The Shiv Yog Journey Explained
Shiv Yog is many things all rolled into one. Shiv Yog is a culture of unconditional love, forgiveness and acceptance. It a culture of knowingness and conscious living.
Shiv Yog is a lifestyle and culture characterized by Sadhna (Yoga & Meditation), Nishkaam Seva (Selfless Service) and Sankirtan (Meditative Chanting/Singing). It is a lifestyle in which you give attention to three important aspects every day:
- Your body, mind and soul
- Your worldly duties
- Your family
Shiv Yog can also be described as the science (albeit an ancient, evolved science) of systematically erasing accumulated psychic impressions and activating hidden dormant powers within ourselves. As more our junk DNA gets activated and becomes available to us, we can achieve a lot more in this world with a lot less effort. Shiv Yog is also a science of freeing ourselves of physical conditions and maladies that are generally thought to be beyond help. It is in fact an inner science – the Yoga of inner consciousness. Modern science is external yoga and yoga is inner science. It is this inner science of Shiv Yog that our ancients discovered, developed, practiced and perfected. It covered every aspect of human life from birth and survival to ultimate enlightenment.
So, in that sense Shiv Yog is a journey and also the science, yoga and the lifestyle that makes this journey possible. It is the journey from Shiv Yog Mindfulness to the Yoga of Inner Consciousness to the Yoga of Self-Realization.
Let us examine this further.
In ancient times a whole culture and societal infrastructure was built around this Yogic science to support the journey of an individual from his identification with the finite and limited to the realization of his true infinite nature.
This culture produced many great masters who guided generations on how to practice the science of Shiv Yog to simultaneously achieve in the worldly as well as the spiritual realms. These masters form the lineage of Shiv Yog and this lineage is alive today in the form of modern yogi and spiritual scientist Dr. Shivanand. While this culture and lifestyle was alive and thriving in earlier times, with the advent of modern science and gadget worship the focus has shifted from the inner world of permanent bliss to the outer world of momentary, fleeting happiness which comes with a fixed shelf-life.
While the modern administrators and bureaucrats try to control and manage the society through laws and law enforcement, the Shiv Yog masters know that only by raising human consciousness can we create a more loving, kind and peaceful world. The world is after all made up of people and people are bundles of thoughts and emotions. Thoughts and emotions can be positive or negative, constructive and creative or destructive and self-sabotaging. But beyond all this, the world is a product of collective consciousness which is made up of individual consciousness. Unless individual human beings have positive, healthy emotions of love, forgiveness, acceptance, gratitude and kindness, you will not have a society that believes in those values. If we just look around, in most parts of the world we have drifted very far from such values.
Furthermore, rapid industrialization has affected our food and eating habits in unimaginable ways. We now eat genetically modified food grown with harmful levels of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. When the society was operating at a higher level of consciousness and perception, the elders could see the potential harmful effects of any proposed idea or innovation. They were therefore able to guide the society to stay away from such measures. However, with the fall in consciousness and financial profit becoming the primary value, human beings have rapidly invested in technology that brought great financial gain but massive ruin to the earth’s natural resources.
Also in many societies in earlier days, people used to live in large family groups where each person took as much as they needed from a collective pool of resources. Living in such families children grew up appreciating small pleasures, learned the values of sharing and caring for others, making do with less and living relatively stress-free lives. But today, with the shift to nuclear families and each family wanting to life king size, the earth’s resources are simply not enough to support the rapidly exploding human population. As people have become more individualistic and self-centered and even the nuclear family being split up with so many people growing up in single-parent families, relationships have become toxic and a source of stress instead of a source of support and inspiration.
Modern ways of organizing workflow are also contributing enormously to the stress an individual experiences in daily life. Very few people manage to escape unscathed while working in environments where you are in a constant state of competition, personal and departmental rivalry, long hours sitting at a computer followed by late evenings in bars and restaurants consuming copious amounts of alcohol. All in the name of that elusive thing called “Happiness.”
So we have people on both sides of the economic divide suffering. The poor are suffering due to lack and the rich are suffering due to too much of everything. Of course, we cannot deny that some individuals may have discovered ways to be healthy and happy. However, as a society and a world we have not achieved perfect health, clean healthy food, loving relationships and overall happiness for all. And we are also at the same time pillaging the earth and there are fears that nothing worthwhile may be left for future generations.
The current situation might remind some of the famous opening lines of Charles Dickens’s “A Tale of Two Cities” –
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us…”
Dr. Shivanand spent most of his early life mastering the esoteric Shiv Yog science until he reached that state which has been described as enlightenment or self-realization. It has also been described as Nirvana and Satori. But he was not satisfied with having achieved this for himself. He wanted the same for every individual on earth. His vision, efforts and hard work has led to the founding of Shiv Yog in its current incarnation.
Most human beings mindlessly go through the motions of life from birth to death. One cannot really differentiate their lives from the lives of animals. To break out of this rut, they need to come into the state of SHIV YOG MINDFULNESS. In this state you are in a state of conscious awareness – you are aware of your thoughts and intentions and at every step make conscious choices that are good for you. You are aware of the impact of your words and actions on others and the world. You are aware of your thoughts and emotions and you are able to choose the more healthy and beneficial ones.
To reach the state of Shiv Yog Mindfulness, one has to first master the physical body and the energy body and gradually reaching the mind-body. To help with this Shiv Yog teaches us Sookshma Kriyas (yoga that exercises and energizes the subtle bodies) and Prana Kriyas (Yogic breathing processes that cleanse and purify the energy body and streamline the flow of life-force energy through the energy meridians of the body). The sookshma kriyas help to exercise those parts of your body that the regular gym workout and other forms of exercise are not able to reach.
However, Shiv Yog says this is not enough. In fact this is just the first step. The next big step is to taste the bliss of inner consciousness. To help you do this Dr. Shivanand teaches us the YOGA OF INNER CONSCIOUSNESS.
In this stage the Shiv Yog masters help you to enter into your inner stillness into a state called Turiya. In this state you are neither fully awake nor fully asleep – you are in the highest state of alertness and simultaneously in the deepest state of relaxation. In this state you are not so deeply identified with your body and mind. In this state you are in touch with your inner-self – your inner consciousness. From this point you enter a completely new realm from where your perception changes. You begin to look at the world differently. Things that used to bother you do not even elicit a reaction from you now. People that used to irritate you earlier do not trouble you now. Now you have touched a realm inside where there is boundless peace. A doorway now seems to be open for that inner peace to spread outwards and flow out of you and touch everyone around you. You have now become the carrier of unconditional love.
But, the Shiv Yogi masters say even this is not it. A Shiv Yogi is does not stop at peace. Peace is just the neutral gear. There are higher gears and higher realms. There are more spiritual mountains to climb. Now enter the Yoga of Self-Realization. With this you begin your ascent towards the ultimate. One is reminded of the game, “Who wants to be a millionaire.” Peace is good. Peace is not bad. If you walk away at this point, you still have peace. It is more than most human beings experience. However, the Shiv Yogi masters say the goal is awakening, not just peace. Awakening to one’s true self. That self which is beyond words and descriptions and even beyond experience. To help us achieve that Shiv Yog has opened up the path of Sri Vidya to us. This is the yoga and the science of Inner Awakening. It has been practiced by Shiv Yogi masters since ancient times and was kept secret – esoteric. Now, through the compassion of Dr. Shivanand, it is being taught and transmitted to all sincere seekers. The practice of Sri Vidya bestows both material and spiritual wealth to the practitioners.
You can start your Shiv Yog journey by taking the first step and signing up to attend a Shiv Yog mindfulness program nearest to you.
You can also join a Shiv Yog forum to start your journey. Shiv Yog forums are a community of positive-minded, achievement oriented individuals.
