BY URVIL JAMES VILLARUEL

Shiva
Shakti
Prakriti
Rajas
Gunas
Atman
Brahman
Chakras
Samadhi

Jan. 22, 2016, Toronto, ON - What do each of these terms really mean? Is there some alternate-reality in which these seemingly astounding embodiments exist, or are they merely descriptives for things that can be felt in the here and now? Spiritual terms, despite their daunting demeanour, merely denote the differing sensoriums felt on the subtlest levels of perception within our own reality; sensations that have been often overlooked, due to an unwavering attentiveness towards the grosser perception faculties and our unwillingness to spend time accurately learning. Thus, for the true seeker, they are forever on a quest towards demystify the mystical, only to find that it was truly mystical, all along.

To put this into perspective, let's take, for example, the word "love". What is the difference between the love that you have for your pet and the love that you feel for your entire family? They are obviously not the same love. Yet, in the english vernacular, we only find one term to describe these two separate states of feeling.

Though, this is not the case with Sanskrit, as they tend to have a word for everything.

Also, how does one accurately describe the feeling of love, such that it is easily communicated to the listener? Would one not try to employ an analogy in order to describe the almost indescribable?

Angels have come down to lift my heart.
Back into the sky they go,
bringing with them,
myself,
only to arrive at god's hand.

They say a picture holds with it a thousand words, and in this verbal depiction, you are certainly brought closer to this idea of love. But this is not love. You can only know love by feeling love. And this description should not be taken literally.

Are there really angels taking my heart up with them into heaven in order to meet god? No. But it sure feels that way when you're in it. Is there really a winged serpent named Kundalini residing in each and every one of us, creating a union between Shiva and Shakti when we practice our yoga - or am I simply becoming overly fixated on the literal, that I cannot see the inference at work?

What the english language has failed in is its lack of words to describe our more subtle-realities, both in their feeling states and slight differentiation. It is only though the consciousness of both analysis and direct experience that we are better able to decode these analogies, these terms, and experience them for what they truly are.

Always strive towards understanding, from a conscious perspective, these ancient descriptives. In this way, the many will fall less victim to the few; who are often left unknowing, through their own inept lack of study, the inference behind each of these terms. Personally devoid of any direct experience or true knowledge, eventually one must find their own way towards becoming their own mystic and scholar.