Sitting in a folding chair on a sandy beach, I watched the sun rise. Many others would be arriving soon to set up for the Easter sunrise service. It seemed strange to me that it was scheduled for an hour after the actual sunrise. So I simply went early.
After a while, people arrived and the service got going. It was full of beautiful hymns along with moving readings and an inspiring sermon. But I was confused. Why wasn’t I being filled by God, I wondered, especially on this holy morning?
I had been wonderfully uplifted by the sunrise, in a way that the songs and stories didn’t touch. As I sat facing the minister, my eyes kept wandering toward the ocean. My gaze fixed itself on the horizon, the meeting of sky and sea. My mind settled into a deep and expansive peacefulness, then I would think, “Pay attention to the service.”
When I looked at the horizon, my mind widened like my gaze. When I looked at the minister, my mind narrowed to a pinpoint focus on a man who died 2,000 years ago. The minister was telling me that Jesus could give me God. Yet the sunrise, the sand and sea were already filling me. And especially the meeting place between sky and sea – it was like the juncture between form and formless.
This is yoga’s focus, the dynamic stillness where form and formless meet and merge. As a tantric, I live on this tantalizing edge. The formless is being form, Shiva being the universe while being more. The whole of formlessness is present in every form, being you and being me, being all and beyond all.
Ocean at Dawn
Yes, the sunrise is a special time, the juncture between night and day. Yogis love to start before the dawn, preparing for the inner arising that comes with every sunrise. In this liminal zone, it’s easy to know that every form is holy, even your own body and mind. Every moment is a doorway into eternity, even the breath you’re taking now. Every being is Divine, whether you know it or not. The goal is to know.
I’m not confused anymore. That’s because a Divine human showed me the way inside. I needed a living teacher, one who could awaken me to my Divine Essence. Thank you, Baba.
You gave me the sun, the sand and sea, and especially the horizon line on the outside and inside. You gave me Jesus and all the other Divine beings who have ministered to humankind through the millennia. You broadened my heart along with my gaze. You gave me my own Self, which is the all in all, while being beyond the all.
That’s the whole point – to have easy access to the Divine experience that everyone seeks on such a holy day. It is an inner experience, the only kind that counts.
After visiting many sacred places of pilgrimage and listening to wonderful stories, the Pandavas reached Badrikashrama, located on the way to the holy mountain Kailash. This is the place where the great rishis Nara and Narayana performed their austerities.
The Pandavas decided to stay there at Badrikashrama for some time, as it was near the time for Arjuna’s return from mountain Kailash. The forest in the area was lovely, full of flowers with many different colors. As Draupadi was enjoying it all, she found a beautiful fragranced flower which had been blown by the wind from the north.
Bhima & Draupadi (1)
Caught up by its beauty and smell, she asked Bhima to find the place where the flower came from so he could bring her more flowers of that kind. She wanted to offer them to Yudhishthira. To fulfill her desire, Bhima went into the forest full of enthusiasm. He walked like an elephant who was rampaging the forest. The birds started to flee in fear.
Bhima came across a big old monkey sleeping in the middle of a banana plantation, with his tail stretched across the forest path. To wake the giant monkey, Bhima shouted like thunder and stamped his foot on the ground. The monkey opened its eyes and said to Bhima, “You look like a decent man, but you are behaving like someone who is less than a layman. Why are you disturbing the creatures of this forest? This is not the righteous way.”
Angry, Bhima exclaimed that he was in a hurry, telling the monkey to move away and give space for Bhima to move forward. The monkey replied saying that he was too tired and half asleep, so he simply couldn’t move. But he gave permission for Bhima to jump over his tail.
Bhima & old monkey (2)
Bhima replied that, if it was a young monkey, he would have jumped over it just like Hanuman jumped over the sea. But, as it was an elderly monkey, it would be disrespectful to do that to an elderly being. So the monkey gave permission for Bhima to move his tail to make way. Since he was an old monkey, Bhima decided not to give too much importance to it and disrespectfully used his left hand to lift his tail. To Bhima’s surprise, he couldn’t move the tail even an inch. He then used his right hand with no success. Puzzled, he then tried with both of his hands to move it, but failed big time. Bhima was in disbelief at this defeat, being unable to move an old monkey’s tail.
Therefore, Bhima realized that this was not an ordinary monkey. So he surrendered to the monkey and accepted his defeat. He introduced himself as one of the Pandava brothers and bowed, asking humbly, who was the monkey? The monkey said that he was the son of the wind God Vayu and of Anjanaa Devi.
Hanuman (3)
He added, “Just earlier, you were talking about Hanuman, right? I am he. I am the servant of Ram and you are my brother.” Hanuman showed his true form to Bhima and embraced him. Bhima experienced that the hug by Hanuman gave him the strength that was no match for anyone.
Hanuman blessed Bhima with a boon saying that every time Bhima would roar in the battlefield, Hanuman’s voice will be heard in that too. That would give strength to the Pandava army while giving fear to the Kaurava army. Also, Hanuman promised to be in the flag of Arjuna’s chariot. He also blessed Bhima with a lot of strength and love.
Hanuman also warned Bhima that the place that he was wandering, in search for the flower, was not a safe place for him to be. The reason why Hanuman came to Bhima was to warn him about it. Hanuman showed the way to the flowers that Draupadi wanted, which were from Lord Kubera’s garden. Bhima thanked Hanuman dearly, and happily went to collect all the flowers that Draupadi wanted. After facing some challenges at the garden with the guards of Lord Kubera, Bhima was able to collect the flowers.
Arjuna (4)
The Pandavas stayed in the Badrikashrama area as planned, awaiting Arjuna’s arrival. At last that great day arrived. There was a chariot shining with light, beaming from heaven. It landed near their Ashram. Arjuna jumped out of the chariot and bowed at the feet of his elder brothers with great respect, then embraced the younger ones with affection.
Arjuna, brothers & Draupadi (5)
Draupadi and the brothers were delighted to see Arjuna. He was wearing the crown given by his father Lord Indra, and he was adorned with jewelry along with all the weapons that had been gifted to him. He started telling them all the stories about the blessings from Lord Shiva and his stay at Amaravati, the abode of his father.
Yudhishthira was very much interested in knowing all about the weapons that Arjuna received and how they could use them. When Arjuna started sharing the knowledge about them, Maharishi Narada appeared. He warned Arjuna that these weapons were not to be trifled with. They can be used only when dire need arises. They must be used with extra caution. He also reminded all of the reason why Arjuna was chosen to go to heavens to learn them. Narada told Arjuna to keep the knowledge within himself, without unnecessarily sharing it with anyone. This knowledge could be dangerous if anyone who is not suitable for the task hears about it and if ever would try to use them.
They had been staying in Badrikashrama for a long time. It was already ten years. So they decided to finish their last two years of exile back in the Kamyaka forest. One day while looking for food, Bhima came across a huge serpent. Before he could do anything, the serpent coiled itself around him tightly with an intension of eating him. Bhima could feel himself losing all his strength.
Bhima, serpent (Nahusha) & Yudhishthira (6)
He decided to be brave at heart. Without fear, he introduced himself, saying that he was Yudhishthira’s brother and asked why the serpent was holding him. The python replied saying, “My name is Nahusha. I am one of your ancestors. As I once insulted Agastya Muni, I was cursed by the great sage to become a serpent. I caught you with the intension of eating you. Now that you have mentioned Yudhishthira’s name, I cannot do that. I was given the boon by Agastya Muni that only Yudhishthira can break my curse by answering my questions. I have been waiting for him for so long.”
Meanwhile, Yudhishthira had been looking for Bhima and came upon the scene, shocked to find Bhima coiled round by a huge serpent. Yudhishthira stayed calm and inquired what was going on. Nahusha revealed himself to Yudhishthira, telling him about his curse. Yudhishthira paid his respect to his ancestor Nahusha and agreed to answer his questions. Some of the questions and answers are as follows…
Nahusha: “Who is a brahmin? What is his ideal?”
Yudhishthira: “A Brahmin is one who possesses the qualities of truthfulness, virtue, compassion, penance and mercy. He is the conqueror of the senses. He doesn’t deviate from truthfulness. His dharma is to seek great knowledge and to impart that knowledge to others and that is the ideal of a Brahmin.”
Nahusha: “Knowing what would make a human be omniscient?”
Yudhisthira (7)
Yudhishthira: “Brahman is the source of the mystical universe. One who knows that Brahman thus becomes omniscient.”
Nahusha: “What is worth knowing?”
Yudhishthira: “Immeasurable God, who cannot be reached by any amount of land, time or material, but when reached, there is no rebirth, that God alone is worthy of knowing.”
Nahusha: “Who is a wise Brahma J~nani? What is the use of Brahma wisdom?”
Yudhishthira: “Attaining the Brahma wisdom is the ultimate goal of life, the pinnacle. A Brahma J~nani comes to know the truth, merging with the Oneness, by knowing he is not the body but the soul. He becomes beyond birth and death. He is not be affected by the pleasures and pains of this world. He is the wise Brahma J~nani. All people who come in contact with that Brahma J~nani progresses in moral and spiritual development.”
Yudhishthira answered all Nahusha’s questions and freed Nahusha from his curse. Nahusha started his journey to heaven and Bhima got all his strength back. The two brothers happily went back to the Ashram.
I went to India and met other swamis — Australian swamis! It felt like a sweet reunion with family members I’ve never met. There was an ease, a ready friendliness, and an enjoyment of each other’s company. We were all there for a retreat hosted by the Aussies at our lineage home of Ganeshpuri MH, India.
The Aussies were sweet and welcoming in general, but underlying that was something more. The swamis’ deep practice and commitment to yoga really showed. How? It was their bliss. My experience with them is described in a yogic text:
Lokaananda.h samaadhi-sukham. — Shiva Sutras 1.18
This yogi experiences the sweet bliss of the Self in every location and situation, and shares it with others. [rendered by Gurudevi Nirmalananda]
This yogi is a knower of the Self. They know their Divinity. Such a yogi experiences the sweet bliss of the Self everywhere — in every location and every situation.
There are other names for “a Knower of the Self”: Self-Realized, Enlightened, Illumined, God-intoxicated. When you are Enlightened, you take your illumined Self-Knowing everywhere you go. No place or circumstance can diminish your bliss, nor can it enhance it.
Meditation doesn’t make you more blissful. Being out in the world doesn’t make you less so. Your experience of the bliss of the Self is steady.
And you share it with others. God-intoxicated beings love to share! They don’t even need to try. They vibrate with bliss everywhere they are, whomever they are with, whatever they are doing. They radiate bliss the way the sun radiates light and heat.
The swamis I met in India have dedicated themselves to becoming a yogi like this. Actually, they have dedicated themselves to a yogi who is already like this. They are on the traditional Guru-disciple path. Just like me! Their Guru, Swami Shankarananda (called Guruji), and my Guru, Swami Nirmalananda (called Gurudevi), are Self-Realized beings. More than that, they are both Shaktipat Gurus. A Shaktipat Guru has the capacity to awaken you to the inner knowing of your Self, an initiation called Shaktipat.
Shaktipat Gurus are extremely rare. And I was in India with two of them. Actually, three. No, four! Another Shaktipat Guru was there at his Ashram, just outside of town. His name is Swami Nityananda (of Magod). And Swami Brahmananda was there as well, another Shaktipat Guru.
One afternoon, I had the unique and delightful opportunity to spend time with them as well as several other swamis. They had all lived at the Ashram in Ganeshpuri together many years ago, studying with their Guru, Swami Muktananda. You could call them Guru-brothers and Guru-sisters.
Avengers shawarma scene (1)
For me, being in the presence of these Great Beings was like being among superheroes. My heroes. But for them, it seemed more like the after-credits scene I loved from one of the Avengers movies. All the superheroes had banded together and saved the world. End of movie — roll the credits. Then, there’s a brief scene of all of them together around a table in a tiny restaurant, eating in companionable silence.
What happens when Shaktipat Gurus get together? They chat. They catch up. They drink some chai. They enjoy each other’s company. They are present, engaged and happy. And then, they say goodbye, and go on to their next task, equally present, engaged and happy. They certainly appreciated the opportunity to spend some time with each other. But they are Knowers of the Self: Lokaananda.h samaadhi-sukham. And so their bliss was not increased by being together, nor was it diminished when they said goodbye.
This constancy and steadiness doesn’t mean that an Enlightened being’s life is boring, every day the same. It’s not that they’re “beyond it,” meaning they don’t care. The opposite is true. Enlightened beings are some of the most active, engaged, loving, generous, caring people you’ll meet. This is their state, and it can be yours.
I don’t mean you have to become a Shaktipat Guru. Nor do you have to become a swami, wear orange or move to an Ashram. I mean you can live your life, do what you do, with the people you love, and you can be more YOU.
You can be you at your best all the time: happy, content, loving, generous. You can be your glorious Divine Self in every location and every situation.
How? First, get Shaktipat. This sacred and ancient initiation jumpstarts your knowing of your Self like nothing else can. Then, you have your part to do: meditate. Svaroopa® Vidya meditation gives you the experiential knowing of your Divinity.
Meditation by meditation, your inner realization that you are the Self deepens and develops. Until one day, you’ll never not know that you are the Self. And you will recognize that everyone and everything is another form of the same Self. Everything is Divine, and YOU are that Divinity.
Then you will be the yogi who experiences the sweet bliss of the Self in every location and situation, and shares it with others. This is your future, if you want it to be.
