What's the meaning of Om Swaha?

The Om Swaha: remember how we were talking about the triangle at the crown of the head, and I said that the three points of the triangle represent the power of the guru – one corner represents the Om, one represents the So, one represents the Ham; in other words, those reflect the three psychic nerves of ida, pingala and sushumna.  At the center of that triangle is infinite jet-black consciousness, pure consciousness.  The Om Swaha is the signature of the three psychic nerves, of sushumna, ida and pingala.  In other words, you are resonating the essence of your being when you say Om Swaha; you go, Om, Swa, Ha, and your entire spinal cord, brain, sushumna, ida and pingala vibrate.  It carries the point of a signifier of, 'Yes, this is complete.', it is completed in an auspicious way, well done, complete – Om Swaha – it's done, it's over, it's sealed, it's packaged, it's got a bow on it, and you can go on to the next thing

Life is the fountain from which all blessings flow

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING
Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

Life is the fountain from which all blessings flow. Everything that is meant for you by God, Guru, and Self will appear by virtue of life. How you get to it is the great mystery that lies between destiny and fate.

Destiny is irresistible; it cannot be changed even by God. But fate flows swift and fickle. How quickly you see the truth of a situation, the cost of a moment of hesitation, the cost of a mistake, the rush of victory when you make all the right choices – this is your fate.

Your destiny is to awaken in the ocean of consciousness. The rivers and paths that you take to get there is your fate.

Bodhicitta

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING
Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

Bodhicitta is the ideal of enlightenment, and the love of that enlightenment that we use to turn our hearts and minds away from the path of degradation and the endless formation of karma, to the generation of virtuous action. We begin to actively consider the ideals of love, compassion, generosity, kindness, patience. We begin to actively reject the dark energies of jealousy, hatred, greed, envy.

The Bodhicitta is the seat of the deep heart, the place where all four bodies intersect: the physical body of matter, the subtle physical body of energy, the causal body of mind and mental formation, and atman the throb of pure consciousness.

The Bodhicitta is a fountain of one hundred fibers that connect to the brain from this seat in the heart, animating the space between the heart and the brain and producing the event that we call existence, all the dynamics of separate existence, all the qualities of being.

In its highest form, the Bodhicitta is a distillation of consciousness at the top of the central nerve which forms a white drop whose movement from the crown of the head down through the brain and into the heart is one of the agencies of the highest mysticism.

The Bodhicitta is all of these things - deeper, and deeper, and ever deeper. It is the cosmic force of creation and the ocean of infinite consciousness expressing themselves in the fabric of the life of the individual. It is every thought, every feeling that you have ever had in the chain of your existence. It is all the dynamics of every desire of your being every hope, every success, every failure, every lesson learned. It is the living, breathing, soft, tender center of life, where the awesome force of God and the infinite sweep of creation arise inside each and every heart and mind.

The Guru moderates the speed of the unraveling of the karma

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING
Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

The optimum situation is one in which you maintain a sense of identity as the universal identity is brought forth. If a person gets too much energy too fast they lose touch with the world. The landmarks of their reality change so quickly that they can't keep up with them and become disoriented. The Guru moderates the speed of the unraveling of the karma so that you feel more or less like yourself as you go through all this. You feel a constant sense of pressure and change, but maintain a sense of identity and remain connected to the world.

Guru's Grace & Unraveling of Karma

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING

Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

It is the impact of the Guru's grace that causes this very intense and rapid unraveling of karma. This creates tremendous pressure within your system, and the pressure exerts itself on your psyche, your personality, your emotions, your physical body, your health. It's important to remember that this pressure is a good thing. This is where the rubber meets the road in spiritual life.


People can do spiritual practice for lifetimes with great effort and intensity, but without the grace of the Guru they'll certainly get some experience and learn things, but the unraveling of the karma will not have been triggered. Up until this happens, all spiritual practice is aimed at gaining the Guru's grace. And having gained the Guru's grace, spiritual practice then becomes aimed at withstanding the Guru's grace.

Unraveling of Karma

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING

Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

The unraveling of karma is a very powerful and very intense event. Delivering the shaktipat impulse begins the unraveling of karmic impressions, and regular exposure to samadhi accelerates this process. This is what we do here at Hard Light.



It's up to you to go through all these processes and maintain your equilibrium as the transformative force of liberation flows through you. There are powerful psychological, emotional, and physical aspects to this process that you have to contend with. Regular physical culture keeps the body flexible, vibrant, and strong. Daily meditation on the higher principles of enlightenment keeps the light strong within.



Truth be told, it is the withstanding of the unraveling of karma that most spiritual training is about.

Karma & Shaktipat

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING

Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

All the impressions from all our lives are stored within us as karma. This karma acts like a cloud or fog which limits us to operating within the system of the senses, binding us to the wheel, and perpetuating the generation of more and more karma. Shaktipat, the liberating impulse, sends a signal to the individual soul for this karmic information to begin to unwind from the system.



The daily bread of spiritual life is the unraveling of these karmic impressions, and they must be unraveled down to the very last thread. Spiritual training and practice serve as the support system for this process of purification. All the spiritual disciplines are designed to help speed up the unraveling of karma.

Shaktipat

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING

Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

When the instruments of awareness are kindled and accelerated through Shaktipat, the impact is sometimes dramatic and sometimes subtle. The language of this communication is vibration; a very subtle vibration between the teacher and the student. The process of awakening does not rest on an understanding of concepts; it goes deeper than that. The force of it flows by touch from those who are awakened to those who want to be awakened.



This way of awakening people, this transmission of vibration, is ancient and unfailing. Once planted within your system it can only do one thing—awaken. Once the seed of awakening has been planted, it only awaits the accumulation of needed qualities—the ability and the desire of the student to undergo the process. Its most potent food is the hunger to know God.