In this special lecture, we will answer the question, are the upāyas a means/practice or a state?
(extract from unpublished interviews with Swamiji, audio archives of the Lakshmanjoo Academy, recorded by John Hughes). All content Copyright © John Hughes.
For more information on the Upayas see the online course https://www.lakshmanjooacademy.org/112-meditations-course In this online course we will analyze the unique ‘means’ (upāyas) of meditation used in Kashmir Shaivism, and experience medita...
Swamiji describes how the actual state of God Concsiousness rises in meditation. This is an excerpt from the “Special Verses on Practice" now called The Wisdom of Kashmir Shaivism. He says, "They are for your daily recitation. Maybe sometime you will experience these stages.”
Special Verses-882 (04:30)
prakāśamāne paramārthabhānau
naśyatyavidyātimire samaste /
tadā budhā nirmaladṛiṣtayo’pi
kiñcit na paśyanti bhavaprapañcam // 3
This is the way you should recite t...
This is a continuation of the first part of the excerpt from the book Kashmir Shaivism, The Secret Supreme, by Swami Lakshmanjoo. Chapter Six, The Theory of Speech: Vāk. Swamiji answers the question of “what really happens when you speak.”
These three states of speech are, respectively, called subtlest, subtle, and gross.
- Gross speech is vaikharī vāk,
- subtle speech is madhyamā vāk, and
- subtlest speech is paśyantī vāk.
Each state of speech is itself also
- gross (sthūlā), ...
This is an excerpt from the book Kashmir Shaivism, The Secret Supreme, by Swami Lakshmanjoo. Chapter Six, The Theory of Speech: Vāk, when the aspirant resides in the śāmbhava state, in complete universal I-ness (pūrṇāhantā).
When the aspirant resides in the śāmbhava state, in complete universal I-ness (pūrṇāhantā), he is traveling in the kingdom of vāk, “speech.” Here, he resides in the principal and supreme speech, which is called parāvāk. And not only does this aspir...
“You must understand, you’ll know that unperishable state of God consciousness is residing in each and every being. In that way, you won’t hate anybody. If you hate anybody, it means you don’t find the state of God consciousness in that person. If you ever found that the state of God consciousness is in that person, you’d never hate him.” ~Swami Lakshmanjoo
A very important point of Kashmir Shaivism, a monistic school of thought, is exposed in this excerpt from the Essence of the Supreme Re...
This week’s excerpt is from Abhinavagupta’s Paramarthasara (The Essence of the Highest Reality).
Swami Lakshmanjoo chose to reveal the Paramarthasara because, as Abhinavagupta tells us, the Paramarthasara contains the complete essence of the teachings of Kashmir Shaivism. In this direct and clear-cut explanation, Swamiji reveals and clarifies the essential teachings of this profound philosophical and practical tradition.
View or download the video on YouTube.
SWAMIJI: Let us start his śl...
Swami Lakshmanjoo explains how one should act in this world so that impressions do not remain in one’s mind – Kashmir Shaivism
This is an excerpt from Chapter 3, Bhagavad Gita, In the Light of Kashmir Shaivism, by Swami Lakshmanjoo. Also, check out our free weekly sangha recordings of studying Abhinavagupta’s Bhagavad Gita.
Now, who is the best one? The best yogi is that person . . .
DVD 3.1 (18:09)
यस्त्विन्द्रियाणि मनसा नियम्यारभतेऽर्जुन ।
कर्मेन्द्रियैः कर्मयोगमसक्तः स
...
In the latest Bhagavad Gita Sangha (#85 Chapter 14 verse 19-25) we learned from Swamiji about the gunas in Kashmir Shaivism versa traditional Vedic literature. A very important question came up: “How does sattvaguna binds the individual?” As we had just learned that sattvaguna is considered to be pure.
In this unpublished excerpt from an earlier audio recording of the Bhagavad Gita, Swamiji explains this in great detail. And ends with an important appeal!
Bhagavad Gītā audio (1978)
...
“Love and devotion for God arise from His Grace”.
~Swami Lakshmanjoo
Below is an extract from the Tantraloka 13th Ahnika revealed by Swami Lakshmanjoo…
This is an unpublished text from the Archive of the Lakshmanjoo Academy)
All Content is subject to Copyright © John Hughes.
purāṇe’pi ca tasyaiva
prasādādbhaktiriṣyate /
yayā yānti parāṁ siddhiṁ
tadbhāvagatamānasāḥ // 285 //
In Purāṇa also, in historical tantras also–tantras which propound only histories of the past s...
In this excerpt from the end of chapter 7 and the concluding verse of the Bhagavad Gita, In the Light of Kashmir Shaivism, Swami Lakshmanjoo explains the importance of meditation during your life in Kashmir Shaivism. We are presenting two translations by Swamiji, recorded at different times of his life. The first is a video recording made in Swamiji’s later years, and the second is an audio lecture recorded earlier.
DVD 7 (1:16:40)
स...
This week’s lecture is very practical and important, as we all occasionally have to deal with anger and desire and it disturbs our peace and meditation. Here Swamiji explains what do to and how to overcome desire and anger.
This is an excerpt from the third chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, In the Light of Kashmir Shaivism by Swami Lakshmanjoo. The video below has been recorded during the Weekly Sangha #26 where we have been studying the Bhagavad Gita in depth. You can watch and listen to the disc...
We are excited to announce the publishing of "The Wisdom of Kashmir Shaivism".
In the summer of 1987, Swami Lakshmanjoo began compiling what he considered to be the most important verses (ślokas) from the various scriptures (śāstras) that he had studied throughout his life. Although these verses are primarily from Kashmir Shaivite sources, Swamiji also included verses from Vedāntic texts such as the Yoga Vāsiṣtha and the Rāmāyaṇa. Swamiji tells us: “They are for your daily recitation...
