Happy MahaShivaratri

[SalixIncendium]

Happy Mahashivaratri for those who celebrate!

Today I'll be fasting and likely observing live-stream celebrations.

Do you have any plans for today or tonight?

 

[sayak83]

Happy Mahashivaratri for those who celebrate!

Today I'll be fasting and likely observing live-stream celebrations.

Do you have any plans for today or tonight?

Puja ongoing at my home here. Me stirring payasam in the oven. Once ready will serve in the puja.

 

[sayak83]

Happy Mahashivaratri for those who celebrate!

Today I'll be fasting and likely observing live-stream celebrations.

Do you have any plans for today or tonight?

An interesting practice from Trika kashmiri Saivism

 

[SalixIncendium]

An interesting practice from Trika kashmiri Saivism

Until this, I never noticed the connection between soham and hamsa.

Interesting techniques. I found the practice of connecting the mind to the sound more useful than the hamsa breathing. I'll play around with the hamsa breath in longer sessions. 5 minutes is a bit short to gain any real insight into effectiveness.

 

[Vinidra]

Happy Mahashivaratri, everyone! This is my first year celebrating.

I'm doing a fruit fast (I am diabetic, so I thought that would be safer than a water fast) and doing puja later this evening. There will also likely be some meditation involved. I may watch some celebrations on YouTube as well.

Hope everyone has a great day!

 

[ajay0]

After morning meditation, I used my newly bought radio mantra box with the 'Om Namah Shivaya' mantras for a few hours. Noticed that it creates a certain sattvic ambience in my house after a few hours of chants.

Visited temples and had a partial fruit fast.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Happy Mahashivaratri. Miss the days when the Shivaratri meal was Rice and juicy (Mutton) Koftas. My grandpa changed it for the family. Fast for other adults in the family.

 

[mangalavara]

Happy Mahashivaratri for those who celebrate!

I hope it was a good one.

Today I'll be fasting and likely observing live-stream celebrations.

As an Advaitan and transtheist, why do you observe Mahāśivarātri?

Do you have any plans for today or tonight?

Nope. I had already observed the Javanese/Balinese equivalent, Siwaratri, a couple of months ago.

I spent time during the day cleaning. In the early part of the night, I ordered some milk tea, salt butter bread, and a slice of cake for delivery. Then, I did my daily sādhanā.

After morning meditation, I used my newly bought radio mantra box with the 'Om Namah Shivaya' mantras for a few hours. Noticed that it creates a certain sattvic ambience in my house after a few hours of chants.

I had to look up ‘radio mantra box.’ There is a product on Etsy that looks nice.

Happy Mahashivaratri. Miss the days when the Shivaratri meal was Rice and juicy (Mutton) Koftas. My grandpa changed it for the family. Fast for other adults in the family.

I like it that families have their own customs and observances.

 

[SalixIncendium]

As an Advaitan and transtheist, why do you observe Mahāśivarātri?

Great question! I've contemplated this question as well as why I find myself connected to Nataraja. And I'm afraid I don't have an answer that satisfies.

My best guess is the connection to the festival and deity lies residually in the causal body.

 

[sayak83]

Great question! I've contemplated this question as well as why I find myself connected to Nataraja. And I'm afraid I don't have an answer that satisfies.

My best guess is the connection to the festival and deity lies residually in the causal body.

The Bhairava Tantras, of which Kashmiri Trika saivism is a part, are non-dualistic. There is no conflict between the path of Siva and non-dualism.

 

[SalixIncendium]

The Bhairava Tantras, of which Kashmiri Trika saivism is a part, are non-dualistic. There is no conflict between the path of Siva and non-dualism.

Is that the book of 112 practices that Sarvapriyananda was speaking of in the video? I'm certainly interested in reading those. I would have to look back because I didn't catch the name of the book in my initial viewing.

I certainly have a great deal to learn about Kashmiri Trika Saivism, but a couple of things right of that jumped out at me in the video were that Siva is self-aware, acts, and desires. These contradict the teachings of Advaita, and I've spent some time thinking about these.

The primary thoughts right off is that Siva is citanada, that auspicious consciousness-bliss, so how can that consciousness-bliss be aware of itself? Doesn't awareness of introduce duality? Is that self that Siva is aware of an appearance? In other words, I'm aware of my being, but only from the perspective of vyavaharika. In paramartika, there is no "self" for me to be aware of. Secondly, in my understanding, actions generate karma. If Siva is acting, wouldn't karma be generated? Also, desire in this reality leads to suffering. If Siva desires, does Siva suffer? My initial thought on the last two questions would be that these are Maya.

I'm just wondering how Kashmiri Trika Saivism would answer these questions.

 

[sayak83]

Is that the book of 112 practices that Sarvapriyananda was speaking of in the video? I'm certainly interested in reading those. I would have to look back because I didn't catch the name of the book in my initial viewing.

I certainly have a great deal to learn about Kashmiri Trika Saivism, but a couple of things right of that jumped out at me in the video were that Siva is self-aware, acts, and desires. These contradict the teachings of Advaita, and I've spent some time thinking about these.

The primary thoughts right off is that Siva is citanada, that auspicious consciousness-bliss, so how can that consciousness-bliss be aware of itself? Doesn't awareness of introduce duality? Is that self that Siva is aware of an appearance? In other words, I'm aware of my being, but only from the perspective of vyavaharika. In paramartika, there is no "self" for me to be aware of. Secondly, in my understanding, actions generate karma. If Siva is acting, wouldn't karma be generated? Also, desire in this reality leads to suffering. If Siva desires, does Siva suffer? My initial thought on the last two questions would be that these are Maya.

I'm just wondering how Kashmiri Trika Saivism would answer these questions.

It is possible to posit that the primal condition of consciousness-bliss and being eternally and fully aware of itself (which also makes it omniscient as there is nothing other than itself and full Self-awareness is the greatest bliss of all). I would also say that it should be a non-conceptual ie. direct and reflexive self-awareness, unmediated by any concept or construct as we usually have. Hence there is no duality between That and the conceptual awareness of That. I find it difficult to make sense of the idea of pure consciousness which, in fact, is conscious of nothing. If one removes all conceptual and external objects, the substratum, imho must be a constant non-conceptual and non-dual self-awareness.
The desire part is more problematic. I am not fully aware of what Kashmiri saivism states, but I think the idea that the absolute has desires cannot be sustained. Desire requires an awareness of a lack, and there is nothing that is lacking.
Activity is easier. The idea of action as play is widely present, and such action incurs no bondage. The idea would be that absolute self-awareness bliss itself generates spontaneous playful activity (like laughter) and the universe-appearance is the byproduct of this bliss created play.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Kashmir Shaivism is, IMHO, is half-way Advaita. Did not interest me. So, I went back to my understanding of Absolute Advaita.