3rd Eye of the Hurricane: Shiva Sutra 3.32

Every hurricane has a center, a point of absolute calm at its heart. So too do we have a ‘center’ amidst the storm of thoughts and sensations that swirl around us and within us everyday. In this Sutra we will learn how to naturally reside in this ‘third eye’ of the hurricane by using our practice, and releasing doership, within the multitude of weather patterns we call our lives. (Full Text Below)

The Previous Sutra states that we can find Shiva in all of the different phases of reality— the creation phase, the maintenance phase and the dissolution phase, as well as the space between the phases. This motivates us to always use our practice— to keep reaching inside as we start a task, maintain it, as it is ending, and even during the space between. On our cushion, we watch the breath, for example, with equal attention on the inhale, the feeling of fullness, the exhale, and the space after the exhale.

The yogic tradition is at its heart a scientific tradition, meaning that its ok to ask questions, and to use your practice in the laboratory of your life to prove its efficacy. At the end of the last Sutra the teacher, Ksemaraja, 1,000 years ago, asks his listeners— If we are saying that Shiva is to be found in all of these different stages of reality, then aren’t we also saying that Shiva is changeable? I thought Shiva was eternal, unchanging? How can this be?

“If this yogī feels that the universe, in creation, in protection, and in destruction, is the expansion of his own nature, then would not his nature be changeable? It would definitely change. In creation it would be one way, in protection another way, and in destruction another way. Therefore, as his original state of being would occasionally change, the essential nature of the self would not remain unchangeable. The next sūtra answers this question.”

The Answer to this is presented to us in the next Sutra, our work tonight, Shiva Sutra 3.32: Tatpra vṛitā vapya nirāsaḥ Saṁvet tṛibhāvāt : “Although the yogi is determined in creating, protecting, and destroying their universe, even then they are not separated from the real state of their subjectivity.”

The word determined here shows us that our work as yogis is in this realm of the world— we have to learn how to operate within fluctuating circumstances of creation/maintanence/dissolution. But within this swirling hurricane of thought and sensation, we are never truly separated from the eternal stillness of Shiva which is our true nature. This true nature of Shiva is described here as “subjective” because it is not something that can be known from outside of itself, like an object can be. Our true nature is inherently subjective, when you discover it it will a revelation only for you. Only the path can be revealed, not the destination. For this reason it is inherently a subjective experience.

The Sutra begins by telling us what we have already gone over together— that although it appears that the world is full of infinitely changing experiences, the experience of our true nature is never covered up, never separated from us. And that even when we forget our true nature, we are still Shiva.

In a very scientific way, we then are taught that if we weren’t this eternal aspect, then the swirl of creation/maintanence/dissolution wouldn’t exist— we are the fulcrum around which it spins, we are not the spinning— we are the eye of the hurricane. This is taught in the following way: The Self can neither be created nor destroyed. The world of the mind and senses is constantly created and destroyed. So if the Self can never be created or destroyed, than it must be beyond the nature of the mind and senses.

Another way we are taught this is through the analogy of “The Doer” and “the Done.” The doer is us, and the done is that which we are doing throughout our day. The Doer can never be created or destroyed, but the things we do are constantly being created and destroyed. When we over-associate with that which we do, instead of that which we are, we feel that we too are being destroyed, even though this is not the case.

“This is written in Spanda:

In the two states which are termed “doer” and “done,” the aspect known as done is destroyed while the aspect known as doer always remains and can never be destroyed.

Only that force, which is the effort to create that which is to be done, is destroyed. But when that force is destroyed, ignorant people cry, saying, “we too are also destroyed.” (Spanda Kārikā 1.14–15)”

When we over-associate with the mind and senses, we feel as though our world is ending when that world is ending. Our hearts beat fast for the protagonist of a movie when they are on the tipping point of their quest— we become what we see and do. In the movie of our lives this also happens, and when it does we honestly don’t know if there is a world beyond our senses. But as the text teaches, just because you aren’t aware of that reality doesn’t mean its not there. You might think your world is destroyed, but that doesn’t mean it really is, you might just be looking in the wrong place.

“In the absence of the other agency, you can’t say the introverted state is destroyed. If in the state of ignorance you are not aware of your reality of self, you cannot say that the self is destroyed. It is not destroyed but, because you are not aware of it, you remain away from it. (Spanda Kārikā 1.16)”

There is no doubt that the world is like a hurricane inside and out. Everyone’s life if full of infinite distraction. But through our practice we can be transported to the eye of that hurricane, a space of calm that allows us to function in a clear and effective way. To find this eye, though, we can’t look through our physical eyes, but our third eye— the eye of awareness. This can literally be a focal point of awareness for you as you move through your day, allowing you to ‘observe’ your reality from a place of surrender. On the cushion, we bring that awareness down to the heart, as an even deeper, and more stable space of observation.

KonalaniMarch 26, 2022Comment