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| Sri Abhinavagupta |
(from "The Awakening of Supreme Consciousness" by Swami Lakshman Joo):
Saṃgraha-shloka by Śrī Abhinavagupta, from the Gītārthasaṃgraha, summarizing the 15 adhyāya (chapter) of the Gītā:
hṛtvā dvaitamahāmohaṃ kṛtvā brahmamayīṃ citim |laukike vyavahāre'pi munirnityaṃ samāviśet || 15 ||
Having dispelled the delusive darkness of duality and identifying the atman with brahman, an inspired muni remains absorbed in the all-pervading Supreme Consciousness, even while moving in the world.
Exposition by Swami Lakshmanjoo:
Lord Krishna says that this whole universe, the whole cosmos of the three worlds is like the big tree called Asavtatha. It is a wonderful tree. It is upside down. The roots are in heaven and branches in hell. It is the universal tree. This big tree is Lord Shiva Himself - the expansion of His own body (Self). He is Himself the root, the trunk, and the branches - everything.
Abhinavagupta means to convey that you must not sit for meditation. You must not meditate at some particular time or in a particular place or with particular vibrations or particular asanas. If you do so, the other times, other places, and other conditions will be devoid of Lord Shiva for you. You must, therefore, be conscious of Lord's Shiva's presence at every time, in every place, and in all states of mind. That is true meditation. You must feel the presence of the Lord everywhere and in each and every action of your daily life.
There is a beautiful verse given by Abhinavagupta, addressed to Mother Parvati - the Supreme Consciousness incarnate (from Sivaśaktyavinābhāvastotra, quoted in Gītārthasaṃgraha 15.19):
tava ca kācana na stutirambike sakalaśabdamayī kila te tanuḥ |
nikhilamūrtiṣu me bhavadanvayo manasijāsu bahiṣprasarāsu ca ||
iti vicintya śive śamitāśive jagati jātamayatravaśādidam |
stutijapārcanacintanavarjitā na khalu kācana kālakalāpi me ||
O Parvati! Since you are the root of all speech, I may sing Your glory or do otherwise, all that is adoration to You. You are present for me in all forms, both mental and physical. When I ponder over these thoughts, O Mother (Consciousness), the doer of good and destroyer of evil! Without any effort on my part thus passes all my time in singing Your glory, in repeating Your name, in adoring You, and in meditation on Your True Self
Thus the yogi adores the Lord in each and every way which he adopts in doing the actions of his daily life. He does not adore Him only when he sits for meditation, he adores Him also when he is weeping or when he is laughing. He adores Him while doing right and wrong, good and bad. He adores Him always. That is the real way of understanding Lord Shiva.
"Therefore, O Arjuna!" says Lord Krishna, "you must focus your thought on Brahman always. In each and every action of yours, you must focus your mind on one point and that is the Lord." Differentiate perception is a great illusion - "dvaitamahāmohaṃ". When you say, "this is the pure way of meditation and that is an impure way", that means there is the absence of true meditation. When you think that you are out of meditation, you are gone. You do not meditate at all. True meditation is remembering Lord Shiva with love and zeal in every activity of the world. Se even in worldly activities the yogi is in a trance. You can go to the temple, you can go to dress your hair, you may do any other work you are called upon but you must remember Lord Shiva with devotion, love, and attachment for Him in yourself. Then everything is well and divine.
Guru Nanak was a realized soul. He has written a verse in his own way. The meaning runs:
"If a yogi is called that person who has controlled list and sexual desires then there are eunuchs who have no sense of sexual pleasure, are they saints? If a yogi is that person who always keeps clean, washes his body and everything with water, then there are frogs and fishes always moving in the water, are they saints? If a saint is he who always takes milk, no bread nor solid food then what of those babies and children and calves that live on milk alone, are they called saints? No! O Nanak! You find out the Lord, then everything is right."
Thus you have to develop constant remembrance of God in yourself with devotion and love. This is called the Yoga of the Supreme Person.
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