Dhāraṇā 109
न मे बन्धो न मे मोक्षो
जीवस्यैता विभीषिकाः ।
प्रतिबिम्बमिदं बुद्धे-
र्जलेष्विव विवस्वतः ॥१३५॥
na me bandho na me mokṣo
jīvasyaitā vibhīṣikāḥ /365
pratibimbamidaṁ buddher-
jaleṣviva vivasvataḥ // 135 //
“Na me bandho, I have no bondage.” “Na me mokṣo, I am not liberated.” “I am neither bound nor liberated.” This liberation and bondage is just attributed to the jīva, the individual soul, and to him, these two perceptions (being in bondage and being liberated) are vibhīṣ...
This is an excerpt from devotional Hymns to Shiva, Utpaladeva’s Shivastotravali, Chapter 13 verse 5, Swami Lakshmanjoo explains what Utpaladeva (the author of the Shivastotravali) means when he says, “worshipping Your feet”.
Chapter 13 (10:07)
देवदेव भवदद्वयामृता-
ख्यातिसंहरण लब्धजन्मना ।
तद्यथास्थितपदार्थसंविदा
मां कुरुष्व चरणार्चनोचितम् ॥५॥
devadeva bhavadadvayāmṛtā-
khyātisaṁharaṇa labdhajanmanā /
tadyathāsthitapadārthasaṁvidā
māṁ kuruṣva caraṇārcanocitam //5//
O Lord of...
. . . if his consciousness is established in the central vein in that force, which is the energy of life (prāṇan), then he remains always the same.
In this excerpt from the Shiva Sutras: The Supreme Awakening, Third Awakening, verse 44 (Shiva sutras 3.44), Swami Lakshmanjoo explains that when consciousness is established in the center of that internal consciousness (āntarī saṁvit), and in the center of that central breath (madhyaṁ prāṇa), the yogi remains always the same.
See footnotes for th...
This is an excerpt of the unpublished Bhagavad Gita, by Swami Lakshmanjoo, an audio recording by John Hughes in November 1978 in Kashmir…
dharmakṣetre kurukṣetre sarvakṣatrasamāgame /
māmakāḥ pāṇḍavāścaiva kimakurvata sañjaya //1//
O Sañjaya! In dharmakṣetra, in the field of purity and which was the field of kurukṣetra, in that kurukṣetra, sarvakṣatra-samāgame, where there was the union of all kṣatriyas, kṣatras not Kṣetras.
DEVOTEE: Warriors, kṣatriyas?
SWAMIJI: Kṣatriya means bent
...
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 this excerpt from the Shiva Sutras: The Supreme Awakening (Third Awakening), verse 8, Swamiji explains that "there are only two aspects found in this universe: one energy, and the next, energy holder."
It is also said in Sarvamaṅgalā śāstra.
śaktiśca śaktimāṁścaiva padārthadvayamucyate /
śaktayo'sya jagatkṛtsnaṁ śaktimāṁstu maheśvaraḥ //
(Sarvamaṅgalā Śāstra)
There are two aspects only found in this universe: one energy, and the next, energy holder. The energy holder...
In this excerpt from the Bhagavad Gita, In the Light of Kashmir Shaivism Swami Lakshmanjoo makes clear that “Everybody can achieve Him with bhakti, devotion, love.” And he goes on to explain what love really is…
"Love is the answer and the key!" ~Swami Lakshmanjoo
DVD 8 (1:03:00)
परस्तस्मात्तु भावोऽन्यो व्यक्ताव्यक्तः सनातनः ।
यः स सर्वेषु भूतेषु नश्यत्सु न विनश्यति ॥२०॥
अव्यक्तोऽक्षर इत्युक्तस्तमाहुः परमां गतिम् ।
यं प्राप्य न निवर्तन्ते तद्धाम परमं मम ॥२१॥
पुरुषः स परः पार्थ
...
In this excerpt from the Shiva Sutras – The Supreme Awakening, third awakening, Verse 4) Swami Lakshmanjoo explains how “You must do this kind of practice for subsiding the power of ignorance, the power of illusion.”
ataśca etatpraśamāya
So etat praśamāya, for subsiding this limitation of life, limitation of being . . .
śarīre saṁhāraḥ kalānām // 4 //
You must make all the circles (kalās) in your body enter one into the other from gross to subtle.
. . . you have to do that in your o...
In this extract from the Shiva Sutras: The Supreme Awakening, by Swami Lakshmanjoo, Swamiji explains how mantra (sound) is connected with kundalini. You can find some real gems here, we have highlighted a few in bold in the transcript below the video…
For such a great yogi the mantra, that supreme-I, universal-I (mantra is here universal-I, not individual-I), the splendor of that universal-I is explained in this next sūtra, third.
विद्याशरीरसत्ता मनत्ररहस्यम् ॥३॥
vidyā-śarīra-sattā mantra-...
In this excerpt, Swamiji explains sāttvic (divine) sukha (joy) and explains how this appears as poisonous in the beginning and how to turn that into joy (in meditation).
This is an excerpt from the Bhagavad Gita audio recordings from the unpublished archives of the Lakshmanjoo Academy, Chapter 18, verse 37.
Sāttvic sukha – Divine way of Spiritual joy.
yattadātve viṣamiva pariṇāme’mṛitopamam /
tatsukhaṁ sāttvikaṁ vidyādātmabuddhiprasādajam // 37
Yattadātve, at the time of abhyāsa, that s...
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)
A...
In this excerpt from The Light on Tantra in Kashmir Shaivism, Abhinavagupta’s Tantraloka, Volume One, Swami Lakshmanjoo reveals the nature of liberation (mokṣa).
B) The nature of Liberation – Mokṣa (31–35)
Now the thirty-first [śloka]:
Audio 2 – 0:02
स्वतन्त्रात्मातिरिक्तस्तु तुच्छोऽतुच्छोऽपि कश्चन।
न मोक्षो नाम तन्नास्य पृथङ्नामापि गृह्यते॥३१॥
svatantrātmātiriktastu tuccho’tuccho’pi kaścana /
na mokṣo nāma tannāsya pṛthaṅnāmāpi gṛhyate //31//
Now, he explains in this ślok...
