Sublime

Another one of my daily practices is to repeat the “Divine Light Invocation,” as taught by Swami Radha,9 a disciple of Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh.

Śaṅkarācārya says in Saundaryalaharī: “O Parabrahmamahiṣī! The knowers of Veda call you Vāk-Devatā the consort of Brahmā, Lakṣmī the consort of Viṣṇu, and Pārvatī the consort of Śiva. But Thou art the Fourth (Turīya) of inconceivable and limitless majesties—the indeterminable Mahāmāyā who revolves the wheel of this world.”

This is repeatedly taught in the Brihad Aranyaka Upanishad (e.g., in 4.2.4): “About this self, one can only say, ‘Not this, not this.’ It is ungraspable, for it cannot be grasped.” This maxim, based on the Sanskrit neti neti, is a “rule of substitution,” negating any words that might follow. Brahman is therefore “not this” and “not that,” eliminati

By intense dedication and service to a yogī with a pure sāttvic mind, one’s own mind can become fixed and free from personal desires. Many Hindu spiritual traditions promote surrender and service to the guru as the highest form of meditation,224 and this type of focus seems reflected in this sūtra.