I'm Down To Be Perfect
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TODAY’S READING
40.1-43.2
I went to the Kauaʻi Hindu Monastery yesterday and again it was a magnificent experience. Each time I go to the Monastery I become a little more enlightened. I am grateful for the patience of Paramacharya Sadasivanatha Palaniswami as he guided us through the grounds and thoughtfully answered our many questions.
There was a point on the walking path where Swami explained briefly the “three perfections” which are a part of the Hindu tradition. In that moment my ears perked up a little bit more and I fumbled to grab my notebook to take down the ideas but by the time I got my notebook out… the explanations were out of my mind. It was very frustrating.
My sister, Kariman Pierce; Paramacharya Sadasivanatha Palaniswami, and me at the Kaua'i Hindu Monastery. (Click to expand)
“Relax,” I thought. This is not the last time you will have access to this information. It wasn’t. We came to settle in the new temple which is currently under construction (it has been under construction for more than 30 years—that’s a whole other blog). As we sat with the cool breeze blowing, the sound of roosters in the distance and the smell of sandalwood incense wafting the opening presented itself. A time to ask questions.
“May I indulge your patience and request you define the three perfections? I would very much like to understand.”
He gave his answer, and I was better able to take it in… but still not completely. It is an idea I would like to better know—and I will—as I use my intellect to move me to a place of deeper knowing and through spiritual practice finally take it into my heart as wisdom.
In today’s reading Holmes wrote, “Intelligence can acquaint us with its ideas only as we are able and willing to receive them.” Of course Holmes is using the word Intelligence as a synonym of God. It brings up this question for me, are we truly ready to receive? We use the tools of Spiritual practice to more deeply embody the mystical understanding of the ages. Is it even possible? Can we ever attain the infinite? I don’t think it is possible to attain the infinite, but we find ourselves closer when we commit to the practice. The monks of the Kauaʻi Hindu Monastery have devoted their lives to the understanding of the Infinite through Spiritual practice… and they still question.
Holmes allowed us a way to relax into the knowledge when he wrote, “Let us do away with a ponderosity of thought and approach the thing simply and quietly.”
That’s the approach I choose to take today.
So, those three perfections? They are…
Parasiva, Absolute Reality, unmanifest, unchanging and transcendent, the Self God, timeless, form less and spaceless (and as Swami said… “useless”).
Parashakti, the superconscious mind, the manifest primal substance, pure love and light flowing through all form, existing everywhere in time and space as infinite intelligence and power.
Parameshvara, the fullness of God, the primal soul, the five-fold manifestation: the Creator, the Preserver, the Destroyer, the Veiling Lord, and the Revealer.
I could spend a lifetime considering just these thoughts…