Philosophy

The word “enlightenment” is a translation of the German aufklärung, literally “up-clearing.”  For scholars, these words (both German and English) are effectively synonymous with the 18th Century, the “Age of Reason.” The metaphor of clarification or aufklärung was used by intellectuals of that time to describe their own project, of clearing away superstition to make room for scientific liberal democracy.

Richard is the author of “The Dice Game of Shiva.”

Avidya—ignorance—is a deep habit of consciousness, but its one we can shift with intention, practice, and a lot of help from the universe.

Rare is the yogic text or scripture that does not extoll Om as a method of Self realization. You will find there that Om is sometimes referred to with synonyms, such as “Pranava” – sound of the prana; “Udgita” – uprising song; “Shabda” – primordial word; or “Nada” – subtle sound. These readings indicate that Om itself is a universal teacher of the enlightened state.

The core View of both Trika Shaivism and Dzogchen is that the natural, unconditioned state of alive awareness is available to be directly known and more consciously embodied. This alive awareness has many names: God, Shiva Nature, flowing presence, instant presence, and so on. All of these names are pointing to the the fundament of our existence: omnipresent awareness and energy.

Individual human beings are at war with themselves for one simple reason: they are internally divided, and these divisions are not compatible. They do not cohere.

Jeffery is a Religious Studies scholar of Hinduism.

Rod is an author and yoga teacher.