Our beliefs determine our thoughts and attitudes about life, which in turn direct our actions. By our actions, we create our destiny. Beliefs about sacred matters–God, soul and cosmos–are essential to one’s approach to life. Hindus believe many diverse things, but there are a few bedrock concepts on which most Hindus concur. The following nine beliefs, though not exhaustive, offer a simple summary of Hindu spirituality. Hindus believe in a one, all-pervasive Supreme Being who is both immanent and transcendent, both Creator and Unmanifest Reality. Hindus believe in the divinity of the four Vedas, the world’s most ancient scripture, and…

Elaborating the yogic steps leading from posture to profound unification 2-3. Only that person who has known well the nature of meditator, meditation and the fruit of meditation is fit enough to undertake the disciplines of yoga. The individual self is the meditator. Mind is meditation. The Great Lord Siva is the One to be meditated upon. The attainment of the supreme qualities of Siva, superior to which there is nothing, is the fruit of meditation. 4. Keeping the mind balanced well when honored or abused, and in the same way when delighted or distressed, and having completely freed himself from being…

Scriptural instructions for one of the supreme spiritual initiations The following is excerpted from Dr. S. P. Sabharathnam’s translation of the Kamika Agama’s Uttara Pada, chapter 24.  The eminent acharya should perform the jnana diksha for competent disciples through the perfect instruction on the essence-of-knowledge section of the Agamas. He should do this in the auspicious bright side of a lunar month, on an auspicious day and nakshatra and in an auspicious duration (muhurta), giving attention to all exacting rituals. Especially, he should perform this jnana diksha during the last phase of midnight. This jnana diksha should be done in a solitary place, a place…