Living with Siva: Hinduism's Contemporary Culture

365 daily lessons based on ancient Vedic laws, disclosing how to approach family, money, relationships, technology, food, worship, yoga, and karma to live a truly spiritual life.

The Master Course Trilogy
You will find in this book the deepest truths and insights of Indian spirituality, some of it never published before, all of it relevant to your personal awakening on the path to merging with God. Drawn from fifty years of yogic realizations and sharing the Hindu mystical teachings with aspirants, Dancing with Siva is the first book of a remarkable trilogy called The Master Course. The trilogy is a detailed summary of ashtanga yoga also called raja yoga, which contains eight successive steps, each one dependent upon the one that precedes it. These eight steps are yama (restraint), niyama (observance), asana (posture), pranayama (breath control), pratyahara (sense withdrawal), dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation) and samadhi (contemplation).
     

The trilogy articulates in lucid terms why you must begin at the beginning, with a firm foundation of philosophical clarity and good character, and proceed from there. Dancing with Siva lays out the philosophical, Vedic-Agamic beliefs, attitudes, and expectations of the Saivite Hindu religion.
       

Living with Siva, the second book of the trilogy explores the Saivite lifestyle, culture, family life character-building, and the overcoming of uncomplimentary habits. If focuses on yama, niyama and, in a lesser way, asana and pranayama (hatha yoga).
       

Merging with Siva, the third book of the trilogy, encompasses steps five, six, and seven, leading to eight-the deeper realizations, samadhis, yogic experiences, and mystical encounters, such as the inner light and nada-nadi sakti-all of which we begin to experience once we learn to dance with Siva and live with Siva. Upon a solid foundation of understanding, the yogic and metaphysical experiences described in Merging with Siva come naturally and are sustainable.

About the Author
Satguru Sivaya Subramuniya-Swami was a Living Example of Awakening and wisdom, a leader recognized worldwide as one of Hinduism’s foremost ministers. In 1947, at age 20, he sailed from the United States to India and Sri Lanka and two years later was initiated into sannyµasa by the renowned siddha yogi, Jnanaguru Yogaswami of Sri Lanka, regarded as one of the 20th century’s most remarkable mystics.
For over five decades, Subramuniya-swami affectionately known as Gurudeva taught Hinduism. He was the 162nd Jagad-acarya of the Nandinatha Sampradaya’s Kailasa Parampara and Guru Mahasan-nidhanam of Kauai Aadheenam (also known as Kauai’s Hindu Monastery), a 458-acre temple-monastery in Hawaii, USA.
Gurudeva was lauded as one of the strictest and most traditional gurus in the world. His Saiva Siddhanta Church nurtures members on five continents. Himalayan Academy educates through its magazine, books, courses, and travel-study programs. Hinduism Today is the influential, award-winning, international quarterly magazine founded by Gurudeva in 1979. It is a public service of his monastic order, created to strengthen all Hindu traditions by uplifting and informing followers of the SanŒtana Dharma everywhere. Gurudeva (1927-2001) authored more than 30 books on Hindu metaphysics, mysticism, and yoga.