萨古鲁︱虚空传——宇宙创世起源的科学推理与瑜伽传统神话的交集（下，湿婆神传说）-印度阿育吠陀
作为人类，自然会从性的角度去思索创造，所以瑜伽传说的第一种形式被人们视作阴茎，表示湿婆被唤醒并准备创造，这种原始的椭球体形式被称为灵伽（linga来自梵文根词lina，字面意思是“形式”）。它被视作宇宙中所有其他形式的第一种形式，据说是突然出现的。从内在的经验来看，我们知道物质创造在分解前所呈现的最终形式也是椭球形的，所以第一个和最后的形式都是灵伽，创造的A和Z，生命的α和Ω恰好具有相同的基本形式。
当有人问我这究竟什么意思时，我告诉他存在实际上就像一个三明治！当Shi-va或“非物质”采取形式化时，它呈现为灵伽形状；当创造分解时，假定它的最后形状也是灵伽。简而言之，灵伽是创造的任何一端的形式，在此之前和之后都是虚空。由于这是一个过渡阶段，最接近创造和分解的源头，它似乎是门户——从两端到超越的门户。这既是形式，也是对无形的邀请。
由于历史上少数人已经发现该通道，我们认识到存在的终极本质是无限的“非物质”；否则，我们肯定会想到终极就像一个人——也许比我们更大、更聪明、更有能力，可能会有一百个头或一千个手臂！我们自然会想到神是我们更大、更宏伟的翻版。由于我们发现了藉由灵伽的通道，我们认识到存在的本质实际上是无限的虚空。
作为男性和女性的性结合宋笠娜 ，灵伽（总是被描述为与yoni子宫不可分离的形象）是神性的大胆象征。在本能等级中，性被认为是最低级的，对神性的渴望是最高级。但是，这里的神性是以性结合的比喻来代表的——一种非常有勇气的看待人生的方式。这种形象在神性的观点是从狭隘的道德观、善恶、对错的观念演变而来的文化中是不可能的；只有在神性的理解从意识演变而来的文化中才有可能。这个标志并未区分神性和亵渎。
事实上，对于湿婆而言，没有什么是亵渎，没有异端，没有禁忌，没有任何东西被排除在外，绝对没有什么东西超出可接受的范围。
那么这个启发的象征是什么意思？
如果男性和女性在人类系统中最低脉轮——底轮（mooladhara）或能量中心相遇，那就是性；但是如果他们在最高的脉轮——顶轮（Sahasrara）相遇，那就是灵性，那是人类与神的交汇点，创造的起始点，诞生和分解同时无尽发生的点，那即自我觉悟。
在瑜伽观中，男性和女性被视作存在的两个基本特质，它们与男性或女性的生物状况无关。由于我们每个人都是父母双方的产物，每个人都被视为男性和女性的平等比例的组合，其主导表现因人而异。在物质层面上，性冲动是存在中的创造力，性结合意味着人类生命的生物传播，身体藉此创造出来。在灵性层面上，男性和女性的内在结合再次成为一切创造的源泉。这是同样的能量，当它沉迷在底轮水平上是性，当它移动到顶轮，同样的能量变成开悟，性变得神圣，动物性转向神性。人类的动物（pashu）变成了生命之主（Pashupati）。旺盛可变的Prakriti，与绝对不朽的Purusha合一，创造与创造之源成为一体，现在两者形影不离。
在谭崔形象中，萨克提和湿婆被视作人类系统两端的两个脉轮。萨克提盘踞于最低脉轮的底轮上，具有上升和遇见湿婆的巨大冲动；但他是惰性的，他不会下来；所以她上升去遇到他。人类进化的整个过程就是使这种能量上升到最高点，而不是在底层被浪费掉。一旦萨克提和湿婆合一，能量就达到了其最终目的地。
这是最高的回归，旅程完成，没有更多的事情要实现。
但是这个合一也是毁灭性的，无限的诞生标志着有限的分解（和幻灭），这就是为什么湿婆如你所了解的那样代表着生命的创造和毁灭，。当你的能量达到高峰时，一个新的感知维度开启，超出一切物质局限性的维度，现在开始了另一个维度（超越维度）的倾盆大雨。
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在瑜伽传统中，湿婆被称为卡拉（Kala），黑暗者，萨克蒂被称为他的女性对应者，在所有湿婆的表现中，卡拉（Kala）特别重要。
因为卡拉不只是无尽黑暗的空间，卡拉也意味着时间。因此，瑜伽科学对于时间和空间都使用相同词汇，这是因为这些并非貌似不同。
最近，科学家在时空结构上记录了引力波，这证实了爱因斯坦的理论，即我们的物质世界的经验是相对的，但是这也再次证明了瑜伽的洞见：时间是创造的基础。
时间的一个方面与创造的物质本质有关，物质的实相是循环往复的：例如，地球的一次自转是一天，月球的一次公转是一个月，太阳周围的一次公转是一年。从原子到宇宙，一切物质总是处于循环的运动中，这就是所谓的卡拉（Kala）。
但是，时间的一个更基本的维度超出了循环的范围，就是这个不可言喻的维度把整个宇宙连在一起。这是非循环的时间，永恒，瑜伽体系称为玛哈卡拉（Mahakala）。
让我们这样来看：归因于时间，空间才有可能；归因于空间，形式才有可能，一切物质现实才有可能。当马哈卡拉（一个强大的维度，有生命的力量）开始反射时，物质的存在就开始出现了，甚至引力（管理时空关系并使其找到表达的力量）被视作时间的一个小副产品。
世界上任何地方的灵性过程皆关于超越物质世界的形式，回到永恒不灭的境界，并非因为物理世界本质上是错误的，问题在于它是易腐烂的，受制于出生和衰败的循环。因此，湿婆的黑暗、动态面在神话中被塑造为无知的摧毁着（Kala Bhairava），他湮灭了生死、存在和不存在强制循环。
当Kala Bhairava——这个充满活力的黑暗状态变得绝对静止时，他回到了永恒的、根本的Mahakala。当循环存在的最后痕迹被湮灭时，Mahakala是仅存一切，这是存在的终极本质，时间超越循环，当空间被湮灭时持续时间的维度，在这里一切都是永恒的当下。这是法则、律动、无尽生命的领域。
你可以称之为创造者，或创造，或者你可以称之为你自己——这并不重要。这是超越“这个那个”，超越“你我”，超越“这里那里”，超越“是否”的境界，这是唯一的“是是”的领域，这是湿婆。
对于无知者，湿婆施毁灭，他是可怕的虚无主义宇宙观的代名词，这引起了西方对东方文化的一些粗俗的误解。
现在在印度次大陆甚至还有一个不幸的传统，说你不应该在家里保留湿婆的形象，它基于将湿婆作为毁灭者的低级理解。假定是，如果你把湿婆留在外面，你可以把死亡拒之门外，仿佛像真的一样！
湿婆所消除的是你的妄想，他只摧毁你的二元性和分裂性将你从存在中分离出来的心理戏剧，这个诱惑的戏剧貌似真实而引人注目的，尽管它完全是由你创作，这即古人所谓摩耶（Maya）。
摩耶并不意味着幻象，尽管它常常被还原性诠释如此，它简单意味着我们生命的经历是相对的，现代神经科学家证实了这一点。这并不意味着现实不存在，它只意味着我们没有看到其实相。
这就是为什么这个传统如此强调“业力”，这就是为什么我经常谈到“责任”的重要性。你所看、听、闻、尝、触摸世界的方式是你的责任，这是你的业力，这是你无意识为自己书写的命运。你的灵修就是学习有意识书写你的命运，它意味着开始从心理幻象到生存到Shi-va之旅。
所以，湿婆不是宗教，湿婆是一种责任——我们有能力把我们的生命过程掌握在自己手中。
当旧的被摧毁时，灵性不是用一套新的信念来填补空虚的空间。任何正宗的灵性目的都不是把你从一套教义转换到另一套教义。疏散的空间——你现在所看到的虚空，是巨大的智能，它是整个造物由此滋生的智能。
那个空间就是生命，那个空间是开悟，那个空间是无论你选择什么，是你内在的至上境界。
所以，当你说“湿婆”这个词时，你实际上已经表达了对自由的渴望。当你渴望自由时，也就是说，你的意思是：你想摧毁自己的局限性，你渴望摆脱束缚，无限制，不受约束。
所以，从某种意义上说这是事实，湿婆不应该留在你家中，湿婆不是那些人寻求多一点利润，多一点生活优势的手段；湿婆不是那些人试图以神的陪伴来击退其孤独的手段；也不是那些人渴望在天堂中拥有一席之地的手段。湿婆只适用于那些“贪婪无限”者，那些人不愿意以分期付款安顿生命，那些人想与存在之源合一。如果你去到存在的终极力量，你必须发大愿而去，你不能因为蝇头小利去麻烦大人物。
从这个角度来看，把湿婆留在你家里是没用的，把他锁在房间里是行不通的，因为你不能把他锁起来。如果你有勇气，就把他怀抱在你之内，如果你寻求至上的，你不要把他留在你家里，你把他怀在你心里。
瑜伽士们是如何领先于现代科学数千年前，获得如此认知的？
今天，我们认为，整个存在必须惠及人类逻辑——一种对待生命的可悲有限方式，我们认为我们可以把整个存在融入我们的脑海，但是这显然是不可能的。我们的逻辑可以分析存在的物质性，但是一旦我们跨越了物质门槛，逻辑就完全无法触及其深度。
如果我们试图通过向外的方式来理解宇宙，那么充分了解它是不可估量的，这将是一个不可能的计划。我们不知道这个存在始于何处，终于何处，何处是它的中心，这只能是一个无止境的寻求。
瑜伽科学采取另一条路径，它认识到这个小小的生命——人类和宇宙产生的方式一样，它是根据同样的创造原理产生的。如果你观察你的内在够仔细的话，你就会知道人是如何产生的。一旦你了悟后，通过推理，你将了悟万物是如何产生的。
任何人都可以了悟，如果他们简单向内看的话。如果你今天砍伐一棵树，你可以透过树的年轮谈论过去，可以说这片土地何时发生干旱，何时会出现过量降雨，或者是烈火。
同样的，如果你以必要的觉知关注人类的系统，你可以在那里找到这个创造的历史。无论存在发生什么，都在某种程度上记录在这里，在这个身体里。如果你深入把自己看成是一种能量，你可以看到你所携带的信息一直回溯到始于单细胞动物的进化过程之初，甚至更远回溯到元素、原子、大爆炸和超越。所有的信息，从这个浩渺的虚空到物质，从曾经的猿猴到今天可能成为的灵性探寻者，都存在于那个你认为是你自己的生命中。
无论你称之为物理还是灵性，两者都在寻求相同的东西：存在的基础。一个是试图探索外部宇宙并理解它；另一个是试图探索内在并体验它。科学家愿意花费数十亿美元去了解某些事情——不一定是为了功利目的，对我来说听起来非常灵性，但是它不需要花费那么多！紫眸修罗
人类只是创造的反射，如果你认知到人类意味着什么的充分深度和维度，你将认知外在发生的一切，你不能分开两者。造物主与造物系同样形象，这就是为什么宗教说人是按照上帝的形象创造的。我们刚刚在瑜伽文化里说过：“这个存在发生的一切，都发生在我们身上。”
你内在的湿婆已经进入漫长的休眠状态，这是他没有进入你的经历的唯一原因。你内心最深的核心是休眠的，所需要的是一种能量的诱导，使得这个潜伏再次变得清醒，就像在创造之初所发生的那样。
一旦这个核心唤醒并开始与你同舞，你就会意识到自己的基础，你意识到你和“那个不是”是不分开的。
因此，湿婆是一个维度、一个概念和一个人，这是这个文化的独特和最重要的方面。所谓终极维度亦非你高不可攀，这是你可以追寻的，它是能达到的超越，你所需要的是追寻它，这是你与生具有的权利。
“但这到底是什么意思呢？”曾经有人问我，“这听起来令人费解，这听起来很抽象，你能解释一下这究竟像什么？
我说这意味着湿婆有点像打包午餐！你不必去餐厅服务，你不必去寺庙或天堂找到他，你存在的终极本质总是伴随着你，只有一个地方可以去，它随你而去。
怎么会那么简单？你真的不能得到更好的交易！
本文译自萨古鲁《阿迪瑜吉：瑜伽的起源》
（Adiyogi the source of yoga）
As human beings, it is natural to think of creation of life in terms of sexuality; so the first form in yogic lore was seen as a phallus, suggesting that Shiva was aroused and ready for creation. This primordial ellipsoidal form is known as the linga(which comes from the Sanskrit root word ‘lina’, and literally means ‘form’). It is seen as the first form from which all other forms in the universe and said to have sprung. From inner experience, we know that the final form assumed by physical creation before it dissolves is also ellipsoidal. So the first and final forms are both lingas. The A and Z of creation, the alpha and omega of life, happen to have the same fundamental form.
When someone once asked me what this really meant, I told him that existence actually resembles a sandwich! When Shi-va, or no-thingness, took on form, it took on the shape of a linga. When creation dissolves, the final shapeit assumes is also a linga. In short, the linga is the form at either end of creation, before and beyond which lies emptiness. Since it is a transitory phase, closest to the source of creation and dissolution, it is seem as doorway– a doorway to the beyond from both ends. It is both form and an invitation to the formless.
It is only because a few human beings through history have found this passage that we realized that the ultimate nature of existence is boundless no-thingness. Otherwise we would have definitely imagined that the ultimate resembled a human being-maybe bigger and wiser and more capable than us, maybe gifted with a hundred heads or a thousand arms! But we would naturally think ofthe divine as a bigger and grander version of ourselves. It is because we found the passage through the linga that we realized that the nature of existence is actually infinite emptiness.
As a combination of male and female sexuality, the linga(which, in iconography, is always depicted as inseparable from the yoni or the womb) is anaudacious symbol of divinity. In the hierarchy of instincts, sex is considered to be the lowest, and the desire for the divine the highest. But here divinityis represented by the metaphor of sexual union-a hugely courageous way of looking at life. Such an image would be impossible in a culture where perspectives of the sacred evolved out of narrow ideas of morality, good and bad, right andwrong. This is only possible in a culture where an understanding of the sacred evolved out of the consciousness. There is no distinction between the sacred and the profane in this symbol.
With Shiva, nothing is, in fact, profane, nothing heretical, nothing taboo.Nothing is excluded, absolutely nothing beyond the limits of acceptability.
So what does this inspired symbol really signify?
If the masculine and feminine meet at the mooladhara, the lowest chakra orenergy centre in the human system, that is sexuality. But if they meet within the highest chakra, the Sahasrara, that is spirituality. That is the point at which the human meets the divine, the point at which creation begins and ends,the point at which birth and dissolution happen in endless simultaneity. That is self-realization.
In the yogic view, the masculine and feminine are seen as two fundamental qualities in existence. They have nothing to do with the biological condition of being male or female. As each one of us is product of both father andmother, each individual is seen as a combination of the masculine and feminineis equal proportion. It is the dominance of expression that varies from person to person. On the physical level, the sexual impulse is the creative force in existence. Sexual union denotes the biological propagation of human life. The body is created out of this. On the spiritual level, once again the same innerunion of masculine and feminine is the source of all creation. It is the same energy. When it is dissipated on the level of the mooladhara it is sex. When it moves to the sahasrara , the same energy becomes enlightenment. The sexual turns sacred. Animal nature turns to divine. The human animal, pashu, turns into the lord of Life, Pashupati. Exuberant, mutable nature, Prakriti, becomes one with the imperishable Absolute, Purusha. Creation becomes one with the source of creation. The two are now inseparable.
In tantric imagery, Shakti and Shiva are seen in term of two chakras at either end of the human system. Shakti who lies coiled at the lowest chakra-the mooladhara-has a tremendous urge to ascend and meet Shiva. But his is inert; he will not come down. So she rises to meet him. The whole process of human evolution is to make this energy rise to the highest point, rather than get frittered away at the lower levels. Once Shakti and Shiva unite, the energy hasreached its ultimate destination.
This is the supreme homecoming. The journey is complete. Nothing more remains to be achieved.
But the union is also annihilation. The birth of the infinite marks the dissolution ( and dis-illusion ) of the finite. This is why Shiva represents creation and the destruction of life as you know it. When your energies hit their peak, a new dimension of perception opens up, a dimension beyond all physical limitation. Now begins the downpour of another dimension-the dimensionof the beyond.
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In the yogic tradition, Shiva is referred to as Kala, the Dark one, and Shakti is referred to as Kali, his female counterpart. Of all of Shiva’s manifestations, Kala is particularly significant.
For Kala is not just the endless darkness of space. Kala also means time. And so, the yogic sciences employ the same word for both time and space. This is because these are not seen as different.
Recently, scientist have recorded gravitational waves on the fabric of space-time. This confirms Einstein’s theory that our experience of the physical world is relative. But this also reconfirms a time honored yogic insight: that time is the fundamental basis of creation.
One aspect of time relates to the physical nature of creation. Physical reality is cyclical: for example, a single rotation of the earth is a day, a revolution of the moon is a month, a revolution of the planet around the sun is a year. From the atomic to the cosmic, everything physical is always in cyclical motion. This is the aspect called Kala.
But there is an even more fundamental dimension of time that is beyond the cyclical. It is this ineffable dimension that holds the entire universe together. This is non-cyclical time, eternity, or what the yogic system termed Mahakala.
Let us look at it this way. Only in time, space is possible. Only because of space, form is possible, and all physical reality becomes possible. When Mahakala- a formidable dimension, potent with life-begins to reverberate,physical existence begins to dawn. Even gravity-the force that manages the time-space relationship and allows it to find expression-is seen as one small by-product of time.
Everywhere in the world the spiritual process is about transcending the physical world of form and returning to the realm of deathlessness, of eternity. Not because there is anything inherently wrong with the physical world. The problem is just that it is perishable, subject to cycles of birth and decay. The dark, dynamic aspect of Shiva has therefore been personified in mythology as Kala Bhairava, the Destroyer of Ignorance, he who annihilates the compulsive cycles of birth and death, being and non-being.
When Kala Bhairava –this vibrant state of darkness-becomes absolutely still, he returns to the eternal, fundamental Mahakala. When the last vestige of cyclical existence is annihilated, Mahakala is all that remains. This is the ultimate nature of existence, time beyond cycles, the dimension of time that endures when space has been annihilated, where everything is eternally here and now. This is the domain of law, pulsating, unending life.
You can call it the Creator, or creation, or you can call it yourself –it deosn’t matter. This is the realm beyond ‘this’or ‘that’, beyond ‘you’and ‘me’,beyond ‘here’ and ‘there’, beyond ‘yes’ and ‘no’. This is the domain of only ‘yes’and‘yes’. This is Shiva.
For the ignorant, Shiva spells destruction. He is synonymous with aterrifyingly nihilistic view of the universe. This has given rise to several crude misconceptions about Eastern culture in the West.
There is even an unfortunate tradition in the Indian subcontinent right now which says that you should not keep an image of Shiva in your home. It is based on a rudimentary understanding of Shiva as Destroyer. The premise is that is if you keep Shiva out, you could keep death at bay. As if that were even possible!
What Shiva dissolves are your delusions. He destroys only your psychological drama which lives on duality and fragmentation, separating you from the existential. This seductive drama seems real and compelling, even though it is entirely manufactured by you. This is what the ancients called Maya.
Maya does not mean illusion, although it is often reductively interpretedas such. It simply means our experience of life is relative. Modern neuroscientists confirm this. It does not mean reality does not exist; it simply means that we are not seeing it the way it is.
This is why this tradition speaks so much of ‘karma’. And this is why I often talk of the importance of ‘responsibility’. For the very way you see,hear, smell, taste and touch the world is your responsibility; it is your karma; it is the destiny you have written for yourself, unconsciously. It is your doing the spiritual process is about learning to write your destiny consciously. It means beginning the journey from the psychological-maya-to the existential-Shi-va.
And so, Shiva does not spell religion. Shiva spells responsibility-our ability to take our very life process in our hands.
When the old is destroyed, spirituality is not about filling up the empty space with a new set of beliefs. The aim of any authentic spirituality is never to convert you from one set of doctrines to another. The evacuated space-that you now see as emptiness-is tremendous intelligence. It is the intelligence from which the entire creation has sprung.
The space is life. That space is enlightenment. That space is whatever you choose to term the highest within you.
So, when you utter the world ‘Shiva’, you have actually articulated your own thirst for freedom. When you desire freedom, that is, in fact, what you mean: you want to destroy your limitations. You aspire to become unshackled,unlimited, unbound.
So, in a sense, it is true. Shiva should not be kept in your home. Shiva is not meant for those who are simply seeking a little more profit, a little more advantage out of life. Shiva is not meant for those who are trying to beat their loneliness in the company of God, or those aspiring for a place in paradise. Shiva is only meant for those whose greed is unlimited, for those who are not willing to settle for life in installments, for those who want to become one with the very source of existence. If you go to the ultimate power in existence, you must also be going with the petition for the greatest possibility.You cannot be going with petty things to the big man!
From this perspective, it is useless to keep Shiva in your home. Locking him up in a room will not work because you cannot lock him up. If you have the courage, you carry him within you, if you are seeking the highest, you do not keep him in your home. You carry him in your heart.
★★★
How did yogis arrive at this understanding thousands of years before modern science?
Today, we believe the whole of existence has to oblige human logic – atragically limited way to approach life. We think we can fit the whole of existence into our heads. But that is obviously impossible. Our logic can analyze the physicality of existence. But once we cross the physical threshold, logic is completely out of its depth.
If we try to understand the universe by going outward, knowing full well it is immeasurable, it is going to be an impossible project. We have no clue where this existence begins, where it ends, and where its centre is. It can only bean endless pursuit.
Yogic science took another route. It recognized that this little piece of life-the human being- is made the same way as the cosmos. It is made accordingto the same principles of creation. If you observe your interiority closely enough, you will know how a human being happened. Once you know that, you know,by inference, how everything happened.
Anyone can see this if they simply look within. If you cut a tree today, it is possible to look into the rings of the tree and talk about the past. It is possible to say when a drought happened in that land, when there was excessive rain, or a raging fire.
Similarly, if you pay attention to the human system with the needed awareness, you can find the very history of this creation inscribed there. Whatever has happened in existence is in some way recorded here, in this very body. If you look deep into yourself as a piece of energy, you can see that the information you carry goes all the way back to the beginnings of the evolutionary processthat started with the single-celled animal, and even further back to the elements,the atoms, and the to the Big Bang and beyond. All the information-from that vast emptiness to matter, from the ape that you once were to the spiritual aspirant that you might have become today-is right here within this life that you consider to be yourself.
Whether you call it physics or spirituality, both of them are seeking the same things: the basis of existence. One is trying to explore the outside universe and understand it. Another is trying to explore interiority and experience it. The fact that scientist are willing to spend billions of dollars just to know something-not necessarily for utilitarian purpose-sounds quites piritual to me. But it doesn’t have to cost that much!
This human being is just a reflection of creation. If you know the full depth and dimension of what it means to be human, you know everything that is happening out there. You cannot separate the two. In the same images as the creation is the Creator. That is why religions have said that the human being is created in the image of God. In yogic culture we just said, ‘everything that happened in this existence has happened in a small way within us.’
The Shiva within you has just gone into a long slumber. This is the only reason why he has not come into your experience. The deepest core within you is dormant. What is needed is an induction of energy to make that latency become awake again, as it happened at the very start of creation.
Once this core awakens and begins to dance with you, you realize the basis of yourself. You realize that you and ‘that which is not’are not separate.
And so, Shiva is a dimension, a concept and a person. This is a unique and most significant aspect of this culture. What is the ultimate dimension is also you it is not unattainable, it is something you can aspire for. It is beyond that is within your reach. All you need to is seek it. It is your birthright.
‘but what does that really mean?’I was once asked. ‘it sounds puzzling. It sounds abstract. Can you explain what that is really like?’
I said it means Shiva is a bit like a packed lunch! You don’t have to go to a restaurant to be served. You don’t have to go to a temple or to heaven to find him. The ultimate nature of your existence always goes with you. There is only one place to go and it goes with you.
How’s that for simplicity? You really cannot get a better deal!
萨古鲁︱虚空传——宇宙创世起源的科学推理与瑜伽传统神话的交集（上，湿婆神传说）
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