Look up to the bright sky and train your eyes to see the brightness in it, you will notice the faint clouds that glow even brighter in that light. Look up to the sun for a few seconds and maintain the gaze even in the brightness, you will notice it is round and glowing even more. Keep silent and close all your sense faculties and kill all the noise around you and you will realize the primordial sound OM grows within you.This is Bhairava, This is Shiva, This is prana.
Prana, as beautifully described in the Vigyana Bhairava Tantra, is not the breath that goes in and out, but the eternal space that can be felt between any two breaths. Prana is not the air we breathe but it is the energy or life that is generated by the constant vibration between any two breaths. This is where OM is felt.
This is defined as Bhairava, This is defined as Shiva, This is Prana.
The human self is described most poetically; we are but a lotus plant, whose stem is blue on the outside and red on the inside. We are but a lotus plant whose stem is the channel through which Shakti flows upwards to meet her Shiva at the seat of consciousness. We are but a lotus plant immersed in the waters of Maya but enlightened at the epitome of our consciousness - the thousand petal form.
This consciousness is Bhairava, this feeling of bliss is Shiva.
When your senses shiver and your mind becomes still, and when you quiver, feel this bliss. When you practice love in the ritual of union feel the quivering of your senses like the wind in the leaves. You will feel ecstatic love. At the start of this union, be in the fire of this energy released by intimate sensual pleasure. Merge into Shakti, burn in this space but avoid the ashes in the end. Feel your substance, your bones, your flesh and your blood saturated with cosmic energy.
This is Bhairavam this is Shiva, this is supreme bliss
There is beauty in the emptiness of space devoid of trees, hills or dwellings. There is poetry in the fire of life that burns all illusion to death. I see the entire world burn as a blazing inferno and when all turns to ash, I feel this space that envelopes me, I feel the entire universe dissolving into subtler form until it merges into pure consciousness.
This is Bhairava, Thihs is Shiva, This is prana.
Waves are born in the ocean and dissolve in the ocean itself, flames are born out of fire and dissolve in this fire of life. The sun appears in the sky and fades into the sky itself. The self rises in the realm of knowledge and energy and slowly being deprived of it, dissolves into itself revealing to us our true being.
This essence of subtle life is Bhairava, is Shiva, is Prana.
12 comments:
Hi Kavitha, For elaboration, 'I' would like to first point out the 'scientific' finding of evolution of moon - the heavenly body that is seen in the 'Krishna', or space-like dark, or black, night-sky from the earth (as different from Sun during the day appearing white while having in the background the blue sky (as an example of one of the aspects of 'maya') - to have taken place from earth itself, or/ rather the original earth-moon...
One could perhaps find the phenomenon similar to the delivery of a human child - and that of many other mammals also, but unlike them having no tail - after having remained in its mother's womb for around '9' months. a figure in appearance that could be imagined as numeral '0', or zero, with a tail...
And, similar to the belief of existence of earth-moon as one originally, one could also note that Shiva was indicated as 'Ardhnarishwar' that is androgynous God...
Also, one could notice similarity - from the general advice to Mother's worshipers to visit Kaal Bhairav's temple also after having had Her idol's darshan, say in some Himalayan Temple, while Shiva's consort, Parvati is depicted as 'Shailputri', that is, daughter of stone (Rocky Himalayas!). Or Durga, which literally means a Fort made from stones that is masonry and thus points to Her potency!
With the above in one's mind one would also notice that since time immemorial Hindus, maybe ritually, have worshipped/ believed in yoga of the original Shakti, or Sati, or Devi the Energy but benevolent form of the Creator (Mother) and the scary form of Kaal Bhairava, which read between lines could be found representing in physical forms our Moon and our Earth the 'mrityulok', or Shiva the Destroyer, while individually having respective gravitational forces at their respective centres...just as individual human form also is believed to be the fusion or yoga of the mortal material form and the immortal soul that as part of a drama part at some given point in time after its purpose is over...which no one apparently knows :) And perhaps therefore the hint lies in Stephen Hawking's thought that he expressed in the year 2001 regarding 'his desire to enter God's mind'!...
Hi
I ran into your blog while looking some info for my research...great to see your effort. Is it ok if i were to add u to my blog roll?
Hi Sudha
Totally OK with me :)
Kavitha, Maybe 'I' should add here that 'I' had earlier also indicated how Bhairava and also Bhairavi - early morning ragas in Hindustani Classical music, were thus assocuiated with time before sunrise, when it is dark - were developed originally by sages in the Himalayan region...These ragas were later also sung in kings' courts, such as, say, by Tansen the disciple of Swami Haridas in Akbar's court (one out of nine gems or navgraha-like 'nauratna' of Akbar who was much impressed by the Hindu beliefs - examples seen in Fatehpur Sikri even today), and perhaps therefore modified also a bit - as it is indicated through his loss in competition he had with the same sage's disciple, Baiju Bawra, that is, Baiju the eccentric :)...
Joshi Uncle
Baiju Bawra, Wow its been a while since i heard that name again.
Are there any specific classical ragas associated with bhairava?
Hi Kavitha, On review of what 'I' wrote earlier, it indicates as if Tansen sung only these two ragas :)
'I' am sorry! Ragas Darbari, Deepak (that when sung correctly could light unlighted divas and, maybe, result in the singer himself becoming ill and needed another raga to be sung as an antidote!), etc. that indicate the potency of sound energy in creating 'miracles' as it is also popularly indicated in stories related with competition between Tansen and Baiju Bawra - where even solid rock was reportedly turned into liquid by Baiju, while Tansen had failed - because of pride and riches perhaps!
Following the believable ancient 'Hindu' realisation of creation of the physical universe with sound energy, represented by Brahmnad 'Om', ie, the 'Big Bang' in the 'present', sages appear to have developped innumerable ragas and raginis with different permutations and combinations of the musical notes in three octaves only...
Each of these ragas were prescribed for singing at some particular time of the day. Thus we have some morning ragas besides the only two 'I' had earlier cited...out of which Raga Bhairava is directly associated with BHAIRAVA, while like the feminine part of Ardhnarishwar Shiva is Parvati the Mother, 'we' have Raga BHAIRAVI, also a morning raga. However, traditionally it can be sung at any other time also, but with a condition that after it is sung, or rendered in an instrument, no other item can be presented (perhaps thus reflecting the highest pedestal offered by Hindus to Mother Parvati, and believable existence of Moon's essence, in each human being, believably in the head as model of the universe represented through the solar system, while Earth's essence is believed housed in the 'third eye' location, perhaps as indicated also in the picture of the Bhairava's idol you have presented!)...
'I' still appear very vague! 'I' might as well add that (Miyan) Tansen is famous for composition of some of the popular ragas that have been carried forward traditionally in Hindustani Classical music by singers/ performers of instrumental music today in north India (and also have some similar ragas but given different names in south India in Kanatic style)...such as Ragas Darbari, (literally courtier), Miyan ki Malhar, the raga that is associated with rain,,,that 'I' am aware of being only a 'kansen', a term popularly used for the spectators...
As its essence, Hindu mythology/ belief indicates Nadbindu Vishnu, a dot or formless being - that alone is omnipotent and omnipresent - reclining in the middle of the universe as the 'Creator' (in yognidra that is super conscious state though appearing to be asleep due to lack of overall knowledge!) who with the help of sound energy or 'shabd' (as reflected through the musical notes in the three octaves) manifests itself in '3' physical forms that is symbolically reflected by the numeral '3', maybe with some finishing touches, and called 'Om'...represented by '108' in 'siddhasan', ie, joining of thumb and index finger that results in reading the formless, '0' between these two...and how with the help of one's palm one can read 'time', such as days in one year, months in one year, and how to know, utilising gaps between the fingers also, even the months that have 31 days...Also looking through the zero formed, as stated above, one can read 'VI', or '6' formed on the right hand palm, which could also be interpreted as reflecting the 'six-forts' or 'rakshashas' the grahas, from Mars to Venus, acting as the armed forces that do not allow one to reach the Mother of all mothers, Moon in the highest pedestal...while one can read IV, ie, '4' in the left hand palm (representing our Sun), which are perhaps read/ understood by ancient Hindus to represent the process of 'churning of the milky-ocean in four stages and events reviewed by Bhootnath Shiva in four stages from Satyuga to Kaliyuga during repetitive cycles over 1000 times (maybe 1080 times to be precise)...
'I' had earlier also expressed how human fingers are understood to represent the three 'musical octave(s)', or '8' grahas, ie, selected members of our solar system (each controlling some particular cardinal direction), or permutations and combinations of their essences going into formation of man - to reflect the variety apparent in 'Nature' in all its aspects...
'We' had earlier elsewhere also seen how the sound emanating from planet Saturn has been recorded and found to sound like the mixture of tingle of bells, chirping of birds, and beating of drums (as if representing the three-in-one God 'Treyambakeswar')...and everyone perhaps knows how bells and drums virtually are inseparable parts of Hindu temples and maybe the chanting of sanskrit shlokas by the priest(s) could appear to sound like chirping of birds, that are considered as second in intelligence to humans the superior-most...and also there are indicatins of ancient sages to have mastered the languages of parrots and mynahs, while these birds are found even in the present adept in learning some human language words/ sentences! 'My' father used to tell about an old lady who sold curd and had a parrot kept in a cage who used to say "Jamuna dahi dede" as soon as some customer entered the front room while she worked inside in another room...and therefore she would come out and attend to the customer! And, myself 'I' saw mynahs being taught to speak Hindi words in Bastar region of Chhatisgarh...Of course, it doesn't need saying anything about nightingale in this regard (that might have inspired the sages at the first instant), and as its contrast the crow - both 'krishna' or black in appearance :)
Now that - perhaps like ancient Hindus who apparently correlated behaviour of humans vis-a-vis the solar system - 'I' have mentioned again ring-planet Saturn (Sudrshan-chakra dhari Vishnu? in the east and perhaps a misnomer, satan, in the west?), or 'Shani' the 'suryaputra', ie, 'son of Sun' who is associated with metal iron and colour blue the coloour of the 'sky', 'I' might as well point towards the apparently recent western finding that, similarly, the sound emanating from our Sun resembles the sound of the stringed instrument called 'harp' that is associated in the 'west' with winged-angels who appears to fly in the 'sky' (like our sun seems to do alone during the day while our earth appers to remain stationary, becuase of 'maya' that is illusion?)...and only now perhaps a Hindu could recall why the Goddess of Learning, Saraswati, in the Hindu mythology is associated with stringed instrument called 'Veena' and is shown wearing a sunrays-like white sari (although in north India it was traditinally worn by widows, whereas in the northeast, in Guwhati the fort of tantrics particularly, 'I' saw all females, unmaried or married, wearing it without any restriction imposed on them, maybe for teh 'scientific' reason that 'white' absorbs 'black' and therefore appears white!)...
Hindu mythology also conveys Shiva (Bhairavanath/ Kaal Bhairava) represented in the model form as Earth, 'Gangadhr' or the holder of holy river Ganga, which in its turn is also associated with 'Triveni' or 'three plaits', ie, the believable three rivers or 'nadis': Ganga-Jamuna-Saraswati; like the three sides of a coin in which Ganga is the 'Head', Jamuna (the relatively more polluted one, and associated with 'Krishna') the 'Tail', and Saraswati, the 'blank side' (the consort of Brahma reflecting level of intellligence/ overall knowledge in humans at any given cross section of time), as believably the lost one/ 'drop in virtue' during a particular yuga other than Satya Yuga, and which perhaps reappeared as 'Brahmaputra' (literally the son of Brahma) as a result of emergence of Himalayas in the north of Jambudweep...and Saraswati thus going underground...
The above three 'nadis', according to Yogis, are believably represented by three 'naadis' in the human form...which for the sake of reflecting the grand variety in 'Nature' in humams also, ie, the hierarchical formation apparently is incorporated through various permutations and combinations of essences of nine grahas, or '9' selected members of our solar system from Sun to Saturn...And, only the 'lucky one', like 'Krishna' the 8th incarnation of Vishnu, is able to transfer (or maybe it happens naturally!) all energy/ information recorded in '8' chakras to one place in the head - essence of Saturn believably attached to essence of Mars at 'mooladhar' or the 'base'...
As it is related to earth, perhaps 'we' can realise South Pole as the base, North Pole as the head, and the entire globe as the body, having top of Mount Kailash as Bhairava's 'Third Eye'...
Let's return to earth the 'Tripurari' or 'Trimurty' the three-in-one God, the model of the infinite universal void (or material essence of the formless 'Om' created with the help of 'panchtatvas' 'or 'panchbhootas' that believably go into the formataion of all physical forms), and also the believable centre of the universe as realised by ancient astronomers/ Yogis who comparatively were much more advanced...
Thus 'we' could know from essence of our innumerale stories related with all the four Yugas, from Kaliyuga the Dark Age to Satya Yuga the age of immortality eventually granted to 'grahas' by Mother through the essence of Moon, ie, 'somrus' that's meant for 'devtas' the selfless only, ie, to 'Brahmins' who have realised the 'Truth' (and not by birth)...and not for rakshashas whose jb it is to divert an average human being's attention from the 'Truth'...
The yogis reportedly chose peaceful and quiet locations far from the crowded cities or towns, in some jungles or caves, and attempted to hear the believable universal sound described by elevated souls sounding like 'Om' or 'Amen'...and even in the 'present' scientists are reported to have heard the 'cosmic hum' as the still present feeble sound, as the believable left over sound energy of the original 'Big Bang'...
The yogis, who believed man as the model of the universe, thus recommended attempting to listen to 'Om' reverberating within by closing the right ear in some isolated location...In so far as 'I' the 'eccentric' one is concerned 'I' can confirm hearing it as 'I' have already stated elsewhere many times perhaps :)
In view of the above it is not surprising that 'Treyambakeshwar' is believed as the Physician that alone can grant permanent cure to any illness in humans through chanting of the requisite mantra (Tnc apply, ie, firm faith in zero is essential :)
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