Shiva is one of India’s most famous gods. Part of the Hindu trinity of Brahma, the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Shiva the destroyer, Shiva is god of death and rebirth. Shiva is the ruler of the third eye centre and meditation, associated with the crescent moon and sun, ‘ha’ and ‘tha’, he symbolises a union of polarities, and this significance tells the story of yoga. Shiva’s role in the trinity reminds us that after death there is a process of reincarnation, which can also mean that as some things fall away, others may thrive. This is what we notice in life; as one door closes, another opens.
Digging deeper into the Hindu idea of reincarnation, and the belief in death and rebirth, we are told in the Bhagavad Gita (4.9) and Yoga Sutras (1.12-13) that yogis aim to transcend the cycle of death and rebirth. So yogis aim to liberate their spirit of karmic bonds, meaning they have no desire to live out another human, or any other earthly life. Through meditation we become aware of karmic ties, called samskaras, and when we reach enlightenment it is is said these karmic ties are dissolved. It is easy to say ‘want what you have, rather than what you don’t have’, but when you experiene the process of being liberated in meditation you don’t need to reason with yourself, it arises naturally.
The book, Autobiography of a Yogi, refers to otherworldly realms, out in the universe, where various forms of liberated beings reside. It is hard to know if these should be accepted as fantasy, or believed to true. The stories of astral planes seem to be told as true visions of an enlightened being, but none of these esoteric details feature in the 2014 film about Yogananda’s life ‘Awake’. I, personally, love the idea of being free to travel around the universe as a spirit. Imagine residing on a faraway galaxy, for lifetimes, back again on earth for a short time, in a body, or as a stone, or a cloud. Hindu philosophy offers a story that imagines life before life, as well as life after death, and even life beyond the known universe. In contemplating the immortal soul, we can feel a visceral spaciousness, because we are not tied to this life only, and the successes or failures that come with it. It is a concept that is tackled by all the religions in one way or another, although I think Hinduism was first to write it down in the Sanskrit Vedas some three thousand years ago.
The very need for this kind of philosophising that reaches the mind beyond its human bodily existence points to the human experience as aware of, and struggling with, its own suffering. We watch ourselves getting drawn into material battles when peace and happiness can be found within us. As Buddha said ‘All is suffering’, and the solution he put forward it non-attachment. It is said that through renunciation of material things we feel liberated, and where we were once bound, we experience freedom. In the process of detachment then, do we connect with Shiva, do we call for, or allow the death of certain ideas and attachments? I think both the Hindus and Buddhists would argue we are re-born in those moments of relinquishment.
Non attachment offers some insight into the symbolism of Shiva, but is the widely challenged Hindu philosophy of reincarnation potentially, energetically, true? In reincarnation, after death, the soul moves from one body into another, remaining on planet earth. The idea of transcendence is that after prolonged meditation, the yogi becomes enlightened, one day they take mahasamadhi and die peacefully. It is said that their soul will not then reincarnate on earth, and instead will take a seat in the higher realms of the universe, situated in consciousness and bliss, close to infinity itself, beyond the imagination.
Toying with this ancient idea, of breaking the cycle of death and rebirth, it occurred to me that if our soul merges into the eternal light in mahasamadhi, would it one day re-emerge and take life on planet earth again, almost by accident in the expanse of infinitude? After eight years of thinking about it, I wonder if I am scared by the idea of never coming back. Perhaps the is why Yogananda draws attention to different layers within the universe, to make enlightenment more attainable. The theory is that the old soul literally has no further desire for life imprinted on it, which is how it dissolved into pure light. My resistance to the idea of enlightenment could be fear of failing to achieve it. The idea of never coming back, of being saturated in eternity is fascinating; such a level of enlightenment is a huge gift in this day and age, and this is the goal of yoga.
Sarasvati Flow 