Having reflected upon the profound meanings of the mantras, contemplating their connection between what is expressed and its expression, the teacher reveals the divine form of the Lord to the disciple and prescribes the proper posture for meditation. With the teacher’s command, the disciple, standing before Shiva, the sacred fire, and the guru, utters the words of initiation with deep devotion, having firmly resolved in his mind to dedicate himself. Such is the gravity of this path that it is better to relinquish one’s very life, or even to have one’s head struck off, than to partake of anything without first offering worship to the Blessed Three-Eyed One. The aspirant must continue to give offerings with discipline for as long as any trace of delusion or error remains within, worshipping the deity with unwavering devotion and steadfastness in purpose. When this stage is reached, it is called ‘samaya’ within the Shiva hermitage. Here, having received the proper authority, the disciple becomes subject to the teacher’s command, remaining under his guidance. At this point, the teacher, with hands lowered, takes sacred ashes from his own hand and gives them to the disciple, along with a Rudraksha bead empowered by mantra. If possible, the teacher also provides an image of the deity, or a concealed sacred body, together with the means for worship, offerings, recitation, and meditation. The disciple, receiving these sacred items from the Shiva teacher with great respect, accepts them only upon the teacher’s command, and in no other way. Having received everything from the teacher, the disciple reverently places them upon his head, protects them, and worships Shambhu, whether in the monastery or at home. Afterward, the teacher instructs the disciple in the conduct appropriate for a devotee of Shiva, tailoring his guidance to the disciple’s devotion, faith, and understanding. Everything that has been spoken, understood, or declared by the Shiva teacher in the samaya rite, the disciple must bear upon his head, honoring it as supremely sacred. Study, recitation, and listening to the Shiva scriptures are to be undertaken only according to the teacher’s instructions, never by personal whim or otherwise. Thus, in brief, the rite known as ‘samaya’ is described, which is the highest means for people to attain the direct presence of Shiva. After this, the teacher, having carefully examined the disciple’s fitness, prepares to perform the purification of the six paths, a rite that liberates from all bonds. These six paths are: kala, tattva, bhuvana, varna, pada, and mantra. The five kalas, beginning with nivritti, are called the path of kala; the other five paths are each pervaded by these kalas, five by five. The path of tattva extends from the supreme Shiva principle down to the lowest realm, comprising twenty-six elements, both pure and impure. The path of bhuvana is said to range from the base to the highest state, consisting of sixty worlds, without further distinctions or subdivisions. The path of letters is made up of the fifty Rudra-forms, while the path of words is diverse and manifold. The path of mantras is pervaded by all the supreme mantras through the highest knowledge, just as Shiva, being the Lord, is not counted among the tattvas. In the path of mantras, Shiva himself is not counted, for he is their Lord; the path of kalas is pervasiveness itself, while the other paths are those which are pervaded. One who does not understand the true nature of each path does not deserve the purification of the path, for he does not know the sixfold form of the path. Such a person cannot truly grasp the state of pervading and being pervaded, nor the true nature of the path and its relationships. Therefore, having understood properly, the teacher performs the purification of the path, extending up to the boundary of the altar-circle, as before. He marks a circle for the water-pots, two cubits in size, to the east. The Shiva-ācārya, having bathed and completed the daily rites with his disciples, enters the circle and worships Shambhu as previously described. There, he prepares pāyasa—rice boiled in milk—suitable for offering. Half of the pāyasa is offered as oblation, and the remainder is set aside. In the prepared circle, or in one marked with sacred letters, the teacher places five water-pots in the directions and one in the center. Into these pots, he places the Brahman mantras with their root letters, endowed with bindu and nāda, and, with salutations beginning and ending with ‘ya’, he establishes their presence. Īśāna is established in the central pot, Puruṣa in the one placed before him, Aghora on the right, Vāma on the left, and Sadya in the west. Having invoked their protection and formed the proper mudrā, the teacher consecrates the pots with mantras. Afterward, he begins the fire-offering with the sacred fires of Shiva, as before. The half of the pāyasa set aside is now offered as oblation, and the remainder is prepared for the disciple to eat. Having completed the tarpaṇa, or ritual offering with mantras, the rite continues as previously described. Once the full oblation has been made, the teacher performs the kindling rite. After invoking Oṃkāra, then Huṃkāra, followed by the root mantra and ending with Phaṭ, and finally Svāhā, he recites the limbs of the mantra in order. For each, three oblations are offered in the kindling rite. With these mantras, each deity is meditated upon as a radiant form, and the threefold act is performed by a twice-born maiden, pure and white in color. A sacred thread, consecrated with mantra, is tied to the tip of the disciple’s hair tuft, extending down to the big toe as the disciple stands upright. The teacher then lengthens the thread and connects it to the suṣumṇā channel. Assuming the Śāṃtī mudrā, the knower of mantra recites the root mantra. After offering three oblations, the presence of the goddess is established, and the teacher touches the disciple’s heart with a flower offering, as before. Raising the disciple’s consciousness and placing it at the dvādaśānta, the teacher joins the thread with the thread and protects it with the weapon of spiritual armor. Finally, having covered the thread, he contemplates the disciple’s body as bound by the triple noose of the root mantra, marked by the states of enjoyer and enjoyed. Thus, the sacred rites proceed, step by step, guiding the disciple ever closer to liberation and the direct realization of Shiva.