This post has been brewing in my mind for years. My first attempt to capture these thoughts dates back to 1997, but after just five paragraphs, I realized something important: no matter how well I might articulate it, human language can never fully express the simplicity behind these ideas.
That realization nudged me toward poetry. It was through poetry that I began to explore these concepts, which culminated in some of my best works under the title "The Endless Chasm." A few of those poems have already made their way onto this platform. Interestingly, I used the same title when I launched my blog in 2005.
But prose, somehow, kept calling me back. I wanted to express these ideas in a way that felt comprehensive and true. Every time I found a gap in my expression, I'd take a break, only to return again later. I often felt like I was close, but not quite there. Still, bit by bit, I gathered my thoughts and gradually shaped them into what you’re about to read.
Now, at the milestone of turning 50, and nearly 27 years after my first attempt to put these ideas into words, I’ve decided it’s time to stop chasing perfection. Instead, I’m sharing this compilation as it naturally unfolded in my understanding. It reflects my thoughts on:
• The idea that the creator is born from creation itself
• The concept of Turiya and its profound implications through the Trilokesh lens
• The cyclical connection between Turiya, Shiva, and Shakti
• An exploration of the Swayambhu concept and its role in our experience
• How Yoganidra can help us experience the Swayambhu within
This is not perfect, nor final. But it’s honest and complete in its own way, and I’m excited to finally share it with you.
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Divine Pair—Born of Each Other
We often perceive creation as something that flows from the creator, a one-way street where the act of bringing forth something new shapes the external world. But what if this process of creation doesn’t just affect the external? What if the act of creation redefines the creator themselves?
This isn’t merely philosophical speculation; it’s something deeply spiritual, something we see in the most profound aspects of existence. Take Shiva, for instance. Known as Swayambhu—self-born. Yet the paradox is striking: Shakti, his cohort, is both the force that gives birth to him and remains his constant companion. Together, they represent the inseparable unity of energy and consciousness. But this isn’t just a symbolic relationship—it's the very fabric of life itself.
In the same way, Vishnu and Lakshmi, or even the relationship between Shiva and Vishnu, echo this idea. Each divine pair, while distinct, is intertwined so deeply that one cannot truly exist without the other. One gives rise to the other, and yet the other completes the cycle by nurturing the first.
And here is where the profound idea emerges: the creator is the child of her creation. This isn't a metaphorical thought, but an actual process of transformation. As the creator brings forth something into existence, she is changed, reshaped, and redefined by what she has created. The act of creation rewires the mind, reshapes emotions, and even shifts the spirit of the creator, making her the product of the very thing she has manifested.
The Turiya
This takes us to a deeper truth—the Turiya, the fourth state of consciousness. In Yoganidra, this state of awareness exists beyond the waking, dreaming, and deep sleep states. It's the eternal awareness, the source from which all experiences arise. The waking state, like the physical world, is what we see most clearly, but it’s only one layer. Beneath it lies the dream state, filled with visions and emotions, and deeper still is the state of deep sleep, where thoughts lie dormant, unmanifested.
Yet the Turiya—the ever-present awareness—remains untouched, watching over all three states, giving birth to them, yet transcending them entirely. It is the Trilokesh, the ruler of the three worlds, and in this context, Shiva's declaration makes perfect sense: “I am not that which is; I am that which is not.”
Shiva's statement captures the essence of this transcendent reality. He is not the form but the formless; not the creation, but the canvas upon which creation unfolds. The idea here is that every form, every thought, every creation arises from a state of no-thingness. This is the Turiya—the space from which all things emerge and to which all things return.
Think about the process of creation itself. Every painting springs from an empty canvas. Every thought rises from the silence of the mind. The canvas, the silence, the deep sleep state—they are not mere voids, but potent spaces teeming with potential. They hold the capacity for all forms, all thoughts, all dreams, and yet they themselves remain untouched by what arises within them.
Shiva is this eternal canvas, this formless foundation. Creation flows from him, just as thoughts rise from the deep sleep state. But in the very act of creation, something remarkable happens—the creator, too, is transformed by what has been created. The process of creation isn’t one-directional. It loops back, reshaping and redefining the creator.
Shiva, Shakti, Turiya—The Cyclic Interconnection
This is why the concept of Shiva and Shakti is so powerful. Shakti, as the creative force, brings the universe into being. She is the energy that manifests, while Shiva is the consciousness that holds space for it. And yet, as she creates, she changes Shiva. The two are eternally bound in this dance of creation and transformation, where the creator and the created are inextricably linked. It is through creation that the creator, too, evolves.
In this way, the creator becomes the child of her creation. The creation influences, transforms, and redefines her. This isn’t limited to divine figures—it happens with artists, thinkers, and anyone who brings something into the world. Every time we create, we give birth to something new, and in doing so, we birth a new version of ourselves.
And then, just like the creator, we return to that empty space—the Turiya, the blank canvas, the silence from which all arises and all returns. Creation, like life, is cyclical. We are both the painters and the paintings, both the dreamers and the dreams.
This cyclic nature of creation and transformation is reflected in the very essence of the Turiya state. The Turiya is not merely a higher state of consciousness but the substratum of all states. It is the trilokesh—the lord of the three worlds of wakefulness, dreaming, and deep sleep. These three states correspond to the physical, mental, and emotional planes of existence, just as the Sattvik, Rajasic, and Tamasic moods represent purity, activity, and inertia, respectively.
Yet, Turiya itself is beyond all of these. It is free of the shifting tides of consciousness that ebb and flow through different states and experiences. Just as Shiva remains unmoved while Shakti dances, Turiya remains untouched by the worlds it holds within. It is the ultimate freedom, the ground from which all creation springs but is not bound by any of it.
We see this concept mirrored in Vishnu and Lakshmi, where Vishnu sustains the cosmos while Lakshmi provides the energy for that sustenance. It is the same dance—two forces in perfect harmony, feeding each other, transforming and being transformed. And yet, they exist in a state that transcends their individual roles, much like Shiva and Shakti, each giving birth to the other through the act of creation.
To bring this into a more relatable human experience: when you say, "Thoughts just flow through your mind, and if you're observant, you can pick up on them," you are speaking to the process of creation. But thoughts don’t arise in isolation. They come from somewhere deeper, a space that is free of thought but full of potential. In many ways, thoughts are like waves, and the Turiya is the depth of the ocean. The waves rise and fall, but the depth of the ocean remains still. It is vast, untouched by the turbulence of the surface.
In the same way, every form comes from the formless. Every thought, every creation, springs from the silent, infinite space of potential. We return to this space in deep sleep, where all thoughts dissolve and the self is reabsorbed into the Turiya. From this state of deep stillness, the mind awakens into the dream state, and finally into wakefulness, where we engage with the world again.
This cyclical movement mirrors our relationship with creation. We create, we engage with our creation, and we return to the stillness of our inner canvas. The creation, in turn, reshapes us. And then the cycle begins again.
Creation Itself is Enough
The Bhagavad Gita touches on this when it speaks of Nishkama Karma—action without attachment to the fruits of the action. The action itself is enough. The creation itself is enough. It changes the creator, not because of the outcome, but because of the act of creation itself. Just as a painter is changed by painting, a thinker is changed by thought, and the universe changes as it unfolds.
The Turiya, then, is not an isolated state. It is present in all things, in all acts of creation and transformation. Just as Shiva is not only the formless but the form, just as Vishnu is both the sustainer and the creation, so too are we both creators and the created.
And this is why, in truth, the creator is the child of her creation. Through the act of bringing something into existence, she is reshaped, redefined, and reborn.
Swayambhu
This brings us to the true essence of Shiva being Swayambhu (self-born). The idea is not merely a literal birth without parents, but a deeper understanding that the act of creation itself is a form of self-birth. Just as Shiva is called Swayambhu not because he exists without cause, but because he continually arises out of his own being. His birth, his existence, is not separate from his own nature—it is the constant act of renewal and transformation.
In this sense, Swayambhu signifies a being who, through the endless cycles of creation and dissolution, continually gives birth to themselves. They are self-sustaining, self-evolving, just as the creator is constantly reborn through their own creation. The creator, like Shiva, is both the origin and the outcome, forever emerging from the essence of their own being.
Thus, Swayambhu is the perfect realization of the Turiya state—the unchanging ground from which all change arises. The creator, whether in the act of thought, art, or cosmic transformation, is self-born in every moment, forever renewed by the process of creation.
Swayambhu Interplay in Practice
As we step back from the metaphysical canvas we've painted, let's explore the idea of Swayambhu in a more intimate and personal way.
In every moment of self-reflection, whether through our creative endeavors or our interactions with others, we act as both the creator and the created. We shape our understanding, our character, and even our destiny—while being simultaneously reshaped by these very acts of creation.
For instance, think of a moment when you've been deeply absorbed in a creative project. The more you pour yourself into it, the more it transforms you in return. You start as one version of yourself, but by the time the work is complete, you find yourself subtly changed, perhaps more attuned, more aware, or even entirely different in perspective.
This is Swayambhu in action—creation as both process and transformation. And it extends beyond the individual: entire societies, cultures, and even the world itself are constantly recreated through the collective act of living.
The process changes the creator, but the creator also defines the process. This interplay is what makes the idea of Swayambhu so potent.
Perhaps there's no better example for swayambhu than a thought. Sitting with the stillness of the Turiya. In this moment of stillness, nothing has been born yet. Creation hovers like a breath held too long—pregnant with possibility but without shape or direction. The formless state, or Turiya, is the primal void from which every thought, every form, every emotion arises. It is not the void of absence but of boundless potential, where everything exists as a latent possibility.
The stillness here isn't emptiness; it's the pause before a thought becomes manifest, before the painter dips their brush into the empty canvas. It is in this deep quiet that Shiva, the Swayambhu, is truly understood—not as a figure, not as a deity confined to image, but as the eternal force that births himself from within, from the womb of the formless.
Just as every painting arises from an empty canvas, every form must return to the formless. Here, we encounter the true meaning of Swayambhu—the creator born of herself, an energy that draws its existence from a space beyond creation, untouched by time, mood, or movement.
Yoganidra: Realising The Swayambhu Within
In daily life, the notion of Swayambhu—the self-born—echoes a timeless truth: every thought, every action we take, is both a product of what we are and a force that reshapes us. This cyclical process of becoming, much like Shiva’s self-renewal through creation, reflects a universal pattern that we can tap into with conscious awareness. Through Yoganidra—a practice that brings us closer to the Turiya state—we learn to observe this dance of creation and transformation from a space of stillness.
When we allow ourselves to settle into the deep quiet of Yoganidra, we enter that same canvas of potentiality from which everything emerges. Here, we can witness how our experiences, actions, and even our thoughts come from the formless and return to it. This helps us realize that we, too, are constantly birthing ourselves through our choices, responses, and reflections.
But Yoganidra offers more than just an understanding of the process—it offers the power to direct it. By observing the patterns of the mind, by watching the creation of thoughts and emotions, we begin to understand that just like Shiva, we are not bound by what is. We are the space from which everything arises, the Swayambhu within.
-- Pradeep K (Prady)
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