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Address
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Work Hours
Monday to Friday: 7AM - 7PM
Weekend: 10AM - 5PM
This article will concentrate on achieving union with the Godhead by meditating on the Triadic attributes of the Godhead based on Indian spiritual schools.
The communion with the Godhead is addressed from the perspective of the Shaivite school which is based on the triadic form of the supreme God represented by the divine triad viz Brahma, Vishnu, and Rudra.
The above-said qualities are represented as five different god forms or deities namely Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra, Ishwara, and Sada-Shiva. While the supreme Godhead endowed with these attributes is called a Para-Shiva or Parama-Shiva or in certain contexts Para-Bhairava etc.
The triadic god forms Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra are given utmost importance in practice, since the triadic form is the active principle of the Godhead. Now let me explain some of the methods used in traditional Shaivsim to become aware of these qualities within and without.
The triad of Brahma Vishnu and Rudra apart from being knowledge, action and will respectively is also considered the triadic manifestation of pure consciousness in the form of subject, cognition, and object. Objective knowledge is attributed to Vishnu, cognition as Brahma and Rudra as the subject or the self.
Traditionally Brahma is given the aspect of the creator and the process of cognition, owing to the fact that divine providence manifests the universe through pure awareness, Vishnu is given the aspect of sustenance because he represents the objective world, Rudra who represents the will of the Godhead is the subject here and is considered as the destroyer. The entire objective reality abides in the divine subject alone,Rudra destroys the false sense of distinction between the subject and object hence he is the destroyer and represents the subjectivity in the triad.
A Practice to Follow
Prolonged practice of this simple exercise will culminate in the realization that the object resides in the subject alone. The illusory distinction between the subject and object vanishes after that. Eventually, the practice brings about the ultimate realization that all object in the form of knowledge arises, abides, and takes repose in the supreme subjective awareness of the Godhead.
The triad of Brahma Vishnu and Rudra apart from being knowledge, action and will respectively is also considered the triadic manifestation of pure consciousness in the form of subject, cognition and object. Objective knowledge is attributed to Vishnu, cognition as Brahma, and Rudra as the subject or the self.
Traditionally Brahma is given the aspect of the creator and the process of cognition, owing to the fact that divine providence manifests the universe through pure awareness, Vishnu is given the aspect of sustenance because he represents the objective world, Rudra who represents the will of the Godhead is the subject here and is considered as the destroyer. The entire objective reality abides in the divine subject alone,Rudra destroys the false sense of distinction between the subject and object hence he is the destroyer and represents the subjectivity in the triad.
Prolonged practice of this simple exercise will culminate in the realization that the object resides in the subject alone. The illusory distinction between the subject and object vanishes after that. Eventually, the practice brings about the ultimate realization that all object in the form of knowledge arises, abides, and takes repose in the supreme subjective awareness of the Godhead.
Franz Bardon in his title, Initiation Into Hermetics mentions methods to achieve concrete union with the Godhead. This method is similar to that.
Firstly, let us have a look at Lord Vishnu and his iconography. He is represented with a blue hue, but is said to be of dark hue in the scriptural descriptions and has four arms. Within his four arms, he holds a conch, mace, lotus, and a disc. Let us have a look at the attributes represented by this iconography.
This is the final stage of this particular spiritual exercise. The adept should try this meditation only after gaining mastery over the last two spiritual exercises. The Godheads are meditated on the body together one after the other and their attributes are accumulated on the different parts of the body, and the faculties represented by the three god forms accumulated on different parts of the body.
Within Shaivite doctrines, the above triad Rudra, Brahma, and Vishnu are said to represent the fire, sun and moon. I am not going deeper into those aspects since that will take the article away from the current topic. The human body is also said to contain three regions viz:
The Glabella and the part behind it is said to be the region of the moon, and the god from Vishnu along with his attributes should be meditated and concretized in this part.
Advanced method 1:
Another advanced method is to meditate on the mantras of the above three god forms and to dynamize the power of the mantras in the three parts of the body.
Advanced Method 2:
One more advanced method is to realize these principles within ourselves and to contemplate the three phases of breath viz inhalation, retention, and exhalation. Inhalation is Rudra or withdrawal of awareness from objectivity, retention as the sustenance or Vishnu, and the exhalation is Brahma which is the creation or emanation of awareness towards objectivity. Another advanced method that is used, is to contemplate on the thoughts and the interval between two thoughts which is traditionally called as Sandhia Vandhana, Sandhi means interval or gap.
This advanced method is used to develop inner awareness by being aware of the gap or interval between two thoughts or breaths.
Prolonged practice helps us to realize the subjective principle Rudra as our own self, and the process of cognition and object to be one with the subject.
Note :- The above three god forms have multiple complex forms and manifestations each representing very specific attributes of the supreme principle, which are beyond the scope of this short article.