It is said that Shiva Mahadeva was always in samadhi, whether he was seated in meditation or roaming away from his home in Kailasa, but in the beginning, his consort Parvati was in a high state of consciousness when he was present, but cast down when he went to roam the world. Therefore she once said to him, “Teach me to meditate.”

“Sit in asana, close your eyes, and turn your attention within.”

Parvati did so.

“What do you see now?”

“I see your form before my mental vision.”

“Go beyond that form,” said Shiva. “What do you see now?”

“I see a brilliant light.”

“Go beyond the light. What is there?”

“I hear the all pervading sound ‘Om.'”

“Transcend the sound. What is your experience now?”

To this Parvati did not reply, for she had become one with the Cosmic Self. There was no seer and no seen, no hearer or heard. There was only One, nameless and formless.