – gracious, benevolent, kind, merciful, merciful – is one of the most important devas (angels, deities) in Hinduism and the entire dharmic tradition of Vedic origin. He forms the Trimmurti (a kind of Hindu holy trinity) together with the deities Brahma and Vishnu, in which he symbolises the annihilating and renewing aspect of divinity, but he is complete in himself and does not need ecumenical associations with other deities. The Śivaites consider him the One God (Eka), identical to the formless all-pervading Brahman. Śiva has 1008 main names, and there are also mentions of 10 thousand Names of Śiva God; he is most often presented as Nataraja – the heavenly master of the divine dance, but also as a lotus yogi and ascetic, as a benefactor, head of a holy family and a destroyer of evil, destroyer of chaos and wickedness. Among Hindus, Śiva God is worshipped mainly by Śaivaites and Smartists. Śiva is one of the most complex divine beings in Hinduism and Indian mythology. His various representations contain many apparent contradictions. Rudra is the name of Śiva God in the Vedas, God’s oldest known cult name. Rudra literally means “roaring, howling”, symbolically as sounds of nature. He is presented ambivalently, as an angry archer (Śarva), also a doctor, a guardian of cattle. Rudra is considered the father of the Maruts – heavenly courtiers and luminous deities from Indra’s retinue. The name of Śiva as the Absolute, the Great Vastness is also the Vedic name Yahvah known from the holy Rig Veda.
(7) Kailas, Kailasa or Kailaśa Parvata is a mountain in Tibet on which Śiva God, in the personal form, the master of yogis, lives, resides and meditates. It is an object of pilgrimage for Śivaites and followers of numerous other Asian religions, for whom this mountain is also sacred. Śivapura is the city of Śiva, the seat of the Supreme and Gracious God. It is sometimes located on the top of Mount Kailasa, but in its ethereal space, not visible to everyone. The city of Śiva God has four main gates. Seven holy rivers flow through the area of Śivapura City, symbolising seven streams of divine energy and seven rays of evolution. Everything inside this Śiva city is covered with shining diamond dust. Mystery descriptions of the city of Śivapura are already included in the Brahmanda Purana and Vayu Purana treatises. Śivaloka is the paradise of Śiva God, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the goal of aspirations of his secular followers, where Śiva Mahadeva sits on the highest Throne of Heaven. Statuettes of Śiva God showered with white vibhuti ash miraculously materialised by siddhas (miracle workers) symbolise the destruction of the visible universe when the proper time of Mahapralaya comes. Śiva God will then open his third eye and everything material in the lower Three Worlds will burn, and “only ash” will remain. Vibhuti obtained from ritual fire as white Udi powder is a common cult accessory among Śivaites, used, among other things, to apply the Śivaite tritilaka or three lines on the forehead.
(8) Indian spiritual traditions tell much of the many benefits that Śiva God has bestowed upon humankind and of the deeds He performed in His care for them. For example, when a demonic poison was spilt that could destroy all three universes, Śiva God drank it. His wife, Uma Parvati Devi, saved him from death by hugging his neck so tightly that the poison could not spread through his body. Another story tells of Ganga Devi (the Goddess personification of the Ganges) falling from the sky, and Śiva God catching her, protecting her from being bruised, and her waters becoming the long hair of Śiva God—meaning that the rivers on Earth are the hair of Śiva God. In Śiva, God’s hair is a thin crescent of the new moon. It may symbolise the connection of Śiva God with the monthly cycle of time, and yet every New Moon, we have a new lunar month of Śivaism (a new synodic month in the cycle from new moon to new moon lasts on average about 29 and a half days). The beautiful crescent moon is the decoration of Śiva God’s head, symbolically, as a passive aspect, refers to the quality of tenderness, sensitivity and awakening in the divine light. Śiva is a deity with three eyes. The “third” eye is the mystical or spiritual eye, located in the middle of the forehead from the base of the eyebrows. In humans, it is usually closed, blind, or darkened. In Hinduism, it is called the eye of knowledge, the eye of Divine Wisdom. Achieving the level of development when it is possible to open it is equivalent to reaching the state of consciousness of Śiva God. A popular story in India is how the God Śiva reduced the deity Kamadeva to ashes through the gaze of his third eye (he later brought him back to life) for trying to induce a state of sexual lust during asceticism. This act is commemorated by the nickname Śiva God with the meaning of the Destroyer Kama – the Incorporeal, and this is the deity of eroticism and sex.
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(16) The God Śiva bears 1008 holy names and is most often presented as Nataraja – the master and ruler of dance, but also as Yogeśvara – a yogi and ascetic, a benefactor, head of the family and as a destroyer of evil named Hara. Among Hindus, Śiva is worshipped mainly by Śaivaites and Smartists. The name of God, Śiva, is usually not declined, leaving its original sound. Śiva is one of the most mysterious divine beings in Hinduism and the entire Indian mythology. His various representations contain many apparent contradictions and mystical mysteries. Śiva is presented as the Divine Father, Baba-Ji, Śiv-Baba, God-Man and Yogi with four arms and three eyes, where the middle one is a mystical eye, located in the middle of the forehead and closed. Some rarer images show him with a different number of heads, more than one. The three heads symbolise the three gunas and power over the present, past and future, and the five heads symbolise the five elements, the power of yogis over matter. He is also characterised by his hair tied in a bun above his head. His most significant attribute is the trident or Triśula. The wife of Śiva God is Uma Śakti, known as Durga, Kali, Parvati and Uma Devi, sometimes also depicted together with Him as the divine Parental Couple, the Holy Perfect Marriage. According to the Brahma Vaivarta Purana (2.6.13-95), the second wife of the Śiva God is the sacred river Ganga. The animal associated with Śiva is the serpent of wisdom, coiled around His neck, and this sacred mystical serpent is usually the Indian cobra.
(17) The sons of Śiva God are Ganeśa and Karttikeya (also known as Sanat Kumara, Muruga/n, Skanda). However, in the early Middle Ages and antiquity, Karttikeya sometimes appears as the only son of Śiva God. The Gnostics borrowed this idea and later on by early Christians, giving the idea of the Son of God. Sometimes, Śiva God is shown riding on his angelic white bull, Nandi Deva. It is also common to depict the personal Śiva God as a loving father and husband, accompanied by his wife Parvati and son Ganeśa, and sometimes also his second son Murugan (Sanat Kumara). Such depictions, found mainly in colourful paintings, show a happy and joyful family – the Holy Family. According to legend, Ganeśa was born in the absence of his father. So, he grew up raised by his mother, Parvati Devi. Once, his mother asked him to guard the door while she bathed. Suddenly, Śiva appeared and wanted to get inside, but Ganeśa refused him as a stranger because he was too small and had not seen his father yet. Enraged and belligerent, Śiva chopped off his head. When Śiva learned that it was his son, he made amends and gave Ganeśa the head of the first animal he encountered, an elephant. Since then, the Indian patron of sages, knowledge and science, Ganeśa, has been depicted as a spiritual and wise man with the head of an elephant. The moral of this story is that the emotions and actions of the father change the face of the son and change and shape the face and head of the son. Of course, the frequent and long absence of the father from home, as you can see, disrupts relationships with children, especially with sons, and can lead to serious conflicts.
(18) In India, the personal representation of Śri Śiva God is popular as a Himalayan ascetic yogi, without property or clothing: immersed in meditation, sitting on a high peak on Mount Kailaśa (Kailasa) in the lotus position, and next to him, as a rule, stands an attribute stuck in the ground: a trident; he is sitting on a tiger skin or wandering in the mountains. Here, he is celebrated as the Master of yogi-ascetics, Iśvara Guru, who is always an emanation of Śiva God according to the rule that the Guru is Śiva, and Śiva is the Guru. Sacred snakes are wrapped around his arms (naga-kundala; and in Hinduism, the snake symbolises, among other things, divine protection, and Hindus believe that these animals gather around saints). His body is smeared with sacred ash, and his loose hair symbolises the waters of the Ganges. In his journeys, he is sometimes accompanied by his wife, Śri Parvati Devi, the daughter of the King of the Himalayas. The most popular representation of Śiva God is Nataraja or Śiva as the master and ruler of dance. Almost every element of this form of Śiva God symbolises something. Śiva-Nataraja dances with his right leg, standing on a slain demon (asura), which means that God triumphs over ignorance, darkness and evil. The drum held in one of the hands symbolises the act of creation, the unity of the male (pingala) and female (ida) principles. The fire, on the other hand, means that when the right moment comes, the world will be destroyed by Śiva God at the end of the cycle of times. The other two hands symbolise the care that Śiva, God the Father, Śiv-Baba, surrounds his devotees and the possibility of achieving moksha (salvation). The entire dance is an allegory of the constant destruction and creation of the universe, and the circle of flames surrounding Śiva God testifies to the fact that the true divine nature is temporarily inaccessible to humans. The followers of Śiva God were and are great avatars such as Krishna and Rama, and more broadly, all avatars, including Gautama Buddha and every emanation or avatara of Vishnu.
(19) In addition to anthropomorphic images of Śiva God, an important role is played by the suprapersonal cult of Śiva Deva symbolised by Lingam (linga). Lingam has the shape of a vertical, rounded column or an oval-shaped block, the original egg from which the universe was born. Lingam is Bindu, the first focus point and the first drop of energy. An extremely symbolic character characterises the Śiva Linga; it is generally believed to be a Brahmic symbol of the infinity of God, his Ananta. The lingam is sometimes wrongly and iconoclastically associated in the West with the phallus and is sometimes considered a remnant of the non-Aryan phallus cult as one of the few supposedly non-Aryan elements imprinted in Aryan Hinduism. However, most Śaivas who worship the lingam do not even associate the lingam with the phallus, much less identify it with the sexual organ, so calling the lingam a phallic symbol is incorrect, deceitful, and even blasphemous! Tantric philosophy understands Śiva God metaphorically – as the male, i.e. the active and conscious aspect of the universe and each person. On the other hand, the female aspect is the energetic Śakti Devi.
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(27) Around the 6th-8th century CE, the old Śaivite tradition of the Nathas was revived and spread, the father or perhaps more propagator of which is considered to be the author of many works and an outstanding yogi, Gorakshanatha. The basic idea of the Nathas is measurable work on the perfection of the physical body (sthulla śarira) and the etheric body (linga śarira, prana śarira) to prolong human life and improve its quality to make the most of the time and resources available for yoga practice and to achieve moksha and kaivalya (liberation from the cycle of incarnations). The tools of bodywork also include Rasayana (alchemy and pharmacology), Ayurveda (traditional medicine) and a compilation of a system of physical exercises based on Asanas, Mudras and Bandhas, and Kalaripayat (Martial Arts), and from this emerged what we now know as contemporary Hatha Yoga. The Nathas identified and described for Hatha Yoga the tantric system of six chakras of the trunk and head and emphasised in practice the inverted body positions, bandhas and mudras, complex pranayamas, and many other techniques of highly effective tantric yoga practice. The Natha tradition is a confederation of masters and adepts who are devotees of Adinatha Śiva as the first Guru of the Hatha Yoga school and Kalaripayat (Martial Arts). Natha belongs to the ancient lineage of Siddhas, Siddha yogis. The transformation of the physical and etheric (pranic) bodies into Sahaja Siddham is one of the most fundamental goals of practice in the Natha Sampradaya.
(28) The Nathas also taught that working with the body provides not only physical benefits but also psychological, mental, and spiritual ones. The Nathas taught about the connections between karma and the physical body, and it turned out that through the body, one can work with much more subtle components of man, including the pranic body. The Nathas were and are a very practical group or community – they paid little attention to dry theory but a lot to yogic practice and explanations, especially its psychotechnical component. They rejected or omitted from tantra the excess of ritualism and excessive talkativeness. Their pragmatism is illustrated by the fact that among them were Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains, but they also easily accepted Islam when it almost drove Buddhism out of the territory of India. The Hindu cult of Śiva God, Adinatha, had a significant influence on the Nathas because, in a significant way, the Natha Tradition is however the universalising spirituality and yoga of Śivaism and Śaktism. Gradually, the Natha school became completely associated with Yoga and Śaiva, and many religious trends of Indian Śaivism call themselves Nathas, so much did the Nathas manage to make an invaluable contribution to the further development of Yoga and Tantra, or more precisely, Tantric Yoga, to which authentic Hatha Yoga has always belonged.
(29) The much later work of the eminent Yogi Rishi Svatmarama, “Hatha-Yoga Pradipika”, took much of the Natha tradition and, as a systematic work, transmits the Natha practices, including the worship and reverence of Śiva God as Yogeśvara, Adinatha and Adiguru, the Perfect Yogi and Master of Yogis. It is a more technical work that describes in detail the practices of Hatha Yoga, including asanas, pranayama, bandhas, mudras, the diet of the practitioner, the place of practice, and many others, as well as explains the connection between Hatha and Raja Yoga: “Asanas, and especially the special breathing and other techniques such as Hatha Yoga, which is usually practised until the result is achieved, the royal state of Raja Yoga, the Realization of Oneness.” The Natha tradition permeates many different Hindu and Jain streams, emphasising the importance and rank of yogic practices and kalaripayat. There are monastic (monk) groups and groups based on home and family practice among the Nathas. During wars, the Nathas transformed themselves into monastic warriors who were completely dedicated to the cause of freedom and liberation of India from all occupation. The practices of the esoteric side of Hatha Yoga taught by the Nathas require strict submission to the guidance of a good Śri Guru with solid qualifications. There is no Yoga without a Master. The Nathas often use spiritual names with the words Yogi or Nath/a. The word Natha means ruler, protector, defender, guardian and master. Usually, a line of nine main Nathas is mentioned, starting with Adhinatha, Master Śiva Yogeśvara, and the list of the remaining eight Nathas may vary locally, depending on the line of succession of teachers and disciples. Among the great names of the Nathas are Nagarjuna (2nd and 3rd century), Matsyendranatha (8th, 9th and 10th century – Minanatha), Kanhapa (10th century), Gorakshanatha (11th and 12th century – Mahayogi), Jalandara (12th and 13th century – Balnath, Hadipa), Ćaurangi (Puran Bhagat, Sarangadhara), Ćarpatha, Bhartrihari (from Ujjain), Gopićanda (from Bengal), Ratannath (13th century), Mastnatha (13th century).
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(42) The early teachings of ancient Śaivism, contained, for example, in the Śvetaśvatara Upanishad, mention the attainment of the state of Deva-Atma-Śakti or the Power of the Spirit of Light, the level at which Daivam, Divinity, manifests as the Power of the Self, the Power of the Soul, the Power and Might of the Atman. Adepts of the Śaiva tradition meditate on a river with five streams of water from five sources, a wild primordial river of five vital pranic energies and five colours of the body’s organs. Working with the five elements or natural elements is one of the foundations of Yoga and Tantra in the entire Śaiva tradition. The material, the manifest world, consists of two components: Pradhana, which is perishable and transient, and Hara, which is imperishable, permanent and eternal. Through persistent and consistent meditation and contemplation of Hara, a person eventually becomes one with Hara, which is indicated as the Path of Liberation, the Path of Mukti or Moksha, the Path of Kaivalyam, and the Path of Salvation. The final state is Kevalatvam – full union with the Divine Self, with Parama Atman. People practising Yoga or Tantra should deal significantly with Om, the sound of Pranava, which is always indicated as leading to God, to the state of knowing Brahman, the All-Spirit, and also the Great God, Hara. One of the Vedic Śaiva practices is the daily prayer addressed to the Deity Savitr, who brings Enlightenment and spiritual illumination. Savitr also gives much afflation and inspiration from the enlightened heavenly level. Śaiva yoga in any form also recommends the cultivation of reflective meditations in which we look into our own interior, into the depths of the heart and Soul, into the depths of the Jivatman, the Living Soul-Self, to find inspiration and solutions to some current problems and tasks of life. Brahman, the Absolute, the All-Spirit, is in all creatures as the basis or foundation of consciousness, is in all nature, hidden in the depths of the entire manifest world, but only some human beings are aware of this and live in the consciousness of God. Śiva is often mentioned by some important names, such as Iśana, Rudra or Hara, and in total there are Seven or Eleven major forms of Śiva. Adepts of the Śiva tradition cultivate prayers of blessing addressed to the individual forms of Śiva God, Iśa, blessing in the process all sincere practitioners of Śiva Yoga and Tantra. The Holy Brotherhood of Himavanti is an ancient spiritual tradition of Yoga and Tantra that originates from the parents of Uma Parvati, King Himavant and Śri Mena Devi.
Many Blessings on the Path of Awakening and Realization!
Om Namaśśivaya! Hum!
(C) Swami Paramahansa Aćaryaćarya Lalitamohan Babaji – Master L.M.B.
First Edition – Toruń 1983; Second Edition – Toruń 1996
Third Edition – Revised and Supplemented – Gliwice 2009
SEVENTH MANDALA OF HRIDAYA SUTRAM (HR 97-112)
(This publication contains only fragments of the original esoteric-hermetic lesson Hridaya. The entire material of this lesson is available in a paperback or book edition, available at workshops and trainings of tantric yoga for adepts and supporters of the Himavanti Monastic Brotherhood and Kaśmiri Śaiva – Kashmiri Śaivism.)
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