In this excerpt, Swami Lakshmanjoo explains why YOU are really Parabhairava (supreme state of God Consciousness). This is from the Bhagavad Gita, In the Light of Kashmir Shaivism, chapter 8 revealed by Swami Lakshmanjoo (also available as on-demand video and hardcover/paperback/ebook).
Oṁ. Oṁ means:
antarālīnatattvaughaṁ cidānandaghanaṁ mahat /
yattattvaṁ śaivadhāmākhyaṁ tadomityabhidhīyate //271
Antarālīna tattvaughaṁ, where all of these differentiated thirty-six elements ...
Excerpt from the Shiva Sutras: The Supreme Awakening, Third Awakening, revealed by Swami Lakshmanjoo. We are studying the Shiva Sutras in our weekly Sangha. Find out more here.
2. jñānaṁ bandhaḥ //
(For this limited individual),
all knowledge is bondage.
Whatever knowledge this individual possesses is bondage for him. The meaning of the present sūtra is different from the meaning given for the second sūtrā of the First Awakening which is also jñānaṁ bandhaḥ. We’ve seen that th...
In the summer of 1989, John Hughes received a letter from Swami Lakshmanjoo writing to him about the Aghora Mantra and its importance, after having the darshan of Svacchanda Bhairava.
In part one of this two-part series you learned about this mantra and its significance for Kashmir Shaivism and your own practice, and the whole world.
In this part we go deeper into what is the reality of Svacchandanātha and why is he so important in Kashmir Shaivism.
Svacchandanātha
For an exp
...
In this excerpt from the Essence of the Supreme Reality: Abhinavagupta’s Paramarthasara, Swami Lakshmanjoo reminds us that “No matter what happens, go on remembering God and He will carry you.”
PS DVD 5 (00:42:39)
तस्मात् सन्मार्गेऽस्मिन्
निरतो यः कश्चिदेति स शिवत्वम् ।
इति मत्वा परमार्थे
यथातथापि प्रयतनीयम् ॥१०३॥
tasmāt sanmārge’smin
nirato yaḥ kaścideti sa śivatvam /
iti mat...
Excerpt from the Shiva Sutras: The Supreme Awakening, by Swami Lakshmanjoo, Second Awakening, verse 6. Check out our Weekly Sangha, where we study the Shiva Sutras in depth.
How can the Powers of creative energy and the power of establishment in that creative energy be attained?
These two powers can be attained only through the master (guru), no one else.
But who is the master?
The one who demands that his disciples donate mon
...
From an article from the Speaking Tree by John Hughes (revised)…
Universe as Divine Play of Diversity and Duality.
Abhinavagupta tells us in his Tantraloka that “Moksha only exists when your being becomes absolutely independent. According to him, a yogi can only be said to be liberated when he possesses this absolute independence; nothing must limit him or overshadow his universal consciousness. This process begins when the yogi is experiencing the state of internal mystical awareness, reli...
Today’s lecture is an excerpt from the Bodhapañcadaśikā [15 verses of wisdom] as revealed by Swami Lakshmanjoo. Here he explains the most important points of Kashmir Shaivism, beginning with the explanation of what “that One Being” is like.
These are fifteen ślokas, which were composed by Abhinavagupta, giving a brief exposition of the doctrine of Kashmir Śaivism.
Track 01b (01:40)
ॐ अनस्तमितभारूपस्तेजसां तमसामपि ।
य एकोऽन्तर्यदन्तश्च तेजांसि च तमांसि च ॥१
oṁ anastamita-bhārūpas tej...
In 1990, while commenting on Abhinavagupta’s rendering of the Bhagavad Gita, Swami Lakshmanjoo made a statement regarding initiation. At that time he was asked how will people be initiated after he was gone from this world? "Through viewing this!" he replied, and he pointed at the camera.
It is well known that the great masters of Kashmir Shaivism were not restricted to their bodies. Like the masters before him, Swamiji was a Universal Being existing everywhere, free from any limitation of spac...
In this excerpt from Abhinavagupta’s Tantraloka, Swami Lakshmanjoo explains what Malas (Impurities) really are in Kashmir Shaivism.
“This mala is very subtle. . . . Mala is neither formless nor with form.
It is just ignorance . . . It doesn’t allow knowledge to function, knowledge is stopped. Mala is absence of knowledge. Mala is not something substantial.
So this absence of knowledge takes place only by ignorance, and that ignorance is mala. Otherwise there is no mala, mala is not existing...
Chapter Seven
The Three Impurities
Malas
In our Śaiva system, there are three males or impurities. These malas reside in māyā. They do not reside in svātantrya śakti. Even though svātantrya śakti and māyā are one, yet they are different in the sense that svātantrya śakti is that state of energy which can produce the power of going down and coming up again, both at will, whereas māyā will only give you the strength of going down and not the ability of rising up again. Once you hav...
“Lord Shiva is the essence of all beings, His existence is nature, everybody’s nature. Lord Shiva is found in the absence of Lord Shiva also.” ~Swami Lakshmanjoo
This is a continuation of blog posts on the Bodhapañcadaśikā by Abhinavagupta, who wrote the [15 verses of wisdom] for ‘those dear devotees who are not intellectually inclined”. In this final part Swamiji is explaining the 15th and 16th, which are the ending verses.
इत्थमिच्छाकलाज्ञानशक्तिशूलाम्बुजाश्रितः ।
भैरवः सर्वभावानां स्व...
“This is my new commentary on this Bhagavad Gita.” Swami Lakshmanjoo exclaims as he tells us what we should do when eating and while experiencing śabda (sound), sparśa (touch), rupa (form) . . . all of the sensual pleasures.
In sensual pleasures, what should you do?
DVD 6.2 (23:22)
Chapter 6, verse 18
युक्ताहारविहारस्य युक्तचेष्टस्य कर्मसु ।
युक्तस्वप्नावबोधस्य योगो भवति दुःखहा ॥१८॥
yuktāhāravihārasya yuktaceṣṭasya karmasu /
yuktasvapnāvabodhasya yogo bhav...
