Thread by @drlouisehansen

“Allama Mahaprabhu was a great sage and Shiva devotee in India in the twelfth century. He was a spiritual guide to a remarkable fellowship of mystics. A subtle and profound being, he authored thousands of couplets of exceptional depth and mystical insight.” 1/18

Another great mystic and Shiva devotee, named Goraksha, was a yogi of kayakalpa. ‘Kaya’ literally means body; ‘kalpa’ means rejuvenation. This was the yogic science of strength and competence within the body. Goraksha’s body was as hard and stable as a rock.” 2/18

“One day, Goraksha challenged Allama: “You are considered a great yogi and Shiva devotee. Let us see what you are capable of.” Goraksha pulled out a diamond-tipped sword, handed it to Allama and said, ‘Take this sword and strike me hard on the head. See what happens.’” 3/18

“Allama was amused. With both hands and with all his might, he smashed the sword down on Goraksha’s head. Goraksha stood there like a rock, utterly invulnerable. The sword just bounced off his head.” 4/18

“Then Goraksha said, “Now that you have used this sword against me, I am also permitted to use it against you.’” Allama agreed. Goraksha picked up the sword and slashed fiercely at Allama. To his amazement, the sword passed right through Allama’s body.” 5/18

“Allama continued to stand there, unaffected. If Goraksha’s yoga had made his body like a rock, Allama’s yoga had made his like thin air. Goraksha continued to swish his sword this way and that, but it passed through Allama time and again.” 6/18

Then Goraksha had the humility to bow down and concede defeat. ‘I know the yoga of strength,’ said the yogi. ‘But I do not know the yoga of dissolution.’ And so, he became Allama’s disciple.” 7/18

This apocryphal story is yet another reminder that for a devotee, vulnerability is not weakness. As a devotee of Shi-va - literally ‘that which is not’, or ‘no-thing’ – Allama had dissolved into the object of his devotion.” 8/18

Allama’s readiness to embrace that limitless no-thingness had made him invincible. His willingness to become vulnerable had made him, in fact, invulnerable. This is the tremendous power that accompanies a chosen powerlessness.” 9/18

“The distinctive hallmark of the spiritual culture that Adiyogi bequeathed to the world is that it does not seek to create worshippers, but yogis. Yogis do not aspire to worship god. Instead, they seek to embody the sacredness themselves.” 10/18

“They do not seek to adore the divine. They aspire instead to dissolve, to become one with divinity. The yogic culture is not god-oriented – and this is what makes in an invaluable contribution to a world ravaged by wildly conflicting definitions of the divine.” 11/18

“Adiyogi’s legacy offers the licence to believe in the god of your choice, or not to believe at all. And if you do not find a god to your taste, it allows you the freedom to create one. That is how India has arrived at 330 million gods and goddesses at last count!” 12/18

“To see the divine in a tree, rock or elephant is not considered absurd because every speck of creation is seen as a portal to ultimate reality. These were not mere imaginary toys. Instead, this culture evolved a science of consecration, an entire technology of god-making.” 13/18

“These deities are referred to as yantras – literally, machines to enhance life in all its manifestations. And so, the deity becomes a stepping stone to your liberation. How you reach your liberation, with or without a yantra, is entirely up to you.” 14/18

“But your destination is always mukti or freedom – which ultimately means freedom from all doctrines and beliefs, and from man-made gods as well.” 15/18

“Devotees are sometimes disconcerted when I speak of the divine as a tool or device. But this is the audacious insight of this tradition: it dares to see devotion as a technology and even god as a device. Does that mean it denies the sacred? No.” 16/18

“It invites you, instead, to experience the ultimate, rather than draw conclusions about it. To experience the ultimate you have to be willing to obliterate the self-created boundaries of individuality, you have to be willing to dissolve.” 17/18

“That state of unbounded freedom is a state of oneness with Shiva – an unconditioned state beyond physical experience, beyond imaginative speculation, beyond all conceptual understanding.”

Source: Adiyogi The Source of Yoga. Sadhguru & Arundhathi Subramaniam 18/18

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