My goal is to get to kashmiri shaivism but it seems like an advanced practice, what is the setup / warmup I should do first? Yoga? Advaita vendata?
>>42754806Good conduct, i.e. Brahmacharya, i.e. learn to be responsible with your sexual energy, which means much more than just "don't jack off / don't sleep withs sluts", sexual energy is like siva - a metaphor or sort of proto-form which all things reduce to - so everything you do involves your sexual energy. Learning what kind of activities allow your energy to flow naturally, neither stopping it up/ denying it, nor just wasting it and letting it spill out aimlessly. Learn to manage your relationships with others in all forms - sexual/romantic, platonic, unfriendly/danger/enemies, indifferent, etc. - towards the same aim - to let your energy flow naturally, niether damming it up nor wasting it on things that don't lead to a flow of enrgy returning to you. It's all about organic living or life like systems IMO - use your energy, i.e. do things in the world, such that you create little interactive loops that you can feed willingly and with a sense of play, and that feed you and bring new energy back to you as part of the same process. IMO if you start to get a handle on this concept maybe Siva will say hi. Who knows, his nature is mysterious, but he is famously "easily pleased" so have some faith and give it a go. These are just my opinions as a solo seeker.If you like yoga then yeah, do yoga, great way to meet likeminded people too. Advaita vedanta particularly in the west is one of the absolute worst most deluded spiritual communities, do not engage.
>>42754806and no don't think of Kashmir Shaivism as "advanced practice" - all paths can be advanced or basic, that's up to you as seeker. If you are drawn to Kashmir Shaivism (I am too) then move towards that. Read Abhinavagupta.
read Guenon
>>42755196>read an old ass westerner who has an incomplete view of siva shakti traditions and doesn't even talk or care about bhakti or tantra which is what OP is specifically interested inMay as well just reply to every religion thread "read Joseph Campbell - he figured it all out".
>>42755215got to promote my kind at every chance
>>42755240king i mean
>>42754806You go about hinduism by doing a 360 and walking away.
>>42756349kek
>>42756349Anon...if you do a 360 degree turn you end up in exactly the same position you were in when you started...
>>42756399
>>42756349thiskeep walking until you reach the Ganges, OP
>>42755183>>42755192thanks anon for a serious reply , good tips here for sure.
You can judge a religion by the people who practice it.
I believe there's western analogues for the main branches, as far as personal development and taking (or not) part in armageddon. In the west, it's much more hostile to dissenters, much more centralized. Essentially join Rome, or oppose it. Good guys are the pedos. Bad guys are straight killers. Same as it always was.
>>42754806This is like asking how long you need to be a Seventh Day Adventist before you qualify for Eastern Orthodox.Kashmiri Saivism is not Advaita Vedanta, and their yoga is different.>>42755192>Read Abhinavagupta.Best and only advice in the thread.
>>42755192Seconding. Read abhinavagupta. The benefit you'll get from reading his major thesis on kashmir shaivism is that it will plug you into the other Hindu currents as well (shaktism, vaishnavism, old school ritual based brahmanic-upnaishadism, samkhya, jyotish)When reading abhinavagupta, anytime you're confused about something, research the thing he's referencing. Create "work books" if you want. Initiation into kashmir shaivism can be self done through the books instructions. Whether or not you wanna keep doing shaivism or go into pure vedic traditionalism (srauta foundation through the brahmanas & upanishads) or another related path will be op to you. This is the beautiful thing about the UKT text. It's designed to be used when the student has no guru available and needs/wants empowerment ASAP.
>>42759070Oh, you'll also get some plug into secret western currents that are built off abhinavagupta's UKT.Also, while reading the book, LEARN HOW TO DO STANDARD HINDU PUJA. This is A LOT of the foundation for the specific ritual practice in the book. Learning how to do a Hindu puja will plug you into the current almost immediately. It's the foundational practice where one shows grace and hospitality to all things divine. It's offered to devas, brahman (Shiva in KS), and also to non divine guests in respect and honour to them and their divine nature. If you understand how a puja works, you will understand the ritual format laid out by abhinavagupta very well. Beyond that, you'll get a pretty good understanding of the methodology behind Hindu ritual practice.
>>42755183I do a yoga routine that involves some as the yamas and niyamas, like brahmacharya but also ahimsa (non-violence) and aparigraha (sober living) and svadhyaya (self examination)
>>42758003every religion is worthless then?
>>42758003So if I sacrifice babies to Moloch what do I get?
>>42762978You get a mansion, which means you have a good soul. You can always judge a religion by the externality of their environment. This just truth. That is why the pedos and baby killers rule over you.
>>42754806Anyone who does not worship What Is and instead worships what is not is a worshipper of Satan. It is said, "He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies."God is What Is. Satan is what is not. What is not is not something new, but a distortion of What Is. Satan does not create; he distorts and destroys. The greatest lie is not the lie that is the opposite of truth. The greatest lie is the truth viewed through a distorted lens.That is why it is said, "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!"The healthy eye says, "What Is? Let me understand, and I will form myself according to that." The unhealthy eye says, "What do I want?" and "How should it be?" and "What benefits me?" But truth does not care about any one of those things. Truth is What Is when you strip those away and look at reality through healthy eyes.
