Dear Friend,
In today's world, there are many sources of knowledge. But where are the sources of wisdom? In any genuine spiritual endeavor, it is vital to recognize the sources of wisdom. In the tradition of Kashmir Shaivism, one of these sources is the Vijñāna Bhairava, a scripture from around the 8th century, which is a tantric manual of meditation practice. Its origin is the tantric tradition of India, and yet it belongs to all of us. Why is this so? Because the Vijñāna Bhairava is essentially a map of Consciousness, and Consciousness belongs to us all.
For wisdom to grow in our being, it is not enough to simply read wisdom; we must learn to practice it, to assimilate it into our being. If it only stays on the page, it is not much use. We must be able to understand, embody, and share this wisdom to uplift ourselves and others. This is definitely something Vijñāna Bhairava can help us with. It offers us 112 dhāraṇās, or centering techniques, to help us experience the energy of meditation, the Kuṇḍalinī Śakti.
As stated before, the Vijñāna Bhairava comes from the tradition of tantra; its foundation is in tantra. But what is tantra about? It is so much more than the narrow tantric sex that is often presented to us in the West. Essentially, tantra is about discovering and recognizing the sacredness of every moment of our lives. It’s not about running away from life or becoming "pure or perfect" and demanding that everything and everyone in our life fit into our concepts of what pure and perfect is. It is about experiencing the inherent perfection of life here and now, and discovering ways to connect with the deepest core of our being while being actively and dynamically engaged with our day to day life. Tantra uses everything in life as an opportunity to go deeper; it invites us to experience life in a deeper way, to extract the joy of each moment.
The way we do this is to explore our birthright, our consciousness. We plumb the depths of our consciousness, accessing deeper levels of our consciousness in the moment, wherever we may be. And, through this process, we come to recognize our identity with Consciousness, the foundation of everything that is. This, according to Kashmir Shaivism and its scriptures, is the pathway of realization, the realization of our deepest wisdom.
So, why not jump on in? Here is link to a free recording of a guided meditation I offer on Insight Timer, based on dhāraṇā 1 of the Vijñāna Bhairava. I hope you find it useful.
Yours in Meditation,
Grant
Comments