In the cosmology of Kashmir Shaivism, God (Shiva) manifests the world out of Himself in a series of 36 principles, or tattvas. The first five tattvas are called pure; it is not until the sixth tattva that forgetfulness of our true nature becomes apparent. The sixth tattva is Maya tattva. Maya conceals God’s true identity. The word “maya” comes from …
There Is No Easy Path….
Recently, my friend Hasan Awan was reflecting on the subject of nonduality and the Direct Path as espoused by Rupert Spira. He asked me for my thoughts. Here they are. I had to do some research, as I had not previously heard of the Direct Path as a distinct teaching. According to Spira’s teacher Francis Lucille, the Direct Path is …
Maya and the Five Kanchukas….
Nondualism can be a dangerous practice because it can encourage people not to take responsibility for their actions. But then when we turn to a dualistic sense purusha (individual self) and prakriti (matter), we separate ourselves from prakriti and see matter either as an enemy or as some horrible lesson to be learned. Prakriti then has nothing to do with …
From the Many to the One….
A few years ago in a coffee shop at Cambridge, UK, I had a discussion on the nature of Reality with an Anglican priest. He had earned his doctorate from Oxford and appeared open to thinking outside Christianity. However, he believed that the individual always remains separate from God. For him, union with God was not an option; believing in …