Shiva Sutras 3.13 & 3.14 - Maintaining God Consciousness in Continuity & the Future

Shiva Sutra 3.13 Siddhah svatantrabhavah

The Sanskrit word siddha here means ‘achieved,’ and is not translated as perfection or super normal powers. For the yogi who has achieved “the state of absolute independence. That absolute independence lies in all knowledge, all action, and all will. [SLJ]”

Here we are told what can be expected when we achieve God consciousness, and become that absolute freedom and independence that is our real nature, and the eternal unchanging state of the Oneness.

Swami Lakshmanjoo: “By this absolute independence this yogi makes the whole universe dependent on him…Whatever he will in this universe will take place.”

Authentic enlightenment does bring serious power. However as we have already seen in previous sutras, the use of these powers and attachment to them is perilous to the yogi. On the one hand we are told that Becoming God consciousness will bring super powers, and on the other hand we are repeatedly warned against using them. They will keep us from God consciousness.

Shiva Sutra 3.14 Yatha tatra tathanyatra

In Kashmir Shaivism the display and use of acquired super paranormal powers is discouraged. What is far more valuable, and indeed an absolute necessity, is the practice of maintaining God consciousness in continuity.

“For this yogi (who has achieved absolute independence) there is no difference between the independence experienced in Samadhi and the independence experienced in the external state. [SLJ]” Living in the everyday external world is the same state experienced in samadhi.

Our experience of God consciousness cannot be only imagined. “That reality of the Self, where un-artificial (not imaginary) universal independence will shine, should be sought with great reverence. [SLJ – Spanda Karikas 1.7]”

It must be authentic. In our every moment, walking, talking, washing, and sleeping – we are to remain in God consciousness. Everything is the Oneness. When we reach the state of our Source, we find everything in the external world, even the most mundane is pulsating with That, the eternal immutable imperishable Is-ness.

Even the five senses are now imbued with awareness and in a sort of cosmic reversal, they also will carry us Home. There is nothing that is not God. When we are in God consciousness and perceive the external world from that awareness, the entire woven holographic universe, which consists of endlessly polarizing waveforms and is simultaneously waveless, will offer entry into our Real nature.

Our journey does not end with the liberating experience of enlightened awareness and “the reality of independence, which is absolute freedom.” The enlightened ones must remain active for the remainder of their lives. This activity is the “great task” for the ones who have achieved God consciousness “to realize the truth of Reality again and again, again and again, so that in the end, he becomes one with Shiva (God consciousness, Parabhairava, the Oneness). [SLJ]”

Our efforts must not cease, must be relentless. We are told that even when we achieve these very high states of union (yoga), we might yet once more fall into partial delusion. However, through our own efforts and an intensely focused will, “again and again, again and again” we reach the truth of Reality.

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I believe that there are many of you who after experiencing individual union with the God-within will then be able to help set things right in this increasingly terrible world. This is my own personal view. Many will not feel this ‘destiny’ or may feel too old to take an active part in the changes that are upon planet Earth. But I believe that there are indeed many of you who were born with the God-given abilities to bring about change grounded in the sacred Truth.

Strengthened with this Knowledge of ‘the truth of Reality’ these sacred warriors will find the way to their destiny. In the spirit of Divine Non-attachment, with no thought of personal gain, glory, or reward, these enlightened ones will find innovative and productive ways to re-balance and re-harmonize our world. This is my belief, my hope.

Their great task will not only be the ‘living’ in the everyday world and leading the way for the emergence of higher frequency waveforms to heal the terrible assault that has been inflicted on the planet - but their task will also be to maintain in continuity a state of enlightened God consciousness. In such a state of being and living, our sense organs will no longer use and delude us, but can be utilized to infuse a higher consciousness into this world

“These sense-activities of mine may, in their joy, have full play in their objects. But, O Lord, grant that I may not have the temerity of losing even for a moment and even slightly the enjoyment of the bliss of identity with thee.” [A verse from Utpaladeva’s Shivastotravali VIII.5 as quoted in Jaideva Singh’s translation of the Spanda Karikas]

This idea of living and acting in the world is one of the great teachings in the Bhagavad Gita. Krishna urges Arjuna to fight against evil, but with non-attachment. This non-attachment is the inevitable result of Becoming one with our own innate God consciousness, the God-within each and every one of us. When we realize the God-within us, we understand that God indeed dwells in the Heart of every man, woman, and child and that the entire planet is sacred. When we harm anything, we harm ourselves.

God is not outside us, far away on some cloud or high heaven. God is within each of us, ubiquitous, permeating this entire universe. Krishna reveals the truth that God lives within the Heart again and again in the Bhagavad Gita:

II.30: The eternally indestructible Self is in the body of all.

IX.29: I am the same in all beings.

XIII.17: The Light of Knowledge is seated in the Hearts of all.

XV.15: I dwell in the Hearts of all beings.

Take courage from Krishna’s words and the God within you. Knowledge of the Eternal Wisdom will in time restore harmony. Earth’s waters will be clean again, her air pure, and our bodies and the soil free of contaminating chemicals. The state of the planet is reflecting the state of our human consciousness. We have forgotten the God-within us and have no understanding of the underlying metaphysical principles that govern the universe.

It is my heartfelt hope that many of you will find the God-within you and lead this sad dark world back into balance. In the Satya Yuga, the first cycle of time, we are all in an enlightened state. This is our authentic and quite natural consciousness. So it will be again.

“…it can be said in all truth that the ‘end of a world’ never is and never can be anything but the end of an illusion.” [Rene Guenon – The Reign of Quantity and the Signs of the Times.]

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SPANDA-KARIKAS, The Divine Creative Pulsation, translated into English by Jaideva Singh; Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, Delhi, 1980. 2005.

The Reign of Quantity & the Signs of the Times, by Rene Guenon, translator Lord Northbourne; Sophia Perennis, Hillsdale, N.Y., 1945/2004.

The Bhagavad Gita, translated by Winthrop Sargeant; State University of New York Press, 1994.

The Bhagavadgita in the Mahabharata, A Bilingual Edition, Translated & Edited by J.A.B. van Buitenen; The University of Chicago Press, 1981