What Is the Siddha Science of Nityananda Shaktipat Yoga?
Kedarji Shaktipat Guru
The Doctrine of Our Siddha Science
The Living Legacy of Nityananda Shaktipat Yoga
This document is uttered by my Shri Gurudev. The words are His. The expression is His. It is offered at the feet of Shri Gurudeva with Gratitude and Enthusiasm. May Shri Gurudev and the Siddha lineage be pleased.
PREAMBLE
We hold the principle of Equality Consciousness, as elucidated by the Siddha lineage, to be the highest principle of sacred law – that God exists equally in all beings, in all forms, everywhere.
It is for this reason that we declare that the existence of human kind is for the purpose of serving God, That, Yaweh, Mohammad, Jesus the Christ, Bhagawan Nityananda of Ganeshpuri, Mahatma Gandhi – the labels of which are not nearly as important as the recognition of That One unifying Supreme Principle that is expressed as the world of forms.
Human beings accept and embrace the Highest, a state of Bliss, indescribable Joy, Courage, Peace, Love and Service to Humanity, when they find that state modeled in others. For this reason, we also revere, embrace and serve the holy beings, the Sadgurus of the lineage, without whose leadership by modeling we would not even know the state to be attained, let alone the means of attaining it.
This does not mean such living Sadgurus are greater than anyone else, as all are equal in God. It does mean that the recognition and attainment of the state that reflects Equality Consciousness and God’s Grace-bestowing power is not equal in everyone, no more than the strength amassed by bodybuilders is natural to all beings.
Such strength comes from a discipline that is entered into by way of leadership and vigilant practice of applied wisdom and instruction. In the same way, following such leadership of the Self-realized beings in spiritual life and mundane application to worldly existence provides the means to realize, by way of direct experience, the equality of each in the full expression of the Divine.
Anyone can realize God, the state of the expression of the fullness of Humanity in the constant delight of the Self, with the right leadership and methods. Therefore, we are all equal in the highest potential for our existence here.
If one believes that God has manifested here as great Saints of the popular religions, Jesus the Christ, Mohammad, Abraham, etc., then one must also believe that God’s power can cause Saints, pure and holy beings to continue to manifest here. For, did God ever say that he would stop coming to this place to remind us of who we are!?
TREATISES
1. Due to the existence of the Supreme Principle in everyone equally, all of humankind is endowed with the same inalienable rights granted to each by the Creator, the One God or Supreme Self of all. Such rights make us equal in the eyes of the Supreme.
2. The Supreme is imbued with a power that we refer to as The Spiritual Power or highest power (Chit Shakti). This power that is one with the Creator is contained fully in every human being. Therefore, every human being is worthy of honor, respect and love, these being a right of existence here.
3. The Spiritual Power is the energy substratum of everything. This energy substratum is contained in a branch of knowledge and study dealing with a body of facts and truths systematically arranged and showing the rule of sacred law on Earth.
4. This knowledge is known as Siddha Science that contains principles and facts gained by systematic study and direct experience. This Siddha Science renders skill, especially reflecting a precise application of these principles and facts, verified by proficiency in the mastery of this Siddha Science.
5. The foundation of Siddha Science is based in sacred law that is only understood by the direct, ongoing experience of God, rather than just intellectual knowledge of God.
6. With this experience, one attains the highest understanding of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness contained in the spiritual journey to experience and merge into one’s true nature as the Divine.
7. Siddha Science is not manufactured by us. We did not make it up. It is given to us through millennia of development by the great beings, the Siddhas, (God-realized Love Beings and Shaktipat Gurus) of our lineage. It is these beings who have established our Siddha Science.
Chief amongst them are:
Bhagawan Nityananda of Ganeshpuri
Tulsi Amma
Muktananda Paramahamsa
Swami Chidvilasananda
Swami Janananda Baba
Shaligram Swami
Swami Sadananda Baba
Swami Prajnananda
Lalita Mauli
Zipruanna
Swami Prakashananda
Lord Shiva
Shakti
Dattatreya
Lord Vishnu
Sati
Shri Parvati
Mahadurga
Mahalakshmi
Shri Saraswati Devi
Gahaninath
Nivrittinatha
Jnaneshwar Maharaj
Muktabai
Sopanadeva
Ishwar Iyer (Bhagawan Nityananda’s Guru)
Rang Avadhoot
Ranchod Bapuji
Akkalkot Swami
Hari Giri Baba
Somananda
Utpaladeva
Śambhunātha
Abhinavagupta
Ksemaraja
Lalita Devi
Shri Shankaracharya
Gajadanda Swami
Siddharudha Swami
Lord Krishna
Rukmini
Radha
Shirdi Sai Baba
Vyasa
Shukadeva
King Janaka
Ashtavakra
Shri Ramananda
Kabir
Namdev
Tukaram
Eknath Maharaj
Vasishtha
Lord Rama
Guru Nanak
Sundardas
8. Nityananda Shaktipat Yoga is established on the foundation of this Siddha Science that we inherit from the Siddhas of our lineage. We acknowledge that there are other great lineages such as ours. Our choice in glorifying the lineage of which we are a part in no way negates the existence of other great lineages.
9. Some of the Siddhas of our lineage were also engaged in helping others open pathways to well-being in every area of mundane life. Chief amongst those are:
Bhagawan Nityananda of Ganeshpuri
Muktananda Paramahamsa
Abhinavagupta
Ksemaraja
10. Independence of will and judgment alone cause one to stand upright like God. Therefore, this independence of will must never be violated, and must do no harm to others.
11. This independence of will and judgment is also embodied in the Conscience of every being. Conscience is the voice of the Witness to the mind, the Indweller that shines through automatically when the mind is quiet and the ego-idea is not allowed to manifest.
12. Therefore, Conscience must never be infringed upon, for it is the basis for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
13. Freedom is the Grace of God that causes one to engage Conscience as the basis for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
14. Contained in the experience of freedom is the expression of ethics and morality that are naturally dictated by Conscience when one acts according to it. There can be no liberty without freedom.
15. Neither freedom, liberty, ethics or morality can be rightly understood without a direct, ongoing experience of the Supreme.
16. Anyone willing to trade such direct experience for beliefs, opinions, notions and ideas is a fool.
17. The body cannot be properly understood nor experienced in the context of vibrant health separate from that power that gives life to it. Therefore, the science of health and well-being begins with the examination of that highest power, in the laboratory of one’s own existence.
18. Greed always leads to corruption. Therefore, Siddha Science rails against greed.
19. Material possession cannot be understood outside of it having manifested by the power of God.
20. The material is manifest by God’s power and, therefore, the one God is the possessor of all in form.
21. Therefore, any experience of material possession must become an expression of gratitude to the Creator. It is that gratitude that must be defended, rather than the mere defense of possessions.
22. In Siddha Science, our only right to possession is to give thanks to the possessor, to give thanks to God.
23. The Siddha Science of our living legacy is founded on the leadership of the spiritually-perfected Love beings in order to rise above duality and to become pure in the direct experience of the Highest.
SPIRITUAL JOURNEY HOME
24. A Siddha is a Sadguru, a true spiritual leader with the power to transmit God’s Grace. The instruction of the Siddha’s of our lineage, beginning with the living Sadguru in the lineage, is the greatest path to the ultimate attainment of Liberation from the bondage of ignorance.
25. This journey begins with a spiritual awakening of awareness and recognition of God – by way of the force of impact of the energy substratum of everything. The easy means to this awakening is the transmission of God’s Grace-bestowing power that is a hallmark of our lineage. It is known as the Blessing of Shaktipat, the easy means.
26. In the beginning of this journey home, the journey to realizing the Self, Faith is an absolute necessity. However, faith alone is not enough. It must lead to direct experience of the Highest, the Truth, the Supreme Self. Experience is everything. Faith has been debated and argued for millennia. But no one can argue with experience.
27. The spiritual journey home is a journey to the recognition and direct experience of God’s Grace-bestowing power. Without the transmission of Grace, there can be no journey. This Grace comes from a Master and it is the beginning, the middle and the end.
28. You cannot live in a state of Grace and a state of fear simultaneously. One cancels out the other. To live in a state of Grace, you have to surrender your fear and become fearless.
29. Fear is an ego expression. Therefore, in the spiritual journey home, it is the false notion of the ego-idea that must be surrendered completely so that it can be destroyed.
30. Our Siddha Science, with the living Sadguru at the helm, is engaged in so that egoism can be abolished by the Love of God, in the direct experience of the Supreme. When this experience becomes a constant, uninterrupted state, fear is permanently replaced with the indescribable Joy of the Self.
31. For the above to be properly understood, three basic qualities must be cultivated in the student. They are Humility, Reverence and the Longing to be free of the bondage of ignorance.
32. Here, ‘ignorance’ is an educational term used to indicate attachment to that which is the obstacle to realizing one’s true nature as That Divine Consciousness, God, the Self.
33. Siddha Science is not psychobabble. It is not even a philosophy. It is an exact Science crafted from the experience and leadership of Sages in a long lineage of such beings.
34. Siddha Science is the science of Gu–Ru. The syllable Gu stands for darkness and the syllable ru is said to be light. The living Siddha Guru leads one from the darkness of spiritual ignorance to the light of the inner Self.
35. Therefore, Gu, the first syllable, represents the contraction of The Spiritual Power known as Maya (illusion), and ru, the second syllable, represents the Supreme Principle that destroys the illusion of that Maya.
36. In this regard, Gu-ru also signifies the relationship with the living Master who, by way of the transmission of Grace, leads one to uncover and observe the darkest, karmic patterns of one’s history in existence, so that a person will then value and embrace the Light, once seen.
37. As part of Siddha Science, this triggers the risk/ratio test that one who practices this science engages in to determine for oneself which is more useful – the trap of binding karmas or the release from them by way of the Grace inherent in the instruction for application of our Siddha Science – so that the karmic obstacles to freedom are burned in the fire of the Guru’s Love.
38. Siddha Science as taught by a Siddha Shaktipat Guru is not a cult. In Siddha Science, a person is given impeccable tools to examine all of the instruction, the wisdom (understandings) of the Guru and the lineage, in the laboratory of one’s own existence.
39. This careful examination, using the science instructed for carrying it out, is a duty of Siddha Science students to determine if the hypotheses indicated in the understandings given is proved or not by the person practicing the science.
40. Siddha Science is the pursuit and application of knowledge and understanding of the transcendental and the immanent aspects of our Universe, following a systematic methodology based on evidence.
41. Our scientific methodology includes the following:
- Objective observation: Measurement and the gathering/journaling of direct experience (data), chiefly by means of Witness Consciousness.
- Evidence, as observed and examined in the way indicated above.
- Experiment and/or observation as benchmarks for testing hypotheses, of which are the instruction imparted by the Guru and the wisdom of the Guru’s word and that of the lineage.
- Induction: reasoning to establish general rules or conclusions drawn from facts and examples of those facts on which the direct experience is increased by the methods taught.
- Replication. The examination to determine if the methods taught work in all situations and circumstances.
- Examination by way of contemplating the ongoing and growing experiences of the Supreme, rendered by the methods taught and the Grace imbibed.
- The testing of attainment to verify both the level of attainment and the degree of application of the instruction. This testing is addressed through self-assessment by way of a heightened witnessing awareness, and exposure/surrender to the tests of the Guru.
42. Siddha Science cannot be fully engaged without Bhakti, devotion to God and the Guru. This Bhakti can be cultivated by keeping the company of holy beings and following the instruction of a Siddha Guru. When it grows into its fullest expression, it is known as Mumukshutva – the intense longing to be free.
43. Therefore, in our Siddha Science, Bhakti is Longing. Without this longing, a student of Siddha Science will not stay the course long enough to experience the full benefit of the science and its final attainment.
44. This is so because the methods and instruction for the practice of our Siddha Science require vigilance and steady wisdom in their proper and practical application.
45. If Siddha Science is the door to enter through, Bhakti is the key. For, without intense Bhakti, the beatitude of the Self cannot be known and remains a fading glimpse.
TEST THE GURU
46. The living Siddha Guru should not be taken as spiritual mentor/leader without testing such a being. All the Siddhas of the lineage espouse the means of testing, by way of keeping the physical company of the Guru for some time.
47. The primary tests of the Guru spoken of by the Sadgurus of our lineage are:
A) The Shakta approach. The full Kundalini Awakening is absolutely necessary to invoke the Shaktipat Kriya Process that allows you to make spiritual progress in a way that is tested, so that you know that your progress is permanent. There are five primary tests of a Shaktipat Sadguru. This is the first. After receiving Shaktipat from such a being, do you have inner experiences of peace, joy, bliss, unconditional love during and/or in the weeks and months after the receipt of Shaktipat that are verifiable by the utterances of the Shaktipat Gurus of a lineage of such beings? Did the receipt of Shaktipat catapult you into an experience of the inner Self that is worth your pursuing further?
B) The second primary test is this: Do you experience Kriyas (see Vibration of Divine Consciousness) while in physical proximity to the Master, while attending programs in his school or center, or while engaging in the understandings and practices the Master has instructed you in? In other words, has your interaction with the Sadguru caused you to enter into the Shaktipat Kriya Process (Sadhana – see Vibration of Divine Consciousness)? If so, you know you are with a true Shaktipat Sadguru.
C) Does the Guru have the knowledge and ability to lead you in rooting out your impurities (see Gunas and Malas, Vibration of Divine Consciousness)? Such a being should have the personal, direct experience of these being rooted out of his/her Consciousness, by the Grace and tests of his/her own Master. If not, your relationship with such a being will have no lasting impact on the permanent spiritual transformation you seek.
D) In order to properly test the Master, you will need to follow that Master’s instruction for a daily spiritual practice, and for addressing your karmas and spiritual life, to determine if you are having worthwhile inner experiences that are bringing you closer to God. This is the fourth primary test. You can’t test the Guru without taking the Guru’s medicine for a while. This medicine has been tested over a period of many centuries. It is time-honored.
Just as you would not attempt to change the formula for a prescription you are given that has been proved to cure the disease you have, you should not attempt to change the instruction given by the living Sadguru for taking the medicine that will certainly cure you of your false identity.
It’s only through a vigilant effort at following the Master’s instruction to the letter that you will be able to answer the questions “Is my mind getting quieter?” “Am I having experiences of going beyond the mind and the senses?” “Am I experiencing the thought-free state on a growing basis? “Are the practices causing me to deepen my understanding of the inner Self while experiencing Bliss?” “Am I becoming more content?” “Is my longing for the inner Self increasing?” “Am I experiencing a growing desire to retrace my steps back to God?” Of course, if you won’t take the Master’s medicine, by way of his instruction, long enough to prove that the instruction works, then you can’t complain that the Sadguru is false.
E) The fifth primary test is this: Has the Guru been vested with authority and the Shakti power by another Shaktipat Sadguru, to initiate others? Does the Master have a lineage of Self-realized beings that he/she participates in, or an acknowledged Sadguru who gave him/her the command to initiate others and guide others? And has the Master stored up the maximum amount of Divine Conscious energy necessary to transmit God’s Grace-bestowing power to others through Shaktipat and the Shaktipat Kriya Process?
For example; Bhagawan Nityananda’s power to give Shaktipat never diminished. It only grew as more and more people came to receive it. This was evident in the experiences that those people had, and that others observed.
48. With respect to measuring the benefits of the instruction and practice taught, one should give this testing process a minimum of two years. For some, the growing inner experiences will provide the proof in less time. For others, it may take a little longer, if you’re with the right one.
49. The spiritual journey home is contingent upon keeping the best inner and outer company to support the new direction for retracing one’s steps back to God that the student of our Siddha Science is undertaking.
THE TESTS OF THE STUDENT
50. The ladle stirs the pot and, therefore, is the primary tool of Grace. However, there is the propensity for the student to focus only on what’s in the pot and, in a hurry to devour the contents of the pot, the student may discard the ladle that transforms the contents.
51. Siddha Science students are often easily distracted by karmic habits, easily swayed by useless company and often discouraged due to the impatience wrought by being in a hurry.
52. Yogis engaged in our Siddha Science also, at times, convince themselves that their attainment is farther along than it really is. The opposite is also true that, at times, they may convince themselves that their attainment is less than what it really is. Both occur in Sadhana and these are all tricks of a fading ego.
53. It is for these reasons that a student of the Siddha Science of Nityananda Shaktipat Yoga needs a living Sadguru. Everything is revealed by way of remembrance of the instruction, observation of the improvements occurring by way of applying the instruction of the Guru, and testing in order to polish both the application of the science and the direct experience of That which it points to.
54. Upon the receipt of Shaktipat, there follows the instruction of the Shaktipat Guru for taking up Sadhana, the Shaktipat Kriya Process by which there is a natural unfolding of these tests. They are often spontaneous and are known as Kriyas (movement of Chit Shakti or play of the Shakti).
55. Kriyas are a sign of Guru’s Grace at work within the recipient as the foundation for the practical and dynamic unfolding of our Siddha Science in the laboratory of one’s own existence.
56. These Kriyas are also reflected in the wisdom (understandings) and instruction of the Guru designed to test the student’s attainment. This testing is engaged so that the student can always know where he/she is really at, rather than where he thinks he’s at, in order to make adjustments accordingly to continue to rise.
57. Therefore, these tests are not punishment. They are blessings of Grace that should be welcomed, regardless of how they are perceived by the ego of the student.
58. Without this testing, there is no science and no journey. Therefore, the student, devotee or disciple must also be tested. This is the duty of a Sadguru.
59. Here we revere and engage in the practice of Prayer as a dynamic spiritual practice. However, in Siddha Science, we experience that the best way to pray is to serve. Therefore, our Selfless Service to Humanity (the true Karma Yoga) and all the creature beings that inhabit this place, in recognition of God and the holy beings, this is our prayer.
60. In our Siddha Science, this Selfless Service is perfected by way of Guruseva, service to the Guru and that Master’s mission. Guruseva has the hallmark of attracting the protective Grace of God in a tremendous way that quickens one’s spiritual and well-being transformation. And there is also another hallmark that sets it apart. Guruseva is Selfless Service engaged to experience the indescribable Joy of the inner Self, in the midst of activity, so that mundane activity is transformed into a blessed sacrament to God without the taint of doership.
61. This approach to Selfless Service is time-honored, having been entered into and tested by the Siddhas of our lineage over a period of many centuries, and it is why they speak so much about it. For, it is difficult to transform activity into Joy without the support of one who dwells in such a state.
DHARMA
62. Dharma, righteousness, is the act of loving and embracing the Truth in the direct experience of the Absolute, more than mundane life itself.
63. This Dharma is an integral part of our Siddha Science that also recognizes that our rights in the mundane world come from God, not from government or any individual or body of people.
64. Any society that is willing to trade these rights for comfort is a society destined for tyranny. No foreign enemy will need to drop bombs on such a society. It will implode from within.
65. In our Siddha Science, Dharma is based on Equality Consciousness; that of seeing God in each other and extending Love and Respect to all beings, regardless of their expressions or perceived characteristics.
66. Dharma is also duty; the duty to play our roles as appropriate to our various stations in life in the face of any challenge in this phantasmagorical existence that is God’s play, the sport of the Supreme, while recognizing all as that play of the Divine – the Play of the Shakti.
67. In our Siddha Science, we carry out this duty with the Supreme understanding that the Self is the great actor playing all the roles.
THE CORRUPTION OF GREED
68. The ego has gone crazy in this age. Therefore, it can now be easily slain, out in the open. In fact, the ego-idea, the true enemy, is already dead. It just needs to be swept out of the way of Peace, Courage and Love.
69. This ‘sweeping’ begins with the recognition that each person gives power to an ego-idea that is nothing more than an idea. Therefore, this ego idea can be erased by the practice of refusing to reach for it, by refusing to give power to it.
70. The reaching for egoism is a karmic contraction that is ingrained in all. This contraction is only addressed when the methods for revealing and destroying this habit of reaching for what is false is revealed by one who has fully conquered egoism.
71. This is why we keep the company of and worship living Saints who provide us with the model for breaking the habit of attachment to the ego-idea.
72. The primary expression of egoism is fear. Engaging this fear bolsters the base qualities, the impurities that are to be overcome in every human being. Greed always leads to corruption.
73. Therefore, corruption is the friend of egoism. Such corruption always leads to tyranny within the person suffering from fear, as well as, tyranny visited upon the masses.
74. This corruption always begins with the justification for useless behavior and mistaken outcomes arising from that behavior, that are then covered up in face-saving measures.
75. When this useless habit occurs collectively in a society, particularly connected to the hoarding of money, the result is tyranny of the worst kind.
76. Greed is conquered by true spiritual leadership that is engaged for a heightened spiritual awareness.
77. This is why upholding Dharma is an integral part of any true spiritual leadership and path, and an integral part of our Siddha Science.
78. Without Dharma there can be no respect for human dignity and, therefore, no justice or peace.
WELL-BEING JOURNEY
79. The body is the temple in which the Supreme Lord resides. Therefore, respecting the body while keeping it pure and well without punishing it, is an essential part of our Siddha Science.
80. Well-being is the birthright of every person. It is not deemed or given by government, individuals or groups. It is a Blessing of Grace of the Absolute.
81. This blessing of Grace will only be realized by way of each person taking full responsibility for his/her own well-being, health and care, while refusing to abdicate this responsibility to anyone else.
82. The human form is a part of nature and nature is an expression of God. Therefore, nature must be examined, respected, honored, loved and nurtured as God’s vehicle on Earth.
83. Nature is not above God. It is God’s possession, God’s vehicle for the expression of Grace and Love here. Therefore, nature cannot be understood or properly respected and nurtured without the recognition and direct experience of the Highest.
84. In fact, when we examine, observe and study nature as an expression of God rather than separate from the Supreme, then we are able to witness the play of the Divine as this world – and in a way that we are inspired to act in our applying nature’s gifts to our well-being.
85. Therefore, if we understand God, then we experience that God provides us with everything we need to sustain our well-being and the evolution of that well-being over time, and in a way that we are able to adapt to the forces of ‘nature’ to sustain our well-being and vibrant health.
86. Health care is the responsibility of each person and not government or business.
87. Health care means using the available and developing sciences to get to the root cause of dis-ease, rather than simply treating symptoms.
88. In our Siddha Science, health care also refers to recognizing the thousands of natural medicine resources available through plant-based nutrition and herbs, for reversing and healing disease and sustaining vibrant health. This is the primary approach and ‘line of defense.’ It is prevention.
89. Siddha Science also recognizes the advances in modern science that render certain pharmaceutical medications for addressing medical interventions, as these interventions may be necessary to attain enough daily function to take up the methods for getting to the root cause of the ailment.
90. Such pharmaceutical medications must be safe, as in safety tested by third parties with no conflict of interest; and must be properly developed over a period of years, not months, undergoing the highest standards available for testing.
91. The development of these pharmaceutical medications, before being introduced into markets, must also answer the questions “Will this medication address the intended treatment without making the patient sicker?” “Are people who take these medications healthier as a result than people who don’t?” “Will the side effects of the medication cause harm and, if so, to what degree?”
92. Any medical intervention must meet the highest standards of informed consent in all situations and circumstances, every where, so that human beings do not become the subject of experimentation without their complete knowledge and consent.
93. The Supreme, the author and possessor of nature, provides us with all the tools and remedies necessary to maintain well-being and vibrant health, while adapting to changes in the environment that require our increased protection.
94. In our Siddha Science, well-being is essential to the ability to make the spiritual journey without the distractions of chronic health conditions and long-term disease, in as much as is humanly possible.
95. The body is the child of the mind and the mind is the child of the Self, the energy substratum of every thing, Chit Shakti. Therefore, well-being and vibrant health for the long-term are dependent on the recognition and direct experience of That, the Highest.
This doctrine forms the foundation for the recognition and practice of the Siddha Science expressed in Nityananda Shaktipat Yoga.
The rest is left to the wisdom and instruction of the living Sadguru in our lineage of such beings.
At the Feet of My Shri Gurudev,
With Great Respect and Love,
Kedarji
23-6-2020