This is an instruction to The Manual for Self Realization, 112 Meditations of the Vijnana Bhairava, and how to approach it, by Swami Lakshmanjoo.
Vijñāna Bhairava is one chapter in Rudrayāmala Tantra. And another chapter in Rudrayāmala Tantra is Parātriṁśikā. This chapter1 is from the Bhairava point of view. These are not Rudra śāstras nor Śiva śāstras.2 These are Bhairava śāstras–monistic, pure monistic.
You already know there are three upāyas, three means. One is superior, the other is mediu...
Here Swami Lakshmanjoo reveals that bondage and liberation are not separate from the reality of Lord Śiva. And why this theory of Shaivism is misunderstood.
Bondage and Liberation are not separate from the reality of Lord Shiva. ~Swami Lakshmanjoo
एतौ बनधविमोक्षौ च परमेशस्वरूपतः ।
न भिद्येते न भेदो हि तत्त्वतः परमेश्वरे ॥१४
etau bandha-vimokṣau ca parameśa-svarūpataḥ /
na bhidyete na bhedo hi tattvataḥ parameśvare // 14 //
But in fact these two cycles of bondage and lib...
Swamiji explains why:
“Yogis understand that it is only a trick, there is no time.” ~Swami Lakshmanjoo
This is the 12th and 13th verse of the Bodhapañcadaśikā by Abhinavagupta, who wrote the [15 Verses of Wisdom] for ‘those dear devotees who are not intellectually inclined”.
तत्प्रासादरसादेव गुर्वागमत एव वा ।
शास्त्राद्वा परमेशस्य यस्मात्कस्मादुपागतम् ॥१२
tat-prāsāda-rasādeva gurvāgamata eva vā /
śāstrādvā parameśasya yasmāt kasmad-upāgatam // 12 //
Tat prāsāda, now what happens t...
A central theme of the philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism is the highly esoteric principle known as spanda which means vibrationless/vibration or established stable movement. In Shaivism there are two texts that deal specifically with the spanda principal. The Spanda Karika (precise philosophical statements) on the Spanda theory and the Spanda Sandoha (exposition) of the spanda principle.
The theory of spanda was hidden in the body of the Tantras and was extracted by Vasugupta and given to us in th...
Swamiji explains to us how and why Lord Shiva disconnects Himself from His energy and yet is never disconnected from it at the same time.
This is from the Bodhapañcadaśikā by Abhinavagupta, who wrote the “15 verses of wisdom” for ‘those dear devotees who are not intellectually inclined”.
This part starts with verses 6 - 8.
एष देवोऽनया देव्या नित्यं क्रीडारसोत्सुकः ।
विचित्रान् सृष्टिसंहारान् विधत्ते युगपद्विभुः ॥६
eṣa devo’nayā devyā nityaṁ krīḍāras-otsukaḥ /
vicitrān sṛi...
Swami Lakshmanjoo explains what is initiation and what is its most important feature. This excerpt is from the book, Kashmir Shaivism The Secret Supreme by Swami Lakshmanjoo, Chapter Twelve.
The Fivefold Contacts of Masters and Disciples
In this universe from time immemorial, the initiation of masters has taken place from Lord Śiva up to the mortal beings. This contact of the master with the disciple takes place in five different ways. The highest contact of the master with the disciple is c...
“Triple awareness carries one to God Consciousness!” ~Swami Lakshmanjoo
Shiva Sutras 3.35
35. mohapratisaṁhatastu karmātmā //
The yogī whose God consciousness is destroyed by this state of illusion
is dependent on...
In this excerpt from the Manual for Self Realization: 112 Meditations of the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra, Dharana 28, verse 51, Swami Lakshmanjoo reveals how "one is born anew in days, not in months." His advice is one of the major practices of Kashmir Shaivism.
Dhāraṇā 28
यथा तथा यत्र तत्र
द्वादशान्ते मनः क्षिपेत् ।
प्रतिक्षणं क्षीणवृत्ते-
र्वैलक्षण्यं दिनैर्भवेत् ॥५१॥
yathā tathā yatra tatra
dvādaśānte manaḥ kṣipet /
pratikṣaṇaṁ kṣīṇavṛtter-
vailakṣaṇyaṁ dinairbhavet // 51 //
N...
In this excerpt from the Bhagavad Gita, In the Light of Kashmir Shaivism Swami Lakshmanjoo elaborates on the question “What gives you liberation and what gives you enjoyment of the world”.
DVD 3.1 (26:07)
सहयज्ञाः प्रजाः सृष्ट्वा पुरोवाच प्रजापतिः ।
अनेन प्रसविष्यध्वमेष वोऽस्त्विष्टकामधुक् ॥१०॥
sahayajñāḥ prajāḥ sṛṣṭvā purovāca prajāpatiḥ /
anena prasaviṣyadhvameṣa vo‘stviṣṭakāmadhuk //10//
Prajāpati means Brahmā. It is translated by all commentators of the Bhagavad Gītā [that] Prajāp...
In this excerpt from the Bhagavad Gita in the Light of Kashmir Shaivism, chapter 16, Swami Lakshmanjoo explains that there are two kinds of glories in Kashmir Shaivism:
“Now, Lord Śiva (Lord Kṛṣṇa) says that there are two kinds of glories: one is divine glory, one is not divine glory. Divine glory shines in those who are blessed and the symptoms of divine glory are what He says now.”
Chapter 16
DVD 16 (00:01)
अभयः सत्त्वसंशुद्धिर्ज्ञानयोगव्यवस्थितिः ।
दानं दमश्च यज्ञश्च स्वाध्यायस्तप...
This is Swami Lakshmanjoo’s translation of chapter 6, verses 21 to 24, of Abhinavagupta’s commentary of the Bhagavad Gita explaining the stages of mind and the joy of an appeased mind in Kashmir Shaivism.
In the summer of 1987 Swami Lakshmanjoo began compiling important verses from the various scriptures he had studied throughout his life. Each Sunday he would distribute one or two slokas to devotees, at the same time giving in brief their essential meaning. In all Swamiji revealed a total of e...
In this excerpt from his book Kashmir Shaivism – The Secret Supreme, Swami Lakshmanjoo explains the Seven States of the Seven Perceivers (pramātṛis), and their respective energies (pramātṛi śaktis), a subject unique to Kashmir Shaivism.
Chapter Eight
The Seven States of the Seven Perceivers (Pramātṛin)
Now, let us discuss the seven states of the seven pramātṛins (perceivers) and their importance. The first state is called sakala. The sakala state is that state where perception takes place i...
