In the philosophy know as Non-dual Shaiva Tantra we have both Shiva and Shakti. Shakti is the creative power of the Universe, that brings and animates everything into creation, everything that we can perceive. This includes thoughts, feelings, sensations, sounds, as well as actual physical manifestations. Another way to say this would be Everythingness.
Shiva then is everything that is not perceivable, or we could say the Nothingness. These two are in fact not separate at all, rather the Everythingness manifests from the Nothingness, and once again dissolves back into it in an endless dance of Creation, Preservation and Destruction.
The concept of nothing can be a hard one to grasp. Because even trying to conceptualize it is to make it something. Yet this is where divinity lies. This place beyond form, sound, taste, or any anything perceivable.
But how do we sense into nothing?
Most of us spend our entire waking life in the realm of Shakti, and the Everythingness of the perceivable World of manifestation. It’s only when we sleep at night and go into the deepest stages of sleep, where everything dissolves and ceases to exist do we experience the realm of Shiva and the Divine No-thingness. No thoughts, no sensations, not even any dreaming happens here.
The question is, how do we sense into this in our waking life? Where is Shiva? Where is Nothingness amongst the Everythingness?
Well, the Nothingness is in fact Ominpresent. We can tap into it at any place, and at any time. This might sound like a contradictory statement; how can Nothingness be everywhere?
This is much better experienced rather than merely thought about, when we try to conceptualize it, it automatically goes into the realm of Shakti. Words do not do the formless realm of existence any justice, which is not at all surprising really, right? We must experience it.
Exercise:
To begin, sit comfortably, and close the eyes. Take a few rounds of slightly deeper breath to ground yourself into the present moment. Then expand your awareness to accommodate all the sounds around you. Not focusing in on any one particular sound, rather broadening the awareness to encompass all sounds. Then after a while see if you can notice the exact point at which one sound begins, and the exact point at which it dissolves again.
This space from which the sounds emerge, and ultimately dissolve back in to, is the Ground of Silence. This silence is always there. Silence is not just present in the absence of sound. Silence is Omnipresent. It’s behind, between and around every sound. It’s the Ground from which sound emerges, and the Ground which is dissolves back in to.
Shakti is all the sounds. Shiva is the Divine Silence. The Divine No-thingness.
Rest in this place of No-thing for a while. Don’t try to conceptualise it. Just experience it.
There will be an audio recording on this meditation following shortly.
Leave a Reply