India 6: expanding awareness in Kashi

The Sahi River View Guest House in Benares is right on the river (or was, until the dam was built - now it is above some mudflats which are being rapidly transformed into a fancy plaza). Still, it is easy to get up early to see the sun rise over the Ganges. Our first morning there, we were out on the ghats before dawn.

After tea at an open air tea stall on the steps, we stopped in to visit Mark Dyczkowski who told us that after many years of studying Kashmir Shaivism, he was just beginning to teach. In fact, at 5 PM that very evening he would be giving the first of a series of classes on Trika yoga: a short talk and then meditation.

As the sun set that evening, Mark began with several outwardly simple propositions.

Everything is consciousness.

Consciousness is contained in three states: creation, persistence and destruction; and these three are all contained in a fourth state: eternity. This three-in-one is what is understood as Lord Shiva, or God.

Everything is God.

Trika yoga is a practice in which you realize your own Shiva-nature by becoming increasingly aware of your own awareness.

When you are aware that everything is consciousness, when your attention is fixed on your sense of awareness, when you are in the pure state of "I am" however briefly, you are one with Shiva.

We practiced being aware of our own consciousness with eyes closed and then with eyes open.

It is easy to reach that state for an instant, but it is very hard to maintain it.

And that is the basis of the practice of Trika yoga.

I was very moved by these ideas and continue to reflect on them. When I came home, I downloaded Mark's lectures from his website. I'm loving the practice and the understandings I am gaining from the talks.