Ishan Shivanand teaches that bhakti, or deep devotion rooted in compassion, is the path to Turiya, the ultimate consciousness. When emotional conflict hits, four faculties spiral: breath, awareness, mantra, and thought. He recommends synchronizing breath with the mantra Om Shivaha and directing awareness there to regain control and move toward becoming a Shiva yogi.
Bhakti comes if there is great compassion towards the spiritual path. And many people who are too logical, too much stuck in the world of Maya, it is tough for us to expect them to display the characteristics of classical bhakti. A person who doesn't even trust himself, how can you expect him to trust the guru and the God? And hence the toughest— yes, the most powerful path to turiya is bhakti, because if the bhakti state is achieved, then automatically the breath, the mantra, and And the awareness will come into focus. And Lord Shiva explains that whenever you are in a state of conflict, whenever you are in a state of great sorrow, then these are the 4 things that go haywire. You lose control of them. The first thing you lose control of is you lose control of your breath. Then you lose control of your awareness. Your awareness goes everywhere. It goes to the past, the nonsense, the negativity. It just goes. It goes somewhere and you don't know. Your mantra goes haywire because you start speaking nonsense at a time of great emotional conflict. You're not speaking sense. Just speaking randomly and a lot, and a lot of toxicity comes out, and your emotion is definitely not in your hands. So Lord Shiva says, if you wish to experience Turiya, then these 4 things, at least 3 of them, should always be in your control. Outside, no matter what is happening, take control of your breath. Take control of the breath through the mantra what I was teaching you. Om Shivaha. So outside, your wife is fighting, so much is happening, you cannot control that. But the inside, you can control. 3 things should be in your hand. Your awareness, your breath, and your mantra. So if you take your awareness to the breath and you start inhaling and exhaling with the mantra, 3 things are your control, and you have started to make a path towards the inner self. So no matter what is happening, try to find If at least 2 things can be in your control, it would be excellent if 3 things are controlled, and you would be the greatest Shiva yogi if all 4 things are in your control. And the 4th thing that can be in your control is maybe the thought that my God loves me and this is a blessing.
