जानिए क्या है शिव तत्व

यह सृष्टि 16 तत्वों से निर्मित है। पहले पाँच तत्व, पृथ्वी, जल, अग्नि, वायु और आकाश, पृथ्वी लोक से सम्बन्धित हैं। छठा तत्व ‘शिव तत्व’ है जिसका सम्बन्ध आज्ञा चक्र से है तथा वह माथे के केंद्र में स्थित है। विशुद्धि और आज्ञा चक्र के बीच में 11 तत्व हैं किन्तु फिर भी शिव तत्व को छठा तत्व कहा जाता है क्योंकि शिव आदि, अनादि, अनन्त, अखण्ड  .....  हैं जो बुद्धि की समझ से परे हैं। सारे तत्व उसी में निहित हैं। एक सामान्य मनुष्य का मस्तिष्क 7 से 8 प्रतिशत की क्षमता पर कार्य करता है जो कि भौतिक दुनिया के अनुभवों के लिए पर्याप्त है किन्तु शिव तत्व का अनुभव करने के लिए उच्च इंद्रियों की जागृति आवश्यक है।

शरीर में तीन प्रकार की ग्रन्थियाँ होती हैं, ब्रह्म ग्रंथि, विष्णु ग्रंथि तथा रूद्र ग्रंथि। ब्रह्म ग्रंथि तथा विष्णु ग्रंथि खोलना

अपेक्षाकृत सरल है किन्तु रूद्र ग्रंथि को खोलना बहुत कठिन।  इसके खुले बिना  शेष 11 तत्वों का अनुभव नहीं हो सकता। 16 तत्वों के अनुभव के बाद ही शिव और शक्ति का संयोजन होता है और शिव तत्व की प्राप्ति होती है।  शिव तत्व का उद्देश्य केवल मोक्ष है और शिव दर्शन गुरु के बिना असंभव हैं।आध्यात्मिक दुनिया के अनुभव केवल गुरु के द्वारा ही प्राप्त हो सकते हैं।    

इसलिए, शिव तत्व की प्राप्ति से पहले स्वयं की इच्छा को समझना अत्यन्त आवश्यक है। क्या भोग विलास, सामाजिक प्रतिष्ठा, धन - लाभ तथा समस्याओं से निजात पाने के लिए हम गुरु ढूँढ रहे हैं या फिर बन्धनों से मुक्त होने के लिए। यह आपकी इच्छा पर निर्भर है कि आपको गुरु मिलते हैं या फिर मदारी।

योगी अश्विनी

योगीजी ध्यान आश्रम के मार्गदर्शक हैं। 

In English

The word tatva translates as element, something which is created and not the creator. Everything that is created is composed of 16 tatvas. The first five–prithvi (earth), jal (water), agni (fire), vayu (air) and akash (ether)—pertain to the Bhuloka or earth. The sixth element is the Shiv tatva, which corresponds to the agya chakra, located at the centre of the forehead. Between the visshudhhi and agya, there are 11 more tatvas and yet the Shiv tatva is called the sixth tatva because Shiv is adi, anadi, anant, akhand... which is beyond the comprehension of buddhi. A normal human brain functions on 7-8 per cent efficiency, which is enough for experiences of physical world, but to experience Shiv tatva, activation of higher senses is required. There are three knots in the body—Brahm Granthi, Vishnu Granthi and Rudra Ganthi. It is easiest to open the Brahma Granthi; Vishnu Granthi also opens up relatively easily, but opening the Rudra Granthi is extremely difficult. Till it opens, one cannot experience the remaining 11 tatvas, and till one experiences these tatvas, the 6th element or Shiv tatva will not get activated. All the tatvas reside in the Shiv tatva whose purpose is mukti or salvation. All Shiv sadhnas lead to that. There is no other purpose.

Till the Shiv tatva is activated, one cannot get the experience of subtle dimensions. Reading about them is redundant. Reading leads to activation of lower brain—the five senses and the five elements. The more the lower brain is active, the more you get caught up in the desire for physical experiences. Because there is no limit to physical desires. It keeps you engaged and you get caught in a downward spiral of lower pleasures. It is the lack of Shiv tatva, which is causing the human race to devolve.

When we say Shiv tatva, we refer to the combination of Shiv and Shakti, the ardhnarishwar form of Shiv. If you remove ‘eee’ of Shakti from Shiv, it becomes shav (dead body). It is Shakti that fuels the vehicle that is Shiv and it is Shiv that drives Shakti. Shiv resides at the top (agya chakra) and Shakti at the base (moolchakra). When we start sadhna, Shiv has to come down, hold the Shakti and lift it up through the various chakras. Interestingly, when Shiv merges with Shakti, it becomes a tatva. When the merger happens in prithvi tatva, so much force is generated that the sadhak is unable to let go of physical pleasures. Whatever he/she desires in the physical comes walking to him/her; such is the attraction. Similarly at subsequent chakras and tatvas. These are described as pitfalls in yogsutras because no matter what you get in the physical, fulfilment never happens and you are left wanting more. It keeps you engaged and you lose your path. So the guru has to gradually lift the sadhak above all these.

After experiencing 16 tatvas, the merger of Shiv and Shakti happens and you access the Shiv tatva and then, you get plenty of all the tatvas. Merger of tatvas is Shiv tatva, which is for evolution only. It gives all that is there in physical creation but it gives you to leave it. The yogsutras say as soon as you achieve merger at a tatva, prepare to leave it to achieve the next tatva. There is a pyramidal structure in creation, there is plenty of space at the base and very little at the top. That is why as soon as you access the Shiv tatva, effect of Vishnu’s maya becomes manifold. Money, power, position, beauty—none will last, but will keep you from moving up. The choice is yours.

Without Shiv tatva, kundalini cannot rise and the darshan of Shiv tatva is not possible without a guru. Before one ventures to explore the Shiv tatva, one must look within and see what the quest is. Is it more of pleasure, which will result in pain later and would be temporary or is it actually Shiv? Is it socialising and making contacts and doing networking, or is it release from the bondages? Depending on the quest, one finds a guru or an entertainer.

The writer is the spiritual head of Dhyan Ashram.