Swami Chetanananda

The 9th century Siva Sutras is the foundational text of the Sakta-Saiva practice that has come to us through Swami Chetanananda and his lineage. It was also the first text that he ever taught, so it’s particularly apt that he recently revisited what it says and what it means. Here he provides the overall cultural and historical context of the text and reiterates how it relates to our spiritual practice today. Particularly interesting is his succinct explanation of the upaya system—the dimensions of practice that relate to the outer disciplines (anavopaya), the inner practice of circulating energy (saktopaya), and the experience of the ultimate natural state at our core (sambhavopaya). (Recorded on the first day of the Summer, 2019 retreat.)

(28:26 minutes)