Siva Samhita
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93
anyone care to comment on this treatise?
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Hey, lady, good to see you here.
Isn't that a bit of a broad question, though? Do you have some specific questions about the content?
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I don't know if the following addresses any questions you had in mind, but I had it handy: It's from the Student chapter of The Mystical & Magical System of the A.'.A.'..
"The Shiva Samhita consists of five chapters. It is written as though authored by Ishvara, who describes Himself as “the lover of my devotees, and Giver of spiritual emancipation to all creatures.” That is, He is one expression, or way of representing, what we mean by “the Holy Guardian Angel.” He defines the “science of yoga” as being “for the spiritual disenthralment of persons whose minds are undistracted and fully turned towards Me.”
Chapter I explains that Spirit is the only reality, and that all else is illusion. The subsequent discussion is reminiscent of similar Rosicrucian and other Hermetic teachings from Europe. The five Elements (Tattwas) and the three Gunas are then delineated. Chapter II discusses the nerve channels of the human body, and the operation of the principles called the Sun, the Moon, and Fire therein. Chapter III begins a careful discussion of the stages of yoga practice in general (a curriculum that continues and is elaborated throughout the rest of the book), with particular discussions of prana and pranayama, the guru, criteria for success, and four primary postures. Chapter IV opens with advanced and remarkably beautiful yogic practices, then concludes with a discussion of mudrâs and the awakening of Kundalini. Chapter V discusses further practices and results that rightly follow upon those of the four chapters preceding. Chapter V is also greatly important because it includes the most complete discussion of the individual chakras in any classical Eastern source generally available in English translation.
From internal evidence, we know that The Shiva Samhita was intended to be an esoteric text, probably of a secret tradition, supplementing the ritual initiations mentioned in Cap. IV, s. 6. The author certainly knew what points to drive home most strongly to new students, as this advice from Cap. IV, s. 9 shows:
"Therefore, those who wish for emancipation should practice this daily. Through practice, success is obtained; through practice one gains liberation."
Reiterating the same point, sutra 11 of Cap. IV also demonstrates that the text was not intended for general circulation. Having just explained the practice called Yoni-Mudrâ, the author wrote,
"Through practice one gets the power of prophecy, and the power of going everywhere, through mere exertion of will. This Yoni-mudrâ should be kept in great secrecy, and not be given to everybody. Even when threatened with death, it should not be revealed or given to others."
Later, in Cap. V, he more carefully stated the criteria originally imposed regarding the disclosure of these teachings to others:
"The Yogi, desirous of success, should keep the Hatha Yoga as a great secret. It becomes fruitful while kept secret; revealed, it loses its power... Let this science be recited to all holy men, who desire emancipation. By practice success is obtained; without it, how can suc-cess follow?"
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93
true (lol!)...
i was just "curious" what some ppl thought about it; i've had it on my shelf for years but picked it out yesterday and have been finding it pretty interesting. i was curious, i think, about its source and such like that too, i guess. i don't recall that information in my particular copy.
i have a variety of yoga philosophy books and they read similar...
anyhoooo
any general opinions or even specific knowledge about it is welcome.
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Here's a start:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiva_Samhita