Swedish Bhairavi Says: “Giving & Receiving..”

This coming week is about the balance between giving as well as nurturing the self.

We have all been given this life, this body, this time. Someone birthed us into this world. Many of us have had people around us who have fed us, clothed us, taught us things, kept us alive.
We have received, in various ways.

Sometimes our receiving was auspicious for our journey and sometimes it was inauspicious in relation to the spiritual journey. In Siddha Tantra, we become adept in understanding what our actions and presence does in the world we live in. It is about learning how the fabric of the world is created, and then gaining the skills to start weaving a beautiful pattern of our choice from the corner that we exist in…

This sometimes leads to the idea or compassionate urge to start helping others to weave their individual pattern before one has gathered one’s own abilities.

Some of you have asked if the mantras are to be kept secret or shared with others. We have mentioned that it is best is to do ones own practices seamlessly, like a smooth operator, not flaunting or boasting about it. Most practices, if not all, are intimate. Some of you have heard us say to keep your practices to yourselves.
I will share the text that we wrote as an answer in the chat group here as well, since it is good to contemplate on it again as well as share it more publicly.

The practices we teach in the courses are specifically for you participants who are in contact with us. They are meant for you to practice so that you can develop your individual journey and gain eligibility for more advanced practices. They are not given to be shared or taught to anyone else.

Teaching and the responsibility of that, is a whole other thing, although those possibilities will come in the future as well.

In Siddha Tantra, teaching is lineage based. The Guru tells when they want you to teach, and along with that, the karma and responsibility of the repercussions of teaching is also taken. There is a lot of responsibility which is not always easily perceived when one is starting out in Siddha Tantra.

It is true that when you practice something that works, especially something artful, people around you might become curious about your inner flow and want to learn. Even if you make efforts to not practice in front of others, this can still happen. The best way is to simply tell them where you learnt it from and leave it at that.

We know this can feel difficult, especially for those of you who genuinely want to help others. The empathy is there. You see how something is helping you, and naturally feel that it could help someone else as well. At the same time, when something is given in an incomplete way, even with good intention, it can create confusion rather than support. The teachings and practices we give are not only instructions and steps. Many of them work through the gaze and the shakti of Siddhas. All beings have their systems, and also their protectors and guardians.

Focus on being the best guardian, protector, lover, and healer of yourself first.

Since this topic is quite common and arises often, we made a podcast about this last year called “Should I share my spiritual practices?” If you are interested and have not already, listen to it and see how it lands:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMOjeIMo3nE

So with this understanding, the questions can naturally arise. How to share then? How to feel communion? How to make a good impact in the world without getting lost in the mix-masala creation that is the current world? What to share?

As you will discover during this week, there are many beautiful and artful ways a practitioner can share and create a positive impact. Besides the strongest one, doing one’s own intimate practices and allowing oneself to evolve, enlightening oneself which is the greatest thing you can do for yourself, your environment, your family, ancestors, the world…

The other way is Seva, service, sharing, giving! Dive into this and find the balance of your current capacity. It can become one of the most powerful ways to create good merits and both subtle and tangible butterfly effects.

With this said. Seva, service and giving can be triggering for some people, especially when one doesn’t know the various and even “small” ways that one can do it. If that happens. Dial it down and observe. If you don’t feel like giving, or don’t see any possibility of giving right now, then no need to push for that.

I also want to touch upon what it means to be on the receiving end. Because when there is seva, there is also a receiver.

When one is starting out, there is no need to overthink this. At the same time, I feel to share a little about the Siddha way, because I have been touched by it myself, the compassion that is involved.

Siddhas have compassion even for the receiver. They always look for the most auspicious way for both sides. Receiving something, whether it is food, support, or donations, creates a certain connection and weight on the receiver side. Because of this, great care is taken so that both the giver and the receiver are held in an auspicious way.

I bring this up because this time around, several of you have joined Atma Bhava Mudra with a partial stipend to various degrees. You should know that you are several and you are not alone.

I write this because as you learn about karma and seva, it is natural that thoughts may arise around receiving. What it means, how it works. We gave you the stipend because we see your potential and your presence in this journey matters. So take this chance with a good clear heart. One should be aware of karma, and at the same time open to receiving grace.

We have shared that we always look for the most auspicious path for everyone involved. That includes how and when things are given. There are times where giving something entirely freely does not support the receiver in the way it is intended. Receiving something from practitioners of Siddha Tantra carries depth, and there is also a strong commitment from our side, that whoever we are in contact with should be in a better state after the encounter.

In Siddha Tantra, having knowledge of karma and ways to generate merit does not give free pass to do it in any which way. Because now you all know that with knowledge comes responsibility. Many great beings have lost their privileges, their Siddhis through misuse. So there is a great responsibility in giving as well.

Let’s explore this balance.. this art... of giving & receiving with Grace.

With love,

Swedish Bhairavi